"Unfortunately, Senior Martial Brother Han Xing is not able to come along this time because he is at a critical juncture in his cultivation," Hu Nan said after giving everyone a quick briefing on their duties. "Because of that, there will be more attention on us this time, so none of us can afford to screw up. The last thing we want is to cause Elder He to lose face in front of a subordinate sect."
Han Xing.
The moment his name was mentioned, everyone's eyes revealed a slight tinge of disappointment.
As a direct disciple of Elder He, Han Xing was a core disciple of the sect, a true star who possessed status far above even the inner disciples!
Not only did outer disciples admire him, but even inner disciples aspired to become like him.
As Elder He's direct disciple, Han Xing would usually accompany Elder He on his annual work trip.
It was unfortunate that he could not make it this time. Otherwise, it would have been a rare opportunity to interact with and maybe even get some valuable pointers from him!
"I know, it's a bummer," Hu Nan naturally saw the disappointment in their eyes. "But don't worry, as long as everyone does their job properly, we inner disciples will not make things difficult for you, and all of us can get our deserved rewards."
"Understood!" the three of them answered loudly once more.
"Good!" Hu Nan nodded in satisfaction. "Now then, Elder He is big on punctuality, so he should be arriving anytime soon."
As though waiting for his cue, the sky that was just turning bright suddenly turned dark once again.
"Here he is," Hu Nan looked up and smiled.
The three outer disciples looked up as well, and saw a building descending upon the courtyard.
Zhao Yunxiao's heart skipped a beat, not from shock, but from pure excitement.
That was because he recognised this huge building that was quickly descending from the skies.
Once a cultivator reached a certain level, they would be able to construct their own personal heavenly palace, something that could act as a means of transport, accommodation, or even as a weapon.
These heavenly palaces could come in all shapes and sizes as well, depending on the preferences of the cultivator.
Some were the size of a small carriage, while others were as large as a city.
Crazy Winter Heavenly Palace.
That was the name of the structure descending down upon them right now – the heavenly palace that belonged to Elder He.
Elder He's Crazy Winter Heavenly Palace took the form of a ten storey high white tower, and was known to be of the ice element.
As it neared the ground, Zhao Yunxiao could feel a cold aura coming from it that completely overwhelmed the winter chill.
The Crazy Winter Heavenly Palace did not land on the courtyard completely, hovering just a few centimetres above the ground instead.
That was when the door to the white tower opened, and a middle aged man appeared from within.
He Luoxuan.
Unlike Mo Tianfeng from the monthly cultivation lectures, this Elder He of the Black Tortoise Sect looked to be in his mid forties, and sported short black hair.
His long robes were not exceptionally luxurious but it still looked inexplicably good on him, giving off the feeling that this was how people were supposed to be dressed in the first place.
"Is everyone here, Hu Nan?" He Luoxuan asked with an amiable smile.
"Yes, Elder He," Hu Nan clasped his fists while answering. "What are you lot waiting for? Hurry and greet Elder He!"
"Greetings, Elder He!"
Song Xiaoqiao finally spoke for the first time as she joined the outer disciples in greeting the newly arrived elder.
"Hahaha, all of you are too tense! Relax and don't worry too much. This is just a casual routine trip so just rest easy and enjoy yourselves," He Luoxuan laughed. "Now then, since everyone is already here, let's get going!"
He Luoxuan waved his hand, and the world around them stirred.
It was as though air itself had materialised, turning into invisible platforms that lifted the disciples by the feet.
Just like that, the five disciples were picked up from the ground and sent straight in through the door of the Crazy Winter Heavenly Palace.
The door closed behind them after the last of them entered, and the heavenly palace shot into the skies once more before starting to make its way towards their destination at a speed unimaginable to the outer disciples within.
Thankfully, the inside of the Crazy Winter Heavenly Palace was like a separate world altogether, and all of them were shielded from the sheer drag caused by the ridiculous speed that they were going at.
Because of that, the three outer disciples who were here in the Crazy Winter Heavenly Palace for the first time were able to safely look around in all their excitement.
On the other hand, the two inner disciples appeared much calmer in comparison. It was obvious that this was not their first time in the heavenly palace.
After instructing the two inner disciples to take care of the outer disciples, He Luoxuan disappeared up the stairs.
Song Xiaoqiao left shortly after as well, leaving only Hu Nan with the outer disciples.
"Come, I will show you to your room," Hu Nan told them after letting them marvel around the first floor for a few minutes.
The trio followed Hu Nan up to the second floor, where he brought them to a huge room with more than ten beds within. Not just that, but there were also rows of drawers at the end of the room.
"This is the common room for attendants. There is really no need for sleep since the journey will only take half a day, but do what you want," Hu Nan said. "However, what you definitely need to do during this time is to bring tea and snacks to Elder He's room at the top floor in an hour's time. You can find everything you need for that from the drawers in your room. As for who to make the tea and snacks, or who to serve it to Elder He, I will leave it to the three of you to decide among yourselves. Understood?"
"Yes, Senior Martial Brother Hu!"
