Chapter 19: With All Due Respect, Everyone Here Is Worthless
Chapter 19: Forgive Me for Speaking Honestly, But Everyone Here Is Trash
“Fellow Daoist, do you know how to play the flute?”
Li Lian gently waved her feather fan, smiling as she asked.
“Play the flute?”
Chen Ping’an shook his head. This profound art—wasn’t it something only his ex-girlfriends excelled in?
“No matter. If you don’t know how, after joining my Five Poisons Cult, there are musicians who will teach you the techniques...”
Li Lian waved her hand with hopeful anticipation.
“Gulp!” Xia Xiaoliang quickly finished a bun, seemed to choke a bit, swallowed, and excitedly asked, “I can play the flute too—can I be a deputy leader?”
The Five Poisons Cult was renowned, even stronger than the Qingyun Sect. If she could become a deputy leader there, wouldn’t her status far surpass that in Qingyun Sect?
Wouldn’t she have plenty of disciples rushing to bring her delicious buns?
“And who is this?”
Li Lian turned to Chen Ping’an with a gentle gaze.
Chen Ping’an quickly smiled, “This is my cousin.”
Cousin?
Upon hearing this, Xia Xiaoliang trembled slightly and dared not say more.
She knew the patriarch didn’t want to reveal information, so she quickly fabricated their relationship.
“Oh—”
Li Lian nodded with a smile. “So you’re Brother Wang’s cousin, then you’re no stranger. If Brother Wang becomes a deputy leader of the Five Poisons Cult, your cousin can also seek a deputy hall master position.”
“Chief Steward Li, didn’t you say the positions were already filled? Why add another person now?”
On the immortal vessel, a handsome young man shouted angrily.
“Chief Steward Li, this guy’s cultivation is low. Who knows where he’s from? He might be a spy sent by some demonic sect!”
Another youth angrily exclaimed.
The others also expressed their opinions heatedly.
“Shut up, all of you!”
Li Lian snorted coldly. Her soft voice carried a deadly chill, instantly silencing all the youths.
“When I become deputy leader, the first thing I’ll do is replace this Li Lian!”
One youth muttered softly.
“Brother Wang, please.”
Li Lian made a beckoning gesture, her face full of joy.
In her eyes, the others had no chance; this Wang was simply too beautiful. If even men could be moved, how could the cult leader not be?
Chen Ping’an exchanged a look with Xia Xiaoliang, and the two leapt onto the opposite immortal vessel.
Xia Xiaoliang retracted her own vessel, stood beside Chen Ping’an, and began eating buns again as if no one else was around.
“Such a glutton.”
Li Lian thought to herself but didn’t care much, descending onto the immortal vessel.
Whoosh!
The immortal vessel rose, enveloped in a luminous shield, and plunged into the vast miasma.
At first, the mist in the valley was thin, growing denser deeper inside until it completely obscured vision.
After flying for an hour, the vessel finally broke through the miasma and landed in a picturesque valley.
Then, disciples of the Five Poisons Cult arranged for everyone to disembark and escorted them to different residences.
Chen Ping’an and Xia Xiaoliang were assigned to a beautifully scenic courtyard with pavilions, flowing streams, and a sizable jade-green lake.
After a brief rest, a disciple notified Chen Ping’an to go out and learn flute playing.
As Chen Ping’an stepped out and walked a short distance along a path, he saw many cult disciples standing guard around a large courtyard.
“Let me out!”
A hoarse female voice suddenly called from inside.
“Cult Leader, without Red Cloud Leader’s order, you cannot go out.”
A man replied mechanically.
“Didn’t Li Lian say many handsome men were recruited? Can’t I just go out and take a look?”
The woman pleaded.
“They are still learning the flute. Once they master it, you may go out and choose.”
The man answered.
The woman fell silent, and the courtyard returned to quiet.
Chen Ping’an clicked his tongue in surprise.
What kind of cult leader was this, imprisoned here? The main cult leader of the Five Poisons Cult or just a deputy?
From their conversation, it seemed that these handsome youths recruited by Li Lian were for the woman imprisoned inside.
Chen Ping’an continued walking, soon entering a garden where many young men had gathered.
An elderly musician with white hair, around sixty, held a jade flute to his lips, playing a beautiful melody.
“Damn, that kid’s here!”
“Bad luck!”
Many glared angrily at Chen Ping’an as he approached, no friendly expressions among them.
Chen Ping’an was unfazed. He sat at the back, flicked a jade flute between his fingers casually, showing no intention to learn.
“Kid, if you don’t want to learn, then get out of the Five Poisons Cult! Don’t compete with us for the deputy leader position!”
One youth scolded angrily at Chen Ping’an’s nonchalant attitude.
Seeing the provocation, Chen Ping’an’s eyes grew cold.
A bunch of brats without even a trace of maturity dared to challenge an ancestor who had lived ten thousand years?
“Forgive me for speaking plainly, but everyone here is trash—”
Chen Ping’an stood, hands behind his back, smiling faintly. “Even if I refuse to learn the flute, the deputy leader position will still be mine.”
At this, all the youths rose at once, eyes blazing with killing intent as they surrounded Chen Ping’an.
“The Chief Steward is here!”
Just as the old musician was about to reprimand, a figure floated in, and he quickly called out, then sat down.
Li Lian had arrived.
“Chief Steward Li, you’re just in time. Wang here refuses to learn the flute and disrupts the class. Please drive him out!”
A malicious youth quickly complained.
“Drive him out?”
Li Lian sneered coldly, her tone indifferent. “Someone, drag this troublemaker out.”
Two cult disciples rushed over and dragged the youth away, no one knew where he was taken.
The others immediately fell silent.
“Brother Wang, I hope you’re not scared?”
Li Lian leaned in with a suggestive smile.
Chen Ping’an shivered.
Though his beauty attracted both men and women, his orientation was normal—he had no interest in either transvestites or men.
He shook his head.
“They’re just useless trash. How could they scare me?”
“Leader, please come back...”
A shout came.
A waft of fragrant breeze swept through as a woman in a blue long dress appeared.
She looked like a madwoman, hair disheveled and appearance miserable. Upon entering the garden, her gaze searched like a starving wolf, murmuring, “Quickly play the flute. Whoever plays well will be rewarded with a deputy leader position!”
“Chief Steward, what do you think of this...”
Two cult disciples who had chased after her looked at Li Lian with difficulty.
“No matter, let the leader choose first.”
Li Lian waved her hand carelessly.
This was the cult leader of the Five Poisons Cult?
Seeing this madwoman, even Chen Ping’an was stunned.
Like the character Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden in Dream of the Red Chamber, the Five Poisons Cult shattered all his previous understanding.
Seeing the leader arrive, many handsome youths picked up jade flutes and began playing.
Chen Ping’an flicked his jade flute, swinging it carelessly, utterly relaxed.
He had no intention of performing this profound art to please such a madwoman cult leader.
“You, yes, you!”
Under tangled hair, the Five Poisons Cult leader’s eyes suddenly lit up as she stared at the swaying jade flute and ran towards Chen Ping’an.
Chen Ping’an: “...”
(The End of This Chapter)