Chapter 21

Mei Ruoxue grabbed Shi Ran, who was charging forward, and said lightly: "Junior Brother should apologize! Cultivation isn't only about sword cultivators being supreme; Junior Sister's talisman arts far surpass ours—how can you let a single leaf block your vision?"

Gu Yusheng snapped his head up, but Mei Ruoxue's icy gaze froze him so much his hands trembled slightly; she had never spoken a heavy word to him before, yet now she publicly accused him of being blind-sided for Shi Ran's sake, and his gaze suddenly shifted to Shi Ran.

He saw her gazing at Mei Ruoxue with utter admiration, thinking: "Senior Sister is really amazing! So much like a formidable female lead! What should I do? She seems to be getting all cozy with Senior Sister!"

Seeing the fight here had stopped, the three senior brothers gathered around again.

Qi Chengshuang hadn't shown his strength tonight, but now he finally seized the chance: "Shi Ran, you wicked woman, when did you secretly learn these arts? Did you perhaps make some pact with the Holy Maiden of the Demon Realm? Otherwise, how could a mere talisman wield such power?"

"Second Senior Brother, watch your words!" Mei Ruoxue today was a force that blocked and killed men, Buddhas included.

"I and our master once personally witnessed the power of Junior Sister's talismans in Fine Rain Town—how did it become demonic heresy in Second Senior Brother's eyes? Don't you know one should refrain from judgment until the full picture is known? And where did you learn this doctrine to slander your fellow sect Junior Sister?"

Qi Chengshuang stared, dumbfounded—and he wasn't alone; everyone was stunned, especially Shi Ran, who, had she not been constantly with Mei Ruoxue, would have thought she'd been possessed, for the female lead to suddenly treat her this well left her feeling flustered and overwhelmed!

Qi Chengshuang looked at Mei Ruoxue in disbelief: "Ah Xue... you've changed... you you you..."

His favorite Junior Sister had actually scolded him; Qi Chengshuang couldn't accept it at once, he clutched his chest, feeling as if wind were whistling through a hole there.

Mei Ruoxue still spoke coldly: "I uphold reason, not kinship; Senior Brother should know, the first sect rule is mutual aid!"

Luo Changfeng tried to interject, but the heartbroken Qi Chengshuang bellowed back: "Shut up!"

Luo Changfeng was also hurt; he just wanted to mediate, why is this second brother so unable to distinguish right from wrong? "What are you yelling at me for! Isn't what Ah Xue said correct? You oaf!"

Luo Changfeng, this man has few virtues, but stabbing hearts with words? That's his specialty—one stab, one hit: "After all these years of cultivation, can't you even tell demonic qi from spiritual qi? And you still dare to question! What ghost are you questioning?"

The two flared up instantly, and Xiao Muyu could only try to mediate from both sides, alas, Luo Changfeng and Qi Chengshuang each argued their own way, neither backing down.

On the other side, Gu Yusheng murmured darkly: "Senior Sister, I'm only speaking up for you—Shi Ran once poisoned you, why are you still so kind to her!"

"Back then she was deceived by demonic cultivators!" Mei Ruoxue grabbed Shi Ran, who was trying to slip away: "Besides, she's been making amends—seeking Xuan Zhu grass, going to the Underworld to retrieve souls; you keep saying you're speaking up for me, so what have you actually done for me?"

"I..." He had always stayed by her side, fearing her soul might return while her body suffered, but he couldn't say that—after all, men and women must keep their distance, he didn't want Senior Sister to think he was taking advantage of her vulnerability.

"I understand now!" Mei Ruoxue sneered: "You're making things difficult for her for my sake—that's what you've been doing specially for me!"

Gu Yusheng couldn't bear to argue with Mei Ruoxue, so he could only continue to needle Shi Ran with yin-yang remarks: "Shi Ran, are you satisfied? Watching us argue—is this your goal! You wicked..."

"Wicked woman!" Shi Ran's ears had grown calloused from hearing that; good heavens, Shi Ran was speechless before the heavens—why do the male and female leads drag her into their quarrels when she's merely a recurring side character, not a flirtatious second female lead!