"Good. If you need to, come find me at the fourth storey, but only if it is important enough."
With that, Hu Nan left as well, leaving only the three outer disciples alone.
"So, who is good at making tea and snacks?" Zheng Biru immediately looked at the two of them.
Zhao Yunxiao and Yu Hang exchanged glances.
"I can't really make food..." Yu Hang said awkwardly.
"Why don't we first check what the available ingredients are?" Zhao Yunxiao suggested. "After all, different snacks and tea require different methods of preparation. We can figure things out together after seeing what we have."
"I guess that's true," Zheng Biru nodded.
The three outer disciples went to the end of the room and started opening up the numerous drawers, taking stock of everything that they had at their disposal.
That was when they realised that the drawers did not only contain ingredients for making tea and snacks.
Apart from those, there were also elixirs, ointments, medicine, clothes, talismans, and a bunch of other things.
Of course, the outer disciples knew better than to take anything without permission.
"All right, what can we make with these?" Zheng Biru asked once they confirmed the ingredients that they had to work with.
Yu Hang remained silent, his eyes nervously darting between his two senior martial brothers.
Looking at his two comrades, Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch.
This was the problem with most disciples of the sect.
They focused far too much on things like improving their cultivation levels and combat techniques, ending up neglecting simple life skills.
Did they really think that they could do a good job as an attendant without first learning essential things like this?
But this might be a good thing as well.
Even though his culinary skills were nowhere near that of Gu Qiansi, it could at least be considered decent enough.
Furthermore, Zhao Yunxiao had already done his research on Elder He Luoxuan, and roughly understood his tastes and preferences.
In all honesty, he was confident of making something that could perfectly satisfy the elder here.
And since both Zheng Biru and Yu Hang seemed to be completely clueless, they could at least avoid the situation of having differing opinions on what to do next!
"We have ten different types of tea leaves here," Zhao Yunxiao started. "But according to what I've heard, Elder He likes a mixture of Angels' Flight with Crass Lily at a ratio of three to one. The tea leaves to water ratio should be at one to six, boiled for three and a half minutes and served at a temperature just below boiling."
Zheng Biru and Yu Hang raised an eyebrow each.
"As for the snacks, I've heard that Elder He likes to have sliced fruits with his tea," Zhao Yunxiao continued. "We can serve a few pieces of jade peaches along with the tea, with the jade peaches sliced into small bite sizes. It should be slightly chilled as well, to create a refreshing contrast between the hot tea and the cool snack. Is that okay with everyone?"
Zheng Biru and Yu Hang paused for a moment, then silently nodded.
These past few seconds had completely changed their impression of Zhao Yunxiao.
Both of them had heard about the incident two days ago where Zhao Yunxiao fought against an inner disciple at the Snow Moon Arena.
Because of that, their impression of Zhao Yunxiao had become that of a reckless person who did not use his head very much.
While they did not show it, that actually made them feel especially nervous about this trip.
And that bad feeling of theirs was made worse after receiving the first task that was rather ambiguous to say the least.
The two of them already knew that they would be serving Elder He as attendants on this trip, but they did not expect to have to make the snacks and tea to be served as well!
But now, they suddenly felt much more assured about the days to come.
Mixture of tea leaves?
Ratio of leaves to water?
Even the temperature to be served and what the snack pairing should be?
If everything that Zhao Yunxiao said about Elder He's preferences was true, then there was at least one person among them who knew exactly what to do.
With that, the importance of Zhao Yunxiao skyrocketed in their hearts, and he instantly become a reliable pillar that they would have to depend on during this trip.
Now, it was just a matter of confirming if what he said was true, or if he was simply spouting nonsense!
Zhao Yunxiao smiled upon seeing their reactions. "Let's get working then."
Under Zhao Yunxiao's instructions, the trio started to prepare for the tea and snacks.
***
An hour passed, and Zhao Yunxiao found himself at the top floor of the heavenly palace, standing in front of a door with a tray of tea and sliced fruits in his hands.
After preparing the tea and snacks, the outer disciples had thought about who should be the one serving it to the elder.
Considering the fact that being able to serve the elder was a rare opportunity for outer disciples like them to leave a good impression on the elder, all of them should logically be eyeing this opportunity.
The problem was that while it might be a chance to impress the elder, there was also a chance of leaving a bad impression on the elder at the same time.
Since they had relied purely on Zhao Yunxiao's suggestion when they prepared the tea and snacks, Zheng Biru and Yu Hang naturally had zero confidence in leaving a good impression on the elder this time.
Therefore, both of them respectfully turned down this opportunity, leaving it to Zhao Yunxiao.
Then again, Zhao Yunxiao himself was not one hundred percent confident either.
After all, what he knew about the elder was all third party information, and he had never heard or observed it from He Luoxuan himself.
Who knew if the information was correct?
Zhao Yunxiao knocked lightly on the door. "Elder He, disciple Zhao Yunxiao is here to serve your tea and snacks."
"Come in," He Luoxuan's voice came from within.
Huu-!
Zhao Yunxiao took a deep breath, gently opened the door, and decisively stepped into the room.