“Qi Hao of Longshou Peak, why are you appearing in the back mountains of my Xiaozhu Peak?”
Master Shuiyue’s face was icy cold, and a trace of chill flickered in her eyes.
Qi Hao’s expression shifted slightly upon hearing this cold interrogation.
He knew very well that today's incident would likely not end smoothly.
Trespassing into the back mountains of Xiaozhu Peak—if he hadn’t been discovered, it would’ve been fine. But now that he was caught on the spot, if he couldn’t give a reasonable explanation, he would definitely be punished according to sect rules.
His mind raced, frantically searching for an excuse, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t come up with a convincing reason, and he started to panic.
With no other option, he said,
“Martial Aunt Shuiyue, would you believe me if I said I accidentally wandered into the back mountains of Xiaozhu Peak?”
Master Shuiyue’s eyes were full of contempt as she mocked coldly,
“Such a clumsy excuse—do you take me for a three-year-old child? Today, you trespassed into the back mountains of my Xiaozhu Peak, intending to commit indecent acts toward one of my disciples. I will demand an explanation from Cang Song!”
With that, Master Shuiyue turned to look at Lu Xueqi, her tone softening a bit.
“Xueqi, are you alright?”
Lu Xueqi shook her head and replied calmly.
“Master, I’m fine.”
Seeing that Lu Xueqi was indeed unharmed, and that she had even held the upper hand in the earlier battle with Qi Hao, Master Shuiyue felt secretly pleased.
Among the younger generation of the Qingyun Sect, Tongtian Peak’s Xiao Yicai and Longshou Peak’s Qi Hao were always considered the strongest.
Now that Qi Hao had been unable to gain an advantage over Lu Xueqi, it clearly demonstrated her disciple’s extraordinary strength.
In her heart, she was already convinced that Lu Xueqi would undoubtedly be the champion of this year’s Seven Peaks Tournament.
“Qi Hao, your trespassing into Xiaozhu Peak today will not be brushed aside. Come with me to Longshou Peak. I want to hear what Cang Song has to say about how he disciplines his disciples!”
Qi Hao’s face changed drastically upon hearing this. Just as he was about to beg for mercy, Master Shuiyue had already taken Lu Xueqi and, with a flash of their figures, they flew toward Longshou Peak.
Seeing this, Qi Hao didn’t dare to delay. He quickly summoned the Ice Immortal Sword and followed after them.
Moments later, Master Shuiyue and Lu Xueqi arrived at Longshou Peak.
The disciples of Longshou Peak saluted them one after another.
“Martial Aunt Shuiyue!”
Master Shuiyue swept her cold gaze across them and asked.
“Where is your master?”
One disciple quickly replied.
“Martial Aunt Shuiyue, Master is currently handling sect affairs in the Discipline Hall.”
Master Shuiyue nodded slightly and said no more, leading Lu Xueqi straight toward the Discipline Hall.
As soon as the two left, the disciples of Longshou Peak broke into excited whispers.
“That fairy just now beside Martial Aunt Shuiyue—who is she? She’s so beautiful!”
“Yeah, is she a junior sister from Xiaozhu Peak? How come we’ve never seen her before?”
“Does any senior brother know who she is? I’ll pay handsomely for information!”
The moment Master Shuiyue and Lu Xueqi arrived at Longshou Peak, the disciples had immediately noticed the breathtaking beauty beside her—she looked like a celestial maiden descending to the mortal realm.
At that moment, Qi Hao rushed back to Longshou Peak.
Seeing his junior brothers discussing Lu Xueqi, he felt a twinge of unease and quickly grabbed one to ask where Master Shuiyue had gone.
Upon learning they had gone to the Discipline Hall, his face turned pale, and he hurried after them.
Meanwhile, inside the Discipline Hall, the atmosphere was tense.
Cang Song’s expression was frosty as he stood with several disciples, glaring coldly at the figure kneeling in the center of the hall, and rebuked harshly,
“Wang Lin, instead of focusing on your cultivation at Longshou Peak, you dared to go down the mountain without permission. Do you admit your guilt?”
