The night was deep.
Yet, the Sect Master's hall of the Heavenly Origin Sect was brightly lit.
“Where on earth did that pile of damaged spiritual tools go?!”
Huang Siqi slammed his palm onto the table, sending the teacup rattling.
It was incredibly bizarre!
The restrictions on Wanjian Mountain were completely intact, and there wasn't a single trace of the formations being triggered.
Yet, all of the missing spiritual tools had lost their spiritual connection simultaneously, as if they had vanished into thin air.
Huang Siqi had already paced around the hall more than a dozen times.
The elderly man sitting in the Sect Master's seat picked up his tea and took a slow sip.
“Don't be so anxious.”
Huang Siqi stopped in his tracks. “How can I not be anxious? Such a massive pile of things is gone!”
“They were just damaged tools; they couldn't be used anytime soon anyway.”
The elderly man's expression remained calm. “Repairing them requires materials that are incredibly rare in this world. Even if the person who took them knows how to repair them, they might not be able to gather all the materials.”
Huang Siqi whipped his head around. “Is this a question of whether they can be used?!”
“No matter how broken they are, they still belong to the Heavenly Origin Sect!”
“If they can move hundreds of spiritual tools today without anyone noticing, will they come and sweep away my Sect Master's hall tomorrow?”
The elderly man looked up and scanned the hall.
“The hall is quite large. A storage bag might not be able to fit it.”
Huang Siqi: “...”
His chest tightened with rage.
Was this the time for jokes?
Seeing that Huang Siqi was about to fume with rage, the elderly man finally set down his teacup.
“The restrictions of Wanjian Mountain were not triggered, yet the sect marks were completely blocked. Anyone capable of doing this cannot have a simple background.”
Huang Siqi naturally understood this.
That was exactly why he was so anxious.
The elderly man continued, “Among outsiders, only two people truly recognized the origins of that batch of damaged spiritual tools back then.”
“Qi Chong.”
“And that person.”
Huang Siqi paused. “You suspect City Lord Qi?”
“He has the ability.”
“Impossible.”
Huang Siqi shook his head. “If Qi Chong really wanted them, he could have just asked me directly. There is no need for him to take such a risk.”
The elderly man lifted his eyelids.
“Since it's not Qi Chong, then only one person remains.”
Huang Siqi's face instantly darkened.
“It's even more impossible for it to be him.”
“Why impossible?”
“He has no reason to do this.”
The elderly man smiled faintly.
“The cultivation world never lacks hidden reasons.”
“You can know a person's face but not their heart. Besides, the two of you have never truly been allies.”
Huang Siqi stood in place, silent for a long time.
For a moment, only the soft crackle of burning candles remained in the hall.
By the time he finally snapped out of it and looked up, the main seat was already empty.
The elderly man had left at some unknown point.
Only the cup of tea on the table was still steaming.
...
Yuheng Peak.
Bai Buzheng stared at the two people sitting casually below him, his temples throbbing.
Xue Mingzhao held her spiritual tea, sitting perfectly poised.
Su Ye held a pastry in his hand, eating with complete peace of mind.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was the one hosting the visit.
Bai Buzheng endured it for a long time, but ultimately couldn't hold back.
“You're saying a disciple of my Yuheng Peak owes you fifty thousand spirit stones?”
“Exactly,” Xue Mingzhao nodded.
“You've only joined the sect for a few days. How could there be a debt of fifty thousand spirit stones?”
Xue Mingzhao and Su Ye exchanged a look, and she recounted the events of the day before yesterday.
How Wu Yong blocked their path.
How he provoked them.
How he shoved them.
And how he stomped on and crushed the high-grade Core-Condensing Pill left behind by Xue Mingzhao's late mother.
The two of them cooperated with flawless chemistry.
Xue Mingzhao was in charge of stating the facts.
Su Ye was in charge of embellishing those facts with extra color, spice, and a touch of drama.
Bai Buzheng's face grew darker and darker as he listened.
