Legend of Mir 2: Seeking the Truth in Marfa

The Wenren family's residence wasn't the largest, but it was quite unique. The "Fu" character screen was particularly impressive.

The doorway was guarded by two sword-wielding warriors on either side, and within it stood four cultivators, likely first-level cultivators judging by their equipment. Upon seeing Wenren Muyue, they beamed with joy, bowing respectfully and clasping their fists. "Miss Muyue, you're back! Congratulations on achieving first place in the Underground Palace Trial! And first place in the team!"

"Brother Xu, Brother Ye, there's no need to be so polite. I don't have any extra gold ingots on me, so no matter how sweet you talk, I can't give you any red envelopes!" Wenren Muyue joked with a few others.

"Miss, what are you talking about! We are sincerely congratulating you! When everyone in the mansion heard that Miss Mu Yue won the first place for the family, they cheered! The second lady even gave big red envelopes to everyone early on. Congratulations to you! And this brother Brook, who has made great contributions since he was newly recruited into the family, is truly a young hero, amazing! We all admire him very much! Wenren Yu and the others have returned a long time ago, please come in, the second lady is still waiting for you." Several people were also very polite to Brook, obviously having received instructions from Wenren Muxue.

Brooke politely clasped his fists to the others, but he was wondering in his heart, when was he recruited into the Wenren Family? How come he didn't know about it?

Concentrate! Concentrating his magic power in his eyes, Brooke pretended to glance around casually.

No restrictions, no exceptions.

With a bit of caution, Brooke followed Wenren Muyue through the gate. Inside the gate was the Wenren family's front yard, spacious enough to accommodate thousands of people. In the middle of the yard stood a teleporter, specifically responsible for transporting the Wenren family.

After walking through the front yard and passing through a gate, there is a passage more than 10 yards wide. On both sides of the passage are the entrances to the various side courtyards, from the first courtyard to the second courtyard, all the way to the eighth courtyard.

According to Wenren Muyue, there are more than 20 houses in each side courtyard, which are the residences of the family's collateral relatives, guests, servants, etc.

From time to time, people walked by in the passage, and when they saw Wenren Muyue, they would come up and congratulate her. Wenren Muyue also smiled and nodded in return.

After passing the passage, there is another gate with a very high threshold.

"Muyue, your house is really big. Inside is the yard where you live, right? The threshold is really high."

"No, this is the main courtyard, where the family offices are located. The threshold is deliberately designed like this, symbolizing the birth of noble sons and preventing wealth from flowing out. The inner courtyard where we live is still in the back."

"Um, how big is your house?"

"There are 18 large courtyards, 41 small courtyards, over 300 houses, and 731 rooms. It's not very big. The mansions of the three major families on the east side of the imperial city are much bigger."

"....All right."

Cross the high threshold and enter the main courtyard.

There is another wide corridor with precious flower bonsai placed on both sides and neatly trimmed green lawns next to it.

"The main courtyard is where the family offices are located. It used to be managed by my father, but in the past two years it's been handed over to my second sister. So my second sister is quite busy, otherwise she would have achieved the fifth level long ago. Let's go meet her."

As Wenren Muyue spoke, she had already walked through the corridor and entered the main courtyard hall.

On either side of the hall stood a row of red rosewood tea tables and chairs, each upholstered in bright yellow brocade. Directly in front stood a large master chair. Behind the chair stood a massive folding screen carved from golden nanmu, depicting a dragon and a phoenix, dividing the hall into two.

"Second sister, we are back!" Wenren Muyue walked around the screen familiarly, and Brook naturally followed behind her.

Behind the screen were rows of bookshelves. After walking past the bookshelves, I came to a study in the main courtyard.

In the center of the study stood a valuable desk made of small-leaf red sandalwood, with several red sandalwood cushions placed around it. On the walls hung various elegant calligraphy and paintings, and there was also a sword hanging.

At this time, Wenren Muxue, dressed in a white robe, was sitting next to the desk, holding a metal pen knife, and seemed to be writing or carving something.

"Second sister, Brooke is here."

"Wait a moment." Wenren Muxue didn't look up and continued to work. After a while, she put down the gold pen in her hand.

"Brook, thank you for winning the first place in the underground palace trial for the Wenren family! Now, I formally invite you to be a guest of the Wenren family. This is the token." Wenren Muxue looked at Brook and handed over the white jade token.

Brooke asked curiously, "Guest? I never said I wanted to be a guest of the Wenren family."

