"Boss Yuan, you want me to talk about the rumors regarding the fellow disciples who came with us to the sect, right?" Ming Ze asked nervously, his voice slightly tense.
Yuan smiled calmly, nodding his head slowly. He ignored the nervous expression on Ming Ze's face and simply waited in silence.
Ming Ze coughed lightly before continuing, "Cough… So, Boss Yuan, during my time working here in the restaurant, I've heard many things. Some disciples have been growing faster than the older ones, and I've made sure to take note of Emilia, just as you requested."
He straightened up slightly. "I've written everything down, so please wait a moment while I fetch my notice book!"
With that, Ming Ze stood up and hurried toward the food storage room.
He returned a minute later, a small book clutched in his hands. Approaching the table, he bowed deeply before stretching out the book toward Yuan with both hands.
Yuan, still wearing his usual calm smile, accepted the book without a word.
Ming Ze then stood straight, gave one last bow, and finally sat back down, waiting anxiously for Yuan to read his notes.
However, instead of immediately opening the book, Yuan placed it on the table and reached for his cup of spiritual tea.
Taking a slow sip, he let out a relaxed sigh.
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Across from him, Ming Ze grew increasingly nervous.
Why wasn't Boss Yuan reading the book?
A strange, invisible weight pressed down on his back, making him break into a light sweat.
Despite the growing anxiety, he did not dare to move or speak.
Even the slightest action might disturb Boss Yuan and risk incurring his displeasure.
But Yuan simply sipped his spiritual tea in a carefree manner, enjoying the quiet moment.
He let five minutes pass before finally placing the cup back on the table and reaching for the small notice book.
Across from him, Ming Ze felt an immense sense of relief. The invisible weight pressing down on his shoulders vanished instantly.
Yet, instead of immediately reading the book, Yuan took a moment to observe Ming Ze's behavior.
This had been a small test.
A way to confirm whether Ming Ze still respected him or if he had already betrayed him.
After all, his business had grown significantly.
It wouldn't be surprising if an inner disciple had taken an interest in seizing control of the restaurant, offering Ming Ze an easy way to rise in status.
If Ming Ze had indeed plotted against him, his reaction would have been very different.
Instead of simple nervousness, he would have shown true panic.
His pupils would have trembled, his sweat would have poured, and his body language would have given him away.
But none of that happened.
Ming Ze was simply nervous,not guilty.
Seeing this, Yuan dismissed his suspicions and finally began reading the notice book.
Despite being compiled in just one month, there was a wealth of information recorded.
The growth of Ming Ze's business
The number of customers visiting the restaurant
Which inner disciples had come
The rich outer disciples who frequented the place
Various rumors circulating within the sect
Which rumors were widespread and which were minor
Disciples who had encountered "lucky opportunities"
Disciples who had died shortly after acquiring small fortunes
All of this was useful.
But among everything recorded, one section was the most important the information on Emilia.
After all, they were still bound together by the Colorless Mind Demon Binding Poison.
Knowing more about your enemy is always better than knowing nothing about them at all.
And for Yuan, that was far more valuable than anything else.
During Yuan's one month failed mission, Emilia had become somewhat well known among the outer disciples.
According to several of Ming Ze's customers, her beauty attracted the attention of a few wealthy outer disciples and even two young masters,one from a middle sized family and another from a low sized family within the Seven Peak Mist Mountains.
However, she rejected all of them, claiming that she had no interest in having a Dao Companion and so all the other disciples then just accepted it and doesnt cared about her at all,but one couldnot endure this rejection.
And wounded the fragile ego of the young master from the low sized family.
Out of spite, he attempted to kidnap her.
But before she could be delivered to him, something strange happened.
The servants he had sent to capture Emilia… were killed.
Their severed heads were discovered right outside the fragile hearted young master's residence, sending a wave of fear and speculation through the outer sect.
The incident spread rapidly.
Ming Ze even included a personal note, stating that on the very day it happened, he heard the same rumor three times from different customers, and he found the whole situation rather strange.
But that wasn't all.
