Volume 1, Chapter 49: Swept Out of the House

[This fellow... something is not quite right...]

"Qinghan, see our guest out."

Leaving behind these words, Su Cheng paid no further mind to Dongfang Jue, walking straight toward the primary hall without looking back. He still had many matters to attend to today.

As for whether she was actually escorted out, Su Cheng cared little. It was merely a gesture, an attitude meant to make Dongfang Jue retreat in the face of difficulty.

Uttering such chilling words to a beauty of such exquisite grace was no easy task, but when forced to choose between one's own life and a fair maiden, the decision ceased to be difficult.

Moreover, Su Cheng was no longer alone in this world; he now bore the responsibility of looking after his chief disciple.

Returning to the hall, he ground some ink and prepared to practice his calligraphy—one of the few pastimes Su Cheng used to while away the hours. Ordinarily, Ye Qinghan would always crowd close to help him grind the ink.

Outside the hall, Ye Qinghan merely offered a helpless smile, as if trying to tell Dongfang Jue that she had not deceived her.

"Get up. Since my Master has already refused, there is no point in you kneeling here. You are only squandering your status as a princess for nothing."

"If Ye Qinghan can kneel for a day, so can I. I can kneel for two days, until Sect Master Su is willing to take me in."

"That has no meaning. I am not like you."

At that moment, Ye Qinghan actually found this fellow somewhat pitiful. She did not doubt whether this stubborn princess could indeed kneel for as long as she claimed, but it truly lacked any purpose.

"Then what should I do?"

"You should obediently follow the flow of destiny."

Ye Qinghan felt that this creature was incomparably foolish to ask such a question, and of all people, to ask her!

In the Lixian Hall, no one pampered Dongfang Jue like a princess; Ye Qinghan was wishing the girl would scram, while Su Cheng went out of his way to avoid her entirely.

Dongfang Jue had sensed this as well, yet she could not understand it. No matter where she went previously, she had always been treated like the moon surrounded by a multitude of stars!

How was it that upon arriving at the Lixian Hall, she was treated like an unloved stepchild?

The gaze Su Cheng directed toward her even carried a hint of dread?

Where had she gone wrong?

"Ye Qinghan, if I told you that I can also foresee destiny, would you believe me?"

Dongfang Jue slowly stood up. Her expression, reminiscent of a female general, was imbued with an indomitable will, as though nothing in this world could ever defeat her.

"Impressive. You're simply marvelous."

Seeing that Ye Qinghan did not believe her, Dongfang Jue simply dropped the act. After all, this was the chief disciple; if she wished to become an apprentice, she would inevitably have to clear this hurdle.

"The Supreme treasure Lingshuang Sword, the sword box, the Celestial-grade top-tier jade pendant, the Desire-Severing Bracelet, the Water-Sleeve Glazed Dress, eleven Celestial-grade top-tier flying swords, and one Celestial-grade low-tier flying sword. Why are the Immortal-Sinking Ruler and the Soul-Locking Mirror missing?"

In an instant, Ye Qinghan's gaze swept sharply across Dongfang Jue. That bracelet! Even she did not know its name, nor did she know how to use it!

That was because her Master had never mentioned it!

Yet Dongfang Jue knew that the bracelet was a Celestial-grade artifact, and even knew its name!

"You never told Master about these, did you?"

"That is correct, Senior Sister."

Her momentary shock vanished in a flash. Ye Qinghan transformed into a gentle and amiable senior sister, her brows curving into crescent moons as she crouched down to size up Dongfang Jue.

"Let us go back to my chambers to talk. Kneeling out here indefinitely is no solution, is it?"

Inside Ye Qinghan's bedchamber, she even set up an isolation barrier to put Dongfang Jue at ease.

"What do you wish to exchange this secret for? A chance to survive? Or perhaps some little secrets of your senior sister?"

"I wish to exchange it for Senior Sister's trust. How does that sound?"

At this moment, Ye Qinghan grew somewhat curious. This Dongfang Jue was no fool; blurting out such information brought her a hundred harms and not a single benefit.

"Let's hear it. What all do you know?"

"Just now, I seemed to understand a great deal. Ordinarily, given Senior Sister's temperament, I most likely should not have been able to emerge from the secret realm alive. Yet I happened to survive, and happened to be rescued by Cheng Liang. Everything was so coincidental, just like destiny itself."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Was it Master who instructed you not to kill me?" Dongfang Jue was taking a gamble, yet she still put on an appearance of absolute certainty.

