The Immaculate Old Mother was not receiving guests these days.
Mu Daoying only learned this after he arrived at Floating Petal Peak, the main peak of Joyous Union Palace.
Chen Yuro smiled apologetically and explained unhurriedly, “It just so happens that the Old Mother is on the verge of a breakthrough these days. At this critical juncture, she has no choice but to enter secluded cultivation to seek it.”
Mu Daoying paused, moved as he said, “I heard that the Old Mother only broke through to the sixth realm of cultivation ten years ago, and now, in the blink of an eye, she is about to charge toward the seven realms?”
Chen Yuro beamed with pride, smiling sweetly. “The Old Mother has extraordinary talent and is assiduous in her cultivation day and night. This is only natural.”
She added, “The Old Mother has long admired you spiritually. Ever since she learned that you were imprisoned by the Immortal Alliance, she has been deeply concerned and has only hoped to meet you in person.”
These words were purely polite formalities. Mu Daoying responded with utmost humility and courtesy. “The Old Mother’s favor is too much; this junior dares not accept it.”
In the midst of their conversation, they had already ascended Floating Petal Peak and entered the main hall, Floating Flower Hall.
Chen Yuro instructed attendants to serve tea and invited him to sit, asking him to wait a moment. Before long, she led in a beauty dressed in palace robes.
Mu Daoying had not sat fully upon taking his seat, only perching on the edge of the chair. When he saw the woman in palace robes hurrying over, he smoothly rose to his feet.
The youth’s expression was calm, his posture tall and straight like a mountain peak, his jade-like bones and icy purity evident. He simply stood there sparsely, without bowing in greeting.
The moment Qi Mei laid eyes on him, she knew this youth possessed proud integrity.
Joyous Union Palace had a poor reputation, and the cultivators under the Immortal Alliance prided themselves on being righteous, always looking down on its disciples. This youth was the foremost among the younger generation of the Immortal Alliance, with a great reputation. If he had bowed first upon seeing her, it would inevitably show a lack of spirit.
Once the aura weakened, it would appear soft. It would smack of yielding to others. Now trapped in dire straits, he needed all the more to hold firm to his integrity.
Qi Mei’s attitude carried a hint of disdain as she asked, “This must be the person the Old Mother has her eye on.”
Chen Yuro introduced from the side, “Yes, this is Mu Daoying, ‘Jade Sword True Heart’ of Jade Clarity Temple, Immortal Mu.”
Only then did Qi Mei nod slightly toward him and parted her lips. “Immortal Mu.”
Mu Daoying gave a slight bow. “Ying has seen the Vice Palace Lord.” Every gesture and movement was perfectly measured. Without years of immersion in scholarly pursuits and cultivation of etiquette and propriety, such demeanor was rarely fostered.
But as the Vice Palace Lord of Joyous Union Palace, Qi Mei had seen and tasted handsome figures numbering, if not eight hundred, at least eighty.
Mu Daoying was indeed a rare gem, but at this moment, her mind was preoccupied with serious matters, leaving her with little interest in dalliances.
After the greetings, the two sat down separately.
Qi Mei’s elegant brows furrowed slightly as she faced Chen Yuro, her tone laced with complaint. “This year happens to be Joyous Union Palace’s grand Joyous Union Ceremony, once every sixty years, yet Junior Sister went into seclusion at Cloud-Biting Tower to avoid the bustle. The entire palace’s affairs have fallen on my shoulders alone. Now I even have to meet some boy on her behalf…”
Chen Yuro smiled and said, “You can’t put it that way. Immortal Mu is connected to the case of the stolen Soul-Returning Lamp, a matter of great importance. It requires the Vice Palace Lord’s personal involvement.”
Qi Mei sneered coldly. “Even Qin Xiandu’s Immortal Alliance couldn’t get anything out of him. What makes you think I can?”
“To my mind, Junior Sister shouldn’t have robbed the prisoner in the first place, bringing such a huge trouble. When the Immortal Alliance comes demanding accountability, what will Joyous Union Palace use to explain?”
Chen Yuro smiled faintly. “The Vice Palace Lord is the Old Mother’s senior fellow disciple. It’s precisely because the Old Mother trusts and values you that she entrusts you with heavy responsibilities.”
