Taking Over the Punishment Hall

"Young Hall Master..."

"Shut up!"

On the way back to the sect, Ge Ye kept wanting to say something. But when he finally worked up the courage to speak, Yun Zimo cut him off at once. Ge Ye jumped in fright, then meekly shrank to the back of the group to keep his own disciple company.

A cold glint flickered in Yun Zimo's eyes. If they hadn't been outside, he would have cut down trash like that with a single stroke long ago!

Did he really think his schemes were flawless? Their sect master might have seemed a little foolish, but she wasn't so blind that she couldn't see through this.

They traveled in silence. Yun Zimo's expression was cold, and even Nalan Yanran, sitting quietly beside him, didn't dare say much. The others were even more silent, afraid of provoking the young Hall Master, who would take over the Punishment Hall tomorrow...

"Seize him!"

Yun Zimo had only just stepped through the mountain gate when a cold, stern voice rang out from the clouds and mist among the mountains. Hearing a shout he had heard countless times since childhood, Yun Zimo remained expressionless and let his father's men tie him up.

"I failed to teach my son properly. I beg the sect master to punish me!"

Yun Yin, Hall Master of the Punishment Hall, stood at the end of the steps on Misty Cloud Mountain. He personally brought Yun Zimo before the sect master, then knelt on one knee to confess his guilt.

As soon as Yun Zimo had left the mountain gate, Yun Yun had spoken to Yun Yin. That was why Yun Yin was treating Yun Zimo this way. His son belonged to the Punishment Hall lineage, yet had knowingly broken the law; the blame lay entirely with him as a father!

"Uncle Yun Yin, you're being too hard on yourself. Zi Mo had his own plans, and I don't blame him. But he knowingly broke the law, so let's sentence him to copy the mountain-gate rules a hundred times."

"Thank you, sect master!"

Yun Yin breathed a sigh of relief. If his son really lost his right of succession over this, how could he face the ancestors of the Punishment Hall? How could he go home and face his wife...

Yun Yun helped Yun Yin up and gave him a few more instructions. After Yun Yin took his leave, Yun Yun grabbed the junior brother who had dared to talk back to her earlier and returned to her study, disregarding the disciples' strange looks.

The Yun Zimo she held by the collar remained calm. After years of traveling beyond the mountain, his character had long since become unyielding.

He remained unruffled when he stood before Yun Yun afterward. When she had carried him into the room, he had seen that the study was empty. He knew she wouldn't do anything more to him.

"You left the mountain without permission, defied the sect's orders, and knowingly broke the law... Luckily, you didn't cause any real trouble. Otherwise, I would have put you under house arrest for a few days!"

Yun Yun personally untied the ropes around Yun Zimo. Her words were a reprimand, but they also carried the earnestness of a teacher's instruction.

"Sister Yun, I'm already twenty. I'm not a child."

Yun Yun's hands paused at the sound of his voice. Then she gently smoothed out the wrinkles in his clothes again.

"Tell me, why did you keep refusing to let Yanran break off the engagement? You could clearly see how much resentment that girl was holding inside."

Yun Yun returned to her seat and asked. If Yun Zimo couldn't give her a good explanation today, she would make him pay!

"When you first took her in, you nearly left her with no way to save face. Now you've gone and stirred up another mess. What was that Three-Year Agreement about?"

At Yun Yun's question, Yun Zimo sat down too and replied.

"The Three-Year Agreement was Yanran's own idea. What did it have to do with us? At the time, I only wanted to slap those few scumbags to death."

Yun Zimo pursed his lips. He hadn't led her into anything.

"Vulgar!"

Yun Yun chided him with a laugh, and Yun Zimo continued.

"Sis, it's not that I wanted her to stay engaged. If she doesn't like him, there's no reason to force her into marriage! But she's young and hotheaded, and might go astray. With petty people stirring things up, she could easily make a terrible mistake."

