Chapter 34 The Scheming Disciple and the Charming Master 34

Chapter 34: The Cunning Disciple and His Charming Master 34

It was almost dark by the time Qin Du finally got back to Lingxiao Peak. He packed up his few belongings into a bundle and hoisted it onto his back.

He knelt before the tightly shut doors of the main hall and kowtowed a few more times.

Mu Yunting, who had long noticed something amiss, stood behind him, watching the scene completely baffled.

"You... what's this now? Running away from home?"

"I'm heading to Kuhanzhan Peak. Take care of Master while I'm gone."

A man speaks kindly when he's about to leave.

"Kuhanzhan Peak?! Why the heck would you go there? Did Master send you?!"

Qin Du couldn't be bothered to say more. He hitched his small bundle onto his back and headed up Kuhanzhan Peak.

Kuhanzhan Peak sat on top of the tallest mountain in the northern part of the Xuantian Sect.

The summit was bitterly cold, where disciples who messed up were sent to reflect on their mistakes.

However, due to the extreme climate, only disciples who had been completely abandoned by their masters were sent up to Kuhanzhan Peak.

At the summit stood a dilapidated temple that served as shelter for the punished disciples.

The temple had stood for nearly a century and was barely standing, with wind whistling through cracks in the walls and roof. Even inside the temple, it was freezing cold.

A regular person would probably have frozen to death by now.

Inside the temple, a few cultivators were huddled around a fire.

One of them suddenly stood up, pointing toward the path outside the window, and shouted in surprise:

"Senior Brother Qu, look—isn't that somebody coming up the mountain?"

"Someone coming? It's been years since we've had anyone come up here... Holy crap! It really is someone!"

"Do you think the Sect Master sent someone to tell us we can go down?!"

Qin Du had no idea how long he'd been climbing through the wind and snow when he finally spotted a run-down temple up ahead.

He could even make out the faint glow of a fire inside.

Qin Du rubbed his nearly frozen arms and picked up the pace.

The moment he pushed open the temple's creaking door, he found himself surrounded by a group of disciples in ragged robes.

One of the younger-looking disciples blurted out eagerly:

"Did the Sect Master send you to take us down?!"

Qin Du didn't like being around strangers, so he just shook his head.

Upon learning the answer, the group all groaned and threw their hands up in frustration.

"Ugh! How much longer do we have to stay in this godforsaken place?! We only made a small mistake—did they really have to lock us up here?"

"To hell with the Xuantian Sect! To hell with Chu Xiuyuan! If he's got the guts, lock me up for life! If I ever get out of here, I'll make him pay!"

"Exactly! You had me all excited for nothing!"

Even as clueless as Qin Du was, he could tell something was off about these people. Why were they so bitter toward the Xuantian Sect and Chu Xiuyuan?

And looking at their disciple robes, they seemed to be an old style from ten years ago—worn and ragged, like they'd been used for years.

By the time his group of disciples joined, the robes had already changed style.

Could these people have been sent up here ten years ago?

One of the eldest-looking disciples, sitting closest to the fire, spoke in a low voice:

"Alright! What's the use of complaining? Even if we can't leave, we've got a newcomer, haven't we? Why don't you all come over and welcome the new guy?"

At that, the youngest-looking disciple got way more excited than the others.

"Great! I've been waiting five years for someone new to show up! Welcome, welcome!"

For some reason, Qin Du had a feeling those words weren't exactly a good sign.

And these people didn't seem like the friendly type either. From what they were saying, they were stuck on Kuhanzhan Peak.

The others sat around the fire with different looks on their faces, waiting for the eldest disciple to speak.

"Which peak are you from? What'd you do to get sent here?"

Though Qin Du wasn't fond of interacting with people, he figured he might be spending a long time here, so he decided to play nice.

"Lingxiao Peak... I came here on my own to cultivate."

He didn't plan on telling them anything about his demonic cultivation.

"Lingxiao Peak? Why does that sound familiar? Who's in charge of Lingxiao Peak?"

"It's Lin Huaiqing! You're Immortal Venerable Huaiqing's disciple?!"

Though they'd been stuck on Kuhanzhan Peak for a long time, they'd definitely heard of Immortal Venerable Huaiqing.

But when they had been sent up, Lin Huaiqing hadn't taken on any disciples yet.

"Oh! Now I remember! You're the disciple Immortal Venerable Huaiqing found outside! You've grown so much?!"

"*Cough* *cough*! You say you came here voluntarily to cultivate? No way—who would willingly come to a place like this?"

Qin Du's eyes darted around as he countered, "So you're saying you didn't come here willingly—you were locked up? What did you guys do?"

His question made the whole group go quiet.

Some had stolen treasures from the Xuantian Sect and sold them down the mountain. Some had harassed female cultivators and refused to stop even after being warned. Others had defied the rules and injured fellow disciples, causing serious problems.

In short, they'd all been sent to Kuhanzhan Peak after Chu Xiuyuan reviewed their cases.

Those sent here were trapped on the mountain unless their punishment was over—unable to find the way down.

That's why they could only sit by the fire and couldn't make a run for it.

"Hey, newcomer! Since you said you came up voluntarily, you must know how to get down! Take us down!"

This reminded the group of lawbreakers, and they all crowded around, demanding Qin Du take them down the mountain.

However, Qin Du, sitting by the fire, furrowed his brow, saying nothing.

One of the disciples stepped forward and kicked Qin Du, cursing:

"You deaf or what?! I told you to take us down, can't you hear me?!"

Qin Du shot him a fierce glare.

Among these disciples, the oldest had the highest cultivation base, but he was only at the late Foundation Establishment Stage.

The rest were basically stuck at Foundation Establishment too. If it came down to a fight, he wouldn't come out on the losing end.

But he'd come to Bitter Cold Peak to reflect on his past wrongdoings. If he laid a hand on the disciples here, he was afraid his master would kick him out of the sect.

So he couldn't lay a hand on these disciples, yet he also couldn't actually lead them down the mountain.

"I came here to cultivate. Besides, you were all imprisoned here. If I took you down, wouldn't that violate the rules of the Xuantian Sect?"

"Rules?! Who gives a damn about rules at a time like this?! If you don't take us down, don't blame us for being rough with you!"

There were only five of them, all at Foundation Establishment. Even if they joined forces, they might not be a match for him.

"Third brother, you can't take him. Haven't you seen he's already at Golden Core?" said the oldest disciple, who was more composed and chose not to confront Qin Du directly.

"But you'd better think it over. If you want to stay here, you'll have to be on guard against the five of us every day. If you're smart, you'll escort us down the mountain, and we promise the gatekeepers won't find out."