Fury, Lesson Learned

"Cai Shu has always been quite willful and has high standards. Could it be that Luo Bei is truly a heaven-sent genius, that even Cai Shu looks at him with new eyes?"

Ming Hao watched Luo Bei and Cai Shu approach, thinking this in surprise.

"Martial Uncle Ming Hao," Luo Bei said, spotting Ming Hao and hurrying over, asking with some urgency, "We saw someone release a Flying Flame Talisman in the mountains earlier. Is a Senior Brother in danger? Is he alright?"

"He asks about the safety of his fellow disciples before anything else; his character is excellent." Ming Hao praised him inwardly but remained impassive, shaking his head faintly. "It was Gongyang Bojin and Zou Shen who encountered a Gnawing Tiger. Gongyang Bojin took a hit, but it's just a flesh wound, his life is not in danger."

"Gnawing Tiger?" Luo Bei froze, and the description the old man had given him of this ferocious beast immediately surfaced in his mind: eyes like copper bells, glowing blue at night, exposed teeth like sharp blades, a body twelve feet long, a tail like shears, moving like the wind. It was a rare ferocious beast, ten times more ferocious than ordinary tigers. "There are such beasts in Tianzhu Peak?"

"Luo Bei, aren't you ashamed? Gnawing Tigers aren't rare. If you dare to go to Tianyue Peak, let alone Gnawing Tigers, you'll see Eight-armed Demonic Apes." Hearing Luo Bei's muttering, Cai Shu beside him pouted dismissively and said softly to him.

"Eight-armed Demonic Ape? I wonder what that is. Junior Sister Cai Shu, have you also been cultivating for a while before coming to Shushan, like Zi Xuangu? But he seems to know much more than Zi Xuangu and that Zong Zhen."

"Junior Brother Luo Bei, have you gathered all the herbs?" Just as Luo Bei was thinking this, Zi Xuangu and Ling Dong Shan emerged from the nearby woods and greeted Luo Bei.

"I've gathered them all," Luo Bei nodded. "What about you?"

"Junior Brother Luo Bei, you're amazing." Zi Xuangu and Ling Dong Shan both shook their heads in disappointment. "We're still missing two kinds."

"Missing two kinds?"

"Yes, Luo Bei, you and Cai Shu have found them all. That's truly amazing." The youths who had already arrived started chattering when Luo Bei said he had found them all. "We're missing one Liudan Wood." "We're missing one Xishen Leaf..."

Luo Bei was a bit stunned. Listening to their chatter, out of the five groups present, only Luo Bei and Cai Shu's group had found everything. The others were missing one or two herbs.

"Luo Bei, Cai Shu, you're truly amazing."

Hearing this, Luo Bei felt a little embarrassed. "Actually, we just got a bit lucky."

Pfft. Cai Shu couldn't help but stifle a giggle. Because she knew what Luo Bei really wanted to say was: "Actually, we snatched our Ci Tong Grass."

"It's just finding all the herbs, what's so great about that!" At this moment, a square-faced youth with short hair and narrow eyes, who looked very spirited, glared fiercely at Luo Bei.

This youth was named Miao Mu. Ever since he joined the sect and saw Cai Shu, he had developed a strong liking for the beautiful and graceful girl. However, Cai Shu's personality was unpredictable, and she never paid him any attention. But Miao Mu saw Cai Shu secretly smiling beside Luo Bei, and his hostility towards Luo Bei grew uncontrollably.

But Luo Bei at this moment did not notice his hostile gaze.

The sky was gradually darkening, and a thin mist began to shroud the forest.

"Senior Brother Lin Hang!"

Suddenly, he cried out in joy. From the forest before him, a familiar, slender figure emerged.

"Lo... Luo Bei Junior Brother..." Lin Hang, who emerged limping from the forest, glanced at Luo Bei, but then lowered his head again. Xiao Sanqian beside him glared angrily at Lin Hang, his face looking very unpleasant.

