When they made it to the hotel, Manager Hu was impatiently waiting for them.
After hearing the news from the Cerulean Starlight Sect, he had been so frightened that he could hardly focus on his usual tasks.
So he placed one of his usual servants behind the counter and waited outside for news.
He was not alone. Lin Yuelong had been given the task of waiting for Ye Xiao to appear as well as retrieving the item that they had been promised.
When they saw Xue Wei and his friends come back while chatting and having fun, the two that were waiting could almost not believe their own eyes.
They had been sent to prison, but they acted like they had just been on a picnic.
Was it really true that the Golden Chambers had their back? Could they really do anything they wanted in the Golden Crow City?
When Lin Yuelong saw Wang Xiaoyun’s face, his head went blank for a moment. He was completely stunned at what he saw. However, he connected the dots after some thinking and his eyes widened in shock.
He had seen her face before and knew that only a Rebirth Pill could heal her.
They had acted completely indifferently when they heard that the Rebirth Pill was no longer up for sale, which could only mean that they had already gotten their hands on it.
The only way to get their hands on it was if they gave something of overwhelming value, and from what he could gather of the current discussions, only the formations could move the Golden Chambers.
Suddenly, Lin Yuelong felt his breath grow hurried. Were they going to be gifted something amazing?
“Manager Hu, Lin Yuelong, it is a pleasure seeing you both here,” Xue Wei said with a smile.
“Were you worried about us? Thanks to your efforts, nothing bad happened.” He laughed.
“We are starving, so please excuse us as we go have a meal. Lin Yuelong, perhaps you can bring your head disciple to our dining room? I would like to give him what I promised him,” Xue Wei kept smiling as he spoke.
Originally, Lin Yuelong should have accepted the item, but now he was unsure of what to do. If he had guessed correctly, then it was a formation.
After contacting their sect and informing them about the formation situation in the auction, they had been tasked with bringing at least one formation back with them.
This was no longer a simple repayment so Lin Yuelong decided to go and discuss with his head disciple.
He bowed to Manager Hu and Xue Wei before he rushed up the stairs to their rooms.
Manager Hu personally led Xue Wei and his friends into the restaurant.
It was an upscale restaurant with an open ground floor and an upper floor with private rooms.
These private rooms were expensive, so they received many envious looks as they walked up the stairs to the upper floor.
Because Manager Hu was personally leading them, many stared at them with curiosity. They could not help but wonder about the background of this group.
There were various factions in the Golden Crow City, but the Golden Chambers was still the strongest.
They were the hegemon of the entire region, and Manager Hu was amongst the top experts within this faction.
Even the members of the three great sects could not enjoy such treatment.
But neither Xue Wei, Hei Gou, Wang Xiaoyun, or Bai Tianyi seemed to care about it. They chatted with Manager Hu in a friendly manner that made them seem close.
As they reached the second floor, they were met with a hallway with many doors on either side that led to smaller and larger rooms.
The largest room had been reserved for Xue Wei.
After entering through the door, a bit of time passed by, before a row of scantily clad waitresses came walking in. They started rearranging floor cushions, placed wines on the table, and brought with them the most delicious-smelling delicacies.
Although they had not ordered anything, Manager Hu had previously gestured to the servants to bring word to the kitchen of their arrival so that they could preemptively prepare the delicacies
Their tables were decked out with small cups and many bottles of fine wines on the table.
Xue Wei looked appreciatively at the women who carried the trays of food, but then he felt a sharp pain at his waist and a tenderly smiling woman by his side.
“Like what you see?” she asked gently. Xue Wei was about to say yes when he realized how dangerous that would be. It would be quite unbecoming to be beaten by Wang Xiaoyun because of her jealousy.
“Not at all,” he hurriedly said and could not help but smile when he saw Wang Xiaoyun beam like a little sun. “Then let us not look,” she said and focused on the plates on the table.
She took Xue Wei’s plate and began scooping up a little bit of everything for him.
“Try this,” she said as she handed the plate to Xue Wei. Not only Xue Wei, also Hei Gou and Bai Tianyi felt warm at heart seeing the casual but also tender, and slightly awkward, actions of Wang Xiaoyun.
Her love for Xue Wei was real. Similarly, Xue Wei dearly loved every little action she made; even her flaws were adorable to him, her jealousy made him want to chuckle, and her behavior was simply so refreshing.
The waitresses left the room when the group started eating their meal, and manager Hu followed them out. For a bit of time, silence enveloped the room while they enjoyed the food.
After a bit of time a few words were spoken here and there. They mostly praised the food and did not discuss anything too important.
After roughly ten minutes, a knock on the door could be heard.
“It’s the Cerulean Starlight Sect,” a voice said from the outside.
“Come in,” Xue Wei called out. He placed his chopsticks on his plate and rose to his feet.
He gestured for the others to stay seated. Then he looked at the door as the Cerulean Starlight Sect’s head disciple opened it and stepped in.
The man was a bit surprised at how much influence Xue Wei had in the Golden Chambers.
But if things were as Lin Yuelong had said, then it all made sense. The head disciple glanced at Wang Xiaoyun curiously and saw that her face had indeed changed.
