Chapter 99

Chapter 99: Let Yu Zhao Stay
While Master Zi Wei was still full of fear, Elder Qiu Shuang and the others were already leading Yu Zhao up the steps to the main hall.

Qiu Shuang pointed ahead and said: “Up there is the main hall of Clear Breeze Sect. We will first pay our respects to the Sect Master, then sit down and talk.”

Yu Zhao nodded in agreement.

Hearing the voices from outside, Master Zi Wei’s eyes flickered. It did not sound like someone had come to cause trouble for Clear Breeze Sect after all.

She thought: [So maybe I do not have to run?]

While she hesitated, Elder Qiu Shuang and the others entered the main hall and bowed to her.

Yu Zhao, surrounded by them in the middle, also followed their lead and bowed.

At first, Master Zi Wei did not notice Yu Zhao. She was about to ask who wanted to see her when Yu Zhao lifted her head. Their eyes met, and both of them were shocked.

Yu Zhao was surprised because she had seen this current Sect Master of Clear Breeze Sect before in the painting.

The artist of the scroll had poured their heart into depicting Shui Qing Yue teaching and passing on the Dao. The others around her had only been sketched with a few strokes, but one person, who stood closest to Shui Qing Yue, had half her face clearly shown.

That half of a face was enough for Yu Zhao to recognize the person in front of her as that very same Master Zi Wei.

As for Master Zi Wei’s shock, it was easy to understand. Anyone who had known Shui Qing Yue would be stunned the moment they saw Yu Zhao.

The two looked far too alike.

Even though Qiu Shuang and the others knew Yu Zhao was not Shui Qing Yue, they still sometimes dazed out when they looked at her face.

“Pa… Palace Master!” Master Zi Wei blurted out. Then her face cooled slightly as she quickly corrected herself: “No, you are not Shui Qing Yue. Who are you?”

Yu Zhao answered: “My name is Yu Zhao.”

Her answer did not relax Master Zi Wei’s tense mood. Instead, the Sect Master seemed even more wary and fearful.

Master Zi Wei asked in a cold voice: “What is your relationship with Shui Qing Yue? Why have you come to Clear Breeze Sect?”

Her words were very rude. Elder Qiu Shuang and the others frowned, but they held their tongues.

Yu Zhao thought: [Master Zi Wei is afraid of me. Why? Just because I look so much like Shui Qing Yue? Could the disaster that struck Water Cloud Palace back then have something to do with her?]

If others respected her by a foot, she would repay them by a yard.

Since Master Zi Wei spoke to her with such harsh words, Yu Zhao naturally did not need to give her a pleasant face.

Their first meeting was filled with tense, sharp air.

“Full of nonsense! I think you came with bad intentions! Leave at once. Clear Breeze Sect does not welcome you!”

Master Zi Wei’s anger exploded. She flicked her sleeve and shouted.

“Sect Master, please calm down. Yu Zhao did not mean to offend you,” Elder Qiu Shuang said quickly, stepping out to speak for Yu Zhao.

The other elders all echoed her words, and some kept winking at Yu Zhao, telling her to take the initiative and admit fault.

Yu Zhao went quiet for a moment. She did not want to make things harder for the elders, so she cupped her fists and said: “Master Zi Wei, my words earlier were rude. I offended you greatly. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Humph, there is no need to say more. Leave at once!”

Master Zi Wei did not ease up. Her wording grew even harsher.

Yu Zhao had not yet replied when the elders spoke up for her again.

“ Sect Master, Yu Zhao has already admitted she was wrong. Why must you keep pressing the matter?”

“That is right. Yu Zhao looks so much like the Palace Master. They must be related by blood. In that case, she is tied to Clear Breeze Sect by fate. Let her stay.”

“ Sect Master, please be generous and let Yu Zhao stay.”

“Let Yu Zhao stay!”

In the end, all of their voices joined into one line.

Let Yu Zhao stay.

Master Zi Wei was so angry she laughed: “Good, very good! You are all so kind, and I am the only one who has to play the villain!

