A day ago, the Jiutian Sect was a magnificent sight to behold, with its carved beams and painted rafters, upturned eaves and corners, and towering pavilions. Anyone who visited would have exclaimed at its grandeur, calling it a veritable fairy realm on earth.
But the current Jiutian Sect was like it had been ravaged by a violent storm, thrown into complete disarray.
The gemstones inlaid on the sect’s plaque had been dug out cleanly, and the viewing platform made from white jade had been painted in black. Although the koi fish in the koi pond were still there, the flowers had been plucked clean, and several fat-headed koi were swimming helplessly in the water.
The flowerbeds that had once been neatly trimmed were now overgrown with some kind of spiritual herb, growing in thick clumps here and there. Vines climbed up the pillars and onto the roof, displacing the tiles and making the houses look worse than the ruined temples outside the city.
The two jade lion statues standing at the main entrance had their pearl strings stolen from their mouths, and instead had long tongues sticking out. The originally majestic jade lions instantly became a pair of silly lions because of their protruding tongues.
The most eye-catching thing was the statue of Immortal Venerable Bu Ting standing in the martial arts field. The statue that had been aloof and dignified yesterday was now wearing a peony dress, with red lips like flames, and an emerald green headband tied around its head, which fluttered and swirled in the night wind, making it particularly eye-catching.
There were also colorful white jade handrails, and images of birds and beasts sticking out their tongues. The whole scene was so smoky and foul that it was unbearable to look at.
What a vicious method, what a shameless humiliation!
Everyone turned their gazes to the Sect Master of the Shenji School. Sect Master Pao was lowering his outer robe. Seeing that everyone was looking at him, he frowned in confusion. What were they all looking at him for?
“Sect Master Pao, you didn’t seem to come to Zhenyao Prison tonight?”
Sect Master Pao’s face was a little unsightly. Two days ago, Immortal Venerable Qiu had beaten him unconscious with a few moves. These people knew about it, so why were they still making fun of him now?
“Sect Master Pao, you said you…” A sect master shook his head with regret. “You were still impulsive.”
In the past, they had only bullied small sects, but now they had the audacity to come to Jiutian Sect to cause trouble: “Arrogant and overbearing, it’s going to be an unpredictable life or death ah.”
Sect Master Pao finally understood that they were suspecting that the Shenji Sect was behind these events. He denied it anxiously, “This matter has nothing to do with us. Don’t make wild guesses.”
“Who else could it be, other than your Shenji School who have a grudge with the Jiutian Sect?” The sect master of a small sect who had been bullied by the Shenji School said boldly, “You’ve always acted arrogantly. Is there anything you wouldn’t do?”
They really couldn’t do this!carpreads.pages.dev
Sect Master Pao was furious. “How could there not be? Didn’t the Qinglan School also have an old grudge with the Jiutian Sect?”
As soon as he said that, he regretted it, but words spoken are like water poured out, and even if he regretted it to the point of breaking his gut, he couldn’t take them back.
“Immortal Venerable Qiu is such an important figure, how could she possibly do such a thing?” The sect master of a small sect seized the opportunity to attack Sect Master Pao, who was already in a difficult position. “It seems to me that you’re still holding a grudge over what happened the other day, so you took advantage of our absence to create chaos in the Jiutian Sect and then blame it on Immortal Venerable Qiu. Killing two birds with one stone, Sect Master Pao, what a clever plan.”
The more the crowd listened, the more they felt that this was the truth. They silently moved to the side, and soon there was no one around Sect Master Pao.
In just three short days, Sect Master Pao once again experienced the unspeakable frustration of having a grievance that could not be redressed. At this moment, he understood the full meaning of the phrase “suffering in silence.”
Even some of the disciples of the Jiutian Sect had some doubts about the Shenji School. However, they acted on evidence and fairness, so no one went to find trouble with the Sect Master Pao before the matter was cleared up.
The Elder of the Jiutian Sect had just used a magic technique to clear away the vines that had climbed onto the eaves of the house, but the next moment, the vines grew back again. In front of everyone’s eyes, the vines grew rapidly and crazily, and finally gathered together, squeezing into a pig that was both ugly and fat, and wearing a green hat.
