by Catofdreams
"It's been a while, oh Venerable One."
The Purple Lotus Clan's patriarch stepped forward. The people behind him looked at him in amazement as they saw that he looked incredibly calm.
"You weren't that respectful to me back when we last met Wen Cheng…", Xue Yan tried to taunt him, but the patriarch didn't seem to have any intention of fighting back.
"What's the reason for your visit, oh Venerable One?", Wen Cheng wanted to get straight to the point. The existence of his clan was at stake, so he had to know the intruder's intent in order to formulate a plan, but if Xue Yan really came to eliminate all of them, he wouldn't even be able to lift a finger against her.
"If I said I was here to wipe you clan completely clean, what would you do?", Xue Yan took another step forward and let out an unfathomable amount of pressure in order to intimidate her opponents.
Everyone felt her killing intent piercing their hearts. Some were unable to bear the pressure and fainted on the spot.
Wen Cheng immediately stepped forward and attacked Xue Yan, who seemed to have expected that he would do so.
"Heavenly Lotus Strike!"
A bunch of purple lotus started forming in the air and budded, revealing sharp beams of light that rained on Xue Yan. Wen Cheng seemed to have advanced the move a tier above compared to when he used it against her back then, but alas, it was still far from being able to make Xue Yan feel threatened.
"Why are you still using the same trick?", Xue Yan swatted the air in front of her. The mere movement of her hand generated a bright white light that devoured the sharp beams of light that were on their way to pierce Xue Yan as if it was nothing.
The light didn't stop moving after completely overpowering the Heavenly Lotus Strike. It continued moving towards Wen Cheng, who thought that those were going to be the final moments of his life, but as the light enveloped him, he felt a newfound power surging from within him.
The people behind Wen Cheng looked in horror as they watched their patriarch being clearly outclassed by Xue Yan, but as the light started to dissipate, they looked in amazement as the patriarch seemed to have reached a new level of power.
"Why… why did you help me breakthrough?", Wen Cheng looked at Xue Yan in confusion. He thought that the woman really did come to seek revenge for his plot against her a few years ago.
Xue Yan's killing intent suddenly disappeared. Everyone in the area slowly started to calm down and looked at the two powerful people in front of them.
"To be honest, this Venerable One didn't come here to fight."
As soon as everyone heard Xue Yan's words, they all let out a sigh of relief. They thought that this was going to be the last day that Purple Lotus Clan existed. Thankfully, they were still allowed to live.
"If that is the case, then we will give you a warm welcome.", Wen Cheng pulled out a talisman from his inside his robes and threw it up to the air. Strands of purple light rained down once again and enveloped everyone in the area, including Xue Yan.
Moments later, they were now back to the real world.
"All of you, go and prepare to welcome our guest.", Wen Cheng commanded the members of the Purple Lotus Clan, who immediately rushed back into the hotel to fulfill his command.
"Now, if this I could ask… I don't recall doing anything that could've pleased you enough to grant me my wish of breaking through to the next stage…", Wen Cheng looked at Xue Yan in confusion.
He had been stuck at the peak of the Celestial Realm for more than a century. He felt that taking the next step was a bottleneck that he could never pass through for the rest of his life. He never expected that the immortal that he had plotted against would help him break through to the Divine Realm.
"Well, consider that as payment. This Venerable One came here to ask you a favor.", Xue Yan gently smiled at him, which made Wen Cheng feel at ease.
"Oh? What is it? If it's within my power, I'll do my best to pay back the favor you've done for me.", Wen Cheng was happy to oblige. After all, he was an honorable man who would always repay the good deeds that were done for him.
"Well, it's nothing much…", Xue Yan scratched her head as she conversed with Wen Cheng. A hint of embarrassment could be seen on her face.
"Keep this a secret, okay? This Venerable One actually got married not long ago…", Xue Yan's face was flushed as she told the patriarch of the Purple Lotus Clan.
"Oh? Your husband must be quite the powerful man to be able to win your heart!", Wen Cheng tried to flatter Xue Yan.
"No… he's actually a normal mortal.", Xue Yan responded.
As soon as Wen Cheng heard those words, he was completely shocked. A mere mortal won the heart of arguably the most powerful person in the entire world.
"Erm… he must be quite the lucky man then.", Wen Cheng didn't want to offend Xue Yan, so he tried thinking of words he could use to praise her husband, but all he could think of was 'lucky'.
"He is quite charming as well! His name is Lang Jie! He's cute, handsome, and extremely hard working!", Xue Yan couldn't help but praise her husband as soon as she heard another person praising him.
"Well, back to the topic. This Venerable One's husband is actually on the way here to your hotel. He's going to stay for a few days because of business, so I want you to treat him well and deal with any problem that arises.", Xue Yan finally told Wen Cheng what she wanted.
"Is that all?", Wen Cheng felt that Xue Yan was getting the short end of the stick. She helped him breakthrough just because she wanted them to treat her husband well?
