Chapter 129

Chapter 129: Punishment

Li Shuang stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Lin Qing Ling.

Lin Qing Ling froze.

Li Shuang smiled gently and said: “Master accepting a disciple’s bow is only right.”

Lin Qing Ling blinked, a little moved, her eyes turning faintly red.

Her meaning could not be clearer: the Master she recognized was Lin Qing Ling.

Immortal Ling Xu’s face changed. He said quickly: “Little Shuang, at Emotionless Peak you have Luo Ming Yue and Liu Jun Cheng above you. When will you ever rise? Think for yourself!”

Luo Ming Yue and Liu Jun Cheng flashed with anger and were about to speak.

Li Shuang said calmly: “Peak Master of Ling Xu Peak, thank you for your favor. But our bond as Master and disciple ended with that palm strike. The Sect Master witnessed it.”

Meng Yi Fei nodded and said evenly: “So it was.”

“Even so,” Immortal Ling Xu pressed on, “we can rebuild our bond, can’t we?”

Li Shuang looked at him and said lightly: “No. At Emotionless Peak, I already gained all I wanted.”

Immortal Ling Xu asked at once: “What is it? If you return, I will give you anything.”

He had already decided that no matter how large the price Li Shuang named, he would endure it. Only if she returned could the harm Ye Zhao Zhao caused be fully erased.

Li Shuang answered: “Trust that I can stake my life on.”

Immortal Ling Xu froze. [Just that?] He almost said he could give that too. But when he thought of his actions over the past ten years, his face changed. [I may dare to claim it, but would she dare to believe?]

“Enough,” Meng Yi Fei said mildly. “Ling Xu, let it end here.”

Immortal Ling Xu’s cheek twitched. He could say no more.

Back when Li Shuang left Ling Xu Peak, he had been proud, sure she would one day regret it and beg to return. But now… was it they who regretted it?

A stab of pain shot through his chest as he glanced at Ye Zhao Zhao’s corpse, even tinged with blame. [Damn Devil Path.] If not for Ye Zhao Zhao’s bewitchment, how would Ling Xu Peak have ended up like this?

Meng Yi Fei said evenly: “A Devil Path spy hid in the Sword Sect. Ling Xu failed to detect it. He is not fit to serve as a Peak Master. Remove him from the post of Peak Master of Ling Xu Peak and confine him to the mountaintop for three months.”

Immortal Ling Xu went pale. The position he had fought hard to gain was simply… gone?

He looked to the other Peak Masters for help. Yu Ling Long gave a cold laugh and said: “That’s right. If a petty man like this holds a Peak Master’s seat, outsiders will mock us.”

The other Peak Masters tacitly agreed. Not one spoke for him.

“Ling Xu,” Meng Yi Fei warned, “the Great Dao has three thousand paths. We who walk the Righteous Path must walk upright. Do not stray. In three months of confinement, reflect on your faults. If you return to the right path, there is still a future.”

It was good counsel. Immortal Ling Xu bowed his head and answered, but his face twisted. He was a Peak Master for years, if not with great merit then with hard work. For a matter like this, they stripped him of the seat and scolded him before all. Where was the dignity of an Integration Stage cultivator?

He clenched his teeth, hiding his anger.

“Sheng Yuan, you are guilty of slander,” Meng Yi Fei said. “Receive ten lashes and ten days of confinement.”

Sheng Yuan answered, face pale.

“Chang Le An,” Meng Yi Fei continued, “in the Langya Secret Realm you acted improperly first, and after returning you slandered freely. Receive twenty lashes and one month of confinement.”

Chang Le An’s lips shook. At last he drooped and accepted.

Shen Yue had little part in these matters, so Meng Yi Fei said nothing to him.

“In addition, for the next three days, disciples of Ling Xu Peak may choose to join other peaks.”

“The one month of resources you owe, Sheng Yuan, you must still repay.”

“For the details, Shen Yue, you will handle them with the Disciplinary Hall’s disciples.”

Shen Yue answered in a low voice.

“So be it. Carry out the punishments,” Meng Yi Fei said.

Li Shuang glanced once at the miserable crowd of Ling Xu Peak and turned away; she had no interest in watching. She said to Meng Yi Fei: “Thank you, Sect Master, for opening the Heart-Inquiry Platform for me. I do not know what price you paid this time. I am willing to bear it all.”

Meng Yi Fei smiled: “No matter. Just worldly goods. You were wronged in the Sword Sect. As Sect Master, that was my fault. This is only setting things right.”

Since he said so, Li Shuang did not insist: “Then, I have other matters and will take my leave.”

Meng Yi Fei nodded: “This is settled. Do as you wish.”

Some stayed to watch Ling Xu Peak’s misfortune. Others, bored, left with Li Shuang.

Luo Ming Yue caught Li Shuang’s arm and said: “Little Shuang, I’ll go with you.”

Li Shuang answered honestly: “Senior Sister, I am going to the Earthfire Forge to refine the Black Abyss Sword. Do you want to come too?”

Luo Ming Yue hesitated.

Li Shuang grew curious. It was the first time she had ever seen the always straightforward Luo Ming Yue look like this.

She asked gently: “First Senior Sister, what is it? Just say it.”

Scratching her head, Luo Ming Yue said with frustration: “Little Shuang, I… I don’t know what happened. Just now, before the Heart-Inquiry Platform, a voice suddenly sounded in my mind. Every word was full of jealousy toward you.”

She looked vexed and hurried to add: “I swear to the heavens, I have no envy toward you at all. So why did that thought pop up in my head? No matter what, having such a thought is my fault. I… I apologize.”

Li Shuang was taken aback. [First Senior Sister… is she this pure and cute?] If she kept quiet, who would ever know? But she could not tolerate a grain of sand in her eye, not even her own.

Li Shuang thought it through and asked for the exact time those thoughts appeared.

Luo Ming Yue described it carefully.

Li Shuang understood much. [The Devil Seed first gave up on Ye Zhao Zhao and had chosen a new Host—most likely Luo Ming Yue. But because her nature hates evil, its temptation failed.] After that, something changed again, and the Devil Seed had been forced to bind with Ye Zhao Zhao once more.

Things might not be exactly like this, but eight parts of ten should be right.

Looking at Luo Ming Yue, Li Shuang’s eyes shone. She stepped forward and suddenly hugged her.