Accusing Chu Xinghe

"I said, sell all the raw stones here to Jia Gui. We only want five times the price!"

"B-but... Senior Brother Xinghe, we can't do that! If we sell them to Jia Gui now, we'll be throwing away half our profit!"

Qin Xiangqian didn't know what had gotten into Chu Xinghe, but before he could finish, something had appeared in Chu Xinghe's hand!

"I said, sell all these raw stones to Jia Gui of the Listening Snow Pavilion for just five times the price. Sell them tonight!"

Chu Xinghe held an elder's token in his hand, and Qin Xiangqian dropped to his knees.

But Qin Xiangqian genuinely couldn't understand Chu Xinghe's demand! They could clearly make ten times the price, so why give up the other five times?

"Senior Brother Xinghe, you have an elder's token, so I have no choice but to obey. But please tell me why. If you can't give me an explanation, then even with your elder's token, I'll go to the sect and demand one!"

Hey! An unexpected bonus?

You want an explanation? I'll give you a hammer for an explanation! Am I supposed to tell you I'm planning to make the sect lose half its profit? Can't I just lay my cards on the table?

I'll cause the sect such a huge loss, and you're even going to report me... That's wonderful! Once the sect finds out, on top of my reckless use of the elder's token... Tsk, tsk, this time I'm sure to lose my personal disciple status!

Chu Xinghe gave Qin Xiangqian no explanation, but once the elder's token came out, Qin Xiangqian had to obey.

When Jia Gui received word that the Vast Heaven Sect was selling its raw stones, he was dumbfounded.

He had already given up all hope, but the Vast Heaven Sect had actually bought them!

Had something gone wrong with Qin Xiangqian's brain?

But Jia Gui didn't have time to worry about that. He had a large number of spirit stones prepared overnight and bought up all the Vast Heaven Sect's raw stones in one gulp.

Although he had paid five times the original price, once he delivered them to the Shi Clan and they processed them, he would make a killing of five times his money... Was the Vast Heaven Sect full of fools?!

Jia Gui wasn't the only one. Qin Xiangqian also thought Chu Xinghe was a fool, but the elder's token forced him to obey. Still, Qin Xiangqian had made it known that he would return to the sect with them. The matter was too serious, and he had to report it truthfully to the sect master. A loss like this could never be laid at his door.

Qin Xiangqian didn't sleep a wink that night. He was so furious his hair nearly turned white.

Chu Xinghe had one sweet dream after another and woke up laughing several times during the night.

Selling this batch of raw stones was the same as directly costing the Vast Heaven Sect half a year's share of spirit stones. I'd like to know how I could possibly lose this time!

Today is a good day... Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo... Why am I singing that lousy song again? Bad luck, bad luck!

Chu Xinghe got up early and enjoyed breakfast with his junior brothers and sisters. But unlike the delighted Chu Xinghe, every one of them wore a bewildered expression.

Clearly, Qin Xiangqian had already told the others what had happened.

Ma Liang, the lucky general, even ran over to Chu Xinghe and cautiously asked, "Senior Brother Xinghe, is Jia Gui your brother-in-law?"

"Get lost..." Chu Xinghe gave him a kick. What the hell was going on in that head of his?

Am I that superficial?

Do I pursue money and beautiful women? Starting today, I'll be a noble man, a great man, a man above vulgar tastes, a man who only screws over the sect!

Although Ma Liang couldn't understand why Senior Brother Xinghe had done this, he could only believe that Senior Brother Xinghe was no ordinary man.

For the next few days, Qin Xiangqian didn't come looking for Chu Xinghe again. This batch of raw stones could originally have propelled him to first place among the four regional branches this year, bringing him another step closer to the legendary position of president of the Vast Heaven Chamber of Commerce.

But after Chu Xinghe meddled, Qin Xiangqian felt a pain in his liver.

Qin Xiangqian had already decided how he would report everything truthfully. This blame was too heavy for him to shoulder!

The thought of Jia Gui happily taking the raw stones away made him feel even worse. Counting the days, Jia Gui should be close to delivering them to the Shi Clan by now... They had just given away five times the profit for nothing!

The teleportation array was finally ready. They had come as a group of a hundred, but there were a hundred and one on the way back.

Qin Xiangqian, whose hair had already gained a few white strands, returned to the Vast Heaven Sect with them.

There was the familiar dizziness and the familiar vomiting. This time, though, only Qin Xiangqian threw up. The others all looked pale, but none of them vomited, probably because their cultivation had improved.

When the dust cleared, everyone had appeared on the training grounds of Haotian Palace.

In the distance, before the palace gates, stood Sect Master Gu Mingchao, with the grand elder and the chief elders of every palace behind him, not one missing.

"Greetings, Sect Master and elders..." Chu Xinghe led the group of a hundred in paying their respects.

"Hahahaha... Good... Good children... We already know how every one of you performed out there. The sect is very pleased with your journey to the Spirit Grotto, but don't let it make you proud. After all, you did make some mistakes, neither too big nor too small. Reflect on yourselves when you return, and never make the same mistakes again!"

As the sect master spoke, his gaze swept over Ma Liang.

Tears streamed down Ma Liang's face. The sect master's words meant that he already knew about certain things, but had no intention of pursuing them. Ma Liang had finally put it behind him.

