Sure enough, before Abbess Jingyi's words had even faded, Peacock and the others appeared at the entrance to the hall. Chen Chen leaped out from behind them, shouting, "Cult Master, you... you're incredible! I was even planning to give you a surprise. I didn't have any other disciples come report it, and before we even entered the room, you already knew!"
Abbess Jingyi rose to her feet. The veil over her face rippled, and she seemed exceedingly moved. She walked before Peacock and the others, looked them over from every angle, then took Peacock's hand and smiled. "Good, good, good!"
Those three successive "goods" expressed the joy in her heart to the fullest.
"Eh? What is this about?" Chen Chen looked at Meng and the others in great surprise and asked, "Who bullied Junior Sister Zixia? Tell Senior Sister quickly, and I'll teach him a lesson!"
She immediately turned to Xi Mujun, her face full of disdain. "Was it Junior Brother Xi? I say, Junior Brother Xi, you're not getting any younger. Why are you doing something like bullying a junior sister? Hurry up and apologize to Junior Sister Zixia!"
Then she covered her mouth and looked at Abbess Jinggang. "Martial Aunt Jinggang, please don't blame me. I absolutely did not mean to disrespect you!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, she spotted the Purple Phoenix Hairpin in Meng's hand and cried out, "Oh my, Zixia, isn't this the Purple Phoenix Hairpin of our Incense-Passing Cult? I heard there's a male and a female one. Is this one male or female?"
As she spoke, she reached out and snatched it from Meng's hand.
Meng had picked it up only in a moment of desperation. Seeing Chen Chen take it, she immediately let go, as though it were a