Leisurely Young Master

Chapter 20

He Zai remained indifferent. Jiang Wubo's expression was ambiguous, as if he were about to laugh. He wondered if Che Yanyan was now regretting that she hadn't noticed a handsome, warrior-like man who had been in front of her for ten years.

"Miss." He Zai glared at Jiang Wubo, stopping her from suppressing a laugh.

The three of them were forced to take muscle relaxant powder and then taken to the front hall.

Upon arriving at the main hall, she lifted the bright red silk curtain and discovered that there were more than a dozen martial arts practitioners from the Central Plains in the dimly lit hall.

"Those in the main hall are all renowned martial arts masters, while those outside are young talents. It seems we should try to be polite first, then resort to force." He Zai said to her in a low voice without turning his head, while intentionally or unintentionally blocking most of her figure.

She responded and pondered. No wonder these martial arts practitioners looked to be at least fifty years old. Tu Sanlong was also present, dressed in commoner's clothes, but accompanied by an elderly man in palace robes.

When matters of the martial arts world infiltrate the imperial court, there will be many troubles. This old official has probably seized the opportunity to come along. The government troops are currently stationed outside the White Ming Cult. As long as there is a large-scale battle with casualties, they can openly occupy this place and settle the score between the two sides.

She sighed. Everything was as the leader wished. She was afraid that all the Bai Ming followers had been secretly summoned back.

Initially, the White Ming Cult also had talented hermits. The reason it was called the Demonic Cult was because these people disregarded moral norms, acted as they pleased, and ignored worldly conventions, which was something that the martial arts world of the Central Plains could not accept.

Later, when many people disappeared, she discovered that the leader had gone mad. From then on, she went into hiding, letting the White Bright Cult become a mixed bag. The leaders of each generation have always chosen one of the left and right protectors without exception, but this generation of White Bright Cult is no longer the place where wild cranes once gathered. It is likely that many people have long lost respect for the two female protectors and are eyeing the position of leader covetously.

This is precisely the cult leader's goal.

She listened to the conversation between the leader and the others on the throne, glancing absentmindedly. Suddenly, she noticed that the group of young masters from the Yun family manor were all sitting in the opposite hall, but Xianyun was nowhere to be seen.

She took another half step and tilted her head slightly. Sure enough, it was Xianyun guarding the hall door.

Today he was dressed in his usual moon-white robe, but he carried no martial arts manuals. The hall door was wide open, and outside was a tense standoff. He stood with his hands behind his back, against the wind, his posture like a pine tree in the summer breeze. His cool and calm demeanor remained the same, but he lacked his usual elegant politeness and instead exuded a chilling aura. For a moment, no one dared to cross that door.

He seemed to sense someone was looking at him, so he looked up. Those handsome black eyes remained calm, staring straight at her.

Even though his eyes were calm and devoid of any alluring charm, she still coughed lightly, unable to bear the gaze, and looked away.

When she looked back, she noticed bright red bloodstains on the hem of his robe.

"Master, the people have been brought," Che Yanyan said.

"The White Ming Cult has kept to itself and the Central Plains for over twenty years. Yet, Cult Leader Jiang has abducted the wife of this year's martial arts champion, Tu Sanlong, and the sworn sister of Young Master Xianyun. Isn't this deliberately stirring up trouble?" said an elder from Tangjiabao.

The cult leader on the throne ignored him completely and lazily said:

"He Zai, come here."

He Zai remained silent and went to the side of the throne.

"Do you think the Left Protector is still alive?"

"Of course, I'm alive," He Zai said flatly.

"If that's the case, why hasn't she shown up yet?"

"I am unaware."

"Does she only come back if I kill them all one by one?"

Tu Sanlong frowned, stepped forward, and said in a deep voice:

"Sect Leader Jiang, Huangfu Yun is indeed dead, and the cause of his death has nothing to do with us. Even if you want revenge, you've come to the wrong person. We can overlook the fact that you kidnapped my wife and Young Master Xianyun's sworn sister, as long as you let us take them away. We can pretend that today's events never happened."

Jiang Wubo glanced at Deng Haitang and saw that Deng Haitang was trying her best to hide her helplessness. Being the wife of a martial arts champion is really not easy. Her husband can't even stand up for her. She is being kidnapped and taken away, but she has to take care of the peace between the two sides.

