Upon hearing this, Li Yan was immediately displeased. The only reason they tolerated Nan Ren was because of Ling Yao’s favoritism towards him. But now, Nan Ren couldn’t even do his job properly, causing Ling Yao unnecessary suffering.

Looking at Ling Yao’s pitiful appearance, with his nose and eyes all red, Li Yan was even more dissatisfied with Nan Ren. Yet, Ling Yao, being considerate, said, “It’s okay, Brother Yan… I’ve taken medicine and feel much better. I won’t delay your important discussions, I’ll just head back first.”

Li Yan, feeling distressed, stopped him immediately, “No need, Young Master. We’ve almost finished discussing the affairs, and the Right Protector will be here soon to check on your condition.”

He then asked the others in the meeting hall to leave and had the guards bring warm water and a wet cloth, staying with Ling Yao to wait for the Right Protector.

Watching the young master carefully wipe his face with the wet cloth, Li Yan asked, “Young Master, where is Nan Ren? Why didn’t he bring the medicine or stay to protect you?”

Ling Yao removed the handkerchief, revealing cheeks slightly flushed from the warm steam. “He said he wasn’t feeling well and took leave to rest.”

Li Yan frowned. The shadow guards only had shifts; there was no such thing as taking leave. If it weren’t for Nan Ren forcibly taking the closest position to the young master, the young master wouldn’t be left unprotected now.

He didn’t expect Ling Yao to continue, “Oh… Nan took two days off, and today is the third day. He hasn’t returned yet. I just heard from A Yi that it seems his old injury flared up.”

The more Li Yan listened, the more he felt something was off. He suddenly realized, “Nan Ren hasn’t shown up for three days?”

Ling Yao blinked, his eyelashes still wet, and his voice carried a hint of nasal sound, sounding slightly aggrieved. “I went to see him yesterday, but he caught a cold and didn’t let me in, fearing he’d infect me.”

“A cold?” Li Yan asked, “Was it before he took leave?”

Ling Yao shook his head, “No, he was fine when he took leave. It was only yesterday that he suddenly caught it, and his voice was terribly hoarse, sounding very serious.”

A sudden cold, hoarse voice, and unwillingness to show up… Li Yan immediately sensed something fishy.

Nan Ren must have gone out these three days.

Half a month ago, Nan Ren often claimed his old injury flared up in front of the young master, and with the incident of intercepting the death warriors, Li Yan wanted to increase surveillance on Nan Ren but was stopped by the young master who felt sorry for him. Recently, due to the young master’s protection, they couldn’t even track Nan Ren’s whereabouts.

If the young master hadn’t mentioned it today, they might still be unaware of Nan Ren’s movements.

This situation is too dangerous; the young master can’t continue to favor Nan Ren like this.

Li Yan was considering how to speak to Ling Yao when he saw the other hesitating, seemingly wanting to say something.

“Young Master?” Li Yan asked, “Is there something else you want to say?”

“Um…” Ling Yao looked a bit anxious, “Brother Yan, when I went yesterday, Nan didn’t see me. But for the past half month, when he wasn’t feeling well, it was that maid who took care of him closely…”

Li Yan knew who he was talking about. The maid was Xiao Cui, a newcomer from three months ago. At that time, the young master was out and saw a human trafficker selling people on the street. Feeling sorry for them, he bought them.

Later, most of these people were placed in the town at the foot of the Demon Sect Mountain to work, but Xiao Cui followed up the mountain to become a maid.

“It was Nan who suggested buying these people, and he looked at Xiao Cui several times,” Ling Yao asked Li Yan, sounding a bit pitiful, “Now Nan has Xiao Cui taking care of him for so long, Brother Yan… does he like Xiao Cui?”

Ling Yao’s question was the confusion of a young heart, but to Li Yan, it meant something entirely different.

He knew about the young master buying people but didn’t know it was Nan Ren’s instigation. Li Yan had previously investigated Xiao Cui’s background and movements, confirming there was no problem before withdrawing surveillance and refocusing on Nan Ren.

Now it seems this maid is definitely problematic.

Li Yan thought, fortunately, the young master brought this up, giving them a reason to investigate the maid.

“Young Master,” Li Yan, learning from the earlier scare, softened his tone, “Regardless of Nan Ren’s attitude towards this maid, the sect has clear rules. Shadow guards must remain single and cannot have close relationships with sect members or other servants. Even if severely injured and needing care, there are strict time limits on contact with outsiders.”

“I believe, to maintain Nan Ren’s status as a shadow guard, you should order the maid to be transferred away.”

Ling Yao hesitated, “But… won’t Nan be unhappy?”

Li Yan didn’t agree with Ling Yao’s Nan Ren-centric thinking, but he saw the young master as just a child. Any mistakes were Nan Ren’s influence.

He patiently explained, “No matter what Nan Ren thinks, privately transferring the maid is the best way. Otherwise, if this gets out, Nan Ren could lose his qualifications as a shadow guard.”

Hearing the severe consequences, Ling Yao quickly agreed, “Okay!”

He thought for a moment and asked, “Brother Yan, I haven’t finished learning the sect rules and don’t know how to decide. Are there other violations in Nan Ren’s conduct? Can you tell me so I can handle them together, to prevent Nan from losing his position?”

As Ling Yao was asking, the Right Protector arrived at the meeting hall door.

The Right Protector, named Fu He, was also a young man under thirty. Skilled in both medicine and martial arts, he usually wore a blue robe. He was responsible for Ling Yao’s previous recuperation.

Seeing the Right Protector, Li Yan said, “Young Master, your health is important. Let the Right Protector examine you first. As for Nan Ren’s matter, if you trust me, leave it to me.”