Qi Mei picked up her teacup, took a sip of tea, and said indifferently, “I fear that in doing too much, I’ll make mistakes—exhausting myself without earning any favor.”
Her words were blunt, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly chilled.
Mu Daoying said nothing, but he quietly paid attention to the verbal sparring between the two women.
Rumor had it that Joyous Union Palace’s Vice Palace Lord Qi Mei did not get along with the Immaculate Old Mother. It seemed this was true.
After a moment, Chen Yuro finally spoke, still with a smiling face like a jade-faced fox. “Ever since the Old Mother took over as Palace Lord, she has known people and employed them well, transforming our Joyous Union Palace from a third-rate little sect in the past to its current status. It’s a time of flourishing prosperity and blazing heights, a critical moment.
“Many outsiders misunderstand our cultivation methods. Plenty are jealous of our current glory.
“At the Joyous Union Grand Ceremony, there will likely be villains lurking to cause trouble. With you, the Old Mother’s senior sister, presiding, those petty villains probably won’t dare act rashly.”
Chen Yuro’s eyes curved, and at the end, she added meaningfully, “I hope the Vice Palace Lord won’t disappoint the Old Mother’s trust.”
Qi Mei raised her eyes. Chen Yuro did not flinch or evade, and the two locked gazes for a moment.
Qi Mei furrowed her brows, then finally turned to Mu Daoying, who had been ignored for so long, and got down to business. “Fine then. Better to get this over with sooner.”
“Did your master, Ling Yuan, truly collude with the Demonic Sect?”
Seeing the topic finally turn to him, Mu Daoying focused and replied, “I do not know.”
Qi Mei: “You do not know? Yet you helped your master escape and harmed fellow disciples? Don’t you know the reason the Immortal Alliance’s treasure thief died?”
Mu Daoying said calmly, “It was not harming. Ying did not injure any fellow disciples’ lives, only obstructed them. The case of Ling Yuan stealing the treasure is full of doubts. When in doubt, acquit; when doubt merits reward, give it. As Jade Clarity Temple’s enforcer, before the truth is clear, Ying ought to stabilize the situation first, avoid harm to the suspect, and prevent the truth from being obscured.”
After being captured and imprisoned by the Immortal Alliance, he had undergone countless such interrogations, suffering unknown amounts of physical torment, yet Mu Daoying still adhered to his stance of “no collusion, do not know, dare not, no false words.”
Qi Mei: “By your logic, you’re saying your master was framed?”
“I’ve heard True Person Ling Yuan is kind to all. Who would frame your master? Could it be Qingxu, who vied with your master for the sect leader position? Oh—now it’s your esteemed sect leader.”
Mu Daoying still said, “Ying dares not, and has never assumed so.”
Qi Mei: “What deep master-disciple bond. Do you know why the Immortal Alliance went to such lengths, marching three thousand li on foot to escort you to Golden Court Jade Terrace for trial?”
Mu Daoying did not answer.
Qi Mei took another sip of tea. “Naturally, to lure the snake out of its hole and draw out your master’s whereabouts. But who would have thought Ling Yuan wouldn’t show. You’re deeply attached, but your master seems indifferent to your life or death.”
Mu Daoying’s brows and eyes remained unchanged. “The Immortal Alliance is just and renowned throughout the world. There is no need to rescue Ying. The Immortal Alliance will surely investigate the truth and give Ying justice.”
“Justice?” Qi Mei retorted. “Now you’ve lost your status and identity, reduced to a prisoner of the Immortal Alliance, bearing heavy infamy, beaten by all. Is this the justice the Immortal Alliance gives you? In my view, the Immortal Alliance is full of fame-seekers and profit-chasers, hypocrites and beasts in human clothing. You might as well simply reveal your master’s and the Soul-Returning Lamp’s whereabouts and join our Joyous Union Palace.
“If it truly was someone else framing you, both you and your master will have your lives in peril. As long as you see the big picture and know when to yield, Joyous Union Palace will surely protect your lives and grant you wealth and glory.”
Mu Daoying remained calm and composed. “Ying is now a wanted criminal of the Immortal Alliance. I fear your sect cannot swallow this.”
No matter how Qi Mei persuaded with reason and emotion, moved him with logic, or intimidated him, Mu Daoying’s attitude remained resolute, rounded, and watertight.
