293 Substitution 2

Hua Yao brought Qiao Chu and Jun Wu Xie to Ke Cang Ju's living quarters, and they passed many Hidden Cloud Peak disciples along the way. They all bowed in obeisance without exception, and seemed to have lost any traces of the arrogance and sneering complacency that was seen in their attitudes within the disciples' quarters earlier. They fawned and adulated deeply and quickly stepped out of Ke Cang Ju's way. Their eyes had then showed astonishment when they subsequently noticed the two figures, Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu following right behind their "Elder Ke".

Jun Wu Xie and Qiao Chu had put on a duet performance of them falling in a dead faint earlier that morning and the Hidden Cloud Peak disciples recognised the two actors involved. They had thought they would never see their faces before them again, but who would have thought, barely two hours later, they now found the two youths still very much alive before their eyes, and even holding on to the tailcoats of Elder Ke!!

In name, Ke Cang Ju was the Master of those disciples, but none of them within the Hidden Cloud Peak dared follow Elder Ke all over the place.

Elder Ke's unpredictable temperament was well known within the Qing Yun Clan. Except for a short period of time daily where Elder Ke made an appearance when he handed out his instructions for the day, he had absolutely hated to have any disciples being around him at any other time.

Needless to say, having two of them dogging him throughout the mountains.

What did those two brats do to impress Elder Ke so? They should have on their way to become fertiliser for the herbs by now, but they had somehow managed to come out of the underground chamber alive and well?

That had never ever happened before in the Hidden Cloud Peak!

Under the puzzled stares of the disciples, Hua Yao led Qiao Chu and Jun Wu Xie into Ke Cang Ju's living quarters brazenly.

Ke Cang Ju's quarters was extremely spacious and luxuriously fitted. Within the whole of the Qing Yun Clan, the only place more spacious and luxurious was the quarters of the Sovereign, Yue Qin himself.

Within the courtyard, several grey robed servants were sweeping the floor with their heads lowered. They had not noticed the entrance of Hua Yao and the two disciples, and they only raised their heads when Hua Yao stood right before the servants.

Qiao Chu gasped loudly when the servants raised their heads.

Their faces, were no longer what he would call a face. Except for their eyes and mouths, nothing else could be differentiated from the faces. The faces looked as if they had been burned by fire, the flesh were all scarred and twisted. The lips had been cut, and half their mouths sewn together, leaving only a small gap open. Their ears and noses had also been removed, their heads deliberately smoothed out to become like a featureless ball.

If Ke Cang Ju's face was thought to be hideous, he had made his servants' faces to be downright revolting.

"These people….." Qiao Chu was shocked by these horrifying looking servants.

"They were previously disciples of the Hidden Cloud Peak, and they offended Ke Cang Ju. They were then brought here to his living quarters to serve as lowly servants." Hua Yao said, reverting his voice back to his original clear and youthful voice.

"They cannot hear, nor speak. Hence, you do not have to worry that they will divulge anything of us. In their eyes, I am Ke Cang Ju." Hua Yao said bitingly.

Jun Wu Xie looked at the faces of the servants and she could not find any signs of awareness. Qiao Chu's and Hua Yao's exchange did not seem to have been heard. They only widened their eyes in fright at the sight of Hua Yao, and shivered like mice before a cat, their fear of Ke Cang Ju, painfully obvious.