Mo Tianliao made them all wait and watch as he took his time eating his breakfast in front of them, before at last he took out a register of names.
“Step forward when your name is called and tell me your daily duties,” he said, flipping open the register with long, slender fingers. With a deep, melodious voice, he called out the names one at a time. Whenever he came to a disciple-in-charge, he had them put their jade token on the table as proof.
Everyone was surprised to discover that this elder of theirs had already reached the first level of the qi-refining stage overnight. After they’d all stated their duties, they reported on recent matters.
“Shishu, it’s the birthday of Yanlie-shibo of Wotian Sanctum the day after tomorrow,” said Suli, the disciple in charge of rites and ceremonies. “Woqing Sanctum should prepare a gift.”
Mo Tianliao glanced up at him. “You mean, prepare a birthday gift for Yanlie-shixiong in Woqing Sanctum’s name?” His voice was flat, masking his feelings on the issue.
Suli didn’t catch the implication; he thought Mo Tianliao was just verifying his words, so without thinking, he answered, “That’s right.”
“Hmph!” Mo Tianliao snorted. “Yanlie is a first-generation disciple, and his master is still alive. What sense does it make to send him a gift in the name of this entire sanctum?”
Suli faltered, taken aback. He’d meant to sabotage this new elder, but instead of falling for his trap, Mo Tianliao had turned the tables on him. “I mean, prepare a gift in your name,” he corrected himself quickly.
Mo Tianliao didn’t reply. He just looked back at him inscrutably. A heavy silence filled the room. In spite of his own strapping build, Suli felt a chill run down his spine under that gaze. He broke out in a cold sweat.
Just as he was about to crack, Mo Tianliao spoke. “Is this how you usually handle affairs?”
“Uh…” Suli hesitated, at a loss for how to answer.
“Does anyone here know how this should be handled?” Mo Tianliao ignored Suli and scanned the group of disciples.
“Me!” A pretty female disciple raised her hand. “Yanlie-shibo is celebrating his birthday this year because he succeeded in advancing to the nascent soul stage. The sect leader wants to reward him, hence the grand celebration. As juniors, we are not qualified to send him gifts. However, you can send him a decent gift in your and Shizu’s name, then remind Shizu to give him a reward in his capacity as an elder.”
One of her fellow disciples discreetly tugged at her sleeve, but the girl ignored her. Why should they make things difficult for such a handsome and capable shishu?
“Excellent.” Mo Tianliao nodded. “What’s your name?” She hadn’t been one of the disciples-in-charge he’d called on earlier.
“My name is Suwen,” she replied in a clear, crisp voice.
“From today onward, you’ll be the disciple in charge of rites and ceremonies at Woqing Sanctum.” Mo Tianliao handed her the relevant jade token.
Her eyes widened. After a moment of stunned silence, she joyfully accepted it with both hands. “Thank you, Shishu. I’ll do my best!”
Suwen, who came from a noble family, had long disapproved of the petty, small-minded way Suli handled things. She considered him a disgrace to Woqing Sanctum.
Suli’s face turned ghastly pale. Managing rites and ceremonies was a lucrative post. If he lost it, he’d only have his monthly allocation of resources to count on for his future cultivation needs. “Shishu, Shifu was the one who appointed me to this post.”
Mo Tianliao looked at him with the ghost of a smile. “Then go cry to your shifu about it when he returns.”
Several disciples who didn’t get along with Suli burst out laughing.
Now that they’d seen Suli’s fate, the other disciples-in-charge behaved themselves and dutifully made their reports. Mo Tianliao swiftly handled all the affairs and made some slight changes to the distribution of tasks.
He followed his own principles from his previous life when making arrangements for the assignments: Whoever would be good at a task would be the one to do it. It didn’t matter if you were drop-dead gorgeous, you could still be assigned to shoveling manure.
The second-generation disciples were all as docile as quails after Mo Tianliao put those errant disciples in their places. Finally satisfied, Mo Tianliao dismissed them all with a wave of his hand.
After leaving the courtyard, a few of the female disciples chattered among themselves. “Shishu was so imposing when he dealt with Suli earlier!”
“Yeah! Did you see he’d progressed in his cultivation in just one night? His potential is limitless. Told you Shizu couldn’t be wrong.”
“And what about his looks! Our shishu is the most handsome of his generation, right?!”
“When he glanced at me with those eyes—I could hardly breathe!”
Hearing the girls’ discussions, the male disciples traded looks. Classic woman logic—the most handsome one was always right.
After sending away the noisy juniors, Mo Tianliao straightened his clothes and made his way to the main hall of Qingning Palace.
The hall was filled with attendants in white. It was nothing like the deserted atmosphere of the previous day. When they saw Mo Tianliao, the attendants quietly curtsied in unison, and one stepped forward. “Zhenren is awake. Would you like me to inform him of your arrival?”
Mo Tianliao nodded. “Please do. Just say Mo Tianliao wishes to seek an audience.”
The attendant curtsied again and hurried off.
After waiting a moment, he heard the tinkling of bells, like clear echoes from an ancient desert. The doors to the inner chamber slowly opened, and his master, dressed in white, strode toward him. Sunlight filtered through the dark crystals, and its reflection in those cold eyes sparkled like a cascade of stars across the firmament.
Mo Tianliao unconsciously softened his breathing and diligently walked over to his master, offering his hand to help him to his seat. Qingtong glanced at the long, slender arm before him and gave him his right hand.
The cool sensation of his master’s jade-like hand sent a slight flutter through Mo Tianliao’s heart. Shouldn’t a master have white hair, a ruddy complexion, and a long, flowing beard? It was far too easy to succumb to temptation when your master looked like that!
✦ ✦ ✦
MINI EXTRA
Shishu Is Too Fierce. Shifu, Save Me!
Disciple A: Shifu, save me!
Disciple B: Shifu, I want your verdict!
Disciple C: Shifu, I don’t want to clean manure!
Eldest Shixiong: Huh?
Woodworker: They miss you.
Eldest Shixiong: Oh, I see. Well done, Shidi!
All disciples: QAQ