Chapter 12

“If you don’t believe it, wait until Qu Panyan wakes up, and you can ask her yourself!”

Qu Panyan furrowed her brow, standing on the outskirts of the crowd, and asked, “Ask me what?”

As soon as her voice sounded, the surroundings immediately fell silent. The crowded disciples even voluntarily stepped aside, creating a path for her. Only then did she get a clear view of the situation inside. It was divided into two sides: on one side stood a lonely Yue Xiaomeng, and on the other side, a large group of Cangnan Sect disciples. Both groups were glaring at each other, tension filling the air.

Seeing her arrival, Yue Xiaomeng anxiously said, “Tell them yourself, did our Sect Master cause your injuries?”

Qu Panyan was baffled, “…Huh??” How could she not know that her injuries weren’t caused by Su Lingyu!

The leading male disciple was Qu Panyan’s senior brother, surnamed He. He was usually kind to his junior siblings. Seeing her looking stunned and hesitated, he seemed to have imagined something and spoke righteously, “Junior sister, don’t be afraid. Just boldly say it. We won’t let the Xianmeng Sect bully you!”

Qu Panyan: “???” Wait, can someone tell me what’s going on? I just took a nap, and now I’m being bullied by the Xianmeng Sect?

Yue Xiaomeng angrily spat: “Don’t make baseless accusations! Our Xianmeng Sect never bullies people indiscriminately!”

Senior Brother He frowned and said firmly: “Not bullying people indiscriminately means there must be a reason to bully them! Hmph, I’m afraid the Sect Master is venting her anger on my junior sister because of her love affair!”

What kind of logic is this!

Qu Panyan was shocked, “Wait! Senior brother, did you just say that the Sect Master vented her anger on me because of her love affair?”

Senior Brother He turned to look at her with patience and compassion, “Regarding yesterday’s grand ceremony, we all know what happened. We believe in junior sister’s innocence; she wouldn’t willingly become the rival of Sect Master Su Lingyu. But we never expected that the mighty Sect Master would be so petty and target an innocent junior! Junior sister, rest assured, the people of our Cangnan Sect are not easy to bully. If you’ve been wronged, speak out bravely, and we, your senior brothers, will seek justice for you. If things don’t work out, we’ll inform the elders and the Sect Master. They have always cherished you and won’t sit idly by.”

Qu Panyan: “……”

Qu Panyan: “Sect Master Su targeted me?”

Senior Brother He looked at her with a heart full of compassion.

Qu Panyan furrowed her brow and sincerely asked, “Who spread such a rumor?”

Senior Brother He: “Um… Um?!”

Qu Panyan fixed her gaze on him, her expression solemn, and she said without a doubt, “Su Lingyu is an extremely fair woman. She has never blamed me. On the contrary, she has treated me very well. If it weren’t for her, I would have lost both my hands yesterday. So I hope that senior brother won’t misunderstand Sect Master Su’s character. She deserves the respect of everyone.”

Qu Panyan then went to Yue Xiaomeng and respectfully bowed, “Miss Yue, I’m so sorry, you have suffered unfairly today because of me.”

Yue Xiaomeng pouted and occasionally glanced at the disciples behind Qu Panyan. She helped her up with a sullen expression and muttered, “Why are you apologizing to me? It’s not your fault that I suffered. And if anyone should apologize, it shouldn’t be you.”

Upon hearing Yue Xiaomeng’s words, Senior Brother He felt extremely embarrassed, his ears turning red as if they were about to bleed. He put away his previous aggressive stance, took two steps forward, folded his hands together, and bent his body even lower than Qu Panyan. He felt deeply guilty and said, “I’m sorry, Miss Yue, we misunderstood you. Please punish us.”

Seeing this, the disciples who came to seek justice for Qu Panyan outside the door also apologized to her sincerely, leaving no room for criticism.

Yue Xiaomeng looked at them, then at Qu Panyan, feeling at a loss for words. After a while, she turned to Senior Brother He and said, “Extend your hand.”

Senior Brother He obediently stretched out both palms as instructed, and with a “crisp” sound, he felt a tingling pain in his hand, leaving two red marks.

Yue Xiaomeng withdrew her hand and said with pride, “You are their senior brother, so I’ll punish you. If you speak thoughtlessly again, I’ll slap you in the face.”

Senior Brother He stared blankly at the red imprints in his palms and simply replied, “Okay.” Then he turned around and said, “Everyone, disperse, disperse.”

After the disciples left, Yue Xiaomeng’s anger subsided a bit. Qu Panyan saw that she was in a better mood and asked, “Are you going back then?”

Yue Xiaomeng smiled and said cheerfully, “Of course! Last night, my master sent me a message to return to Xianmeng Sect. He wants to introduce me and my senior sister to the Sect Master.”

Upon hearing this, Qu Panyan genuinely felt happy for her. “That’s truly wonderful news!” Meeting Su Lingyu was the greatest joy for her.

“What wonderful news, can you share it with me?” Duan Yang suddenly appeared outside the corridor, looking at them and smiling with a friendly face, and beside him was a flirtatious-looking Mu Qian.

As soon as Mu Qian saw Qu Panyan, the spring-like expression in her eyes disappeared instantly. Remembering what she had overheard about An Lin’er, she discreetly moved aside, pretending she wasn’t there, hoping Qu Panyan hadn’t noticed her. She was here today to send Duan Yang back, and she didn’t want to waste too much time with Qu Panyan.

