"Senior Brother, stop playing with the birds. Something's happened."
Liu Enchuan walked into the courtyard and looked at his senior brother, who was lounging around like an idle immortal. He spoke helplessly.
Ren Wencai didn't even turn around. He kept happily teasing the Spirit Crane.
"Junior Brother, you're always in such a rush. Cultivation is all about cultivating your state of mind."
"Gu Chengming beat up people from Daoning Gate."
"Oh, so he beat them up. No big deal. Young people have hot tempers... Hm?"
Ren Wencai's hand froze. The Spirit Crane seized the chance to peck him, then flapped away.
He wasn't annoyed. He dusted off his hands and stood up.
"What happened?"
Liu Enchuan repeated the situation Jiang Lu had reported.
The more Ren Wencai listened, the stranger his expression became. In the end, he couldn't hold back his laughter.
"Good! What a 'Robber Cultivator'! What a strike before they could strike first!"
Looking at his senior brother, who seemed to be enjoying the commotion far too much, Liu Enchuan felt helpless.
"Senior Brother, this isn't the time to praise him. Daoning Gate probably won't let this go. Those two Female Cultivators took a serious beating; they'll definitely go back and complain. If an elder from Daoning Gate comes knocking for an explanation..."
"An explanation?"
Ren Wencai let out a cold laugh.
"What right do they have to demand one?"
With his hands behind his back, he paced twice across the courtyard.
"Enchuan, you're just too honest. You let yourself get tied up by all those rules and regulations."
"Think carefully. Are we in the wrong here?"
Liu Enchuan paused. "They were knocked unconscious, after all..."
"So what if they were knocked unconscious?" Ren Wencai cut in. "First of all, they were the ones who blocked the road, right?"
"Second, and most importantly..."
Ren Wencai held up a finger and wagged it in front of Liu Enchuan, a sly smile curling his lips.
"Gu Chengming is only at First Realm Level Four!"
"Two Senior Sisters at the First Realm Mid Stage joined forces to ambush a junior brother at the First Realm Early Stage, only to get beaten by him instead."
"If word gets out, who'll be the laughingstock? Us, Huiyuan Gate?"
"No. Daoning Gate!"
The more Ren Wencai spoke, the more fired up he became. He spread his hands.
"If Daoning Gate really wants to make trouble, let them come! We've got right on our side, from beginning to end. If they do show up, we'll make sure they lose face and dignity alike!"
Seeing his senior brother so confident—and even eager to get into an argument—Liu Enchuan finally felt the weight lift from his heart.
Since the Great Elder had spoken, the matter was settled.
Gu Chengming had not only done nothing wrong this time; he'd earned merit.
"All right, don't worry."
Ren Wencai squatted down again and picked up the Spirit Grass.
"If anyone from Daoning Gate really comes, tell her to come straight to me."
Liu Enchuan smiled too. "I've been waiting for you to say that, Senior Brother."
A few days later, at Daoning Gate.
When Su He slowly came to, a faint, soothing fragrance drifted around her nose.
The back of her neck throbbed unbearably. Even the slightest movement sent pain shooting through her skull.
She struggled to open her eyes. Familiar blue gauze curtains came into view, along with the colored-glass palace lantern hanging from the beam.
This was a side chamber of Daoning Gate's alchemy hall.
Her memories surged back like a tide: the entrance to the Marketplace, the handsome man who'd spouted nothing but nonsense, his deafening shout of "Bold Robber Cultivator!", and that absurdly fast Wood Sword...
"You're awake?"
A cool, authoritative voice sounded beside her ear, instantly clearing away the last of the haze in Su He's mind.
Her whole body stiffened. She instinctively tried to sit up and pay her respects, but heard a groan from beside her.
It was Li Miao.
Su He turned her head. Her junior sister was curled up on another couch, both hands clutching her stomach. That blow of Inch Strength had clearly left her with a deep psychological shadow and physical trauma.
Right in front of the two couches sat a beautiful, middle-aged woman in an elaborate dark-green Daoist robe. She was perched on a grand tutor's chair, holding a cup of Spirit Tea. The curling steam veiled half her face.
She was Elder Liu, an elder and Steward of Daoning Gate, as well as their teacher.
"Disciple... pays respects to Master."
Elder Liu sighed. "You have no sword wounds, no trace of a Mystical Art. These are all blunt-force injuries."
"Tell me, what kind of expert did you run into?"
Li Miao had always been timid. Under her master's imposing presence, with her stomach still hurting, her mind turned to mush.
She stammered for a long time, eyes darting about, not daring to look up.
