Chapter 44 Yanghua Cloud Sea (Thirty-One)
The huge sword-nurturing room was in a mess. Many disciples gathered outside the courtyard to watch. The disciples who were groaning and rolling on the ground were helped up by several kind-hearted healers to stop the bleeding. When the crowd saw the severed tongues, they showed horror. Then they saw the tendons in their hands and feet that Wei Feng had severed. They began to talk about Wei Feng, who was covered in blood.
"Was it really Wei Feng who did this? These are all disciples from the Foundation Establishment Academy who are close to leaving the peak. Isn't he just a Qi Refining cultivator?" someone questioned.
"No, he somehow reached Foundation Establishment a while ago and got into the Foundation Establishment Academy a long time ago." Someone said with a sour tone, full of disdain, "He has so many top-quality pills, he must have just casually ate them to reach Foundation Establishment."
"Hiss, I never thought Wei Feng was this ruthless before. He usually has a pretty good temper. Why would he suddenly attack a fellow disciple?" a disciple said. "Could there be some other reason behind this?"
"What secrets could there be? Wei Feng has always been arrogant and domineering in the sect. He was just weak and incompetent in the past. Now that the Jiang family is backing him up, what is he afraid of? In my opinion, he will definitely be fine this time. He might not even have to pay any spirit stones." A disciple with a big mouth sneered.
"Hey? Ma Yangsheng, you didn't get beaten up last time, are you going to come looking for trouble?" someone laughed.
"Go away, go away." Ma Yangsheng narrowed his slanted eyes, his gaze towards Wei Feng filled with jealousy. "So what if he has a good master? This time, even Elder Jiang can't protect him."
The skinny, tall man, whose tongue had been cut out, covered his mouth and whimpered. He let out a scream when the healer pried his hands open.
The disciples standing nearby felt a chill run down their spines. "Isn't that Xing Zhu? Wei Feng beat him up last time, so why is he here again?"
“Wei Feng definitely did it on purpose.” Ma Yangsheng’s mouth opened and closed repeatedly. “He already had a grudge against Xing Zhu, and this time he’s definitely seeking revenge.”
"Don't talk nonsense!" Xuan Zhiyan, helped up by Liu Xian, happened to hear him say this and turned around angrily, "They were the ones who disrespected their elders first!"
When Wei Feng took action, he naturally couldn't just stand by and watch, but he couldn't hold back the enraged Wei Feng at all. He could only help from the sidelines and was even injured by the two elders who arrived. Only now did he get up from the ground.
Upon seeing him, Ma Yangsheng naturally mocked him again, but Xuan Zhiyan had no intention of arguing with him and hurriedly went to see Wei Feng.
Wei Feng threw down his sword in front of everyone, stubbornly staring at Jiang Gu in front of him, his eyes red and brimming with tears, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.
When the two elders behind him saw Jiang Gu, they sheathed their swords and exchanged glances. After all, Jiang Gu had swallowed the primordial spirit of an elder from the Discipline Hall last time because that person wanted to search Wei Feng's soul.
However, they were not afraid now. One of the elders, who had a goatee, chuckled awkwardly, "Elder Jiang, look at this matter... after all, Wei Feng injured a fellow disciple first, and there is ample evidence and witness testimony—"
"Wei Feng, you tell me yourself." Jiang Gu ignored him and looked at Wei Feng in front of him.
Wei Feng gritted his teeth, trying to suppress the soreness in his nose. "Master, it was they who insulted and provoked me first, saying all sorts of treasonous things, that's why I took action."
“Look, I told you Wei Feng started it, and he admitted it himself.” Ma Yangsheng muttered from the side, earning a fierce glare from Xuan Zhiyan.
The elder with the goat horn beard, whose given name was Pang Zhao, could hardly contain his smile upon hearing this. He stroked his beard and said, "Elder Jiang, you see, this is indeed Wei Feng's fault."
"What are you saying?" Jiang Gu ignored him and continued to ask Wei Feng.
Pang Zhao showed some dissatisfaction, but still went along with him and said, "That's right, Wei Feng, what did your senior brothers say that made you so ruthless, showing no regard for the bonds of brotherhood!"
Before he finished speaking, Shen Yuxin, Jie Fuxue, Ruan Keji, and many other elders finally arrived late, along with dozens of elders from the Criminal Law Hall. Upon hearing this, they all looked at Wei Feng.
“They—” Wei Feng clenched his fists tightly, his gaze sweeping over the many disciples and elders present. Recalling the foul language spoken by Xing Zhu and the others, the veins on the back of his hand bulged.
He absolutely could not say those words in front of so many people. Even if Jiang Gu heard them, he felt it would be a blasphemy against his master. Moreover, with so many people listening, who knows how it would spread in the future.
Rumors can spread like wildfire, and it doesn't matter what people say about him, but his master is upright and honest, and should never become the subject of gossip.
