Chapter 61 Su Yuyao's First Meeting with Guan Yue
Having eaten her fill and fought until she was exhausted, Su Yuyao was finally called to Qi Men's side for questioning.
"Yao'er, what problem have you noticed?"
Panting heavily, Su Yuyao wiped the sweat from her face and said, "There's a huge problem! From the allocation of personnel to the operation of the branch, there are problems everywhere!"
"Oh? Then tell me!"
“First, the staff of each branch is not fixed. Although the branch lists look complete, in reality, the branch is just an empty shell! Second, there are many branches here, and they are all small in scale and have limited capabilities, so their operation is limited! Third, the timeliness is too slow. People come and ask questions before we check, which is too passive. Although the incense is burning well and people keep coming, the efficiency is too low! And... there should be other problems, but I haven't seen them yet!” Su Yuyao easily pointed out several problems she had discovered, giving Aunt Hu, who had lost hope, hope again.
"Oh my! Lord Qimen, Miss Yao'er is truly extraordinary!" Aunt Hu beamed with joy. "Miss Yao'er, do you have a solution?"
“I do have a solution, but I don’t know if you will agree to it!” Su Yuyao said.
Aunt Hu was a little curious, "Then tell me!"
"I just inspected all the temples, a total of sixteen! There are three temples with thriving incense offerings and many people, four temples with thriving incense offerings but few people, and the rest are all rather quiet. In terms of ability, four temples do divination, five temples exorcise ghosts and ward off disasters, two temples heal the sick, and the remaining five temples are those that established themselves before their time was right, trying to gain cultivation!"
Su Yuyao lowered her head and thought for a moment, then said, "The first thing to do is to remove the five unqualified companies!"
"What?!" Aunt Hu was somewhat surprised. "These branches were all established with the consent of Master Qinggan. It wouldn't be appropriate to dismantle them now..."
“They shouldn’t have erected them in the first place. Those five families were not qualified at all. They must have done something to get Qinggan to agree!” Su Yuyao said bluntly.
Qi Men's expression gradually turned serious, and he continued to ask, "Yao'er, what happens after we remove these five families?"
"After removing five, there are eleven temples left. Let's merge these eleven temples! I think we can merge them into three! Each temple should be assigned people who can predict the future, exorcise ghosts, ward off disasters, and provide medical consultations. We should select capable and prestigious people as the temple's guardians! Furthermore, after the merger, the personnel must be fixed and they cannot move between temples!"
"But Miss Yao'er, the number of disciples in Shiyuan has decreased from sixteen to three! What should we do?"
“I’ve checked. Excluding the five unqualified disciples, there are eleven left. Three of them are nearing the end of their lives, four have contracts, and the remaining four disciples will be chosen to establish households and halls for three of them!”
"This is a major undertaking..." Qi Men pondered.
“Uncle, isn’t the solution to a problem something we need to figure out before we can make a decision?” Su Yuyao thought for a moment and said, “Besides, even if it’s a major operation, we have to do it step by step. Just withdrawing from these five branches will take some effort…”
"Then... Miss Yao'er, what should we do with my branch?" Aunt Hu asked cautiously.
"Your branch will naturally be merged into other branches. When the time comes, you should predict who will come and what questions they will ask. We'll prepare everything in advance. This way, we can not only improve efficiency but also enhance our reputation!"
"Ah? You want me to merge into another branch..." Aunt Hu sighed, unwillingly.
Looking at the hesitant Aunt Hu, Su Yuyao said, "Aunt Hu, didn't you establish your shrine for cultivation? Rather than starving while bearing the reputation of your shrine, why not humble yourself and make a name for yourself first? Once your reputation is established, you can establish your own shrine later!"
"That being said, going from being the King of Steles to sitting in a ward all of a sudden, I..." Aunt Hu was still a little reluctant to let go of her good reputation.
"Aunt Hu, look at your shrine, everyone's run away. Even if you wanted to rebuild it, it would be very difficult! Besides, I don't think your disciples care much about your affairs. Otherwise, how come you can't even get any offerings? In that case, you might as well lower your pride and steadily earn some cultivation points, that's the right thing to do!"
Su Yuyao looked very young, but her words left Aunt Hu speechless.
"That's right... Everyone here has run away, so why don't we... focus on building up our cultivation first..." Aunt Hu kept trying to convince herself.
Qi Men stroked his beard, his brows furrowing unusually as he pondered Su Yuyao's bold idea.
Su Yuyao turned around and looked at the empty bowl on the table. She pursed her lips and asked softly, "Uncle... have you finished asking your questions?"
