Chapter 364: Eating Melons Ends Up on One's Own Head

The special envoy from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets had arrived to demand accountability. How had they managed to provoke her instead of extending proper hospitality?

However, this matter had nothing to do with him. He simply needed to be an observer, enjoying the drama. Thus, he arrived at the square in front of the Sect Master's grand hall with a relaxed expression.

The scene was packed with people. Besides those from the Sect Master's Peak, there were elders and disciples from all the other peaks. Even the deacons, who were rarely seen on a daily basis, had been summoned. Apart from disciple evaluations, this was the first time Jiang Fan had seen so many people gathered at the Azure Cloud Sect. It was clear that the situation was somewhat serious.

He stood on tiptoe, looking towards the center of the square. He saw a well-preserved woman in palace attire, seated gracefully. Liu Wenchen and several elders accompanied her, occasionally offering fawning smiles. Without a doubt, this person was the special envoy from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets.

In front of the woman in palace attire, a tall figure, somewhat familiar to Jiang Fan, was comparing the deacons standing in a row before her, one by one. She wore a light gauze dress adorned with ink-wash painting patterns; her figure was tall and slender, graceful and exquisite. Her jade-like face was fair, delicate, and rosy. Her nose bridge was high, and her eyes were sharp. She was a beautiful woman with good looks.

At this moment, she stared intently at the deacons in front of her. After examining them carefully, she shook her head slightly, turned to the woman in palace attire, and said, "Master, none of them."

Lin Yuhang took a light sip of tea and calmly said, "Bring in another group."

Liu Wenchen rubbed his temples and said, "Envoy Lin, these are already the last few deacons. Is your disciple truly certain that the attacker is from my Azure Cloud Sect?"

Lin Yuhang put down her teacup. She raised her delicate eyebrows slightly and said, "Are you sure no deacons were missed?" A few elders had already been identified by Ruan Qingsu last night. Only the numerous deacons had been in the process of identification until now.

Liu Wenchen said, "All the deacons who are currently in the sect are here. Those not in the sect are still out on missions; it's absolutely impossible for it to be them." He was a little puzzled. Who on earth could have beaten Ruan Qingsu so severely? The injuries from last night made his lips tremble just looking at them. The attack was truly vicious! If Ruan Qingsu hadn't fled quickly, she would have lost her life. But who would be so foolish as to bully a disciple of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets? Even if Feng Guchan wanted to cause trouble for him, the Sect Master, he would never dare to target Lin Yuhang's disciple. Because if discovered, Feng Guchan would face consequences he couldn't bear.

Lin Yuhang frowned deeply and asked Ruan Qingsu, "Are you certain you've identified everyone?" Ruan Qingsu, who had been busy since midnight, was feeling a bit dizzy. She had long been tired enough to want to give up. Now that all the deacons had been identified, she let out a sigh of relief and shook her head, saying, "None. That person's appearance is very easy to recognize. If he appeared, I, your disciple, would recognize him at a glance." Although his face was only illuminated for a fleeting moment by the lightning, she could never forget it. That face had already given her some psychological trauma.

Lin Yuhang was highly displeased and questioned Liu Wenchen: "Sect Master Liu, besides elders and deacons, does your sect have any other powerful experts?"

Liu Wenchen gave a wry smile: "My sect only has Grand Elders, the Sect Master, elders, deacons, and disciples. Envoy Lin, are you suspecting my sect's Grand Elders or the disciples?"

Lin Yuhang's expression froze. She had met several of the Azure Cloud Sect's Grand Elders before. Their appearances completely contradicted Ruan Qingsu's description. As for disciples... if a disciple she had meticulously trained with the resources of the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets had been beaten so severely by an Azure Cloud Sect disciple, then she might as well die of shame on the spot! It would save her from being laughed to death back at the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets! However, the entire Azure Cloud Sect had been searched, and the person they were looking for was nowhere to be found. Lin Yuhang couldn't help but become suspicious and asked, "Qingsu, are you sure this person is from the Azure Cloud Sect?" She was beginning to trust Liu Wenchen's judgment. It was possible that someone from another sect had deliberately caused trouble to frame the Azure Cloud Sect.

