Chu Yue kept his eyes closed. The young man had a straight nose and thin lips, and his handsome face showed neither anger nor agitation.
Li Lanxiu put down his book and picked up a folding fan from the flower stand. The fan snapped against his palm with a crisp sound.
Several white-robed disciples rushed forward. Two of them grabbed Chu Yue’s arms, while those behind kicked his knees with all their might.
Though the young man was slender and the disciples were tall and strong, he remained unyielding under their forceful pressure. Enraged, the disciples locked his legs and forcefully pressed him to his knees like a horse being reined in, creating an unsightly scene.
Chuxuan's gaze fell on Li Lanxiu's open collar, pausing for a few seconds, before he formed a hand seal and waved it forward. A golden talisman transformed into a giant cauldron and pressed down on Chu Yue's back.
The young man stumbled a step, his straight back bent under the weight, but he refused to kneel. Chuxuan pressed his sealing hands downward, forcing his knees to bend until they almost touched the ground.
The young man propped himself up on his arms, the veins in his wrists bulging as he struggled to maintain his precarious dignity, refusing to kneel to Li Lanxiu.
Li Lanxiu looked up, and the disciples stepped forward to kick the young man's knees again. Chuxuan pressed his hands down once more, and the talisman, heavy as a thousand pounds, pressed down on the young man's back.
With a thud, the young man's knees hit the ground, and he knelt firmly.
The folding fan snapped against Li Lanxiu's palm. Amused, he thought, "What an interesting character this supposed child of destiny is. He would rather suffer humiliation than submit." "Look at me," he commanded.
Chu Yue’s head was still bowed. Someone came to help, and the disciple who had been injured earlier roughly grabbed Chu Yue’s hair bun, forcing him to look up.
"You need to be taught a lesson."
Chu Yue glared at him, his body trembling under the pressure, and he refused to yield.
Chuxuan stepped forward and bowed apologetically. "My friend, the woman you met in Wei City the other day was my shidi's fiancée, Su Shiyan. My shidi sees Su-shimei as his Dao companion. Upon hearing that Su-shimei had fallen for you at first sight, he became furious and..."
He paused, his expression filled with guilt and embarrassment, "Since things have come to this, you should explain yourself to my shidi. If you and Su-shimei are truly in love, my shidi will be happy to give his blessing."
"You're so easy-going! Lady Yan isn't your fiancée! How dare you decide for our young master?" Baozhen's face turned pale, and she shouted angrily.
Miaosu quickly pulled on her sleeve and faced Chuxuan, saying, "Our young master's marriage was arranged by Elder Su and the peak master. If you want to give your blessing, Elder Su and the peak master should be the ones to decide."
Li Lanxiu slapped Chu Yue's cheek with his fan. “I'd love to give my blessing, but would you let me?”
This gesture was incredibly humiliating, as if he were treating Chu Yue as a courtesan. Chu Yue's brows furrowed and his eyes darkened.
Chuxuan was renowned in Conundrum Sect for his handsome appearance, upright character and heroic deeds. He was beloved by all.
Li Lanxiu, on the other hand, was an ugly duckling who relied on his father's favor to cause trouble every day. He gambled, drank and womanized, and Chuxuan had cleaned up after him countless times.
The disciples of Violetstage Peak had seen it all and despised Li Lanxiu. Today, this girl was even more arrogant, acting as if her young master was some great figure!
"What are you barking about, wild dog? Your young master has to bow to our eldest shixiong and call him master. Yet, you, as his servant, dare to act like a young mistress?"
"Who wants to do your young master any favors? Your young master owes Da-Shixiong three thousand spirit stones in gambling debts! Da-Shixiong had to complete so many missions to pay them off!"
"You ungrateful girl! If it weren't for Da-Shixiong saving your lives, where would you be now?"
Chuxuan raised his hand, and the disciples behind him immediately quieted down. He bowed slightly to Baozhen. "Miss Baozhen is right. I was careless."
He turned to the disciples behind him and admonished, "A loose tongue leads to a corrupt heart and hinders one's path to enlightenment. Have you forgotten what I told you? Be mindful of your words and actions. Apologize to Miss Baozhen!"
The few disciples who had spoken earlier bowed their heads and apologized obediently. Chuxuan flicked his wrist and two snow-white pills appeared in his palm. He tossed them up and they landed in front of Miaosu and Baozhen. "These two beauty pills are a token of my gratitude. Thank you both for your advice."
After giving them the pills, he singled out the disciple who had publicly exposed Li Lanxiu's secret and said loudly and confidently, "The three thousand spirit stones were lost in a bet I made on a whim. My shidi had nothing to do with it. Don't believe the rumors."
Pausing for a moment, he turned to Li Lanxiu and nodded slightly, his eyes momentarily darkening as they swept over the bare foot. "Xiao-Shidi, please forgive me."
It was a smooth and comprehensive performance.
Li Lanxiu looked at Chu Yue and smiled with his eyes narrowed. "It's fine."
Chuxuan was Li Tingbi's eldest disciple and had been with him for over a hundred and thirty years. The master and disciple were as close as father and son. The original host always felt that Chuxuan was trying to steal his father and would constantly find ways to oppose him.
But the frantic boy's methods of opposition were too foolish. Every time he opposed Chuxuan, he gave Chuxuan an opportunity to climb higher, and now Chuxuan had won the hearts of the people and was firmly established.
Chuxuan stepped forward and gently pushed Chu Yue away, feeling a pang of sympathy. "Xiao-Shidi, you have no quarrel with him. You've already beaten him, and he's already knelt. Shouldn't your anger be appeased by now?"