Retainers are the subordinates kept by aristocratic families. Only those monks with potential, strength and talent will be accepted as retainers.

Retainers didn't have to do menial work or a fixed job. They were free to move around, level up, fight monsters, eat, drink, and have fun. They still received weekly gold ingots, no longer having to worry about making a living. They even received equipment and resources from the family, and received red envelopes during the Lunar New Year. They simply had to do what their master asked them to do when they needed them.

However, because they have a master, even though they are guests, they are essentially servants. They must bow and kowtow to their master, and when the master gives them an order, they must give their all, even risking their lives.

Brooke didn't want to be a servant. He could kill monsters and earn gold on his own without relying on others, and he didn't want to sacrifice himself for others.

"This is not the token of an ordinary retainer, but a white jade token of a distinguished guest that can be on equal footing with the direct descendants of the Wen family. With it, you are not only a retainer of the Wen family, but also a distinguished guest of the Wen family!" Wenren Muxue said.

"What's the difference?"

"Yes! As a distinguished guest, you are entitled to the same treatment and resources as direct descendants of the clan. You have the right to refuse orders from anyone, including the clan leader. You have the right to participate in all Wenren clan meetings. You are free to come and go. If you do not wish to stay in our Wenren clan, you can leave at any time." Wenren Muxue said slowly, "In the 300-year history of the Wenren clan, we have only issued two distinguished guest tokens. This is the third one."

The retainers were also divided into different levels.

The most common retainers hold brown tokens;

When one's strength reaches a certain level or one has made contributions to the family, one can be promoted to a regular customer and hold a cyan token;

Going up further, you can be promoted to a high-ranking guest, holding a black token;

The highest level is the distinguished guest, holding a white token.

Originally, Wenren Muxue had prepared a black guest token. However, the final results of the underground palace trial shocked the entire family. Wenren Muxue was summoned to the inner courtyard by her father. Later, Wenren Yu was summoned for further questioning. Ultimately, a white jade token was used instead.

Brooke was naturally flattered. Although he had made some contributions to the Wen family, he was ultimately just a novice monk who hadn't yet reincarnated. Treating him like a distinguished guest was a bit much.

Brooke couldn't help but look at Wenren Muyue. Did she say something to Wenren Muxue?

Wenren Muyue saw Brook looking at her and immediately guessed what Brook was thinking and shook her head. She had promised Brook a secret, and she didn't say anything.

"Why? I'm just a level 50 newcomer." Brook looked at Wenren Muxue and asked.

"In the history of the Wenren family, they have won first place in the team twice and first place in the individual competition once, but they have never won both first place as a team and as an individual. You have helped the Wenren family win an honor they have never achieved in 2 years. The Wenren family knows how to repay a favor, and this is what you deserve."

In fact, Wenren Muxue had already guessed something thanks to her father's suggestion.

Others, unaware of Wenren Muyue and Brooke's background, assumed Wenren Muyue was the mastermind. Wenren Muxue, however, was fully aware of her sister's strength and believed her first-place finish was largely due to Brooke. Without some special skills, how could a level 50 rookie stand out?

But she didn't say it out loud, instead she invited Brooke to join the Wenren family with a high-sounding reason.

"Also, I want to remind you: you have achieved second place in the individual rankings, which means you are already quite famous. If you do not join the Wenren Family and continue to be a loner like before, I am afraid you will attract attention from others."

Brooke understood Wenren Muxue's meaning. He had received the ranking reward, but he had no backing and no background, so he was easily robbed by other cultivators.

Brooke thought he'd been keeping a low profile. During the Underground Palace Trial, he'd given resources to Wenren Muyue to ensure she came in first place. He hadn't expected the final monster to strike back. People fear fame, just as pigs fear strength, especially when they're still weak.

If you want to continue staying in the Dragon Empire, perhaps joining the Wenren family is a good choice.

The reason why the Wenren family gave him VIP treatment was probably not just because of his results in the underground palace trial, but they probably guessed that he was in possession of a magical weapon.

Brooke had been careful on his way here and hadn't noticed any ill intentions from the Wenren family. Instead, he showed her full sincerity. So, he might as well trust her for once.

"If the Wenren family doesn't bully me, I will never let the Wenren family down." Brook said slowly.

"If you don't let the Wenren family down, the Wenren family will definitely help you with all their strength." Wenren Muxue replied.

Brooke reached out and took the white jade token. Two lines of beautiful characters were engraved on the white jade token: VIP, three.