She was already preoccupied with a more important matter, her mind not on Mu Daoying, and she disapproved of the Immaculate Old Mother’s prisoner-snatching to begin with. After this routine questioning, Qi Mei’s patience finally ran out. She drained the remaining tea in her cup in one gulp, rose abruptly, and sneered coldly. “What a tough bone to gnaw. No wonder even the Immortal Alliance couldn’t get anything out of you.”
“I can’t handle this person.” Qi Mei said to Chen Yuro. “Junior Sister specifically named him, and you brought him back. Before she emerges from seclusion, I dare not do anything to him. You’re her confidante; you know better than I what to do. How to dispose of him is up to you.”
Once Qi Mei left, Chen Yuro let out a soft sigh.
“Daoist has true integrity and unyielding resolve.”
“The Old Mother instructed, and this one dares not disobey. How about this—” Chen Yuro thought for a moment, beckoned to an attendant in the hall, and said something.
The attendant withdrew as instructed. After a while, he led up five female disciples.
The first four who came forward were all graceful in figure and devastatingly beautiful.
Mu Daoying regarded them as ordinary. Only when he saw the fifth female disciple did his gaze sharpen slightly, a faint ripple in his eyes.
This fifth female disciple was short in stature, with a pockmarked face and thin lips, her brows and eyes red and swollen. She was precisely the woman he had seen earlier on the roadside, beaten mercilessly.
Each of the five female disciples held a jade tray. On the trays were, respectively, a measure of radiant pearls, a manual of cultivation arts, a bottle of pills, and a golden hairpin.
And in the pockmarked woman’s hands, a pitch-black, bloodstained hooked long whip.
He raised his eyes. “What is the meaning of this, Supervisor?”
Chen Yuro sighed. “Daoist is so stubborn; this one knows words won’t sway you, so I can only let Daoist choose for himself.”
“These five items represent five kinds of treatment. These pearls represent wealth in jewels, gold, silver, and spirit veins. This cultivation art—” Chen Yuro explained, “is a treasured possession of Joyous Union Palace, the Martial Scripture Fragment left by Holy Monarch Jiang Wenzhao.”
“Rumors say the Old Mother obtained the Holy Monarch’s inheritance, allowing her, a mere mortal woman, to advance rapidly within a century and take control of a region. The rumors are not entirely false.”
“And this golden hairpin—” Here, Chen Yuro smiled mysteriously and called that female disciple forward.
That female disciple was clad in snow-white robes, her posture elegant and dignified, her expression aloof and self-appreciating, seemingly dissatisfied with everything around her.
Upon suddenly seeing Mu Daoying, the female disciple paused, a faint surprise in her eyes.
“This woman is surnamed Bai; Daoist has seen her beauty. If Daoist is willing, this one will gift her to you. Beauties like her—Joyous Union Palace has, if not a hundred, at least eighty.”
Mu Daoying did not even glance at Bai Mengli, only looking toward Liu Qiao’e. “May I ask what this fellow Daoist represents?”
Chen Yuro gently stroked the long whip and sighed softly. “If Daoist refuses, having rejected the toast, you’ll drink the penalty. This one can only offer this as hospitality.”
The first four female disciples were each stunningly beautiful, soft and fragrant.
Only this one before him was ugly, demonic in appearance. Having her represent the cruel and vicious punishment seemed most fitting.
Liu Qiao’e held the jade tray, her teeth clenched, her face expressionless as she stood ramrod straight.
Her cheeks flushed slightly from humiliation and anger, making the pockmarked face appear even uglier with the rush of blood.
Earlier, in a fit of rage, she had gotten into a brawl with Fan Shuyun and the others. Chen Yuro’s subordinates had arrived in time to intervene, ordering Fan Shuyun, Feng Fuyue, and the rest to Reflection Cliff for reflection. But they had summoned her and Bai Mengli to Floating Flower Hall.
Before coming, Chen Yuro had instructed her to endure. She was no longer who she used to be; she had to remember she was now Liu Qiao’e, and could only be Liu Qiao’e.
Liu Qiao’e tried hard to endure. But the instant she met Mu Daoying’s gaze, she couldn’t help jolting, her heart gripped as if by an invisible hand.
‘How could there be a man in this world so handsome and elegant?’