Xing Zhu, who had been lying to the side with his tongue cut out, stared at Wei Feng with resentment, seeing him speechless and his face full of schadenfreude.
"They're talking badly about me, spreading rumors that I used pills to reach Foundation Establishment!" Wei Feng gritted his teeth and said, "I can't stand it, so I'll show them whether my cultivation level was achieved through taking pills!"
"Nonsense! Utter nonsense!" Pang Zhao's beard trembled with rage. Perhaps because one of his disciples had also had his tongue cut out, his voice was incredibly loud. "Sect Leader Jie, listen to him—he's utterly lawless! A viper in the heart!"
Liu Xian, who was supporting Xuan Zhiyan, quickly spoke up upon seeing this, "No, it was clearly Xing Zhu and the others who said—"
Xuan Zhiyan suddenly grabbed him.
Liu Xian looked back at him anxiously and in confusion, while Xuan Zhiyan shook his head at him.
Seeing that Wei Feng did not defend himself, Pang Zhao became even more confident, "His fellow disciples only said a few words to him, and he wants to cut out their tongues. What will become of them in the future?!"
"Yes, I just can't stand them, so what?" Wei Feng acted like a brazen scoundrel who wasn't afraid of being scalded by boiling water. "Stop pretending here. All I did was cut out their tongues and sever their tendons. If anyone dares to gossip about me again, I'll just cut off their heads!"
"Outrageous!" A hot-tempered elder from the Criminal Law Hall glared at him and raised his whip to lash out at Wei Feng's face.
This wasn't the first time Wei Feng had been whipped, and he instinctively raised his hand to block it. However, the whip was frozen in place by an invisible spiritual force just as it reached mid-air. After realizing what had happened, he looked at Jiang Gu with a mixture of surprise and delight.
"Jiang Gu!" The long-haired tiger-like man named Lu Kang roared, his eyes wide open. "Now that things have come to this, are you still going to protect your disciple?!"
Jiang Gu stood still, his expression indifferent, and said, "It's not your place to lecture him."
Lu Kang was taken aback by his sudden remark, but remembering Jiang Gu's notorious reputation, he dared not act rashly again. He looked at Xie Fuxue and asked, "Sect Leader Xie, you have always been upright and magnanimous. What do you think should be done about this?"
Jiang Gu was clearly protecting his own, and he seemed ready to fight anyone who dared to touch Wei Feng. However, he was known in the cultivation world for being vengeful and difficult to deal with, and with the Jiang family as his backing, even though Pang Zhao, Lu Kang, and others hated him to the core, they didn't dare to actually make a move against him.
After all, Jiang Gu had been wanting to cause them trouble for a long time.
Jie Fuxue also had a headache and said with a helpless smile, "Elder Jiang, it was indeed Wei Feng who made the first move and injured his fellow disciple. According to the sect's rules, he should go to the Discipline Hall to receive three hundred lashes, and then go to Yunchi for a year of confinement to reflect on his actions."
Pang Zhao and Lu Kang exchanged a glance, barely satisfied with the punishment.
"Hmph, they can't escape with spirit stones this time, can they?" Ma Yangsheng and the others who were watching the spectacle were even more gloating.
Many people in the sect disapproved of Wei Feng's practice of using spirit stones to settle trouble whenever he caused it. After all, not everyone was as wealthy and powerful as him, yet they inevitably envied his ability to act recklessly.
This time, I finally got my revenge.
Wei Feng, his neck stiff, retorted angrily, "It's just—"
Before he could finish speaking, Jiang Gu glanced at him casually, and Wei Feng immediately fell silent, looking at Jiang Gu with some confusion.
"Sect Leader Jie is right," Jiang Gu said calmly. "Then how should we punish those who insult fellow disciples?"
Xie Fuxue chuckled dryly, "Insulting a fellow disciple should be apologized for. You will be confined to the Criminal Law Hall for half a month."
Jiang Gu glanced at the seven or eight disciples who had lost their tongues, "What if they don't apologize?"
Xie Fuxue raised her hand to wipe the cold sweat from her forehead, "This..."
These people couldn't even speak, let alone apologize.
“Speaking nonsense, causing trouble and provoking, insulting the spirit of my Yanghua Sect, and corrupting the Dao heart of my disciples, their sinister intentions are beyond description.” Jiang Gu’s face turned cold. “Moreover, they still do not repent even now. Such a person with evil intentions should have their spiritual roots destroyed and be expelled from the sect.”
After he finished speaking, not only Jie Fuxue, but also Pang Zhao and Lu Kang were dumbfounded. Pang Zhao hurriedly said, "Elder Jiang, you must not speak recklessly. Yanghua Sect has never had such rules."
"Isn't this a rule that all major sects and families have in common?" Jiang Gu frowned slightly. "The Jiang family has always been like this. So the Yanghua Sect is an exception."
In front of so many people, even Xie Fuxue dared not admit that Yanghua Sect had more say than the Jiang family. Jiang Gu was clearly trying to bully them, and they... really could only endure it.
