Big Taboo

The two stared at each other for a moment.

Chen Baichuan suddenly grabbed the wine jar on the table.

"Fine! You've taken my kindness for granted! If you want to stay in this lousy place, then so be it!"

Chen Baichuan turned around and strode towards the courtyard gate.

He stopped at the door without turning his head.

"Once I've forged Liu Quan's natal flying sword, I'll come find you for a drink. Then, let's see what you have to say!"

The courtyard gate was slammed shut.

Chen Baichuan's footsteps quickly faded into the distance.

The courtyard of the abandoned hall has returned to its quiet state.

The dim oil lamp swayed in the wind, casting a long shadow of Zhou Lingxuan.

Lei Yang emerged from the shadows of the eaves, his hand tightly gripping the black wooden scabbard of the Wind and Thunder Sword.

"Manager." Lei Yang looked in the direction of the courtyard gate, his brows furrowed.

"What did you see?" Zhou Lingxuan sat back on the stone bench and picked up his bowl of cold, coarse tea.

"His temperament has changed."

Lei Yang, relying on his swordsmanship intuition, gave his evaluation.

"Elder Chen's aura used to be like a piece of foul-smelling, hard iron—rough, but very solid. Now…"

Lei Yang paused for a moment, seemingly searching for the right words.

"It's become very restless and murky. It's like... a bulging ball of cotton, it looks big, but it'll burst if you poke it."

Zhou Lingxuan took a sip of her herbal tea and nodded in satisfaction.

Lei Yang is a natural-born sword cultivator. His sensitivity to qi is even more acute than that of those old monsters who have cultivated for decades.

"Cotton sinks when it absorbs water. It burns when it absorbs fire."

Zhou Lingxuan put down his teacup.

"Chen Baichuan is like a ball of cotton, and Liu Quan is pouring oil on him."

Lei Yang stepped forward and hugged the Wind and Thunder Sword to his chest.

"Manager, are we really going to abandon him? After all, he helped us before."

"How can I manage that?" Zhou Lingxuan retorted. "People think they're invincible right now. If you go and tell them there's a pit ahead, they'll just think you're blocking their way."

Zhou Lingxuan stood up and reached out to pat Lei Yang's head.

"Good advice is useless to a damn fool. Since he's chosen this path, he has to face the consequences. He'll only know the pain after he's hit a brick wall."

Zhou Lingxuan turned and walked into the house.

"Go practice your swordplay. Lay a solid foundation, don't learn those fancy moves." Zhou Lingxuan's voice came from inside the house. "A storm is coming, we need to strengthen our fences."

Lei Yang nodded emphatically.

He walked to the center of the courtyard and drew his Wind and Thunder Sword.

Without using his true energy or activating the source of lightning, Lei Yang simply relied on pure physical strength to wield the heavy longsword methodically.

Chop, cut, flick, stab.

Every movement was unusually slow, yet it carried a calm and steady quality honed through countless trials.

The night in the abandoned hall was once again filled with the monotonous sound of swords being swung.

……

Several days later, early in the morning.

As dawn broke, the thin mist over the mountain behind the abandoned hall had not yet dissipated.

"Bang!"

The old, dilapidated wooden door of the abandoned hall was kicked open.

The two doors groaned under the strain and slammed heavily against the wall.

Old Sun, who was sweeping fallen leaves in the yard, was startled and dropped his broom.

A dozen or so disciples dressed in inner sect robes swaggered in.

These people were all arrogant and carried several heavy red wooden boxes in their hands.

The leader was a young man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face, wearing a gorgeous brocade robe, with a jade token indicating he was an inner sect steward hanging from his waist.

Old Sun quickly went to greet him, bowing and smiling apologetically.

"Esteemed Deacons, this is an abandoned hall. I wonder what brings you here so early in the morning?"

The young man with the pointed nose covered his nose in disgust and waved his hand to drive away the dust in the air.

"Get out of here! Don't touch me with this filth!"

The sharp-mouthed youth kicked away the broom on the ground and shouted at the top of his lungs into the depths of the yard.

