Chapter 78: Inspector (1/2)
Chapter 78: Inspector
Qin Lie was full of expectation as he hurried to Han Qingrui’s side, a sliver of hope appearing between his brows.
“Qin Lie, you brat, you have finally returned!” exclaimed Han Qingrui who was standing at the door. He seemingly had been waiting specifically for Qin Lie considering that soon as he saw Qin Lie, he immediately became excited and began to shout loudly.
“Uncle Han, is it that there is news of my grandpa?”
“No.”
“Then is there mail for me?”
“Nope.”
“Then why were you anxiously looking for me?” asked Qin Lie, extremely crestfallen.
“Come in first before we talk,” said Han Qingrui with a respectful expression. Only after Qin Lie entered did he whisper, “The Pavilion Master is also here. When you speak, you must be careful.”
“Pavilion Master?” asked Qin Lie, his expression slightly changing. “What happened?”
“There is someone who wanted to meet you. This person… is not someone who Nebula Pavilion can slight, and thus, the Pavilion Master personally accompanied them.” After Han Qingrui entered the house, he also seemed to have become cautious as he quietly whispered an explanation while he brought Qin Lie to the inner room.
Inside the room, a robust, imposing looking man, upon seeing Qin Lie walking over, smiled as he said, “You must be Qin Lie? I have heard Tu Ze talking about you a lot. Mn, I am Tu Mo.”
“Well met, Pavilion Master,” replied Qin Lie as he bowed his body in salute.
“You do not need to regard me as a stranger. Come meet our guest from Dark Asura Hall. They specifically wanted to see you.” Tu Mo waved his hand, afterwards, inclining his body to expose the person behind him.
“I said before that we would quickly meet again,” said a clear, cold voice.
A lady clothed in clothes whiter than snow was currently sitting atop Han Qingrui’s usual spot with an indifferent expression.
Her servant with that slouched body, as before, was still standing beside her like a shadow. At this time, he laughed as he observed Qin Lie with relish. “Kid, you are wearing the uniform of Nebula Pavilion, how could you possibly escape from the palms of our hands?”
Qin Lie furrowed his brows.
“This lady is Xie Jingxuan. She hails from Dark Asura Hall,” explained Tu Mo. “She has some things for which she requires your assistance. Mn, you just follow her around for a while. Come back after you finish your job.”
“Dark Asura Hall…” said Qin Lie, pondering over the meaning within Tu Mo’s words. Looking at the white clothed lady, who was called Xie Jingxuan, again, he could only helplessly nod. “Understood. I shall follow Pavilion Master’s instructions and try my best to help her.”
Tu Mo laughed, nodding as he said, “My little brother constantly talks about you and evaluates you highly. Don’t let me down.”
Qin Lie bitterly laughed as he nodded.
“I heard that you are apprenticed at Li’s Shop on Commerce Street, and that Li’s Shop has begun to sell some kind of extremely rare Spirit Gathering Board…” Tu Mo deliberately emphasized a few words before he began to laugh loudly, saying, “Qin Lie, please also help Nebula Pavilion get some Spirit Gathering Boards. Nebula Pavilion will purchase them at the same price.”
Qin Lie was stunned.
“Look, if Nebula Pavilion’s cultivating grounds could be completely full of dense spirit energy of the world, wouldn’t it be very beneficial towards raising the practitioners within the pavilion?” asked Tu Mo, his eyes shining, “That kind of Spirit Gathering Board doesn’t have a great effect towards individuals, but it is extremely suited towards Nebula Pavilion, Shattered Ice Manor, and other forces of the sort. It can allow the cultivating grounds to rise to a new level.”
“Pavilion Master Tu, I did not tell you about the matter of the Spirit Gathering Boards so that you could fight over the goods with me,” unhappily said Xie Jingxuan, frowning.
“Haha, I was only casually bringing it up so that Qin Lie could watch out for me,” embarrassedly said Tu Mo while laughing loudly.
“You returned very quickly. Mn, thus I will give you two hours of time. After two hours, you will leave with us,” indifferently said Xie Jingxuan as she looked at Qin Lie.