Gathering these people is not easy under normal circumstances. Does this mad cult leader intend to destroy the White Bright Cult, or do we want to see how she single-handedly rebuilds it?

She refused to speculate; if she were to guess correctly, wouldn't she also be considered insane?

"Release them? Absolutely not." The cult leader smiled and said, "Protector Che, since the families of the two girls you captured are all here, let them collect their bodies while we're at it."

Che Yanyan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Yes."

Deng Haitang gritted her teeth and made a decisive move, immediately rushing towards Tu Sanlong. This unexpected action shocked everyone, who rushed forward to help Tu Sanlong.

Jiang Wubo simply watched all this without making a move, little did she know that this would become her fatal flaw.

"Be careful, young lady!"

A dark figure darted over almost imperceptibly. She instantly realized what was happening. He Zai only had time to make one move before she heard extremely heavy breathing right next to her ear.

"Xi'er, I've found you."

In an instant, someone grabbed her belt with one hand, pulled her into their arms, and exchanged several blows with the cult leader with the other hand.

Each move was simple yet exquisite, almost entirely a close-quarters exchange of blows, with each move containing a clash of internal forces. In the final strike, with a resounding boom, their palms collided, shattering something in the hall from the explosive force, and each of them slid back about ten steps.

He Zai and Tu Sanlong moved swiftly and caught Gongsun Yun's back in time, stabilizing his momentum.

"Is the young lady alright?" He Zai asked very quickly.

Tu Sanlong then understood why Gongsun Yun couldn't stop his momentum. It turned out that in the midst of a fight, internal forces flowed between each other, which could easily injure people. Moreover, Jiang Wubo was caught between the leader of the Bai Ming Cult and Xianyun, two masters with extremely high internal strength. If he wasn't careful, he might lose his breath. No wonder Xianyun prioritized protecting Jiang Wubo and allowed the opponent's internal forces to flow freely within his own body.

He Zai frowned and asked again, "Miss?"

Xianyun glanced at Hezai, her voice slightly hoarse: "She's just having trouble breathing, it's nothing."

"Impressive skills!" the leader of the White Bright Cult laughed, his eyes shining brighter than anyone else's, as he slowly walked back to his throne.

From the moment Gongsun Yun received his attack, a brawl broke out inside and outside the hall. When someone blocked the White Bright Cult leader's path, he simply waved his sleeve, and that person was sent flying, his brains smashed into the air.

This matter is unlikely to end well!

Tu Sanlong and Gongsun Yun exchanged a glance. The former couldn't help but secretly blame Jiang Wubo. Earlier, Xianyun had taken the initiative to intervene, shedding his identity as the young master of the Yun family manor and guarding the hall gate, preventing the two sides from fighting as soon as they met... If Xianyun hadn't been trying to save her, he would never have left the hall gate.

He gritted his teeth and saw the local official who had come with him beaming with joy. How could he not know what the old man was planning? With the two sides fighting, the imperial court would have a reason to send troops to suppress them.

"Yun'er, guess how this leader recognized you?"

Jiang Wubo opened her eyes and looked at the white-haired middle-aged man on the throne of the sect king. She rose from Gongsun Yun's arms and sighed softly:

"What's coming will come." Amidst the chaos, she walked towards the cult leader with her hands behind her back. He Zai immediately followed her. When someone attacked, he tried to kill them, but someone blocked his attack.

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed Gongsun Yun.

"Forgive others when you can, and endure when you can," Gongsun Yun said calmly. His aura was clear and steady, and there was no indication that he had previously used all his strength to exchange blows with the leader of the Bai Ming Cult.

He Zai gave a cold snort.

Master Jiang smiled knowingly:

"When everyone is in chaos, there's only one person who doesn't move, and that's you, Yun'er. You always plan things out before you act, and you won't join the chaos without knowing what the next step will be."

"The Master truly understands Yun'er." She smiled, arriving at the jade steps where she had once fitted He Zai with the Heavenly Slave Ring. Stroking her long flute, she continued, "The Master has gone to great lengths to test Yun'er; is today the day to see the results?"

"What did you learn after you fell off the cliff?"

She tilted her head and thought for a moment, then smiled:

"After being brought back to life, I inexplicably gained many more family members who needed to pay their respects to me morning and evening."

Upon hearing this, Gongsun Yun lowered her eyes, a faint curve appearing on her otherwise cool lips.

