Chen Shaojie suppressed his panic and tried to quickly think of a way to escape. He casually laughed and said, "I suddenly remembered that I left some stuff in the dorm. I was going to go back, retrieve it, and come back here."
"What did you forget?" The corners of Tuoba Guoyun's mouth curled up slightly.
"A gift," Chen Shaojie answered without hesitation.
"Oh, a gift?"
Tuoba Guoyun asked again, "What gift?"
Chen Shaojie could only keep answering, "A gift I prepared for you, Senior."
"Why would you prepare a gift for me?"
"Because now that I've gotten promoted to the upper court, I may need your guidance in the future."
"Oh, in that case... what gift have you prepared for me?"
There's no end to this...
Chen Shaojie had realized by now that Tuoba Guoyun was intentionally making things difficult for him. What an immature guy.
Chen Shaojie was obviously just giving a random excuse, but Tuoba Guoyun was actually relentless with the questions. His questions were simply endless.
Chen Shaojie's impression of Tuoba Guoyun instantly plummeted. He felt that he must not join the Jing Yun Hall no matter what. Otherwise, working under this guy, he would surely be reduced to a slave with no human rights sooner or later.
Chen Shaojie looked at Tuoba Guoyun a little helplessly. He continued to reply in a calm tone, "I've transcribed some poetry about plum blossoms in the Book Depository. I thought you might appreciate them."
"Plum blossoms?"
Tuoba Guoyun was surprised this time and did not continue to press Chen Shoajie.
Chen Shaojie heaved a sigh of relief while his brain kept working. Since he had failed in running away, he might as well come clean about his intention.
He would just tell Tuoba Guoyun honestly that he did not want to come to Jing Yun Hall; he wanted to go to the Si Yuan Hall with Li Xuejiao. After all, the sect did not prohibit its disciples from forming relationships. This was a valid excuse.
"How do you know I like plum blossoms?"
Tuoba Guoyun suddenly asked after a moment of silence, "Did someone tell you?"
'As if anybody had to tell me that,' thought Chen Shaojie.
'Just take a look at yourself. You're a grown man but you actually have a plum blossom embroidered on the hem of your robe. Tsk, if you don't like plum blossom, would you have done something so girlish?'
"The last time I saw you at the Book Depository, I noticed a plum blossom embroidered on the hem of your robe."
Chen Shaojie pointed to the hem of Tuoba Guoyun's robe. "Just like that one."
Tuoba Guoyun looked down and nodded. "Not bad. You have sharp eyes."
After a short pause, he added, "You're here to look for me, aren't you? I told you that you can come find me as soon as you get promoted to the upper court, but you never did... When I saw that you're not coming, I actually had to take a trip to the Hall of Learning to tell your chief to assign you here. So, there's no rush, you're already a member of the Jing Yun Hall."
F*cking hell...
The news hit Chen Shaojie like a bolt from the blue. His mind was instantly sent into chaos. So the big shot had already worked his magic in the background. Chen Shaojie did not have any choice.
In that case, the"Plan B: Coming Clean"show that he had prepared was useless now. He had to think of another way.
While his mind was working in overdrive, Tuoba Guoyun continued to speak, "You probably heard me losing my temper in the hall just now. That's why you tried to leave, right?
"I can only say that you came at a bad time. Our Jing Yun Hall has committed a huge error in the Western Region a few days ago. A batch of vestments made by the Embroidery Pavilion that were sent to the Western Region have exploded one after another, causing the death of three of our disciples on the battlefield, as well as gravely injuring a disciple from another sect... Alas, this incident is a huge blemish on the Qing Yu Immortal Sect's reputation! Today, the Sect Leader and the Sect Elders have ordered us Jing Yun Hall to not only investigate the matter thoroughly, but also to find a way to fill in the gaps and to prevent similar things from happening again in the future. I can't help but feel a little anxious over this matter."
Although Chen Shaojie could not quite grasp the severity of the situation, he more or less could feel the chief's anxiety. It must be a really big problem.
Tuoba Guoyun gave Chen Shaojie a glance and nodded. "I was just about to go to the Embroidery Pavilion. Since you happen to be here, come with me."
Can I not go, chief?
Chen Shaojie frowned. He truly felt that today was not a lucky day to go out.
But he did not have the right to say no. The chief casually grabbed him, and he was already entirely under the chief's control. Following a flash of green light, they shot into the sky.
[*Crunch*]
[A friendly reminder from the Bask-in-the-Glow System: Tuoba Guoyun's body contains a Super-Grade Fire Spiritual Root. When you are close to him, your cultivation speed can become 10,000 times as fast. Would you like to bask in his glow? (Yes/No)]
[A friendly reminder from the Bask-in-the-Glow System: Tuoba Guoyun's body contains a Grade-1 Earth Spiritual Root. When you are close to him, your cultivation speed can become 5,000 times as fast. Would you like to bask in his glow? (Yes/No)]
The system prompt sounded, and Chen Shaojie once again connected to the big shot's WiFi signal. It felt so good.
Chen Shaojie suddenly remembered that the chief had promised to take him in as a disciple. If he could stay at the chief's side all the time, it would not be so bad, even if he would have to suffer occassionally...
'Enough, Chen Shaojie!'
The moment the thought flashed across his mind, Chen Shaojie forcibly kicked it out.
Are you kidding? This way of thinking was very dangerous, borderline masochistic even. He absolutely could not let it stay in his mind.
In the blink of an eye, the green ray landed steadily on Qing Dai Peak.
The Qing Dai Peak was the gathering place of the sect's female disciples. It was where the girls' dormitory was located.
The Embroidery Pavilion was a subdivision of Jing Yun Hall, specializing in the manufacturing of clothing and magic weapons. Most of the staff consisted of female disciples, so the Embroidery Pavilion was built on Qing Dai Peak.
In the lower court, the errands on Qing Dai Peak were usually assigned to female servant disciples, so Chen Shaojie had never been to Qing Dai Peak before.
He was not sure if it was just a psychological effect, but the Embroidery Pavilion felt elegant and beautiful to him. It made people want to go in and take a look.
"Let's go!"
Tuoba Guoyun led the way, walking straight towards the Embroidery Pavilion's main door.
Chen Shaojie quickly followed behind him.
Tuoba Guoyun suddenly stopped in front of the door. He turned to Chen Shaojie and said, "There are a lot of female disciples in the pavilion. You're not allowed in if you're sloppily dressed."
Chen Shaojie looked down and saw that his shirt had been pried open during the flight. He quickly tidied himself up.
When he was done, Tuoba Guoyun looked him over and nodded. He added, "No smiling when you're inside."
"Huh?"
Chen Shaojie was puzzled.
Tuoba Guoyun said, "The female disciples in the pavilion need to focus on embroidering spell arrays onto clothes. Your smiley face will distract them."
"Ah? O-Okay... I understand, Senior."
Chen Shaojie rubbed his face. He felt as powerless as a piece of meat on a chopping block. No matter how unreasonable the chief's request was, he had no choice but to obey.
Tuoba Guoyun nodded and walked inside.
Chen Shaojie quickly put on a serious face and followed after him.