Have you forgotten the disaster from twenty years ago? I am the Sect Master of Clear Breeze Sect. I must be responsible for the safety of every disciple in this sect! This person’s background is unclear, and she cannot even explain her connection to Shui Qing Yue. She absolutely cannot stay!”

Her words instantly brought the elders back to that nightmare from twenty years ago.

It had begun as an ordinary day. The Palace Master was teaching them on the training grounds when dark clouds suddenly rolled in. Enemies poured toward the mountain from every entrance of Water Cloud Palace like a tidal wave.

Shouts, screams, and explosions rang without end.

Even today, Clear Breeze Sect still carried scars from that battle everywhere.

The elders, who had thought their Sect Master too cold just a moment ago, could no longer bring themselves to refute her. They could only look at Yu Zhao with guilty eyes.

Yu Zhao understood at once that she would not be allowed to stay in Clear Breeze Sect today.

She did not say anything more. After sweeping her gaze over everyone, she turned and left without hesitation.

Elder Qiu Shuang took two steps forward on instinct, wanting to chase after her.

“Do not go,” Master Zi Wei’s sharp voice snapped. Her order rode the breeze to Yu Zhao’s ears.

Yu Zhao’s lips lifted in a faint, unreadable smile, and her steps unconsciously sped up a little.

…

That night, Elder Qiu Shuang sat on the swing in the courtyard, drinking alone.

She was very beautiful. A faint blush from the wine colored her cheeks, adding a special charm to her looks.

She narrowed her eyes slightly and muttered in a low voice: “Palace Master… why will you still not come back to see me…”

She did not even know what she was saying anymore.

A cool night breeze blew through the courtyard, bringing a chill with it.

Elder Qiu Shuang shivered and lifted the wine jug, tilting back her slender neck.

“Hm?”

The wine she expected did not pour into her mouth.

She lowered her head and saw a long, strong hand holding the bottom of the jug.

When she looked up, she saw that the person standing in front of her was Yu Zhao, the one who had been driven out of the mountain gate not long ago.

Elder Qiu Shuang sobered up a bit at once. She lowered her voice and asked in surprise: “How did you get in?”

Yu Zhao smiled and said: “Just a small trick. There is no need to show off in front of Elder.”

Seeing that Yu Zhao did not want to talk about it, Elder Qiu Shuang did not ask further. Instead, she waved for Yu Zhao to follow her into the study.

She said: “I know what you want to ask, but before that, I also want to know who you are.”

Yu Zhao picked two or three things that best showed her identity and told her. For example, she had been an orphan since childhood and had only survived by joining Five Elements Dao Sect later on.

When she heard that Yu Zhao was actually a disciple of Five Elements Dao Sect, Elder Qiu Shuang was very comforted. She sighed and said: “You are someone with great fortune. No wonder you could find your way to Clear Breeze Sect. But this might disappoint you. Of all the elders, I joined Water Cloud Palace the latest. Still, I can tell you everything I know. As for the rest, I am afraid there is nothing I can do.”

Then Elder Qiu Shuang began to tell Yu Zhao the story of how she had met Shui Qing Yue.

Putting aside her long, drawn-out praises of Shui Qing Yue, the story itself was quite simple: a beautiful female cultivator refused to become someone’s furnace and was hunted down. In the end, she was saved and taken in by the Palace Mistress of Water Cloud Palace.

Elder Qiu Shuang went on: “The Palace Master rarely talked to us about her past, but we all knew that she had an elder brother. They were separated when they were young and had long since lost contact.

The Palace Master founded Water Cloud Palace for two reasons. First, she wanted to give female cultivators who did not want to wander the world a place where they could be safe. Second, she hoped that, through the influence of Water Cloud Palace, she might be able to find her family.

Sadly, the Palace Master never waited for that day. The great upheaval twenty years ago not only destroyed all the work she had poured into Water Cloud Palace, but also left her missing to this very day.”