Chapter 12
It was just a fox. Why such a big fuss?
The male cultivator in the lead swung his sword, pointing it at her chest, and shouted, “What spy are you? How dare you cause trouble on Ethereal Peak! If you don’t speak the truth, don’t blame my sword for being merciless!”
The tip of the sword pressed against her outer robe. A gentle push forward was all it would take to pierce her heart.
What spy?
She had only taken a fox. How did that make her a spy?
With the sword at her heart, half of Xie Qingzheng’s scalp went numb. She tried to defend herself, “I am not a spy. The Sect Master and Senior Sister Min He can prove my—”
Before she could finish the word “identity,” the young girl behind the male cultivator interrupted, “Senior Brother Chongdou! Don’t waste your breath on her! She knows the Tianshu Sect’s Myriad Manifestations Steps, she stole my spirit pet, and she broke Ethereal Peak’s barrier!”
Xie Qingzheng saw the young girl and wrinkled her nose.
She didn’t know who this young lady was, but the male cultivator turned his face away and actually stopped listening to her explanation.
Although he was a senior brother, he showed a fawning attitude towards the young girl. “Junior Sister Zifu, please rest assured. Senior Brother Chongdou will definitely get justice for you!”
With that, he sheathed his longsword, turned his gaze to Xie Qingzheng, and struck out with his palm from a distance. “Friend, please enlighten me!”
A fierce gust of wind from the palm strike rushed towards her. Xie Qingzheng couldn’t dodge in time. Her chest felt as if it had been hit hard by a giant rock, and her body fell backward like soft mud.
Li Chongdou secretly thought, This is bad, and hastily withdrew his palm.
As the head disciple of Green Pine Peak, he had a reputation for being a chivalrous hero who fought for justice and helped the weak. Since his opponent had no weapon and was a junior, he had even given a warning before striking. He had only used two-tenths of his strength in that palm strike, which was enough to test that her cultivation was shallow, almost non-existent. It was absolutely impossible for her to have broken Ethereal Peak’s barrier.
Could it be that because Elder Mo was in seclusion healing, a flaw appeared in the barrier, and this little girl accidentally wandered into Ethereal Peak?
The cultivators behind him were also surprised. They had seen Xie Qingzheng walk out of Ethereal Peak and had assumed that if she could break the barrier set by Elder Mo, her cultivation must not be weak. Who would have thought that a casual palm strike from Senior Brother Chongdou could injure her so badly? There must be a misunderstanding.
Mu Zifu had been hiding behind her senior brother, not daring to be too outrageous. Now, seeing Xie Qingzheng knocked down by a single palm strike, she stepped forward, drew her sword, and put on the same arrogant and domineering air. “I thought you were so powerful. Turns out you’re nothing special!”
The taste of blood rose in her throat. Xie Qingzheng was too weak to retort. She struggled to get up, leaned against a bamboo stalk, and coughed up a pool of blood.
She had been in the sect for less than a month. How powerful could she be?
Mu Zifu said triumphantly, “I’m going to slash your face and chop off your hands! Let’s see if you still dare to steal my things!”
The cold edge of the sword pressed against her cheek, a chilling sensation. Xie Qingzheng wanted to retreat, but she was too weak to move.
Mu Zifu said with a sweet smile, “Seeing as you’re about my age and your looks are passable, I’ll give you another option. First, give me back that beast. It was a gift from my big sister; you have no right to touch it. Second, honestly explain how you got into Ethereal Peak. And third, kneel at my feet, kowtow to me, apologize, and beg me to spare you!”
Her smile was like a blooming flower, as if she greatly enjoyed the feeling of trampling on others and humiliating them at will. Yet, she had such a beautiful face that an uninformed outsider would think she was just an innocent young girl joking with her companion.
Xie Qingzheng bit her lip and said nothing, glaring at her fiercely.
The smile remained on Mu Zifu’s face. “Those eyes of yours are quite pretty. Glare at me again, and I’ll gouge them out and put them on a dog’s head!”
A surge of humiliation and anger welled up in her heart, causing Xie Qingzheng to cough again, but all that came out was bloody foam.
A few of the female cultivators couldn’t bear to watch, guessing there was more to the story. They came forward to channel energy to heal Xie Qingzheng and stopped Mu Zifu, saying, “Junior Sister Zifu, fighting among fellow disciples is forbidden in the Xuanji Sect! I’ve already sent someone to fetch Senior Sister Min He. It’s not too late to act after she comes and clarifies the situation!”
