Chapter 218: The First Meeting

　　Liu whispered, “No chance for him to get into the public house?”

　　Xue Ling scrutinized Ping a few more times and shook her head, “Follow your sister tomorrow, we shall go and meet Master Chu. We’ll then see what he has to say!”

　　“Alright, thank you sister Xue!” Ping said gratefully.

　　Xue Ling waved her hand and said, “Go and continue what you were doing.”

　　Ping quickly exited the room.

　　Liu watched as her brother left the room. She asked nervously, “Xue Ling, he really can’t?”

　　“Don’t take my word for it.” Xue Ling replied. “We can only be sure once Master Chu had met him. So long as he has a good heart, it should be enough to convince my Master.”

　　“My little brother may be reckless at times, but he has a kind heart.” Liu explained.

　　Xue Ling gave her a stare and said, “Whatever you say won’t be taken into account. He needs to meet my Master face to face. Don’t worry, I still feel that he’s quite a good lad.”

　　Liu smiled and shook her head, “This little brother of mine normally talks a lot when he’s with me. But in front of you, he did not dare to say even a word!”

　　“I still have to remind you, if he disobeys orders, I would not hesitate to punish him. Don’t say that I’m cruel by then.” Xue Ling said, “He won’t necessarily be able to cope with the restrictions of the public house. Before he violates any laws of the public house, it’s better that I watch over him and punish him first!”

　　“Sure, punish him wherever necessary!”

　　“That’s good then!”

　　“Will Master Chu be free tomorrow?” Liu asked, “He normally has his hands full of work, right?”

　　There should be many important matters in store for a Rank 2 Chief.

　　“Yes, he’ll be quite busy. He’s currently cultivating in isolation. I had painstakingly pleaded to him, so he would come over to the East Garden tomorrow. Now, it all comes down to your little brother’s performance.”

　　After Xue Ling had left, Ping hurriedly came back to his sister and kept asking questions.

　　“Sis, your friend is too cold-blooded. Why not, I just give up my dream.” Ping glanced at Liu warily.

　　Liu was sitting in a kiosk. The lighting was bright, and it illuminated the entire backyard.

　　Liu’s gorgeous face looked stunning under the gentle glow of light.

　　The siblings sat in the kiosk, while their parents sat beside a lake. The old couple was admiring the fish in the lake, as they threw fish food into the water from time to time, watching as the schools of fish swarmed over to eat the food.

　　Liu frowned and looked at her brother.

　　Ping looked embarrassed when he asked, “How did she practice her martial arts? She was already so powerful at such a young age!”

　　Liu scoffed, “So, you don’t wish to get into the public house anymore? Alright then, tomorrow I shall tell her. This would save us all a lot of trouble, and we won’t need to plead for you anymore!”

　　“No, no. I’m just ranting for a bit.” Ping quickly corrected himself.

　　Liu looked at him, annoyed, “Can you please be a little more determined? Do you really think it’s that easy to get you an opportunity like this?”

　　“I know, I know. I understand that this is a rare opportunity.” Ping nodded repeatedly, “She is already so strong, her master must be unimaginably powerful! I’m just scared that I will embarrass you.”

　　“Master Chu is a kind man. He makes people feel at ease.” Liu explained.

　　Ping said, “Oh, that’s good then.”

　　Liu rolled her eyes at him at said, “Alright, don’t be too nervous. Just act naturally.”

　　“Alright.” Ping forced a smile.

　　“You should go and practice martial arts.” Liu waved her hand. She knew that no matter what she said, it would not help much.

　　The next morning, after they had eaten breakfast, Ping looked restless. He kept wandering around the house.

　　At first, he went to practice martial arts, but he would stare blankly at the wall after a short while. Then, he went to talk to Old Sun, but not long after, he moved again and went to see the fishes. He was trying very hard to not overthink about the meeting with Master Chu.

　　Liu watched him from afar, she did not stop him or say anything.

　　After an hour, she brought Ping out of the house.

　　The two walked out of the alley and entered the busy main street. They walked along the street in an eastward direction. Ping watched the busy crowd on the street intently, his emotions beginning to calm down.

　　It was true what they said about Chong Ming town. It was indeed miles better than the Town of Clouds. People here dressed neatly and elegantly. Luckily his sister made him change into some better clothes, if not, he would be easily spotted from the crowd as a country boy.

　　When they reached in front of the public house, Ping took in a large breath. He stopped looking around him, as he tried not to embarrass himself. If he really got into the public house in the future, he could admire everything around him for as long as he wanted to.

　　They hopped onto a small boat. The lake waters were crystalline, the breeze rejuvenating. But Ping did not have the heart to admire the picturesque scenery, he had his mind focused on imagining what kind of person Chief Chu would be.

　　To be the chief of the public house, he should be a strict old man, or a wise handsome-looking man. But it seemed that even his sister called him Master, so could he be a middle-aged man?

