Qi Yong’s face darkened.
Wasn’t the Right Protector basically saying, in front of everyone, that he didn’t follow sect rules?
He had bent over backwards for her future position as Sect Master, stood firmly on her side in everything, and yet she insisted on willfully installing some random nobody as Left Protector. It was enough to make his blood pressure spike.
“Protector, please heed a word of advice from your subordinate!”
Even so, Qi Yong still clung to his stance and refused to back down in the slightest.
“Miss Cui has only been in the sect for a short time. She has a long road ahead of her. There’s no need to rush the matter of the Left Protector’s seat.”
Taohua couldn’t help nodding along in agreement.
Those words hit her right in the heart, okay? She just wanted to quietly latch onto a nice thick thigh to hug. She had zero intention of becoming some Protector!
A cold glance shot over from Guan Fusha.
Taohua froze at once, stopped nodding, lowered her head, and stared obediently at the exquisite embroidered shoes on Guan Fusha’s feet, continuing to play the aggrieved little wife.
“Since that Left Protector’s seat is going to be my junior sister’s sooner or later,” Guan Fusha said with a faint smile, “what difference does it make if it’s a bit earlier or a bit later?”
She had absolutely no intention of compromising with Qi Yong.
“Protector!” Qi Yong couldn’t help being a little angry.
He truly did not understand why the Right Protector favored this woman so much—so much that she would openly go against him, a Sanyuan Elder, in front of everyone.
“Am I wrong?” Guan Fusha replied with a smile.
“Elder Qi is a Sanyuan Elder. You ought to be very familiar with the sect rules. The rules of the Night God Sect were established by our founding patriarch. Every disciple of the Night God Sect must strictly abide by them. Even successive Sect Masters are no exception. Those who violate them at best are expelled from the Night God Sect, and at worst… lose their lives.
“Elder Qi, surely you aren’t… planning to have me knowingly break the rules, are you?”
Qi Yong’s expression changed drastically. He nearly had a stroke from rage.
“What is Protector implying? I’ve been in the Night God Sect for many years, always working loyally for every Sect Master. I have never harbored the slightest disloyal thought. I, Qi Yong, can swear to the heavens—”
“Elder Qi, calm down. Please, calm down first.”
“Elder Qi, the Protector would never mean it that way…”
“That’s right, Elder, sit down and have some tea first…”
Seeing Qi Yong so furious that his mustache was bristling and his eyes were bulging, even raising his hand to swear a venomous oath, the others hurriedly crowded forward to stop him, trying to smooth over the tense atmosphere.
A man in blue scholar’s robes, about the same age as Qi Yong, leaned close and spoke softly in his ear.
“Elder, the Right Protector is still young, inexperienced in worldly matters. She was probably misled by some villain into making such a rash decision. If you start arguing with the Protector here and now, it’ll only harm the harmony within the sect. Why not just go along with the Protector this once?”
Hearing that, the fire in Qi Yong’s heart burned even hotter.
With his status in the sect, even the Sect Master, Dongfang Wen, had to give him some deference. And now Guan Fusha was just a Protector—yet she already didn’t put him in her eyes. What would happen in the future?
“In that case, I must trouble Protector to invite the Sect Master out.”
Qi Yong rose, clasped his hands toward Guan Fusha, and said coldly,
“According to the sect rules, the Protector positions must be decided by the Sect Master. Even if Miss Cui has already acknowledged the Sect Master as her teacher, without the Sect Master’s order, she absolutely cannot sit in the seat of Left Protector.”
The light in Guan Fusha’s eyes shifted, and she instantly understood what abacus Qi Yong was playing.
Her master loved peace and quiet and hated troublesome, complicated matters the most. Ever since she’d become Right Protector, her master had dumped all sect affairs on her under the pretense of “training” her, when in reality he just couldn’t be bothered to deal with those petty things.
This old fossil Qi Yong had deliberately raised this request precisely because he knew her master’s temperament: there was no way he’d come out and give an order for her junior sister.
