Chapter 216

Breaking into the Yueqing Sect’s formation had become familiar to them, though the formation had changed since it was last broken, altering its layout and arrangements. Unfortunately, the Mingyue Arrow was with Song Hansheng, otherwise they could have sneaked in and out without a trace.

They scouted the elder’s courtyard first and sent the sword spirits to explore. Being spiritual beings, the sword spirits could trigger the formations and disappear, making it impossible to catch them.

Intelligence was usually transmitted through jade slips.

With their skills and daring, they planned to steal a jade slip first.

The sword spirits stealthily infiltrated the area, scouting the formations. They identified the location of the jade slips, and Ye Qiao, holding her breath, prepared to take them. The advanced formations were new to them and easy to trip over.

Jade slips were personal, so if there were any shady dealings, they might not contain the information. Since they were already inside, they decided to ransack the Seventh Elder’s room.

Ye Qiao had Duo Sun smell around to see if there was any demonic scent.

Duo Sun shook his head.

So, it had nothing to do with the demons?

Xue Yu quickly searched through the letters on the Seventh Elder’s desk but found no clues.

“Stop dawdling. If there’s no clue, let’s retreat and check the jade slips later.”

They had been too bold, and the soundproof formation was removed. As they turned to flee, they sensed several auras pursuing them.

“Oh no, we’ve been found,” Ming Xuan said nonchalantly. “Great, now we’ll be sent to the forbidden area tomorrow.”

If Yueqing Sect found out, they would certainly seek an explanation from Changming Sect.

Ye Qiao, thinking quickly, kicked Ming Xuan: “Ye Qinghan, I’m so disappointed in you! How could you do something so despicable!”

Ming Xuan clicked his tongue and played along, “How dare you! Our Wenjian Sect’s actions are not for you to question!” He kicked his junior brother, signaling him to mimic Ye Qinghan’s style.

Mu Chongxi pondered Ye Qinghan’s persona—domineering and cold?

Mu Chongxi shouted loudly, “That’s right! Sneaking into Yueqing Sect and stealing the elder’s underwear is just my way of doing things as Ye Qinghan!”

The pursuing disciples almost tripped over themselves.

Xue Yu added dramatically, “First in swordsmanship, truly terrifying!”

Together, they happily shifted the blame to the neighboring sect.

They had no choice but to lean into the absurdity, rather than leave their motives open to suspicion, which might arouse more dangerous curiosity.

Zhou Xingyun fell into thought. So, in their eyes, Ye Qinghan’s persona was this ridiculous?

They had stolen the jade slips, but the two talisman masters took turns trying to unlock them, failing repeatedly. Their only hope was their junior uncle, but asking him would invite questions.

They decided to figure it out themselves.

The next day, rumors spread wildly on the forums.

“Did you hear about Wenjian Sect?”

“Yes, Ye Qinghan sneaked into the elder’s quarters with bad intentions!”

“I can’t believe it! Ye Qinghan seemed like one of the few normal ones, but he’s actually so shameless!”

Cultivators concluded, “Old men need to protect themselves when out and about.”

…

The incident caused quite a stir, but it was easy to investigate. Slight suspicion led to Zhou Xingyun, Xue Yu, and Zhou Xingyun being assigned to clean the library together.

Previously, it was just Ye Qiao and Ming Xuan.

Now, they were comrades in punishment.

Cleaning the library was dull, so they entertained themselves with card games.

Ye Qiao wasn’t good at it and ended up with her face covered in penalty slips. Whoever lost had to clean, and Xue Yu and Ming Xuan played skillfully.

Elder Yu was pleased to see the disciples helping with cleaning and overlooked their slacking.

“What were you thinking, stealing an elder’s underwear?” Duan Yu exclaimed incredulously as he stormed in.

They weren’t surprised about being caught. Ye Qiao blew a paper slip off her forehead, lazily sweeping with a broom, “No one checked. Even when Ye Qinghan raised questions, Wenjian Sect’s elders brushed them off.”

A ridiculous way to train them.

Training shouldn’t involve a death trap.

Ming Xuan added lazily, “It’s always Yueqing Sect being attacked by demons and providing wrong information. Why not suspect other sects?”

It was too coincidental, making one suspect the higher-ups.

“That’s no excuse for stealing his underwear!” Duan Yu was exasperated. “Stop worrying about these things. It’s not your place to handle them.”

The group fell silent under the scolding.

Manager Yu, who usually ignored such matters, joined in the reprimand. “You’ve gone too far. If Yueqing Sect doesn’t hold a grudge, that’s fine. But if they do, you are guilty of great disrespect.”

