Upon hearing Deputy Hall Master Xu's question, Lu Chaoxian glanced at Zhang Xiaohua, unsure whether he should tell the truth. Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua stepped slightly forward and clasped his hands neither humbly nor arrogantly. "Greetings, Deputy Hall Master Xu. I am Ren Xiaoyao, a herb apprentice from Tianmu Peak's Herb Division."
Deputy Hall Master Xu looked Zhang Xiaohua over with great interest. "I wasn't asking your names. I only want to know where you found the nerve to be openly late."
Zhang Xiaohua said, "Before explaining the reason, I would first like to say something."
"Mm, go ahead." Deputy Hall Master Xu nodded.
"This is my senior brother from the Herb Division. He was not late just now. After arriving and discovering that I had not come, he deliberately went back to look for me. If Hall Master wishes to punish someone, I alone will bear the blame. What do you think?"
Deputy Hall Master Xu clapped his hands. "Good! Since even a lowly herb apprentice like you knows to repay kindness with gratitude, how could I, as a hall master, fail to distinguish right from wrong? Since he remembered that you, his junior brother, were absent and feared you might be punished, he took the risk of going to find you. That in itself deserves praise. This is precisely the concern for others I spoke of earlier. His reason is more than sufficient, so naturally I will not punish him."
Then he turned back to Lu Chaoxian. "Is what he said true? Did you come to this courtyard earlier?"
Lu Chaoxian said in alarm, "Every word Junior Brother Ren said is true. When I came to this courtyard earlier, I did not know that Deputy Hall Master Xu would be lecturing us. It was only when I saw