"What's wrong?" Luo Bei went up and asked Lin Hang, who appeared even more withdrawn and timid.

"I... I didn't notice that Xiao... Junior Brother Xiao's cloth bag for the herbs was lost."

"What a useless person!" Xiao Sanqian spat out hatefully in his heart upon hearing Lin Hang's words.

As Luo Bei had suspected, Lin Hang, who had been in Shushan for over two years, was not unfamiliar with these herbs. After Luo Bei chose his partner, Ming Hao then had Lin Hang choose his partners. Ming Hao acted fairly in this regard, but sometimes, no matter what one does, it truly depends on fate. Lin Hang chose Xiao Sanqian to be in his group, not because Xiao Sanqian's strength far surpassed the other martial brothers, but simply because Xiao Sanqian's temperament was relatively honest, and among the other martial brothers, he was the least likely to look down on or mock him. However, even though he was very familiar with those herbs, after spending the whole day on Tianzhu Peak, Lin Hang and Xiao Sanqian only managed to find three kinds of herbs. And an hour ago, Xiao Sanqian discovered that the cloth bag he was carrying the herbs in had been snagged and fallen off at some point. The two searched for over half an hour but could not find Xiao Sanqian's lost cloth bag.

The day's hard work had gone to waste. Although the cloth bag containing the herbs was not lost due to Lin Hang's fault, Xiao Sanqian couldn't help but think that if someone else had been in his group, they might have noticed the bag falling off. And Lin Hang felt deeply remorseful because of this. At this moment, Lin Hang, who was sadly lowering his head, kept thinking, "I am truly useless, I've implicated Junior Brother Xiao."

But could it all be blamed on him?

"Senior Brother Lin Hang, don't be sad," Luo Bei patted Lin Hang's shoulder. "It's not entirely your fault. If I were in a group with Senior Brother Xiao, I might not have noticed the bag falling off either. Because the forest is pathless and dark, and your attention would surely be on the surrounding bushes, focused on finding herbs."

Saying this, Luo Bei turned his head and smiled at Xiao Sanqian. "Senior Brother Xiao, I know you're unhappy about losing the herbs, but look how sad Senior Brother Lin Hang is. He must be blaming himself deeply. Could you forgive him?"

Xiao Sanqian was taken aback. Thinking about Luo Bei's words and looking at Lin Hang, who was lowering his head, his anger subsided by more than half. He nodded. "Senior Brother Lin Hang, it's also my carelessness. Don't take it to heart."

"Xiao... Junior Brother Xiao, I'm truly sorry." As Lin Hang looked up in a panic, he saw Luo Bei smiling at him and suddenly felt his nose sting. He quickly lowered his head again. "Junior Brother Luo Bei, I will definitely... remember your kindness to me!" The solitary youth, with tears welling up in his eyes, said to himself with great resolve.

"Senior Sister Yanran, Senior Brother Nan Feng..."

As the round-faced girl, Cai Shu's idol Senior Sister Yanran, and her group partner Nan Feng appeared, everyone else was present, except for Gongyang Bojin and Zou Shen, who encountered the Gnawing Tiger, and also Xuan Wuqi and Goshu Ban.

"Why haven't those two returned yet? Could they have encountered some accident?"

It had been about an hour since Ming Hao released the Flying Flame Talisman. The sky had grown very dark, and the forest before them was now pitch black. Even Ming Hao's face was unconsciously filled with worry.

Bang! Suddenly, a red light shot into the sky, transforming into dozens of bright rays in the black night sky.

A Flying Flame Talisman!

For a moment, some youths standing by the iron chain bridge, waiting anxiously, couldn't help but exclaim.

But a suddenly flashing sword light was faster than their exclamations. It seemed to flash only once, and the slightly bluish sword light, which had appeared from near the mountaintop, plunged into the forest where the Flying Flame Talisman had been released.

