Thunderous Measures

At the end, Miejue turned to Zhou Zhiruo and nodded. "Zhiruo, you did well too."

Receiving praise from Miejue for the first time, Zhou Zhiruo's starry eyes flickered, and joy inevitably rose in her heart.

But she quickly lowered her head again. "Little Junior Brother protected Zhiruo. Zhiruo does not deserve Master's praise."

Miejue smiled. "Though you still lack courage, you were able to listen to Shao'an and act at a critical moment. Given your temperament, that was no easy feat."

After offering this fair assessment, Miejue withdrew her gaze. Then, with one hand behind her back, she silently walked toward Ding Minjun.

Sensing Miejue's approach, Ding Minjun instinctively tightened her grip on her sword before loosening it again.

It was not that she did not want to resist.

Rather, Ding Minjun knew that with her strength, before Miejue, let alone this ordinary sword at her side, even if the Heavenly Sword were placed in her hands, she would still be no match for Miejue.

A few breaths later, Miejue's cloth shoes entered Ding Minjun's lowered field of vision.

As her gaze rested on Ding Minjun, Miejue's expression shifted unpredictably.

After a long while, Miejue's voice finally rang out slowly.

"Why?"

Her voice remained as stern and imposing as ever, yet it carried a trace of heartache.

It was like a basin of icy water being poured over Ding Minjun's head, making her shudder.

Ding Minjun raised her head somewhat blankly and opened her mouth, but when the words reached her lips, she had no idea where to begin.

Since Miejue had been watching from the shadows all along, Ding Minjun's every action had naturally been seen clearly by her.

Caught red-handed, even Ding Minjun, who had always been eloquent, did not know how to argue her way out of this.

Immediately afterward, disregarding the injury and searing pain in her leg, Ding Minjun hurriedly knelt properly and raised her head to admit her fault. "Master, this disciple was only briefly led astray by evil thoughts. I was jealous of Junior Brother's talent. After returning to Emei, this disciple is willing to be confined in the rear mountain for half a year—no, a year."

"I only beg Master to remember the bond of these twenty years with this disciple at her side and spare this disciple just once."

Looking at Ding Minjun, who was endlessly pleading before her, a trace of reluctance appeared in Miejue's eyes.

But Miejue swiftly suppressed that reluctance.

Miejue had already given Ding Minjun an opportunity.

If Ding Minjun had obeyed her orders this time and properly cared for Gu Shao'an and Zhou Zhiruo, it would at least have proven that she still held Emei in her heart, as well as her master and some shred of kindness.

Then her usual conduct would have amounted to no more than arrogance, domineering behavior, and a somewhat sharp, caustic tongue.

In Miejue's view, though these were flaws, they could be corrected.

If used well, Ding Minjun could still become a stern elder of the Emei Sect in the future and enter the Hall of Law Enforcement.

But what Ding Minjun had done was simply too excessive.

As their shijie, when her junior brother and junior sister encountered danger, not only had she refused to lend a hand, she had even launched a sneak attack from the shadows.

Later, upon seeing that her tracks had been exposed, she had even harbored murderous intent.

Such a person, let alone her own disciple, would not be spared lightly by Miejue even if she were one of the Emei Sect's elders.

Taking a deep breath, Miejue spoke as her upper body suddenly lunged forward, her right palm striking Ding Minjun's crown with astonishing speed and force.

As her palm force surged, Ding Minjun immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

The light in her eyes rapidly faded along with that mouthful of blood.

Beside them, Zhou Zhiruo could not help letting out a soft cry before turning her head away.

Looking at Ding Minjun's body on the ground, Miejue's palm trembled involuntarily.

But in the next instant, she drew her hand back into her sleeve and declared loudly, "Remember this: all disciples of Emei must never turn their blades against fellow disciples. Whoever harms a fellow disciple shall surely be killed without mercy."

As her words fell, Juechen and the Emei disciples and elders hurriedly responded.

"We obey the Sect Leader's command."

Gu Shao'an first glanced at Ding Minjun on the ground, then at Miejue.

Sure enough, there are only mistaken names, never mistaken titles. My master's name means Extinction, and when it is time to act, she truly shows no mercy at all!

Miejue's reputation for hating evil was known throughout the martial world. Likewise, what made the wicked of the martial world tremble at the mere mention of her name was Miejue's methods.

Once she acted, she was ruthless and merciless, judging only right and wrong, never personal sentiment.

Had it been someone else, they would inevitably have hesitated when upholding righteousness over family, perhaps even failed to strike.

But such a thing did not exist with Miejue.

After all, when Miejue was ruthless, she was the kind of person who could even strike at herself.

If Ding Minjun had merely stood by and watched as Gu Shao'an and Zhou Zhiruo were besieged by Mountain Bandits today, hoping to kill with a borrowed blade, Miejue might only have crippled Ding Minjun's martial arts and imprisoned her in Emei's forbidden grounds for the rest of her life.

But Ding Minjun, as their shijie, had actually intended to actively murder her own junior brother and junior sister.

And present here were not only Miejue, Gu Shao'an, and Zhou Zhiruo, but also Juechen and the other elders and disciples of the Emei Sect.

If Ding Minjun did not die, how could Miejue, as Sect Leader, convince the masses?

However, looking back at this bandit-suppression mission, Miejue had already been setting up a test for Ding Minjun when she had brought only him, Zhou Zhiruo, and Ding Minjun up the mountain.

As for the reason, Gu Shao'an vaguely sensed that it had something to do with himself.

For a sect, a disciple with exceptional talent was simply too important.

Miejue had devoted her entire life to strengthening Emei and eradicating the Ming Cult.

The talent Gu Shao'an had previously displayed had most likely made Miejue believe that Emei could grow stronger because of him in the future.

That was why she had devised this situation to test Ding Minjun.

But regardless of Miejue's purpose in today's events, her starting point had been for Gu Shao'an's sake.

Gu Shao'an could only accept this kindness.

At this moment, Miejue turned and glanced once more at Ding Minjun on the ground.

At last, she sighed and waved to Juechen. "We were master and disciple after all. Have two disciples find a place with good feng shui and bury her."

Juechen nodded and casually summoned several disciples to carry away Ding Minjun's corpse.

While Juechen and the other Emei Sect disciples continued searching the stronghold, Miejue turned to look at Gu Shao'an.

"What are you hiding in your left sleeve?"

Gu Shao'an did not conceal it. He released the fingers that had been pressing his cuff, and some medicinal powder fell into his hand.

"This is some medicinal powder this disciple prepared before descending the mountain. Once scattered, it can make people lose consciousness."

Since it was his first time descending the mountain, and Gu Shao'an's strength was still insufficient, aside from preparing medicinal powder that could detect poison, he had also prepared medicines with various effects in case of emergencies.

Miejue swept her gaze over the medicinal powder in Gu Shao'an's hand. After a brief moment of thought, she said, "The strength of martial artists lies in themselves. Using poison to harm others is ultimately not the way of the righteous. Unless it is a critical emergency, it is best not to use such methods."

Gu Shao'an nodded. "This disciple understands."

Seeing Gu Shao'an respond so readily, Miejue nodded lightly.

The sinister furrow between her brows eased somewhat.

But when she thought of Ding Minjun, Miejue could not help letting out a faint sigh again.

Regarding Ding Minjun's plotline, this author admits it was handled a little too hastily. The main concern was that if it dragged on, some readers might feel it was padded—after all, why spend so much space on a supporting character? But after reading the comments and confirming everyone's opinions, the author will devote more space to developing similar plotlines in the future, so the process will not be so rough!