Chapter 71 – Public Enemy of Azure Cloud

“…Junior Brother Lu?”

After hearing Ji Chang’s words, Yi Hanqing—with his sword-like brows, starry eyes, and stern countenance—sharply detected the three key words: “Junior Brother Lu.”

Then, glancing at Ji Chang’s “resolute” expression, he instantly understood everything.

Helping Ji Chang to his feet while smiling, he said, “Junior Brother Ji truly lives up to being a disciple of our Azure Cloud Sect. Even in the face of such threats, you remain steadfast in your principles and keep your promises.”

“In that case, it seems Senior Brother Xue and I acted somewhat rashly. Please do not blame us, Junior Brother.”

“Junior Brother Xue, return the letter to Junior Brother Ji…”

“Huh?!”

Xue Youqing looked at Yi Hanqing, his face full of question marks.

Wait, Senior Brother Yi, why did you suddenly stop questioning him? With just a little more pressure, Junior Brother Ji would have cracked.

Returning the letter to him now is like wasting all our previous efforts.

Senior Brother Yi, you’ve lost your senses!

Seeing the slight resistance in Xue Youqing’s eyes, Yi Hanqing knew full well that this guy still hadn’t grasped the deeper meaning behind Ji Chang’s earlier words.

Too green, Junior Brother Xue, you’re still too green.

If you go down the mountain for training in the future, you’ll likely be fooled left and right by those seductresses.

However, to preserve Ji Chang’s dignity, Yi Hanqing chose not to explain things to Xue Youqing right then and there.

He directly took the letter from the reluctant Xue Youqing and solemnly returned it to Ji Chang.

Once Ji Chang had safely stored the letter away, he let out a sigh of relief.

Then, looking at the two, he asked curiously, “Senior Brother Yi, how did this letter of mine… end up in your hands?”

Yi Hanqing and Xue Youqing exchanged a glance and both laughed.

Then, Yi Hanqing leaned in and whispered a few words to Ji Chang.

Whatever he said made Ji Chang blush intensely on the spot.

After the two had left, Ji Chang sat alone in his cave residence, his eyes vacant as if he had lost his soul.

A moment later, a loud shout echoed from the cave residence.

“Ahhhhh! Why did no one tell me that Junior Sister Li’s mother is the Mountain Guardian Elder of Ten Thousand Talisman Peak?!”

“Not only did my letter to Junior Sister Li fail to reach her, but her mother read it first.”

“How can I ever show my face at Ten Thousand Talisman Peak to see Junior Sister Li again?!!”

Outside Ji Chang’s cave residence.

As soon as they stepped out, Xue Youqing couldn’t resist asking Yi Hanqing, “Senior Brother Yi, why didn’t you let me continue questioning Junior Brother Ji just now?”

“I could clearly see he was about to reveal who it was that ruined the… happiness of all our sect’s male disciples.”

Hearing this, a helpless expression appeared on Yi Hanqing’s handsome face.

“Junior Brother Xue, I really should talk to your master about sending you down the mountain for some experience.”

“Otherwise, you’re still a bit slow when it comes to understanding human relationships and social intricacies.”

“You see, although Junior Brother Ji seemed to say nothing, he actually told us everything we needed to know.”

“If we continue investigating on our own, we’ll naturally find the person we’re looking for.”

“This way, Junior Brother Ji neither broke his promise to others nor disappointed the two of us. It’s a win-win situation.”

“Huh?!”

Xue Youqing stared blankly at Yi Hanqing, his bewildered eyes reflecting a kind of pure foolishness.Though every word Yi Hanqing spoke was clear to him, when strung together they became utterly incomprehensible.

What did he mean by saying Junior Brother Ji seemed to have said nothing, yet in reality had said everything?

When had Senior Brother Yi picked up the bad habits of those Celestial Peak Sect fellows, developing a taste for such word games?

Couldn’t he just speak plainly from the start?

When you all act like this… it makes me seem rather slow-witted.

Seeing that Xue Youqing still hadn’t grasped the meaning, Yi Hanqing sighed helplessly: “Junior Brother Lu, how many Junior Brother Lus do you think exist in current Danyang Peak?”

“Add to that the person who contributed the cultivation manual was brought by Junior Brother Ji to meet Martial Uncle Spirit Fire.”

“Combining these two points, it means this person either has prior connections with Martial Uncle Spirit Fire, or he’s a disciple who recently passed the examination and joined Danyang Peak.”

“I personally lean toward the latter, since all registered disciples of this generation at Danyang Peak are under Martial Uncle Spirit Fire’s name.”

“Therefore, we simply need to look among Danyang Peak’s newest disciples for someone surnamed Lu who has recently been in contact with Junior Brother Ji.”

