Chapter 33: The World’s Karma Follows Its Own Course; The Sun Rises and Sets.

Chapter 33: The World's Karma Follows Its Own Course; The Sun Rises and Sets.

Qingyun Sect. Main Hall.

The Sect Master's delicate, long brows furrowed slightly, a wisp of cloud-like worry drifting across her face.

She sighed, "We and their Divine Court have had no enmity in the past, nor any recent grudges. Why Ghost Lingjun is singling us out like this is truly baffling. What are your thoughts, everyone?"

Several elders instinctively nodded, "The Sect Master is absolutely right!"

One asked, "What do you think?" The other answered, "You are right." Neither side felt anything was amiss.

After a round of fruitless exchange, the atmosphere in the great hall lapsed into silence.

Fu Yu stood dutifully to the side, behind her a nervous Foxtail Grass Spirit rooted in place.

After a long while, the Sect Master spoke softly, "That day, when the immortal artifact Retrospective Light revealed the scene of the Patriarch's incident, I guessed there must be some unspeakable darkness involved. You all, if I don't bring it up, you keep your mouths shut, each of you prioritizing self-preservation."

Several elders shook their heads, expressing, "Shame, shame."

Thinking to themselves: Who said everyone kept quiet? Didn't Elder Muyun open her mouth? Several times, in fact. Sect Master, you didn't let her speak either.

The Sect Master sighed, "These juniors, Xie Fuyu and the others, have suffered an unwarranted disaster. Alas, now that the Patriarch remains unconscious, if Ghost Lingjun remains obstinate, I fear our sect will be in a very difficult position. Wouldn't you agree?"

The elders understood perfectly well, sighed inwardly, and nodded, "Indeed, that is so."

Even the Patriarch, when encountering Ghost Lingjun, would not strike back, enduring what he could, letting things pass when possible.

Who would want to clash head-on with the Divine Court?

If handing over a few low-level disciples could buy temporary peace, what choice the Sect Master would make was not hard to guess.

One elder stepped forward with a worried frown, "The only one in our sect capable of opposing Ghost Lingjun is the Patriarch. You juniors, why did you have to provoke Ghost Lingjun's wrath at this very time? Tsk, you've really brought a massive headache upon the sect!"

Another elder waved a hand dismissively, "If he truly insists on falsely accusing you, then you should go with him to the Divine Court and let the High Priest above him judge right and wrong."

Yet another simply cast aside all pretense, "Why doesn't Ghost Lingjun falsely accuse others, only you?"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit trembled with rage, its grassy fur shaking.

This scene was all too familiar. Back when Grandpa had his accident, these people were the same—unwilling to pursue the culprit, refusing to exert effort to save him, each spouting grand principles, just wanting to avoid getting their hands dirty with trouble.

It tightly pursed its mouth, a fire burning in its heart.

So angry! So angry!

So wronged! So wronged!

Fu Yu suddenly reached back and patted it, throwing it a glance.

The Foxtail Grass Spirit was stunned, eerily understanding Fu Yu's reassurance—"What are you angry about? Have you forgotten we *are* the ones who killed her?"

The Foxtail Grass Spirit's heated mind suddenly cleared: "!!!"

Right! We *are* the murderers! What's there to feel wronged about?

Instantly, the anger vanished.

From her seat at the head of the hall, the Sect Master raised a hand, signaling those elders to be silent.

She looked at Fu Yu and said gently, "There's no need to worry too much. After all, Ghost Lingjun is the one acting unreasonably first. I will do my utmost to negotiate a resolution..."

Halfway through her sentence, a group of people noisily barged in.

Old and young, big and small.

The old ones were furious, the young ones pitiful.

Leading them was the Peak Master of Xuanmu Peak, Perfected Person Suwen.

Perfected Person Suwen had always been a warm-hearted, gentle-tempered good person, but now she was glaring with raised eyebrows. As soon as she entered, she loudly exclaimed, "What's left to mediate about!"

Earlier in the Medicine Master Hall, Hua Lang, her little Lang'er, had described in detail how Venerable Yunshang sucked people's faces. He spoke through sobs, tears streaming, vividly and immersively!

The details were too graphic, making Perfected Person Suwen's skin crawl—angry, distressed, and heartbroken.

She hurriedly brought Hua Lang to the main hall. Before even entering, she heard these people wanting to save their own skins, and her temper instantly flared.

After interrupting the Sect Master, Perfected Person Suwen solemnly declared, "These juniors, I'm protecting these kids, no question!"

The other three who came with her were also pillars of the sect. Seeing this, they immediately followed suit.

Deputy Sect Master Xu proclaimed loudly, "Ghost Lingjun is so aggressive. We have endured and retreated again and again, only to end up being slowly cut apart like a blunt knife!"