If word of this ever reaches the Jiang family's ears, they could crush them with a flick of their fingers.
"Sect Leader Jie, proceed with the execution." Jiang Gu glanced indifferently at the disciples. "Punish them as appropriate."
The disciples didn't even dare to raise their heads, trembling and huddled in the corner. After all, Jiang Gu's words were to destroy their spiritual roots and expel them from the sect. Compared to this, Wei Feng's whipping was nothing.
This is blatant favoritism and vicious revenge!
None of the elders present dared to utter a single word in their defense, even though they were seething with hatred inside, they still maintained a smiling facade.
Jie Fuxue chuckled dryly, "Elder Jiang, you're being too serious. The disciples are still young, and Wei Feng is just hot-blooded. Both sides acted impulsively. Besides, Wei Feng has always been weak. He would suffer greatly from three hundred lashes. These disciples are also on the verge of leaving the peak... It's common for children to fight. Why don't we both compromise?"
Pang Zhao chimed in, "That's right, Elder Jiang, it's truly remarkable that these disciples have cultivated to this point. Our medical skills are superb; their tongues can naturally grow back. We'll definitely make them go to Qingping Peak to apologize in person. Wei Feng is a reasonable child..."
Seeing this, many elders tried to mediate, offering words of comfort and creating a harmonious atmosphere. They even praised Wei Feng, who was still sullen, leaving him completely bewildered.
These people had gone from hating him to becoming kind and approachable elders who had watched him grow up. In particular, Pang Zhao, who had been the most boisterous before, had now become kind and gentle.
And this all happened in just a few words from Jiang Gu.
He looked at Jiang Gu with shock and admiration.
When he made a mistake for the first time, someone protected him and took it for granted that they would favor him without even needing a reason.
This was an experience Wei Feng had never had before. He felt a sense of novelty, but more than anything, he felt a surge of joy and tenderness from the bottom of his heart. Even though he was covered in wounds and felt cold all over, he felt as if he was enveloped by Jiang Gu's warm spiritual power, which protected him completely. No matter how harsh the words and arrows from the outside world were, they could no longer hurt him in the slightest.
It was like a sage sent by heaven to save him.
Jiang Gu's face remained frosty as he gave Xie Fuxue a perfunctory nod, then lifted Wei Feng, whose eyes were red and on the verge of tears, onto his sword and transformed into a streak of light, flying towards Qingping Peak.
——
Wei Feng almost fell headfirst to the ground as soon as he landed.
Jiang Gu reacted quickly and grabbed his arm. Wei Feng's nose immediately stung with tears, and he rushed over and hugged him tightly.
"..." Jiang Gu's arm froze in mid-air, and he frowned slightly. "Let go."
Wei Feng buried his face in his shoulder for a long time without moving, then looked up at him somewhat embarrassedly, his eyes red, and said, "Thank you, Master, for saving me."
Jiang Gu said expressionlessly, "Kneel down."
Wei Feng was stunned, looking at him blankly, but still obediently knelt down in front of him.
"Do you know where you went wrong?" Jiang Gu looked down at him.
Wei Feng's initial bittersweet joy quickly turned into resentment. Since there were no outsiders present, he declared vehemently, "Master, I did nothing wrong! Those scoundrels, Xing Zhu, spoke rudely and made inappropriate advances towards you, even speculating about the master-disciple relationship between us. Their mouths were full of foul language. Even if their tongues grew back, I would cut them out every time I saw them!"
Jiang Gu was not surprised by this reason.
He had suffered a lot of trouble because of his face since childhood. The first thing he learned was the art of disguise. But as his strength grew, his appearance became the most insignificant trait. His opponents only feared him because of his strength.
But there are always some ignorant and arrogant scoundrels who court their own doom.
"So this is your reason for acting without considering the consequences?" Jiang Gu's cold gaze fell on his face. "There are so many people in the Yanghua Sect watching you. If Shen Yuxin hadn't told me in advance, by the time I found out and rushed over, you would have been skinned alive, or even locked in that cage and had your soul searched twice."
The resentment in Wei Feng's eyes vanished instantly, and he lowered his head somewhat guiltily, "I... didn't think that much."
"You didn't think that far ahead?" Jiang Gu laughed in exasperation. "Is something like a luminous pearl around your neck?"
Wei Feng lowered his head even further and stammered, "I'm sorry, Master, I was wrong."
"A reckless move will only result in heavy losses for both sides, harming the enemy a thousand while injuring eight hundred of your own." Jiang Gu coldly rebuked, "It's utterly foolish!"
Wei Feng trembled from his scolding and knelt on the ground, not daring to raise his head or utter a sound.
"Get up when you've figured it out," Jiang Gu said coldly, then turned and left.
Wei Feng knelt with his head down for a long time before sniffing and secretly wiping his eyes with the back of his hand.
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