Qi Yunke stepped in to mediate as usual: “This Sima An is guilty of heinous crimes, and Brother Qiu acted out of a sense of justice. Since this matter is settled, let’s all enter the hall.”
Song Shijun remained noncommittal, deciding to swallow his anger for now and plot his revenge later.
However, Qiu Yuanfeng refused to let it go. With a provocative smile, he said, “Since Master Qi has spoken, Taichu Temple naturally has no objections. But I advise Master Song to thoroughly clean house when he returns…”
Song Shijun’s face darkened. “What do you mean by that?”
Qiu Yuanfeng continued, “Those who know will say Guangtian Gate was too busy to notice Leigong Stronghold’s plea for help. Those who don’t might think Sima An bribed the elders with gold and silver, causing them to turn a blind eye.”
These words were particularly venomous. Song Shijun had never suffered such humiliation in his life. Before he could react, his eldest son, Song Maozhi, lost his temper and shouted, “Qiu, what nonsense are you spouting?” Following his lead, the disciples of Guangtian Gate surged forward, hurling insults in a frenzy.
Taichu Temple’s disciples, who had come in large numbers, weren’t mere bystanders. They raised their voices, returning insult for insult.
Suddenly, the area in front of Muwei Palace resembled a marketplace, filled with crude and vicious language. Fortunately, because of today’s ceremony, disciples were forbidden from using martial arts; otherwise, chaos would have surely erupted.
Master Jingyuan remained silent, merely lowering her head to chant sutras—as an outsider, it wasn’t her place to intervene in the internal disputes of the Six Northern Sects. However, Venerable Fakong couldn’t bear it any longer. He advised Cangqiong Zi, “Originally, it wasn’t my place to comment on your sect’s affairs, but infighting among brothers is not the way of righteousness. As the elder of all the sect leaders, you should say something to quell this dispute.”
Cangqiong Zi replied, “Nephew Yuanfeng acted righteously. How can I, as an elder, reprimand him? Besides, I’m now a useless man. Even if I wanted to intervene, I couldn’t.”
Venerable Fakong shook his head, at a loss for words.
Seeing this situation, Qi Yunke and Zhou Zhizhen furrowed their brows. Yang Heying quietly stepped back, not wanting to get involved, while Cai Pingchun stood by impassively.
Meanwhile, Ning Xiaofeng was bored. She asked her attendant to fetch some oranges from the fruit baskets outside. As she ate, she realized that the soil and water of Wanshui Qianshan Cliff were indeed excellent, producing particularly sweet and delicious oranges. She then instructed the attendant to send some to her daughter.
The attendant, carrying an armful of oranges, approached Cai Zhao. He overheard Chang Ning saying with some schadenfreude, “…truly united, these Six Sects are.” Turning his head, he saw the young girl clumsily peeling the orange bit by bit. He quickly snatched it away, saying, “That’s not how you peel an orange.”
With deft movements, he broke open the bottom of the orange and swiftly peeled it from both sides. He then placed the intact orange segments in Cai Zhao’s delicate hands, his voice filled with affection: “Here, eat.”
The orange was indeed delicious. Cai Zhao smiled cheerfully at Chang Ning.
Seeing the young girl’s radiant smile, Chang Ning experienced for the first time the peculiar feeling of ‘being happier watching someone else eat than eating himself.’ Though he didn’t understand why, he felt inexplicably joyful and began peeling another orange with enthusiasm.
Fan Xingjia thought to himself, “…Actually, I’m not very good at peeling oranges either, Senior Brother.”
As Ning Xiaofeng and her daughter were happily enjoying their oranges, Yin Sulian could no longer contain herself. She rushed to the front and shrilly exclaimed, “Today is the second anniversary of our ancestor’s death! If you want to cause trouble, pick another day! This raucous behavior, disregarding your status and embarrassing yourselves in front of allied sects, isn’t this deliberately shaming our Qingque Sect?!”
As the daughter of Qingque Sect’s former leader and wife of the current one, Yin Sulian had been accustomed to giving orders for decades. At her command, the Qingque Sect’s disciples immediately called for silence. Yin Sulian’s move was quite clever. As a woman of high status but with poor martial arts skills, if Qiu Yuanfeng were to confront her directly, he would appear to be bullying a woman. If he didn’t respond, he would admit defeat.
However, Qiu Yuanfeng’s eyes flickered, and he smiled, “Oh, it’s Sister Yin. Has your Brother Qiu returned today? Ah come to think of it, it’s been many years since I’ve seen Brother Renjie.”
At these words, Yin Sulian’s face flushed red with shame and anger. However, apart from some older disciples, ninety percent of those present didn’t understand the meaning behind Qiu Yuanfeng’s words.
“Who is this Qiu Renjie?” Cai Zhao asked, also unaware.
Fan Xingjia had heard some rumors but hesitated to speak.
“This Qiu Renjie was the most outstanding of Old Sect Leader Yin Dai’s seven disciples, and the original heir apparent for the sect leader position,” Chang Ning answered cheerfully. “My father said he and Lady Sulian were once engaged.”