Yun Zimo spoke gently. Yun Yun spent most of her time in secluded cultivation, occasionally guiding Nalan Yanran. In her daily life, she was surrounded either by elders or by senior brothers who deliberately ingratiated themselves with her. It was all too easy for Nalan Yanran to be led astray by those parasites. He had brought it up to Yun Yun and the old sect master, Yun Shan, before leaving the mountain all those years ago, but he had been weak and of little influence. It seemed to have done no good...

"A terrible mistake? Petty people?"

Yun Yun glanced at Yun Zimo's increasingly handsome face.

"You mean Ge Ye and his disciple?"

"I knew they wanted to use Yanran to get into the inner sect, but..."

"But because of the resources the Mo Clan behind Mo Ling paid in tribute each year, you had to turn a blind eye."

Zi Mo finished the sentence Yun Yun had left unfinished, then closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He should have dealt with them before leaving the mountain all those years ago!

"It's a good thing you didn't assassinate them back then. Everyone in the sect knows you can't stand people like them. If they had really died, you wouldn't have escaped blame!"

Yun Yun saw what Yun Zimo was thinking and lightly tapped his forehead. It was both an explanation and a warning not to do anything foolish.

"If you knew what the Mo Clan had done, you wouldn't think that way anymore..."

Zi Mo thought to himself. He remembered what he had discovered after infiltrating the Mo Clan during his travels. Heh, it was far more repulsive than the book had described.

"Don't worry. Even if I take over the Law Enforcement Hall, I won't touch certain people or certain matters."

Hearing Zi Mo's words, Yun Yun felt reassured. She had been afraid that her idealistic little brother, whose head was full of lofty principles, would lose control and draw his sword to cut down everyone he couldn't stand.

"Go on. You take over tomorrow. I'll personally prepare your seal."

Yun Yun stretched languidly and told Yun Zimo to hurry off and get ready, not realizing there was anything improper about the gesture.

"Sister..."

Yun Zimo suddenly called out to Yun Yun. Before she could react, he gave her a light peck, then bolted out the door as if fleeing for his life.

"You little brat!"

Yun Yun cried out in surprise, a faint blush rising to her cheeks.

"What are you running for? It's not like I'd do anything to you..."

"Young... Young Hall Master!"

Seeing Yun Zimo arrive in such a sorry state, Ge Ye—who had secretly rejoiced when he heard Yun Zimo had been taken away—was startled. He hurriedly bowed and stepped aside. Zi Mo gave him a slight nod in return, then quickly fled again.

"What...?"

Why was Yun Zimo being so easygoing this time? Ge Ye was baffled, but with no answers to be found, he hurried off to the Affairs Hall to report to the Grand Elder.

"Master..."

In Yun Yun's study, Nalan Yanran twirled a finger and cautiously looked up at Yun Yun.

"Mm, sit down. I know all about the Xiao Clan."

Yun Yun finished the final stroke on the scroll, then looked up at her little disciple.

"Yanran, your coming-of-age ceremony is next year, isn't it? You haven't been home in years. Don't you miss it?"

"Te... Teacher, are... are you sending Yanran away?"

Nalan Yanran stood up, her voice thick with tears. After all these years, she had long since come to regard Yun Yun as the person closest to her.

"The Xiao Clan is coming tomorrow to dissolve the engagement. You're one of the parties involved, and if you aren't there, people will have something to say. Your master has to preside over the Punishment Hall succession ceremony, so I can't go with you. But your Uncle Yun Yun is free. You haven't been home in years, so it would be good to visit. Stay a few days and take it as a chance to clear your head."

Yun Yun made up her mind. From now on, she would ask Yun Yin, once he stepped down from the Punishment Hall, to teach Nalan Yanran properly. She was only suited to cultivation; she truly wasn't good at teaching disciples.

The next day, the Xiao Clan came to dissolve the engagement, causing a huge stir in the Jia Ma Imperial Capital.

The Nalan Family of the Imperial Capital had had its engagement broken off by the Xiao Clan of Wutan City?