Qu Panyan glanced at her briefly and had a rough idea of what was going on, but she remained silent.

Yue Xiaomeng was excited and looking forward to the upcoming formal meeting with her Grand Master Su Lingyu, and her voice reflected her joy. “I’m going back to Xianmeng Sect!”

Duan Yang was a bit speechless. “Is this matter making Miss Yue so happy…”

Yue Xiaomeng replied cheerfully, “Of course!”

Duan Yang couldn’t quite follow her train of thought and could only helplessly ask, “Alright, when will Miss Yue leave?”

Yue Xiaomeng adjusted her clothes, took a step forward, and said hastily, “I’ll leave immediately, of course.”

Duan Yang’s gaze softened like spring water as he looked at Qu Panyan for a moment and asked softly, “Is Miss Qu going to escort Miss Yue back?”

“No,” Qu Panyan replied quickly and emotionlessly. Although she also wanted to personally send Yue Xiaomeng back to Xianmeng Sect and see Su Lingyu, the reminder from Su Lingyu to “take care of yourself” kept her in check. Besides, if she sent Yue Xiaomeng back while injured, Su Lingyu might be displeased.

She didn’t want to make Sister Lingyu unhappy, because after all, she wanted to be the cherished little fairy in Sister Lingyu’s heart!

Duan Yang simply acknowledged with an “oh” and withdrew his gaze, not saying anything else.

Yue Xiaomeng, walking in a hurry, suddenly stopped halfway, seemingly thinking of something. She turned around and said to Qu Panyan, “I will continue investigating the matter about the dead body. Once I find out, I will seek revenge for you!”

A cultivator who was frightened by a fake corpse, actually vowing to seek revenge for her? Qu Panyan couldn’t help but feel like laughing and crying at the same time. She didn’t want to dampen Yue Xiaomeng’s enthusiasm; after all, she was Su Lingyu’s grand disciple and deserved some face. Besides, who could say for sure that this girl, who currently seemed a little slow-witted, wouldn’t improve and make progress in the future?

So she nodded and said, “Sure, I’ll wait for Miss Yue to avenge me.”

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When Qu Panyan was brought back to the Qu residence by Yan Wu, it was already noon. Normally at this time, Qu Muqiu would be resting, and with Yan Wu telling her that Qu Muqiu was tired from dealing with the aftermath of the grand union ceremony yesterday, Qu Panyan didn’t want to disturb her and even felt a sense of relief.

Qu Panyan walked familiarly to her room, and Yan Wu followed quietly behind her without saying a word. Subconsciously, Qu Panyan touched her wrist through the fabric and her heart felt a little heavy. If possible, she didn’t want Qu Muqiu to know about her injury. After all, it was just a minor wound, so why add to Qu Muqiu’s worries?

As for Qu Changye, she figured he should have returned to Changqing Sect after yesterday’s union ceremony. As long as she didn’t actively go to Changqing Sect, she wouldn’t see him for a while.

After making up her mind, Qu Panyan felt much more relaxed, and she even began to look forward to her next meeting with Su Lingyu—she needed to find an excuse to visit Xianmeng Sect.

Qu Panyan’s thoughts began to wander, and she couldn’t help but think about what Su Lingyu might be doing, how she was feeling, and whether she had met her two little grand disciples. Her thoughts drifted further and further away.

Just as she immersed herself in her yearning, a golden light suddenly flew in from outside and rudely blocked her path. Yan Wu’s alarm bells rang loudly, and he quickly stepped forward, protecting her behind him. “Third Miss, be careful!”

Qu Panyan was forcefully brought back to the present and saw the floating golden light in front of her. She understood immediately that it was a sound transmission. The transmission followed her, swaying gently and waiting for her to absorb it with her spiritual consciousness. Yan Wu also recognized it as the sound transmission but didn’t know whose it was, so he could only ask Qu Panyan with his eyes for her opinion.

If Third Miss didn’t intend to read the sound transmission, then he would dispose of the light.

Qu Panyan didn’t know who sent the transmission, but she wasn’t worried that it could harm her. After all, it wasn’t a computer file capable of carrying viruses. She thought for a moment, and her spiritual consciousness condensed, allowing the sound transmission to slowly embed into her brow, flowing into her vast and boundless sea of consciousness.

Qu Panyan’s eyes immediately lit up, a glimmer of joy appeared on her face..

—It was Su Lingyu’s sound transmission!

However, her smile slowly faded, and she looked down at the smooth floor with a solemn expression.

Yan Wu didn’t know what had caused such a drastic change in her, so he asked with concern, “Third Miss, what happened?”

Qu Panyan came back to her senses and replied with an unchanged expression, “It’s nothing. I just thought about how I abruptly left yesterday and not returning until late at night. I wonder if my brother and sister might be unhappy.”

Yan Wu said, “Third Miss, you don’t need to worry about that. The Clan Head and Second Young Master were both concerned that you might be affected by the An family and feel upset. They think it’s a good thing that you left to change your mood.”

Qu Panyan heaved a sigh of relief after hearing his words and smiled. “In that case, I can rest assured.”

She turned around and continued walking forward, but the smile on her lips quickly vanished, and her gaze became as dark as an abyss.

In her sea of consciousness, Su Lingyu’s sound transmission still lingered, containing only five concise words—

Be careful of Duan Yang.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: iToon

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