When they saw the pig and then looked at the emerald green scarf fluttering on the head of the jade statue of Immortal Venerable Bu, everyone wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to. They could only desperately recall all the sad things that had happened in their long lives.
“Cough, cough, cough.” Jin Qingqiu opened his jade fan to cover his wildly upturned lips. Although the Shenji School was the most suspicious, they didn’t have the guts or the ability.
This time, the Jiutian Sect killed countless demonic cultivators, not only making everyone stop paying attention to the matter of Wenxian City, but also making the prestige of the Jiutian Sect even greater than before.
Unfortunately, all of these efforts became a joke after the gems on the Jiutian Sect’s sect plaque were gouged out and the statue of the sect master was adorned with a bright green headscarf.
Who would have believed that someone would dare to do so many things right under the noses of so many people in the territory of the Jiutian Sect and not a single person would notice?
At this moment, it was not a green scarf that fluttered on the statue of the sect master, but the face of the Jiutian Sect.
The person behind the scenes used such unscrupulous means to tear down the reputation of the Jiutian Sect, throwing it on the ground and stomping on it with their feet.
Who could it be?
His gaze swept over every onlooker, and he saw Jiu Hui and her two fellow disciples hastily jump off their flying swords and squeeze into the crowd of onlookers. He chuckled.
The little girl really liked to watch the excitement.
“It’s so lively. I came late.”
Qiu Hua arrived under the cover of night, and she admired the green-hatted fat pig on the roof of the main hall of the Jiutian Sect: “How come this pig looks somewhat similar to Sect Master Bu’s statue, and it’s also wearing a green hat?”
The crowd, who were trying hard to hold back their laughter: “…”
Let them recall the sad events of their lives once more.
The rapidly growing vines were cut down only to grow back again. Seeing that magic techniques were ineffective against them, the Jiutian Sect disciples had no choice but to use their swords to cut them down. Unfortunately, they still couldn’t contain the speed at which they grew.
“More resilient than garlic chives, one crop after another, never-ending.” Tao Er stood in the crowd with his hands in his pockets, watching the excitement. He said to Jiu Hui and Zhi You, who were standing next to him, “That viewing platform is painted quite interestingly. It’s the first time I’ve seen such colorful black.”
“Ordinary people definitely can’t apply such a powerful color.” Jiu Hui nodded with her arms crossed. “Don’t use garlic chives as an analogy for this kind of thing in the future. It’s unlucky for garlic chives.”
Tao Er couldn’t understand, what kind of auspiciousness could garlic chives have? But he chose to respect it, because the consequence of disrespect could be getting slapped in the face.
Outside, things had already deteriorated to this point. The Elder of the Jiutian Sect walked to the half-open main hall door, a strong sense of foreboding in his heart.
He reached out and put his hand on the door of the hall. He turned around and looked at the guests, hoping that they would be sensible and polite enough to return to the guest house and not gather here to watch the excitement.
Everyone understood the hint in the Elder’s eyes, but it was a rare opportunity to watch the excitement of the world’s top sect, so they stretched their necks and were reluctant to leave.
The small sect’s immortal cultivators saw that the people from the large sect were not leaving, so they were even more reluctant to leave.
“Elder, don’t be anxious. We have many people and great strength, so we can help your sect organize together.” The sect masters of several large sects took the initiative to speak up: “In case the evildoers are still here, we can also help each other.”
Elder: “…”
You guys didn’t want to help, you just want to watch the show!
The door to the hall opened, and everything inside was as usual. The Elder secretly sighed in relief. Fortunately, the evildoer had not been too…too excessive!
The inner wall of the main hall was engraved with reliefs of the four divine beasts, each of which was inlaid with gorgeous gems. The gems on the divine beasts were not gouged out, but each divine beast had an extra meat bone in its mouth.
A great disgrace!
This was going too far!
The Elder was trembling with anger. This audacious villain clearly didn’t take their Jiutian Sect seriously.
Jiu Hui peeked into the hall through the door frame and shook her head secretly. This Elder’s cultivation had not yet reached the required level, and his heart was not calm.
Strictly speaking, many yao beasts have some bloodline of ancient divine beasts. Since the Jiutian Sect uses yao beasts as mounts, why do they need to respect the Four Divine Beasts as supreme deities?
