Deputy Hall Master

The other six Enforcement Hall disciples saw that the man seemed scared out of his wits and all turned to look at the plaque. Instantly, all six faces changed drastically, and three of them dropped directly to their knees—

They had truly fallen to their knees, not merely as a figure of speech.

They were the three Enforcement Hall disciples whom Mu Ming and Mu Zhengfeng had called over. They knelt outright. Then, with perfect unanimity, all three turned their gazes toward Mu Ming, Mu Zhengfeng, and Wang Linshu. At that moment, their eyes were wolves' eyes—eyes that wanted to kill...

No matter how foolish the three of them were, with three Enforcement Hall disciples staring at them like that, how could they not know something was terribly wrong?

When the surrounding onlookers saw the situation suddenly change, they too curiously looked at the plaque in Hu Meier's hand—every twist in events had begun after Hu Meier took out that plaque. They were all guessing what kind of plaque it was.

Of course, aside from these seven people from the Enforcement Hall, no one present recognized it at all!

That seemingly ordinary dark-gray plaque had only been seen once even by these Enforcement Hall disciples, within the Enforcement Hall on Bloodbone Peak. When they had first joined the Enforcement Hall, an elder had pointed to the plaque hanging on the wall of the Enforcement Hall's main hall and told them that it was the identity plaque of the Enforcement Hall Master. In the entire Enforcement Hall, only two people had the authority to pick up that plaque. One was the current Enforcement Hall Master; the other was the next Hall Master!

Now that Hu Meier held this plaque in her hand, its meaning needed no explanation.

Before their eyes, this seemingly delicate, charming woman was the next Hall Master of their Enforcement Hall!

No wonder the three Enforcement Hall disciples who had just passed judgment on Hu Donghan had been frightened to their knees—they had committed some truly monstrous sin! They had merely done an acquaintance a small favor and dealt with a Qi Refining First Layer brat, yet they had somehow offended the next Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall! The ancestral graves of all three of their families must have been belching black smoke together today.

After several more seconds of silence, the four Enforcement Hall disciples who had originally been guarding the Outer Affairs Hall dropped to one knee and said with utmost respect, "Enforcement Hall disciples pay respects to the Deputy Hall Master!"

The other three also came back to their senses. They shifted to one knee and said tremblingly, "Enforcement Hall disciples pay respects to the Deputy Hall Master!"

The moment the words "Deputy Hall Master" came out, all the surrounding disciples watching were stunned—in the entire Yin Soul Sect, the only "Deputy Hall Master" worthy of receiving the kneeling salute of Enforcement Hall disciples was the Deputy Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall! But was this beautiful woman before them, whose cultivation was merely at the Qi Refining Stage, truly the Deputy Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall?

When Hu Donghan saw this, his brows rose slightly. He had known that Hu Meier's master was the Soul-Devouring Ancestor of the Enforcement Hall, but he truly had not expected Hu Meier to become some Deputy Hall Master in such a short time...

Hu Meier's pair of soul-hooking eyes swept over the seven Enforcement Hall disciples, but none of them felt honored. Instead, chills ran through their entire bodies.

The three Enforcement Hall disciples who had come to make trouble for Hu Donghan were one thing, but the other four were endlessly crying bitter tears in their hearts—what rotten luck had they run into, to be stationed at Overlapping Peaks this month of all months? The four of them had truly been dragged into this for no reason at all.

"I saw every bit of how you carried out the law here just now! It seems my little brother really is unpopular in the outer sect and has offended quite a few people... He even offended this senior brother from the inner sect." Hu Meier spoke in a soft, lovely voice, her tone as melodious as heavenly music.

But when that voice fell into the ears of everyone present, it was like furious thunder. Mu Ming in particular, the "inner sect senior brother" Hu Meier had singled out, felt cold all over—these Enforcement Hall disciples, whom he ordinarily would not even dare offend, were actually kneeling before the woman in front of him. And now, that woman seemed to have noticed him...

Among the surrounding onlookers, some clever people finally realized that the situation had reached the point where even watching was no longer an option. Those clever people began squeezing their way outward, preparing to leave.

But the moment they squeezed outside, they discovered that more than a dozen Golden Core Realm Enforcement Hall disciples had somehow appeared outside the Outer Affairs Hall.

As soon as those people emerged, the Enforcement Hall disciples immediately stopped them.

"Th-this disciple was wrong. When enforcing the law earlier, this disciple acted with bias. This disciple is willing to take his own life to uphold the Sect Law Code."

The three Enforcement Hall disciples looked at one another. Then, the leading cultivator turned pale and prostrated himself before Hu Meier to beg forgiveness. The other two Enforcement Hall disciples also said respectfully, "This disciple is willing to accept punishment!"

The reason Enforcement Hall disciples were so imposing was entirely because the Soul-Devouring Ancestor stood behind them. If the ancestor in charge of the Enforcement Hall were not a hardline figure, how could they possibly be so hardline themselves? The person they had offended now was the next Hall Master of the Enforcement Hall, naturally someone appointed by the Soul-Devouring Ancestor. If they did not beg forgiveness now, then once they entered the Enforcement Hall, the treatment awaiting them was easy enough to imagine.

Hu Meier gave a light laugh. "Didn't you already rule that my little brother was to receive one hundred and forty lashes? Since the Enforcement Hall disciples have already rendered their judgment, how can it be changed? Since the Sect Law Code has been established, it must be obeyed!" After speaking, Hu Meier paused, then continued, "However, I feel that this enforcement of the law was somewhat crude. I now wish to review it again. Do you have any objections?"

"No objections."

How could those three Enforcement Hall disciples dare have any objections?

When the Enforcement Hall enforced the law, if a Golden Core Realm ancestor believed there was a problem, they could completely call for a review. But under normal circumstances, who would have such courage? Only high-ranking stewards and elders within the Enforcement Hall itself would dare meddle in such matters!

Hu Meier smiled faintly again. "Good. Earlier, it was said that my little brother Hu Donghan seemed to have violated two sect laws. The first was that, at Lonely Soul Ridge, he used a spell to attack this disciple, correct? Then I would like to ask again exactly what happened here! Little brother, tell me what the situation was at the time."

Seeing Hu Meier putting on such an affected performance, Hu Donghan rolled his eyes at her and said, "This Senior Brother Wang suddenly appeared behind me. I thought he was a Yin Soul ghost, so I attacked him with the Spirit Bolt Technique."

"I see." Hu Meier still wore an expression of fairness and impartiality. Turning to Wang Linshu, she asked, "This disciple, do you have any differing opinion regarding my little brother's account?"

(End of this chapter)