"Hmm?" Qi Men snapped out of his daze and looked at Su Yuyao standing in front of him. "I'm done asking questions, Yao'er. Go play now!"
"Um... Aunt Hu," Su Yuyao said shyly, "Ruixue bullied me earlier, and I didn't get to eat any steamed egg custard. Could you... make me another bowl?"
"Huh?" Aunt Hu was stunned for a moment, looking at Su Yuyao's messy hair, her big, blinking eyes, her round face that looked like it was covered in mud, and her pouting little mouth. How could anyone not feel sorry for her?!
Aunt Hu gently pinched Su Yuyao's chubby cheeks and smiled affectionately, "Oh my! You poor little thing, were you tired from beating the dog? Auntie loves children like you who don't stand on ceremony! Wait here! Auntie will make you some steamed egg custard right now!"
"Great! Great!" Su Yuyao clapped her hands and shouted with laughter, "White Ear! Snowflake! Flying Flower! Aunt Hu is going to steam egg custard too!"
Aunt Hu smiled helplessly and said to Qi Men, "Lord Qi Men! These kids are going to eat up all my savings!"
Qi Men stroked his beard and laughed heartily, "Aunt Hu, tell me, isn't Yao'er's idea good? Is it worth it for you to give her these chickens and this basket of eggs?"
"Of course it's great! I just don't know when it will be effective. I'm still waiting to earn cultivation points!" Aunt Hu joked.
Qi Men smiled and nodded; it seemed Aunt Hu had already agreed…
Another bowl of smooth and tender steamed egg custard was ready, and Su Yuyao, Bai Er, Rui Xue, and Fei Hua sat at the table waiting to eat.
Aunt Hu divided the steamed egg custard into four portions and gave them to the four children.
Su Yuyao slurped up the steamed egg custard and then looked at the custard in Bai Er's bowl. "Bai Er, can you finish this?"
“Bai Er can finish it!” Rui Xue said, protecting Bai Er.
"Hmph!" Su Yuyao looked at Feihua again while biting her spoon, and found that Feihua was shoveling egg custard into her mouth, and Fangchun was also protecting Feihua.
"Auntie, please make more next time! I haven't had enough!" Su Yuyao said, puffing out her cheeks.
"Alright! Miss Yao'er, next time Auntie will make more!"
After saying goodbye to Aunt Hu, Qi Men led Su Yuyao and her group through the light and back to the forest path.
Su Yuyao had only heard of the gang before but had never seen what it looked like. After seeing it this time, she didn't think it was that amazing, and the strange world she saw did not arouse her interest.
"Ruixue! Let's go scout ahead!" Su Yuyao pulled Ruixue forward, and Ruixue transformed into a snow wolf with a thud. Su Yuyao took a step and leaped onto it.
The uphill mountain road gradually becomes gentler, eventually turning into a downhill road.
"Huh? We've crossed this mountain?" Su Yuyao stood on the mountaintop, gazing into the distance, but the dense treetops blocked her view.
"What? I can't see anything!" Su Yuyao sat on the edge of the cliff, trying hard to look around. Ruixue also sat to the side, tilting her head back and sniffing the surrounding air.
Su Yuyao lay on the ground, bored, looking at the sky. Then she got up and looked back at the mountain path they had come from. "Why are they walking so slowly!"
She grew impatient and said to Ruixue, "Ruixue, let's go downstairs and wait for them!"
Ruixue sniffed the air, stood up, shook its fur, picked up Su Yuyao, and ran happily down the mountain...
As you spiral downwards, your vision gradually clears, surrounded by emerald screens, shimmering ribbons of green, and subtle, sparkling light.
Su Yuyao looked down the mountain and said excitedly, "Ruixue! There's a river there! Could it be the upper reaches of Wanhequ?"
"Awooo—!"
"Let's go play in the river for a while, and wait for them!"
"Awooooo—!"
The river flowed gently, and the starlight twinkled. Su Yuyao took off her shoes and socks, rolled up her skirt, and waded into the river.
The clear river water submerged her chubby white feet. Su Yuyao carefully stepped on the pebbles at the bottom of the river and waded into the deeper water step by step.
"Wow..." Su Yuyao stopped and felt the cool water gently lapping against her calves.
She was delighted to discover that the twinkling lights she had seen in the distance were actually fish!
"Wow! Ruixue! There are so many fish! They're so fat and big!" Su Yuyao exclaimed excitedly.
Ruixue was overjoyed. She jumped into the river and rolled around, startling the fish into darting about. This amused Su Yuyao, who laughed heartily, completely oblivious to her clothes getting wet from the splashing water.
