Wait...

Wait!

The little white fox quietly curled up into a ball. It surreptitiously sized up the girl’s eerily calm little face and felt its fur stand on end.

How come it couldn’t understand what Zhiwei was saying?!

"Senior Sister! We’re back!"

Just as the little white fox was trembling in fright, even considering whether it should play dead, Qing Jun’s cheerful voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

Right after that, the gate was pushed open.

Qing Jun led in Zhao Yuanyuan, whose face was full of curiosity.

"Look! This is our gatekeeping vicious fox!"

Zhao Yuanyuan followed the direction of her finger, her eyes lighting up:

"Wow! What a cute little fox!"

She walked forward quickly, staring in surprise at the finely crafted little wooden house,

"Junior Sister Xu, you even built it a house? Looks like you treat it really well!"

"Of course! Even though it’s very bad, I’m a magnanimous owner!"

The little girl spoke with absolute confidence,

If Senior Sister built it, that means she built it!

She was the most loving girl under the heavens!

"Eh..."

Zhao Yuanyuan was taken aback; she hadn’t expected Xu Qingjun to actually be such a loving kid.

On second thought, it made sense.

Xu Qingjun was just like Instructor Chen—Instructor Chen had a cold face but a warm heart; he looked strict, yet he was very gentle to others.

And Xu Qingjun, though she seemed super evil on the surface, was actually a soft-hearted child too!

"Senior Sister, Senior Sister, this is the new friend I made!" Qing Jun enthusiastically introduced Zhao Yuanyuan to her Senior Sister.

Zhiwei had already stood up by now. She patted the wood shavings off her hands, the chillingly obsessive look on her face gone. She gave a slight smile and said:

"So she’s Qing Jun’s friend."

Zhao Yuanyuan hurriedly saluted. "Greetings, Senior Sister Lu."

She knew this girl named Lu Zhiwei.

She’d heard that a month ago, a male disciple on Baopu Peak had accidentally seen Lu Zhiwei and was stunned by her beauty, then pestered her relentlessly afterward.

But who knew that, despite her young age, Lu Zhiwei was already at Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer!

She’d subdued him easily on the spot, and afterward that boy had been harshly punished by Instructor Chen. In private, all the disciples joked that Instructor Chen was a maniacal protector of his disciples!

And what did Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer mean?

This level of talent was almost on par with Zhang Chuxi!

Zhang Chuxi was only at Qi Cultivation Eighth Layer right now!

"Senior Sister Lu, this knot you tied is really firm, and you even added a Restriction. Looks like you’re very afraid it’ll get lost."

Zhao Yuanyuan squatted down, curiously examining the little white fox.

"Yes."

Zhiwei smiled faintly, her gaze sweeping over the little white fox,

"After all, it’s a member of the family. If we lost it, Master and Junior Sister would be sad."

The little white fox: "..."

Would they really be sad?

The little white fox did not think so.

"Can I pet it?" Zhao Yuanyuan crouched down and tentatively reached out her hand.

"Careful, it’s really fierce!" Qing Jun kindly reminded from the side, pointing at the plaque that read "Vicious Fox Inside."

Zhao Yuanyuan hesitated a little.

But unexpectedly, the so-called vicious fox in Qing Jun’s mouth neither bared its fangs nor snarled. Instead, it took the initiative to poke its head over and even rubbed her palm.

"Ying ying ying..."

The little white fox let out a wronged whimper.

Take me away!

I’m begging you!

Anyone will do—just get me out of this den of perverts, quick!

It suspected that

In Cangli Courtyard, only Lin Jin was a normal child!

The little white fox had decided: from now on, it would find itself a new backer, and that backer would be Lin Jin!

"Wow! It’s so well-behaved!"

Zhao Yuanyuan happily rubbed the fox’s head,

"Junior Sister Xu, did you get it wrong? It’s not fierce at all, it’s very friendly!"

Qing Jun widened her eyes, staring at this scene in disbelief.

That damned fox!

Usually with her, it either huffed or trembled—how come it was so obsequious with outsiders?

"It... it’s faking it!"

Qing Jun ran over angrily, reaching out to tug the fox’s ears,

"You ingratiating little traitor, Xiao Bai! Clearly Qing Jun treats you so well, yet the moment you see a pretty dumpling you can’t move your legs... hateful!"

The little girl worked herself up as she spoke, actually making herself angry, her expression fierce, so fierce.

This was because she’d thought of a certain old Daoist.

"Jiji!"

It was the first time the little white fox had seen Qing Jun this angry.

Frightened, it whooshed into the little wooden house Zhiwei had built and hugged its big tail tightly, trembling.

Strange...

Too strange.

The little white fox felt that everything today was very strange, but it just couldn’t say how.

It only felt a heavy weight on its back, as if it had taken the blame for something.

...

Chen Ye naturally had no idea that the little white fox had become a punching bag in his place for his disciples.

He was still in the Preaching Hall at the moment, sorting through the dossiers.

"Chen Ye, I heard your teaching has been quite effective lately. Those little brats now run from you like mice from a cat."

