Chapter 41: At the Time, It Seemed Just Ordinary

Unexpectedly, they actually managed to uncover a few faint clues.

Just over a month ago, Lu Zhi had used a paper-doll avatar to execute a mission in a place called White Tiger Ridge over in Lingzhou.

The targets were a pair of fellow apprentice-sister and apprentice-brother who had just descended the mountain to travel and broaden their horizons, and their cultivation levels were utterly mediocre, merely at the Embryonic Breath realm.

However, there was an additional line in their background description: originating from Wuwang Mountain.

Originally, everything was normal, but the problem lay precisely in this single sentence.

After all, the Patriarch had once personally told everyone that the mighty cultivator who had imparted immortal arts to him back in the day originated from Wuwang Mountain.

The Patriarch had even personally visited Wuwang Mountain once.

At first, they thought it was just a sect with the same name, but now, as everyone reconsidered and mulled it over in retrospect, they discovered something was amiss.

That mighty cultivator seemed to truly be a disciple of this inconspicuous Wuwang Mountain.

Consequently, the entire upper echelon of Dyeing-Cloth Lane stared at one another in dismay.

They were all so shocked that they were left speechless.

Only then did Dyeing-Cloth Lane hold this emergency council meeting tonight.

Looking at Lu Zhi, who was on the verge of tears, the old man subsequently waved his hand. "Very well, the ignorant are not to be blamed; you need not take it to heart."

Everyone present withdrew their gazes, thinking inwardly: This fellow surnamed Lu is truly fortunate.

Although Dyeing-Cloth Lane now had a new person in charge, everyone present knew very well in their hearts that all matters of Dyeing-Cloth Lane were ultimately still decided by the Ancestral Patriarch.

Now, with the Patriarch's words, even if Lu Zhi had caused a monstrous disaster, no one would dare to hold him accountable.

Lu Zhi said with a face full of guilt, "Patriarch, I have failed the sect. As of today, I voluntarily step down from my position as a sect elder and will serve the sect once more in the capacity of an ordinary disciple."

Everyone present could not help but feel surprised by this decision.

However, upon careful thought, this truly matched Lu Zhi's consistent personality.

The old man sitting in the seat of honor pondered for a moment and delivered the final verdict, "So be it."

At that moment, someone walked in.

Bowing deeply toward the Ancestral Patriarch, the person reported, "Ancestral Patriarch, that person has left the wondrous Sound Pavilion."

Some people abruptly sat up straight, swallowing softly, their expressions growing slightly tense.

The purple-robed man asked in a deep voice, "Where did he go? Is he coming toward our place?"

That person shook his head. "The watchers said that after that... senior left the wondrous Sound Pavilion, he drank alone at a roadside wine stall, and his mood seemed somewhat poor."

Everyone immediately began to discuss it all at once.

"Hiss, what on earth does this senior want to do?"

"Could it be that that senior didn't come for us?"

"Who knows? Such high-level experts are always capricious and moody; how could cultivators like you and me guess what is on their minds?"

"I only hope that the senior will not be too ruthless when he strikes, and leave a few sparks of hope for the centuries-old foundation of Dyeing-Cloth Lane."

...

"Enough."

The white-robed old man suddenly spoke, and everyone instantly fell silent.

He waved his hand, signaling the reporting disciple to withdraw, and then swept his sharp gaze across everyone's faces.

"This old man is not dead yet; the sky is not falling down."

He stood up and flicked his sleeve. "Do not disturb the senior; simply wait and watch how the situation unfolds."

With those words, he turned and left.

In the city of Moxuan, before an ordinary wine stall.

A dull-faced man twitched his ears, frowned slightly, and murmured in a low voice, "Little Zhou, you are really making things difficult for me."

Saying this, he slowly stood up, tossed a piece of fragmented silver onto the table, and swaggering leisurely, left the stall.

Not long after, arriving at a secluded little alley, a beggar exuding a foul stench from head to toe was sleeping soundly, facing the wall.

The man kicked him awake.