“Okay, I will go now and prepare,” tactfully responded Qin Lie before once again turning to Tu Mo and saying, “About the matter of Spirit Gathering Boards, I will pay attention to it. Once I return, I will talk about it with Uncle Li…” Only then did Qin Lie leave the room.
“Kid, how come you seem so reluctant?” As he had left, Han Qingrui had left with him. Smiling, Han Qingrui patted Qin Lie’s shoulders, asking, “For them to pay attention to you, that is your blessing. You should be happy.”
“What is there to be happy about…” muttered Qin Lie. From his point of view, this time that he was about to spend doing hard work would have been better spent refining a few more Spirit Gathering Boards. Slightly narrowing his brows, he then curiously asked, “What’s her identity and status? Even if she’s someone from Dark Asura Hall, there surely isn’t a need for the Pavilion Master to personally accompany her, right?”
When Xie Jingxuan’s origins were brought up, Han Qingrui’s expression became solemn. He didn’t immediately reply, instead leading Qin Lie along. Only when they arrived at a secluded area did he reply, “Naturally, ordinary people of Dark Asura Hall don’t have the qualifications to control our affairs, and the Pavilion Master wouldn’t bother paying attention to them. However, she… came over with Dark Asura Hall’s Inspector Command Token.”
“Inspector Command Token?” lightly asked Qin Lie.
“The right to dispatch and control people from vassal forces belongs to Dark Asura Hall’s Department of Internal Affairs. With the Inspector Command Token present, she can dispatch the people of Nebula Pavilion, Shattered Ice Manor, Crimson Flame Association, and Water Moon Sect. As long as it’s a force under the control of Dark Asura Hall, she can directly request and take people.” Han Qingrui laughed bitterly, continuing, “Not just you, even if she wanted me to go along, I would have to as well.”
“Such great authority?” responded Qin Lie, astonished.
“What did you think?” Han Qingrui looked at Qin Lie, then continued, “Otherwise, why would the Pavilion Master have personally come out to receive them? You know, the Pavilion Master’s father… elder brother Tu is the commander of Dark Asura Hall, and thus he himself has a certain status. Many Dark Asura Hall people who come over all pay their respects to the Pavilion Master. However, Dark Asura Hall’s Inspector is a truly powerful figure. Thus, the Pavilion Master couldn’t help but do as he was told.”
Similar to Nebula Pavilion, the divisions between people within Dark Asura Hall was extremely clear. The only difference was that, rather than calling their ranks Hall Masters, Elders, Vice Pavilion Masters, and Pavilion Master, they called them Generals, Enforcers, Commanders, Five Hall Masters, and First Hall Master instead.
Upon entering Dark Asura Hall, one would only be an ordinary General. Only after accumulating a certain amount of merit would they be promoted to the position of Enforcer, then Commander, one of the Five Hall Master, and finally First Hall Master.
Inspector wasn’t included within these ranks and instead belonged to the Department of Internal Affairs — this was the most peculiar organization of Dark Asura Hall.
The power of of Dark Asura Hall’s Department of Internal Affairs was comparable to the combined power of Ye Yangqiu and Han Qingrui within Nebula Pavilion. Not only was it responsible for collecting tribute from vassal forces, it was also responsible for controlling the actions of vassal forces.
The position known as Inspector only answered to the First Hall Master and was the sharpest, most powerful blade controlled by the First Hall Master!
Thus, the Department of Internal Affairs was a very special existence within Dark Asura Hall. The power of the Inspector which came from within was extremely great, and they could even directly kill commanders as well as directly take control of vassal forces’ martial practitioners.
After listening to Han Qingrui’s explanation, Qin Lie was inwardly shocked. He never expected that the white clothed woman who had frequented Li’s Shop and named such a high price for the Spirit Gathering Boards would possess such a background.
“No wonder the servant even has a spatial ring. So that’s how it is.” Upon understanding the reasons, Qin Lie could only accept his fate. Thinking it over within his mind, he concluded that next time he sold Spirit Gathering Boards upon returning, he would have to slightly raise the price. “What about Tu Ze and Zhuo Qian? I need to find them. I have things to return to them,” subconsciously asked Qin Lie, remembering his original purpose.