Li Nanyi was woken up by a slap to the face.
To be fair, Duan Xianxing had been quite heavy-handed. The others, wary of Li Nanyi's status as a direct disciple, hadn't dared to touch him until Cang Dongqing and Le Changxi arrived and delivered the slap themselves.
"Who was it?! Who dared to rob me! Do you have any idea—"
Before Li Nanyi could finish his sentence, he realized something was wrong. The people surrounding him seemed to be the defense team disciples stationed in Xuanxiao City by the Sword Heart Sect.
Once he realized this, Li Nanyi's expression changed instantly. At the same time, he felt a chilly breeze against his skin. Looking down, he saw that his clothes had been stripped clean. Fortunately, some kind-hearted disciple had draped an outer robe over him.
Le Changxi's face was currently as dark as the bottom of a coal pot as he looked at this worthless fifth senior brother. Not long after he and Cang Dongqing had descended the mountain, they had received a distress signal from Li Nanyi and rushed here as fast as they could.
What they found was Li Nanyi, not only stripped naked but with a face so badly beaten that even his own mother wouldn't recognize him. When Le Changxi first arrived, he had barely recognized the fifth senior brother he lived with day in and day out.
It would have been fine if it were only their own people around, but the commotion from the defense team was bound to attract many rogue cultivators. Who knew how many people had already seen Li Nanyi like this? Was anyone secretly recording it with a Memory Stone?
A dignified direct disciple had not only been beaten into a pig's head but also stripped bare. He couldn't imagine how many people would turn this into a laughingstock for their Sword Heart Sect.
Li Nanyi realized this as well. His lips quivered, his face filled with humiliation, but combined with his swollen, bruised features, it only looked more ridiculous.
"Fourth Senior Brother, I..."
"Enough!" Le Changxi interrupted him. He threw a set of clothes at Li Nanyi and then turned his cold gaze toward the others.
"I do not want anyone to spread word of what happened today. Otherwise..."
Everyone around them nodded frantically. However, those hiding in the shadows had already slipped away. Who would stay there after filming such explosive footage? Did they have a death wish?
By now, Li Nanyi had changed into the new clothes, but his pig-like face was completely at odds with his attire. His heart felt incredibly stifled. Didn't they know you aren't supposed to hit the face? He could feel that the person had specifically targeted his face.
He was right. Duan Xianxing had done it on purpose. After all, he was constantly being beaten by the first senior brother. Now that he finally had the chance to beat someone else—especially Li Nanyi—he was determined to turn all his enemies into pig heads just because he had been turned into one himself.
Li Nanyi was simply the unlucky soul who crossed his path.
Meanwhile, Cang Dongqing hid behind Le Changxi, not wanting to look at Li Nanyi even once.
She had only used Li Nanyi as an excuse to leave the mountain; she never expected him to actually get into trouble, let alone in such an embarrassing way.
Just thinking about having a senior brother who had been stripped naked made Cang Dongqing feel sick to her stomach. Moreover, that strong sensation she had felt earlier had completely vanished. There might have been a slim chance of finding the source before, but with Li Nanyi's incident, that opportunity was gone.
How could Cang Dongqing possibly give Li Nanyi a kind look now? She even secretly began to resent him. If he hadn't failed to protect her in the secret realm, or if he hadn't caused this mess, she would surely be in Xuanxiao City right now instead of being confined to the sect to recover.
The resentment in her heart made it impossible for her to stop blaming Li Nanyi for everything. At this moment, she couldn't even bring herself to pretend to be the kind, understanding little junior sister and comfort him.
"Return to the sect immediately. What are you standing there for? Haven't you embarrassed us enough?" Le Changxi growled under his breath, suppressing his rage.
Li Nanyi, knowing he was in the wrong, didn't dare say much and followed behind the two.
He spotted Cang Dongqing and was about to say something when Le Changxi interrupted him again.
"If the little junior sister hadn't felt that something happened to you and insisted I accompany her to find you, I wouldn't have known you were capable of such a disgrace! If I hadn't come, how would you have handled this today!"
Li Nanyi looked at Cang Dongqing. How did she know he was in trouble? But his thoughts were quickly diverted by Le Changxi's following words. It was true; thank goodness for the little junior sister, otherwise, he wouldn't have known how to deal with this.
He nodded gratefully toward Cang Dongqing.
If Li Nanyi still had his original youthful appearance, Cang Dongqing might have endured her emotions and responded. But now, with his face black and blue, she only wanted to get back to the sect. Looking at him one more time felt like bad luck.
Seeing that Cang Dongqing was ignoring him, Li Nanyi felt a pang of sadness. After all, he had left the sect specifically to buy healing pills for her, and she knew that. He had gone to see her before he left.
Now that she wouldn't even acknowledge him, he felt truly wronged.
They returned to the sect in silence. Le Changxi took Li Nanyi straight to see Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao was also startled when he saw Li Nanyi's condition. He remembered this disciple's injuries had healed, hadn't they? Why was he beaten like this again?
But after hearing Le Changxi's account, Ling Xiao really wanted to tear Li Nanyi apart on the spot.
How humiliating! So disgraceful!
A disciple of the great Sword Heart Sect had actually been robbed and stripped bare!
He had to force back his fury to question Le Changxi.
"Does anyone else know about this?"
Le Changxi's expression was also grim.
"The fifth senior brother sent out a distress signal. Both the Xuanxiao City defense team and we received it. The defense team arrived first, and their movements alerted many rogue cultivators. Although I have strictly forbidden any rumors, I suspect..."
Le Changxi didn't need to finish; Ling Xiao knew exactly what he was implying.
He was truly going to be driven to death by this stupid fifth disciple. He had taught him for years, so why hadn't he realized how idiotic he was? But the priority now was to go to Xuanxiao City and find out if word had spread.
After giving Le Changxi some instructions, the fourth senior brother left the main hall.
Cang Dongqing, meanwhile, had used the excuse of feeling unwell to go straight back to her residence the moment they returned to the sect.
"Vile disciple! Tell me exactly what happened!"
Ling Xiao really wanted to strike him, but when he remembered he had already slapped this disciple for no reason last month, causing an injury, he restrained himself from sending him flying.
Since it had already happened, he had to figure out who did the robbing.
"I'm not sure either. I was suddenly attacked on the way back. There were three of them: two men and one woman. The woman only seemed to be at the Qi Condensation stage, but the two men were at least at the Foundation Establishment stage or higher."
Li Nanyi knelt honestly before Ling Xiao, but he didn't mention the words Duan Xianxing had said at the end. If he did, Ling Xiao would only think he had been too ostentatious, and his punishment might be even more severe.
"Did you not announce your identity?"
"I stated my identity at the very beginning, but those three used an immobilization talisman to freeze me on the spot. I couldn't move. In the end, they sealed my spiritual power until I was knocked unconscious. I was truly powerless!"
"An immobilization talisman?" Ling Xiao narrowed his eyes. "How long were you frozen?"
"Over a quarter of an hour!"
Hearing this, Ling Xiao slammed his hand onto the table.
"Curse you, Wuji Sect! Only they could produce a talisman capable of freezing a Foundation Establishment cultivator for that long. To ignore your identity and lay a hand on you—does the Wuji Sect intend to move against my Sword Heart Sect?! I knew those talisman cultivators were up to no good, and now they've dared to plot against us!"
If Li Nanzhu knew what Ling Xiao was imagining, she would probably die of laughter. Letting the people of the Sword Heart Sect and the Wuji Sect engage in a dog-eat-dog fight wouldn't be a bad thing.
After all, those in the Wuji Sect weren't good people either.
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