Elder Huang He: "We're already being roasted over the fire! And you still want to be turtles hiding in their shells! Hide, hide, hide! What good does hiding do!"

Second Uncle Le: "Our Leijing Peak has never produced a single coward through the generations!"

Several heavy waves of sound crashed upon the Sect Master one after another, nearly making her faint.

Looking around, she realized those present were all elders who usually kept quiet but held significant prestige and weight within the sect.

The Sect Master closed her eyes, then said calmly and peacefully, "You all, rushing to blame me without distinguishing right from wrong—I never said the sect would just roll over, did I?"

The elder beside her immediately nodded, "Right."

As she spoke, the Sect Master's gaze inadvertently fell upon Hua Lang and the others following those four, her long brows unconsciously furrowing.

...Were these the ones who went to Yulong City?

The Sect Master glanced discreetly at Elder Zhang on her left.

Elder Zhang was dumbfounded, "I didn't arrange for them to go. I arranged for the ones from the bottom of the barrel..."

"Not like that," the Sect Master raised a hand to interrupt. "Whoever went is the same. They are all disciples of the sect, no different." She solemnly admonished Elder Zhang, "Such words, do not let me hear them again."

Elder Zhang's expression turned stern, "Yes."

The Sect Master sighed silently and looked at Hua Lang and the others, "The evils committed by Venerable Yunshang, you all saw them clearly?"

Hua Lang and the other three answered resolutely and indignantly, "Crystal clear!"

No one else could be clearer than them!

They were truly sucked!

The four elders looked at the apples of their eyes, eyes reddening, bodies trembling, and felt another pang of heartache.

Perfected Person Suwen stepped forward quickly, "Let me speak from the heart—it's not just me being protective. Given the heinous deeds those two, Ghost Lingjun and his wife, committed, even if the children *did* kill someone, they would be acting on behalf of Heaven's justice!"

Hua Lang and the other three were jolted, rendered speechless: "..."

Old Ancestor, please don't hit the nail on the head with such blunt honesty!

Deputy Sect Master Xu, also carried away by indignation, exclaimed, "If we had known it would come to this, the Patriarch should never have backed down from the start!"

Elder Huanghe sneered, "Do they really think our Qingyun Sect is a soft persimmon, to be squeezed and squeezed endlessly!"

Second Uncle Le declared, "Rather than suffer this unjust humiliation, we might as well cut ties and go our separate ways!"

The Sect Master's head buzzed with pain.

"Alright, alright, let's all calm down a bit," the Sect Master sighed with a weary smile. "How could I not know these disciples have been wronged? Even if you hadn't come, do you really think I would have abandoned them? What kind of Sect Master would I be then? Isn't that right?"

Everyone agreed, "Right."

The Sect Master tried to smooth things over, "How about this: we'll show our stance by activating the Sect Protection Formation as a precaution. We'll take things one step at a time from there. Does that sound acceptable?"

No matter how mad Ghost Lingjun is, surely he wouldn't personally come to blast another sect's mountain gate formation just to frame a few Foundation Establishment disciples, right? He can't possibly be aiming to wipe out the entire Qingyun Sect.

Everyone nodded in unison, "The Sect Master is wise!"

Seeing that a resolution had been reached, the four High-level Cultivators also breathed a sigh of relief, comfortingly patting their juniors' heads.

'With your Great-aunt/Master/Uncle/Father here, you have nothing to worry about, alright?'

Their gazes then shifted to Fu Yu, standing alone to the side with only a scrawny Foxtail Grass Spirit for company.

Like a lost lamb.

"Ah!" Perfected Person Suwen hurried forward, reaching out to touch Fu Yu's sleeve. "Little Fuyu, it's alright, don't be afraid!"

This poor child, with no elders by her side, must be terrified—just look at how Little Lang'er was crying!

Deputy Sect Master Xu cleared his throat, "Ahem. Xie Fuyu, if you have any troubles, feel free to come to me."

The other two High-level Cultivators also nodded silently, "If the sky falls, we old relics will hold it up!"

Since all the children were involved in the same incident, protecting our own is one thing, but leaving Xie Fuyu all alone would be unseemly and downright shameful.

If we're going to take care of them, we take care of them all together.

The elders waved their hands grandly, "Go back and focus on your cultivation. Don't worry about anything else!"

Fu Yu nodded obediently, "Thank you, uncles and aunts."

The group had arrived in a bustling crowd, and as they left, they just as bustlingly took Fu Yu and the Foxtail Grass Spirit along with them.

The Sect Master watched expressionlessly as this motley crew of old and young departed.