　　From afar, the could see Xue Ling standing on the island, waving towards them. Ping’s heartbeat rate increased.

　　Liu turned around and glanced at her brother, shaking her head.

　　When they got off the boat, Ping graciously gave her a fist salute. He dared not look at Xue Ling straight in the eye.

　　Liu went up and asked, “Has Master Chu arrived?”

　　“Yes, he’s here. He’s busy working with brother Lee.” Xue Ling said. “Follow me.”

　　Liu patted on Ping’s shoulder, who stood rooted to the ground beside her. They followed Xue Ling to a garden.

　　Ping saw two men who were pulling weeds with their bodies bent down. One of them looked very masculine and strong, while the other looked rather skinny but had a righteous aura. The two chatted as they were pulling the weeds.

　　Ping stared widely at the two men, then turned his glance back to Xue Ling. Could it be that the Chief of the public house was one of these two?

　　“Master, he’s here.” Xue Ling went up to them and announced.

　　Ping watched as the two men slowly turned around to face him. One looked modest, the other looked charming.

　　“Brother Lee, Master Chu.” Liu performed a curtsy.

　　Ping stared widely, giving them a fist salute.

　　“Come, let’s go inside and talk.” Chu Li smiled as he reached out his hand, he led the others to the kiosk.

　　At one corner of the kiosk, the red clay stove made crackling sounds, steam billowing out from it.

　　Xue Ling prepared the piping hot tea and served it to each one of them.

　　Ping accepted the tea cup from her with both hands, looking extremely nervous.

　　After Xue Ling served them tea, she stood behind Chu Li, her eyes glancing towards his direction. He felt very uneasy, thinking that he should not be sitting too, because even Xue Ling was standing.

　　Chu Li took a small sip of the tea, then scrutinized Ping from head to toe. He smiled, “I heard from brother Jiang, that you have a personal vendetta with the Startling Cloud Association?”

　　“Yes, Chief. Someone from Startling Cloud Association almost killed me!” Ping put down his tea cup and answered courteously.

　　“Which one of them did that?” Chu Li asked.

　　“Flaming Sun Palm, Luo Feng!”

　　“What are the chances. Luo Feng is my friend, and Association Leader Chen is my good pal too.” Chu Li shook his head as he laughed. “How about this. Let me be the mediator. I’ll find a chance and invite you two over for a drink, so you could forgo the vengeance over a good laugh!”

　　Ping stared widely at him, looking surprised.

　　Chu Li was all smiles as he looked at him.

　　Liu saw that his brother was staring blankly at Chu Li, so she tucked his sleeves

　　Ping pondered about it, then gave Chu Li a forceful nod. “Alright then, since I didn’t lose my life either. I will respect Chief’s decision and let go of it!”

　　Chu Li smiled, “Then, thank you for that. From today onwards, you can start working here…. This is brother Lee. When I first came to the public house, I worked together with him to take care of this garden. When I leave, you could replace my duties… Brother Lee, please take good care of this lad in the future.”

　　“No problem. Leave it to me!” Yen patted on his chest.

　　Liu again tucked Ping’s sleeve, “Hurry up and thank Master Chu!”

　　Ping was on cloud nine. He hurriedly got up to his feet and thanked him.

　　He did not expect to pass the test so easily. From that day onwards, he had taken a huge step into the public house, working as a guard!

　　Chu Li waved his hand, “Brother Lee will tell you about the laws of the public house. You will be taking lessons about it in the lecture hall. After you’ve done that, you can try challenging the Tower of Rankings, to more accurately test out your true capabilities.”

　　Ping answered him loudly, “Yes.”

　　“Follow me then, young brother Sun!” Yen chuckled. “I shall bring him to the Hall of Martial Arts.”

　　Chu Li smiled and nodded.

　　Seeing that they were leaving, Chu Li stood up too. “Miss Liu, Xue Ling, you two may continue practicing here. I will be heading home now.”

　　“Master, it’s a rare occasion that you would come here. Don’t leave so soon!” Xue Ling quickly pulled on his sleeve.

　　She knew that when Chu Li returned home, he would immerse himself in elemental formation again. He would study it throughout day and night, so it was very hard to make him come out and relax.

　　Chu Li smiled, “I’m busy.”

　　“Just take a rest for this one afternoon.” Xue Ling pleaded.

　　Liu smiled sweetly, “Let me perform a dance for Master!”

　　She was very grateful towards Chu Li. Because of him, her brother got into the public house and had been given the duty of working in East Garden. He was indeed very kind.

　　She as a woman had nothing much to offer, except for her beauty and talents in dancing and singing.

　　After looking at Chu Li and Xue Ling’s facial expressions, she knew clearly that Chu Li did not covet her beauty or body. That made her feel more appreciative towards his help, hence she wanted to repay his favor.