Seeing Su Yuyao laughing heartily, Ruixue started running, spinning, jumping and hopping in the water, looking completely silly.
"Hahahahahaha!" Su Yuyao laughed so hard she couldn't stand up straight. "You big idiot! Hahahahahahahaha!"
Seeing that Su Yuyao was about to laugh so hard she bent over, Ruixue quickly ran over and held her close.
"Ruixue! Let's catch some fish!" Su Yuyao said, looking at the fish jumping and splashing in the river.
"Woo!" Ruixue cried out, chasing after the fish in the river.
"Hahahaha! You stupid dog! That's not how you catch fish!"
Su Yuyao stood quietly, gently placing her skirt in the water; the light pink skirt bloomed like flower petals.
As the fish gradually calmed down and swam leisurely in the water, Su Yuyao seized the opportunity, using her skirt as a fishing net to quickly scoop it up! A large, lively fish was caught in Su Yuyao's arms.
"Wow! Hahahaha! Ruixue! Ruixue!" Su Yuyao ran to the shore with the fish in her skirt. "I caught a fish!"
Ruixue quickly wagged her tail and went to greet Su Yuyao, protecting her.
"Hahahaha! Ruixue! Let's grill some fish!" Su Yuyao held the fish up in front of Ruixue.
"Woo! Woo!" Ruixue sniffed the fish and licked the tip of her nose.
Su Yuyao put the fish on the ground, squatted down and thought for a while, then looked up at Ruixue who was squatting next to her, "Ruixue, what should I do? I don't know how to make grilled fish. If Bai'er were here, her grilled fish would be so delicious!"
Suddenly, Ruixue became alert and looked around at Su Yuyao.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Su Yuyao looked at Ruixue's unusual behavior and became a little nervous. She hurriedly put on her shoes and socks, picked up the fish, and leaned against Ruixue.
Ruixue raised her head, inhaling the scent in the wind and listening to the sounds around her.
"What's wrong?" Su Yuyao asked softly.
Ruixue stared at the upstream of the river, shielding Su Yuyao behind her.
Mountains and waters reflect each other, a small boat drifts leisurely, and a handsome young man in a green shirt flutters in the breeze.
"Who is on the shore?" The green-clad youth leaped up, lightly touched the water's surface, and gracefully landed in front of Su Yuyao and Ruixue.
Holding the fish, Su Yuyao peeked out from under Ruixue, looked at the boy who was about her age, and said, "My name is Su Yuyao..."
The boy in green sized up Su Yuyao, whose dress was soaked, who was holding a large fish, and whose figure was plump, and said contemptuously, "You are Su Yuyao?"
"Who...who are you?" Su Yuyao asked, tilting her head.
"My name is Guan Yue, and I am the Stele King of Jiujiaoshan Hall. This river is called Jiujiaochuan, and it is also under my jurisdiction." Guan Yue looked at the fish in Su Yuyao's arms and said slowly, "You caught my fish without my permission. Doesn't that count as... theft?"
“Steal? We didn’t steal!” Su Yuyao frowned and said, “You say this river belongs to you, what proof do you have?”
"Evidence?" Guan Yue said with some displeasure, "I am the King of the Monuments here, everything here belongs to me, what evidence do I need?!"
"Then call it! Will it respond?!" Su Yuyao shook the fish in her arms and said, "The mountains and rivers, every tree and blade of grass here are all formed by nature, and the animals, birds, insects, snakes and fish here are all born of spiritual energy. How can you say that they all belong to you? Did you give birth to them? Or did you raise them?"
"I manage this place!" Guan Yue said, somewhat annoyed. "How can it not belong to me?!"
“You only manage this place; you can’t interfere with its natural processes. Our arrival here is a natural consequence, and my catching of this fish is also a natural result!” Su Yuyao said, raising her head. “Even if you are the King of the Monument, you can’t interfere with nature!”
"You!" Guan Yue pointed angrily at Su Yuyao, "If it weren't for Lord Xuanfeng's sake, I would have arrested you!"
Ruixue's eyes flashed with ferocity. She stretched out her front leg, lowered her body, and slightly bent her hind leg, glancing at Guan Yue as if she were about to pounce at any moment.
Guan Yue looked at Ruixue and couldn't help but take a few steps back.
"You don't need to consider Xuanfeng's feelings, and you have no reason to arrest me!" Su Yuyao, relying on her wolfish power, refused to back down.
"Yao'er! You little rascal! Why are you running so fast!" Qi Men's voice drifted over.
