The wind whistled.
In the biting cold gale, a figure in red landed, keeping Yue'er behind her.
Zhuo Fan found her to be none other than Twisted Faced Rakshasa Yue Ling.
Zhuo Fan was taken aback, "She's your little sister?"
Yue Ling burst with bloodthirst, "I don't care who protects you, but you've messed with my sister and must die!"
"You're not the first prattling fool who has said that to me, nor the last." Zhuo Fan snorted.
Yue Ling's fists tightened, her mood sinking lower, yet her determination to attack faltered.
She couldn't believe that a 6th/7th layer of Profound Heaven cultivator would dare talk back to a 3rd layer of Radiant Stage expert.
It only meant one thing, he's got strong enough backing to ignore even the likes of Twisted Faced Rakshasa.
It would be all too easy to kill the punk here and now, but then she wouldn't be alone in this mess. Her little sister would suffer too.
So her thirst for blood ebbed.
Elder Yuan jumped in with a smile, "Miss Yue Ling, it's all just a misunderstanding. Miss Yue'er was practicing while we passed by. There's no conflict here. Zhuo Fan was just praising her form. Right, Miss Yue'er, ha-ha-ha…"
Elder Yuan begged Yue'er with his eyes.
"Is it true, Yue'er?" Yue Ling turned around.
She didn't want to cause trouble over nothing. But if the punk did it on purpose, [He'll get justice alright!]
Yue'er glared at Zhuo Fan but nodded, "They didn't do anything. It was I who attacked first."
Zhuo Fan nodded inside. [The lass is stubborn, but simple, doing everything by the book. How admirable.]
But Yue Ling was unreasonable, "That must mean he instigated you. Humph, damn brat, this isn't over, not by a long shot!"
Yue Ling pulled Yue'er away as she warned, "No one in this place is good, Yue'er. Better stay away from that guy. If anything happens, come find me or senior sister Mei'er, alright?"
"Yes, sister."
Yue'er was meek as a lamb, but on her way away, she sneaked a glance at Zhuo Fan, scrunched up her cute button nose and stuck her tongue at him.
Zhuo Fan was speechless.
"Hey, is this how it's done. Her sister is to blame yet she takes it out on me?"
"There's no justice in the world, only the strong preying on the weak." Elder Yuan sighed like a calamity had passed, "And Yue Ling has only let this go because she didn't know of your backing. But you better watch out for her tricks."
Zhuo Fan shook his head. [How could I forget? This is a demonic sect and anyone can attack without excuse or warning. While outside, no matter how much one hates you, he needs a pretext if he doesn't want a bad name.]
"Elder Yuan, was Yue Ling gathering materials for Miss Yue'er?" Zhuo Fan frowned.
Elder Yuan nodded, "Yue Ling is called Rackshasa, with a nasty temper and vile tendencies, but always dotes on her little sister. It was because of Yue'er that she ended up in the Labor Office. Her little sister had poor talent and would've ended up in the Labor Office, so she stole a 7th grade pill from the Alchemy Office to remold her sister's body, leading to today's Yue'er and the punished Yue Ling. Yue Ling, who had the makings of an elite!"
"Oh, she's quite fond of her baby sister, huh? " Zhuo Fan nodded and sighed, "But her kindness is destructive."
"Why?" Elder Yuan frowned.
Zhuo Fan paused, "I heard Yue'er trains in the Demon Devouring Sabre. The crux of it lies in the demon devouring, swallowing thousands of demonic auras and grudges to increase the blade art's power and triggering the demons of the users. It would go as far as being able to kill everything in one's path. A shame…"
"What?"
"A shame for Yue'er's poor condition." Zhuo Fan shook his head, "Training in her state would have her demons swallow her into madness and she will fall apart. Sigh, Yue Ling is sure to regret it. Just that her twisted hand should've been healed with a simple pill so why isn't it healed after two days?"
Elder Yuan frowned as he caressed his beard, his eyes flashing.
"Why didn't you say anything?"
"After they yelled in my face, die in this or that way? I couldn't care less about their fate." Zhuo Fan twisted his head away.
Elder Yuan shook his head, "From your analysis, I figured you cared a lot."
"For them? We have nothing tying us so why should I? I'm no love-struck fool." Zhuo Fan snorted, "I only found it suspicious. I fear the only peaceful place in the sect will lose its tranquility."
Elder Yuan smiled, "Zhuo Fan, this is the Labor Office, the cruelest place in the sect. How is it peaceful?"
"Elder Yuan, you won't understand. Here it is either kill or be killed, live or die. Isn't this simple interaction peaceful? With the schemes and plots outside, where would you find another place like this?"
Elder Yuan held his gaze, then smiled, "Sir Zhuo has great insight. You're right, this place is pretty peaceful, ha-ha-ha…"
Zhuo Fan laughed along as they walked.
They discussed on the way about Dao and its mysteries and clicked together, wishing they'd met earlier.
Zhuo Fan had earned big time from their talks but so did Elder Yuan.
In this night, the hearts of these two had grown, widening their path into a longer future…
On the morrow, Zhuo Fan finished cultivating only to find a panicking Elder Yuan bursting in, "Zhuo Fan, come with me!"
"Another gathering? I didn't hear any bells." Zhuo Fan asked, "Asura Circle was just last night yet it's starting again? If they keep this up, the entire Labor Office will be empty in three days."
"Asura Circle can't start whenever. They won't dare do it so soon. But as this is the Labor Office, work begins early in the morning and you need to sweep the elders and Venerables' homes."
"How come I didn't do that the first two days here?" Zhuo Fan eyed him.
Elder Yuan rolled his eyes, "I covered for you. But after last night's Asura Circle, I can no longer help you. And that Yue Ling must've put your name in for revenge."
"She has the authority? Aren't you the chief here?"
"Hey, I told you already, I am only chief on the surface. Here, power is everything." Elder Yuan lamented, "I can't force you with my meager cultivation, so please don't make it hard on me."
Zhuo Fan shook his head and jumped out of bed.
Since they were friends, there was no point taking it out on the old man. [But on those broads!]
Snorting inside, Zhuo Fan followed Elder Yuan to a square with poor houses.
Others had already gathered here, with Kui Lang and Yue Ling standing in front. Seeing Zhuo Fan, eveyone gave him a cold eye.
And bloodthirst.
Zhuo Fan squinted, his mind ready.
"Now that everyone's here, we will assign tasks." Yue Ling took the roster from Elder Yuan, "Zhang Fugui, Li Yongchang, you're to clean Venerable Shi's room. Wang Tianlei, Zhang Mingqi, you're going to Elder Liang's bedroom…"
Everyone's name got called. The first three walked forward and bowed before taking a broom from the side as they skipped about.
Zhuo Fan found it odd. [What's there to be perky about when cleaning? Is there a reward involved?]
Soon, only Zhuo Fan's name remained unheard, with Yue Ling sporting a nasty grin, "Zhuo Fan, take the broom and clean Sect Leader's bedroom."
The other laborers cracked up, enjoying his plight.
Zhuo Fan didn't get the joke. [What's so funny?]
But since he wanted to go to Sect Leader's home at some point, this was the perfect chance.
[Xie Wuyue, just why the hell did you bring me here? You better have some good reason for this…]