Although personal disciples had privileges, they couldn’t act recklessly.

Duan Yu quickly defended his beloved disciples: “Ye Qiao is still a good disciple. She got first place for our sect and is very sensible, though she occasionally skips classes. These are just minor issues.”

“And Xiaoxi and the others are good kids too.”

“It must be Xie Chuxue!!”

“We must find time to beat him up!”

“…” No, they didn’t think Xie Chuxue deserved to die.

Xue Yu tried to defend their innocent junior uncle, “It’s not really Xie Junior uncle’s fault.”

But Duan Yu was determined to blame Xie Chuxue and stormed off to capture him before anyone else could criticize further.

Soon, two figures appeared in the library.

Xie Chuxue was tied up like a caterpillar, wriggling on the ground, looking utterly dejected. “I already said, it’s not my fault that they turned out weird. This has nothing to do with me!”

He was sitting in the sect, minding his own business, and suddenly got blamed for everything. This was too much!

Then, Duan Yu, with a cold smile, stomped on Xie Chuxue, flattening him.

Xie Chuxue’s head was buried in the ground, and he spat out a small ghost.

The five remaining disciples were too scared to speak, standing there in silence.

Oh, poor Junior uncle.

He was either being beaten or on the way to being beaten.

But Xie Chuxue’s arrival was timely. They couldn’t unlock the jade slip, and Xie Chuxue could help.

Xie Chuxue, resilient as ever, quickly recovered and stood up. Realizing reasoning with Duan Yu was futile, he snapped his fingers, teleporting Duan Yu away without further ado.

Seeing Manager Yu was also present, he set up a soundproof barrier, causing Manager Yu to roll his eyes.

Xie Chuxue, serious now, smiled faintly. “It’s common for high-ranking cultivators to scheme against each other.”

He scratched his head, genuinely surprised this group had caused such an absurd situation.

“Night assault on Yueqing Sect’s higher-ups? Only you could think of that!”

He sighed, fiddled with the jade slip for a moment, and handed it to Ye Qiao. “There shouldn’t be anything crucial inside, but if there are any private messages, you could blackmail Yueqing Sect for a hefty sum.”

“So, what do you want to know?” Xie Chuxue rested his chin on his hand, smiling. “I might be able to tell you.”

Better to be upfront than have these restless kids sneak around causing trouble.

“Yueqing Sect, demon clan.” Ye Qiao thought for a moment. Her main curiosity was about the so-called fortune, but asking Xie Chuxue seemed pointless.

Xie Chuxue shook his head. “The information was altered because someone deliberately erased part of it. But it has nothing to do with Yueqing Sect. As for the demons, they were bewitched. They’ve just lost their minds.”

“Who erased it?” Ye Qiao asked, puzzled.

Xie Chuxue looked troubled. “It’s not exactly erased; everyone just chose to ignore it.”

“That’s why your information was flawed.”

“It’s like a storybook; there always needs to be a little twist.”

Ye Qiao hugged her broom, feeling that Xie Chuxue had a more comprehensive understanding than she did.

Xie Chuxue always acted as a guide, nonchalant and unpredictable, often disappearing and reappearing mysteriously. Ye Qiao never understood how much he knew, so—

What was he up to?

Ye Qiao felt he was about to reveal something big.

Sure enough, Xie Chuxue called her, “Xiao Qiao.”

“I’ll tell you a story.”

A story? Ye Qiao understood the routine.

And the term “you all” was quite inclusive.

Was he telling it to all five of them?

“Uh.”

Honestly, they didn’t really want to listen because the way Junior uncle looked at them sometimes was terrifying.

Finally, Ming Xuan hesitantly said, “Well, let’s listen?” He was the most familiar with Xie Chuxue, having been through a lot with him, so he had to step up.

Xie Chuxue leaned back and smiled, “Oh, you all want to hear a story? Fine.”

“Here I go.”

He spoke casually, “One day, there were four fools in the sect. They lived carefree lives, and then one day, they all died. The end.”

“???”

“No way,” Mu Chongxi couldn’t suppress his urge to comment. “What kind of rushed story is that?”

He thought Xie Chuxue would laugh and refute, but instead, Junior uncle was silent for a long time. Even Zhou Xingyun couldn’t hold back his curiosity, “So, there’s no twist in this story?”

Xue Yu added, “What else is there to tell if they’re all dead?”

Xie Chuxue spread his hands and smiled at Ye Qiao, “There is, of course. Every story has a twist.”