Xiao Muyu, whose lips were dry from trying to mediate, and Shi Ran, forced to tug between the male and female leads, exchanged a glance and sighed simultaneously, somehow feeling a kinship as fellow wanderers adrift in the world.

The six argued until they couldn't be pried apart, until Qingyuan arrived, snatched up the shattered teacup, and hurled it—everyone sustained injuries of varying degrees!

"You little bratlings! Your master is in closed-door healing, yet you don't cultivate arts—instead you brawl here nonstop, you've rebelled against heaven! All of you, get out and kneel for punishment!"

"Go kneel at Mingzheng Hall until dawn!" Qingyuan produced a treasure gourd, swept over the six disciples to confiscate their treasures, all the while fuming.

"No talisman arts, no talismans, no magical implements—whoever I catch cutting corners won't be cultivating under my Lingxiao Seat anymore; they'll become my medicine person instead!"

Medicine person! Qingyuan's medicine person is a fate worse than death! The six shuddered in unison, then fell silent.

Though called a hall, Mingzheng Hall is really just a four-sided wind-swept pavilion—of course, slightly wider than a pavilion—and the six knelt neatly in a row.

The other five knelt bolt upright, only Shi Ran knelt askew, sometimes whining her ankle hurt, sometimes her hand hurt—her hand had been cut by Qingyuan's shattered teaware.

In short, there was never a moment of peace; Gu Yusheng endured and endured, until he could bear it no longer: "Shi Ran, can't you just shut up!"

Shi Ran beamed: "Of course... I can't!"

"I have this mouth precisely to speak—why should I shut up? Junior Brother, why don't you try shutting one of yours!"

Gu Yusheng glared fiercely at Shi Ran, but she returned a provocative smile, turned, and went to Mei Ruoxue to tattle: "Senior Sister, look at Junior Brother Gu—he keeps harping on me, Uncle Master said to kneel as punishment, but never said I couldn't speak, so why must I constantly be told to shut up!"

Mei Ruoxue glared at her; Shi Ran continued to coo: "Besides, everything should be spoken aloud—keeping words bottled up inside, anyone could guess what you're thinking, right? You agree, don't you?"

Shi Ran seemed to be hinting at something, but Mei Ruoxue didn't want to take the bait, turning her head elsewhere.

Shi Ran turned again to Gu Yusheng: "So what do you say, Junior Brother Gu—'life is like morning dew, liver and gall should not suspect each other, loyal hearts ought to speak fully, don't wait for the white steed to gallop away'!"

Gu Yusheng suddenly understood Shi Ran's meaning—she was urging him to speak his mind directly, not to wait until time wears away.

But Gu Yusheng, meeting Shi Ran's eyes, said: "That line 'life is like morning dew' is wrong—for cultivators, time is still relatively long!"

"You can't teach an unwilling pupil!" Shi Ran's smile collapsed; she knelt, staggered a few steps backward, and squeezed in between Qi Chengshuang and Luo Changfeng.

"What nonsense are you pulling!" Qi Chengshuang impatient, raised his fist: "Believe me or not, if you bump me again I'll beat you to death!"

"You... you really are..." Shi Ran didn't know how to describe him, asked earnestly: "Does the Master know you speak without thinking?"

Qi Chengshuang took a moment to realize Shi Ran was insulting him, while Luo Changfeng on the other side had already laughed: "Hahaha, when he first joined the sect, the Master asked him, hahaha, why come to Floating Dream Sect to cultivate immortality—you guess how he answered!"

Shi Ran reacted eagerly: "Oh? How did Second Senior Brother answer?"

Qi Chengshuang, embarrassed and angry, reached past Shi Ran to grab Luo Changfeng: "If you dare say..."

Luo Changfeng turned a deaf ear, deliberately aiming to wound: "He said Floating Dream Sect folks are simple—just need to eat their fill!"

Shi Ran nodded, easily imagining it.

Qi Chengshuang bellowed: "Luo Changfeng!"

Luo Changfeng hadn't finished, continued asking Shi Ran: "Want to know what the Master said in reply?"