81. A formidable barrier (Part Nine)

◎It's better to block than to dredge.

As soon as Ran Qinghe finished speaking, the cabin became extremely quiet, with only the occasional faint sound of the wind as the fairy boat passed through the clouds.

After she finished speaking, only a tiny bit of her gaze fell on it; her hands continued turning the pages of the book.

Wood stood there for a moment, then suddenly stood up, went around to the other side of Ran Qinghe, and tried to get closer again, gently and carefully rubbing the back of her hand hanging by her side with its furry head.

Ran Qinghe paused.

Seeing that she didn't push him away immediately, the wood nudged her again, then raised its front paws and gently placed them on the edge of the book pages on her knee, with very light force, just to distract her from seeing.

"What are you doing?" Ran Qinghe simply closed the book she wasn't reading anyway and turned her gaze to the wooden figure.

Wood met her gaze silently, his eyes revealing anxiety and unease, as well as a hint of embarrassment at being seen through, but he forced himself to remain calm.

Ran Qinghe said, "I don't like being kept in the dark. If you tell me the truth now, I'll let bygones be bygones, how about it?"

Seeing that Mu Tou was still standing there in a daze, she forcefully commanded, "Nod if you agree, shake your head if you disagree."

It nodded.

What else could it do? If it didn't agree, it probably wouldn't even have the right to stay by her side.

It will be thrown away.

After a moment's internal struggle, it secretly thought, "Why not just go all the way and transform back here, so I can be by her side openly and honestly?"

Just as it was about to back away, Ran Qinghe grabbed it by the back of its neck and dragged it back.

She seemed to really enjoy this action, which gave her complete control over it.

"Why are you running?" she asked, puzzled. "Didn't you say you were going to tell me the truth?"

Suddenly, she remembered something and couldn't help but smile, "I almost forgot, you're not good with words."

"Fine, it's no fun to make things difficult for a spirit beast like you. I'll ask you questions, and you answer. Nod if you agree, shake your head if you disagree."

It nodded, but the gesture was incredibly heavy. It wasn't that it hadn't considered being honest with her, but it was simply too timid.

Seeing that she agreed, Ran Qinghe didn't waste any more words and went straight to the point, asking her the guess in her heart.

"Are you Lou Tinglan...?"

The wooden figure nodded. However, this nod was made before it had even heard the last three or five words of the sentence.

"...a contracted spirit beast?"

Its eyes showed even greater surprise and doubt. It turned out that she still only regarded it as a spirit beast, but it suddenly did not want to pretend anymore.

It shook its head violently.

Ran Qinghe looked at its movements, puzzled. "What do you mean by nodding and shaking your head like that?"

"Yes...and no?"

In an instant, she understood.

"You mean, you used to be Lou Tinglan's contracted spirit beast, but you're not anymore, right?"

Mu Tou was unaware of how she had deduced this outcome, and remained silent for a moment, which Ran Qinghe took as an admission of consent.

She vigorously rubbed its head, "Look at you, how can you be so stupid? With this, you still want to be a double agent?"

"The name we gave you really suits you; you're such a blockhead."

She hadn't intended to argue with it much; it was just a spirit beast, and the whole "lose it or not" thing was just a little intimidation.

She held its two front paws and warned it again, "However, although I don't know how you got the message to Lou Tinglan, you are now my contracted spirit beast, understand?"

"From now on, you are not allowed to sell my whereabouts to Lou Tinglan without my permission, understand?"

"You agree to keep nodding; you don't have the freedom to choose to shake your head."

Wood nodded again, but shifted uneasily, tilting its head back to gently lick her chin.

It was damp and somewhat warm.

Ran Qinghe lowered her head and tapped its forehead, thinking that the story of the inner demon oath had frightened it, and quickly reassured it, "It's alright, I won't abandon you."

The wood swayed slightly as she pushed it, but it took the opportunity to bury its head even deeper into her neck, letting out a low whimper, like a sigh of some unknown kind.

The cool fragrance emanating from her body lingered at the tip of its nose, a scent that both tempted and terrified it.

*

As soon as the man and beast stepped off the immortal boat, they saw Hua Jin coming to greet them from afar.

He said, "I knew you would soften when the child cried and begged. How did you handle the situation?"

Ran Qinghe stroked the wood's fur as she replied, "Just as I initially guessed, it has nothing to do with Qingxiao. It was just an internal strife among the cultivators of Mortal Valley, and it has already been resolved."

Seeing that the relationship between the human and the beast seemed closer than before after their long journey, Hua Jin couldn't help but say:

"You're getting more and more affectionate towards this spirit beast; even my meow is getting jealous."

Ran Qinghe did not directly answer his complaint, but simply said, "If there is nothing else, I will go back to cultivate."

Hua Jin said, "You only know how to cultivate, don't you even have time to chat with me for a while?"

Ran Qinghe saw through his hesitation and asked, "What happened on my way back?"

Hua Jin lowered his head and smiled: "As expected, I couldn't hide it from you. I was just wondering whether or not to tell you."

Suddenly, he adopted an extremely serious expression: "This morning, the sect leader received a formal invitation from the Discipline Hall regarding the matter between Qingxiao and Mortal Valley, inviting the sect leader to the Discipline Hall for a discussion."

Ran Qinghe frowned subconsciously. Lou Tinglan had already handled the matter of the missing cultivators from Mortal Valley properly, so how could it be related to Qingxiao?

"What is it?"

Hua Jin continued, "The invitation said that when a Qingxiao disciple was on duty at the mountain gate, he got into an argument with a cultivator from the Mortal Valley. The two started fighting, but unexpectedly, the Mortal Valley cultivator didn't even get a single blow and died on the spot."

