A Shameless Wretch

"Sister Jin, you must stand up for me! This scoundrel has gone too far!

Not only did he openly violate sect rules by picking spirit flowers in the Sea of Flowers at will, he also threw his weight around and oppressed a fellow senior sister!

I couldn't bear to watch, so I went over to reason with him. But he wouldn't listen and even attacked me, beating me terribly!"

As Luo Bai spoke, he pointed at Ming Hao with a pitiful look, acting as though he had suffered the greatest injustice imaginable.

When the woman he called Sister Jin, a steward, heard this, her already chilly gaze grew even colder.

She abruptly turned around, fixed Ming Hao with a hard stare, and snapped:

"Outrageous! To think our Misty Sect harbored such a shameless wretch!

Someone seize this scoundrel and take him to the Enforcement Hall at once to confess and receive his punishment!"

The outer disciples gathered nearby were about to step forward.

Hearing this from behind her, Luo Bai was overjoyed.

He looked smugly at Ming Hao, his provocative gaze seeming to say, Well? You're in trouble now, aren't you?

Yet Ming Hao and Lin Zihan remained unmoved. Both frowned deeply and cursed inwardly:

What rotten luck today. Did we forget to check the almanac before going out? How did we run into these two ridiculous people?

Ming Hao snorted coldly, meeting Steward Jin's gaze without fear, and said in a low voice:

"Hold on! You're going to convict me based solely on this brat's side of the story?

Isn't that far too hasty? If you can't produce solid evidence, don't blame me for showing you no courtesy!"

At this, Steward Jin turned to Luo Bai and said gently:

"Little Brother Luo Bai, don't be afraid. Your big sister is here. Just tell us exactly what happened, every last detail.

I'll make sure justice is done for you. They wouldn't dare bully you with me here."

Luo Bai's face alternated between green and white as he groaned inwardly. What evidence did he have?

He had merely dreamed it all up out of resentment, though he had personally witnessed Ming Hao picking flowers at will.

At this thought, Luo Bai suddenly sounded less certain. He stammered:

"Th-this scoundrel picked spirit flowers without permission! I saw it with my own eyes!

Look, aren't those two big red flowers on that senior sister's head the best evidence?"

Everyone turned their eyes toward the two bright red flowers in Lin Zihan's hair.

Understanding dawned on their faces, and they seemed to agree with Luo Bai's claim.

Yet Ming Hao and Lin Zihan showed no reaction to his words. They remained perfectly composed, as though they cared nothing for what anyone thought.

Then Luo Bai continued:

"There's more! Not only did this scoundrel pick spirit flowers without permission, he also oppressed a fellow senior sister!

You can all see it. How could such a beautiful, captivating senior sister willingly give herself to an immature brat like him?

He must have gotten hold of some secret of hers and used it to threaten her!"

Everyone was speechless at this. Wasn't everything Ming Hao had said merely something he had imagined out of thin air?

There was no actual evidence whatsoever!

"Finally, he hit me! Everyone can see it. Look at the footprint on my chest. That's the best evidence!"

After speaking, Luo Bai deliberately pointed at the clear footprint on his chest, looking thoroughly self-righteous, as though every word he had said were fact.

Luo Bai delivered this whole speech without blushing or missing a heartbeat. The thickness of his hide was truly staggering.

Ming Hao was speechless as well. Then he replied coldly:

"I did pick those two red flowers. Outside, they sell for only a thousand low-tier spirit stones each.

Here are fifty lower-grade spirit stones. Take them and keep the change. Consider the extra thirty a handout to a dog."

With a pointed look on his face, Ming Hao tossed the fifty lower-grade spirit stones onto the ground like rubbish, as though they were worth nothing at all.

"Hmph! Claiming I oppressed a fellow senior sister is utter nonsense! You useless fool can't produce a shred of evidence.

It's all your own wild fantasies and baseless guesses! Your heart is crooked, and your intentions deserve condemnation!"

Ming Hao suddenly widened his eyes in anger and roared at Luo Bai.

His voice rang through the air, reaching everyone present clearly.

The onlookers nodded in agreement with Ming Hao, evidently finding Luo Bai's accusations groundless as well.

Yet Steward Jin alone still stood by Luo Bai's claims. She seemed not to realize that she and Luo Bai had already become targets of everyone's criticism.

By now, Luo Bai's face had turned as pale as paper, without a trace of color. Ming Hao's words had clearly infuriated him.

Seeing this, Ming Hao raised the corners of his mouth in a faint, triumphant smile.

He lifted a finger and pointed at his own face, then looked at Lin Zihan with a teasing glint in his eyes.

Lin Zihan immediately understood. Though a little shy, she bent down without hesitation and gently kissed Ming Hao on the cheek.

The sight drew exclamations of astonishment and envy from everyone present.

Ming Hao looked provocatively at Luo Bai and Steward Jin and continued:

"As for the third point, this fellow is merely an outer disciple, yet he charged up to attack me without even sorting right from wrong.

I, on the other hand, am a proper inner disciple. I only gave him a light kick to push him away, which was already showing him mercy! And a scoundrel like him still dares bark here like a mad dog. How utterly ridiculous!"

The many inner disciples nearby voiced their agreement. If outer disciples could attack inner disciples whenever they liked, what would become of things? They might as well abolish the distinction between the inner and outer sects altogether.

As Luo Bai heard everyone discussing him, his face alternated between green and white, and he was mortified. Only Steward Jin remained firmly convinced that her Little Brother Luo Bai was right, without wavering in the slightest.

At last, unable to withstand the pressure, Luo Bai picked up the fifty lower-grade spirit stones from the ground amid everyone's pointing and criticism, then fled in disgrace!

Those two lower-grade spirit stones were no small sum to them, but an unexpected windfall. After all, an outer disciple's monthly stipend was only three thousand low-tier spirit stones, nowhere near what an inner disciple received.

Seeing this, everyone dispersed.

Although Luo Bai had spoiled Ming Hao and Lin Zihan's good mood that day, the two did not leave.

Instead, keeping an eye on Luo Bai there, Ming Hao took Lin Zihan nearby to admire the flowers and compose poetry, looking every bit the perfect match of a talented man and a beautiful woman.

Their cheerful laughter rang out endlessly, stirring envy in who knew how many outer disciples hard at work.

Luo Bai's expression never improved. His face twisted as though he had swallowed dung.

Only when the sun sank behind the western mountains and the outer disciples finished their day's work was Luo Bai released from his torment.

Meanwhile, Ming Hao and Lin Zihan had already walked to the summit of Cloudsea Peak to admire the beautiful starlight and moonlight.

They even set up a little barbecue. Of course, Lin Zihan did the grilling while Ming Hao ate. After Ming Hao burned the food several times, Lin Zihan chased him off to one side...

At midnight, in the Outer Sect stewards' residential quarters,

faint sounds drifted from an exquisitely decorated pink room!

Luo Bai was holding a gorgeous woman with both arms as he moved against her, seemingly imagining her as Lin Zihan, the goddess he had seen that day.

He seemed determined to vent all the day's frustration and anger, showing no tenderness toward the beauty at all!

The gorgeous woman in Luo Bai's arms was none other than Steward Jin, who had defended him that day. Her eyes were now hazy!

Sounds escaped her from time to time, as though someone were bullying her, yet she also seemed to enjoy it!

"Mmm~"

Only when dawn began to break did everything fall quiet.