“The, the prices are different, and...”
Shuang Xi said with some embarrassment, “We heard that Beiyao Sect requires payment upfront before they do anything, whereas Nine Saints Hall... Nine Saints Hall helps first. And, and people say that after Nine Saints Hall finishes helping, they might not even charge any money at all.”
Song Yao: “...”
Quite a few elders and cultivators in Nine Saints Hall were indeed like that.
They would accept a request to hunt demons, and after finishing the job, if they saw how miserable the family was, they would completely forget about asking for payment. Sometimes, they would even give the family some of their own money.
She had noticed this before. The root cause was that everyone Nine Saints Hall sent out to help was a sword cultivator.
And most sword cultivators had a severe case of chuunibyou. They were incredibly chivalrous and kind-hearted, easily swayed by a few sweet words from others. Except for their swords, they would give away everything else they owned.
This was also one of the reasons why sword cultivators were generally so poor.
Fortunately, back then, she was the only sword cultivator among the five personal disciples, meaning she was the only poor one. Her other senior and junior brothers and sisters were all extremely wealthy.
She stole their money to spend, so she ended up being very wealthy too.
Still... for children of their age to think of this showed they were quite sharp.
Looking at their slightly embarrassed expressions, she reached out and handed each of them another bun, giving them an approving look. “Save where you can, spend where you must. If it were me, I'd choose Nine Saints Hall too. What's wrong with that?”
Seeing that she didn't mind at all, the two of them finally let out a quiet sigh of relief and obediently ate their buns.
...
After the meal, since the few elders remaining in the spatial realm were all busy, Song Yao took the Ming family children to see Hall Master Ming and Daoist Huachao.
As expected, a grand dramatic scene of family reunion unfolded inside the room.
When Hall Master Ming and Daoist Huachao learned about what happened in Wuzhou City from a nearby disciple, and saw Song Yao standing in the corner, they burst into tears and knelt before her with a heavy thud.
Song Yao tried to pull them up twice but failed, so she turned and ran. However, the couple hurriedly gave chase.
Song Yao was thoroughly shocked.
She was already running, and they still chased her just to kneel?
Was she destined to lose some years of her life today?
Surely not.
After chasing each other around the spatial realm for two laps, Song Yao, who was in poor health, was the first to give up. She sat on a doorstep, her pale little face panting for breath.
Fine, let them kneel if they wanted to.
Anyway, those who had knelt before her numbered in the thousands, if not tens of thousands.
Hall Master Ming and Daoist Huachao, who had just recovered from their serious illness, stopped not far away and panted along with her.
After they both caught their breath for a moment, Hall Master Ming spoke unsteadily, “Master Lin, why... why did you run?”
Daoist Huachao cupped her hands toward her. “We absolutely mean no harm. We only heard that you were the last one to enter the spatial realm, so we wanted to ask if you saw Ranran before you came in. How is she doing now? Has Feng Qing made things difficult for her?”
Hall Master Ming quickly added, “If it's inconvenient, then never mind. We... we haven't seen Ranran for a long time. When we woke up and learned that she and the Nine Saints Hall disciples were outside resisting Feng Qing, we were truly worried.”
Song Yao: “...”
She would have preferred them kneeling to her.
Feng Qing was shameless enough to claim the title of Acting Hall Master of Nine Saints Hall, so it was obvious that the disciples remaining outside wouldn't have an easy time.
Since Ming Ran was leading the resistance outside, she would definitely be targeted and given a hard time.
She hesitated for a moment before telling the truth. “With Second Senior Sister and Fourth Senior Brother protecting them, Ming Ran and the others shouldn't face any life-threatening danger.”
The unspoken implication was that their lives would be safe, but they would still have to suffer some hardships.
Upon hearing this, the worry on the faces of Hall Master Ming and Daoist Huachao only deepened. “Ranran has been stubborn since she was a child. She never bows her head, and once she sets her mind on a path, she'll follow it to the very end...”
“Under Feng Qing's thumb, if she still insists on playing the righteous hero, what are we going to do with her...”
