The disciple sent to relay the ssage had just left, and the Seventh Elder already had a bad feeling.
"Junior Sister Song hasn’t responded to this matter yet. Shouldn’t we wait a bit longer?"
He couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.
’Knowing Junior Sister Song’s temperant, if Lu Nanfeng has been falsely accused, she’s capable of turning the entire Sect upside down.’
’The Sect Master is far too impulsive!’
"Wait for what? Song Wanning obviously has a guilty conscience! Otherwise, why has she been ignoring all ssages today?"
The Sect Master scoffed, seeing nothing wrong with his actions.
"I know what you’re all worried about, but the entire Sect is waiting for my answer. Haven’t you heard all the nasty gossip?"
"Besides, Lu Nanfeng and Ye Chuxue were on excellent terms. For sothing like this to happen, there must have been a very serious reason. Doesn’t it all make perfect sense now?"
When you put all the pieces together, the truth should be obvious to everyone.
"Besides, don’t you all know Junior Brother Gu? Do you really think he would lie?"
The Sect Master had never liked Song Wanning. First, their families were constant rivals. Second, Song Wanning never showed him any respect!
Gu Qingyuan, on the other hand, had always shown him great respect since he was a child, and on top of that, he ca from a family with no powerful background...
It was obvious who he would favor.
The Sect Master had barely finished speaking when the Second Elder, unable to listen any longer, interjected sarcastically, "And since when has Gu Qingyuan been a stranger to lying?"
"Who was it that repeatedly insisted his feelings for Ye Chuxue were purely platonic, like a master to a disciple?"
Back then, Song Wanning’s jealousy over Gu Qingyuan’s affection for Ye Chuxue caused such a scene that there wasn’t a soul in the Sect who didn’t know about it.
And every ti, Gu Qingyuan would accuse Song Wanning of being unreasonable and petty.
And what was the result?
That bastard Gu Qingyuan had lecherous intentions toward Ye Chuxue all along.
So, you’d have to be a fool to believe a word that man says.
The Second Elder’s words clearly reminded everyone of sothing, and their expressions shifted slightly.
"Sect Master, I still think we should wait."
"Right, I agree it’s best to wait. Junior Sister Song isn’t one to act without reason..."
Several elders urged the Sect Master not to be so hasty.
But this only served to infuriate him further.
’These people are all starting to question my decision now. They’re deliberately trying to oppose !’
The already-sensitive Sect Master lost his composure and bellowed, "This matter is settled! If Song Wanning has a problem with it, she can co find herself!"
With that, he stord out, flicking his sleeves in a fit of rage.
The doors to the hall were slamd shut, and the hearts of the elders present sank.
The look on everyone’s faces was grim.
’What does the Sect Master an by this?’
They exchanged glances, each seeing the defiance in the others’ eyes.
For so ti now, they had all been displeased with the Sect Master. He was impulsive and erratic, and now he was showing them no respect whatsoever.
If soone like him remained in charge, it was only a matter of ti before the Heavenly Inquiry Sect was ruined under his leadership.
They all looked away, a bold, unspoken thought forming in each of their minds.
...
News that Lu Nanfeng had been killed while attempting to sexually assault Ye Chuxue spread like wildfire throughout the Sect, and from there, to the outside world.
In just a single day, the story had once again spread far and wide.
The narrative completely flipped. Those who had previously supported Lu Nanfeng and Song Wanning now turned their criticism on them.
They accused Song Wanning of using her influence to bully others and pressure the Heavenly Inquiry Sect.
The rumor soon morphed: now it was the Song Family throwing its weight around... targeting Gu Qingyuan and Ye Chuxue, all to get revenge for the cancelled engagent.
"This is outrageous, Sister! Let go and rip their mouths to shreds!"
"It’s despicable! How can they say such things about you?"
The Golden Small Sword listened to the gossip, trembling with rage.
Song Wanning stroked it, a chilling smile playing on her lips.
"Calm down. The way public opinion is shifting is exactly what I want... First, they must be made to feel like they’ve been played for fools. Only then, when they finally learn the truth, will their hatred for those two scoundrels burn even hotter."
"Besides, the things I heard in my past life were far nastier than this. This is nothing."
The only thing that soured her mood was how readily these people dragged the Song Family into it.
The Communication Talisman vibrated again. A smile touched Song Wanning’s lips as she deliberately ignored it.
This ti, she had a special gift for the Sect Master, a little sothing to repay his "kindness" for being so biased.
...
Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and the fervor surrounding the incident gradually subsided.
The Sect’s disciples ca to accept the official punishnt. Only Li Rao remained unconvinced.
But her words carried little weight, and with her master having warned her not to get involved, she could only wait sullenly for his return.
The thought that she hadn’t seen her master in so long made Li Rao’s face scrunch up, and she threw herself into her cultivation with even greater effort.
Her Spirit Root was poor—a world of difference compared to her senior brothers. She had to work that much harder.
Her senior brothers couldn’t be relied upon. She had to mature quickly.
While Li Rao redoubled her cultivation efforts, the Heavenly Inquiry Sect’s Sect Master was busy gloating.
He had just sent another ssage to Gu Qingyuan, urging him to bring Ye Chuxue back at once to receive her punishnt.
It was now clear his judgnt had been correct.
Song Wanning was clearly in the wrong. She hadn’t responded to a single ssage in days.
What could have been a massive crisis had been successfully suppressed, all thanks to his foresight.
Even the elders’ attitudes had improved significantly of late, putting him in an excellent mood.
In high spirits, the Sect Master summoned the elders once more to select who would lead the upcoming disciple recruitnt.
Every year, the Sect recruits disciples from various regions. The recruitnt itself doesn’t take place at the Heavenly Inquiry Sect, but in Yongzhou City.
Each year, when recruitnt season arrived, Yongzhou City would be packed to the gills.
As a once-Major Sect that had since fallen from grace, the Heavenly Inquiry Sect was bound to face cold shoulders and ridicule at the recruitnt ceremony. Consequently, the elders had all been trying to shirk the responsibility, and no one had been chosen for the task.
When the elders were gathered again, the Sect Master brought up the matter of leading the delegation.
The elders continued to make excuses, each unwilling to face the inevitable gossip, let alone the humiliation.
The Sect Master beca enraged. He couldn’t stop himself from saying a few harsh words, which imdiately drew everyone’s ire.
"Well, Sect Master, since you don’t have much to do around the Sect anyway, why don’t you lead the delegation!"
"Yes, I think that’s a brilliant idea! When everyone sees the Sect Master himself making an appearance, they’ll surely show the Heavenly Inquiry Sect a bit more respect. We might even recruit so much more outstanding disciples!"
"I agree as well!"
"Agreed!"
The elders, all in cahoots, voiced their agreent one after another, leaving the Sect Master so furious he could have keeled over.
Even the Seventh Elder didn’t speak up for him this ti, and a wave of desolation washed over the Sect Master.
’I’ve worked myself to the bone for this Sect,’ he thought, ’and this is how they treat .’
Just as he was about to say sothing forceful, a disciple burst in and shouted, "This is bad! This is bad! The Lu Family is here!"
"The Lu Family? You an Lu Nanfeng’s Lu Family?"
The Sect Master’s brow furrowed at once. "What are they doing here at the Heavenly Inquiry Sect?" he asked, displeased.
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