"You're quite familiar with this, the way you're praising it. If I didn't know better, I'd think you two have a pretty tight relationship," Pei Yan couldn't help but tease in his mind after listening.
Upon hearing this, Lin Junzhao didn't respond. Tight? Her relationship with Lin Ruxue is far more complex than that. From the ti they t during her naive years, Lin Ruxue treated her as a ntor, friend, and mother. She guided her in mastering all the techniques she should have over her essence and entity, yet also believed she would disrupt the balance of multiple realms, eventually teaming up with others to seal her.
Does she hate her? Even Lin Junzhao herself couldn't say for sure. At least when they t again in the investigation hall, she wasn't as hysterical as she had imagined before.
Seeing Lin Junzhao hesitating to respond, Pei Yan awkwardly rubbed his nose and cautiously asked, "So, this couldn't be led or inspired by her, right?"
"Rest assured, if she wanted to do sothing, she would co directly. She wouldn't do these trivial things. But it's hard to say if it's the petty actions of those sects from the Six Mansions of the Immortal Palace. The existence of Lin Ruxue is a very secretive rumor in the Daoist Realm. Only high-level or core disciples who enter the Six Mansions of the Immortal Palace may have the chance to et her. Moreover, she usually only instructs the Immortal Palace on what the limits are, and won't concern herself with the specifics."
At this point, Lin Junzhao paused and sighed, "You can go ahead and do what you want. If things get out of hand, I can talk to her. It's still quite easy for to get in touch with her here."
"You should've said so earlier! If I had known, I wouldn't have played the fool before; would've dealt with that loser long ago," Pei Yan grinned mischievously.
"That doesn't an you can act recklessly. If you go too far and lack justification, even if I intervene, you'll face punishnt. After all, Lin Ruxue has to maintain the dignity of the Daoist Realm!"
"I understand!" Pei Yan nodded knowingly and turned his gaze back to Gong Xiu Jie.
At this mont, Gong Xiu Jie was genuinely scared of the man in front of him. One mont he was respectful and smiling, the next he turned hostile with a stare that could kill. Within monts, his expression changed constantly, muttering to himself at tis, then laughing heartily. This guy must be a lunatic! No, all the people in the investigation hall are lunatics!
Now, assured and confident, Pei Yan walked over to Gong Xiu Jie, pinched his cheek, and mocked, "Look at you, not even counting as a core disciple, just a pawn for others to use and offend people. Don't you assess your abilities? You're just a sixth-tier awakened barely equivalent to the Beast Dao in the Reincarnation Realm, yet dare to act all mighty before . You know, in the Hell Plane, killing idiots with your level of power is no tougher than slaughtering a chicken."
After finishing, Pei Yan withdrew his hand, wiped it disgustedly on Gong Xiu Jie's clothes, and walked into the Heroes Pavilion without turning back, saying, "Old Jiang, hand him over to you. For each insult he uttered against us, slap him ten tis; a surplus is fine, but don't fall short."
"Well, what can you do; we're born to toil, aren't we? This kind of tiring work is just for us," Jiang Feiyang gleefully rolled up his sleeves and walked over to Gong Xiu Jie, smiling at Pei Jin who held him, "Sister Pei, you don't need to keep holding him, just put the confinent ring on him and then you can head inside. I'll handle the rest!"
Pei Jin, who was holding Gong Xiu Jie all along, nodded upon hearing this, fished out a confinent ring from her dinsional storage, fastened it on Gong Xiu Jie, and skilfully took the treasure pouch hanging from his waist she always wanted to touch. She threw him to the ground and turned to enter the annex of the Heroes Pavilion.
"You, you! What are you doing!" After repeated setbacks, Gong Xiu Jie's earlier haughty deanor was all gone, letting Jiang Feiyang lift him easily from the ground, watching his cold, sneering expression in panic.
"You, you dare!" Seeing Jiang Feiyang's palm raised high, Gong Xiu Jie's panic turned into outrage.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
Hearing the continuous sound of slaps from behind, Pei Yan walked chipperly along the corridor of the Heroes Pavilion, observing annexes one by one, undecided for a long ti, eventually succumbing to indecision, halting and calling back, "Bring over one of those Guiding Disciples."
Soon, Wang Wenze led a male disciple from the Celestial Secret Pavilion to the crowd from outside. Pei Yan looked at the staggering middle-aged man kneeling before him and questioned, "Celestial Sword Manor should be one of the participants too, right? Show which annex they're staying in."
This middle-aged disciple had personally witnessed Gong Xiu Jie being beaten to a bloody ss outside the door and dared not dawdle. He could only play along, buying ti for the sect elders to arrive and administer justice. Thinking about this, he rolled his eyes and imdiately replied, "It's the third annex you just passed, with the sign saying 'Yirong Pavilion.' That's where the disciples from Celestial Sword Manor are staying."
"You wouldn't lie to , would you?"
"Don't dare! Don't dare!"
Seeing the other man's ek attitude, Pei Yan nodded, reached out to take a folding fan from his waist, opened it, and started fanning himself, invigorated by the faint aroma it emitted, feeling his essence flowing smoothly, instinctively bowing his head to examine the fan, admiring the exquisite carvings and slling the scent again, he praised, "No wonder people say we lack sophistication. Look at their tiny fan used for enjoynt, I don't know what wood it's made of, but seeing the array carved on it combined with the fragrance emitted, each movent calms and harmonizes one's essence. Remarkable."
Those beside him were curious and gathered around to inspect. Elder Lin took the fan, examined it thoroughly, returned it to Pei Yan, and sighed, "This is what you call heritage! In terms of resources and every aspect of cultivation, we're not just a bit behind."
"Indeed, as much as I don't want to admit it, there's a lot for us to learn." Pei Yan said, opening the fan and fanning himself, walking leisurely to the annex marked Yirong Pavilion, gazing up at the plaque and murmuring, "Nonetheless, there are priorities, let's sort out the lodging first."
As he said this, Wang Wenze stepped forward intending to kick the door, but Pei Yan quickly reached out to stop him, "What are you doing?"
"Hmm? Aren't we going to go in and beat them?" Wang Wenze asked, puzzled.
"That doesn't an we kick the door down! Reckless!" complained Pei Yan, "We're going to stay in this place in the future. If you break the door and they refuse to fix it, what then? You going to fix it?"
Wang Wenze looked at Pei Yan, who was a short while ago ready to fight, now putting on the airs of a gentleman holding a folding fan. He rolled his eyes and retreated, motioning respectfully towards the door.
Pei Yan nodded in satisfaction, stepped forward, grasped the door knocker, and gently knocked a few tis, then stepped back, standing with his hands behind his back, patiently waiting.
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