What a juicy piece of gossip!

Elder Nalan, bedridden with illness, was so furious that he climbed out of bed to curse Nalan Su, his unfilial son. In the end, though, the two families still dissolved the engagement. If nothing unexpected happened, once Elder Nalan passed away, the two families would never have anything to do with each other again...

But these matters had nothing to do with Misty Cloud Mountain. The rule that the Misty Cloud Sect would not meddle in worldly affairs had been established by its founding sect master, Ancestor Potian. Even after nine generations, no one had broken it. Or perhaps the people on Misty Cloud Mountain had grown accustomed to this life of noninterference—and the Punishment Hall had played no small part in that.

"Clang!"

"Welcome, sect master! Welcome, honored elders!"

The disciples of the Misty Cloud Sect stood in formation and cried out. The entire younger generation gazed fervently at the sect master and elders, the sect's top combatants—though mostly at the sect master...

"The Misty Cloud Sect was founded eight hundred years ago. It has weathered three dynasties and eight sect masters, all of whom worked tirelessly to restore the glory of the era of Ancestor Potian. Though I lack talent and learning, and cannot match the sect masters who came before me, I, Yun Yun, will still devote my life to that cause! Every disciple here is the future hope of the Misty Cloud Sect. I hope you will all lend me your strength!"

"May we restore the sect's former glory!"

Though Yun Yun's speech was brief, her clear, lively voice and peerless beauty still sent the disciples into a fervor.

"Ninth sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Yun!"

"Eighth Hall Master of the Punishment Hall, Yun Yin!"

"May the former sect master bestow the seal!"

"So be it!"

A warm male voice came from the rear mountain of Misty Cloud Mountain. A streak of light shot through the air and transformed into a small seal that hovered before Yun Yun.

"Yun Yin, after the ceremony, go to the Gate of Life and Death. You are not to leave until you reach the Dou Emperor level!"

The old sect master Yun Shan's voice rang out. Yun Yin nodded in surprise and looked back at the elders, each with a different expression.

"Ninth Hall Master of the Misty Cloud Sect's Punishment Hall, Yun Zimo! Receive the sword!"

Dressed in a black-and-white brocade robe, Yun Zimo returned the Green Spirit Sword he had worn for five years to the sect's swordsmith. One day, the sword might be passed down to his disciple.

He took the Judgment Sword, symbol of the way of punishment, from Yun Yin's hands. The instant his fingers closed around it, he seemed to glimpse the ancestors standing in a row, bellowing as they passed judgment on evil.

"The sword in your hand is more than a weapon. It is the responsibility of protecting the Misty Cloud Sect. No matter the hour, you must put the sect first, even if it costs you your life!"

Whispers rang in Yun Zimo's ears. Before long, he rose and drew the Judgment Sword. One side was pitch-black, the other silver-white, and the sect's laws and generations of maxims were engraved upon it. Sunlight reflected off the blade and stabbed straight into Yun Zimo's eyes.

Yun Yun stepped forward. Dou Qi surged in her hand as she engraved Yun Zimo's name on the seal. At the top, a tiny number nine was set into the crystal-clear statue of Xiezhi, which glimmered faintly.

"I hope you'll stay true to your heart and hold yourself to the same laws you impose on others!"

Yun Yun said no more than that. She fastened the seal at Yun Zimo's waist, then took out the Sect Master Token and handed it to him.

"Now that you're Hall Master, every part of the sect is open to you. My token is as good as my presence. As long as you don't violate the sect's orders, you may act as you see fit!"

Looking at the three items that symbolized his status, Yun Zimo felt his heart swell with ambition. He turned and raised the Judgment Sword high. The disciples throughout the sect raised their swords in reply, and the long, resonant cries of the blades pierced the clouds and mist, spreading across the entire Jia Ma Empire.

"Misty Cloud Sect..."

A low murmur came from somewhere in the Jia Ma Empire. After a long while, it turned into a sigh.