Thunderous Methods

Finally, Miejue turned to Zhou Zhiruo and nodded, saying, "Zhiruo, you've done well too."

It was the first time Miejue had praised her, and Zhou Zhiruo's bright eyes flickered slightly, a hint of joy rising in her heart.

But she immediately lowered her head and said, "It's all thanks to my junior brother protecting me, Master. I don't deserve your praise."

Miejue smiled and said, "Although your courage remains, you can listen to Shaoan and act at critical moments. For your temperament, this is not easy."

After offering a fair assessment, Miejue withdrew her gaze, then walked towards Ding Minjun with one hand behind her back, saying nothing.

Sensing Miejue's approach, Ding Minjun instinctively tightened her grip on her sword, but then relaxed it.

It wasn't that she didn't want to resist.

It was because Ding Minjun knew that with her strength, in front of Miejue, let alone just this ordinary sword, even if the Heavenly Sword, a divine weapon, were placed in her hands, she still wouldn't be a match for Miejue.

A few breaths later, Miejue's cloth shoes appeared in Ding Minjun's lowered line of sight.

Her gaze fell upon Ding Minjun, Miejue's expression was uncertain.

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

"Why?"

Although her voice was as solemn and majestic as ever, it was tinged with a hint of heartache.

It was like a basin of ice water poured over Ding Minjun from head to toe, causing her to shiver involuntarily.

Ding Minjun raised her head somewhat blankly, opened her mouth, but the words caught in her throat, not knowing where to begin.

Since Miejue had been watching from the shadows, her actions had naturally been seen by Miejue.

Caught red-handed, even with Ding Minjun's usual glib tongue, she didn't know how to argue her way out of it now.

Immediately, Ding Minjun knelt properly, ignoring the injury and severe pain in her leg, and looked up to admit her mistake: "Master, your disciple was momentarily blinded by obsession and jealous of my junior brother's talent. After returning to Emei, I am willing to be confined in the back mountain for half a year, no, a year."

"I only beg Master to spare your disciple this once, considering our ten years of companionship."

Looking at Ding Minjun, who was pleading with her, Miejue's eyes showed a trace of reluctance.

But this reluctance was quickly suppressed by Miejue.

Miejue had already given Ding Minjun a chance.

If Ding Minjun had been able to obey orders and take good care of Gu Shaoan and Zhou Zhiruo this time, it would at least prove that Ding Minjun still had Emei in her heart, and Miejue, her Master, and also a sense of goodness.

Then her usual behavior would have been nothing more than arrogance and a bit of sharp-tonguedness.

In Miejue's opinion, although these were flaws, they could be corrected.

If used well, she could become a stern elder within the Emei sect in the future, even joining the Law Enforcement Hall.

But what Ding Minjun had done was too much.

As a senior disciple, instead of helping her junior disciples when they were in danger, she had secretly attacked them.

Later, when she realized her actions were discovered, she even harbored murderous intent.

Such a person, let alone her own disciple, even the elders of the Emei sect would not be easily forgiven by Miejue.

Taking a deep breath, Miejue suddenly leaned forward, her right palm landing swiftly and powerfully on Ding Minjun's head.

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

The divine light in her eyes quickly faded after she spat out the blood.

Zhou Zhiruo, standing nearby, couldn't help but gasp and turn her head away.

Looking at Ding Minjun, who had fallen to the ground, Miejue's hand trembled involuntarily.

But she quickly withdrew her hand into her sleeve and said loudly, "Remember, all Emei disciples must never turn their weapons on fellow disciples. Those who harm fellow disciples will be killed without mercy."

As the words fell, Juechen and a group of Emei disciples and elders quickly responded.

"We obey the Sect Leader's command."

Gu Shaoan first glanced at Ding Minjun on the ground, then at Miejue.

"As expected, there are no wrong names, only wrong titles. Upper Miejue, Lower Miejue. My Master doesn't hesitate to act when she needs to!"

Miejue's reputation for hating evil was known throughout the martial arts world, and it was also her methods that struck fear into the hearts of villains.

Once she acted, she was ruthless and merciless, judging only right and wrong, not personal feelings.

If it were someone else, they might hesitate when upholding justice, or even be unable to act.

But with Miejue, that was completely out of the question.

After all, Miejue was a ruthless person who could even turn on herself when she was being ruthless.

If Ding Minjun had merely turned a blind eye to Gu Shaoan and Zhou Zhiruo being besieged by bandits today, and had intended to use the bandits to kill them, Miejue might have only crippled Ding Minjun's martial arts and confined her to the Emei forbidden area for life.

But Ding Minjun, as the senior disciple, had actually intended to harm her junior disciples.

And not only Miejue, Gu Shaoan, and Zhou Zhiruo were present, but also Juechen and other Emei elders and disciples.

If Ding Minjun did not die, how could Miejue, as the Sect Leader, command respect?

However, looking back at this bandit suppression mission, Miejue had already begun to lay a trap to test Ding Minjun when she only brought him, Zhou Zhiruo, and Ding Minjun up the mountain.

As for the reason, Gu Shaoan vaguely sensed it had something to do with him.

For a sect, a disciple with outstanding talent is extremely important.

Miejue had dedicated her life to making Emei flourish and eradicating the Ming Cult.

The talent he had displayed before likely made Miejue believe that Emei could prosper because of him in the future.

It was for this reason that she had set up this situation to test Ding Minjun.

But regardless of Miejue's purpose today, her intentions were for Gu Shaoan's own good.

Gu Shaoan could only accept this kindness.

At this moment, Miejue turned her head again to glance at Ding Minjun on the ground.

Finally, she sighed and waved her hand at Juechen, saying, "After all, they were master and disciple. Find two disciples to bury her in a place with good Feng Shui!"

Juechen nodded and casually summoned a few disciples to carry away Ding Minjun's body.

While Juechen and the other Emei disciples continued their search in the mountain stronghold, Miejue turned to look at Gu Shaoan.

"What did you hide in your left sleeve?"

Gu Shaoan did not hide anything. He released the fingers holding his sleeve cuff, and some powder flowed into his palm.

"This is some powder I prepared before coming down the mountain. When sprinkled, it can cause people to faint."

After all, it was his first time descending the mountain, and Gu Shaoan's current strength was insufficient. Besides preparing powder to detect poisons, he had also prepared some drugs with different effects for emergencies.

Miejue's gaze swept over the powder in Gu Shaoan's hand. After a moment of thought, she spoke, "The strength of a martial artist lies within themselves. Injuring others with poison is, after all, not the act of a righteous path. Such methods, unless in a moment of crisis, are best not used."

Gu Shaoan nodded, "This disciple understands."

Seeing Gu Shaoan respond so readily, Miejue nodded slightly.

The grimness on her brow eased a little.

But thinking of Ding Minjun, Miejue couldn't help but sigh again.

Regarding the plotline with Ding Minjun, this author admits it was a bit rushed. I was mainly worried that if I wrote too much, some readers would feel it was dragging. It takes so much space to write about a supporting character, but after reading the comments and confirming everyone's opinions, if there are similar plotlines in the future, I will spend more time developing them, so the process won't be so rough!