Chapter 36 The Scheming Disciple and the Charming Master 36

Chapter 36: The Scheming Disciple and His Enchanting Master 36

"Did Qin Du kill Old Five and then take off? Why don't we split up and look for him?"

"Shh! You got a death wish or what? What if he hasn't left and is hiding nearby? Old Five was killed by demons—can you take them on?"

As he pieced together their chatter, he got the gist of it.

So Qin Du supposedly killed Old Five and vanished? That made no sense.

This was serious. Lin Huaiqing lost all interest in eavesdropping. He pulled back his spiritual sense and walked into the ruined temple.

"Where is Qin Du?" Lin Huaiqing asked directly upon entering.

"Is it Immortal Venerable Huaiqing?! It really is Immortal Venerable Huaiqing!"

"Disciple pays respects to Immortal Venerable Huaiqing!"

"Immortal Venerable Huaiqing, have you come to take us down the mountain?!"

Lin Huaiqing repeated himself, exasperated, "Where is Qin Du? The one who came up the mountain yesterday."

One of the sharper disciples quickly knelt and explained:

"Immortal Venerable, Junior Brother Qin Du vanished last night. When we woke up, all we found was Old Five's body, killed by demons. Qin Du must've been taken by the demons too."

Lin Huaiqing sat down, almost amused.

These disciples really were masters of flipping their story.

Before he came in, they said Qin Du killed Old Five. The second he walked in, they switched to saying demons broke into the sect, killed Old Five, and took Qin Du.

And the Xuantian Sect was heavily guarded, with a mountain-protecting formation—what kind of demon could just waltz in without anyone noticing?

Even if they did get in, why wouldn't they steal the sect's treasures or attack the Sect Master?

Instead, they came to this freezing, remote spot to quietly kill some nobody disciple?

They were probably scared he'd let his disciple get away with demonic cultivation and murder, and then silence them. That's why they spun that story.

If they put this much cunning into something righteous, they'd be way past Foundation Establishment by now.

"Enough. I'll figure out what really happened myself. Now take me to the body."

The disciples led him to the back mountain, where Lin Huaiqing caught a faint whiff of demonic energy and a strong smell of blood.

Old Five's body lay in the snow, frozen stiff, blood already congealed.

Lin Huaiqing hovered his hand over the body, using his spiritual power to read its condition.

The most obvious mark was the bruising around the neck—clearly the fatal wound.

Based on the demonic energy left behind, it was definitely the work of demons.

Could Qin Du have fully demonized that fast?! And why would he kill some random nobody?

None of this made any sense.

"You four, come down with me. Carry the body to the main peak—the Sect Master will sort it out."

The moment they heard they could leave, their grief over their dead brother turned into pure excitement about going down.

"Thank you, Immortal Venerable! Thank you for standing up for us!"

The four disciples rushed back to pack, grabbed a ratty bedsheet, chopped down a tree for a stretcher, and loaded the body onto it.

While they were busy, Lin Huaiqing didn't just stand around. He went back into the ruined temple and looked around.

Eventually, he found a wooden tea set on the shrine—probably what they used for drinking.

Three cups were empty, but one still had water in it.

By now, it had frozen solid.

Normally, that wouldn't mean anything, but the smell coming from that cup caught his attention.

Anyone below the Golden Core stage wouldn't be able to tell something was off with that cup.

Seeing the four disciples already hauling the body through the door, Lin Huaiqing moved fast and quietly slipped the cup of ice into his qiankun pouch.

"Everyone packed? Let's move."

At the Xuantian Sect's main peak.

Chu Xiuyuan was livid. He slammed the table, and the whole main peak shook.

The four disciples knelt in a row, heads to the floor, not daring to look at Chu Xiuyuan.

Lin Huaiqing sat off to the side, listening. He looked calm, but his mind was racing over what really happened on Bitter Cold Peak.

"Talk! What the hell happened?! There were only five of you up there, and now one's dead—one of you must be responsible.

You're stuck on Bitter Cold Peak and still can't behave—now you're dabbling in demonic cultivation?!"

"Sect Master, please! The five of us were perfectly peaceful up there. It was that Qin guy who showed up yesterday! This happened the very next day, and now he's gone—it's gotta be him!"

These disciples really were flip-floppers. Just moments ago, they said demons took Qin Du.

Now that they were down the mountain, they dumped all the blame on Qin Du.

They knew he couldn't touch them in public.

"Junior Brother, is what they're saying true? That Qin disciple is..."

Lin Huaiqing stood up. "That's right, he's my senior disciple, Qin Du. A few days ago, I sent him to Bitter Cold Peak to reflect. I never expected this."

"Your disciple practices demonic arts?" Chu Xiuyuan's face was filled with disbelief.

Facing his senior brother's questioning, Lin Huaiqing couldn't keep covering for Qin Du.

"Probably so..."

Even so, Chu Xiuyuan didn't take it out on Lin Huaiqing. Instead, he aimed his rage at Qin Du.

"So... where is that rebellious disciple now?!"

"To answer the Sect Master, when we woke up and found the corpse, he was already gone. He's likely fled down the mountain..."

Chu Xiuyuan immediately issued an order, commanding the four Disciplinary Law Elders of the Xuantian Sect to descend the mountain and pursue Qin Du.

Unlike the Baqi Sect, the Xuantian Sect had four Disciplinary Law Elders responsible for punishing and disciplining disciples.

Each of them had reached at least the Late Golden Core Stage. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to keep the disciples in line.

Normally, capturing a Golden Core Stage disciple would take at most two Disciplinary Law Elders, but this time Chu Xiuyuan ordered all four elders to head down the mountain at once.

It was clear he was truly enraged.

Three of the elders were on good terms with Lin Huaiqing, while the other was rumored to hold a grudge against him.

"Western Law Elder, before we left, Immortal Venerable Huaiqing specifically told us to capture Qin Du alive. Don't go and accidentally kill his beloved disciple."

The Eastern Law Elder was a female cultivator who held some fondness for Lin Huaiqing, so she made sure to remind him.

"What do you mean by that, Eastern Law Elder? Are you implying I'd settle a personal score? Immortal Venerable Huaiqing actually took a demonic cultivator as a disciple—what a disgrace to our Xuantian Sect!"

"Enough, both of you. Let's each head in one direction to pursue him. Contact each other using your jade tokens the instant you get any news!"

The four elders scattered in four directions, but only the Western Law Elder stayed put, letting out a cold sneer.

"A bunch of idiots!" he muttered, then turned and flew on his sword toward the demonic seal.

A demonic cultivator fleeing down the mountain would naturally head to the demon realm. All he had to do was wait at the entrance, and he was certain he'd catch the little brat.

Meanwhile, Qin Du and Xiao Sha had been heading straight for the demon realm ever since they left the Xuantian Sect.