This answer clearly surprised the leader of the White Bright Cult, so she changed her answer and sighed:

One should always trust oneself. Even He Zai went to save his own brothers. Leader, are you deliberately trying to make me realize that in this world, only relying on oneself is truly reliable?

He Zai turned his face away, gritting his teeth.

The cult leader nodded in satisfaction.

Jiang Wubo slowly ascended the steps, arrived before the throne, bowed slightly, and said softly:

"Is the cult leader in such a hurry to force me out that this is the end?"

The white-haired middle-aged man's eyes shone brightly, like the last flicker of a candle before it went out. He smiled and said:

"Yun'er is so smart, it's no wonder I've doted on you for over ten years."

"Alas, I'm not clever. Back then, you suffered a qi deviation, aged prematurely overnight, and were plagued by illness, your life was nearing its end. I never expected you to last so long. I thought I could hide until your passing, but who knew you'd find me so quickly." She straightened up and said calmly, "After taking a blow from Xianyun, I'm afraid you're truly at your wit's end!"

"Exactly." Instead of being sad, the king laughed loudly, his laughter like thunder, causing those inside and outside the hall to feel a sharp pain in their internal organs.

Jiang Wubo was extremely close. She swayed slightly, and immediately two people behind her supported her with their internal energy.

She must endure! Today, she absolutely has to endure to the very limit!

Gongsun Yun remained unfazed, and immediately let out a whistle, its sound calm and long, momentarily silencing the wild laughter.

Jiang, the sect leader, coughed and looked at Gongsun Yun, who remained as still as a mountain. "Your skill is not weak."

"You flatter me, Master Jiang," he said politely.

Jiang, the leader of the sect, curled his lips slightly. "If you had been born twenty years earlier, I might have been able to fight you." After saying this, he suddenly announced, "Huangfu Yun, the left protector of the Bai Ming Sect, listen to my command! From this day forward, you are the thirty-first leader of the Bai Ming Sect!" His voice was so loud that it could be heard both inside and outside.

She stared at the cult leader for a long time. Then, she turned and walked down the jade steps. She ignored the displeased Che Yanyan and the shocked Tu Sanlong.

"Who in this world can you trust? Yun'er, you are someone I personally trained. You can't possibly trust anyone, and He Zai is your greatest pain. If you leave today, the White Bright Cult will be without a leader. In the end, it will either be annihilated by the righteous forces of the Central Plains or wiped out by the imperial army. You will be a sinner of the White Bright Cult, hunted down by its members for the rest of your life. The Central Plains will not tolerate you!"

All eyes, both believers and laypeople, were on her. She stepped out of the hall and glanced indifferently at the crowd below the long steps.

The main hall of the Bai Ming Cult is located halfway up the mountain. Looking straight ahead from the hall entrance, there is the towering Tianbi Cliff with a wide canyon in the middle. You can't get to Tianbi Cliff without taking a detour.

Standing here, everyone has to look up to her.

She's never really made a name for herself in her life, so I wonder if this time counts as making a little bit of a splash? Unfortunately, it's unlikely she'll be able to make a living in the Central Plains with that bare face in the future.

She turned back and gazed at the cult leader sitting on the throne in the hall.

He was about to die of anger, she knew, and then he would leave her with a mess—that was exactly what he wanted. If he hadn't gone mad, she would have truly believed that this cult leader's lifelong ambition was to torment someone.

If she fell off the cliff that day and left alone with such a cynical mindset, then Jiang Wubo, whom the King had trained, was the person he truly wanted.

She smiled, slowly bowed towards the throne, and said:

"Huangfu accepts the order."

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Under the watchful eyes of the public, she accepted the position of leader.

"Girl!" He Zai could not hide his shock.

She ignored him, stood with her hands behind her back on the long steps outside the hall, and said loudly:

"From this day forward, Huangfu Yun is the thirty-first leader of the White Bright Cult. All disciples, heed my command: kneel down and bid farewell to our former leader!"

Inside and outside the hall, the believers hesitated for a moment, then put down their weapons and knelt on the ground.

She raised an eyebrow and glanced at Gongsun Yun. "Young Master Xianyun, will you record today's events in the annals of the martial world?"

Gongsun Yun remained calm but his gaze was fixed, his clear, cold voice resounding throughout the room—

"Today's events will be recorded in great detail in the annals of martial arts history."