Divine Blazing Mountain cared about their disciples and even the lowest-ranked ones were given their own residence. The residences were very classical in design, a square or rectangular shape with an entrance usually on the southern side. The four walls of the residence had various rooms built into them that faced a central courtyard. The rooms to the north were for the disciple, his main wife, and their children. The rooms to the east or west were for lower-ranked wives' families while any remaining space was for the servants.
Chen Wentian was intrigued by the rankings for the wives and the clear delineation in status and influence. He had never thought about what would happen if he had multiple wives. In the past, his virgin mind could only dream of such a future but now it seemed quite possible... Would he have to assign rankings to his women as well? Perhaps he could simply go by his disciples' ranking… but what if some of them weren't his disciples?
He felt a serious headache creeping in and shook his head to clear his messy thoughts. He focused back on the task at hand. He picked a residence at random and flew down to the courtyard.
The occupants in there sensed his arrival and quickly emerged from their rooms and gathered in front of him.
They bowed and greeted him nervously, "Sir immortal, we are at your command!"
Chen Wentian nodded and studied them. There were many women who wore the same outfit and were obviously servants. There were five women that looked to be wives with one in the lead that wore rich red silk robes and glittering jewels. There were also four children of various ages but they were all young.
"All the servants can leave. The wives and children, stay." He said.
The plain-looking servant girls scampered off quickly, leaving nine people in the courtyard.
"You all can rise, who is the main wife?"
The richly dressed woman bowed, along with two children.
"Sir immortal, my name is Fen Xiaohong." She said.
Chen Wentian got a closer look at her face and noticed she was quite beautiful, youthful and vibrant despite having two children. Her breasts were also massive and seemed to pop out of her dress. Fen Xiaohong noticed his downward gaze and her expression became coy and she smiled bashfully.
He frowned… what was she trying to do?
"What is your husband's name and status? Also, tell me about the family circumstances." He commanded.
Fen Xiaohong bowed again and started to explain the details of this household. Their husband was a relatively talented core disciple at the 6th Level of the Spirit Initiate Realm named Fen Ziyong. He was in the same generation as Fen Ziping but a few years younger at age twenty-nine. He joined the sect master on a secret mission and they had not heard from him since.
The household comprised of five wives and four children. She was the first wife and had two children aged six and three. She was a descendant of the sect master and betrothed to Fen Ziyong from a young age. The second wife was also a distant relative as well as the third. They each had one child that were still toddlers. The fourth was a pretty commoner who was barely into adulthood while the fifth was the Glacier Palace disciple named An Yu.
"Sir immortal, if I may…" Fen Xiaohong asked in a soft voice, "What happened to Fen Ziyong?"
"He's dead. That's all you need to know, dead." Chen Wentian replied.
"Ah!"
"Noooo!"
Several cries rang out as their worst fear was confirmed. The second and third wives began to sob while all of the children wailed in sorrow. They had lost their husband and the children had lost their father. It was understandably tragic. The fourth wife and An Yu were both silent, probably due to their lack of status.
Fen Xiaohong on the other hand was silent but looked ready to faint. She clutched her forehead dramatically and seemingly lost her balance. She stumbled forward blindly, falling towards Chen Wentian who was in front of her. He sensed her and instinctively retreated several paces. She had expected to land perfectly in his arms and did not expect his ungentlemanly reaction. As a result, she tripped over her feet in a panic and fell flat on her face. She picked up her bruised ego and wailed pitifully but nobody cared about her cries.
Chen Wentian didn't give the slutty woman another glance and instead walked over to An Yu.
"You are An Yu?" He asked.
"Yes, sir immortal!" She bowed.
She was not a great beauty but she had a kind face framed by brown curly locks. He noticed the tired circles around her beautiful green eyes and her unhealthy look. He discreetly checked her health with his spiritual sense and found she was very weak and probably starved.
He grimaced… it was obvious she was not treated well by the others. Yet despite this, the special charm and icy aura from the Eternal Winter Sutra still made her more captivating than the other four women combined.
"Good, lead me to your room. The rest of you, stay here."
An Yu was stunned and didn't know what to say. The other four women looked at her with varying degrees of jealousy while Fen Xiaohong had a mask of pure hatred. Seeing their reactions frightened An Yu and brought up memories of the past few months.
Fen Ziyong had abused her but also protected her from the other wives. When he was away, she had suffered greatly under Fen Xiaohong. Now that he was dead, her days would not be good...
She made her decision and shakily nodded her head. "Yes…"
An Yu's mind was in turmoil as she led Chen Wentian to her small room on the west side. Her only solace was that Chen Wentian was an immortal and he was also young and handsome. Perhaps if she served him well, he would keep her?
She led him in and went to the bed.
Chen Wentian didn't notice her actions and looked around her room. It was mostly bare except for the necessities. She had nothing, only day after day of suffering. It was a tragic life and it reminded him why he had promised Xu Lanyi and the other four that he would save these women. When he finally turned to the bed, he was shocked by what he saw.
An Yu had pulled her robes off her shoulders, revealing her bare chest, petite breasts, and several purple bruises. A single tear fell as she looked up at him. Her eyes were filled with soulful sorrow and hopeless surrender.
"Sir immortal… please be gentle…" She whispered.
Woosh!
Chen Wentian immediately used his spiritual force to pull her robes up and cover her chest.
"Ahem… umm…" He stuttered, "It's a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding! I just wanted to talk to you. My goal is to return all Glacier Palace disciples to back Glacier Palace, nothing more!"
"Really… are you tricking me?" She asked uncertainly.
He shook his head, "No, definitely not. I am completely serious!"
He described the situation of the two sects to her briefly. He emphasized that she had been sold out by Murong Aiyin and that none of this was her fault. He also told her that any disciple that had lost their virgin yin would not be kicked out of the sect and would still be able to cultivate. She didn't believe him at first but he assured her over and over. He described how he saved the first group of two hundred disciples and then the final battle at Lakestone Keep and the death of both sect masters.
Finally, An Yu couldn't take it anymore. Her emotions spilled out and she burst into tears.
"Wuuu… thank you… thank you…"