It started with the four heavenly marquises, and then turned into an endless stream of soul cultivators. Virtually all of the groups and organizations in the city sent people to him.
All of them came bearing gifts, which Bai Xiaochun accepted with great shock and surprise. The sight of so many gifts left him speechless, and at the same time, radiant with happiness.
The most impressive of the gifts was the very mansion in which he now lived. The heavenly marquis who had given it to him was named Chen Hai. He was a rather fat man whose face was always covered with a radiant smile when he saw Bai Xiaochun. Apparently, the man didn’t care at all about matters of cultivation base or status; he was being very sincere and welcoming.
Of course, with Bai Xiaochun’s sudden rise in status, Zhou Yixing and Li Feng also benefited greatly. That was especially true of Zhou Yixing, who had provided vital services to Bai Xiaochun.
Now that Bai Xiaochun was back in all his glory, Zhou Yixing hurried over excitedly to offer greetings. Bai Xiaochun knew that he had been through difficult times recently, and therefore encouraged him to take advantage of the situation to set up his own power structure within the city.
Zhou Yixing left excited and beaming with contentment. He wasted no time in using the fact that he was backed by Bai Xiaochun to start recruiting his own group of loyalists.
A few days later, the stream of visitors began to thin out, and Bai Xiaochun finally had the time to go for a walk in the city. Wherever he went, the soul cultivators would greet him with immense respect, causing him to excitedly stroll about in every corner of the city that he could find.
“Well met, Majordomo Bai.”
“Greetings, Majordomo Bai.”
“Look, it’s Majordomo Bai....”
The more people he heard talking about Majordomo Bai, the more he strutted about and basked in the glory. In a manner that was very reminiscent of the Spirit Stream Sect, he would sometimes clear his throat to draw the attention of people to alert them that Majordomo Bai had arrived.
Bai Xiaochun was completely intoxicated by the attention he was receiving. In fact, he even decided to go visit Devil Penitentiary....
Although Warden Li Xu wasn’t very happy about it, he had no choice but to offer respectful greetings, and then lead Bai Xiaochun on an inspection of the prison.... As for Bai Xiaochun, he loved the reversal of roles, and made sure to point out many important areas of concern as they went through the facilities.
The four deputy wardens and four dark inquisitors all clustered around him, feeling somewhat dazzled. It was almost hard for them to wrap their minds around the fact that this person had started out as a guard, then become a prisoner, and was now a majordomo....
Most stunned of all was Deputy Warden Sun Peng from Cellblock D. However, Bai Xiaochun was the type of person who remembered his old friends, and heaped quite a bit of praise onto Cellblock D. Sun Peng was soon flush with excitement.
Of everyone in the prison, it was the guards from Squad 9 whom Bai Xiaochun was most fond of. He even called the captain out by name to escort him. It was a huge honor that got the entire squad very excited.
Sighing, he said, “I really have a lot of good memories in Devil Penitentiary. This was once my home, and the place where my feelings run the deepest....”
Everyone seemed moved by his words. Soon, the group had arrived in Cellblock D itself, where they stopped in front of his old quarters. At that point, a look of reminiscence appeared on his face.
“A mere look at this place and I almost want to give up my current position and go back to being a guard!”
As soon as the words left his mouth, everyone hurriedly encouraged him not to do such a thing.
“Majordomo, sir, you absolutely mustn’t do anything of the sort. There are myriad affairs of state for you to deal with. With your position, you are responsible for the prosperity of all of Giant Ghost City!”
“That’s right, Majordomo. The prison guards of Giant Ghost City can’t do without their majordomo!”
After hearing all of their persuasive words, Bai Xiaochun sighed a bit helplessly.
“Ah, whatever,” he said. “Now that all of you put it that way, I guess I have no choice but to give up on my dream. Everything I do, I do for his highness the king! Everything I do, I do for Giant Ghost City!”
Solemn expressions overtook the faces of everyone present, and it was even possible to see teardrops glistening in more than a few eyes.
Bai Xiaochun cleared his throat. Worried that his reveling in success had pushed things too far... he decided to wrap up the inspection tour. Just when he was about to leave, he looked over at Li Xu, who had worn a very odd, borderline unsightly expression this entire time.
During the whole tour, Li Xu’s expression hadn’t changed at all, a fact that Bai Xiaochun wasn't too pleased about. Looking a bit irritated, he said, “Li Xu, I have to offer a word of criticism. In his highness the king’s moment of danger, I was the only one around to keep him safe. Where exactly were you at that time?”
After a moment of silence, Li Xu gritted his teeth and said, “That day... I, went to see Duke Deathcrier....”
Bai Xiaochun’s eyes suddenly turned very cold as he stared at Li Xu and said, “In his highness the king’s moment of danger, you went to Duke Deathcrier? Are those the actions of a true loyalist, Li Xu?”
Li Xu’s face fell. He could see how cold Bai Xiaochun’s eyes were, and realized that he had erred in his comportment earlier. Bai Xiaochun obviously wasn’t irritated by his facial expression, but by his general refusal to perk up. Realizing that he had offended Bai Xiaochun, and cognizant of Bai Xiaochun's current status, Li Xu immediately felt deep regret. Clasping hands respectfully, he began to offer further explanations.
Bai Xiaochun wasn’t the type to hold endless grudges, and didn’t bear any deep-seated ill will toward Li Xu. Therefore, to see him acting like this in front of a crowd actually left Bai Xiaochun feeling a bit uncomfortable. Seeing that the man had learned his lesson, and was now being a bit humble, he nodded faintly and then finished with the inspection.
Over the following few days, Bai Xiaochun spent all of his time strolling about the city to bask in glory. Of course, he couldn't forget how the three great clans, and especially the Bai Clan, had worked so hard to see him dead.
He was not the type to seek revenge over the smallest grievance, but considering he had power at his disposal, the thought of what the three great clans had done left him feeling quite angry. However, the giant ghost king seemed to have different plans. Other than killing the Cai Clan patriarch, and keeping the Bai and Chen Clan patriarchs captive, he didn't seem to have any plans to deal with the clans themselves.
After a few days, Bai Xiaochun started to lose patience, and hinted to the people in the city who were particularly loyal to him that it was time to put the three great clans in their place!
A few more days went by. The giant ghost king eventually summoned Bai Xiaochun and rebuked him for simply strutting around all day and doing nothing. Afterward, Bai Xiaochun sulked back to his mansion and went into secluded meditation. Sighing, he pulled out his deva soul and began to cultivate.
It wasn’t that he had forgotten about cultivation. It was just that, now that he was Majordomo Bai, he couldn’t help but revel in his new position. After all, he had been forced to keep a low profile in Giant Ghost City for so long, that the chance to swagger a bit in the open was too much to refuse.