“Ya-Yang shi’s butler? Which Yang shi?” Zhan shi was stunned by the elder’s report.
“It’s Yang Xuan!” the elder replied.
Zhan shi froze on the spot.
They had finally recognized the plump man standing before them as Yang shi’s butler when another one popped up all of a sudden. Was this some kind of elaborate prank working against them?
When did the position of Yang shi’s butler become so worthless that one could be found at every turn?
“What’s going on?” Zhan shi sent a telepathic message privately to the elder.
What the heck was this?
This was the Sanctum of Sages, not some ‘Guess Who Yang shi’s Real Butler Is’ event venue. For Yang shi’s butlers to pop up one after another… were they trying to stress him to death?
“I have no idea. My student just sent me the message.” At which, the elder suddenly paused for a brief moment before continuing on. “Furthermore, it seems like the person is someone whom you are acquainted with.”
“Someone whom I am acquainted with?” Zhan shi was bewildered by those words.
While he had heard of many affairs surrounding Yang shi, most of them were concerning official matters instead of the latter’s private life. On top of that, he had not had the honor of meeting the latter in person. Thus, he was not familiar with the latter’s personal relations. For example, he had not even heard of such Butler Sun prior to this matter. So, it was really perplexing to him that another one of Yang shi’s butlers would pop up and all of a sudden claim that he was acquainted with him.
“That’s right. Do you still remember Hu Yiwei?” the elder replied telepathically.
“You are speaking of… the Thousand Hands Poison Monarch Hu Yiwei?” Zhan shi subconsciously tightened his fists upon hearing that name.
“That’s right, it’s him!” the elder nodded grimly.
“The top echelon of the Poison Hall headquarters is classified by the Two Guardians, Four Eminences, Twelve Poison Kings, and seventy-two Tier-1 Hall Masters. As the Left Guardian of the Poison Hall, Hu Yiwei’s name is often raised alongside Right Guardian Shen Jue, and he’s known for his exceptional mastery of poison!”
Recalling the history surrounding Hu Yiwei, an involuntary shudder ran through Zhan shi’s body. “It’s said that his mastery of poison has already reached a level so high that he could even plant poison within an embryo through the mother’s body without harming either of the two, cursing the child to a life of suffering. The poisons that he concocts are so potent and powerful that even 9-star physicians would find themselves completely helpless before them!”
“Indeed. There was a period of time when he wreaked havoc in the Master Teacher Continent, poisoning every single person that he came by. Eventually, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters were forced to dispatch their forces to surround and take him down. If I recall correctly, Zhan shi, you were involved in that operation back then, right?” the elder asked.
“That’s right, I did participate in that operation. Combining the forces dispatched by the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters, Sanctum of Sages, and Combat Master Hall, there was a total of nine Saint 9-dan experts. We managed to corner him at an ancient city, and we set up an unbreachable trap in order to force him to surrender. Yet, who could have thought that the fellow would actually manage to forcefully break out of our defenses through the sheer potency of his poison? Six of the Saint 9-dan experts died on the spot, and it’s only by a stroke of luck that I managed to survive the ordeal.”
As Zhan shi recalled the affairs that had happened back then, hostility rippled in his eyes, and he seemed to grow slightly agitated. “It is due to that lethal poison that my cultivation hasn’t progressed at all for the past twenty years, stagnating at Saint 9-dan primary stage.”
“After that matter, the Master Teacher Pavilion headquarters organized a couple more operations, but the cunning Hu Yiwei managed to get away each time. However, all news surrounding him abruptly stopped two months afterward, and he has not been seen since then. There are rumors saying that he encountered Yang shi, and the latter subdued him and made him his subordinate!” the elder said.
Due to the vast implications of the matter, the operations conducted over the past two decades had been kept confidential among the top brass of the Master Teacher Pavilion. As such, those who had not participated in those operations would never know of these matters.
“Un, I have heard of that rumor, too. No matter how powerful Hu Yiwei is, there’s no way he would stand a chance against the powerful Yang shi. If that man who is requesting to meet me is really Hu Yiwei, then there might just be some credibility to the rumors!” Zhan shi said.
While he harbored deep anger toward the Hu Yiwei, if it was true that the latter had become Yang shi’s subordinate, he would have no choice but to forsake all thoughts of exacting vengeance.