"I have come on the orders of my steward to pay my respects to Elder Chen's close friend, Steward Zhou!"

After the sharp-mouthed youth finished shouting, Zhou Lingxuan, wearing a gray robe and yawning, walked out of the house.

"Where did these stray dogs come from, barking in this abandoned hall?" Zhou Lingxuan leaned against the doorframe, his tone irritated.

The sharp-mouthed youth's face stiffened, but he immediately plastered on a fawning smile: "Manager Zhou! I am Wang Mazi, the steward of the Spirit Plant Garden. Elder Chen has been promoted, and you are a close friend of Elder Chen, so we specially prepared some small gifts..."

Wang Mazi waved his hand, and the servants behind him quickly opened the mahogany box.

Inside, there was a neatly stacked pile of low-grade spirit stones, and next to it were several bottles of high-quality pills.

Zhou Lingxuan glanced at it, showing no interest whatsoever in approaching.

"We disregard the rules of the hall and do not accept gifts from outsiders. Go back to where you came from." Zhou Lingxuan waved his hand and turned to go back to his room.

Wang Mazi grew anxious and took two steps forward, lowering his voice: "Manager Zhou, don't be in such a hurry to refuse. Elder Chen is a big shot in the sect now. If you benefit from his influence, we'll need you to put in a good word for us with Elder Chen for our share of magical artifacts in the future..."

Zhou Lingxuan understood.

Unable to see Chen Baichuan, or wanting to take shortcuts, these people set their sights on their close friend.

"Lei Yang," Zhou Lingxuan called out.

Lei Yang emerged from the shadows of the courtyard wall, carrying the Wind and Thunder Sword.

"Throw them out, box and all," Zhou Lingxuan ordered without turning his head.

Without saying a word, Lei Yang didn't even draw his sword, but swung his sheathed longsword forward.

A muffled thud.

Before Wang Mazi could even scream, he was sent flying backward and crashed heavily into the muddy ground outside the abandoned hall.

The servants who were carrying the boxes were terrified. They quickly closed the boxes, picked them up, and ran away as fast as they could.

"Old Sun." Zhou Lingxuan turned to look at Old Sun, who was standing there in a daze.

"Manager, what are your orders?"

"Find a wooden board, write 'No Visitors' on it, and hang it on the front door. If anyone else is so inconsiderate, just kick them out. I'll take responsibility if anything happens."

Old Sun nodded repeatedly and quickly ran to find the wooden planks.

For the next few days, the abandoned hall remained tightly shut, and it became completely quiet.

But the inner circle was in complete chaos.

Every day, Old Sun would go to the office to hand over the accounts, and he would come back with a bellyful of gossip.

"Manager, you didn't go to the inner gate to check."

Old Sun poured tea for Zhou Lingxuan while lowering his voice.

"They hold a continuous banquet at the Weapon Hall every day. Elders and deacons from all the peaks line up to toast Elder Chen. The scene is quite something."

Zhou Lingxuan picked up his teacup and blew on the steam: "He seemed to enjoy it?"

"I'm so happy!"

Old Sun slapped his thigh.

"I heard from the administration office that Elder Chen got drunk yesterday and, in front of everyone, decided to allocate half of next month's share of magical artifacts for the Enforcement Hall to the Array Hall!"

Zhou Lingxuan stopped drinking tea.

He placed the teacup heavily on the stone table.

"Are you sure? He allocated the Enforcement Hall's share to the Array Hall?" Zhou Lingxuan stared at Old Sun.

Old Sun felt uneasy under their gaze and quickly nodded, "Absolutely true! I heard they even signed the Weapon Hall's warrant on the spot and stamped it with the Hall Master's seal!"

Zhou Lingxuan leaned back in his chair, his brows furrowed into a tight knot.

That old bastard Chen Baichuan has gotten so cocky he doesn't even know his own name anymore.

The Weapon Refining Hall is responsible for refining magical artifacts, but the allocation of magical artifacts has always been jointly decided by the sect's elders council and the affairs office.

Chen Baichuan, an elder of the Qi Hall, interfered in the distribution of benefits, which is called forming cliques for personal gain and is a serious offense.