Wang Lin, kneeling on the floor, trembled all over. His face was pale, and his voice quivered.
“Master, this disciple admits his guilt...”
Upon hearing his disciple admit guilt, Cang Song wasted no time waiting for an explanation. He directly passed judgment.
“Wang Lin, since you have admitted your guilt, I shall punish you according to the Qingyun Sect’s rules. You left the mountain without the sect’s permission, violating the sect’s regulations. As punishment, you are to meditate in Black Wind Cave behind Longshou Peak for one month. Do you accept this punishment?”
Wang Lin’s face turned deathly pale upon hearing his master’s words.
He knew full well that Black Wind Cave in the back of Longshou Peak was a place of punishment for those who violated sect rules. Inside, icy winds blew year-round, piercingly cold and unrelenting.
Even for cultivators, staying inside for a month would be agonizing.
But since he had indeed broken the rules, he had no choice but to accept the punishment.
However, Wang Lin still felt somewhat indignant.
Previously, he had in fact already gone to his senior brother’s residence to request leave.
But Qi Hao had recently become obsessed with going to Xiaozhu Peak, and Wang Lin had been unable to find him.
Adding to that, an urgent letter from home informed him that his mother had passed away and the burial was imminent, leaving him no choice but to leave Longshou Peak on his own and return home.
Now that his master had found out, he had received severe punishment.
Wang Lin’s face was haggard. Having just suffered the loss of his mother and now being treated so harshly by his master, his heart felt ice-cold.
Thinking of the punishment awaiting him in Black Wind Cave, he couldn’t help but want to defend himself and try to reduce the sentence.
“Master, this disciple has indeed violated sect rules and should be punished. But I truly had an urgent matter—several days ago, my elder brother sent a letter saying that my mother had passed away, and he wanted me to return home to handle the funeral affairs. I tried to seek leave from Senior Brother Qi Hao, but he hasn’t been on Longshou Peak lately, and I really had no other choice. I had to go down the mountain on my own. I beg for Master's understanding.”
Cang Song’s expression slightly softened upon hearing this.
But in his eyes, breaking the rules was still breaking the rules. How could personal matters be an excuse for leniency?
He questioned coldly,
“I do understand that you had reason to go down the mountain. But you still violated the rules. If you couldn’t find your senior brother, why didn’t you come find me?”
Wang Lin’s face turned slightly awkward, but he still answered truthfully.
“Master, you’ve been in seclusion recently. I searched for you several times, but couldn’t find you. That’s why I made the decision to leave on my own.”
Upon hearing this, Cang Song’s heart tensed slightly.
He recalled that recently, due to some important matters, he had left the mountain under the pretense of entering seclusion.
But this was something no one could know. So he continued to interrogate coldly.
“You couldn’t find me, but your Senior Brother Qi Hao is usually on the mountain. How could you not find him either? Just because you couldn’t find him once, couldn’t you have gone a second time?”
Wang Lin gave a bitter smile.
“Master, lately Senior Brother has been like a different person. He’s hardly been on Longshou Peak at all. I really couldn’t find him.”
Cang Song’s brows furrowed slightly, and he pressed further.
“Then where has your Senior Brother Qi Hao gone? Why couldn’t you find him?”
Wang Lin quickly bowed and said,
“Master, lately Senior Brother has mostly not been on Longshou Peak. He’s been at Xiaozhu Peak.”
Cang Song was slightly stunned upon hearing this.
He never would have thought that his prized disciple had been going to Xiaozhu Peak.
When he considered that Xiaozhu Peak was full of female disciples, his face darkened instantly.
He couldn’t help but think to himself: Could it be that my prized disciple is being led by his desires, trying to curry favor with that old woman Shuiyue? Or even hoping to find a female disciple from Xiaozhu Peak to become his Dao companion?
This thought made rage surge in Cang Song’s heart.
In his eyes, Qi Hao was the future successor to Longshou Peak’s leadership, and it was well known throughout the peak that he and Shuiyue didn’t get along.
Never had he imagined that his most promising disciple would try to cozy up to Shuiyue, and it made him fume with anger.
However, now was not the time to deal with this matter.