Looking again at Senior Brother Xinghe in front of him, Ma Liang knew that he owed everything he had today to him!

Ma Liang then handed the spirit liquid in his storage ring to the grand elder to refine into Marrow-Cleansing Pills.

The disciples of each palace left under the leadership of their respective chief elders. Before leaving, every one of them came up to Chu Xinghe, bowed, and thanked Senior Brother Xinghe for looking after them along the way.

The many elders smiled and nodded as they watched.

Qin Xiangqian watched from the side, his heart trembling.

It wasn't as though he had never met a personal disciple of the Vast Heaven Sect, but this was truly his first time seeing one like Chu Xinghe.

The group of a hundred came from different palaces, and their respect for Chu Xinghe was not because he was their leader. It came truly from the bottom of their hearts.

Then there were the sect master and the grand elder. The way they looked at Chu Xinghe was as though they were looking at their own son.

And the other elders, far from showing any displeasure at Chu Xinghe stealing the limelight, were all looking at him with the utmost affection. Damn it, just what was Chu Xinghe's background?

Although Ma Liang had told him so much, Qin Xiangqian still couldn't understand. It was one thing for someone to have fortuitous encounters, good luck, and great talent, but how the hell could one person make everyone like him?

Moreover, now that they had teleported back, the usual rules dictated that everyone should enter Haotian Palace to pay their respects to the sect master and elders. So why had the sect master and elders come out to welcome them?

"I remember your name is Qin Xiangqian, correct? The western branch president?" Only after everyone else had left did the grand elder turn to Qin Xiangqian, who had returned with them.

"Your disciple Qin Xiangqian greets the sect master and the grand elder..." Qin Xiangqian hurriedly bowed.

Qin Xiangqian looked at the grand elder before him. The grand elder's gaze was icy now, with none of the affection he had shown Chu Xinghe.

But Qin Xiangqian knew that, whatever happened, he had to report the matter truthfully.

So he gritted his teeth and spoke. "Grand Elder, this matter... concerns Senior Brother Xinghe. He..."

Before Qin Xiangqian could finish, Gu Mingchao interrupted him. "Whatever you have to say, say it inside Haotian Palace."

Good grief... I wanted to say it while there were still plenty of people around, but has the sect master realized it's nothing good? What does he want by bringing me into Haotian Palace? To shield Chu Xinghe? He wouldn't kill me to silence me, would he?

I might be the western branch president, but if I died in Haotian Palace, no one would fucking dare ask what happened!

Trembling with fear, Qin Xiangqian followed them into Haotian Palace. This was the first time in his life that he, an outer disciple, had entered the palace, but he was in no mood to admire its splendor. Instead, he dropped straight to his knees before the grand elder and the sect master.

"This is what happened..." Qin Xiangqian had originally wondered whether to embellish the story, but now he certainly didn't dare. He could only recount everything exactly as it had happened.

When Qin Xiangqian finished, the grand elder looked at Chu Xinghe, who stood to the side.

"Is what he said true?" The grand elder's face was still full of affection.

Qin Xiangqian regretted it. Seeing the grand elder's expression, he knew that if Chu Xinghe simply said he knew nothing about it, the grand elder would kill him without hesitation and make him the scapegoat!

In the end, I was too naive! Qin Xiangqian knew he was probably doomed today.

But just as Qin Xiangqian had prepared himself to die as the scapegoat, Chu Xinghe spoke. "He's right. It was me!"

"Huh?"

Qin Xiangqian was dumbfounded!

The grand elder and the sect master frowned as well.

In fact, when Qin Xiangqian told them what had happened, their first reaction had been disbelief. But Qin Xiangqian had no reason to lie. What good would accusing Chu Xinghe do him?

Yet deliberately causing the sect a loss wasn't something a child like Chu Xinghe should have done either. If asked who might betray the sect, the grand elder would suspect everyone in Spirit Crane Palace, himself included, before he would ever suspect Chu Xinghe.

That was what made the matter so strange!

"Xinghe, tell us. What exactly were you thinking?" Gu Mingchao said from the side.

What was I thinking? Chu Xinghe had thrown caution to the wind now. What else could I have been thinking? I was planning to make the sect suffer a loss. But of course he didn't dare say that outright. It would be a loss if they simply slapped him to death.

Just as Chu Xinghe was thinking up a reason that wouldn't get him slapped to death, a streak of golden light suddenly flew over from afar.

It was a golden spirit bird.

Gu Mingchao reached into the air, and the spirit bird flew into his hand.

It was the spirit bird the Vast Heaven Sect used to convey important information.

Generally, the spirit bird only appeared when something major had happened.

So Gu Mingchao set everything else aside and opened the spirit bird first to see what the message was!

One glance left Gu Mingchao frozen in place. He looked at Chu Xinghe, then at Qin Xiangqian kneeling on the ground. Suddenly, he laughed, his joy boundless!

"Hahahaha... Good child... Xinghe, you really are a good child!"

The grand elder was stunned. He took the spirit bird from the sect master and glanced at it, then laughed too. "Hahaha... So that's how it is! That child Xinghe nearly had us misunderstanding him!"

Qin Xiangqian was bewildered by the sight. Wh-what's going on?

Chu Xinghe was bewildered too... Although he didn't know what was going on, he... had a bad feeling about this...