Xu Henshan looked gratified.

If Chen Ye could gain a firm foothold on Baopu Peak, it would be equivalent to establishing connections with the sect’s various high-level figures, since each of those disciples was a descendant of the upper echelon.

This was exactly his intention.

If Chen Ye could attain a higher status within the sect, it would be a great help to Qing Jun and the Xu Family in the future.

"Senior overpraises me."

Chen Ye put down the dossier in his hand and sighed,

"It’s just some little tricks off the beaten path, hardly fit for a refined occasion."

"Ah, that’s not right."

Xu Henshan waved his hand,

"You’ve taught them very well. The Sect Master and several Elders are all very satisfied."

Speaking of this, he paused, then lowered his voice and said,

"Especially the Fourth Elder, who has nothing but praise for the results of your discipline of Zhang Chuxi. That girl may still be a bit arrogant now, but compared to before she’s reined herself in a lot."

Chen Ye’s feelings were complicated.

That wasn’t taught into her, that was beaten into her...

And lately that girl had been a bit strange.

When punished, she would always bite her lip in silence, who knows what she was thinking deep down.

"Right, there’s one more thing."

Xu Henshan’s expression suddenly grew somewhat grave,

"The sect may be making a big move soon."

"A big move?" Chen Ye’s heart stirred. "Is it related to the Demon Cultivators?"

"Correct."

Xu Henshan nodded,

"Some time ago, the Grand Elder heavily wounded a Demon Lord of the Emotion Crossing Sect and drove their forces out of the Yan Kingdom. Now the Demon Cultivators’ Primordial Qi is greatly damaged; it’s the perfect time for us to counterattack."

"The upper echelon of the sect has decided to seize this opportunity to completely eradicate all Demon Cultivator strongholds hidden within the Yan Kingdom, and even... utterly raze the Emotion Crossing Sect to the ground!"

When Chen Ye heard this, his heart tightened.

Counterattack the Qi Kingdom?

The Lingyin Sect really did seem to have that ability.

After all, the Lingyin Sect had four Golden Core True Men, while the Emotion Crossing Sect had only three. If not for Myriad Puppets and Duqing joining forces, the Lingyin Sect’s Outer Sect would never have been breached.

"However, before that, we must first purge our own ranks."

Xu Henshan continued,

"The fact that the Demon Cultivators were able to break through the Outer Sect so easily this time, and even set an ambush in the Moon Rhinoceros Lake District, shows that there must be an internal traitor within the sect. The Sect Master has already ordered that from this day on, the entire sect is to be thoroughly investigated, and no suspicious person is to be let off!"

"Instructor Chen, although you are a newly promoted Guardian, you rendered great merit this time and have earned the sect’s deep trust. So... you also have a share in this investigation."

"Me?"

Chen Ye was a bit surprised.

As an outsider with shallow roots, how did such an offense-prone job end up on his head?

"Exactly... The major family powers within the sect are all tangled together, with blood ties here and there. It’s really hard to handle. Only you are a Cultivator of rare Loose Cultivator origin."

Xu Henshan said meaningfully,

"Though it’s a troublesome matter, it’s also a good chance for you to integrate into the sect’s core. If you do it well, your future prospects will be limitless."

Chen Ye fell silent for a while.

He only wanted to cultivate properly and raise his disciples along the way, and truly had no heart for power struggles.

But since Xu Henshan had come knocking on his door, it would be hard to decline.

He cupped his hands and said:

"This junior understands. I will not betray the sect’s trust."

"Good!"

Xu Henshan nodded in satisfaction,

"The specific tasks will be conveyed to you later by someone else. Go back and make some preparations first."

...

By the time he returned to Cangli Courtyard, it was already dusk.

Chen Ye pushed open the door, only to find that Qing Jun and Zhiwei were not in the courtyard.

"Where are they?"

He was a bit puzzled and walked over to Lin Jin’s door, knocking lightly.

"Jin’er, are you there?"

"Master?"

From inside came Lin Jin’s somewhat surprised voice,

"I’m here."

Chen Ye pushed the door open and went in, only to see Lin Jin sitting cross-legged on the bed cultivating. Her aura had already stabilized quite a bit; she would probably reach Foundation Establishment in the next few days.

"Where are your senior sisters?" Chen Ye asked.

"Senior Sister and the others... went to the back mountain."

Lin Jin hesitated for a moment, but still said,

"They said... they were going to catch wild chickens to give Little White Fox an extra meal."

"Catch wild chickens?"

The corner of Chen Ye’s mouth twitched.

Where would Baopu Peak’s back mountain have wild chickens?

Those were all spirit birds raised by the sect!

"Those two girls are really getting more and more lawless."

Chen Ye shook his head. Just as he was about to go out and haul them back, his steps suddenly paused.

"Master..."

Jin’er looked at her master cautiously, hope flickering in her eyes.

Could it be that Master was going to keep her company today?

"It’s nothing, just an uninvited guest... ahem, Jin’er, you must obediently cultivate from now on and don’t come out, all right..."