Chapter 645: Plain Girl Courtyard
Zhang Ruochen walked straight down the stone steps of Zixia Spirit Mountain, heading toward the Plain Girl Courtyard.
The Plain Girl Courtyard was located to the southwest of the Longevity Courtyard, in the direction indicated by the compass. No matter what, Zhang Ruochen had to go and investigate.
"Senior Brother Lin Yue, wait for me."
Zhao Han'er turned into a fragrant breeze, catching up from behind, and landed in front of Zhang Ruochen, blocking his path.
She pursed her lips, looking very apologetic, and bowed to Zhang Ruochen, saying, "I'm sorry."
Zhang Ruochen glanced at her, fully understanding why she was apologizing. He simply nodded slightly and said, "It's fine. You can go back."
To Zhao Han'er, her past misunderstanding of Senior Brother Lin Yue had been a huge deal. But to Zhang Ruochen, it was a trivial matter, one he had never even taken to heart.
Seeing that "Lin Yue" was so indifferent to her, Zhao Han'er felt even more sorrowful. She continued to follow closely behind Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen could tell that Zhao Han'er had a secret crush on "Lin Yue."
Since he wasn't the real Lin Yue, he naturally wouldn't get involved with Zhao Han'er, to avoid unnecessary trouble. Therefore, he just walked his own path without saying a word.
The two of them, one in front and one behind, descended Zixia Spirit Mountain.
When Zhao Han'er saw Zhang Ruochen heading toward the Plain Girl Courtyard, a hint of sadness appeared in her eyes. She said softly, "Senior Brother Lin Yue, are you going to find Senior Sister Han Qiu again?"
Zhang Ruochen suddenly stopped, a thoughtful expression on his face. In his mind, a stunning figure emerged.
Han Qiu?
Which Han Qiu was this?
Zhang Ruochen also knew a Han Qiu. That was back in the Demon Ridge, when she was the daughter of the leader of the Yuntai Sect Mansion, possessing a dark constitution.
At that time, Zhang Ruochen had suggested she join the Liangyi Sect to study its foundational code, the "Taiji Primordial Dao."
Because only by cultivating the "Taiji Primordial Dao" could she control the dark force within her. Otherwise, as her cultivation advanced, the dark force within her would only grow stronger.
Eventually, the expanding dark force might devour her.
Could Han Qiu really have traveled thousands of miles to come to the Falling Divine Mountain Range and join the Liangyi Sect?
Although Zhao Han'er's words stirred memories from a few years ago, Zhang Ruochen still didn't think it could be that coincidental.
The Liangyi Sect had countless disciples; how could he possibly run into Han Qiu?
From what Zhao Han'er said, Zhang Ruochen could tell that the previous Lin Yue seemed to know Han Qiu.
Since Zhang Ruochen didn't have a good excuse to go to the Plain Girl Courtyard, he nodded upon hearing Zhao Han'er's words and said, "That's right, I am indeed going to find Junior Sister Han Qiu."
Zhao Han'er said, "Senior Brother Lin Yue, aren't you afraid... afraid that like the last few times, Senior Sister Han Qiu will break your bones and throw you out of the Plain Girl Courtyard?"
"..." Zhang Ruochen was speechless.
Although quite surprised, Zhang Ruochen remained very calm and said, "I'm just going to catch up with Junior Sister Han Qiu. Why would she attack me?"
"Senior Sister Han Qiu doesn't like you at all. Why... why do you have to go and embarrass yourself? Last time, Senior Sister Han Qiu already said that if you dare to come to the Plain Girl Courtyard again, she won't go easy on you," Zhao Han'er said.
Zhang Ruochen roughly understood. The previous Lin Yue must have coveted Han Qiu's beauty and wanted to pursue her. But the methods Lin Yue used were probably clumsy, which angered Han Qiu.
Not only did he fail to win her over, but he also left a bad impression on Han Qiu, leading to her beating him.
In just a brief moment, Zhang Ruochen roughly figured out the cause and effect.
Now, Zhang Ruochen could only hope that the previous Lin Yue hadn't made too many enemies; otherwise, his days in the Liangyi Sect would hardly be peaceful.
But as soon as he thought of something, it happened. Just as Zhang Ruochen arrived outside the Plain Girl Courtyard, he heard a sarcastic voice, "Hehe! Isn't this the inner sect senior brother of the Longevity Courtyard, Lin Yue? How dare you come to the Plain Girl Courtyard again?"
Zhang Ruochen turned around and looked behind him.
He saw a group of inner sect disciples wearing green Daoist robes, walking over from a distance. There were over a dozen of them.
The collars and cuffs of their robes were embroidered with a green three-leaf flower, indicating they were from the Shangqing Palace.
The Liangyi Sect had three palaces and seventy-two courtyards, with the "three palaces" being the most revered and the "seventy-two courtyards" ranked accordingly.
The overall strength of the Longevity Courtyard ranked sixty-sixth among the seventy-two courtyards, which was quite low.
Although Lin Yue was the inner sect senior brother of the Longevity Courtyard, the disciples of the Shangqing Palace didn't take him seriously at all.
The leader among them was a man named Pang Long. He looked quite young, about twenty years old, handsome and dashing, holding a two-foot-long jade flute. He walked up to Zhang Ruochen and glanced at him mockingly.
Zhao Han'er looked timid, tugging at Zhang Ruochen's sleeve, signaling him to leave quickly and not provoke Pang Long.