Mu Zifu cursed, “You’re all from Green Pine Peak! Instead of protecting me, you’re protecting an outsider. What’s that supposed to mean?”
Before her words had faded, a white shadow flashed through the bamboo forest. A furry ball suddenly leaped out, pouncing on Mu Zifu with lightning speed, so fast that it was impossible to see clearly.
Li Chongdou cried out, “Junior Sister Zifu! Be careful!”
Mu Zifu turned to dodge, but the spirit fox stuck to her back like a ghost, wrapped around her neck from behind, its claws as sharp as hooks, and scratched a dozen fine, bloody lines on her neck. Then, it burrowed into her clothes from her neck, moving like a nimble snake, darting across her back, chest, neck, face, and head.
Mu Zifu was in a panic, flailing her hands to grab it, but she couldn’t even catch a shadow.
A few female cultivators came forward to help, but they didn’t know where to start. They fumbled to grab it a few times, but instead of catching the furry ball, they accidentally scratched Mu Zifu’s face.
Li Chongdou thrust out his longsword. With a series of swishes, blue light flashed. His sword moves were swift, but the sharp sword qi failed to harm the spirit fox. Instead, it cut open the flesh on Mu Zifu’s left arm.
Mu Zifu was furious and swung her sword at him.
Li Chongdou cried out in pain, clutching his right hand, his face instantly turning pale.
The little finger of his right hand had been sliced off by Mu Zifu’s sword and fell to the ground.
The turn of events happened in an instant. All the cultivators had been focused on the furry ball. When they finally reacted and saw the severed finger on the ground, covered in blood and dirt, they were horrified.
Someone shouted, “Senior Brother! Quickly go to Shenxiao Peak and find Senior Sister Suwen to reattach your finger!”
Li Chongdou shot a hateful glare at Mu Zifu, picked up the severed finger from the ground, and scrambled towards Shenxiao Peak.
The remaining cultivators didn’t dare to use their swords again. They untied the flutes from their waists, but they didn’t dare to play any lethal tunes. They only played a beast-taming melody, trying to drive away the spirit fox, but it had no effect at all.
Mu Zifu screamed continuously, running around in the bamboo forest, trying to shake off the spirit fox. The other cultivators followed her, running around in chaos.
Xie Qingzheng leaned against a bamboo stalk, watching the comical scene. She wiped the blood from her lips and couldn’t help but smile.
She shouldn’t be smiling at a life-and-death moment like this. Who knew if Mu Zifu’s sword would swing at her next? But she just couldn’t help it and let out a laugh.
At the same time, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
That spirit fox was indeed no ordinary spirit beast. Its recovery ability was amazing. She probably didn’t need to worry about it.
As the scene descended into chaos, a woman in a green robe arrived on a flying sword.
The spirit fox seemed to sense danger. It quickly got off Mu Zifu and flew towards Ethereal Peak, but with a thud, it was repelled by Ethereal Peak’s barrier.
Xie Qingzheng secretly thought, This is bad. She quickly supported herself with a bamboo stalk and stood up, wanting to take it inside to hide.
She could enter the barrier, and anything she was holding could also enter with her.
But before she could walk over, the woman who had arrived on the sword flicked her sleeve and easily caught the spirit fox.
The woman had a longsword hanging from her left waist and a flute glowing with green light tucked into her right. Her tall, straight posture complemented the surrounding green bamboo perfectly.
When the crowd saw her, they hurriedly bowed in salute. Some called her “Master,” others “Elder Mu.”
Only Mu Zifu sobbed with grievance, “Big Sister! Big Sister! You’re finally here…”
Her face and neck were covered in shocking red scratches, spotted with blood. At first glance, she looked like a person covered in blood.
Although she was covered in wounds, the arrival of the woman in the green robe made her feel emboldened. Her two cries of “Big Sister” were especially loud.
Xie Qingzheng lowered her eyes, inexplicably thinking of her long-dead mother. Her expression dimmed for a moment.
The woman in the green robe had willow-leaf brows and almond eyes, her skin was fair and smooth, and her lips were very thin. Her beauty was flamboyant and aggressive. The trace of harshness and arrogance at the corners of her eyes and brows was exactly the same as Mu Zifu’s.
The spirit fox was held by the scruff of its neck, its tail tucked between its legs, not daring to move.