“I heard you wished to see me?” The head disciple was still skeptical. He wanted Lin Yuelong to be right, but he could not help but doubt it.
“You helped me out earlier today,” Xue Wei said while nodding, ”so as a token of my gratitude, I’ll give you a paralyzing formation.”
Xue Wei had considered what formation to give out and decided in the end to give them a rather powerful formation to nurture a good relationship.
He flipped his hand and a piece of paper appeared within. He then handed it over to the head disciple.
“My name is Lin Huang. I am Lin Yuelong’s older cousin. I would like to thank you for the formation on behalf of my sect.” The head disciple finally introduced himself.
“I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me?” he asked. He was more humble now and looked at Xue Wei as an equal.
“Sure, please do ask,” Xue Wei had expected this so he smiled and waited to see what Lin Huang wanted to know.
“Do the formations that the Golden Chambers is auctioning off come from you? How many formations are up for sale? Which kind of formations are they? Have you made them yourself? Which kind of formations can you make? Have you ever considered joining a sect?”
Hearing the many questions that were asked in one go, Xue Wei started laughing before he began answering one at a time.
“The formations did indeed come from me,” he admitted with a nod of his head. “Since they came from me, obviously, I was also the one who was capable of making them. I can make a wide array of formations, but I need to keep in mind my current strength of Spiritual Energy. I am not thinking of joining a sect right now, I cannot let go of the freedom I have right now.”
The more they spoke, the more Lin Huang’s eyes started to glisten. He felt that he could gain a great strength for the Cerulean Starlight Sect.
Lin Huang was not dumb. He had heard about Xue Wei’s issue with the two other sects and knew that he was using his ability as a formation master to get close to the Cerulean Starlight Sect, but he did not care. A formation master was of great importance to any sect. Even in the center of the continent.
They talked for a bit of time before Lin Huang headed back to the rest of the Cerulean Starlight Sect. He had to contact the sect elders to inform them about this ‘Ye Xiao’.
As he left, new plates of food were placed on their tables by the waitress outside. Xue Wei sat down and began eating again.
The other three could feel that he was in a good mood. He had accomplished something he wanted.
“Are you going to tell the Crimson Sunshine Sect and the Argent Moon Sect about your formation master status?” Hei Gou asked curiously.
“They’ll know eventually,” Xue Wei said, shrugging his shoulders. He did not care about them much.
Right as he was speaking, the door suddenly opened and the head disciple of the Argent Moon Sect stood in their room with a perplexed expression on her face.
“Ye Xiao?” she asked with confusion. “Why would you have a conversation with Lin Huang? The two of you are from completely different worlds!”
“Miss, please don’t be rude,” the one who spoke up was Bai Tianyi. The way he spoke was casual and in a slightly drawling manner. His eyes were half closed and he had his head propped up by his hands with his elbows on the table. He looked like a spoiled child that got everything he wanted.
“Right, who gave you permission to enter our dining room?” Wang Xiaoyun agreed.
The head disciple from the Argent Moon Sect’s face grew unsightly before she stared at Wang Xiaoyun’s face with her mouth agape.
“You were disfigured when I saw you before,” the head disciple stated. Wang Xiaoyun casually shrugged her shoulders.
“I demand answers!” she exclaimed angrily, looking at Xue Wei as if her eyes were shooting fire.
“Listen, you and I had no bad blood, but you had to be so condescending towards both me and my friends,” Xue Wei finally spoke.
“You barge into my room and you demand answers. Have you considered your actions? Do you know how bad a light you put the Argent Moon Sect in?” he continued ruthlessly.
“We are esteemed guests of the Golden Chambers. It is not your place to act so out of control. Be a good girl and act like one.”
The head disciple fumed when she heard that, but she did not follow her impulse to start a fight.
She remembered that he had been granted the King’s Floor, and now they were in the largest dining room enjoying all the delicacies and wines. Even Manager Hu treated them well. So he was not completely wrong with what he said.
Unfortunately, she had barged into the room in a domineering fashion. She was backed by ten other experts of the Argent Moon Sect, and she knew that she would lose face if she stepped down.
As a result, she stood indecisively for some time, but then she snorted and looked at Xue Wei with venomous eyes. She truly hated him without really knowing him.
She was slightly jealous of Xue Wei. He had been treated with great favor by the Golden Chambers. He had been treated with friendliness by Lin Huang, who was of equal standing as herself, and he had friends that spoke up for him. In a way, he made her feel threatened.
He was a simple independent cultivator. Why would he be treated so specially? She did not like it.
But even after giving it a lot of thought, she could not figure it out. It would never cross her mind that he was a formation master. Her pride would not allow it.
In the end, she shook her head and left the room. She had achieved her goal.
She had seen Lin Huang step out from the room with a hard to hide the smile on his face. She had tried striking up a conversation with him, but he had completely ignored it and left right away.
His act made the head disciple of the Argent Moon Sect curious. She had to know what had happened. Never had she expected that it was the infamous ‘Ye Xiao’ and his group inside.