Chapter 135 (3): Yin Shengong the Celebrity

"How are things going in the southeast, Pope Yin?" Aunt Hong asked, striking up some small talk.

"Not well," Yin Shengong sighed. "For some reason, over the past year or two, many important figures from all sides have been converging to the southeast, and it's made things very difficult for all of the southeastern subsidiary churches. Ever since Chief Strategist Dongfang set his sights on the southeast, there's been a great deal of unrest, and it feels like there's constantly trouble afoot."

"If Chief Strategist Dongfang has set his sights on the southeast, then it would be a surprise if nothing happened there. Can you go into more detail?"

"I think my point would be best illustrated through an example. All of the southeastern subsidiary churches have already been around for at least several centuries, and the branch helms that we have littered throughout all of the prefectures had established very solid foundations and been extremely well-concealed over the years. However, over the past half-year or so, many of them have been eradicated, and something like this hasn't happened for at least the past few decades."

"That is indeed rather out of the ordinary," Aunt Hong mused. "Generally speaking, branch helms that are able to remain concealed for long periods of time have certain qualities and methods that allow them to survive, so it's quite concerning that so many of them have been uprooted in such a short time."

"Indeed. What's even more concerning is that, as we both know, it's very rare for traitors to emerge among our ranks due to the effects of the Five Spirit Parasite, which means that these branch helms were eradicated almost solely by external forces."

"You can only count yourselves unlucky that the southeast had caught the attention of Chief Strategist Dongfang. Over the years, everyone has been screwed over by Chief Strategist Dongfang in one way or another, and it's often been the case that even when we've seen through his ploys, we still have no choice but to play right into his hands."

Aunt Hong had already lost count of how many times that Yan Nan had complained to her about Dongfang Sansan.

Just as she had said, there had been many a time when Yan Nan had already seen through Dongfang Sansan's intentions, but still had no choice but to play along because Dongfang Sansan always managed to design his ploys in a way such that taking any alternative courses of action would only have a more severe detrimental effect.

As the stand-in pope, Yan Nan had been targeted by Dongfang Sansan's ploys more than anyone else, and this had clearly left some mental scars.

Whenever Dongfang Sansan was involved in something, Yan Nan would always become excessively paranoid.

For example, he had held multiple meetings to discuss the purpose of the letter that Dongfang Sansan had recently sent to him.

For many people among both the Guardians and Church of the Self-Righteous, they could easily stay up talking for days on end whenever the subject of Dongfang Sansan was brought up.

The conversation wore on all the way until they reached Soaring Phoenix Restaurant, and Yan Beihan was sitting inside the restaurant, reading a book.

A steady stream of messages was flowing into her communication jade from Aunt Hong, all containing Aunt Hong's assessment of Yin Shengong from their conversation.

"Yin Shengong is not lacking in shrewdness and cunning, but he's a little timid and tentative."

"He's also a little selfish."

"He's not much of a trailblazer. In the face of hardship, he'll reflexively retreat to defend what he has rather than try and advance for glory."

"He's certainly capable, but he doesn't have much of an eye for the bigger picture."

"He wants to go higher, but lacks the courage and ability, but at the same time, he's also not content with what he has."

Yan Beihan read through the messages as soon as they were sent to her, and she felt like she already knew everything about Yin Shengong before even meeting him.

I'm surprised a master like him was able to give rise to a disciple as reckless and ruthless as Night Demon!

Yan Nan was also with her, and she turned to him as she said, "There was no need for you to come, Grandpa. It's too much of an honor for Yin Shengong to be drinking at the same table as you."

"It's fine," Yan Nan replied with a faint smile. "The fact that he has a disciple that even Dongfang Sansan has become wary of makes him worthy of my attention. I have to eat dinner anyway, so why not have a meal here? Even if you hadn't invited him to dinner, I wanted to ask him some things in private. Make sure you don't tell him who I am. I want to see if he can figure out my identity himself."

"So I have to put on an act with you again!" Yan Beihan grumbled, and Yan Nan burst into laughter.

Right at this moment, Aunt Hong's voice sounded outside.

"Pope Yin has arrived."

"Bring him in," Yan Beihan instructed.

The door was opened, and Yin Shengong stepped inside, looking both expectant and uneasy at the same time.

Before him was a resplendent hall that could've easily accommodated two hundred people at once, but there was only a single table inside, surrounded by pots of exotic plants and flowers, every single one of which was protected by a miniature spirit qi array.

