Chen Yan, standing at the courtyard gate, first froze for a moment. Then the people inside noticed him too.
Qian Xun was still sprawled on the ground, unconscious. The wounds left by his struggle against the Shadow Binding Rope had scabbed over, but it looked like they would leave scars even if they healed.
The Yuanhua Mountain cultivator smiled faintly in Chen Yan's direction, greeting him in passing.
"Chen Yan."
Lu Li called his name in a calm voice.
"Come here and describe to this senior from Yuanhua Mountain exactly what happened."
Chen Yan walked into the courtyard, then bowed to the unfamiliar cultivator from Yuanhua Mountain.
"Chen Yan, a disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, greets Senior."
"No need for formalities."
The cultivator from Yuanhua Mountain smiled and waved a hand.
"I know of you. Your exploits have stirred up quite a bit of controversy."
Chen Yan smiled awkwardly. He knew the other man wasn't mocking him, just teasing.
The "cheating" incident involving Chen Yan and Lin Qifeng at the Outer Court Grand Competition had long since spread across the seven peaks of Empty Mountain Sect.
And it wasn't just Empty Mountain Sect. Every well-informed sect on Chenping Continent had heard about it.
But as the story spread, people's interpretation of what had happened gradually changed.
After all, Lin Qifeng was an Outer Court elder and the Sect Master's personal disciple. Cheating alongside his own disciple at a minor event like the Outer Court Grand Competition would have brought him almost no benefit.
The most conspiratorial theory going around was that Lin Qifeng had cheated in order to get rid of Qi Yadong.
But that conclusion clearly didn't hold water. After all, it was Qi Yadong's master, Song Wencheng, who had started the dispute.
If not for Song Wencheng, Qi Yadong wouldn't have come down to spar with Chen Yan—and then he wouldn't have died.
Could Qi Yadong's master, Song Wencheng, really have wanted to kill his own precious disciple, who even had a chance of becoming Kongyuan Mountain's Chief Disciple?
Besides, Lin Qifeng insisted that he'd done it out of vanity: he'd wanted his disciple to show off at the Outer Court Grand Competition, and to show off himself as well.
As a result, he was still locked up at Back Cliff on Kongyuan Mountain, reflecting on his actions at the Sect Master's orders.
Even Chen Yan's second martial uncle, Yue Chi, couldn't get to see him.
"I am Li Hanzhou, a cultivation affairs consul from Yuanhua Mountain. Not long ago, Qingchan Peak received an urgent report from the Consulate Office in Taiyun City, saying that a Yuanhua Mountain disciple who was on official business there had run into trouble."
The Yuanhua Mountain cultivator explained the situation to Chen Yan.
"So Qingchan Peak forwarded the report to Yuanhua Mountain. Just now, a senior from Yuanhua Mountain sent me a message saying that the disciple belonged to the peak I oversee."
"I happened to be near Taiyun City, so I came over as quickly as I could to take a look."
A cultivation affairs consul could perhaps best be compared to a profession from Chen Yan's previous life: a college counselor.
In the Outer Court, cultivation affairs consuls were usually Qi Condensation Realm disciples; in the Inner Sect, they were Martial Spring Realm disciples.
They were generally older disciples.
In a case like Qian Xun's, his cultivation affairs consul was indeed the person who knew him best.
So Chen Yan explained the situation to Li Hanzhou.
He went into great detail, from when they left the mountain and Qian Xun first began distancing himself from Li Xiuxiu, Zheng Fei, and the others, to Qian Xun's insolence in Taiyun City, and then how the conflict had fully erupted at the prince's residence. He laid it all out clearly for Li Hanzhou.
"I see."
Li Hanzhou nodded.
"Then, what about the injuries on Qian Xun?"
"They were caused by a magical treasure my master gave me," Chen Yan replied.
Lin Qifeng had already taken the blame for him once. Taking a few more hits for him wouldn't make much difference.
They were all in the same boat, after all.
That was what Chen Yan thought.
Li Hanzhou didn't press the matter further. In truth, he didn't care whether Qian Xun's injuries were serious or minor.
But his expression remained stern. He felt that something about the incident was strange.
"I believe there's something suspicious about this."
Li Hanzhou said:
"Ever since Qian Xun joined the sect, he has been under my supervision. I believe I know his temperament fairly well."
"What do you mean?" Lu Li asked slowly from the side.
"I know very well that Qian Xun has always harbored resentment toward Outer Court disciples. But he is by no means sharp-tongued. He is usually gentle with people, and I have never once seen him openly express his dissatisfaction with Outer Court disciples, even at Yuanhua Mountain."
Li Hanzhou continued:
"I only realized that Qian Xun harbored resentment toward Outer Court disciples by noticing the emotions that occasionally slipped into his words."
"Therefore, it's hard for me to imagine him openly insulting an Outer Court disciple to their face."
Zheng Fei looked anxious.
"But he did! At the prince's residence, he openly insulted me, Junior Sister Xiuxiu, Senior Brother Chen, and even Lin the Personal Disciple!"
Li Hanzhou merely smiled calmly in Zheng Fei's direction.
"I'm not questioning you. I believe Qian Xun really did say those things. But at the same time, I don't believe it was Qian Xun who said them."
Hearing Li Hanzhou say that, Zheng Fei looked even more bewildered.
What a roundabout way of putting it.
Chen Yan grumbled inwardly, though he understood what Li Hanzhou meant.
Qian Xun had become possessed by his own delusions.
"If possible, I'd like to take Qian Xun back to Yuanhua Mountain now, so the sect elders can assess his condition."
Li Hanzhou clasped his hands.
"Once everything has been brought to light, I will give you all an answer."
Li Hanzhou wasn't simply shielding his own disciple. The people present didn't have the ability to make an accurate judgment about Qian Xun's condition.
After all, Lu Li was the most powerful person there, and he was currently around the threshold of the Qi Sea Realm.
If this really was a problem of the mind, it would take a cultivator at least at the Spirit Passage Realm to have any chance of resolving it.
And with County Princess Qin Yue joining the sect, this was a major matter for the sect. The elders of Yuanhua Mountain would certainly do Bai Qiming the favor of investigating this incident thoroughly.
"Then I'll leave it to you, Consul Li," Lu Li said.
Li Hanzhou looked toward Lu Li, then smiled faintly.
"You're too kind, Instructor Lu. Back when you were still at Yuanhua Mountain, I received no small amount of kindness from you."
Lu Li didn't reply, only nodding.
Chen Yan had heard people mention before that Lu Li had once been a disciple of Yuanhua Mountain.
"Then I'll return to the sect first. Take care, everyone."
Li Hanzhou clasped his hands in farewell, then left with Qian Xun.
Watching Li Hanzhou's retreating figure, Chen Yan's mind was full of thoughts.
"Why did you take so long?"
Before Chen Yan knew it, Lu Li had come to stand beside him and was questioning him.
And, whether intentionally or not, Chen Yan could feel the faint pressure Lu Li was radiating.
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