Elder Zhang, the one who had "caused the trouble," didn't dare breathe too loudly. Only after everyone had been gone for a while did he wipe away a cold sweat, quietly defending himself, "Sect Master, I really did assign a few who had just reached Foundation Establishment. In fact, I originally had that half-crippled Lu Xingchen lead the team. I truly never expected things to turn out like this..."

The Sect Master cut him off, "Don't tell me about what was supposed to happen, what should have been, or what you didn't expect. I only care about the results. Do you understand?"

Elder Zhang bowed awkwardly, "Understood."

"Dismissed."

After leaving the main peak, Elder Zhang grew angrier the more he thought about it. Changing direction, he headed toward Baiyun Peak.

Good news stays home, but bad news travels far and wide.

These days, the hottest gossip during tea breaks in the sect was the dramatic farce surrounding Lu Xingchen.

This man, abandoning his perfectly good fiancée, ran off to have a child with some unknown cousin. And what happened? Turns out the cousin already had her own son, and the boy's biological father came knocking on the door.

Even a dog would bark a few laughs at that.

Elder Zhang grew angrier the more he thought about it. With a grim face, he arrived at Lu Xingchen's residence. Before even entering, he was hit by a foul, pungent odor.

Su Jiabao had died here. The body had been disposed of, but the bloodstains on the floor remained uncleaned, attracting flies.

Lu Xingchen sat stiffly on the bed like a block of wood, leaning against the wall. It was unclear how many days it had been since his last bath—his hair was disheveled, his face haggard and grimy.

Elder Zhang called his name twice before Lu Xingchen slowly shifted his gaze.

The moment their eyes met, Elder Zhang knew this man was completely finished.

For a moment, he didn't know whether to blame Lu Xingchen for being useless or to curse his own bad luck.

Waving his sleeve to shoo away the flies and the stench, Elder Zhang demanded angrily, "I told you to lead the team to Yulong City to complete the mission! What the hell were you doing?!"

Lu Xingchen moved his dry, cracked lips, offering a bitter smile.

In his current state, how could he possibly complete missions or lead teams?

From his stiff, numb mind slowly surfaced the memory of Xie Fuyu's proud demeanor that day—"First, it's obvious you're in no condition to lead the team anymore. Withdraw yourself, and I'll take over."

"Oh," he replied hoarsely. "Xie Fuyu led the team. Hua Lang and the others only recognized her, not me."

Mentioning this, he couldn't help but let out another bitter chuckle.

He didn't know when it started, but that woman who used to look up at him with a bright, smiling gaze now required him to lift his head to see her.

How did she become the leader of those people?

Those people were all arrogant and looked down on others. How could they possibly submit to her?

Was it just because they all came from similar backgrounds?

Elder Zhang sneered, "Useless trash! Xie Fuyu's cultivation is lower than yours, and she's dragging around a living-dead burden like Xie Yun, yet you couldn't even compete with her!"

Lu Xingchen instinctively protested, "My background..."

Elder Zhang ruthlessly cut him off, "No, you're not a beast, you're trash! Trash, do you hear me? Trash! Xie Fuyu emptied her family's coffers long ago to keep Xie Yun alive, and she's buried in debt! What, did you repay her for the resources you used to advance to Golden Core? I don't think you did!"

Having suffered humiliation from the Sect Master, Elder Zhang couldn't resist hurling cold, sharp words at Lu Xingchen, the one who had caused his misfortune.

Lu Xingchen shuddered, his expression dazed, "She... she had nothing left?"

He hadn't noticed.

Xie Fuyu was too proud, never complaining of hardship. And he had been trapped in his own self-pity, always thinking she was still that proud young lady.

In reality...

The only person she could rely on, her grandfather, had met with disaster. Even if he could be saved, he would be a cripple.

She hoped he could successfully advance, formally enter the Patriarch's tutelage, investigate the truth for her grandfather, and find a way to exact revenge.

He was her last hope.

But during this time, he had been hopelessly infatuated.

He only cared for another woman, reveling in the vanity of her admiration and praise, and he hurt *her* again and again for that woman's sake.

How desperate must she have been?

"Fu Yu, I..."

Lu Xingchen squeezed his eyes shut in pain.

For some reason, what rose in his mind at this moment wasn't Xie Fuyu's image, but the Foxtail Grass Spirit that always followed her.

He had seen this Grass Spirit before—dull, like a wooden puppet.

Now, after spending so much time with her, it had grown more talkative, more like her.

Especially those eyes...

A dull pain suddenly ached in Lu Xingchen's chest.

At first, its eyes were always filled with grievance, indignant on its master's behalf, and it liked to sarcastically mock him.

From a certain day onward, it seemed no longer aggrieved, holding only faint disappointment and scorn toward him—yes, it was outside Wu He's thatched cottage, where it proudly told him that what its master did, he couldn't even begin to understand.