A fierce and oppressive aura suddenly flashed across the beggar's body and vanished.

After recognizing the man's face, he frowned. "Why are you here?"

"I have some business with you, and by the way, I'm going to settle a score at Dyeing-Cloth Lane."

————

In the backyard of the wondrous Sound Pavilion, two children were sitting cross-legged on the bed with focused expressions. Wisps of spiritual Qi around them were being guided by them, flowing into their bodies, and subsequently refined.

A woman in a purple skirt stood outside the door, cradling a pipa in her arms. Her slender fingers constantly plucked the strings, producing delicate, lingering, and melodious notes that involuntarily immersed anyone who heard them.

At the same time, wisps of pale purple fluorescence flickered in the courtyard, quickly converging into a slowly flowing stream that enveloped the children's room.

Seeing this, Ziying finally put away the pipa with a satisfied smile on her lips.

This was a secret technique of the wondrous Sound House. Although it consumed a great deal of the player's energy, it could guide cultivators into a wondrous state of cultivation and enhance their spiritual souls, though it was only effective for children under thirteen years of age.

Among the sects of the world, the wondrous Sound House was unique for its mastery of the Dao of acoustics. Techniques like the one Ziying had just executed were numerous within the wondrous Sound House.

The wondrous Sound House was one of the wealthiest sects under heaven, and the reason lay precisely here.

Ziying's action had consumed at least ten years of her cultivation, but she did not regret it in the least; on the contrary, she embraced it gladly.

She walked to the window, saw that both children were earnestly refining their Qi and cultivating, nodded in satisfaction, and then moved a chair to stand guard for Xiaoyu and his companion in the courtyard.

If Zhou You were here, he would surely spoil the mood by saying bluntly that they were merely at the first revolution of the Embryonic Breath realm, so why bother with such meticulous care.

The purple-robed woman rested her head on one arm, her eyes gradually becoming absent as she recalled some past events.

In fact, among her peers in the wondrous Sound House, she had always been the one with the greatest natural talent. Coupled with being the last-closed-door disciple of the previous House Master, she had always been deeply cherished within the sect.

When she was young, whether within the wondrous Sound House or among friendly allied sects, everyone regarded her as the undisputed candidate for the next House Master of the wondrous Sound House.

Ziying herself had thought so too.

However, after she made a trip to the Northern Subdue-Gordian Continent and traveled leisurely across the world, her heart became completely filled with a dull-faced man, and she no longer had any desire to succeed the position of House Master.

Her master was the first to notice this tendency and had simply pretended not to know all along.

Later, when the purple-robed woman said she wanted to go to the Eastern Fairy-Peak Continent, her master only smiled and joked, " Lass, is that lover of yours really that good? You're even willing to abandon your master and the sect, thinking only of eloping with him."

At that time, Ziying's pretty face flushed red, and she was so flustered she couldn't even speak clearly.

Yet, her master did not stop her either. Thus, not long after, a wondrous Sound Pavilion appeared in Moxuan City.

She only knew that fellow came from a sect called Wuwang Mountain. After making numerous inquiries, Ziying learned it was a small sect over in Lingzhou. She had gone up the mountain several times, but had never once laid eyes on that fellow there.

However, that fellow's master was a benevolent old man who would always welcome her with a smiling face and warmly entertain her every time she went.

As the visits grew more frequent, Ziying gradually understood that the other party was avoiding her, so she simply stopped going to disturb him.

She figured that as time passed, the weight of that fellow in her heart would surely fade gradually, until one day, even if they crossed paths face-to-face, her heart would remain untroubled, and she would merely greet him casually like an old friend, brushing past each other forever.

Yet, when she truly reunited with Zhou You, she woke up with a start, realizing that the threads of affection from years past had not diminished in the slightest; instead, they had burned even more fiercely.

"Sigh."

A sigh echoed in the courtyard as the purple-robed woman murmured softly,

"At the time, we thought it was just ordinary days; but who knows the depth of a love that pierces to the bone?"