The two of them fretted for a while, bowed deeply to Song Yao once more, thanked her repeatedly, and then turned to leave with heavy hearts.
Song Yao watched their departing figures for a moment, unconsciously wrapping her fluffy cloak tighter around herself.
Though the spatial realm was safe, it was ultimately a locked city. News from the outside couldn't get in, and those inside couldn't get out. Stalling like this was by no means a long-term solution.
Driven by some inexplicable impulse, she walked toward the barrier at the outermost edge of the spatial realm.
As a personal disciple, she did know the method to enter and exit the spatial realm.
It was uncomfortable staying here anyway. There was no harm in slipping out to take a look, check the situation, and ask Second Senior Sister and Fourth Junior Brother when the retreat route would be ready.
However, just as she reached the bushes bordering the dense forest, a very faint fluctuation of spiritual energy suddenly came from not far away. The aura was unfamiliar, unlike that of any Nine Saints Hall disciple.
Song Yao paused. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she lightened her steps and circled behind the bushes.
Parting the hanging branches, she saw the siblings Shuang Ming and Shuang Xi crouching in front of the spatial realm's barrier. A talisman glowing with a faint blue light was pasted on the barrier before them.
The talisman was being activated by the spiritual energy from their hands, gradually seeping into the barrier's shield.
Song Yao realized what they were doing almost instantly. Raising her fingers, she commanded the surrounding bushes to grow wildly. The flexible branches instantly wrapped tightly around the siblings' wrists and ankles, violently dragging them to the ground and binding them fast.
Another branch shot out at the same time to tear the talisman off, but it was a step too late.
——The last corner of the talisman sank completely into the barrier, and the pale blue spiritual energy rapidly spread along the lines of the barrier.
This was bad.
Judging by the markings on the talisman, it was something from Beiyao Sect.
It was most likely a transmission talisman or a tracking talisman!
Song Yao's brows furrowed. As if sensing her intent, the Bishui Sword suddenly flew over, letting out a clear, crisp, and chilling hum in midair.
The hum of the sword echoed through the forest and valleys, resounding across the entire spatial realm.
In the next instant, several figures rushed over at high speed.
Sixth Elder, Seventh Elder, and Twelfth Elder hurriedly arrived with a crowd of disciples. Their gazes swept across the Shuang siblings, who were bound and unable to move by the vines on the ground, and then landed on Song Yao, who was standing by the barrier. They were all taken aback.
Song Yao still held half a green leaf in her hand, and some grass clippings clung to her grayish-black cloak.
Her eyes, which usually held a trace of laziness, were now cast down coldly. Her handsome and beautiful face was covered with a thin layer of frost, adding a rare touch of gloomy ferocity that made everyone's heart tighten inexplicably.
“What happened?”
Seventh Elder stepped forward quickly, his brow furrowed. “Little Wood, what's going on? What happened to them?”
Just as he finished speaking—
“Help! Elder, save us!”
Shuang Xi suddenly began to struggle violently, her face flushing red. The thorns on the branches cut bloody welts into her arms as she screamed at the top of her lungs, “My brother and I were just too worried about Nine Saints Hall, so we wanted to come over and see what the situation was outside. But then we caught Seventh Senior Sister secretly pasting a transmission talisman on the barrier!”
“We wanted to stop Seventh Senior Sister, but because our cultivation was too low, we were captured by her instead. She even wants to kill us!!”
Shuang Ming's eyes also turned red, looking as though he had suffered an immense injustice. “We... we just didn't want anything bad to happen to the sect. How could Seventh Senior Sister collude with the enemy? The people from Beiyao Sect will be here any minute. Quick, arrest her!”
The two of them played off each other, speaking with such conviction that tears welled up in their eyes.
Yet, the crowd from Nine Saints Hall stood before them with entirely indifferent expressions, some even looking at them with utter disbelief.
After a moment, Twelfth Elder cut them off and looked at Song Yao. “Little Wood, you tell us. What exactly happened?”
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