Before long, two sets of footsteps approached the Enforcement Hall from afar. Pan Ang exchanged a glance with Ji An, the corners of his mouth curling into a sinister smirk.
"Senior Brother Qin!"
"Senior Brother Qin!"
As Qin Xuan walked in, several disciples greeted him in low voices. Though they feared Elder Pan's authority, they deeply admired what Qin Xuan had accomplished in the city the previous night.
Yet Elder Pan had mobilized such a commotion this time; it would certainly not be easily resolved.
In the watching crowd not far away, disciples like Liu Xi and Yu Han, who had interacted with Qin Xuan before, broke into an anxious sweat on his behalf.
Qin Xuan nodded slightly in response.
Looking toward the Enforcement Hall, he saw the formidable-looking elder with a square face and large ears standing on a raised platform behind the enforcement disciples, eyes slightly narrowed as he glared downward.
Shen Yunfei and Zhou Cang looked over as well, only to find no trace of fear on Qin Xuan's face.
"Halt!"
Hands clasped behind his back, Pan Ang barked an abrupt command.
Qin Xuan clasped his hands and bowed to the elders, giving him no pretext to fault his manners. "Elder Pan, may I ask why you have summoned this disciple?"
Elder Luo glanced sideways at Qin Xuan, inwardly praising how calm and composed the young man remained in such an intimidating setting.
Only when disciples like this walked the realm would outsiders truly recognize the grandeur of their great sect. Elder Luo's earlier anger had long since burned out, replaced instead by a measure of appreciation.
He immediately fixed his gaze on Pan Ang, thinking to himself: *This matter must be handled impartially according to the sect rules. Otherwise, people will mock our elders for bullying juniors, and that would truly chill the hearts of our disciples.*
Pan Ang chuckled, making no mention whatsoever of any dereliction of duty. Instead, he asked, "Two months ago, did you not make a pilgrimage to offer sacrifices at the ancestral shrine?"
Qin Xuan frowned slightly. "I did. Following Supervisor Qian's instructions, this disciple went to offer sacrifices at the ancestral shrine. The candles, incense, oil lamps, hazelnuts, pine nuts, torreya seeds, rare fruits, and fine wine—every ritual was performed strictly according to the teachings left by our ancestral patriarch, without the slightest omission."
"Is that so?"
Pan Ang's smile vanished in an instant, and he barked coldly, "What audacity you have, daring to show disrespect to the ancestral shrine!"
The onlookers were both shocked and puzzled, having no idea what was happening.
Seeing him slap a false accusation on him right away, Qin Xuan retorted coldly, "Elder Pan, by using our sect's ancestral shrine to slander me, it is you who disrespects the shrine and violates the virtues of our ancestors."
"Such insolence! You still dare talk back!"
Pan Ang swept a swift glance over the crowd. "Beside the ancestral shrine on Eagle Beak Cliff stood a thousand-year-old pomegranate spirit tree, planted by Ancestor Xuangling's own hands. Once every thirty years it bore fruit, and each time, messengers were sent to present the harvest to the Upper Court, allowing the ancestor to reminisce on the founding of Yuansong Temple and keep the roots of our lineage firmly anchored.
"Do you know that shortly after you made your offerings at the shrine, ghosts wailed and spirits howled throughout Pingyuan Commandery, shaking the four quarters and drawing down a heavenly lightning punishment that shattered this very spirit tree? For all these years, nothing ever went amiss—yet now, because your heart lacked sincerity, the ancestral shrine sensed your impiety and struck the spirit tree with lightning to let the ancestor know that a wild, rebellious villain has arisen in our sect!"
Pointing down at Qin Xuan from the raised dais, he roared, "Kneel toward the ancestral shrine at once!"
The crowd gasped. This was a grave matter indeed, and nearly impossible to disprove.
Qin Xuan was in deep trouble!
Elder Luo and Elder Weng were about to speak, but Pan Ang raised a hand to cut them off. "Let him speak for himself."
Qin Xuan knew the spirit tree likely had been struck by lightning, so he did not bother disputing that fact.
With Pan Ang pressing aggressively, Qin Xuan's mind turned rapidly, remaining entirely unruffled. "Elder Pan, who is it that truly disrespects our ancestor?
"A senior of our Great Lingbao Sect once left a maxim at the ancestral shrine: 'Aid the natural course of the myriad things without presuming to act upon them.' Ancestor Xuangling revered these words deeply and had them carved atop the Scripture Pavilion."
The crowd nodded. Those words were indeed inscribed at both the ancestral shrine and the Scripture Pavilion.
Qin Xuan continued, "Such is the attitude of those who have attained the Dao toward the myriad things. Lightning striking wood is no different from wood rotting into soil, or stone returning to dust. Just as humans meet their tribulations, so too must a spirit tree face its tribulations. That is the order of nature.
"Yet you, Elder Pan!
"You fail to study the teachings of our ancestor—that is filial impiety. You misinterpret the words of the Lingbao senior—that is folly. And you falsely pin blame upon a disciple who merely made a pilgrimage—that is utter lack of virtue.
"A man devoid of filial piety, wisdom, and virtue openly slanders a disciple who has just rendered great service to the sect by slaying a demonic villain. Were Ancestor Xuangling here today, he would surely be deeply disappointed in you!"
Elder Luo and Elder Weng were both stunned.
Nearby, a black-robed man suddenly shouted toward the ancestral shrine at the top of his lungs: "Old Ancestor, come to Pingyuan Commandery and see for yourself! Someone is harming disciples in your venerable name!"