“The person meeting these conditions is most likely the one who gave the Purple Haze Nourishing Art to Martial Uncle Spirit Fire.”

“So that’s how it is! Senior Brother Yi, you’re truly remarkable!”

Facing Xue Youqing’s admiration, Yi Hanqing remained quite composed.

“This isn’t about me being remarkable, but rather you lacking experience and not understanding human relationships well enough.”

“Senior Brother Yi is right. I’ll speak with my master later and ask permission to travel down the mountain for training.”

“By the way, Senior Brother Yi, there’s another matter I’m curious about. Could you explain it to me as well?”

“Feel free to ask, Junior Brother Xue.”

As if having held the question in his heart for a long time, Xue Youqing immediately voiced it: “I’m wondering why Autumn Water Daoist of Ten Thousand Talisman Peak would give you the love letter Junior Brother Ji wrote for Junior Sister Li. I haven’t seen you interact much with Junior Sister Li normally.”

After pondering for a moment, Yi Hanqing explained: “Well… this is quite coincidental. It’s because Autumn Water Daoist wants me and Junior Sister Li to become Dao Companions.”

“What?!”

Xue Youqing stared at Yi Hanqing in shock, his mind struggling to process this.

Though Xue Youqing didn’t understand human relationships well, he still possessed basic social awareness.

Junior Brother Ji Chang liked Junior Sister Li, while Junior Sister Li’s mother Autumn Water Daoist wanted Senior Brother Yi and her daughter to become Dao Companions.

To this end, she specifically passed along Junior Brother Ji’s love letter for Junior Sister Li to Senior Brother Yi.

The relationships here were so complicated?!

However, I seem to smell gossip brewing…

“So, Senior Brother, did you agree?”

Yi Hanqing gave him a surprised look before countering: “Do you think if I had agreed, I would have spoken so calmly with Junior Brother Ji earlier?”

“Why didn’t you agree?”

This question left Yi Hanqing silent for a long while. Then, gazing toward the direction beyond the mountain gate, he said quietly: “Just as Junior Brother Ji would go to such lengths to protect his promise to Junior Brother Lu even in this situation, I too have promises I must keep.”

“But because of this Purple Haze Nourishing Art, my master has found another reason to refuse letting me descend the mountain to marry. This gives me quite a headache.”

“Ah? Is Perfected Myriad Swords really that domineering? When I saw him before, he seemed quite reasonable.””Logically speaking, as long as one isn’t involved with demonic heresy or has unclear origins, the sect’s Elders wouldn’t interfere. It couldn’t be…”

Hearing this, Yi Hanqing sighed and said, “…That’s right. Although she has withdrawn now, she was indeed forced to stay in a Demonic Sect for some time.”

“Tsk!”

Xue Youqing drew a sharp breath, his brows furrowing.

Having stayed in a Demonic Sect – no wonder Perfected Myriad Swords so strongly opposed this marriage.

Never mind that Yi Hanqing is a prodigy within the sect, a True Disciple of Hidden Sword Peak.

Even if he were just an ordinary Disciple, the Azure Cloud Sect would absolutely never permit him to marry a demonic enchantress.

This was a matter of principle, not open for discussion.

“So you’re determined to find that Junior Brother Lu just because he indirectly caused you trouble?”

Yi Hanqing nodded, then said calmly, “But that’s only part of the reason. The real reason I want to find Junior Brother Lu is because someone told me that if I can locate this person and report his situation to them, they can help me slip down the mountain quietly.”

“Who has such capability?”

Upon hearing this, Yi Hanqing pointed toward the direction of the Azure Cloud Sect Main Peak and said no more.

This time, Xue Youqing immediately understood.

Who else could possess such capability?

Most likely it was that group of Direct Lineage Disciples from the Main Peak.

After all, though all were True Disciples, those from the Main Peak were different from those of other peaks.

For other peaks, True Disciples only needed clean backgrounds and decent cultivation talent.

But for Main Peak True Disciples, it was different.

One could only become a Main Peak True Disciple if at least one parent came from the Azure Cloud Sect.

Calling them the immortal second generation within the Azure Cloud Sect was no exaggeration at all.

Thinking of this, Xue Youqing couldn’t help but laugh.

Well, it seemed these immortal second generation disciples had also suffered greatly from this Purple Haze Nourishing Art.

They were so desperate that they wanted to catch the person who contributed this cultivation manual to properly settle scores.

To almost offend all the male Disciples of the entire Azure Cloud Sect right after joining, becoming an Azure Cloud Enemy…

This Junior Brother Lu’s capability… was simply too remarkable!

Xue Youqing grew even more curious about this Junior Brother Lu he had never met.

(End of Chapter)