She stopped outside the crowd and said mockingly, “Afu, what are you making such a fuss for with all these people? It’s been over a month, and not only have you failed to make this beast acknowledge you as its master, but you’ve also let it injure you like this. What a fine display of skill.”
Mu Zifu ran to Mu Qingdai’s side, tugged at her sleeve, pointed at Xie Qingzheng, and cried, “Big Sister! It’s all her fault! If she hadn’t stolen my fox at the critical moment, it would have already formed a contract with me!”
Every other sentence was “Big Sister.” She kept crying about how Xie Qingzheng had stolen the spirit fox, how she had used the Myriad Manifestations Steps to escape into Ethereal Peak, and how the spirit fox had scratched her.
She pushed all the blame onto others, even reprimanding her senior sisters and brothers for their incompetence in failing to protect her, while completely concealing her own shrewish and malicious behavior.
The faces of the other cultivators all flashed with indignation, but there was nothing they could do. They could only blame themselves for not having a sister who was a peak master.
Mu Qingdai turned her eyes to Xie Qingzheng but said nothing.
Xie Qingzheng met her sharp gaze and felt uneasy all over.
She was an elder, the master of a peak. She probably wouldn’t deign to question a junior herself.
Xie Qingzheng coughed a few times and, knowing what was best for her, took the initiative to explain, “Elder Mu… the ‘critical moment’ your esteemed sister mentioned was when she was cutting, stabbing, and whipping the spirit fox, and then trapping it in a tree hollow to force it into a contract…”
Mu Zifu shrieked, “Big Sister! She’s talking nonsense! This fox is perfectly fine! It just scratched me like this! How does it look like it’s been abused!”
Xie Qingzheng thought to herself: You’re so good at telling barefaced lies. You saw for yourself how it was on the verge of death. If it hadn’t been healed by the qin music and the pool water, how could it have recovered so quickly?
She didn’t want to involve Mo Jiangxue, so she only dared to say these words in her heart.
The person before her was a senior, the master of a peak. Xie Qingzheng hoped she would uphold justice, even if she was also Mu Zifu’s sister.
But Mu Qingdai’s face was full of impatience. Without even looking at the fox, she casually tossed it into Mu Zifu’s arms.
“You disgraceful thing! Take this beast and get out of my sight!”
After saying that, she stared at the cinnabar mark between Xie Qingzheng’s brows and approached, step by step.
The cold scent of pine from her sleeves washed away the taste of blood in Xie Qingzheng’s throat.
Xie Qingzheng subconsciously took a step back, but her retreat was blocked by the bamboo behind her.
Mu Qingdai stood half a step away, reached out, and clasped her hand around her neck. She leaned in close to her ear and whispered, “Xie Fuyun and I have a blood feud. Who are you to her?”
Her voice was low and magnetic, but the force with which she gripped her neck was extremely strong. Her sinister eyes looked at her as if she were an ant that could be crushed at any moment.
A feeling of suffocation and dizziness washed over her. Her neck felt as if it were about to be snapped. Xie Qingzheng’s back was pressed against the bamboo stalk, forcing her head up. A mist of water filled her eyes.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Mu Zifu with her hands around the spirit fox’s neck, as if she were about to strangle it to death as well.
Now I finally know where Mu Zifu learned her arrogance and rudeness…
This pair of sisters is sick!
Suddenly, the clear sound of a xiao came from the bamboo forest. The spirit fox jolted, twisted its body, and four bloody holes instantly appeared on Mu Zifu’s hands.
Mu Zifu cried out shrilly, “Big Sister! It bit me!”
The spirit fox broke free from her grasp, flashed a few yards away, and suddenly became emboldened, its small, bright eyes glaring at them angrily.
Hearing her sister’s cry, Mu Qingdai was momentarily distracted, and the force of her grip loosened considerably.
Xie Qingzheng took the opportunity to break free. But instead of running, she ducked her head and bit down hard on Mu Qingdai’s hand.
Mu Qingdai was completely unprepared. She felt a sharp pain in her hand and looked down to see that her hand was being bitten fiercely.
Xie Qingzheng bit down hard and refused to let go, her teeth sinking deeper and deeper until blood flowed freely.
Mu Qingdai sneered, completely unconcerned. “I thought you were a mute. Turns out you’re a dog that bites without barking.”
