Chapter 914: Mutual Disgust
Inside and outside Nanxi Zhai, there was complete silence, not a single sound.
Huai Ren could not answer that statement.
She knew that things had reached a point where there was no room for recovery, but thinking of the future scene of the Zhai being destroyed and its people perishing, she still wanted to make one final attempt at persuasion.
"I know that doing this indeed violates the teachings and precepts, but I cannot stand by and watch you drag my Nanxi Zhai into the abyss."
Looking at Xu You Rong and Chen Changsheng, she said, "You have no right to do this."
Xu You Rong stood up, looked into her eyes, and said calmly, "Before the teacher left, she once said to me that Nanxi Zhai is entirely composed of female cultivators, whose nature is inherently gentle. It is extremely difficult to seek survival in chaotic times, and to think of quietly guarding the Dao heart to ferry through the world is even more naive—this is definitely not the fundamental path of Nanxi Zhai."
Huai Ren said, "Have you and your senior sister never considered that the great trends of the world are like the Hate River overflowing? With the slightest carelessness, the boat will capsize and people will die?"
Xu You Rong replied, "Cultivation itself is an act of defying heaven. Even a gentle woman should hold the Dao and move forward. Standing by the riverbank and watching the scenery for a lifetime is certainly pure and carefree, but if you're unwilling to even wet the soles of your shoes, how can you step onto the waves and ultimately reach the other shore?"
At these words, the flowering trees swayed gently in the wind, and the eyes of the young girls of Nanxi Zhai brightened.
"When I was young in the capital, at Beixin Bridge, I jumped into that well; standing on the bridge, I jumped into the Luo Canal. Everyone thought I was seeking death, but they didn't know I just wanted to jump in and see for myself—whether there really was a moon, whether there really was that legendary evil dragon. If I dared to do even that, how much more so to step into the river?"
When Xu You Rong said this, Chen Changsheng glanced at her.
Back then, before the battle at Naihe Bridge in the capital, he had studied her carefully and knew very well these anecdotes and interesting tales from her childhood in the capital.
"The master chose me as the Saintess precisely because she understood my nature well and knew where I would lead Nanxi Zhai."
Xu You Rong looked at Huai Ren and said, "You don't like my actions, you don't like the master's choice—I can respect that. But wanting to change all of this? No."
Her voice was still very soft, like the most beautiful bird song in a quiet valley, without any deliberate display of authority, yet it gave a feeling that brooked no doubt.
Especially the last two words made many Nanxi Zhai disciples, including Ping Xuan and Yi Chen, think back to earlier on that cliff platform, when Chen Changsheng had spoken the same two words.
You can respect it, you can understand it, but you will not accept it, you will not be persuaded by it, and you will not be changed by it. No means no, and even if it were yes, it would still be no.
Chen Changsheng, however, recalled the sharp shout that came from the old mansion in the wind and snow of Wenshui City a few days ago.
—Your son is colluding with the demon race!
As for reputation, he had only begun to accumulate it slowly after the Grand Examination.
But Xu You Rong and Qiu Shan Jun had been cultivating their reputations from the very day they were born.
The time they had lived in this world was far shorter than those senior predecessors, but when it came to prestige, how many could compare to them?
All arguments ended here.
Xu You Rong was the will of Nanxi Zhai.
Among these dozen or so green peaks, no one could shake her position, nor even come close to doing so.
Even if today those opposing her were the three highest-generation grand-uncle masters.
Huai Ren sighed, looking at Xu You Rong's calm and serene expression, her heart as still as dead water, and said, "Then how does the Zhai master intend to punish us?"
"I said I can respect it, I can understand it. Since that is the case, the grand-uncle has not committed any major fault—why would punishment be necessary?"
Xu You Rong said, "The grand-uncle has always loved to wander the world. For the sake of Nanxi Zhai's future, you were forced to interrupt your cultivation and return. Now that I have broken through the barrier and emerged from seclusion, there is no need to worry about Zhai affairs. So I ask the grand-uncle to continue your wandering travels. I believe the scenery beyond this world will not be much inferior to what is here."
Huai Ren's seniority was such that if Xu You Rong truly handled this according to the teachings and Zhai laws, it would indeed be somewhat inappropriate.
But letting these grand-uncle masters continue to stay on Saintess Peak was, of course, even more inappropriate.
So-called wandering travels were merely a polite way of asking them to leave, to avoid mutual disgust from seeing each other.
Xu You Rong's handling of this could truly be described as handling a heavy matter with ease, broad-minded and generous. It was believed that Huai Ren should be able to accept it.
Yi Chen and Ping Xuan looked at Huai Ren with a bit more joy in their eyes.
Just as Huai Ren was about to say something, Xu You Rong suddenly remembered something.
"However, I do not wish for the grand-uncle to return every so often. That would truly be very annoying. So let it be a term of ten years."
Hearing this, Yi Chen and Ping Xuan's expressions changed slightly, thinking, would their master accept this?
Asking someone to go wandering could be understood as a courtesy from a junior disciple, but only allowing a return once every ten years—this was clearly exile.
But Huai Ren understood that the ten-year term the Saintess mentioned referred to Nanxi Zhai's once-every-ten-years Star Laurel Grand Sacrifice.
Thinking that the other party had not deprived her of the qualification to participate in the Star Laurel Grand Sacrifice, what more could she say?
She sighed with emotion and walked out of the thatched hall.
Huai Shu bowed to Xu You Rong and Chen Changsheng, then turned and followed.
Huai Bi had already followed beside Huai Ren. Her expression seemed calm, but her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her eyes held unease and a sense of release.
But in the next moment, the unease and the subsequent release in her eyes vanished completely, replaced by shock and the fear that followed.
Xu You Rong's voice rang out once more inside and outside Nanxi Zhai.
"Yuan Yueqin, did you think you could leave too?"
...
...
All the disciples of Nanxi Zhai raised their heads.
Some looked at each other in confusion, some looked around, wondering who Yuan Yueqin was. They hadn't heard of any disciple in the Zhai with that name before.
But those quicker disciples had already vaguely guessed something.
Huai Ren stopped in her tracks, turned back to look at Xu You Rong, and remained silent.
Huai Shu's expression was slightly bewildered, as if she didn't understand what had happened.
Huai Bi's face, however, turned extremely ugly.
More and more disciples understood—Yuan Yueqin was the secular name of Grand-Uncle Master Huai Bi.
Huai Ren felt uneasy.
Xu You Rong had not addressed her as grand-uncle, nor used her Daoist title, but had directly called out the secular name of her third junior sister. The implication behind this was obvious without asking.
Huai Bi was furious from shame, glaring at Xu You Rong and shouting, "Saintess, what do you intend to do?"
Huai Shu still hadn't reacted, saying to Xu You Rong, "She is, after all, your grand-uncle. How can you do this?"
Xu You Rong knew that this grand-uncle was simply that kind of temperament, so she ignored her and only looked at Huai Bi, saying, "Yuan Yueqin, you colluded with outsiders to strike at the disciples of this Zhai. Did you really think that after doing such a thing, I would still let you leave Nanxi Zhai?"
Hearing this, Huai Shu finally came to her senses. She glanced at Huai Ren, wanting to say something, but didn't know what to say.
For those Nanxi Zhai disciples who had been on the cliff platform earlier, Xu You Rong's words brought back the scenes from that time.
At that time, they had formed a sword formation, united in purpose, fighting against the sacred-domain powerhouse Wuliang Bi in an extremely dangerous situation.
It was at that moment that their Grand-Uncle Master Huai Bi suddenly struck out, injuring them and breaking the formation.
How could they ever forget such a scene?