Xue Yan nodded in response. If that was all she wanted, then Wen Cheng will make sure to exceed her expectations and make her husband feel right at home.
"I'll personally make sure that he'll have a comfortable stay. Don't worry.", Wen Cheng agreed to help Xue Yan.
"Oh, right? What about you? Do you want me to prepare a room for you as well? Or are you going to stay with your husband?", Wen Cheng asked her.
"No need. He doesn't know that I'm here. I don't want him to know either.", Xue Yan responded with a smile.
"Then what are you going to do?", Wen Cheng asked her with a confused expression.
"Well, don't mind me. I'm just here to stalk him."
CHAPTER 11 – “THE PATRIARCH’S DEBT TO THE IMMORTAL HOUSEWIFE”
"We're here!"
Lang Jie and Yang Wei both took a peek outside to see the place they were staying in. As they saw the luxurious looking hotel they were about to stay in, they thanked their company's bosses for being so generous.
"If you need to go somewhere, you can contact me here.", the man who drove them to the hotel handed them a business card as he helped them take out their luggage from the trunk.
"Thank you, once again!", Yang Wei bowed towards the man. Lang Jie immediately followed suit.
"No need to be so polite. After all, we are blood brothers!", the man patted Yang Wei on his shoulder.
"Yes… blood brothers! If I have time to watch their next concert, I hope I can see you there, brother!", Yang Wei felt extremely pleased after hearing that a fellow fan had called him his brother.
"Sure!", the man smiled and went back into the vehicle.
"I'll be on my way then!", he told Lang Jie and Yang Wei as he waved them goodbye and drove away.
As the car slowly faded into the distance, Yang Wei looked at Lang Jie.
"You know, you should listen to the songs from our favorite idol group. They're pretty good!", Yang Wei tried to convert his fellow co-worker into a man of culture, but Lang Jie simply shook his head in response and walked into the hotel.
As soon as they entered the hotel, they noticed that there were plenty of people wearing traditional outfits in the reception area as if they were waiting for someone. They all looked pretty tough, so they might have been the hotel's security staff. The security seemed extremely tight, so Lang Jie thought that there was probably an important person staying in the hotel.
Yang Wei approached the receptionist and immedi
ately filled up the details about the room that their company booked for them. The two of them were handed some sort of form to fill up.
"Hey, you have to fill up the form.", Yang Wei told Lang Jie, who was just standing behind him.
"Ah, okay.", Lang Jie moved forward and took a pen from the reception table. As soon as he wrote his name, the receptionist's eyes opened wide. She signaled the men around them that the person they have been waiting for has arrived.
Before the two of them could finish filling up the form, an elderly man wearing traditional Chinese clothing came up to them.
"Is one of you perhaps Mister Lang Jie?", the elderly man asked the two men, who stood in front of him with a confused look on his face.
"Ah, yes. That would be me.", Lang Jie stepped forward. The elderly man in front of him closely examined Lang Jie.
"So you really are just a mortal…", the elderly man sighed in relief as he realized that there wouldn't be any more problems arising. If the man happened to be someone powerful, he thought that it would be a pain to take care of Xue Yan's request.
"Excuse me?", Lang Jie couldn't hear what he just said.
"No, it's nothing! My name is Wen Cheng. Please follow me. Your room has already been prepared.", Wen Cheng gave him a friendly smile as he walked towards the elevator.
"But we didn't finish filling up the form yet.", Yang Wei told the elderly man, who simply looked back and gave them another friendly smile.
"Oh, no need to trouble yourselves with such a trivial matter. I've heard that you've just arrived from a long flight, so you two should get some rest as soon as possible.", Wen Cheng had a soothing voice. Both Yang Wei and Lang Jie felt that he was some kind of a father figure, judging from the way he talked. They were both glad to meet such a friendly host.
As they moved towards the elevator, the staff that were wearing traditional outfits around them quickly approached them.
"Sir, please leave your luggage to us!", they seemed extraordinarily enthusiastic about being the ones to bring their luggage, so Yang Wei and Lang Jie found it hard to refuse.
"Oh, thank you!", the two of them politely bowed to the staff as they followed Wen Cheng into the elevator.
"Man, we sure are lucky. The company sure splurged for our trip!", Lang Jie happily told Yang Wei about his impressions on his first business trip.
"When I went to a business trip before, it wasn't this luxurious…", Yang Wei sighed.
"But, it's fine. They booked such a nice place for us. The staff seemed extra friendly too!", Yang Wei added with a smile on his face.
"I'm glad you like our service.", Wen Cheng had a large smile on his face as the two youngsters behind him.
As the elevator doors closed, Lang Jie noticed that the elderly man swiped a keycard in the elevator's controls, but none of the floors seemed to light up.
"Which floor is our room in, Mister Wen Cheng?", Lang Jie politely asked the elderly man.
"Ah, it's on the very top floor of the hotel.", Wen Cheng responded with a smile.