“I have met Immortal Venerable Bu.”
Did Immortal Venerable Bu come?
Jiu Hui turned around and saw that the people behind her had already automatically made way for her, not daring to block Bu Ting’s path.
Bu Ting did not enter the hall. He stood on the steps, looking at the green headscarf fluttering on the statue and the vines that had been cut off several times but kept growing back. He raised his hand and took the green headscarf from the air.
On the other side, Nan Feng pulled off the peony dress from the statue and took out a handkerchief to wipe off the bright red lips and thick black sword eyebrows from the statue of his master.
“This is an internal matter of our humble sect. Fellow Daoists, please return.” Bu Ting’s face was as cold as water as he bowed to the crowd.
After Immortal Venerable Bu spoke, everyone dared not watch the excitement anymore. They quickly and tactfully said their goodbyes, afraid that if they left too slowly, Immortal Lord Bu would suspect them.
“Master.” Nan Feng walked to Bu Ting, glanced at the green scarf in his hand, and whispered: “The growth rate of the vines has begun to slow down, and it should be back to normal in another two hours.”
“Hmm.” Immortal Venerable Bu caressed the green scarf in his hand. “Has there been any change in the sect-protecting formation?”
“The sect-protecting formation didn’t react at all. This disciple suspects that the person who used such insidious means is hiding among the guests.” Nan Feng observed Bu Ting’s expression. “Master, do you think it could be Qiu…”
“It’s not her.” Bu Ting let go of his hand, and the green scarf fell to the ground and turned into flying ash. “She doesn’t have this kind of skill.”
“Who could it be?” Nan Feng frowned. Who else would use such methods to deal with their Jiutian Sect?
Bu Ting walked slowly to the sect’s plaque and gazed at the gemstones that had vanished from it. He recalled that someone had once praised the beauty of the gemstones on the sect’s plaque.
“Master, your disciple will go to the sect’s treasury to pick out new gems to fix the plaque.”
“Bring the Red Marrow Jade.”
Nan Feng was taken aback. But the original gem was a Blue Star Stone.
“Yes.”
On the other side, after the guests had finished watching the excitement and dispersed, they walked in twos and threes in the forest, frantically communicating with their eyes. Only the Shenji School was desperately explaining to everyone that they were really innocent.
Unfortunately, not many people cared whether they were innocent or not. They were more interested in the excitement at Jiutian Sect.
“Look at them desperately trying to explain themselves, tsk tsk tsk, how pitiful.” Tao Er followed behind, pointing at the Shenji School and gossiping, “It’s too late to be scared now. They shouldn’t have done such a thing in the first place.”
Jiu Hui stopped in her tracks. “You can’t really think that the Shenji School did this?”
“Ah?” Tao Er was surprised. “Could it not be them?”
“I don’t know.” Jiu Hui blinked and gently nudged Zhi You with her elbow. “Zhi You, do you know?”
Zhi You: “I don’t know.”
“Alas, whoever did this has shamed the Jiutian Sect.” Tao Er didn’t care who had done it: “This trip has really opened my eyes.”
He thought that the Immortal Venerables were all aloof and unworldly, above the mundane affairs of mortals. He never expected that they would stoop to such underhanded tactics as stealing from their camp.
Jiu Hui raised her head and met the gaze of Qiu Hua, who was walking in front and had turned around, through the backs of the many guests.
She didn’t expect Qiu Hua to turn around, and after a slight pause, she returned a smile.
Looking at each other across the sea of people, the sea of people could also be a stepping stone, only a smile could move people’s hearts. Qiu Hua slowly smiled, turned around and walked forward firmly.
Zhi You glanced at Qiu Hua’s back and slowly looked away.
This night was about to end.
In the end, the Jiutian Sect still failed to find out who was behind the chaos. When the Shenji Sect left the Jiutian Sect, they could not straighten their backs.
Until the truth was revealed, the black pot on their bodies would never be removed. From now on, the entire sect would probably never dare to be arrogant again, and they couldn’t wait to close the door and practice honestly to prove their innocence.
