Behind the Thousand Herbs, there was a secret passage hidden behind the small wooden door. The passage leads to a stone path surrounded by bamboo trees on the left and right, along the path there are a few small stone lamp to illuminate the place. The path ends at the half-moon gate after across the gate there is a small garden cover with green grass while in the middle there is a small pavilion surrounded by a small pond filled with lotus flowers, the atmosphere was tranquil and quiet nothing could be heard but the rustle of magnolia trees that filled the garden and the sounds of a chirping bird hide behind the tall bushes.
When Tang Huan arrived he saw a beautiful woman holding a small bowl feeding fish in the pond, her hand movements were graceful and smooth as if she was dancing while being surrounded by Magnolia flowers, the scene was so mesmerizing as if she was a drawing in the painting.
not long after the woman noticed Tang Huan's arrival she turned her head, she smiled beautifully as she walked towards him "Welcome Master Tang" she bowed her head elegantly.
Tang Huan cupped his fists and greeted her politely "Miss Yuan"
That woman was indeed Yuan Xue An, she had been Jin Hao's assistant ever since he decided to enter the Hei Shen sect. Not only had her condition become much better than before she had also realized her talent as an alchemist and she was also quite talented too.
The once weak, shy, and timid Yuan Xue An who thought she would be useless for the rest of her life was overjoyed by this revelation. Since then she has devoted all her efforts to studying alchemy diligently.
Perhaps impressed by her hard work Jin Hao suddenly accepted Yuan Xue An as his disciple even though Jin Hao preferred to call her assistant because since then Yuan Xue An was in charge of solving all the trivial things that Jin Hao was too lazy to finish.
Ever since Yuan Xue An was there, all matters in White Dragon Palace moved smoothly and everyone felt grateful for Yuan Xue An's presence especially Tang Huan because normally all the tasks would be on his shoulders alone but now he could share some of the burdens with Yuan Xue An.
"Is Mr. Jin around?" Tang Huan asked.
"He, you came at the right time, Master Jin just finished cultivating." Yuan Xue An smiled brightly, since Wei Zu Tian's arrival Jin Hao's motivation had increased by leaps and bounds he even gave up his important research temporarily so he could focus to increase his cultivation.
Tang Huan also glad he comes at the right time if not he didn't know how long he must wait "Could you tell lord Jin that I came with very important news"
Yuan Xue An nodded "Sure, please wait for a moment" she bowed her head politely before walking to the small building in the corner of the garden.
Meanwhile, Tang Huan clasped his hands behind his back as he waited for Yuan Xue An to return then five minutes later Yuan Xue An came, "Follow me, Master Tang," Yuan Xue An politely said.
"Thank you, by the way, how is Master's mood today?" Tang Huan casually asks.
Yuan Xue An pondered for a moment then shrugged, "Bored as usual" she replies.
Once they arrived at Jin Hao's room she knocked twice on the door to announce his presence then he slowly opened the door, Jin Hao was sitting on the arhat chair, his body leaning on the small table holding the wine cup in one hand and another hand props his chin, he let his long snow-white hair fell over his shoulders as he stared blankly at the painting to his right, no one sure whether he was enjoying the painting or just daydreaming.
"Master, Master Tang is here" Yuan Xue An rudely woke him from his daze without a care, if he had waited for him it would have taken at least half an hour before he noticed it, unfortunately, he had learned it the hard way
Tang Huan didn't surprised he was already used to Jin Hao's strange behavior.
"Did someone change the painting, I don't think it's the same painting, do you know about this old Tang?" Jin Hao asked a random question out of nowhere.
Tang Huan's brows twitched, taking care of Jin Hao's various needs had been Yuan Xue An's responsibility ever since he became Jin Hao's assistant, it was a job he gladly gave to Yuan Xue An.
"Master Jin, I don't…."
"You tore up the painting after you found out Wei Zu Tian was here" Yuan Xue An interrupted.