A high-grade Core-Condensing Pill was naturally not worth fifty thousand spirit stones.
But if that pill really was a keepsake from a deceased mother, its sentimental value was immeasurable.
Furthermore, Wu Yong had already agreed to the compensation in public.
Now that the deadline had arrived, there was no movement whatsoever.
If word of this got out, where would he hide his face?
Xue Mingzhao sighed, looking highly understanding. “Today is the agreed deadline, yet no one has delivered the spirit stones.”
“I figured Senior Brother Wu must be too busy with his cultivation and simply forgot.”
“But so many people heard his promise back then.”
“If he keeps delaying the payment, people will inevitably think he's untrustworthy, a deadbeat, and completely irresponsible.”
“How could I bear to see Senior Brother Wu carry such a terrible reputation?”
Su Ye nodded vigorously. “We didn't know where Senior Brother Wu lived, and we were afraid of making a scene and damaging his reputation.”
“After much thought, we had no choice but to trouble Peak Master Bai first.”
The siblings looked completely sincere, every word seemingly spoken out of consideration for Wu Yong.
But after hearing this, Bai Buzheng only felt like laughing.
Didn't want to make a scene?
So you came directly to the main hall of Yuheng Peak to collect the debt?
Bai Buzheng gritted his teeth and ordered the disciple beside him:
“Go!”
“Call Wu Hengchuan and his precious nephew here!”
“Tell them to get their asses over here right now!”
“Yes!” The disciple hurriedly left.
Suppressing his anger, Bai Buzheng looked at the two. “Wait a moment. They will be here shortly.”
Xue Mingzhao nodded understandingly.
“It's fine. We're in no rush.”
“If Senior Brother Wu is held up by something, we don't mind waiting a bit longer.”
In any case, the spirit stones had to be received today.
If she still didn't get them, she would beat gongs and drums and go lie down in front of Wu Yong's door.
Su Ye picked up another pastry.
“Peak Master Bai's pastries are quite good. We can wait slowly.”
Bai Buzheng glanced at the nearly empty plate of pastries.
He inwardly cursed that like teacher, like disciple—they had absolutely no sense of boundaries.
Before long, a furious shout suddenly echoed from outside the hall.
“Get inside!”
As soon as the words fell, a figure came flying in from outside.
Thud!
Wu Yong crashed heavily onto the center of the hall, sliding forward several feet across the smooth floor.
By the time he stopped, he was kneeling right in front of Xue Mingzhao.
Xue Mingzhao looked down at him with a look of surprise.
“Senior Brother Wu, you're being far too polite.”
“We are fellow disciples. There's no need to greet me with such a grand gesture.”
Wu Yong's face turned completely green.
Before he could even scramble to his feet, a middle-aged cultivator strode into the hall.
The newcomer wore a slate-gray elder's robe. His features were proper, and his collar and hair crown were meticulously arranged.
He first bowed to Bai Buzheng, then cupped his hands toward Xue Mingzhao and Su Ye.
“Please calm your anger, young friends.”
“I have just heard about this matter.”
“My nephew has been spoiled by the family elders since childhood. He is impulsive and lacks a sense of propriety.”
“It was indeed his fault for offending the two of you the day before yesterday.”
As Wu Hengchuan spoke, he produced a storage bag.
“There are fifty thousand spirit stones inside as compensation.”
“I hope the two of you can be magnanimous and not lower yourselves to his level.”
Xue Mingzhao took the storage bag and swept her divine sense over it.
Exactly fifty thousand.
Not a single stone missing.
The sincerity of her smile instantly went up by several notches.
“Elder Wu is indeed sensible.”
“It's good that the misunderstanding is resolved. We are all fellow disciples, so of course we won't dwell on it.”
Wu Hengchuan smiled. “It is good that Little Friend Lin is so understanding.”
His face was filled with apology, but his eyes were cold and devoid of any warmth.
He didn't look like he was here to apologize at all.
He looked more like he was here to claim two corpses.
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