Ye Qinghan remained calm and unruffled. Compared to a vixen, a princess still lacked a certain degree of strategy and composure.

"Master has always only instructed me to mind my safety. Furthermore, since this is an exchange, you shouldn't simply be asking questions."

"I know of this destiny you speak of, yet destiny can do nothing to me. I am the daughter of the Human Sovereign; how could destiny ever bind me?"

"So what if you are? Master refuses to take you in. Even if there is a bond of fate, there may not be any affinity."

Dongfang Jue thought to herself: had she not said enough already?

"I can see Senior Sister, but I must also admit that I truly cannot perceive any information concerning Sect Master Su, aside from his cultivation level."

Ye Qinghan felt a wave of speechlessness. If it had been before, she merely disliked this fellow, but after these remarks, she genuinely began to loathe Dongfang Jue.

She couldn't even be bothered to listen further. She had thought this creature had grown smarter, but it turned out she hadn't progressed an inch.

Dragging Dongfang Jue by the sleeve, she marched her right out of the hall...

"Hey, Senior Sister? What are you doing?"

"Oh? Jue'er was speaking her heart out to me, why must Senior Sister resort to this?"

Without a word of explanation, she tossed Dongfang Jue out of the Lixian Hall. Sitting outside the dilapidated building, Dongfang Jue felt for the first time in her life what it was like to be swept out the door...

She was unwilling to accept this!

Clearly, the wheels of destiny had shifted! Why wouldn't they believe her?

On the other side, Ye Qinghan was grinding her teeth in anger. She never imagined that this Dongfang Jue could be stupid to such a degree!

She had warned her repeatedly, yet this girl was not even as sensible as Li Shiyao! Her head was entirely filled with cheap tricks just to become her junior sister!

This Dongfang Jue was nothing more than a brat who had no inkling of what taking a master truly meant! It was purely out of idle curiosity!

Self-righteous and foolish enough to think she could hoodwink her Master and herself? What a joke! Ten of you couldn't outplay me, your senior sister!

Call this seeking instruction? It was clearly an insult to her Master!

Let you enter the sect? Keep on dreaming!

Ye Qinghan had figured that if her Master truly suffered a momentary lapse in judgment and accepted Dongfang Jue, she would have simply accepted it, as it would be Master's will after all!

But now? Keep dreaming, you little seductress!

Meanwhile, the Tiandao Pavilion was even more lively than the Lixian Hall. Cheng Liang paced back and forth within the main hall, utterly unable to fathom precisely where every link in the chain had gone wrong!

Su Cheng had clearly always been good for nothing, and the Lixian Hall had never once caught his eye!

Yet now, his senior brother was no longer the useless wretch of the past. First, he snatched away his woman, then he injured his chief disciple, subsequently wiped out the Pingyun Sect, and even condoned Ye Qinghan's killing right in front of all the elders!

Before he knew it, Su Cheng had become a presence too formidable to ignore...

Now, even Dongfang Jue and the Holy Maiden Li Shiyao were making eyes at Ye Qinghan; if things continued this way, they might well end up becoming people of the Lixian Hall!

"Sect Master..." The one who spoke was the Third Elder, Pei Ling. She was the sole woman among the various elders of the Tiandao Pavilion.

Pei Ling possessed the cultivation of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and compared to Lu Cheng, who spent most of his time managing internal affairs, she was stronger by leaps and bounds.

Pei Ling had an alluring figure, and her words carried a certain seductive charm, much like those of Ye Qinghan.

However, men frequently fell for this routine, as it made conversations flow much more smoothly.

"Pei Ling, you've come." Though Cheng Liang was vexed at heart, it would not do to vent his frustrations before a woman, so he steadied his composure and feigned an air of breezy indifference.

"Sect Master, I have heard all about recent events. I have a method that can assist the Sect Master in luring and slaying those two master and disciple from the Lixian Hall."

Pei Ling smiled, feeling that those two unfortunate little souls at the Lixingshuang Hall were already facing imminent doom.

No matter how exceptional her innate talent might be, Ye Qinghan possessed only the Foundation Establishment realm.

And even if Su Cheng were a true immortal descended to the mortal realm, he might not necessarily prove a match for the entire Tiandao Pavilion!

"Su Cheng is my fellow disciple of the same sect... What sort of method is it? Let me hear it..."