On the other side.
Jiang Lu moved at a brisk clip, making straight for the Hall of Merit and Discipline.
As the body responsible for recording disciples' merits and demerits and distributing assignments, the Hall of Merit and Discipline was a place of stern, solemn atmosphere on any ordinary day — disciples who passed through it held their breath and kept their voices down.
Jiang Lu was normally no different, but today the matter was urgent. He strode in with hurried steps, worry written plainly across his face, drawing more than a few sideways glances from fellow disciples.
He went directly to request an audience with his own master — the current Elder of Merit and Discipline, Liu Enchuan.
The room was fragrant with curling sandalwood smoke. Liu Enchuan sat upright at his desk, working through a stack of reports recently submitted by the Outer Gate.
When his own disciple came bursting in with that frantic look about him, Liu Enchuan's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. But seeing that Jiang Lu had gone pale in the face, he held back any rebuke and simply told him to speak slowly and from the beginning.
Jiang Lu dared not conceal anything. He recounted every detail of what had transpired at the disciple market, from start to finish, leaving nothing out.
He described how Gu Chengming had "snagged a bargain" at the market, how the two women from Daoning Gate had blocked his path and picked a fight, how Gu Chengming had erupted and knocked them both unconscious, and finally, that absurd theory about "rogue cultivators" — all the way through to how the two of them had split up and withdrawn from the scene. Not a single detail was spared.
Listening to the full account, Liu Enchuan was genuinely surprised. Sword arts were sword arts, after all — a gap in cultivation realm was never easy to overcome.
But then again, it was Gu Chengming. That boy's talent was quite remarkable; defeating two opponents wasn't out of the question.
Or perhaps his cultivation had advanced again?
The thought put him in a slightly better mood. He set aside his wandering thoughts and began to turn the situation over quietly in his mind.
The matter wasn't exactly serious — looked at charitably, it was nothing more than a scuffle between disciples. No one had died; it hadn't even risen to the level of severe injury. At worst, there was some bruising and a loss of face.
But it wasn't entirely trivial, either. That was Daoning Gate, after all.
Within Wenjian Sect, the various Gates and factions were ostensibly branches of the same tree, yet the jostling and rivalry behind closed doors had never once ceased.
The Daoning Gate crowd — those spell-art cultivators — thought rather highly of themselves on any given day, and they were fiercely protective of their own. Especially their female disciples; those women were the most tenacious of all. If they found out one of their own had been knocked unconscious in the street by an outer-gate sword cultivator, they were not going to let it go quietly.
If this wasn't handled properly, Gu Chengming's days within the sect from here on out were going to be nothing but trouble.
Liu Enchuan glanced down at Jiang Lu standing below, and inwardly heaved a resigned sigh.
His disciple meant well — that much was never in question. The boy just had too soft a temperament. He panicked easily when things went sideways.
"All right, I've heard enough," Liu Enchuan said, waving a hand. "Go back. Don't go spreading this around — keep up your cultivation, go about your duties. As for Gu Chengming... just tell him to stop wandering around the disciple market for a while."
Jiang Lu bowed hastily and retreated from the room.
Once his disciple had gone, Liu Enchuan picked up his vermillion brush again — and found he couldn't bring himself to set it to paper.
After a long moment of quiet deliberation, he finally rose, straightened his robes, and pushed open the door.
This was not something he could sort out on his own. He needed to hear his senior brother's thoughts.
..............
In the rear hills of Huiyuan Gate, within a tranquil private courtyard.
Grand Elder Ren Wencai was crouched on the ground in a thoroughly undignified manner, holding a stalk of spirit grass and using it to tease a spirit crane he'd apparently caught from somewhere.
"Senior Brother, stop playing with birds. Something's happened."
Liu Enchuan walked into the courtyard, took one look at his senior brother lounging around without a care in the world, and spoke with helpless exasperation.
Ren Wencai didn't turn around, still gleefully occupied with the spirit crane.
"Junior Brother, that impatient streak of yours is your greatest flaw. Immortal cultivation is all about nurturing the right state of mind, you know."
"Gu Chengming beat up some people from Daoning Gate."
"Oh, so he beat them up, so what? Young people run hot — hm?"
Ren Wencai's hand paused mid-air. The spirit crane seized its chance, gave him a sharp peck, and flapped away.
He didn't seem the least bit bothered. He brushed the dust off his hands and stood up.
"What happened?"
Liu Enchuan repeated everything Jiang Lu had reported, once more from the top.
The further Ren Wencai listened, the stranger his expression became, until finally he couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
"Brilliant! Brilliant! 'Rogue cultivators'! Strike first and call it self-defense! Brilliant!"
Liu Enchuan watched his senior brother enjoying every second of someone else's spectacle, and felt entirely at a loss.
"Senior Brother, now is not the time to be praising him. Daoning Gate is not going to let this slide. Those two female disciples took such a heavy loss — they'll definitely go back and report it. When Daoning Gate's elders come knocking for an explanation..."
"An explanation?"
Ren Wencai let out a cold laugh.
"What gives them the right to come asking for explanations?"
He clasped his hands behind his back and paced a few steps around the courtyard.
"Enchuan, you're just too honest. You let yourself get hemmed in by rules and conventions too easily."
"Think about it carefully — are we actually in the wrong here?"
Liu Enchuan hesitated. "Well, he did knock people unconscious..."
"So what if he knocked them out?" Ren Wencai cut him off. "First of all — they were the ones who blocked his path, yes?"
"Second, and more importantly —"
Ren Wencai held up a single finger and wagged it in front of Liu Enchuan's face, a sly grin curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Gu Chengming is only at the First Realm, Fourth Layer!"
"Two senior sisters at the mid-stage of the First Realm, joining hands to ambush one junior brother at the early stage of the First Realm — and the junior brother turned around and beat them instead."
"If this gets out, who's going to look bad? Is it our Huiyuan Gate?"
"No — it's their Daoning Gate!"
The more Ren Wencai spoke, the more animated he became. He spread his hands wide.
"Daoning Gate really wants to start trouble? Let them come! We're in the right every way you look at it. If they actually show up, I'll make sure they leave without a shred of dignity — inside or out!"
Watching his senior brother stand there radiating confidence — practically itching to pick a fight — Liu Enchuan felt the great stone that had been pressing on his chest finally settle to the ground.
With the Grand Elder having spoken, the matter was as good as decided.
That little rascal Gu Chengming — not only was he blameless in this, he'd actually come out of it with merit.
"All right, relax." Ren Wencai crouched back down and retrieved the spirit grass stalk. "If anyone from Daoning Gate actually shows up, just send them straight to me."
Liu Enchuan finally smiled. "Those are exactly the words I was waiting to hear, Senior Brother."
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