Hai Hour had just begun.
The moment Jiang Yi entered the elegant second-floor room in Heshui Cave, everyone waiting at the table rose to their feet.
Wang Heng was the first to call out, "Senior Brother Jiang is here!"
Lu Yun hurried to the doorway, bowing slightly with his hands clasped:
"Senior Brother Jiang, despite your busy duties at the Merit Oversight Court, you still spared the time to meet with us. We truly are moved to tears with gratitude."
The flattery was far too cloying.
Jiang Yi raised a hand and pressed it down lightly, stopping any further bootlicking, but did not feign modesty with polite pleasantries either.
He knew perfectly well that this was generally how Outer Sect junior brothers behaved before senior brothers from the Inner Peaks.
Whether the other party enjoyed it or not, observing every courtesy and lowering oneself could hardly go wrong.
"Let us all sit."
Jiang Yi was invited to the seat of honor. He had not come to put on airs and flaunt his authority before these old acquaintances from the Outer Sect, but to attend to serious business.
His dedicated cultivation of late had consumed considerable resources. He had little Talisman Money left in his purse and urgently needed a new source of income.
Clan scions like Wang Heng and Lu Yun knew the functionaries of the various workshops well, and were even better at currying favor with elders and senior brothers from the Inner Peaks. They were just the people he could use.
"Senior Brother Jiang, this is Tiger Ginseng freshly harvested from Herb-Gathering Peak this year. Steeped as tea, it replenishes Qi and nourishes the blood."
As Wang Heng spoke, he took out a square brocade box, set it on the table, and gently pushed it toward Jiang Yi.