Zhang Ruochen had come to the Plain Girl Courtyard for serious business, so he naturally couldn't leave just like that.
"We're all disciples of the Liangyi Sect. Why can't I come to the Plain Girl Courtyard?"
Zhang Ruochen looked at Pang Long with some exasperation, shook his head, and walked straight toward the gate of the Plain Girl Courtyard.
Pang Long's face darkened. He didn't expect Lin Yue to be so bold as to ignore him. And he even dared to go to the Plain Girl Courtyard?
Pang Long's strength ranked third among the inner sect disciples of the Liangyi Sect and ninety-eighth on the "Heavenly Ranking."
Lin Yue ranked three hundred and eighth among the inner sect disciples overall and after three hundred thousand on the "Heavenly Ranking."
Han Qiu ranked eighteenth among the inner sect disciples overall. Additionally, she was a disciple of Saint Jinlan, and with her stunning beauty, she naturally had many suitors in the Liangyi Sect.
Pang Long and Lin Yue were two of them.
During the sect competition, Pang Long had thoroughly taught Lin Yue a lesson. After that, whenever Lin Yue saw Pang Long, he would run away in fear, like a mouse seeing a cat.
Wherever Pang Long was, Lin Yue was not.
But today, "Lin Yue" showed no fear at all and, ignoring Pang Long's warning, was about to enter the Plain Girl Courtyard.
"Is this kid Lin Yue out of his mind, daring to go against Senior Brother Pang?"
"It seems he didn't take Senior Brother Pang's last warning to heart."
"Lin Yue is overestimating himself, daring to provoke Junior Sister Han Qiu again. Senior Brother Pang, let me teach him some manners."
Pang Long's background was quite extraordinary, so the inner sect disciples present naturally tried to curry favor with him.
A young man carrying a golden sword on his back rushed out, quickly chasing after Zhang Ruochen ahead.
A playful smile appeared on his face. He pinched two fingers together, and white true qi surged from his fingertips, forming a three-foot-long true qi sword.
The golden-sword man was named Hao Feng, ranking one hundred and eighty-second among the inner sect disciples overall. His strength was significantly greater than the previous Lin Yue's.
"Swish!"
Hao Feng's movement technique was extremely fast. In an instant, he reached Zhang Ruochen from behind and thrust his sword at Zhang Ruochen's back.
Zhang Ruochen stopped walking and sighed inwardly, "The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease."
Standing still, Zhang Ruochen didn't turn around. He also condensed a true qi sword and casually swung it behind him.
Though it seemed like a casual swing, it contained infinite profundity of the sword dao.
Hao Feng's face showed surprise. He felt as if thousands of sword shadows were surging toward him from all directions, threatening to engulf him.
"How is this possible?"
Hao Feng didn't dare to continue charging forward. He immediately withdrew his sword to defend.
At the same time, he activated his footwork and rapidly retreated backward.
"Chi!"
A sword light grazed past Hao Feng's cheek, leaving a two-inch-long bloody gash above his cheekbone.
A drop of blood trickled out.
Zhang Ruochen still had his back turned. He dispersed the true qi sword and said calmly, "That strike was a minor punishment and a warning. If there's a next time, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Hao Feng was intimidated by the power of Zhang Ruochen's earlier strike. He stood there, his expression somewhat dazed, clearly not having processed what happened.
Pang Long, standing in the distance, didn't grasp the profundity of Zhang Ruochen's sword strike.
He only saw Zhang Ruochen casually swing his sword, breaking Hao Feng's sword technique, and the tip of the true qi sword even cut Hao Feng's face.
An inner sect disciple teased, laughing, "Hao Feng, have you been so busy flirting with your pretty junior sisters lately that you've let your swordsmanship go to waste?"
Hao Feng took a deep breath, gradually calming down. His expression turned serious, and he said, "Lin Yue's strength is no joke. He seems to have become much stronger."
"What do you mean, no joke? I think you were just too careless earlier, which is why he broke your sword move," Pang Long said coldly.
"Swish!"
Pang Long executed a subtle movement technique. With a flash, he turned into a series of afterimages and blocked Zhang Ruochen's path.
He didn't believe that "Lin Yue's" cultivation could have improved enough in such a short time to defeat Hao Feng.
Pang Long's gaze was cold and sharp. He looked Zhang Ruochen up and down again and said with a disdainful smile, "Do you know what kind of person I hate the most?"
Zhang Ruochen frowned and asked, "What kind?"
"People who overestimate themselves."
Pang Long chuckled and continued, "Lin Yue, you've been making quite a name for yourself lately. They say even the Dark Blue Star Envoy of the Black Market First Class Hall was killed by you. Do you think that by becoming famous overnight, you can show off in front of Junior Sister Han Qiu?"
"Unfortunately, no one believes you could have killed the Dark Blue Star Envoy. They only think you're a fool being used by someone."
The news that Lin Yue had killed the Dark Blue Star Envoy had indeed spread back to the Liangyi Sect, causing a huge stir.
However, everyone knew Lin Yue's cultivation was only at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Great Perfection, so no one believed he could have killed the Dark Blue Star Envoy.
They were more inclined to believe that the Dark Blue Star Envoy had died in an internal power struggle within the Black Market.
As for Lin Yue, he was completely used by one faction of the Black Market to take the blame for killing the Dark Blue Star Envoy.
Wasn't someone like that a fool?