“Was all of this your doing?”
Several days later, Yi Qing Venerable finally emerged from seclusion. Fu Lingyi, leading the disciples from the branch peak, knelt outside her residence to welcome their master. Yi Qing, however, had heard about the various events that transpired within the sect during her seclusion. Facing the kneeling group, she didn’t even spare them a glance, her gaze fixed solely on the leader. Slowly, she uttered, “Was all of this your doing?”
Fu Lingyi lowered herself further. “This disciple is unsure what Master refers to.”
“Come in with me.”
Yi Qing Venerable’s residence was rarely entered by others; she always cultivated in seclusion there, preferring peace and quiet. Fu Lingyi lowered her eyes slightly, looking around with a hint of curiosity, her hands clasped before her, appearing obedient and well-behaved.
“You know I don’t enjoy saying such things,” Yi Qing sat on a meditation cushion, circulating her energy to gather her vital blood and reduce energy consumption. “Ten years ago, your mother died in that great battle. You should have been left to wander the mortal world, but Xian Rong had a kind heart. She allowed you to stay in Chong Xiang Sword Sect and even pointed me towards taking you as my direct disciple.”
After saying these few sentences, it seemed to cost her considerable effort. She let out a long sigh and continued, “These past ten years, I have done my best to nurture you, teach you the Emotionless Path, and make you the sect’s chief disciple, all to repay your mother’s kindness from back then.” She paused, her voice rising in anger. “But what about you? You’ve ruined your cultivation future by finding some… dao companion, and spreading impure matters!”
Yi Qing’s usually calm eyes were now sharp with anger, her hair flying loosely, and she frowned deeply.
This was the first time Fu Lingyi had seen her like this. Internally startled, she quickly knelt, appearing pious. “Master, it is not so. This disciple is not abandoning her cultivation future, merely…”
“Merely what? Give me a clear explanation!”
“Merely… a few days ago, this disciple was eradicating demonic cults and encountered… encountered a pitiful woman. When she lost her memory and was disoriented, she insisted on being this disciple’s dao companion. Seeing her pitiable state, this disciple brought her back to the mountain, hoping she could recover properly and not be agitated. There were absolutely no such intentions. I hope Master sees the truth!”
She had originally planned to reveal her entire scheme.
But now Yue Jin was genuinely amnesiac, and she herself wasn’t clear if she should continue with her revenge, or let her leave the mountain directly.
Or perhaps keep her on the mountain and properly guide her, so she could start anew.
Since she hadn’t figured things out herself, she decided not to tell her master too much, lest it make her cultivation unstable and cause her extra worry.
“Is that the truth? Then why are rumors spreading like wildfire outside, saying you deeply love this woman, tried repeatedly to win her over but failed, and were even dumped twice?” Yi Qing’s expression was knowing.
Fu Lingyi: “…”
Where did ‘twice’ come from?
No, why hadn’t the outside rumors stopped? What kind of nonsense had they concocted now?
“It is all baseless. The words outside… are not to be believed.”
“Master, truly not to be believed.”
“Alright,” Yi Qing had to believe her. Her disciple had been pure of heart for many years, and moreover, such groundless rumors were indeed common. “But damaging the sect’s reputation is certainly punishable. Go and receive it. Also, tell Ling Yue to stop the rumors. Don’t let the Sect Leader hear about it when she emerges from seclusion, or the punishment won’t be this light.”
Fu Lingyi bowed. “Yes.”
She had anticipated this kind of thing the moment she brought Yue Jin back. The power of rumors was terrifying, impossible to guard against.
Fortunately, it was Master’s punishment.
Light.
These past few days, Yue Jin had been living like a carefree immortal. She was either teasing spiritual beasts, or fishing in the spring water, and even took the time to tidy up her inner courtyard. She even sneaked into the back courtyard every day to soak in the spirit spring. That spirit spring truly had a miraculous effect; her left leg was gradually getting better, no longer faintly aching, and she could occasionally support a little weight.
Now Fu Lingyi wasn’t bothering her anymore.
That person’s conscience was clearly wracked back and forth, sometimes wanting to discipline her, sometimes wanting to indulge her. Now, with her master emerging from seclusion, she was even busier, rushing around with her feet not touching the ground.
Good news piling up.
Yue Jin was in excellent spirits. She happily thought that even if Yun Lingyue stood in front of her and mocked her a few times, she could laugh and praise the mockery.
She was lounging on a rattan chair, basking in the sun, when she saw Yun Lingyue actually run past her, not sparing her a glance. This made her abruptly flip up and sit straight, utterly confused.
“Where’s she rushing off to in such a hurry? Could it be that when their master emerged from seclusion, she soared into the sky, landed directly, and knocked herself unconscious?” Yue Jin smirked, leaping from the chair. “In that case, I should go join the excitement.”
Yun Lingyue’s movements were light and agile. In an instant, she summoned her sword from the branch peak summit and flew towards the main peak. Seeing she had lost track of the person, Yue Jin once again grabbed a disciple nearby, using her usual method to go up.
But today was truly strange; it wasn’t just her, all the other disciples were rushing to the same place.
“Sister, don’t worry too much. Senior Sister will be fine.”
The junior disciple flying on the sword turned back to look at the motionless Yue Jin and gave a reassuring smile.
“Worry about who? It wasn’t their master who fell, but Fu Lingyi?” Yue Jin suddenly jolted. Seeing her excitement, the disciple turned to comfort her, “It’s really fine, Sister. This is a common occurrence. Senior Sister works very hard managing the sect alone. If she doesn’t do well, she’ll be punished by Master, but it won’t be too severe.”
