Du Qi had truly reached his limit.
He was completely done. All these tedious sect affairs, bad debt compensations, and logistical coordination—whoever wanted to deal with them could go right ahead. From now on, he wouldn't touch any of it ever again.
It was one thing that the sect elders below him were disorganized, passive-aggressive, and utterly uncooperative.
Normally, they would shirk their duties, shift blame, and play deaf and dumb. Yet, the moment it was time to distribute salaries, request subsidies, or claim spirit stones and provisions, they would all crowd around him in an instant. Their excuses were endlessly creative, and every single one of them acted completely entitled.
Worst of all, he was tethered to Su Li, a round-the-clock disaster-maker of an ancestor who did nothing but make things worse.
Causing trouble, provoking people, wrecking houses, burning down mountains—she had a new trick up her sleeve every single day. And the one who always had to clean up her mess, pay compensation, apologize, and smooth things over was always him, Du Ling.
To hell with the big picture! To hell with tolerance!
This time, he absolutely would not clean up after this little fox. The mountains Su Li burned, the trouble she caused, and the grudges she provoked—she would have to pay for and bear them all on her own. If she thought she could push him forward to bow and scrape to apologize again, not a chance!
With a chest full of pent-up rage, Du Qi's face was darker than the bottom of a pot as he strode out of the Beast Taming Sect's administrative hall.
Seeing him emerge, the two guards stationed at the entrance instinctively bowed their heads and saluted him respectfully.
In the past, Du Qi had always been gentle and courteous. Even when physically and mentally exhausted, he would nod in response, willing to lower himself to treat the servants well, firmly maintaining his public persona of a considerate gentleman.
But today, he had absolutely no desire to pretend.
A thick frost hung over his brows. His face was cold and rigid, and his gaze was terrifyingly dark. Without even glancing at the guards on either side, he swept straight past them. The oppressive aura around him seemed to freeze the very air.
The two guards froze in place, not daring to breathe. Only when Du Qi's figure had completely vanished at the end of the corridor did they quietly exhale and begin whispering in hushed tones.
“Young Master-in-Law is in a terrible mood today. Who could have pushed someone with such a good temper to this point?”
The guard on the left chuckled, his eyes full of amusement as if watching a show. Completely failing to notice his companion beside him blinking frantically and gesturing for him to shut up, he babbled on excitedly:
“Who else could it be? Aside from our willful Sect Master, is there a second person in the world who dares to torment him like this? I just heard from an administrative senior brother that the Sect Master went out for a stroll earlier and set fire to an entire forest next to someone's ancestral tomb! And that wasn't some ordinary wild forest; those were ancient ceremonial pines preserved for generations, each worth a fortune. The losses are astronomical. Now he has to throw money at them and apologize in person. He's really suffering!”
He spoke with spit flying, thoroughly immersed in the joy of gossiping, completely unaware that a clean, elegant, yet cold figure was already standing silently behind him.
A slightly cool hand gently patted his shoulder.
“Indeed, I really am suffering.”
The familiar voice was as gentle as ever, but it carried a faint, chilling edge.
The guard froze instantly, his blood turning to ice as his smile stiffened on his face. Only then did he realize that his companion's frantic gestures hadn't been an overreaction. Every single word of his insolent gossip had been heard by the man himself.
He slowly turned his head, his face twisting into an incredibly awkward, sycophantic smile that looked worse than crying. “Young Master... Young Master-in-Law, you've worked hard. Thank you for your hard work managing the sect's affairs... Hehehe.”
Du Qi's expression was calm, betraying no emotion. He nodded slightly. “Gossiping about the sect's leadership and speaking without restraint. Take twenty lashes. Go receive your punishment.”
With that, he said no more and turned to leave.
The two guards breathed a massive sigh of relief, feeling incredibly fortunate.
For guards who tempered their bodies year-round, twenty lashes was a minor, painless punishment, no different from an itch. If the mercurial Su Li had been here instead, gossiping about the Sect Master and mocking the leadership would have resulted in their cultivation being destroyed at best, or their deaths at worst. There would be no way out.
It was precisely because Du Qi was always generous and kind that they dared to be so reckless, chatting and joking in private.