Ran Qinghe frowned and pressed, "And then?"

Hua Jin: "The family of that cultivator from Mortal Valley was naturally unwilling. His family, I don't know who they listened to, filed a complaint with the Discipline Hall, demanding that the Qingxiao disciple pay with his life."

"You may not know this while you're on the celestial ship, but in just two days, things have escalated to the point where they can't be contained."

Ran Qinghe slowed down her stroking motion, and her expression became increasingly solemn. "The Discipline Hall is in charge of the affairs of the Five Sects, but it may not be willing to deal with the affairs of the Mortal Valley. I suppose even if the Discipline Hall intervenes, it will at most provide some compensation to the family of that cultivator who died."

Hua Jin said, "The situation is still unclear, but I think it's a good thing for you."

"Qingxiao is currently trapped in the quagmire of Mortal Valley and cannot extricate himself, and Qianzhong is probably too preoccupied to attend to anything else. But..."

Ran Qinghe avoided his direct gaze: "I know what you want to say. You want to advise me not to get involved in the affairs of the Mortal Valley, right?"

She took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind: "Don't worry, I don't have that kind of compassion."

Ye Buchen has disappeared without a trace, and it is unknown whether he is dead or alive. She has no connection with anything in the Valley of Mortals.

*

Inside the Discipline Hall and the Council Hall.

On either side of the long table, there are eight high-backed chairs, which are now only filled with seven people.

Lou Yi, who was sitting in the first seat on the left, spoke first: "The time has come. Sect Leader Bukong has never participated in the discussion of the Five Sects. Since that is the case, let the seven of us decide on the matter of Mortal Valley."

"I'm sure all the sect leaders and elders have already seen the invitation. Since that's the case, I won't go into too much detail. The main purpose of this meeting is to discuss how to appease the family of the cultivator from Mortal Valley."

Qian Zhong snorted coldly and said to Lou Yi, "The disciple who accidentally killed someone is named Xi Qi. He was originally a disciple of Xi Shu, the former elder of Qingxiao. He is a very honest person. If it weren't for the fact that the Mortal Valley hadn't smeared Qingxiao with the smear about Wei Lin's attack, he would never have taken action."

"The sect elders have already sent disciples to explain things clearly to the cultivator's family, but the family is stubborn and refuses to budge on any compensation offered. They've even taken the matter to the Discipline Hall. So what are the Discipline Hall's plans?"

Qian Zhong casually tossed all the questions to Lou Yi.

Lou Yi also realized Qian Zhong's intention, and his face turned quite ugly. He had no choice but to throw out the question again, "What do you sect leaders and elders think?"

Seeing that no one answered immediately, he first asked Chang Nian, who was to his right, "What is Sect Leader Chang's opinion on this matter?"

Chang Nian was originally a cultivator who had attained enlightenment in the mortal realm, so her words and actions naturally leaned towards the mortal valley. She replied softly, "A life for a life is a matter of course."

Qian Zhong slammed his hand on the table. "Hmph!"

Bai Xu Sect Leader Yun Xiu also said, "He is just an ordinary disciple. Since he has made a mistake, he should make amends. Sect Leader Chang is right."

"Besides, his family disagreed with the compensation, so they raised their demands: spirit stones, pills, sword manuals, and magical artifacts. Does Qingxiao think he's so stingy?"

Although Yunxiu outwardly reconciled, she secretly implied that Qingxiao had acted improperly.

Qian Zhong immediately retorted, "If we follow Sect Leader Yun's words and set this precedent, I'm afraid my Qingxiao sect will never be clean again."

"Today they send a daughter to my mountain gate, tomorrow they send an old mother to my mountain gate to offer sacrifices. Does Qingxiao intend to send spirit stones out like water?"

Although Qianzhong's speech was rough, it made some sense.

Seeing that no one answered immediately, Lin Ge, who had been sitting with his legs crossed and an indifferent attitude, finally replied:

"In the end, Sect Leader Qian is still reluctant to part with the spiritual energy within the sect. Qingxiao already occupies the advantages of timing and location, being the place where thousands of spiritual veins converge. If you ask me, it wouldn't be a big deal to give one or two branches to others."

"The cultivators in Mortal Valley have obtained the spiritual energy for cultivation, so naturally they won't bother you anymore."

Qian Zhong glared angrily: "Since that's the case, I might as well give a few branches of the Azure Sky Spirit Vein to Sect Leader Lin as well."

Lin Ge smiled and replied, "Really? Then I'll gladly accept it. I wonder which branches it is, so I can have someone move the boundary markers at the natural barrier another day."

Qian Zhong nearly slammed his fist on the table and stood up: "You...you you you..."

Seeing that the two were about to start arguing, Lou Guan, who was sitting at the end of the table, said in a calm tone: "As Sect Leader Lin said, the reason for summoning all the sect leaders here is to discuss the matter of the Mortal Valley occupying the Qingxiao Mountain Gate recently."

“If we don’t intervene, the cultivators of Mortal Valley might not just stay in Qingxiao. The other four sects, along with the Discipline Hall, might not be able to escape either.”

"Therefore, the Disciplinary Hall's idea is that it's better to block than to guide. There are many cultivators in the mortal realm who have attained enlightenment, and most of them are gathered in the Mortal Valley. If the Mortal Valley is allowed to grow stronger, it will also be a threat to other sects."

"Why not simply sever the passage between Mortal Valley and the Mortal Realm? What do you sect leaders think?"