"This..." Ruan Qingsu also hesitated. She had glimpsed the clothing in the lightning, and it was indeed that of the Azure Cloud Sect. But if the other party was truly from the Azure Cloud Sect, why couldn't they find him? The matter had escalated to this point, and she was tired. "Let's stop here," she thought. She would just consider it an unspoken loss. Besides, she did have some fault in the matter, so getting beaten wasn't entirely unjust. "Perhaps your disciple mistook the clothing," Ruan Qingsu sighed and bowed to Liu Wenchen, the elders, and the deacons present. "Elders, senior brothers, I am deeply sorry for the disturbance." Unable to distinguish which were deacons anymore, she bowed and spun around in a large circle where she stood.

Who knew? As she turned to a certain angle, her peripheral vision caught sight of a prying face, full of a "gossip-watching" expression. She couldn't help but tremble violently, as if struck by lightning. She quickly fixed her gaze upon it. A nightmarish young face appeared before her eyes!

Memories of her desperate escape last night flashed through her mind. A chill shot straight from the soles of her feet to the top of her head. Pointing at Jiang Fan, she shrieked, "It's, it's him! Master! It's him!"

Lin Yuhang, who had already given up on finding the culprit and was ready to swallow her indignity, was instantly invigorated and laughed with a hint of anger, "He is indeed from the Azure Cloud Sect! Which one is he?"

However, following Ruan Qingsu's finger, she was slightly taken aback: "You didn't point at the wrong person?" The person she pointed at had a somewhat youthful, eighteen-year-old face. At this age, he should still be a new disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, right?

Liu Wenchen was also startled at first. Was it really someone from his own sect who did it? But when he realized she was pointing at Jiang Fan, he instead eyed Ruan Qingsu up and down with a look of confusion. This girl looked quite normal. Regardless, since the other party had accused Jiang Fan, he ought to make a gesture and waved at Jiang Fan: "Come here for a moment."

Jiang Fan, who hadn't quite understood the drama yet, was suddenly called and couldn't help but be stunned. Puzzled, he parted the crowd and came before Liu Wenchen: "Master, you called me?"

Liu Wenchen pointed at Jiang Fan and introduced him: "Envoy Lin, this is my youngest disciple. He just joined the sect a short while ago. Although he has no spiritual root, he excels in diligence and a thirst for knowledge, which I value greatly in him. If he has offended your disciple in any way, I, as his master, will apologize on his behalf. However, a grave offense like injuring her severely is something my disciple cannot bear. Please do not wrongfully accuse him."

Upon learning that he was indeed a newly admitted junior disciple, Lin Yuhang immediately dismissed him as a suspect. How could a newcomer be so powerful? Liu Wenchen's subsequent remarks, tinged with a slight anger, made Lin Yuhang, who had come to demand accountability, look awkward. She showed an apologetic expression and said, "Sect Master Liu, you've misunderstood. My disciple absolutely has no intention of framing yours. She simply mistook the person." As she spoke, she glared fiercely at Ruan Qingsu and rebuked, "Why don't you apologize to this junior brother? How can you even mistake this? What were you thinking?" Wrongfully accusing an older disciple might be barely excusable. But to wrongfully accuse a new disciple who joined only a few months ago, who would believe you weren't trying to frame him? As a master, she felt somewhat ashamed.

"Apologize to him?" Ruan Qingsu immediately said, "Master, it's him! I didn't make a mistake!"

Liu Wenchen, who was already somewhat displeased, genuinely became angry. Let alone how much he favored Jiang Fan now, even if he didn't, he wouldn't tolerate anyone slandering his disciple in such a way. "Miss Ruan, you must be responsible for your words! Are you implying that my young disciple, who just joined the Azure Cloud Sect, severely injured your esteemed and accomplished disciple from the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets? According to you, my disciple is proficient in numerous Earth-rank cultivation methods, and also practices cultivation methods from the Righteous Thunder Sect and the Heavenly Sound Sect. What's more impressive, he has mastered the Sword Control Art of Elder Xu Qingyang? Haha, my disciple is so incredibly powerful, and I, his master, had no idea?"