The Right Protector, having heard the situation, also said, “Young Master, the rewards and punishments of the sect members are handled by the Left Protector. Let the Left Protector deal with it this time, and there won’t be any mistakes.”

With both of them persuading him, Ling Yao hesitantly agreed. He specifically instructed the Left Protector to thoroughly investigate, ensuring nothing was missed, to prevent others from finding fault with Nan Ren later.

Although the young master’s stated purpose differed from their true intentions, they were satisfied with the outcome.

The Right Protector stepped forward to examine Ling Yao. Just one look at his red eyes, like a snow rabbit, made him frown and ask, “Young Master, why didn’t you use the water incense I prepared in advance?”

Though the Right Protector appeared gentle, his sharp eyes often gave the impression of seeing through everything. Coupled with his expertise in both medicine and poison, few dared to seek his medical help despite his exceptional skills.

Ling Yao didn’t dare lie in front of him, “The water incense is with Nan. He took leave to rest, and I forgot to use it.”

The Right Protector shook his head, “Young Master, you know how it feels when nasal inflammation acts up. This shouldn’t have happened.”

Ling Yao admitted his mistake honestly, “I was wrong, sir. I’ll change next time.”

The Right Protector asked, “Do you know where you went wrong?”

Ling Yao thought for a moment, “…Not taking care of my health?”

“That’s one part,” the Right Protector said, “The other is being too lenient in managing your subordinates.”

The Right Protector had a keen eye and never liked Nan Ren, referring to him directly as a “subordinate.”

“This will harm you and, if it alarms the sect leader and others, such a subordinate should be dragged to the Punishment Hall for public execution, with their head displayed outside.”

Ling Yao shivered at the description, almost tearing up again.

The Right Protector continued, “So, you must not be so lenient with him in the future, or you’ll truly harm him, with unimaginable consequences.”

“I, I understand,” Ling Yao quickly agreed, “Let Brother Yan handle him soon, and don’t let him enter the Punishment Hall…”

With Ling Yao’s order, they were completely relieved. Now, they could finally act against Nan Ren without worry.

Hopefully, this incident would expose Nan Ren’s true nature.

After carefully examining Ling Yao and providing new water incense and medicine, the Right and Left Protectors sent the young master back to Cloud Peak Palace to rest.

The escorts were diligent, and once back in his room, Shi Jingxian finally had a moment alone.

He couldn’t help but gently press his eyes, and when he removed his hand, there were still traces of moisture in his palm.

Shi Jingxian sighed.

He hadn’t planned to cry, just wanted to act pitiful. The talk about colds, maids, and punishment was the message Shi Jingxian wanted to convey to the Left Protector.

But plans couldn’t keep up with changes. Perhaps due to the nasal inflammation, this body was hard to control. Seeing Li Yan, who died tragically at the execution ground, tears fell uncontrollably, and Shi Jingxian couldn’t help it.

Meeting the Right Protector was the same; the body’s eyes reddened instantly, and he couldn’t help but tear up while speaking. The timing made it seem like he was worried about Nan Ren.

Shi Jingxian had seen the Right Protector’s ending in the task storyline. When the righteous path attacked, the Right Protector tried to save the captured Ling Yao but failed and was severely injured. Later, he led the sect members in the mountain defense battle, holding on until the last moment of defeat.

The Right Protector had a slight cleanliness obsession, always wearing spotless blue robes. When he died, his body was stained blood-red, the blood seeping into the elegant dark patterns, never to be cleaned again.

Using the towel brought by the young servant to cover his eyes, Shi Jingxian sighed again at the progress bar that had just filled 5%.

All in all, this child was only sixteen.

Forget it, let the tears fall if they must. Once the progress bar is full, hopefully, he won’t encounter tear-inducing events again.

Finally suppressing the soreness in his eyes, Shi Jingxian put down the towel and dismissed the young servant.

Left alone in the room, Shi Jingxian took out a piece of jade leaf as thin as a cicada’s wing, placed it between his lips, and silently played a tune.

After the tune ended, the room remained silent, but in the blink of an eye, someone appeared as if out of thin air, kneeling before Shi Jingxian.

These were Ling Yao’s dark guards, highly skilled and elusive, always hidden in the shadows, obeying only his commands. They were given to Ling Yao by the sect leader, now serving only one master, never disobeying or leaking information.

So Shi Jingxian could deploy these dark guards without worrying about being questioned.

After a few instructions, the dark guards, as expected, silently saluted Shi Jingxian and vanished from sight.

Only then did Shi Jingxian leisurely take his medicine. The medicine had a hypnotic effect, and he intended to adapt to Ling Yao’s internal strength and martial arts, but he fell asleep on the soft couch before finishing a mental technique book.

When he awoke, it was near dusk, and Shi Jingxian had just rinsed his mouth when he received a hurried report.

—Nan Ren indeed didn’t enter the Punishment Hall, but he was taken to the Martial Arts Arena and publicly flogged with eighty sect rods in front of hundreds of sect members.

It’s said that twenty more rods are yet to be administered, as there’s no place to strike, and they’ll continue after a few days of recovery.

Shi Jingxian, while treating the sweet medicine pills from the Right Protector as candy, thought.

Only a hundred sect rods? That’s still too few.

After dressing slowly, Shi Jingxian planned to head outside.

The young servant, unsure of his intentions, quickly asked, “Young Master, where are you going?”

Shi Jingxian coughed lightly, putting on a worried expression.

“I’m going to check on Nan’s injuries.”

Since there’s no show to watch with the flogging, he might as well go sprinkle some salt on the wounds.