Someone was walking slowly towards them through the dappled sunlight. Mu Qingdai narrowed her eyes, slightly raised her hand, and shook Xie Qingzheng off.
If she had intended to kill, that shake could have easily shattered all of her meridians. But who was she, Mu Qingdai, to stoop to the level of a junior?
She disdained to kill a junior, only shaking her off so that she stumbled backward. Then, she dissipated the blood on her hand, clasped her hands behind her back, and looked towards the bamboo forest. A graceful figure, like a crane, was reflected in her pupils.
The newcomer was dressed in white, with a long qin on her back and a jade xiao in her hand, as ethereal as an immortal.
In the Xuanji Sect, there was only one person who wore white with red patterns and cultivated both the qin and the xiao.
Cloud Melody, Flowing Frost—Mo Jiangxue.
All the cultivators felt a jolt. It was as if the temperature around them had dropped by several degrees.
They had all been focused on Mu Qingdai, but as soon as Mo Jiangxue appeared, their gazes were irresistibly drawn to her. After their initial astonishment, they hurriedly bowed in salute.
Only Mu Qingdai withdrew her gaze and looked at her own sister, saying mockingly, “Afu, that beast doesn’t have the ability to scratch and bite you like that. It was Lady Yunshao disciplining you on my behalf.”
“Cloud Melody, Flowing Frost” was the elegant title given to Mo Jiangxue by the people of the Xuanmen. Although she was young, her status was high. Mu Qingdai was her equal in status, so it was not appropriate to address her by her name directly. Thus, she respectfully used her title.
Mo Jiangxue was younger and a guest elder. According to the rules, she should have taken the initiative to salute Mu Qingdai, but she disliked such formalities by nature. So she just stood three steps away from Xie Qingzheng, her eyelashes half-lowered, her gaze directed at Xie Qingzheng.
Xie Qingzheng leaned against the bamboo, her chest heaving violently. The finger marks on her neck were clear, her red lips were stained with blood, and her clear, bright eyes were also bloodshot. She looked both angry and pitiful, as if even her breathing was trembling.
Mo Jiangxue did not offer any words of comfort. She looked at Mu Qingdai, her expression indifferent, as if covered in a layer of frost.
Mu Qingdai said mockingly, “Lady Yunshao, instead of staying on Ethereal Peak to heal, why are you disciplining someone else’s child?”
Mo Jiangxue replied coldly, “Peak Master Mu is also aware that this is Ethereal Peak, not Green Pine Peak.”
After a pause, she added, “A fourteen-year-old is no longer a child.”
Xie Qingzheng hugged the bamboo, so angry that tears welled up in her eyes. Now, hearing Mo Jiangxue speak, she looked up, and much of her anger instantly dissipated.
Her tone was calm and incredibly serious, yet her last sentence had a hint of teasing.
The moment Mu Qingdai saw her calm and aloof demeanor, she was filled with anger, but it was not appropriate to lash out directly. So she could only scold Mu Zifu, “That’s right! When I was fourteen, I was already the head of the Mu family. And you, Mu Zifu, you’re still a useless baby who hasn’t been weaned!”
Mu Zifu lowered her head and wiped her tears, so scolded that she didn’t dare to make a sound.
After scolding her sister whenever she had the chance, Mu Qingdai placed her hand on the green flute at her waist and changed the subject. “My useless parents died early, so my sister and I have been without proper upbringing since we were young. Since Lady Yunshao is so keen on disciplining others, then allow me to ask for some pointers as well.”
As soon as she said this, a murderous aura appeared.
Fighting among fellow disciples was forbidden in the Xuanji Sect, but they could arrange for a spar.
As for whether it would stop at just a few pointers, that depended on whether it was a real spar or a fight to the death under the guise of a “spar.”
The cultivators watched, not daring to breathe. The two elders, one holding the Flowing Frost Xiao and the other with the Sorrow-Seeing Flute at her waist, were both top-tier masters in the cultivation world. The former was famous for her “soul of jade and spirit of ice, the heart of a musician and the courage of a swordsman,” while the latter was famous for being domineering, protective of her own, and a source of sorrow even for ghosts.
The two were of similar age and status, and both were beautiful. Ever since Elder Mo came to the Xuanji Sect, Elder Mu’s limelight had been somewhat overshadowed. It was rumored that Elder Mu had long wanted to compete with her, but had never found the opportunity.
Now, it seemed a battle was inevitable.
