Chapter 46

Chapter 46: Aren’t My Matters All “No Big Deal”?

Shen Sang Ruo met Master Ling Xiao’s eyes without fear and said: “No. The only small matter is me going down the mountain to train.”

Master Ling Xiao frowned, as if he did not understand what she meant.

She opened her mouth and explained one word at a time: “Anything that concerns me, whether it was being thrown straight into the Confinement Chamber before, or my cultivation getting wiped out, or almost dying at the hands of the Senior Brother, is always treated as a small matter, something brushed off as a ‘misunderstanding.’”

Master Ling Xiao’s brow tightened even more.

To hold grudges over old events was not the conduct he expected from his disciples.

She let out a thin, mocking laugh and said: “In your eyes, everything about me is a small matter; isn’t that right, Master?”

He asked in a low voice: “Are you blaming me?”

She shot back: “Shouldn’t I?”

At the side, Luo Chu was stunned.

When he first saw Shen Sang Ruo, he had already been shocked by her sudden rise in cultivation.

Now, looking at her, he thought: [Did some old monster perform Body Seizure on her? Is that why her cultivation soared?!] [Is this still the Shen Sang Ruo who used to be so respectful to Master Ling Xiao?] He suddenly felt that her giving them Senior Brothers a cold face did not seem like much anymore.

After all, she even dared to talk to Master Ling Xiao in that tone.

Master Ling Xiao slammed the table and shouted: “How dare you!”

The burst of force sent Shen Sang Ruo flying several meters; even Luo Chu was caught in the backlash and clutched his chest, gasping.

[She’s crazy, right? What is she trying to do?!] Shen Sang Ruo wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, stood up, and looked at Master Ling Xiao again as she said: “As for you saying I failed to protect my fellow disciples, you can ask the Senior Brothers who went with me to explain in detail what happened in the Secret Realm.”

“If, after you learn the whole story, you still think I abandoned my fellow disciples, then I have nothing to say.”

“Master can punish me by sending me back to the Confinement Chamber.”

Her tone dripped with sarcasm.

Between the lines, she accused Master Ling Xiao of acting on half the story and being willful, while also mocking his deep bias against her for ignoring facts.

Luo Chu scratched his head in panic until his scalp hurt. [Grand Auntie, please stop talking!] [You may not care about your life, but I want to keep mine!] [I do not want to be hit by friendly fire again!] He regretted reporting to Master. [If I had known it would get this messy, I would not have stirred the pot. Who would have thought Shen Sang Ruo would be this bold?]

Master Ling Xiao said coldly: “I will deal with your offense of speaking rudely to your master later.”

He raised his hand and summoned Wen Xuan into the cave residence.

Only now, after Shen Sang Ruo’s blunt reminder, did he recall that day: his mind had been fixed on Bai Mu Mu and the lost Fire-Scale Vine. He had only asked a few quick questions about his disciples’ safety and never followed up. He did not actually know what had happened.

With Shen Sang Ruo reacting this strongly, he wanted to hear what could shake her like this.

Wen Xuan appeared in the cave, just as confused, and when he saw Luo Chu and Shen Sang Ruo, his eyes lit up with joy. He hurried to her and said: “Little Ruo, you’re back? When did you return?”

He was about to say more when the ignored Luo Chu cut in with a wounded tone: “Second Senior Brother, there’s another person here.”

Wen Xuan gave him a perfunctory greeting, then remembered he had been summoned by Master Ling Xiao. Master rarely used a spell to call someone directly, so this had to be serious.

He turned to Master Ling Xiao and said: “Master, do you have urgent business with me?”

Sitting above, Master Ling Xiao spoke in an even voice laced with gravity: “Wen Xuan, tell me everything that happened in the Secret Realm, one thing at a time.”

“Master, why bring this up now?” Wen Xuan’s eyes showed confusion and a bit of pushback. The moment he thought of what happened in the Secret Realm, he remembered Shen Sang Ruo almost dying in the sea of fire, and his heart twisted hard. Each time he dreamed of it, he woke in a cold sweat.

Master Ling Xiao’s gaze sharpened as he said: “I want to know if she abandoned her fellow disciples in a crisis. If she did, then I will not keep such a person under my tutelage.”

Wen Xuan and Luo Chu blanched.

Their Master was thinking of expelling Shen Sang Ruo from the sect?

Only Shen Sang Ruo looked a little regretful. [Why didn’t you say so earlier? That would have been a great outcome.] [If I’d known, I wouldn’t have argued back; I would have just pleaded guilty. I acted too fast.]

Realizing how serious this was, Wen Xuan rushed to say: “Master, why would you think that? Fifth Junior Sister isn’t that kind of person.”

Afraid Master Ling Xiao would misunderstand her, he told him everything that had happened in the Secret Realm.

When he reached the part where Shen Sang Ruo fell into the lava and vanished, Wen Xuan’s voice carried real pain.

Master Ling Xiao paused, then looked at Shen Sang Ruo.

She met his gaze with eyes as calm as a still lake, without a ripple.

That was not the Shen Sang Ruo he remembered. He frowned, unsure why he felt that way. Perhaps it was because, in the past, when she saw him she was either excited or happy; there had always been a bright spark in her eyes.

Wen Xuan added, voice steady and heartfelt: “If not for Fifth Junior Sister risking her life to complete the Formation and freeze the Fire Phoenix, we would have all been melted in the magma with nothing left.”

“So she is not someone who ignores her fellow disciples. She was the one who risked herself to save us all.”

“Luckily, she later gained a fortuitous chance, which is why she could survive and stand before us now.”

“Master, Fifth Junior Sister almost parted from us forever. She barely made it back alive. If you misunderstand her like this, she will be heartbroken.”

Shen Sang Ruo thought: [Thanks, but no.]

He had raised her from a young age. Hearing all this, how could Master Ling Xiao not be moved, especially now that he knew she was upright and willing to give for her peers? A trace of guilt rose in him.

He let out a soft sigh and said: “I misunderstood you.”

Then he added, with a gentler tone: “If you had spoken to me properly, how could I have said those things to you?”

Maybe the near-death experience had scared her. She was still just a teenage girl; saying the wrong thing in the moment was understandable.

“Enough. I won’t pursue this matter,” Master Ling Xiao said, waving his hand in forgiveness.

He recalled she had nearly fallen into the lava. Even if some chance had protected her, there might be lingering harm. With Bai Mu Mu already frail, he did not want Shen Sang Ruo to be plagued by illness too.

He used his Divine Sense to examine Shen Sang Ruo carefully.

He also remembered his promise to personally teach her a cultivation method. Now that she had reached Core Formation, putting it off would be bad for her progress.

If he personally taught her, surely she would smile at him as she used to. Thinking that, Master Ling Xiao’s mood lifted a little.

In the next moment, the smile at the corner of his mouth froze.