Chapter 96: Bias

Shijie Zhang's power was evident.

As soon as she arrived, the expression of that Jielutang Shishu showed a hint of apprehension.

"Disciple Zhang? Why have you come?" His gaze involuntarily flicked toward Zheng Fa.

"Shishu Wang."

Shijie Zhang bowed to her counterpart, her movements meticulous and flawless.

She turned her head to look at that Shixiong Li, returning to the previous question: "May I ask, what did this Shidi say about me?"

"..."

Shixiong Li lowered his head, clearly aware that he was in the wrong.

Instead, the Senior Brother standing nearby gave a dry laugh and said, "It was merely a verbal dispute; Disciple, with your magnanimity, why bother caring?"

"I care."

"..."

This Senior Brother was choked speechless, his expression turning ugly: "Although Disciple Li spoke without discretion, Disciple Zhang, your favoritism toward this Zheng Fa is truly excessive! The rumors within the sect did not arise without cause!"

Zheng Fa glanced at Shijie Zhang.

Shijie Zhang's face remained expressionless; she simply looked at this Shishu as if she did not understand his words, and slowly said, "How is it excessive?"

"This Disciple Zheng has just entered the sect, yet the quota you gave him is equivalent to that of a mystic-grade talisman master... Nowadays, spiritual materials are hard to come by; does Disciple Zhang not think this is biased?"

"Those are my own things."

"Disciple, you are managing the General Affairs Hall on behalf of True Person Huang; under such circumstances, you inevitably invite suspicion." This Senior Brother said with a cold sneer.

"..."

Zheng Fa finally understood; he seemed to have become the target aimed at Shijie Zhang.

The crux of the matter was not those spiritual materials, but Shijie Zhang's special status.

Shijie Zhang remained silent, while that Shishu began to speak again.

"The General Affairs Hall concerns the distribution of spiritual materials for everyone in the Jiushan Sect; managing it, you ought to be utterly impartial, yet now you favor one person..." Shishu Wang gave a slight cold sneer: "Is it not reasonable for others to gossip a few words?"

After these words were spoken, the eyes of the disciples present inevitably showed some unusual expressions.

After all, the duties of the General Affairs Hall were far too sensitive.

"What does Shishu mean?"

"To demonstrate fairness, Disciple Zheng's quota should be the same as everyone else's. Since he possesses talent, becoming a mystic-grade talisman master should be effortless for him—only then should he receive the corresponding quota, and naturally, these rumors will subside."

"But..." Just as he finished speaking, a slightly hesitant voice came from behind him: "Shixiong Zheng is already a mystic-grade talisman master!"

"?"

Everyone turned their heads to look at the speaker—an acquaintance Zheng Fa was not very familiar with, Zhou Qianyuan.

"He is a mystic-grade talisman master?"

The Jielutang Shishu was stunned and looked toward Shijie Zhang.

Unexpectedly, Shijie Zhang also looked at Zheng Fa with confusion, as if she knew nothing of this matter.

"Yes!" Zhou Qianyuan stated affirmatively: "I have been watching Shixiong Zheng this whole time; that Water Prison Talisman just now was thrown by Shixiong Zheng."

Zheng Fa:... Wait, I was hiding perfectly well; why were you looking at me?

Shixiong Li lowered his head, slowly looking at his soaked robes, then raised his head to look at Zheng Fa.

"Regarding the power of that Water Prison Talisman just now, Shixiong Li, you are the one who knows it best, correct?" Zhou Qianyuan asked him.

Shixiong Li: "..."

He looked as if he did not want to admit the matter.

"Just now, you even said that was a mystic-grade Water Prison Talisman."

Zhou Qianyuan pressed the point with another question.

Shixiong Li opened his mouth, glanced at Shishu Wang whose expression was not good, and had not yet spoken.

"Shixiong Li, you are a Foundation Establishment cultivator; it is impossible for you to be trapped by a yellow-grade talisman, correct? Would that not be too shameful?"

Zhou Qianyuan's tone was very sincere, his words full of trust in Shixiong Li's abilities.

"Yes!"

Shixiong Li said through gritted teeth.

The looks others cast upon him were also very strange—being trapped by a Water Prison Talisman thrown by a newly entered Shidi did not seem any less shameful.

Of course, the looks they cast upon Zhou Qianyuan were even stranger—Are you standing in the wrong place? How did you end up mixed in with True Person Pang's faction?

Hearing Shixiong Li's admission, the expression on this Jielutang Shishu's face became extremely fascinating.

After a moment, he cupped his fists toward Master Zhang and said in a gentle tone, "It is indeed the Disciple who possesses a discerning eye."

This person was quite free and easy; at this moment, he stopped pestering and directly admitted defeat.

"I possess no discerning eye." Shijie Zhang glanced at Zheng Fa and said: "I am simply biased."

"?"

"Even if he were only a yellow-grade talisman master, I would not change his quota; if you are dissatisfied, let Shishu Pang come and speak to me himself."

After hearing Shijie Zhang's words, the scene fell into complete silence.

This Shishu from the Jielutang changed colors repeatedly, yet could not utter a single word.

He could only flick his sleeves, said nothing, transformed into a streak of escaping light, and departed from the Talisman Method Pavilion.

Seeing him depart into the distance, Shijie Zhang looked at Zheng Fa and said, "Come find me in a while; I have something to discuss with you."

It seemed she had come specifically to say this sentence to Zheng Fa; after speaking, she ignored everyone else and left.