Pan Ang's face twisted, and he glared furiously at Zhao Huaimin. "What nonsense are you spouting?!"
"He speaks the absolute truth." Under the watchful eyes of all the disciples, Qin Xuan strode up the stairs. Inside the Enforcement Hall, Tian Yifei was just looking at Senior Brother Qi with admiration when he heard the incisive words ring out from below:
"Elder Pan, if this is not harming disciples, then what is it?
"Or are the words of the Great Lingbao Sect senior and Ancestor Xuangling's inscription atop the pavilion wrong? Answer me!"
Pan Ang's face turned icy cold. At a loss for words before this junior, he abruptly pulled a command token from his robes.
"Hmph, as if someone like you could comprehend the words of those who have attained the Dao!
"Behold! This is the command token of Daoist Ou from Luogu Peak of the Upper Court. Word of this matter has already reached the Upper Court. How dare you quibble? Kneel at once!"
The appearance of this command token escalated matters far beyond anyone's expectations.
In the distant sky, Old Daoist Wu flicked his horsetail whisk, preparing to descend upon a cloud.
However...
Old Daoist Wu let out a soft exclamation of surprise and turned his gaze beyond Yuansong Temple.
A muffled yet piercing voice echoed from afar: "Oh? Daoist Ou of Luogu Peak? What immense airs he puts on."
Before the voice even faded, a streak of grey escapist light tore through the air. In a blur before everyone's eyes, the light carried three figures down before the Enforcement Hall.
The two in back were Song Jiwei, the core disciple Pan Ang had previously dispatched to Lianyun Manor, and Supervisor Qian, head of Yuansong Temple's Records Hall.
The third was a grey-robed old man with freckles dotting his face and a thick, sprawling beard, appearing to be in his sixties or seventies.
Dressed quite casually, he nonetheless exerted an inexplicable pressure on everyone around him.
Qin Xuan took one look at the old man and understood instantly, for perched upon the old man's shoulder was a fat cat.
Remembering how he had nearly turned this cat into a cat-girl, Qin Xuan quickly turned his head aside, avoiding eye contact with it.
The moment Pan Ang saw the arrival, a sudden chill ran down his spine. The old man's gaze was fixed squarely on him.
*When did I ever offend such a figure? And looking at Supervisor Qian's demeanor, could he be a senior of our lineage?*
Pan Ang was completely baffled, his heart pounding with dread.
"May I ask who Senior is...?"
The old man reached out and produced a command token as well. "Recognize this? A friend from Guanjiang Mountain gave it to my master."
Pan Ang's eyes widened. Looking closely, he saw two simple words engraved upon the token: "Xuannian."
The second disciple of Guanjiang Mountain's founder, the senior brother of Perfected Xuangling! That old ancestor had been in secluded cultivation for who knew how many years, rarely seeing anyone. To possess his command token, one had to be among his closest direct disciples.
Elder Pan could scarcely believe it; breath caught in his throat.
"Senior, may I ask what..."
The old man cut straight to the point: "My master heard you wished to borrow her cat for a look, so I brought it today. Elder Pan, what do you have to say for yourself?"
Staring at the cat, Pan Ang instantly remembered Zeng Mu's letter. Like a bolt from the blue, regret tore through his very gut. He felt as though someone had set a trap for him and he had plummeted straight into a bottomless pit.
*That bastard Zeng Mu! Why doesn't he drop dead?!*
He shot a sideways glance at Qin Xuan, who was smiling back at him.
That smile pierced Pan Ang's heart like a blade.
How could he dare say anything now? Just moments ago he had been swaggering with puffed-up authority; now he could barely stammer out a coherent sentence: "This disciple was blind... I submit entirely to Senior's judgment..."
"I hear Daoist Ou gave you two spirit pigeons?"
"Yes."
How could Pan Ang fail to understand? He hurriedly produced the remaining precious spirit pigeon. Unlike the black one, this pigeon was coated in shimmering gold, truly striking to behold.
"Meow~!"
With a feline cry, the cat sprang forward, snatching the spirit pigeon directly out of Pan Ang's hands.
Then, to everyone's surprise...
The cat did not return to the old man's side. Instead, it leaped onto Qin Xuan's shoulder, clutching the golden spirit pigeon and thrusting it before Qin Xuan.
"Meow-ooh~!"
It let out another cry, its eyes bright and lively.
It seemed to be saying: *You treated me last time, so this master cat treats you this time. Let's settle all grudges over a pigeon, and don't you dare pluck off my bell again.*
"Senior, this..."
The senior remained unsmiling, merely saying, "If the cat gives it to you, accept it."
"Thank you."
Qin Xuan took the spirit pigeon under the watchful eyes of all the disciples. None of them had imagined things would turn out like this.
The old man turned back and said to Pan Ang, "Perfected Xuangling is an elder of deep virtue. As an elder of Yuansong Temple's Enforcement Hall, you are far too arrogant. This old man advises you to enter seclusion for thirty years to properly settle yourself."
"Yes." Stripped of his duties in the Enforcement Hall, Pan Ang accepted the order and withdrew.
The grey-robed old man glanced at Qin Xuan. Seeing that the cat had no intention of returning, he transformed into an escapist light and vanished into the very cloud where Old Daoist Wu lingered. Such extraordinary skill from an expert left the disciples filled with awe and yearning.
At the same time, the gazes directed at Qin Xuan shifted once more...
Chapter 31