"It's Martial Uncle Duan Tianya!"

In a moment, the sword light flashed again. It almost instantly plummeted from the sky. The sword light retracted, and Duan Tianya, with a somber face and dressed in black, landed before them. In his right hand, he held Goshu Ban, whose face was exceptionally pale.

After putting Goshu Ban down, Duan Tianya said nothing, his eyes fixed on the dark Tianzhu Peak. "What happened?" Ming Hao anxiously asked Goshu Ban, "Where is Xuan Wuqi?"

"Martial Uncle Ming Hao," Goshu Ban said, calming himself. "Senior Brother Xuan Wuqi and I were still missing one Water Chestnut Fruit. He insisted on finding it before returning. I tried to persuade him, but he wouldn't listen. When I got urgent, he insisted on going alone. It was too dark, and I couldn't see the path clearly, so I released the Flying Flame Talisman."

"What! This is outrageous!" Ming Hao couldn't help but scold. After taking a few deep breaths, he turned to Duan Tianya. "Junior Brother Duan, should we notify Master? And search the mountain with the other martial brothers?"

"Let's wait a bit longer."

Duan Tianya said this simply, but Ming Hao, who was already restless, forcefully restrained himself, looking at the dark Tianzhu Peak with a somewhat ashen face.

Luo Bei and the others dared not say a word. After about half an hour, they heard the sound of someone stepping on dry branches. Xuan Wuqi's figure finally appeared in their sight.

"Xuan Wuqi!"

The anger that had been suppressed during the long wait suddenly erupted. Ming Hao, who had always been as amiable as a peacekeeper, revealed his formidable side. With a roar, the dead branches and fallen leaves within a one to two-zhang radius around him instantly exploded into powder. The booming shockwave forced Luo Bei and the others standing behind him to unconsciously take a few steps back.

The power of this outburst was like a gunpowder keg exploding.

"Did you not hear me say that once you saw me send the Flying Flame Talisman, you were to return to gather?"

"This disciple understands."

"Then why did you abandon your companions and act so stubbornly!"

"This disciple admits his mistake and is willing to accept punishment."

"Tomorrow morning, go to Tianlu Peak yourself and receive your punishment." Ming Hao flicked his sleeve and abruptly turned, ignoring the bowing Xuan Wuqi, and led the other disciples away.

Tianlu Peak!

Shushan disciples who committed grave mistakes were all sent to Tianlu Peak for punishment.

Xuan Wuqi knew that Ming Hao was truly enraged this time. Once he reached Tianlu Peak, the punishment would surely not be light. However, Xuan Wuqi felt no regret at all in his heart at this moment, as he had already anticipated this outcome.

"Luo Bei, I won't be worse than you. I've gathered all five herbs!" He simply clenched his fists, his burning gaze fixed on Luo Bei's retreating back.

"You still don't realize your mistake?"

Just then, a cold voice sounded by his ear. Duan Tianya had not moved from his spot, standing still and looking at him coldly.

The arrogant and self-assured Xuan Wuqi was taken aback. Duan Tianya lowered his eyes, "Striving for victory is not a bad thing. I can also sense your determination not to be outdone. Only with such a reckless resolve can one achieve great things."

"But abandoning your fellow disciples in danger is a grave injustice! The rules were set: if you exceed the time limit, even if you gather all five herbs, you have lost!"

"To defeat an opponent, you must first find the reason for your failure, so you can win next time!"

"You have violated justice and broken the rules, and you will accept punishment, which will also delay your cultivation. If you remain stubborn, no matter how brave and diligent you are, you may not surpass others!"

Duan Tianya's face was unclear in the darkness, but his words were stern, striking Xuan Wuqi's heart like heavy hammers. After a few sentences, sweat was already streaming down Xuan Wuqi's back. "Martial Uncle Duan Tianya, this disciple has learned his lesson!" With that, Xuan Wuqi sincerely bowed to Duan Tianya.