It was also stated in the note book that Emilia had formed a mission group with the friends she made during the sect tournament.
They called themselves the Silver Snakes.
As theire group symbol they took a snake devouring its own tail.
Recently, the Silver Snakes had gained significant fame.
They had completed a mission of an unknown difficulty level, where they fought against a group of demonic beasts led by three Blood Purification Stage demons.
Against all odds, they successfully brought back the corpses of those high staged demonic beasts, further boosting their reputation.
As for why their group was called the Silver Snakes…
Their first mission involved hunting a demonic silver snake, which initially shocked Yuan, as these demonic beasts were incredibly rare,if not outright impossible to find,in the Lower Plane.
Finding a demonic silver snake here in the lower plane was like discovering a pill capable of helping a Body Ascended cultivator survive their Ascension Tribulation.
These creatures could only survive in the Higher Plane, and under normal circumstances, they would perish if they stayed in the Lower Plane. Finding a living demonic silver snake here was practically unheard of.
However, in the Demonic Beast Community, demonic silver snakes are known as royal demonic serpents, with many high leveled demonic silver snakes cultivators in their lineage.
Killing one was considered a grave offense.
Anyone who slew a demonic silver snake would be hunted across the Higher Plane, marked for death.
Even Basilisks, in his youth, had once been forced to hunt down reckless individuals who dared to slay such serpents.
So this alone showed just how rare it was to find a demonic Silver Snake.
But the Silver Snake Royal lineage had no influence in the Lower Plane, meaning there shouldn't be any here at all.
This fact alone made Yuan highly suspicious of finding and killing an demonic Silver Snake.
And if he could obtain its corpse and refine it into a Blood Pill…
He could instantly push his Blood Purification Stage to 66%, without any obstacles.
Given enough time, he might even be able to break past the bottleneck and reach the High Layer.
But alas…
The sect had most likely already refined it into a pill or sold it off.
With this thought, Yuan could only let out a sigh.
He was helpless when it came to the Silver Snake's corpse.
"Sometimes, knowledge is nothing more than a curse.You see an opportunity right before you...But you are too weak to seize it.Or worse…You arrive too late to claim it.Such is the cruel game played by the Heavens, forcing weak cultivators into despair,wasting their time with regrets and disappointments so that they never reach the next stage."
Since this opportunity was out of reach, Yuan pushed it from his mind and focused on the rest of Ming Ze's notes about Emilia.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much of value.
Aside from details on the missions she and her group had completed and the merit coins they had earned, nothing stood out.
Of course, there were the usual rumors,gossip that one of the male members of the Silver Snakes was having an affair with one of the female members.
But such things were nothing more than baseless outer disciple gossip, and Yuan had no reason to waste time on them.
Closing the notice book, Yuan smiled.
While the information wasn't groundbreaking, it was still useful in its own way.
At the very least, it would help him with a few of his plans he had in mind.
And now, with this information in hand, he could finally begin placing Ming Ze in the territory of an inner disciple.
He would let them fatten him up, feeding him like a pig, showering him with wealth and benefits…
Only for Ming Ze to betray them in the end.
And when that moment came…
Yuan would take everything for himself.
A slow smirk crept onto Yuan's face,dark and cunning.
Unbeknownst to him, his expression had changed.
But Ming Ze, standing before him, was too nervous to notice.
Instead, he simply stood there, waiting anxiously for Yuan to say something.
So Yuan snapped out of his thoughts and returned to reality.
Looking at Ming Ze, he smiled widely, placing the notice book down on the wooden table.
Then, he picked up his spiritual tea, taking a slow sip.
From the notes, he had learned that Ming Ze had given this tea a rather grand name"Spring at the Highest."
A name that was, quite frankly, over exaggerated.
This tea was nowhere near worthy of such a title.
However…
With proper refinement and countless improvements, perhaps one day, it could live up to its name.
But until that day came…
Calling it "Spring at the Highest" was nothing more than arrogance.
For now, it was just an amusing name with a bit of potential in Yuan's eyes.