“Whew... Young Master-in-Law is still the kindest. He has such a good temper and is always gentle with us. He never treats us harshly.”
“By the way, don't call me Young Master-in-Law.”
The figure that had been walking away suddenly spun back. The two guards, who had just completely relaxed, were scared out of their wits. Cold sweat instantly drenched their backs, and their legs began to tremble.
“Your Sect Master and I are completely clean and have nothing to do with each other. Stop making up wild rumors. If I hear that title again, I'll rip your tongues out.”
Having delivered his threat, Du Qi turned and quickly went back into the hall to retrieve his storage bag left on the desk.
In his rush to leave while blinded by anger, he had even forgotten his personal belongings.
He wasn't actually slacking off on impulse or completely quitting. The Central Continent Alliance was buried under a mountain of messes, and running away forever wasn't a solution.
Since he had been forced onto this sinking ship, he might as well take the initiative to clean up the sect's unfinished, bad assets. Reviving whatever he could was better than constantly filling Su Li's bottomless pit every single day.
And in the entire Central Continent Alliance, the biggest mess right now was Medicine Peak.
Ever since Medicine Peak's peak master, Bai Cen, had been critically injured and fell into a deep coma, the entire Medicine Peak had collapsed into absolute chaos, losing all semblance of order.
Because Bai Cen couldn't wake up, those addicts went completely wild, acting just like berserkers losing all sanity.
With no one to restrain them or refine their elixirs, they completely lost their minds, crazily mixing ingredients wherever they stood. They would start humping temple pillars, stone walls, and the bare dirt on the spot.
Even more absurdly, many cultivators had the calamity seeds penetrate too deeply into their bodies. They completely lost control, tearing off their clothes as they transformed into calamity spirits. Surrounded by chaotic calamity energy, they went utterly mad, reenacting Zixiao's crazed state on the spot.
Back then, Qingwei had been ordered to go up the mountain to suppress the chaos and subdue these crazed cultivators. After fighting a grueling battle, he was nearly left with PTSD.
The entire Medicine Peak was covered with cultivators who were mimicking Zixiao and running amok as calamity spirits. They were everywhere, packed tightly together. It was absolutely ridiculous.
Fortunately, these obsessed cultivators had weak foundations and unstable realms, making their bodies and spiritual energy incredibly fragile. To Qingwei, they were nothing but ants that could be suppressed with a single strike each.
The surviving cultivators whose minds were shattered and couldn't heal themselves were all locked up in the sect's dungeons, forced to go through withdrawal and purge the remaining calamity seeds.
No joke, Su Li had been high on calamity seeds back then, and he had acted as her Baxi. The scars on his body still hadn't healed. Besides, they weren't related or close, so why should he transfer their injuries to himself?
Shaking off his thoughts, Du Qi suppressed his distractions. Channeling his spiritual energy, he slowly rose into the air and flew toward the desolate, ruined Medicine Peak.
The Medicine Peak of old, once filled with dense spiritual energy and the fragrance of herbs, was completely unrecognizable.
The peak had been cleaved open by a strike from Zixiao during his rampage. The entire mountain had collapsed, leaving a massive canyon a hundred zhang deep slicing through the landscape. Jagged rocks and devastation lay everywhere, covered in the ruins of the great battle.
Yet, deep within the cliffs of this ruined canyon, a highly concealed secret chamber lay hidden.
Its stone walls were thick, and its barrier was incredibly discreet. Despite the earth-shattering battle and the impact of the mountain-cleaving sword strike, it remained completely intact, without a single scratch.
Du Qi's eyes narrowed slightly as he locked his gaze onto that hidden corner.
When the Medicine Peak had descended into chaos and everyone went mad, Qingwei had been entirely focused on suppressing the rampaging cultivators, having no time to investigate such things.
Without a doubt, this was a private treasury that Bai Cen had deliberately and meticulously hidden away.
A playful smile curled on Du Qi's lips. The frustration that had built up inside him for days finally eased a little.
“Oh, Bai Cen, you've been sleeping peacefully, leaving behind a mess that drags everyone down. Now, it's only fair that you cough up some of your personal wealth to help balance the sect's messy books.”
“Please don't let me down...”
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