Chu Li pushed the door open and entered the courtyard of the Garden of Jade. He could feel the pores of his body suddenly expand as the spiritual force of the Glory’s Will Tree seeped into his body. The feeling was similar to a waterfall cleaning his spiritual force, and all the stress that he had built up from traveling had immediately washed away.

　　Xue Ling was in a white gown, glowing under the moon. Her face was akin to a jade and her movements were as elegant as a crane’s.

　　“Master.”

　　She stopped.

　　“Just continue, no need to worry about me,” said Chu Li while waving his hand.

　　“I’ll prepare some supper for you. Oh, Chief was looking for you, she seemed in a rush,” said Xue Ling.

　　“What happened?”

　　“Chief Su Ru didn’t tell me, but she looked like she was in a real hurry.” Xue Ling shook her head.

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　He knew that if it was indeed extremely urgent, Su Ru would know that he was returning and she would have immediately made her way over there.

　　“Then I’ll prepare extra servings for supper.”

　　“Okay.”

　　Xue Ling agreed and went to prepare a pot of tea. She gracefully sauntered into the kitchen.

　　Chu Li gently took a sip of tea. The aroma filled his inner organs and he felt relaxed as he let out a sigh. It felt great to finally be home.

　　He pushed open the door of the courtyard. A figure in a yellow gown was floating about. Su Ru gently moved in and entered the pagoda, taking a seat opposite Chu Li.

　　Chu Li passed her the pot of tea, smiled and asked, “Chief, is there anything urgent you want to discuss?”

　　Su Ru took the white jade teacup and fiercely rolled her eyes at him.

　　“You’re quite reliable!”

　　“What happened?” asked Chu Li.

　　“It’s about the Second Lady!” exclaimed Su Ru.

　　“Do we need to go over there?”

　　“By tomorrow!” scoffed Su Ru.

　　“If you had returned even one day later, we would’ve been late!”

　　“The Second Lady has a lot of Protectors. There’d be no difference with or without me.” Chu Li smiled as he slowly took a sip of his tea.

　　“If the big guys up there have no worries, there is no point in you carrying out their jobs for them,” Su Ru angrily replied.

　　Chu Li put down the teacup and with a serious tone in his voice asked, “Is this errand really very important?”

　　“Lady Xiao put in a lot of effort and fought for it, so, if you really delayed or messed this up, it would have pissed me off!” Su Ru angrily stared at him.

　　Chu Li looked at her, confused.

　　Normally, the Second Lady had many Protectors with her at all times. There would be no difference if he was there or not because he was just a young man gaining experience.

　　Su Ru rolled her eyes and sneered, “The Second Lady and Lady Xiao are different.”

　　Chu Li nodded. He was in deep thought.

　　Master Xiao and the Second Lady were the children of the Great Madam. They were both born from the same parents. However, the Third Lady was the child of the Third Madam and the Forth Master was the child of the Second Madam. Lady Xiao Shi’s status was more prestigious because of her mother’s status as the Great Madam.

　　To add to that, the Second Lady was far more fragile and weak compared to the other three siblings who were in great health. She was extremely frail and could not even cultivate which naturally made her more pitiable and lead to her being given extra care and attention.

　　“If you can get the Second Lady to set her eyes on you, it would definitely secure you a higher and stronger position,” Su Ru said to Chu Li.

　　“I appreciate Lady Xiao’s effort,” said Chu Li.

　　“Hmph! You’re fifth in rank, but you still joined the Public House far too late, and you’re so young as well. It is difficult for Lady Xiao to promote you right now because you don’t have enough experience,” Su Ru scoffed.

　　“However, if the Second Lady thinks highly of you, it would be much easier for Lady Xiao to promote you!”

　　Chu Li slowly nodded.

　　He thought that the Second Lady affected Master Xiao more than Lady Xiao did. If the Second Lady thought highly of Chu Li, it would have directly affected Master Xiao’s impression of him which would really reduce his obstacles.

　　“Chief, will the Second Lady be departing tomorrow?” Chu Li asked.

　　“Yes.”

　　Su Ru gently took a sip of tea and elegantly put down the teacup.

　　“The Second Lady wanted to celebrate Grand Secretary Kang’s birthday. We’re going to Zhao Jing Hai Town.”

　　“Zhao Jing Hai Town…” muttered Chu Li.

　　“That’s not a safe place. It’s full of Ren Public House’s people, they’ll definitely attack us!”

　　“I don’t think they will. Lady Xiao is the one Lu Yurong is looking for. It has nothing to do with Second Lady,” Su Ru said as she shook her head.

　　“Is that what Lady Xiao thinks?”

　　Chu Li furrowed his brows.

　　Su Ru put down her teacup.

　　“Is there a problem?”

　　“It’s different now, both our Public Houses have already burned the bridge. They’re sure to attack us if they have the chance!” said Chu Li.

　　“Second Lady is not a menace to them. She doesn’t know martial arts and doesn’t care about the problems of the Public House. She’s detached from the world. Why would they want to hurt her and make Master Xiao angry?” Su Ru said as she shook her head again.

　　“If they hurt the Second Lady, Master Xiao will definitely go crazy and both the Public Houses will break out into an all-out war. Both sides will suffer in the end. Not even Lu Yurong would dare to do it!”

　　Chu Li shook his head.