The arrays were all constructed from spirit crystals, and at the center of the ceiling was a giant Moonlight Rock.

The glow of the Moonlight Rock was being refracted by all of the spirit crystals to fill the entire hall with stunning radiance, ensuring that it would be as bright as day inside even on the darkest of nights.

Draped over the ground was a uniform carpet crafted from the pristine white beast hides of ninth-rank spirit beasts, and in the distance was a zither platform.

Outside was an enormous balcony, and there also seemed to be a separate room in which one could rest.

The table was surrounded by four chairs, and there were four people in the room, two of whom were Yan Beihan and Yan Nan.

At the moment, Yan Beihan was seated snugly on a chair that was draped with pristine white pelt, while Yan Nan was seated on a hard wooden chair, reading a book.

There were also two maidservants dressed in white carefully attending to them, and on a nearby incense table sat a burner with a stick of lit incense.

The entire hall was filled with the fragrant and refreshing aroma of the incense, and the setting was so luxurious and elegant that Yin Shengong was made to feel like a hillbilly stepping into the big city.

He stood at the entrance with a hesitant look on his face, worried that he would ruin the ambience by stepping inside.

Yan Beihan raised her head to meet Yin Shengong's uncertain gaze, and a vibrant smile appeared on her face, resembling an entire garden of exuberant flowers in full bloom.

"Come in, Pope Yin," she invited.

Even though she was standing level with Yin Shengong, it felt like she was a celestial maiden from the heavens extending an invitation to a mortal, but at the same time, there was nothing haughty or arrogant about her demeanor.

"I am truly honored to be in your presence, Mistress Yan!"

He had seen Yan Beihan back at the Parasite Ascension Project, but never had he stood before her in such close proximity, and he was struck by a deep sense of inferiority in her presence.

"This is Young Mistress Yan's private room in Soaring Phoenix Restaurant," Aunt Hong explained. "No one is granted access to this room outside of Young Mistress Yan, and you're the first guest to have set foot in this place in the past two years."

Yin Shengong was even more uneasy upon hearing this.

"This is truly an unmatched honor!"

"Take a seat, Pope Yin," Yan Beihan invited.

Yin Shengong set the spirit fruits that he had bought down onto the table as he said in an embarrassed manner, "I didn't know what to bring, so..."

"It's fine," Yan Beihan said with a smile.

"This is Aunt Hong. You've already met here. Additionally, we are also joined by another one of my seniors. You can call him Elder Yan."

"Greetings, Elder Yan," Yin Shengong said in a respectful manner.

Clearly, Yan Beihan didn't want to elaborate on the old man's identity, but he was undoubtedly a venerable figure.

After the four of them sat down at the table, the two maidservants immediately began busying themselves brewing tea, and by the time the tea was ready, the delectable aroma of cooking had already wafted into the room.

The door was opened to reveal a uniform line of maidservants outside, each of whom was holding a dish, and they respectfully entered the room upon receiving permission to do so.

The dishes were placed onto the table one by one, amounting to thirty-six in total.

The table wasn't very big, and it was already completely filled by the time the eighth dish was set down, but somehow, the subsequent dishes were all stacked on top one after another without it appearing overcrowded at all.

Yin Shengong was stunned to discover that this mundane-looking table was a space-folding treasure!

From there, several jars of wine were brought in, and Yan Beihan smiled as she introduced, "This is our church's Drunken Immortal Wine, and it's a 1,500-year-old batch. Feel free to drink to your heart's content, Pope Yin."

Yin Shengong was at a complete loss for what to do.

Never had he felt so overawed in his life.

The meal promptly commenced, and Yin Shengong noticed that every dish that he sampled was subsequently left untouched by the other three, so he began eating only from the dishes directly in front of him.

He was wound up so tight that he felt like he could snap, but he still had to put on a smile and chat with his hosts.

The conversation mostly consisted of small talk, and Yin Shengong would occasionally make some contributions, but spent the majority of the time listening respectfully.

He knew that the true conversation still hadn't even begun yet.

After a few rounds of drinks, Yan Beihan turned to Yin Shengong with a smile as she said, "Come to think of it, you're the first pope of a subsidiary church that I've invited for dinner."

Yin Shengong knew that she was about to get down to business, and he immediately replied, "I am extremely grateful for this unmatched honor."

"Do you know why I invited you here today?"

"I'm afraid I do not. Could you please enlighten me, Mistress Yan?"

"You have a fine disciple, and he begged me to ensure your safety on this visit."