Late December.
Wuyun Sect, Spirit Spring Mountain.
At the highest point of the pavilion, spiritual mist stretched beyond the windows. Mountain winds pushed it into slowly flowing scrolls, and occasionally a spirit bird passed through, its cry gone in a flash.
The room was quiet, with only the sound of breathing.
Jiang Man sat in his seat, an untouched cup of tea beside his hand.
Four people stood before him.
They were the four highest-ranking managers beneath the person in charge.
They were Manager Mo, the steward's assistant.
Qin Luoyang, who oversaw personnel assignments.
Wei Chuan Chuan, who handled Spirit Water allocation.
And Jiang Nian, who handled purchases of Spirit Water from outside.
This was the first time Jiang Man had gathered all four together since taking office.
The four stood ramrod straight, their expressions different, but their eyes all held the same thing.
Nervousness.
Even after weathering plenty of storms, the four could not help feeling nervous now.
Jiang Man simply sat there, his expression unreadable, his fingers resting lightly on the armrest as his gaze swept over them one by one. His gaze alone was enough to inspire fear.
After all, Jiang Man had only been working here for a few months and had done nothing, yet he weighed on them like an invisible mountain. Even the outside lineages could not escape that shadow.
How could they still think of underestimating him? Neither the new supervisor's depth nor his methods were anything they could match.
In fact, Jiang Man had mainly summoned them to remind them of a few things.
"The recent personnel changes haven't affected you, have they?" Jiang Man asked casually.
Stability here still depended on these people. He did not have so much time to manage trivial matters.
They would delay his cultivation.
So if