On the day he returned the Heart Elixir, it looked as if it wanted to cry, dejected, mutely hanging its head in silence.

Later, when Su Yiner drugged him and Su Jiabao nearly drove him to qi deviation, it gleefully flung back every word he had once said to Xie Fuyu. It was agitated, trembling, its voice choked with sobs.

Then, on that final day, the Su siblings—no, the Su mother and son—stole his spiritual energy and reaped what they sowed. That day, the Foxtail Grass Spirit stood there in a daze, its face wore a smile, but it wasn't mocking him.

Its eyes were like a barometer.

Only now, after so long, did he belatedly realize through this little spirit how Xie Fuyu must have gradually grown disappointed in him, until she finally let go completely.

He closed his eyes heavily, leaning his head back against the cold wall, his heart sinking into gloom.

Elder Zhang swept his sleeves and left. Moments later, a grim voice came from outside the room: "Lu Xingchen refuses to carry out his orders and must be punished."

The voice of the outer sect disciple Qu Zhongzhi remained as simple and honest as ever: "Yes, this disciple obeys."

Elder Zhang said, "Since he is slothful and negligent, he shall receive thirty cane strokes to the legs as a warning."

Qu Zhongzhi: "This disciple understands."

Moments later, footsteps approached Lu Xingchen's bedside.

Lu Xingchen forced his eyes open. Before him was the pleasant, honest face of the outer sect disciple.

"Senior Brother Lu," Qu Zhongzhi scratched his head, "you heard it too. Elder Zhang has given the order, so this junior has no choice but to offend."

Still mired in sorrow, Lu Xingchen paid no mind, not even bothering to respond.

This person had always been obedient and honest—it was probably just for show...

"Gah!"

Lu Xingchen snapped back to reality: "You—!"

His pupils contracted sharply, glaring at Qu Zhongzhi, yet the other's face showed not a hint of malice, still wearing that simple, honest smile.

"Thwack!"

Another heavy blow landed. Cold sweat beaded on Lu Xingchen's forehead, and he thought he heard the sound of bone cracking.

In an instant, his entire body turned cold, as if plunged into an icy abyss.

"You..."

He wanted to resist, but with his cultivation destroyed and spiritual energy gone, how could he contend with a disciple who had diligently trained day in and day out?

"Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ah!"

The sensation of his legs breaking was not unfamiliar to Lu Xingchen.

Excruciating pain washed over him, and in his daze, he felt as if he had returned to the past, crawling on the ground, struggling and rolling in filth and mud...

He didn't know how long he endured it. Through the buzzing in his ears, a gentle, smiling voice drifted in: "Senior Brother Lu, the thirty strokes are done. Does Senior Brother need this junior to fetch some medicinal salve?"

Lu Xingchen's mind was foggy, his body cold.

"Get out," he rasped, "get out!"

Qu Zhongzhi was still smiling: "Ah, then this junior will get out of your way."

Lu Xingchen felt his vision flickering, now bright, now dark, now near, now far.

He rolled off the bed, instinctively propping himself up with his arms to crawl outward.

"Drag, drag, drag, drag..."

His consciousness was already blurred, and he didn't even know where he wanted to crawl to.

Only...

Only... a voice in his heart told him to go forward, forward, further forward. Ahead, there was a little sun.

That sun was warm, chattering away.

"Wow! This person is so pitiful!"

"This is my first time leaving the mountain. Grandpa was right! Outside the sect, it's really! So! Dangerous!"

"Ew, you're so dirty, and you stink! And you're heavy! You're so heavy!"

"This is a seventh-grade elixir. I only have three myself, but it should be enough to heal you!"

"Ah, why did I get myself into such a big! Trouble!"

"Hey! Are you dead? Hey!"

Lu Xingchen crawled forward with all his might.

Pit-pat, pit-pat.

Was it raining?

His hands were pressed in front of him, the backs of his hands struck by raindrops one after another—strangely, the raindrops were burning hot.

He kept crawling forward.

If he could do it all over again...

He would absolutely—absolutely—never miss it again, never.

Suddenly, instinct made him freeze and slowly raise his head.

On the mountain path, a blur of light, like a tiny sun, and within that halo, a pair of familiar eyes.

They looked at him, blinking slowly.

His heart almost stopped.

Time rewound before his eyes, as if he had returned to the very beginning, watching that light draw closer and closer.

His little sun halted before him.

She had come.

Tears of gratitude welled in his eyes.

He remained there for a long, long time.

Foxtail Grass Spirit: "Ew, he smells awful, Master. Is he going to die?"

Fu Yu considered this seriously: "Hmm... I don’t think he’ll die."

Foxtail Grass Spirit: "Oh. Let's go, I guess."

Fu Yu: "Let's go, then."