It was true that the Thousand Hands Poison Monarch had erred greatly in the past, but if Yang shi could guarantee that the other party would use his powers to contribute to mankind in the future, that would surely be preferable to killing the other party. After all, Saint 9-dan experts were not easy to come by, and mankind was in need of all the strength it could get in order to deal with the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe.
The rumors that Yang shi had subdued Hu Yiwei had spread like wildfire at one point in time, but there had been no concrete evidence then to determine the authenticity of the rumor. As such, they could only take the matter with a pinch of salt.
But… who would have thought that it would actually be real!
“You’re right…” The elder hesitated for a brief moment before asking, “Should we invite him in?”
“Since he’s Yang shi’s butler, he should be acquainted with Butler Sun over here. It would be good to allow them to interact with one another, and perhaps, we just might be able to determine the cause of the peculiar situation earlier,” Zhan shi said.
Only someone as powerful as Yang shi could have the strength to possibly make the vicious Hu Yiwei bow in submission. If the person requesting an audience with him was truly Hu Yiwei, there should be little doubt that he was really Yang shi’s butler. After all, why else would someone as esteemed as the Left Guardian of the Poison Hall claim that he was the butler of a master teacher? That would only be lowering his standing!
Considering how the plump man before him was Yang shi’s butler as well, there was a good chance that the both of them knew one another.
“Alright.” The elder nodded before leaving the room.
Some time later, he returned with a gray-robed elder behind him.
This elder had particularly thick eyebrows, and there was a gloomy tone to his eyes, making it hard for one to read his emotions.
His true cultivation was buried deep within his body, making it impossible for one to accurately gauge his strength. However, based on what Zhan shi had said, he was likely to be a Saint 9-dan expert at the very minimum.
Hu Yiwei walked right up to Zhan shi and said with a slight smile, “Zhan Tiancheng, we meet once more.”
“Indeed, we meet once more,” Zhan shi said with narrowed eyes as he tried his best to suppress his fury.
“You need not get angry. I was the Left Guardian of the Poison Hall back then, so it’s a given that we would attempt to kill one another. But since I have become Yang shi’s butler, we can be considered allies standing on the same front now. There’s no reason for you to view me hostilely,” Hu Yiwei said.
“Indeed, there’s no reason for that anymore.” Zhan shi shook his head. “May I know the reason behind your visit? If there’s nothing much, why don’t I show you the way out?”
“Don’t be so quick to send me off. Why don’t you take a look at this first? Perhaps, it might change your mind!” Hu Yiwei flicked his finger, and a jade bottle flew over.
Zhan shi casually grabbed the jade bottle and pried it open. A moment later, his eyes narrowed, “Is this… the antidote to the poison in my body?”
Ever since becoming afflicted with the poison from the other party twenty years ago, he had sought out countless physicians, but none of them had been able to do anything about it. As a result of that, he had been unable to advance his cultivation. It was exactly for this reason that he was filled with rage for the other party. Yet, who would have thought that the other party would deliver the antidote right to him?
“Indeed. My master wishes me to cure all those patients whom I have poisoned over the years. Even though the poison you were afflicted with wasn’t too severe, it still must have caused you quite some suffering over the years. Thus, I hope to make it up to you one way or another,” Hu Yiwei explained.
“Help me relay my thanks to Yang shi.” With Zhan shi’s eye of discernment, he was able to tell whether the antidote was real or not with just a single glance, and he could hardly control his excitement with the cure to his long-term affliction right in his hands.
He hurriedly placed it into his storage ring before recalling the other matter he had in mind, so he gestured to Sun Qiang and said, “Right, why don’t I introduce the both of you to one another? This gentleman over here is also Yang shi’s butler, Sun Qiang.”
“Butler Sun, this elder over here is Hu Yiwei, Yang shi’s butler. Well, I guess the both of you should be acquainted with one another, right?”
“Yang shi’s butler?” Hu Yiwei frowned in doubt. “I am the only butler that Yang shi has. How could there be another butler?”
On the other hand, Sun Qiang’s eyebrows shot up upon hearing those words, and displeasure surfaced on his face. “Little Zhan, you said that he’s the Old Master’s butler too? You must be joking with me!”
After which, he turned his sights to Hu Yiwei and bellowed, “Preposterous! How dare you impersonate the Old Master’s butler? Men, take him down!”
