Hearing that, Qi Yong’s expression finally eased a little.
Peach Blossom noticed the commotion and stopped what she was doing. She knew Qi Yong didn’t like her; every time he saw her, his face turned sour. To avoid angering the old man, she simply stood there quietly without going up to greet him.
She never expected Qi Yong to completely misread her intentions.
He was a grand Third-Element Elder of the cult; even Guan Fusha had to show him some respect. And this girl saw him and didn’t even come forward to pay her respects? Was she trying to rebel? Really trying to rebel?!
For no reason at all, Peach Blossom was met with a fierce glare from Qi Yong. She felt like she’d been shot while lying flat—she hadn’t done anything!
“Protector, the Flying Dragon Sword Manual is a precious treasure of our cult. This sword art has never been passed on to outsiders. What does Protector mean by this?”
Qi Yong’s voice was loud and forceful, his tone full of accusation.
Guan Fusha still wore a bright, pleasant smile, but inwardly she was displeased. She was a Protector, after all. For Qi Yong to speak to her in this tone was really overstepping his bounds.
“Elder, what do you mean by that? Junior Sister was personally taken in by Master as a disciple, and she is also the Left Protector of the cult. Isn’t it perfectly proper for me to teach her the Flying Dragon Sword Art?”
Qi Yong gave a cold snort. Cui Peach Blossom’s origins were completely unclear; who knew if she was some spy from the righteous sects who’d slipped in? Only a naïve little girl like Guan Fusha, still wet behind the ears, would trust her.
“Words are easy,” he said. “But the Left Protector has only been in the cult for half a month. And Protector has already passed the Flying Dragon Sword Art to her. Isn’t that a bit too hasty?”
Guan Fusha smiled charmingly.
“When Junior Sister first joined, her health was not very good. After half a month of recuperation, she’s already much improved. Besides, martial arts strengthen the body, and Junior Sister is very enthusiastic about training. I’d say this is just right, not hasty at all.”
Qi Yong was almost frantic. He had no idea what kind of sweet nonsense Cui Peach Blossom had fed her to make her believe in her so thoroughly. She even took out the Longevity Great-Tonic Pill for her!
“Protector—”
Qi Yong wanted to say more, but Guan Fusha cut him off directly. Her face was full of sincerity and gentle concern as she said,
“Elder, it’s hot today, and you’re not young anymore. You shouldn’t overexert yourself. You’d better go back to your pavilion and rest early.”
Her words sounded nice, but in reality she was politely kicking him out. Qi Yong could easily hear it.
“Fine… fine!”
Qi Yong was so angry even his fingers were trembling.
“Protector thinks I’m old and useless now, getting in the way, is that it? Back in my day, this old man—”
Watching martial arts was nowhere near as fun as watching drama.
Peach Blossom quietly watched Qi Yong spray spit everywhere as he bragged to Guan Fusha about his glorious past. He even looked about ready to pull the whole “cry, make a scene, and threaten to hang myself” routine.
Such a great show—she really regretted not grabbing a handful of sunflower seeds when she went out this afternoon.
Sunflower seeds made watching drama so much better!
After rambling on and on about his past exploits, Qi Yong’s whole old face had turned red. He ran out of breath and broke into a heavy coughing fit.
Guo Ping hurriedly patted his back to help him catch his breath, terrified that Qi Yong might just keel over and die right there.
“Elder, calm down, calm down. Your health is what matters!”
Guan Fusha smiled faintly and stayed silent, clearly having a “I’ll just stand here and calmly watch you talk” attitude.
At that moment, a cultist dressed as a guard suddenly rushed in, looking flustered and panicked.
“Protector, bad news!”
“What happened?”
Guan Fusha recognized him as a man from the Punishment Hall. Her heart sank.
“Is there trouble at the Punishment Hall?”
The Punishment Hall was a very important branch of the Night God Cult. It held many cult members who had violated the rules, as well as some righteous sect people who’d tried to infiltrate. They all had one thing in common: most were familiar with the cult’s terrain or secrets. If they were ever released, the consequences would be disastrous.
“N-no, that’s not it.”
The cultist went on, “We found a suspicious person near Heart-Severing Cliff. According to the Hall Master, he should be the eldest son of the North Kun Sect’s sect master.”
Guan Fusha and Qi Yong’s expressions changed at once.
The sect master of North Kun Sect was famous for his hatred of evil, eager to wipe out every last demonic sect. For his eldest son to suddenly appear in the Night God Cult, he was undoubtedly here with ill intent.
The smile vanished from Guan Fusha’s face. She asked gravely,
“And then? Did you capture him?”
“No.” The cultist shook his head.
“The Hall Master forced him back to Heart-Severing Cliff. The Young Master said he wants to see you, Protector. If you refuse to see him, he’ll jump off Heart-Severing Cliff. That’s why the Hall Master ordered me to hurry over and report to you.”
The Night God Cult had an unwritten rule: any outsider who infiltrated the cult must be captured alive once discovered.
The cult’s terrain was easy to defend and hard to attack. Sneaking in was no small feat. Other than having extraordinary lightness skill, the more likely possibility was that there was a mole inside the cult who’d secretly let them in.
Because of this, they had to take the infiltrator alive and force out the identity of the mole hiding in the cult.
“I understand. I’ll go over right away.”
Guan Fusha casually grabbed a longsword from the weapon rack and fastened it at her waist. Just as she was about to leave, she heard Qi Yong give a cold snort.
“Hmph. See? What did this old man say? I’m afraid Protector has brought a wolf into the house this time.”
As he spoke, Qi Yong deliberately looked over at Peach Blossom, his meaning obvious.
Peach Blossom’s expression also turned a bit strange. Of course, she was not the traitor Qi Yong was hinting at. She just found what was happening now a little too familiar.
A young master from a righteous sect secretly sneaks into the Night God Cult to confess his feelings to Guan Fusha. When rejected, he jumps off a cliff…
This was exactly what happened at the very beginning of the original story!
“Let’s go.”
Guan Fusha really had no mood to listen to Qi Yong any longer. Taking the guard with her, she ran straight out of the training ground.
Peach Blossom snapped out of her thoughts and quickly followed.
“Senior Sister, wait for me!”
“Hey! Wait, where are you going? Hey, wait!”
Qi Yong had wanted to keep an eye on Peach Blossom so she wouldn’t pull any tricks, but she darted right past him like a flash. He didn’t even have time to stop her.
Peach Blossom ignored him completely. Guan Fusha had been annoyed with this old man for a long time now; one of these days she might just snap his neck, who knew? Compared to that, Peach Blossom’s thick golden thigh was far more important to cling to!
“Don’t run! Get back here… cough, cough, cough!”
Qi Yong tried to chase Peach Blossom, but after just a few steps he was out of breath, leaning against the wall and hacking away.
“Master, don’t chase them, you’ll hurt your health.”
Only when no one else was around did Guo Ping dare call Qi Yong “Master.” He helped pat his back to steady his breathing.
Qi Yong glared at him and shook off his hand, cursing,
“Useless thing! You see that brat running off and you don’t go after her? What are you doing holding me up? Do I look like the spy?!”
Guo Ping: “…”
His heart was full of bitterness, but no one would let him say it!
Watching those two pretty silhouettes vanish without a trace, Qi Yong couldn’t help but stomp his foot.
“Ah, this is infuriating! Infuriating!”
Why was everyone around him so damn insensible!