“This happens often?”
“After all, the Sect Leader and Master are in seclusion year-round,” the disciple was careful not to say the wrong thing. “Senior Sister has to cultivate, oversee all matters, avoid any mistakes or oversights, and even more so avoid bringing shame to the sect outside. It’s very difficult. And when that Demon Lord was still alive, she constantly tripped Senior Sister up and ruined the sect’s reputation. During that time, Senior Sister didn’t have a single good spot on her body. Fortunately, the Demon Lord is dead… Ah, we’re almost there.”
Yue Jin was utterly confused by what she heard. She shifted her stance and looked down from the sword. At the east corner of the main peak, a dense crowd of people formed a semicircular enclosure. In the middle was a figure hanging weakly.
The sword stopped. The junior disciple jumped off the sword and gently set Yue Jin on the ground. Yue Jin stabilized herself, looking curiously at the crowd, and walked straight inside. The disciples were silent. Seeing her approach, they simply parted, clearing a path for her to squeeze through.
As she approached, the figure’s outline gradually became clear. It was someone with their hands raised high, tied together by a rope that reached out of sight. Their clothing was half-removed; the smooth back was no longer there, replaced by clearly visible whip marks. Fresh blood stained the edge of their clothes.
Who was that?
Fu Lingyi?
Yue Jin wanted to go closer to investigate, but was blocked by Yun Lingyue. She turned to look and saw Yun Lingyue’s expression was one of suppressed emotion, the arm held out in front of her was trembling, her eyes staring ahead without blinking, her lower lip bitten tightly. The sound of whipping still echoed in her ears, seemingly unwilling to stop for a long time.
“Senior Sister…”
A voice sobbed and called out. Yue Jin looked in the direction of the sound and saw a familiar person.
And that person saw her too.
Before Yue Jin could react, she saw that person rush over, puffed up with anger. She shoved her hard, making her left leg unstable, and she fell to the ground.
“Yu Xia, what are you doing?” Several disciples nearby quickly tried to stop her, unsure of her intention.
“It’s all your fault!”
Yu Xia’s tears streamed down her face like large, crystal tears. “If not for you, would Senior Sister be punished by Master? If not for you going down the mountain and talking carelessly, would there be such rumors? How dare you show your face here!”
“The Demon Lord constantly made things difficult for Senior Sister, and after she died, someone who looks like the Demon Lord keeps adding to Senior Sister’s troubles. Where is Heaven’s justice?!”
“Senior Sister is such a kind and gentle person, why must she suffer like this!”
She finished yelling angrily, covered her face with her hands, and sat on the ground, crying weakly.
Yue Jin didn’t refute.
She simply stared blankly at the person being punished, watching the whip held in someone’s hand, swung down from high.
The person swinging the whip was holding back tears; the person receiving the whip was motionless.
Fu Lingyi had no expression, as if it were something she was used to.
Was it because she had experienced it many times before?
Was it because of her provocations before, and this time too?
Yue Jin didn’t feel any sense of satisfaction this time. She simply stared blankly at Fu Lingyi’s enduring face.
“The Demon Lord is dead, but you’ve brought misfortune. It’s you…”
“Yu Xia.”
Yun Lingyue’s cold voice rang out from behind.
“Haven’t you been punished enough by the confinement last time? Don’t forget who disobeyed Senior Sister’s instructions and let her down the mountain.”
Yue Jin tilted her head back to look. From this angle, she could only see Yun Lingyue’s jaw opening and closing. “If you dare cause trouble and act recklessly again, according to Chong Xiang Sword Sect’s rules, you will be expelled from the sect!”
Yu Xia left crying. The whipping had also ended. The person executing the punishment had used a spiritual whip artifact that wouldn’t damage meridians, whipping a full one hundred and thirteen times, leaving the punished person’s back a bloody mess, before finally stopping.
Yun Lingyue hurried forward. Fu Lingyi stood up, pushed away the disciples who rushed to help her up, and slowly pulled up the clothes on her back. Yue Jin pushed herself up from the ground. She was standing on the outer edge now, and no one noticed her, except Fu Lingyi.
But after Fu Lingyi raised her eyes for a moment, she looked away again.
She wasn’t used to letting others see her wretched state.
Yun Lingyue was extremely worried. She sent the other disciples back and trailed closely behind Fu Lingyi as she left.
The crowd dispersed, receding like a tide, leaving only Yue Jin standing alone where she was.
Yue Jin’s eyes were hazy, but in the blink of an eye, she would see the bloody, blurry image as if seared into her heart.
So all along, Fu Lingyi would suffer this kind of pain after she came to provoke her.
She was completely unaware.
That junior disciple was absolutely right.
She was a demon who brought misfortune.
She was a monster rumored in the mortal world to eat raw flesh and drink blood, a monster that would eventually gouge out human hearts.
Yue Jin laughed mockingly. She reached into her robes and took out the jade token she had always treasured. She held it in her hand and gently caressed it.
The jade token was soft and warm, carved with the words “Chong Xiang”.
Had she unintentionally damaged the Chong Xiang Sword Sect, which A Ling treasured most?
It turned out she couldn’t find A Ling all along because Heaven’s Dao forbade it.
Heaven’s Dao was punishing her, this monster’s, foolish delusion.
Good chapter 😌