She chuckled lightly.
“From the time I was fifteen, the Sect Master personally issued a verbal decree, entrusting all sect affairs to me to handle in his stead. Which means that during the period of his closed-door cultivation, my duty is to act in place of the Sect Master in all internal matters of the sect. Naturally, that includes the position of Left Protector.”
“Protector, that statement is in error,” Qi Yong said, twirling his beard as his eyes narrowed slightly.
“By your own words just now, every disciple of the Night God Sect must strictly follow the sect rules. And written clearly in the rules is this: only the Sect Master has the right to choose, from among his disciples, who will serve as Left and Right Protector.
“Although the Right Protector has temporarily been handling all the sect affairs on behalf of the Sect Master, you are still not the Sect Master. According to the rules, you have no authority to decide who will be Left Protector.”
Here, Qi Yong suddenly paused, a cold smile flashing in his eyes.
“Unless… the Right Protector intends to violate the rules passed down by our founding patriarch?”
A flicker of viciousness flashed through Guan Fusha’s eyes, gone in an instant, seen by no one.
Her face still wore that faint, gentle smile.
“With the rules being handed down by the founding patriarch himself, how would I dare go against them? It’s just that…”
“It’s just that there is another way to determine the Protector positions besides a direct order from the Sect Master.”
A figure clad in flaming red suddenly stepped inside, cutting her off mid-sentence.
She had delicate features and a voluptuous figure. From the jeweled hairpins on her head to the embroidered shoes on her feet, every piece was a bright, eye-catching red, full of sultry charm.
She glided over and sat down in the empty seat beside Qi Yong. Picking up a teacup, she took a light sip and smiled.
“My apologies. I had matters to attend to today, so I’m late.”
As she finished, she threw Qi Yong a flirtatious glance, nearly scaring the poor old man’s weak heart into stopping.
Qi Yong snapped his sleeves and turned his back to her, refusing to look again. His old face flushed scarlet with anger.
“Shameless!” he barked.
Guan Fusha’s reaction was the complete opposite. Her face blossomed into a smile.
“Yanhong, you came at just the right time.”
From the moment the woman in red stepped through the door, Taohua had been sneaking glances at her. Combined with the fact that Guan Fusha had just called her by name, Taohua finally remembered who this person was.
Yanhong, Hall Master of the Punishment Hall of the Night God Sect, Guan Fusha’s closest friend since childhood—she’d even joined the Night God Sect for Guan Fusha’s sake.
The two had grown up together and were extremely close. Rumor had it that Dongfang Wen had once wanted to take Yanhong as his disciple as well, but Yanhong didn’t want to one day fight to the death with Guan Fusha over the Sect Master’s position, so she tactfully declined his offer.
After that, no one knew exactly how, but she eventually ended up as Hall Master of the Punishment Hall, making her one of Guan Fusha’s most trusted people.
“I came late today. I hope Protector will forgive me.” Yanhong stepped forward and dipped into a graceful curtsey toward Guan Fusha, apologizing.
But anyone with eyes could see she was just going through the motions.
“Hall Master Yanhong was only delayed by sect business. How could I possibly blame you?” Guan Fusha personally went forward to help her up and put on an innocent, puzzled expression.
“Just now, what was it you were saying…?”
“Yes, Protector.” Yanhong deliberately moved to stand beside Qi Yong and spoke clearly.
“According to the sect rules, the positions of Left and Right Protector are indeed to be decided personally by the Sect Master. However, if one of the Protector seats remains vacant for a long period of time, and a suitable candidate appears, then—with the consent of the other Protector—the eight Hall Masters may vote to decide whether that candidate will assume the position.”
Qi Yong’s face changed.
Of course he knew about that rule. But ever since the founding of the Night God Sect, such a situation had never actually occurred. The Protectors of every generation had always been handpicked by the Sect Master, to the point that this rule had become practically meaningless.
This time, he’d really miscalculated.
He’d actually been turned around and used against himself by these two yellow-haired girls.