“This is actually a good thing. At least they won’t dare to cause trouble and bully others everywhere anymore.” Tao Er gradually came to his senses. After thinking about it carefully, the troublemaker had actually helped them vent their anger. Young Master Tao Er still held a grudge against the Shenji School for crashing into their flying boat. “How is this causing trouble? This is clearly a troublemaker who helped us get revenge.”
Jiu Hui laughed out loud, “You’re right.”
Earlier that day, she had dressed up specially, waiting for her master to take her to bid farewell to the elders of the Jiutian Sect.
“Immortal Venerable Yu.” Tao Er wanted to share the gossip he had heard with Jiu Hui, but when he saw Yu Jing appear outside the door, he quickly stood up and bowed.
“Gongshou, I’ll take Jiu Hui and Zhi You to bid farewell to Immortal Venerable Bu. We’ll set off for home in an hour.” Yu Jing was very amiable towards Tao Er.
“Yes.” Ever since Jiu Hui had beaten him up, Tao Er suddenly understood what etiquette was.
Bu Ting, as the Sect Master of the Jiutian Sect, lived on the main peak of the sect. To the left of the palace gate was a pool of water, in which were raised plump and delicious fish.
“Master, Pavilion Master Yu of Wangshu Pavilion has come to bid farewell with her disciples.” Nan Feng walked up to Bu Ting and spoke softly, afraid of disturbing his master’s interest in feeding the fish.
“Invite them in.” Bu Ting scattered all the fish food in his hand into the pond.
“Yes…” Nan Feng turned and walked outside, but his mind was still racing. Why hadn’t his master seen the young master of the Yuzhen Sect today when he had come to bid farewell? Why would he see someone from the Wangshu Pavilion instead?
“Pavilion Master Yu, the two fellow Daoists, please follow me.” Whenever he faced someone from the Wangshu Pavilion, Nan Feng couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
“Many thanks, Daoist Nan Feng,” Jiu Hui said with a smile.
Within just three short days, the dignified and aloof Immortal Lord Nan Feng had transformed into an awkward young man who blushed without prompting. He was still too young, and his skin was too thin.
Yu Jing had not expected Bu Ting to meet them. For many years, she and this Immortal Venerable Bu had almost no contact. Even if they appeared in the same place, the lofty Immortal Venerable Bu would not notice the sect masters of these small sects.
“Greetings, Sect Master Bu.”
“Pavilion Master Yu.” Bu Ting nodded slightly at Yu Jing, then looked behind her. “Little friend Jiu Hui.”
“Junior pays respect to Immortal Venerable Bu.” Jiu Hui lowered her eyelids and cupped her hands in salute.
“No need to stand on ceremony.” Bu Ting led the group to sit down in the octagonal pavilion by the pond. “The hall is stuffy, and you two young friends are young. It’s more comfortable to sit here.”
“Many thanks for the sect master’s consideration.” Yu Jing took a sip of tea, feeling strange about Bu Ting’s sudden friendliness.
While the two seniors exchanged pleasantries, Jiu Hui used snacks to tease the fish in the pond. She said to Zhi You, “These fish are so fat. They’re really well-fed. They look delicious.”
Bu Ting stood up and walked to her side. “The fish have been fed too much and have gotten fat.”
The fish fought over the crumbs that Jiu Hui threw down, splashing water all over her face. Bu Ting looked at the water droplets on her cheeks and reached for the handkerchief in his sleeve.
“Zhi You.” Jiu Hui squinted her eyes and turned her face towards the direction where Zhi You was sitting.
Zhi You took out a handkerchief and wiped Jiu Hui’s face a few times. Jiu Hui snatched the handkerchief. “Be gentle. This is my face, not a table!”
“Oh.” Zhi You sat down beside her. “I’ll be careful next time.”
Bu Ting took a step back.
“These two children have been spoiled by me and have lost their manners. Please forgive them, Sect Master.” Yu Jing spoke gently. “Sect Master, you are a busy person, and we don’t want to bother you too much. We bid you farewell here.”
Jiu Hui and Zhi You walked behind Yu Jing and stood obediently.
“The journey ahead is long and arduous. Please take care, Pavilion Master Yu and the two young friends.” Bu Ting lowered his eyelids, his expression still as indifferent as ever. “If you have time in the future, please visit my humble sect as guests.”