Zheng Fa watched her departing back, then felt someone tug at his sleeve; turning his head, he saw Han Qi's face filled with a thirst for knowledge:

"Shidi, teach me."

"Teach what? Spirit Scripting?"

"Spirit Scripting… I admit you becoming a mystic-grade Scripter this fast shows some talent, but it's all trivial, unimportant!" Han Qi's voice lowered slightly: "What I really want to learn is how you… cough! How you got close to Sister Zhang!"

"Speak up!"

A discontented low shout came from beside them; Zheng Fa turned his head and saw a dense crowd gathered nearby, every face filled with eager curiosity.

…

"Young Brother Zheng."

As Zheng Fa left the Scripting Hall, Brother Zhuang suddenly called out to him.

Brother Zhuang quickened his steps and walked beside Zheng Fa for a while, yet said nothing.

Only when they reached the courtyard gate did Brother Zhuang raise his arm and bow deeply to him: "Thank you, Young Brother, for your help just now."

"I didn't really help you, Brother…"

It wasn't that Zheng Fa intended revenge—he only had one Spirit Script, so he had to wait for Brother Li to grow careless and lose his Jin Jiafu's protection before acting.

"I wasn't doing this for myself, but for the new disciples," Brother Zhuang shook his head. "If you hadn't intervened, those new disciples would've been bullied by Brother Li."

Since he had lost, if Brother Li hadn't been stopped by Zheng Fa, things would've been terrible for our side.

"… "

Zheng Fa looked at Brother Zhuang and saw genuine gratitude on his face.

Then Brother Zhuang spoke: "Do you think I hoarded your spirit paper for myself?"

"Not at all."

Zheng Fa spoke sincerely.

This brother didn't seem particularly stingy—in the brawl just now, he truly used many spirit scripts to protect the new disciples.

In the end, everyone had their limits.

This brother could've easily stood aside and saved his own spirit scripts.

"… What do you think of Jiushan Sect?"

"An immortal sect's grandeur."

"… " Brother Zhuang glanced at him, sensing his insincerity, then suddenly laughed: "I think it's the coming chaos, the people's resentment boiling over."

"Uh…" Zheng Fa looked at him, puzzled—could he say such things openly?

"Young Brother, as a genius singled out from the moment you entered, you probably don't understand the suffering of the lower disciples."

"… "

Zheng Fa said nothing, only listened.

"I read history in the mortal world—when a dynasty nears its end, the lowest people always suffer most." Brother Zhuang didn't expect a reply: "The same is true in immortal sects, and it's even more terrifying—if these lower disciples truly harbor resentment, even if they can't disrupt the sect, what if they go to the mortal world?"

He looked at Zheng Fa with hidden meaning: "Those people have no power to resist."

"… "

"I only think: if those above use one less spirit script, the lower disciples get one more—and perhaps their resentment lessens. To be honest, I know I can't stop this—and I know it's futile." Brother Zhuang smiled, looked at Zheng Fa, and pulled three spirit papers from his sleeve, offering them: "Since you're a mystic-grade Scripter, you should get your share. I was the petty one here."

Zheng Fa didn't move, but Brother Zhuang pressed the spirit papers into his hand.

He bowed to Zheng Fa again, then turned and walked away.

His clothes were wrinkled and dusty, yet his body remained straight.

…

Inside the courtyard gate of the Scripting Hall, Han Qi stared at Zheng Fa, his expression shifting constantly.

"Brother? What are you thinking?"

"What do you think Young Brother Zheng likes?"

"?"

The tall, thin one blinked. "Didn't you say you wouldn't side with him?"

"How was I supposed to know he could draw a mystic-grade script right after entering?" Han Qi's face showed regret.

"Brother, this isn't easy."

The tall, thin one hesitated.

"What's not easy?" Han Qi asked, puzzled. "I think Zheng Fa's personality is fine—not hard to please… it's just that we offended him before."

"… I'm not talking about him. I'm talking about that one."

The tall, thin one pointed far away, where Zhou Qianyuan stood, gazing at Zheng Fa's back from a distance.

"What about him?"

"Brother, don't you notice his gaze at Zheng Fa is exactly like yours just now?"

"… "

Han Qi stared at Zhou Qianyuan's expression, utterly bewildered—

Who are you?

The favorite disciple of True Person Pang!

Single elemental root, Geng Metal Body, an absolute genius!

Are you competing with me for the position of lapdog?

Our two factions fight daily—we've bloody each other's brains out!

You're betraying your master and destroying the sect!

No wonder you sided with Zheng Fa just now…

So calculating!

"Brother, maybe we should give up?" the tall, thin one suggested. "We can't match him anyway!"

"No!" Han Qi gritted his teeth and said, "Shijie Zhang is one thing, but Zhou Qianyuan is True Person Pang's favored disciple. I heard he is extremely cherished. If both of them value Zheng Fa like this, and we still don't follow suit, are we fools?"

The tall, thin man paused, then slowly nodded: "There's some truth to that. We can't compare to him anyway."

"..."

Zheng Fa arrived at the entrance of Shijie Zhang's courtyard. Her courtyard lay at the foot of Jiushan and covered a vast area.

In his view, it was hard to say whether this courtyard or the Zhao family courtyard was larger.

But their locations differed greatly—Jiushan could be said to be the place with the most concentrated spiritual qi within the Jiushan Sect.

As soon as Zheng Fa stepped through the courtyard gate, he heard True Person Zhang's voice: "Walk forward, pass through three gates, and come directly to the rear courtyard to find me."