“Then what happened?” Cai Zhao inquired.
“Later, Sect Leader Qi broke through the ‘Heavenly Fire Dragon’ meridian bottleneck, making tremendous progress in his skills. In a grand competition within the Qingque Sect, he astounded everyone and took first place—and that was the end of the story for Master Qiu and Lady Sulian,” Chang Ning explained.
Cai Zhao was stunned. She unconsciously glanced at Qi Lingbo, Song Yuzhi, and even Dai Fengchi. “This Yin family is…”
She suddenly thought of her mother, Ning Xiaofeng.
Everyone in the Six Sects probably knew about the animosity between Ning Xiaofeng and Yin Sulian. Ning Xiaofeng surely knew about Yin Sulian’s past, but no matter how angry she got, she only ever mocked Yin Sulian for being ungrateful and two-faced, never mentioning Qiu Renjie in public.
Cai Zhao suddenly felt a surge of pride and looked at Qiu Yuanfeng with contempt—some Taichu Temple leader he was, with less magnanimity than her mother, a mere woman!
Seeing Qiu Yuanfeng’s frivolous manner and insulting tone towards his wife, Qi Yunke finally lost his temper. He gathered his qi and shouted in a thunderous voice, “This matter ends here!” These six words resonated like a great bell from the earth, each word full of power, exuding a profound sense of pressure that startled everyone.
“The Leigong Stronghold affair is for Guangtian Gate and Taichu Temple to discuss and handle. Qingque Sect does not wish to interfere. Punishing evil and promoting good is inherently righteous. I ask Master Qiu not to turn it into a knife for scheming and expanding influence,” Qi Yunke said, looking directly at Qiu Yuanfeng and enunciating each word. “I say this matter ends here. If there are other grievances, we can address them another day—does Master Qiu understand?”
Qiu Yuanfeng held his gaze for a long moment before reining in his arrogant demeanor. “Very well, I’ll heed the Sect Leader’s words.”
Song Shijun, still seething with anger, wanted to step forward and taunt Qiu Yuanfeng further, but Cai Pingchun held him back. He angrily said, “Xiaochun, are you meddling too?”
Cai Pingchun calmly replied, “Guangtian Gate was indeed at fault for leaving Leigong Stronghold with nowhere to turn for help. Elder Brother Shijun should clean house upon your return to prevent others from exploiting such opportunities in the future.”
Hearing the first part, Qiu Yuanfeng grinned, but his smile faded in the latter half. “What do you mean, Valley Master Cai? Are you implying that my Taichu Temple took advantage of the situation?”
Cai Pingchun responded evenly, “It’s not about taking advantage. Guangtian Gate’s wealth is known throughout the world. To suggest that Master Song would tolerate Sima An’s betrayal of his masters for a mere trifle—no one would believe that. However, acting chivalrously is always commendable. Next time Master Qiu feels the urge to uphold justice, feel free to do so within Luoying Valley’s jurisdiction. Our humble sect will certainly welcome you with open arms. Though Luoying Valley is small and insignificant, we can at least offer steamed buns with soy sauce to host you all.”
Song Shijun burst out laughing. “Xiaochun, you were so honest as a child. Now your sharp tongue rivals Ning Xiaofeng’s!”
“I speak only the truth. If Taichu Temple is willing, Luoying Valley can compile a list of injustices from various regions for our Taoist brothers to address,” Cai Pingchun added.
Song Shijun couldn’t stop laughing, while Qiu Yuanfeng’s face darkened as he stormed off.
The dispute finally ended. With Venerable Fakong’s chant of a Buddhist phrase, the chief disciples of each sect entered Chaoyang Main Hall, taking their designated positions. They stood solemnly, eyes lowered, maintaining silence. Incense smoke rose from the altar, and amidst the swirling mist, Qi Yunke held a yellow silk scroll and began reading the eulogy in a clear voice:
“In this year of great peace, with the world at ease, we disciples remember our ancestors. Today, we offer three animals, three sacrifices, fresh flowers, and fruits to honor the spirit of our ancestor, the North Chen True Lord in heaven. In times when demons ran rampant, people suffered, and bones whitened the earth for a thousand li, heaven fortunately sent our ancestor, the North Chen True Lord. He accepted a perilous mission, shouldering the responsibility for the common people and the way of righteousness, taking the safety of all living beings as his duty, serving all under heaven…”
Cai Zhao frowned as she listened. “Where did Elder Brother find this ghostwriter? The writing is so poor. Even the local playwright in our town could do better.”
“…How do you know the writing is inadequate?” Fan Xingjia wanted to ask how she knew this wasn’t written by their master but decided not to upset himself.
Chang Ning chimed in, “Because she can understand every sentence.”
Cai Zhao: ╰_╯
Chang Ning:
Fan Xingjia: …
After the eulogy, the six sect leaders took turns offering incense to the ancestor. When it came to Taichu Temple’s turn, Qiu Yuanfeng caused another scene—insisting that Cangqiong Zi step forward to offer incense.