　　“They had suffered quite the huge loss last time. They’ll definitely come back for revenge,” said Su Ru as she frowned.

　　“My guess is that Lu Yurong will not kill the Second lady but might kidnap her and want Master Xiao to pay ransom for her release. What would happen if Master Xiao complied with their demands? Wouldn’t this weaken the morale of the Public House?” asked Chu Li.

　　Su Ru frowned again.

　　“It has already been decided, the Second Lady won’t bring too many Protectors. She doesn’t want to make it obvious and anger the Grand Secretary. He dislikes people from the martial arts world the most.”

　　“How many Protectors is she bringing along with her?” he asked.

　　“This is top secret, how could I just reveal that information so easily?”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　“Then tell Second Lady to please reconsider.”

　　“It won’t work,” replied Su Ru to reconfirm her previous statements.

　　She then added, “The Second Lady’s personality is different from Lady Xiao’s. She’s a very hard egg to crack.”

　　Lady Xiao’s personality could be likened to white snow. She was cold and detached, strict with people but tolerant of those who were close to her. She accepted the suggestions of others because she was permissive. The Second Lady, however, was the complete opposite. She appeared gentle and soft like water, but her mental barrier was incredibly strong. She did not accept any blunders from anyone else. Both she and Master Xiao received this trait from the Great Madam.

　　“I’ll do whatever I can and leave the rest to the Gods.”

　　Chu Li raised his teacup.

　　“Master, Chief, supper is ready,” said Xue Ling.

　　Xue Ling used the Angsana plates to serve four different, beautiful and delicious dishes followed by warmed wine.

　　She stood behind Chu Li and poured the wine for them. The green wine in the white jade cup made the cup appear an olive color.

　　Su Ru grabbed the white jade cup and gently took a sip, then nodded in satisfaction.

　　“Remember not to talk too much when you’re with the Second Lady. She isn’t very tolerant of other people. If you aren’t careful, you might end up offending her and cause her to hate you instead,” Su Ru reminded Chu Li.

　　Chu Li nodded while he ate with silver chopsticks.

　　Su Ru took up the silver chopsticks and took the stewed meat, slowly chewing it.

　　Chu Li smiled.

　　“Then I’ll act dumb and not say a thing.”

　　“It’ll better that way. My only worry is that you might crack quickly under pressure.” Su Ru smiled.

　　Chu Li drank the wine.

　　“It can’t possibly be that difficult, right?”

　　“Wait until you meet Second Lady, then you’ll know! Remember, she doesn’t like people who are talkative. If you want to leave a good impression, you need to be quiet!”

　　Su Ru shook her head and smiled.

　　“And you need to be careful of this one person. The Second Lady brings him along no matter where she goes.”

　　“Oh—?”

　　Chu Li look at Su Ru.

　　“Guo Mulin, Elder Mulin!” said Su Ru.

　　Chu Li made a gesture showing he was listening intently to her.

　　He had thought that Mulin was the Second Lady’s maid just like Su Ru. They had been together since their younger days as maid and master but their relationship was more akin to sisterhood rather than a master-slave relationship.

　　“Mulin’s medical skills are anything but ordinary. The Second Lady’s body is weak and fragile so she always needed to be wary of her health and if she wasn’t careful, she might have fallen ill. If it weren’t for Mulin, the Second Lady would’ve already…” said Su Ru.

　　“I understand. I can’t offend him,” replied Chu Li.

　　“Elder Guo had one child, but he was killed,” Su Ru continued as she shook her head.

　　“He only protected people his entire life and had never stained himself with blood, either. But Elder Guo’s son was killed by martial artists. Think about it, what kind of impression would he have of a martial artist?”

　　“So he hates people from the martial arts world?” asked Chu Li.

　　Su Ru sighed.

　　“He hates anyone who cultivated martial arts, so don’t even think about appealing to Elder Guo. Just avoid him as much as you possibly can.”

　　Chu Li nodded.

　　However, Su Ru was still worried.

　　“Just remember, your duty is to obtain experience, not to create a stir!” she reminded Chu Li.

　　He smiled.

　　“Don’t go and try being the hero!”

　　“Don’t say a thing and leave the Second Lady and Elder Mulin far far away!”

　　Su Ru smiled.

　　“I’d be relieved if you could make it.”

　　“I will.” Chu Li smiled.

　　Su Ru shook her head.

　　“The Second Lady has six Grandmasters with her, so she is definitely safe from danger. There’s nothing you should be worried about except protecting yourself.”

　　“How many Grandmasters does the Ren Public House have?”

　　“About ten.”

　　“So little?” Chu Li replied in shock.

　　The Great Ji Dynasty has twelve Public Houses and each Public House had about ten Grandmasters which meant that there were hundreds of them including the ones from martial art sects. Chu Li realized that there had to be less than three hundred Grandmasters, which would be a lot less than he had originally anticipated.

　　To compare it with modern society, the foundation was like going to college, reaching innate mastery was like becoming a professor and becoming a Grandmaster was like being an academician. For the level of acquired masters, it would have been likened to the minds of Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein. It was not impossible, but extremely rare.

　　In this world, the area of the Great Ji Dynasty was already ten times the size of Earth with a population of about four hundred million. The fanaticism of the pursuit of martial arts was crazier than modern society’s obsession with money. There were only about three hundred Grandmasters which was far too little considering that the average lifespan of a Grandmaster was about two hundred years old.