Chapter 879: The Source of Chaos in Nanxi Zhai
The bamboo sea had become so quiet that it meant the figure hidden deep within was feeling the same way as Tang Thirty-Six.
Upon hearing this voice, the hostility on the black-robed Daoist nun's face gradually faded. She cast a cold glance at Tang Thirty-Six, as if about to say something, but then likely recalled his earlier threats. The words she wanted to say ultimately turned into a simple, curt snort as she left in a huff, flicking her sleeves.
Watching the Daoist nun's figure gradually disappear along the mountain path, Tang Thirty-Six shouted, "Hey! If you've got the guts, don't leave! Not even a snort is allowed! Next year's book fees will be halved again!"
The young girls of Nanxi Zhai who had never been to Cold Mountain or the capital exchanged speechless glances, thinking to themselves: Is this the legendary young master of the Tang family? How is he so different from the rumors? His temper is far too fierce.
"Enough, enough. The grand-aunt master doesn't care about book fees; she has her own clan's offerings. If it weren't for the grand-master's orders, she wouldn't be threatened by you at all—she'd just slap you down directly."
Ye Xiaolian raised her small hand, pretending to strike Tang Thirty-Six's chest, and said, "The book fees are for us disciples to use. Don't you dare actually withhold them."
Tang Thirty-Six clutched his chest, feigning injury, and said sadly, "Your little hand and little face are quite pretty, so why is your heart so biased? I stood up for you."
Ye Xiaolian was long accustomed to his lazy demeanor and ignored him, saying, "Since the grand-master wants to see you, let's hurry up and go."
Only then did Tang Thirty-Six snap out of it. He asked in surprise, "The Saintess has returned? What about Su Li? Has she been dumped again?"
He wasn't referring to Xu Yourong, but to Xu Yourong's teacher, the previous Saintess.
Hu Thirty-Two was also shocked, but at the last sentence, he stumbled, nearly falling off the mountain path.
Ye Xiaolian and the other girls were even angrier, glaring at him as if they wished to draw their swords and cut him to pieces.
"I was just trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere with a joke," Tang Thirty-Six said with an apologetic smile. "Why take it so seriously?"
Ye Xiaolian suppressed her temper and explained, "I was referring to my own branch's grand-master, the senior sister of the grand-aunt master you just saw."
Tang Thirty-Six said, "I feel like you just said something pointless."
Ye Xiaolian, at her wit's end, said, "My grand-master is not the previous Saintess. You only need to know that much. She is a very senior elder in the sect."
"What exactly is going on in Nanxi Zhai?"
After confirming that the black-robed Daoist nun was far away, Tang Thirty-Six dropped his smile and asked seriously, "Who is that old woman you mentioned, and your grand-master? Why have I never heard of them?"
Ye Xiaolian said, "Please show some respect. Besides... the grand-aunt master has reached an extremely high level of cultivation and has mastered the art of preserving her appearance. Where is she old?"
"People like them, no matter how young they look, are already old here."
Tang Thirty-Six pointed to his own chest and said to the girls of Nanxi Zhai, "But we are still very young, so sometimes, don't listen to them."
His words carried a hidden meaning, and the girls of Nanxi Zhai fell into thought.
Hu Thirty-Two sighed, perhaps thinking of his own age.
Because of Tang Thirty-Six's words, Ye Xiaolian felt a stir in her heart, and her eyes grew slightly moist.
A girl from Nanxi Zhai gathered her courage and said, "Let me speak."
Before she could begin, a familiar fellow disciple beside her advised, "The grand-aunt master won't be happy about this."
"Don't be afraid. Tell me everything."
Tang Thirty-Six said to Ye Xiaolian, "If that old woman dares to scold or hit you again, I'll withhold all the book fees for next year."
Ye Xiaolian broke into a smile through her tears and asked, "Can you really make that decision?"
Tang Thirty-Six said without changing his expression, "If lying to stand up for you is a crime, then let me be thrown into the Zhou Prison."
Ye Xiaolian's face flushed slightly, and she said, "Can you please talk seriously?"
Tang Thirty-Six replied innocently, "I'm not a serious person."
...
...
Since ancient times, cultivators from the southern lands had the custom of descending the mountain to travel after mastering their skills. The Huaiyuan Academy did it, the Lishan Sword Sect did it, and the Saintess Peak did it even more so.
Xu Yourong had once traveled to the Southern Sea, and her teacher, the Saintess, had followed Su Li to a distant continent.
Additionally, some former elders of Saintess Peak had been wandering the world for years without returning. Because so much time had passed, many had forgotten their existence. Even those who remembered assumed they were still roaming or had possibly returned to the sea of stars.
No one expected that half a year ago, three former elders who had been wandering for decades suddenly returned to Saintess Peak.
These three elders held such high seniority that there was no one in Nanxi Zhai with a higher status. In other words, they were now the founding matriarchs of Saintess Peak.
The return of the founding matriarchs should have been a joyous occasion for all. However, it soon became apparent that a very troublesome issue had arisen.
When the previous Saintess left, she hadn't anticipated that these senior and junior sisters wandering the world would return, so she directly handed Nanxi Zhai over to Xu Yourong.
When Xu Yourong went into seclusion, she also hadn't foreseen this, so she entrusted the sect's affairs to two virtuous and steady senior sisters.
Now that they had returned, who should manage Nanxi Zhai?
Logically, Xu Yourong's arrangements should be followed. But these three elders had such high seniority that if they expressed opinions on sect matters, who would dare to disobey?
If these three grand-aunt masters had only focused on cultivation and had no interest in sect affairs, that would have been ideal. But that wasn't the case.
They didn't bother with ordinary sect matters, but on one major issue, they made their stance very clear and forceful.
That issue involved the relationship between Saintess Peak and the Li Palace.
It was the matter of merging the northern and southern branches of the state religion.
The three grand-aunt masters sternly declared that this was absolutely unacceptable and then made a decision that would inevitably shake the continent.
That decision was the source of the low spirits and complex emotions among Ye Xiaolian and the other girls of Nanxi Zhai.
...
...
After listening to Ye Xiaolian's account, Tang Thirty-Six was silent for a moment before asking, "There was no news before they returned?"
He could understand, even accept, the three Nanxi Zhai elders' fierce opposition to the merger of the northern and southern branches of the state religion.
The older generation's beliefs were often more rigid and unchangeable, much like the old master in his own household.
What made him wary was the decision Ye Xiaolian hadn't explicitly mentioned and the hidden information behind this matter.
Leaving Nanxi Zhai, the foremost pure and noble sacred land in the world, to wander for decades without returning—logically, these three grand-aunt masters shouldn't be the type to care about worldly glory and wealth. Even if they still held onto something, who had found them on the continent and persuaded them to return to Nanxi Zhai to do these things?
"No one expected them to suddenly return. It was like..." Ye Xiaolian said, "a surprise attack."
Tang Thirty-Six asked, "What are their names?"
Ye Xiaolian said, "My grand-master is called Huai Ren. The grand-aunt master you saw earlier is named Huai Bi."
Tang Thirty-Six found it strange, feeling as if he had heard those names somewhere before.
Ye Xiaolian had no idea what he was thinking and continued, "There's another grand-aunt master named Huai Shu."
Tang Thirty-Six thought for a moment and said, "If they're all like that old woman, with true natures opposite to their names, then this is going to be trouble."