"The top floor? Aren't those where the extremely luxurious rooms are?", Yang Wei couldn't hold in his surprise as soon as he heard where they were staying.
"Yes. The both of you will be staying in the VIP suite. It has two bedrooms with separate bathrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, as well as a large living room with a view of the city.", Wen Cheng told them as if it was nothing, but the two people behind him looked incredibly shocked.
"The room also has its own pool and a few amenities. If you're dissatisfied with your room, we could also change it to another one if you'd like.", Wen Cheng politely smiled at them.
"N-no! It's fine!", Yang Wei immediately told Wen Cheng.
The two of them immediately looked up and closed their eyes.
"The directors at the company… thank you! I will do my best at work for you!", Yang Wei thanked the upper echelon of their company for being extremely generous.
"I will also do my best!", Lang Jie joined in. The two of them were incredibly grateful for the extremely luxurious service they were being treated to.
'If there's anyone you should thank, you should thank your wife.', Wen Cheng thought in his head, but he kept those words to himself. After all, Xue Yan told him to keep it a secret.
As the elevator continued going up, the only thing that Wen Cheng thought was how Lang Jie was lucky enough to get a woman like Xue Yan to be by his side. Other than being an honest man, he didn't see any other trait from Lang Jie that stood out. He looked like your average daily office worker.
As the elevator door opened, both Lang Jie and Yang Wei were in shock as they saw the luxurious look of the rooms on the floor. There were only four rooms in the entire floor, and each of them was massive.
"The two rooms on the left side of the floor are both yours.", Wen Cheng told them.
Yang Wei thought that he couldn't be surprised further, but as he heard the words that Wen Cheng just said, he couldn't imagine his company paying for a single room on that floor for a night. Now he was told that they had one room each, he couldn't stop his jaw from dropping on the floor.
"I-if I could ask… how much does one night in the VIP suite cost?", Yang Wei asked.
"Around $20,000, depending on the time of the year. Sometimes it goes up to $25,000.", Wen Cheng calmly responded with a smile, as if the amount was nothing special.
"T-that much?!", Yang Wei calculated how much the trip cost. If they stayed for seven days and six nights, at the very least, the company was spending $120,000, at the very least, on lodging alone, and that was for one person only…
"Lang Jie… maybe the company is entrusting us with an extremely important mission…", Yang Wei was now starting to dread whatever work was coming for them. If the company spent that much on just lodging, the work they were assigned must've been the biggest project that the company has ever had.
"R-right…", Lang Jie also felt the same way.
"Well, you two gentlemen should relax. If you have any requests, you can personally call me here.", Wen Cheng handed the two of them a business card.
"Wen Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of the Purple Lotus Group."
The two of them were even more shocked as they found out who the man in front of them was. The elderly man in front of them was the CEO of one of the biggest groups in the continent, yet there he was, politely serving them as if they were people that were more important than him.
Both Yang Wei and Lang Jie immediately bowed down towards Wen Cheng, who simply lifted his hand, as if to tell them to get up.
"There is no need to be so polite. You can even drop the formalities if you want.", Wen Cheng smiled at them gently, which moved the hearts of Yang Wei and Lang Jie.
'How could such an influential man be so nice to us mere peasants?', both Yang Wei and Lang Jie had identical thoughts.
"Thank you very much!", they expressed their gratitude in unison.
"No problem. If there's anything else, don't hesitate to call me.", Wen Cheng once again showed them his politeness.
"Now, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave.", Wen Cheng bowed towards the two, which made them panic.
"You don't have to bow! Please, get up!", Yang Wei was scared that anyone would see them. The CEO of the Purple Lotus Group bowing down towards the two of them, who were simple office workers, didn't seem to leave a good taste in his mouth.
"I hope you two enjoy your stay.", Wen Cheng went into the elevator. As the elevator doors closed, he waved at the two while wearing yet another gentle smile. He noticed a figure on the far right peeking from one of the rooms. The door was slightly open, and her eyes seemed to form into hearts as she watched Lang Jie from a distance.
Her eyes suddenly met with Wen Cheng's and she gave him a thumbs up. Wen Cheng responded with an OK sign.
"They don't seem to be bad people. Good, good…", Wen Cheng was pleased after finding out about Lang Jie. He was scared that Lang Jie might turn out to be someone evil since he saw how
much Xue Yan seemed to care for him. Just a few words from him could lead Xue Yan down a dark path, which could easily spell humanity's doom.
Lang Jie and Yang Wei looked at each other. The jet lag they felt earlier seemed to have disappeared as they saw the luxurious rooms that were waiting for them.
"W-well… we should go and rest, huh?", Lang Jie couldn't wait to get into the room. Yang Wei also felt the same as he nodded towards Lang Jie in response.
"Well then, I'll see you later!", Yang Wei moved towards his room and quickly went it. He couldn't wait to experience how extremely wealthy people lived, even if it's just for a week. He wanted to savor every moment.