“Many thanks to the Sect Master.” Yu Jing led her two disciples out of the octagonal pavilion. As she stepped out of the courtyard gate, she turned her head back.
Bu Ting was still sitting in the pavilion, his dark hair half-tied. He was originally handsome and peerless, but he gave off an inexplicable sense of loneliness.
After bidding farewell to her elders, Jiu Hui returned to her room to pack her belongings and check on the progress of Bai Qi’s interrogation.
Knowing that the opportunity to leave the Jiutian Sect was imminent, Bai Qi worked very hard. Seeing Jiu Hui enter the door, he immediately said, “Boss, thanks to my efforts, this ugly chicken has finally confessed.”
Jiu Hui glanced at the Linchi bird whose feathers had fallen out by half: “Well, tell me about it.”
Bai Qi told the story of how Linchi* listened to a fortune teller and ran to Jiutian Sect to save the yao, and Jiu Hui fell silent.
TN: it’s being used here as a formal name for the bird
“Just because of a few words from a fortune teller, you dared to trespass into Jiutian Sect at night?” Jiu Hui lifted the listless Linchi. “Where is this fortune teller from?”
She was particularly curious about what abilities the fortune-teller had that could fool a little yao into spending money and risking its life.
“Taolin City.” Linchi answered honestly.
Taolin City, Jiu Hui frowned slightly. Taolin City still had such talents?
“That’s easy. I’ll take you back to Taolin City to find him.” Jiu Hui carried the cat in her left hand and the bird in her right hand. “Let’s go.”
“Are we just going to go out like this?” Bai Qi’s cat eyes widened. Wouldn’t the people from the Jiutian Sect be able to tell that something was wrong with them at a glance?
“Scared?” Jiu Hui chuckled. “With that kind of courage, you dare to come to the mortal world to make a living?”
Bai Qi muttered, “Judging the situation and adapting accordingly, how can that be called being afraid?”
With a flash of light, the cat and bird in Jiu Hui’s hands transformed into a Cat-Chasing-Bird hairpin. She pinned the hairpin in her hair and walked out of the room with a smile.
The Linchi bird that had turned into a hairpin: Aaaah! This person actually knows the art of transformation. How terrifying!
When the six of them were all present, Zhi You glanced at the Cat-Chasing-Bird hairpin in Jiu Hui’s hair, but said nothing.
“Immortal Jiu Hui, this hairpin is so beautiful. The cat and bird look so real.” Tao Er quickly went up to flatter her.
“Thank you.” Jiu Hui touched the hairpin. “I think it’s nice too.”
Yu Jing glanced at it with a smile, “It does have a bit of a wild charm.”
The six of them walked towards the gate of the Jiutian Sect. Along the way, they encountered many disciples of the Jiutian Sect. Bai Qi’s heart was in his throat until they left the gate of the Jiutian Sect.
“Pavilion Master Yu, Fellow Daoist Jiu Hui.”
Jiu Hui turned her head, looked at Nan Feng who was chasing her with his sword, and stopped in her tracks.
“Pavilion Master Yu.” Nan Feng jumped off his flying sword, carrying a food box in his hand. “The journey from my humble sect to Wangshu Pavilion is long. Please take care of yourselves.”
He brought the food box to Jiu Hui and said, “Master asked me to give this to you, Fellow Daoist. Please accept it.”
“Thank you.” Jiu Hui did not refuse and took the food box to express her gratitude.
Seeing Nan Feng come and leave in a hurry, Bai Qi heaved a sigh of relief. It turned out that he had only come to deliver something, not to discover them.
Fortunately, fortunately.
Their original flying boat was destroyed, so the six of them rode another flying magic weapon on their way back. Although it wasn’t as good as a flying boat, it had a roof and walls, which was much better than Elder Mo’s gourd.
“Immortal Jiu Hui, what did Immortal Venerable Bu send you?” As soon as they flew to the territory of the Jiutian Sect, Tao Er couldn’t wait to approach Jiu Hui.
Jiu Hui placed the food box on the table and opened its lid.
It was a fish, a steamed fish emitting billows of heat.
Author’s Note:
Little Garlic Chive: What? Someone actually made a yao spend money and risk its life with just a few words?
Linchi Bird: Be vigilant and beware of scams!