Jin Hao widened his eyes in surprise "Tck, that's a good painting" he clicked his tongue in exasperation, "That dam* Wei Zu Tian, I'll kill him for this" he muttered to himself,
Yuan Xue An rolled her eyes, did Wei Zu Tian tell you to tear up the painting.
"…." Tang Huan sighed inwardly 'why is the master so strange' but to be fair all the members of Hei Shen were strange especially the King's Palace as well as the master himself.
Jin Hao waved his hand nonchalantly, he laid his back on the sofa lazily he looked at Tang Huan as if he had forgotten why he was here "Why are you here?"
Before Yuan Xue An was here it was his duty to take care of Jin Hao so he was used to his antics "Today a woman named Guan Men Niang came to our pharmacy looking for an antidote to cold poison"
One of his eyebrows rose slightly as he glanced at Tang Huan's excited face.
"Is that so..." Jin Hao gives a flat response.
Tang Huan didn't care he was already immune to Jin Hao frigid reactions but believe it or not, Jin hao's reaction is still way better than Zhao Li Xin at least you can still expect some reaction from Jin Hao whereas Zhao Li Xin doesn't seem like he awake when he receives the news.
"Master Jin, do you remember the Guan Family of Jiang Xu city, Wei Zu Tian was attracted to the Guan Family's fourteen-year-old daughter, when the Guan family rejected Wei Zu Tian's intention to propose to their young daughter beside their daughter already betrothed to another man, Wei Zu Tian was angry by their rejection he massacred the entire Guan family member, and when the daughter of the Guan family's fiancé stepped in to help his beloved fiancee, Zu Tian killed him and his entire family mercilessly."
Yuan Xue An's face turn pale she was shaken at the pitiful fate of the Guan family's daughter, then she realizes something "Is the woman who came is the daughter of the Guan Family?"
Tang Huan nodded "Yes, her name is Guan Men Niang, she has been held captive for many years by Wei Zu Tian, the sad thing is Wei Zu Tian didn't marry that woman he just kept her as one of his playthings, and just like that the young woman's future was ruined in the hands of the beast" he shook his head in regret.
"We all know from the reports how Wei Zu Tian's character is, I guess our master is a ruthless person but my master is nothing compared to Wei Zu Tian" his voice was thick with disdain.
Yuan Xue An also read the report because Jin Hao orders her to read the report from him because he was too lazy to lift the paper, when she read the report she was sick to her stomach she quickly shoved the report back to Jin Hao without finishing it. Never in her life had she saw someone so perverted, so deviant from morality like Wei Zu Tian.
"You cannot compare that beast to our master, our master has never r.a.p.ed anyone, he has never harmed innocent children, and he has never eradicated any clan or sect if they do not provoke him first. No matter how ruthless our master is, he still has a line that he never crosses, unlike Wei Zu Tian!" Yuan Xue An puffed her cheeks as he defends Zhao Li Xin wholeheartedly.
Only after being in the Hei Shen sect did she know what Zhao Li Xin's character really wasn't as bad as people say in fact compared to other sect leaders Zhao Li Xin is more fair and generous to all his people.
See her anger Tang Huan quickly redeem himself "I know - I know, I was wrong Miss Yuan"
"Don't be angry An An, one of the reasons our master exaggerates the rumors is Bei Li Yan's's responsibility" Jin Hao took a sip of his wine calmly.
"Don't call me that!" she was embarrassed by the nickname but his attention was drawn to Jin Hao the last sentence "What do you mean is Master Bei's responsibility"
Jin Hao placed the wine cup on the table gently, "The rumors were spread by Bei Li Yan When Hei Shen was just being founded, Bei Li Yan purposely exaggerated the story about our lord to create fear among cultivators so that fewer cultivators would challenge our lord. After all, our lord's condition isn't always good, so the rumors were made to scare the enemy but who would have thought our lord would keep up with his reputation....when you think about it, it's quite a funny story don't you think?~" Jin Hao chuckled.
"…."
"…."
'No, it's not!"