"M-Master, actually... well... we..."
She simply couldn't bring herself to say it.
How could she tell her master, "We went to block someone at First Realm Level Four, and before we could finish speaking, he knocked us out with a Wood Sword"?
It was too embarrassing.
Elder Liu furrowed her brows and turned to Su He, who seemed a little more composed.
"Su He, you tell me."
Su He knelt on the ground, cold sweat trickling down her back.
Tell the truth?
Absolutely not.
If she admitted that someone at First Realm Level Four had turned the tables on her, how could she show her face at Daoning Gate again? Those Senior Sisters and junior sisters who already disliked her would turn this into a joke and tell it over tea for the next hundred years.
She had to come up with an excuse.
Images from the incident flashed through her mind.
Gu Chengming... a Wood Sword... a sneak attack...
Who else?
Right!
The young man who'd been following Gu Chengming!
Su He's eyes lit up.
She remembered that the young man was called Jiang Lu. He didn't look too bright, but the Spiritual Power fluctuations around him were undeniably at First Realm Level Seven!
If she said they'd lost to someone at First Realm Level Seven—and that the other side had outnumbered them and attacked by surprise...
Then the whole thing would look completely different.
It wasn't that she was weak. They'd been outnumbered and ambushed!
Su He gritted her teeth and put on a look of difficulty.
"Today, my junior sister and I were wandering around the Marketplace when we ran into Gu Chengming. Because of the recent rumors about Senior Sister You, I thought I'd go ask him a few questions and seek justice for her."
"But who knew... who knew Gu Chengming wouldn't listen to reason? His words were bad enough, but he'd already set up an accomplice in ambush!"
As she spoke, she secretly watched Elder Liu's expression. Seeing her frown, Su He gathered the courage to continue her tale.
"He had an Outer Sect Disciple named Jiang Lu with him. That man had already reached First Realm Level Seven!"
"The two of them joined forces and attacked first. I wasn't prepared, and that was how..."
Li Miao was a little stunned. If you ignored the details and looked only at the outcome and who was involved, her senior sister wasn't wrong.
Jiang Lu had indeed been there. Jiang Lu really was at First Realm Level Seven, and they really had been knocked unconscious.
As for who had actually done it... did that matter?
Jiang Lu had been there, after all. Close enough to make him an accomplice!
Bang!
A sharp crack rang out.
Elder Liu's teacup struck the table hard, shattering fine celadon into pieces. Scalding tea spilled across the tabletop.
An astonishing Spiritual Pressure filled the entire side chamber, squeezing the breath from both women.
"Outrageous!"
Elder Liu shot to her feet. "An Outer Sect Disciple! First Realm Level Seven! Two grown men join forces to ambush two women, and then they beat them this badly!"
The more Elder Liu thought about it, the angrier she became.
In her eyes, this was no longer a simple clash between disciples. It was an insult to Daoning Gate!
If the other side had defeated Su He and the others fair and square, Elder Liu could accept a loss. If they were outmatched, they could just go back and train.
But an ambush, and one of the attackers had been at a higher level?
What kind of ability was that?!
Elder Liu snorted and swept out her wide sleeve. A gentle current of Spiritual Power lifted the two kneeling women to their feet.
"Let's go!"
Su He froze, a sudden sense of dread rising in her heart. "M-Master, where are we going?"
"Where?"
Elder Liu's willow brows shot up, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes. "We're going to Huiyuan Gate to demand an explanation!"
"I want to see who gave them the nerve to beat my Daoning Gate disciples like this in broad daylight!"
Su He and Li Miao were instantly dumbfounded.
This wasn't how the script was supposed to go!
They'd expected their master to scold them for "not having mastered their skills," then put them under house arrest and tell them to train harder so they could get even next time.
After all, it was just a minor squabble between disciples. It would be beneath an elder to get personally involved.
"Um... Master..."
Su He panicked, cold sweat breaking out at once.
If they really went to confront Gu Chengming and Jiang Lu...
"Master! There's no need, right?"
Su He hurriedly tugged at Elder Liu's sleeve.
"Actually... it wasn't that bad. I can just rest and recover. There's no need to trouble you by going in person..."
"Not that bad?"
Elder Liu glared at her in exasperation. "You were knocked unconscious, and you still say it wasn't that bad? Where's your backbone? Where's your Dao Heart?"
"How have I taught you? If someone bullies you, hit them back! If you can't beat them, come find your master!"
"If you swallow this humiliation today, how will they treat you tomorrow?"
"But..."
Before you continue