With a wave of his hand, he ordered the disciple who had been pulling Chu Yue's hair to let go. The disciple retreated to the crowd behind him.
The metal tip of the fan traced a cold line down Chu Yue's nose. Li Lanxiu toyed with the handsome face leisurely. "Da-Shixiong, he seduced my fiancée. I can't let this go."
Chu Yue stared at him silently without dodging.
Baozhen spoke quickly, "Xianzhang, please don't try to persuade him anymore. Our young master wants his life this time. If you'd like, you can help him collect his corpse."
The disciples looked at Li Lanxiu with contempt and anger. Compared to Li Lanxiu, who was narrow-minded and bullying, Chuxuan seemed more upright, selfless and kind, and more like Li Tingbi's biological son.
Chuxuan continued patiently, "Cultivators should practice benevolence and virtue. Only those with great virtue can receive blessings. Why doesn't Shidi sow good seeds and reap good rewards?"
"Ah, Chuxuan-shixiong is so kind!" the disciples thought.
Li Lanxiu, that spoiled young master, always went against Chuxuan. If he said east, Li Lanxiu would go west. He owed Chuxuan three thousand spirit stones from gambling, but it seemed he had no intention of returning them. He was only trying to annoy Chuxuan. Despite Chuxuan's kind words, Li Lanxiu's murderous intent only grew stronger. It was a pity that this young man was caught in the crossfire.
Li Lanxiu had been waiting for this moment, "Alright, give me five thousand low-grade spirit stones for his life, and I'll let him go."
Chuxuan was stunned, his words stumbling. "S-spirit stones?"
Li Lanxiu looked at him earnestly, "Shixiong, please practice benevolence and virtue, and sow good seeds in order to reap good rewards."
The disciples had various expressions on their faces.
"You want five thousand low-grade spirit stones?"
Chuxuan regained his composure. For a mission in the sect, the reward would only be three hundred low-grade spirit stones. After dividing it among the team, each person would only get fifty or sixty stones. Li Lanxiu was asking for five thousand spirit stones, and that would take years of missions to save up.
Li Lanxiu glanced at the qiankun pouch hanging from Chu Yue's waist. "Shixiong, since you could carelessly gamble away three thousand spirit stones, surely five thousand for a life won’t be too expensive?"
He emphasized, "This is a human life, after all!"
He needed to get Chu Yue out of Violetstage Peak today; he couldn't wait until tomorrow.
This was the only way to trigger the following plot.
Since Chuxuan had to come out and act so high and mighty, then this was the price to pay.
All of the disciples' gazes fell on Chuxuan.
Chuxuan was in a difficult position. He had just been so righteous and noble, but now if he were too stingy to give up the spirit stones, wouldn't that be slapping himself in the face?
He smiled generously and untied his qiankun pouch, tossing it to Li Lanxiu. "Shidi, here are three thousand and four low-grade spirit stones. I'll send the rest tomorrow."
Li Lanxiu caught it and placed it on a small table. "Thank you, Shixiong."
Chuxuan made a hand seal.
The immense pressure that had been weighing down Chu Yue's back instantly disappeared, and his strained spine slumped.
He fell forward, his nose colliding with a cold, taut surface.
A rich, sweet fragrance with a hint of coolness filled his nostrils, the aftertaste turning into a delicate milky scent.
Before his eyes was a slender, pale, and smooth foot, with a thin blue vein running over it. A small, light brown mole was embedded on it, like a smudge on fine silk.
Li Lanxiu pressed his toes against Chu Yue's violently heaving Adam's apple and slowly lifted his foot.
A chill flashed through Chu Yue's eyes.
You've already chosen death, Li Lanxiu thought to himself.
Lowering his eyes, he glanced at Chu Yue, kneeling on the ground, and treated him like a stray dog. His toes slid down and lightly pressed against the rapidly rising and falling chest.
The coldness in Chu Yue's eyes grew even more intense.
Li Lanxiu tapped his chest with his toes, then suddenly smiled and kicked him lightly. "Who do you think you are? How dare you glare at me?"
Chu Yue stood up and stared at him.
Li Lanxiu reached out and took a handkerchief from Miaosu's waist, bent down to casually wipe the blood off the sole of his foot, then looked up with a cold face. "Why are you still here?"
Chu Yue turned and took a few steps, then something struck lightly against his back. Without pause, he slowly walked out of the hall.
Li Lanxiu glanced at the handkerchief that had fallen on the carpet and said angrily, "It's filthy."
The original host had already offended Chu Yue. With Chu Yue's personality, if he offered his fiancée as atonement, Chu Yue would see it as him selling his wife for glory. He would be a spineless villain who deserved to be killed.
If, instead, he took a step back, admitted defeat, and persuaded Li Yanbi to leave Conundrum Sect with him... In the near future, the name Chu Yue and his story would become known throughout the Nine Continents, and he would gather countless friends and followers.
There would always be someone trying to curry favor with Chu Yue by offering Li Lanxiu's head on a platter. There would be nowhere for him to hide in the entire world.
As for killing Chu Yue to eliminate the threat, how could a cannon fodder like him kill the son of destiny?
Chu Yue would only become stronger with each setback, and killing him would only make things worse. In the end, his fate would be worse than the original host's.
Either way, it was a dead end.
Not only would he fail to survive, but it would also be incredibly boring. Li Lanxiu wouldn’t make either of these choices.
He wanted to live, not to merely exist. He wanted to live a life full of passion and excitement.
To put it grandly, Li Lanxiu wanted to be the wielder of Chu Yue's sword.
To put it bluntly, Li Lanxiu wanted Chu Yue to be his dog.
***
why aren’t there any more :C
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