Su Yuyao quickly looked in the direction of the sound and cried out, "Uncle! Come quick! Someone is bullying me!"
"Who bullied you?" Guan Yue said, his eyes wide. "The villain is the one who accused you first!"
"Who is the villain?!"
"Whoever files a complaint is the bad guy!"
Qi Men led a group of people and a horse, slowly walking over. He bowed slightly to Guan Yue, "Young Master Guan Yue, it's been a long time. I was just on my way to pay a visit to Lord Guan Xiao!"
Guan Yue quickly bowed and replied, "Greetings, Lord Qi! My father said you would be coming and specifically asked me to wait here!"
"Lord Guan Xiao, you've gone to so much trouble!" Qi Men smiled as he looked at Su Yuyao and Ruixue, then stroked his beard and said to Guan Yue, "Young Master Guan Yue, did Yao'er do something wrong? Why are you so unhappy?"
"Uncle! What did I do wrong?!" Su Yuyao complained to Qimen, holding the fish in her arms. "I was just playing in the river for a while, and when I saw some fish, I caught one. He flew over from the water and accused me of stealing!"
"Miss! You caught fish? Oh dear..." Bai Er frowned as he looked at Su Yuyao, whose dress was soaked and the sticky fish in her arms.
"Hahahaha! Yao'er," Qimen laughed, and said, "Apologize!"
Su Yuyao was glaring angrily at Guan Yue when she heard Qi Men's words and was taken aback. "Huh? Uncle! Why do I have to apologize?!"
"Why apologize!" Fei Hua stood behind Su Yuyao, hands on her hips, mimicking Su Yuyao's tone.
"Fairy... come back quickly..." Fangchun pulled Feihua, but Feihua stubbornly broke free.
Bai Migao walked up behind Ruixue with a pattering sound, and also stuck out her buttocks, blowing air at Guan Yue.
Guan Yue was already furious, and seeing this scene made him even angrier, rolling his eyes.
"Yao'er, apologize immediately!" Qi Men said sternly. "Guan Yue is the King of Steles here. You caught his fish without his permission. Shouldn't you apologize?"
Seeing Qi Men's serious expression, Su Yuyao dared not throw a tantrum any longer. She had no choice but to walk up to Guan Yue, hand him the fish, and say, "I'm sorry, here you go!"
Guan Yue looked at Su Yuyao and the fish in her hand with disdain and said coldly, "Put the fish back into the river!"
Su Yuyao forcefully threw the fish at Guan Yue's feet, saying, "You can release it yourself! I only know how to catch fish, not release them!"
"Yao'er! Don't be rude!" Qi Men's voice became even more stern.
Su Yuyao pouted and said aggrievedly, "Uncle! Why aren't you on my side anymore!"
"Yao'er, this is Jiujiao Mountain. Although it is the territory of a sacred mountain, it is managed by Guan Yue, so you must know how to behave!" Qi Men coaxed softly. "Also, they all know your relationship with Lord Xuanfeng, so you now represent Lord Xuanfeng's reputation, and you must be even more careful with your words and actions!"
"I understand..." Although Su Yuyao was unconvinced, she felt that Qi Men's words made sense, so she could only stand far away and avoid this dead fish face.
Guan Yue stretched out his hand, releasing a wisp of green Qi from his palm. It formed a bubble that enveloped the fish on the ground and floated towards the river. With a splash, the bubble burst, and the fish fell back into the water. He turned to Qi Men and said, "Lord Qi Men, it's getting late. Let's go back."
"good."
Guan Yue glanced at the people behind Qi Men and said with a headache, "However, I didn't know so many people and...animals would come, so I only prepared a small boat..."
Qi Men smiled and said, "Then I'll trouble you to go back and inform Lord Guan Xiao to prepare the boats and wait for us at the mountain gate."
"Very well, Lord Qimen, then I shall take my leave." Guan Yue bowed and said, then leaped onto the water, boarded the green boat, and went upstream. In a short while, he turned a corner and disappeared from sight.
"Yao'er, you must stay with me and not run around anymore!" Qi Men said, pointing at Su Yuyao.
"Okay!" Su Yuyao replied.
She turned to look at her group, "Granny Fangchun, the road ahead is difficult, please hold onto Feihua."
"Yes, Miss Yao'er."
"White Ear, you don't need to stay around me, just hold onto White Rice Cake!"
"Yes, Miss."
"Ruixue, you're the last one standing!"
"Woo! Woo!"
Qimen led Su Yuyao, and Su Yuyao led her team upstream along the riverbank...
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