Chapter 134 - 86: Earth Evil Qi, Maid Qingdai

Chapter 134: Chapter 86: Earth Evil Qi, Maid Qingdai

"Two days ago, the Vast Sea Sect expelled their Transmission Elder, the Outer Gang Martial Artist True Man Yuan Yi. They claimed he secretly defected to Celestial King Mountain and wanted to bring the entire Sect along to join their rebellion to overthrow Great Zhou. Along with eight Qi Storage disciples, he has been banished from the Sect."

Deng Huan continued, "Afterwards, this True Man Yuan Yi committed a crime in Kangle Commandery. He assassinated a County Magistrate who originally hailed from the Vast Sea Sect in broad daylight. After causing a massive uproar, he fled west. Based on his route, his destination should be Pingzhang Commandery."

Hearing Deng Huan’s words, Zheng Jun raised an eyebrow.

Zheng Jun thought to himself, "Did True Man Yuan Yi really defect from the Vast Sea Sect? It doesn’t seem like it. Instead, it looks like he is coming right for me."

Seeing Zheng Jun’s expression, Deng Huan said, "I’m afraid this old Taoist Yuan Yi is coming right for you, Brother Zheng. You must be careful.

"This old Taoist achieved the Outer Gang realm seven years ago," Deng Huan reminded him. "He is proficient in the Wave-Treading Blade Technique and the Thirteen Waves of the Sea. Besides him, those eight Qi Storage disciples who came down the mountain with him are all inheritors of the Wave-Treading Blade Technique and his Direct Disciples."

Zheng Jun immediately cupped his fists. "Thank you for the reminder, Brother Deng. I will certainly be cautious in the coming days."

Deng Huan nodded and didn’t dwell on the subject. Instead, he steered the conversation back to what they had been discussing before Zheng Jun arrived.

The topic was quite simple, revolving around only two matters.

The first was that the Great Righteous King had abandoned Xuanzhou and fled east, throwing the commanderies of Bozhou into a state of panic and unrest.

Although it wasn’t clear exactly where the Great Righteous King, Zhang Bengong, was heading, Bozhou lay just east of Xuanzhou. Given the short distance, it was highly likely that it would become the next target of this world-renowned bandit, naturally putting all of Bozhou on high alert. The Bozhou State Soldiers had even been mobilized, gathering in Yanting Commandery, which was closest to Xuanzhou.

The second matter was about the rebellion at Celestial King Mountain.

Last month, Celestial King Mountain in Qingzhou suffered a crushing defeat. The bandits there had been so fierce that they repeatedly defeated the government forces, incurring the wrath of the Divine Martial Emperor. He bestowed the Imperial Sword upon King Qi, Li Shu, appointing him as the commander-in-chief, with Duke Guo, Wei Bohu, serving as the vanguard. Leading the elite forces of Qing and Xu, they marched on Celestial King Mountain.

In just three battles, they heavily besieged the mountain. Duke Guo, Wei Bohu, engaged in a great battle with Celestial King Mountain’s Primordial Pill Martial Saint, Qin Cunhai—known as the ’Pillar of the East Sea’. He crushed him, forcing Qin Cunhai to flee in a sorry state, thus pacifying the Celestial King Mountain rebellion.

Listening to this Jianghu gossip from the sidelines, Zheng Jun occasionally offered expressions of amazement to liven up the atmosphere. It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky that the men hurriedly took their leave.

As soon as Zheng Jun walked out the door, Shopkeeper Shang joined him. Stepping to his side, he considerately said, "Captain Zheng, although this Earth Evil Qi is rare, it harbors incredibly potent Evil Qi. Absorbing it rashly might cause trouble. The children of Noble Families usually pair it with medicinal baths to absorb it slowly.

"I, Shang, took the liberty of having some prepared. They are currently waiting at your door, Sanlang. If you mind, I will have them return immediately."

Hearing Shopkeeper Shang’s words, Zheng Jun naturally wouldn’t refuse. "Then thank you very much, Shopkeeper Shang," he replied.

Seeing this, Shang Ruicheng nodded and bid Zheng Jun farewell.

After parting ways, Zheng Jun returned home. Even from outside his door, he could sense seven auras bustling about inside his residence. They seemed to be tidying up the courtyard and adding firewood to a stove.

"Hmm?"

Zheng Jun couldn’t help but feel a surge of vigilance. He pushed the door open and entered, only to find that his home looked somewhat different.

Inside the room, a Purple Gold Incense Burner was slowly burning high-quality Concentration Incense. As he stepped inside, a voice as sweet as an oriole immediately reached his ears. "Master has returned. Greetings, Master."

Zheng Jun looked toward the voice, met with a fragrant breeze. Several beautiful maids in various styles of dress, led by a young girl in a plain skirt, walked up to him and curtsied.

Zheng Jun was taken aback. He took a step back outside and glanced at the exterior.

"No, I didn’t get the wrong house," he thought. "I didn’t buy any maids."

The girl in the plain skirt seemed to see through Zheng Jun’s confusion and immediately stepped forward to explain. "Master, we are Medicine Girls cultivated by Jishi Hall, trained to handle daily medicinal baths. Chief Shopkeeper Shang has gifted us to Master. From now on, my sisters and I swear loyalty to you unto death and will always stay by your side."

Zheng Jun was speechless.

"Jishi Hall actually engages in human trafficking?" he thought to himself. "Shopkeeper Shang is really something. He clearly knows I’m short on money right now, yet he still pulls a stunt like this."

He couldn’t help but shake his head, though he didn’t complain. He simply said, "In that case, just call me ’Young Master’ from now on. ’Master’ sounds a bit weird."

Although he found the title of ’Master’ a bit strange, Zheng Jun wasn’t some moral saint who would strictly forbid kneeling and demand total equality. Preaching about things like that in a High Martial World? Only someone with brain damage would do that.

As long as he didn’t beat or scold them arbitrarily and rewarded them as usual, it would be fine. Doing just that would already make him better than ninety-nine percent of the rich landlords out there.

"Yes, Young Master."

Following Zheng Jun’s order, the women responded in unison, led by the girl in the plain skirt. Afterward, she stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "The water has already been boiled. In accordance with the Hall’s practices, many medicinal materials have been added. Please follow me, Young Master."

She took the initiative to guide Zheng Jun toward an adjacent wing room.

It was actually quite awkward. Even though it was Zheng Jun’s house, he had never once set foot in these wing rooms. After all, they had been torn down and rebuilt, then rebuilt and torn down again. Aside from the master bedroom, Zheng Jun barely recognized the rest of the layout.

Upon entering the wing room, Zheng Jun saw a large, steaming wooden tub. The bathwater inside glowed with a faint green light and gave off a rich medicinal fragrance.

Once they arrived, the young girl respectfully said, "Please give me your hands, Young Master, so I may serve you in undressing."

"I can do it myself," Zheng Jun flatly refused.

He was still quite wary of this gaggle of beauties before him. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Shopkeeper Shang was being overly enthusiastic, which made him somewhat uncomfortable.

Hearing Zheng Jun’s words, the girl didn’t hesitate for a second. She nodded gently and said, "Once you finish washing, Young Master, simply call for me. I will be waiting right at the door. If you encounter anything you do not understand while absorbing the Earth Evil Qi, you may call out to ask Qingdai. When your bath is over, just give a shout, and Qingdai will come in to dress you."

With that, the girl in the plain skirt, who had referred to herself as Qingdai, slowly backed out of the room.