If you’d like, I can request for Wang Tengfei’s Immortal’s cave to be given to you.”
“That… that would be incredible,” said Fatty, looking excited, but at the same time a bit shy.
“Zhao Hai,” said Meng Hao coolly. He waved his right hand, and the main door opened. The young servant rushed in and gave Meng Hao a deep salute.
He looked to be about fourteen or fifteen, close to Fatty’s age. He had delicate features, and had only arrived on the mountain recently. It was said he was from the same village as Little Tiger, and that his family was rich.
“Take my spirit tablet to the Cave Dispensing Pavilion and retrieve the jade slip to Wang Tengfei’s Immortal’s Cave.” He waved his hand, and a white jade slip flew out into the young servant’s hand.
The young servant accepted the assignment, then left with a respectful expression on his face.
“Meng Hao, when are you going to come down off the mountain?” asked Fatty eagerly. “I promised the Outer Sect disciples you would go to inspect them. You can’t go back on your word, I promised them.”
“Grand Master Ouyang said that I would preside over the next Pill Distribution Day,” he said with a smile. “I believe that would be the day after tomorrow.” The two of them had entered the Sect together, three years ago. A deep friendship had long since grown between the two of them.
“Great, the day after tomorrow it is. Oh, right, our business has been doing well in the past half month. I already separated out your 80%.” He handed a bag of holding to Meng Hao, looking pleased with himself. It seemed he too understood the meaning of the Reliance Sect. With Meng Hao to rely on, who in the Outer Sect would dare to even say one wrong word to him?
Even better, the beautiful female disciples of the Outer Sect had begun to fawn over him until he fairly floated in the air. For the moment, Fatty was quite popular.
“Has Shangguan Xiu caused you any problems recently?” asked Meng Hao suddenly, his eyes flashing.
“Nobody has seen that bastard recently,” replied Fatty, his voice becoming grave. “I’ve assigned a disciple to do some spying for me, and he said that Shangguan Xiu sits in secluded meditation all day. He never comes out.”
“Just be careful,” he warned, and not for the first time. “If anything happens, snap the message token I gave you.”
Soon, the young servant Zhao Hai returned with the jade slip to Wang Tengfei’s Immortal’s Cave. Meng Hao gave it to Fatty. The two of them laughed and chatted deep into the night. It seemed Fatty didn’t want to leave. In fact, he seemed to be growing more excited.
Meng Hao was surprised at this, but when he remembered what day it was, and laughed.
“Today is the day Medicinal Fruits are distributed in the Inner Sect,” said Meng Hao.
Fatty licked his lips and nodded, his heart filled with envy at the differences between the Inner and Outer Sect disciples. Every month Medicinal Fruits were distributed, a special type of Spiritual Fruit infused with Medicinal Pills. The fruit itself tasted like a Medicinal Pill, but was much more effective than ordinary Medicinal Pills.
Inner Sect disciples received the fruits once per month.
After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the young servant Zhao Hai entered. He actually despised Fatty, but didn’t show even the slightest hint of it on his face. In his hands he carried the Medicinal Fruits, wrapped up in a large green leaf.
A delicate aroma wafted out from it, causing Zhao Hai to swallow deeply. He put the fruits down and then left.
When the large leaf was removed, the medicinal fragrance filled the air. Inside the leaf were two small, semi-transparent, light-red fruits. They seemed so delicate that they might break if you touched them. Inside each one could just barely be seen a medicinal pill.
Fatty’s eyes went wide. He had never eaten Medicinal Fruit before, but had heard it mentioned recently by some Outer Sect disciples. After making some enquires, he had discovered the distribution date, and so had hurried eagerly to visit Meng Hao. He picked up one of the fruits and put it into his mouth. He bit down, then swallowed, and a delicious flavor filled his mouth. Then, a hot sensation filled his head and spread out through his whole body.
“Amazing, amazing. I must be the first Outer Sect disciple to ever eat a Medicinal Fruit. When word gets out, the girls will be envious to death. Everyone will be envious of Master Fatty’s good fortune.” It suddenly seemed as if he had remembered something, and he snapped his mouth shut, not letting any of the fragrant aroma escape. Using his hands, he signaled to Meng Hao that he needed to leave, then ran off.
“I have proof!” he thought. “I have to find some of those female disciples and let them smell it.” The more he thought about it, the more excited he got, and he raced down the mountain even faster.
Fatty’s clever plan was obvious, causing Meng Hao to laugh. He slowly placed the remaining Medicinal Fruit into his mouth. It tasted delicious,