The White Moonlight Subdues Everyone with a Suona - Chapter 35
Chapter 35: Na Na Na
Everyone must eventually die.
To most people, death is either lighter than a goose feather or heavier than Mount Tai.
To Li Fuqing, however, death either meant dying to the sound of a suona or dying from Ji Bingyu’s miraculous brain that could twist itself around eighteen mountain bends!
Li Fuqing took a deep breath, continuously warning himself not to resort to violence, trying his absolute best to steady his emotions as he forced out a very “kind” smile.
“Third Junior Brother just pointed out so many unreasonable details. Little Junior Sister, have you ever considered one thing?”
Ji Bingyu dazedly raised her head to look at Li Fuqing, then hesitantly lowered her gaze to look at the little toad resting in her palm.
“W-What?”
Clearly, Ji Bingyu had still not managed to pull herself back out of her own train of thought.
Li Fuqing tightened his grip on the token between his index and middle fingers, gritting his teeth as he said, “For instance, this damn to—ad, IS, NOT, YOUR, ELDEST, SENIOR, BROTHER.”
Due to his turbulent emotions, a trace of spiritual energy even leaked out from within Li Fuqing.
To say he was furious wouldn’t be entirely accurate; mixed within that anger was a sliver of being deeply moved.
After all, even though Ji Bingyu had mistaken his identity, she had been entirely sincere when she previously said she wanted to help him exact revenge—she truly regarded him as someone close to her.
Yet the mere thought that she had mistaken him for a toad made Li Fuqing completely incapable of smiling anymore.
Li Fuqing: I’m dying of anger, I want to hit someone.
Li Fuqing: But Little Junior Sister was worried about me ah, it’s been so long since anyone cared so eagerly about my safety!
Li Fuqing: But I’m still so angry ah!
The shift in his mindset was directly reflected all around Li Fuqing. Wisps of spiritual energy floated about, and at a moment when no one else noticed, a tiny thread of spiritual energy was sucked straight into the token clutched in Li Fuqing’s hand.
Oh no, Rong Qingyuan noticed, but he merely wore a faint smile and said nothing at all.
Meanwhile, Shen Hege, who had witnessed the whole spectacle, couldn’t help his laughter.
He turned his face away, trying his best to obscure his expression, and after exchanging a glance with Shaoyang Yu, the two of them burst out laughing in unison.
Ji Bingyu: ……
Fuck.
No wonder the Heaven’s Will hadn’t given her any early warnings for this “crisis.”
Heaven’s Will: Amitabha, there was originally no crisis in this world. But wherever Ji Bingyu goes past, a crisis naturally comes into being.
Ji Bingyu finally snapped back to her senses.
With a jolt of her hand, she hurriedly tossed that pitiful little frog into the pond, and then whipped her head back toward Li Fuqing.
Ji Bingyu’s long-sluggish brain finally began to function.
After reviewing the entire sequence of events, Ji Bingyu tried to hold it in at first, though her facial features immediately started twitching uncontrollably.
The next second, she raised her eyes and happened to meet Li Fuqing’s gaze.
Three seconds later, Ji Bingyu finally couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into explosive laughter.
“Hahahahaha honk honk honk honk sorry Eldest Senior Brother I didn’t mean to, ah!”
“I was only worried about you—honk honk honk honk, worried that you’d been snatched away by a toad demon honk honk honk honk!”
Right under the watchful eyes of everyone, Ji Bingyu vividly and graphically demonstrated what it meant to laugh like a goose.
It wasn’t that Ji Bingyu felt zero guilt over this farce, but the problem was that every single time she looked at Li Fuqing’s face right now, she was reminded of that crooked-mouthed, smiling frog from just a moment ago.
To say they weren’t remotely similar would be a lie—they were an exact match, down to the precise arc of the corners of their mouths.
No, I mustn’t think about it. The more I think about it, the funnier it gets.
In the end, Ji Bingyu laughed so hard her stomach hurt. She couldn’t straighten her back at all, and even her words became slurred.
She could only curl up next to Rong Qingyuan, rubbing her stomach while still letting out goose-like honks.
Seeing Li Fuqing’s complexion grow darker and darker, Rong Qingyuan finally stopped laughing.
He patted Ji Bingyu’s shoulder and generously offered a graceful explanation,”Your Eldest Senior Brother wasn’t here today; I was the one who asked him to come discuss some matters.”
“It’s regarding the inner-sect martial arena. The upcoming arena tournament has been scheduled for early autumn, which should be around next month. When I looked for your Eldest Senior Brother earlier, it was precisely to hand this Floating Leaf Token to him and have him pass it on to you all.”
Never had he expected, however, that he would have the fortune of witnessing such a human comedy.
Having watched enough of the show, Rong Qingyuan gently tugged on Ji Bingyu’s sleeve, then raised a hand to brush away the stray locks of hair falling beside her ear.
When Ji Bingyu turned to look at him, he casually and nonchalantly lowered his hand.
“Alright, Fuqing, hand the items over to your junior brothers and sisters.”
With Rong Qingyuan speaking up, the remaining few managed to suppress their laughter, gathered around Li Fuqing, and accepted the dark green Floating Leaf Tokens.
For the sake of maintaining sect stability, the moment she received her token, Ji Bingyu rapidly retreated backward until she was already outside the doorway.
“Master! Disciple suddenly remembered that Uncle Leshui is holding an artifact crafting class at the Hall of Enlightenment today, so this disciple will take her leave first!”
Ji Bingyu clutched her Floating Leaf Token and departed in a flurry. She left in such a rush that even though a strange beam of light seemed to flash across the dark green token carved with intricate patterns, she simply wrote it off as the principles of sunlight refraction.
At that moment, Ji Bingyu had forgotten:
In the world of immortal cultivation, things rarely followed science.
—
Inside Enlightenment Hall ·
Master Leshui looked at his gathered disciples and nodded with a satisfied expression.
He rarely came out to give lectures, but this time he had hand-picked a few disciples who caught his eye to give them some special, personalized instruction.
Truth be told, originally Master Leshui only intended to lecture his own disciple, Zhong Ziqi; who would have expected that fellow to be close with old Qianming’s disciple, Pei Leyue, and that Pei Leyue happened to heavily trust that fellow Qingxu’s little disciple from Xueyu Peak…
More and more people wanted to come listen to the lecture. After going back and forth, Leshui simply set a quota of three spots per peak and used the occasion to open up a small class right here in Enlightenment Hall.
Among the familiar faces, Feng Feishuang had been kept at Yiyun Peak by Perfected Yunxiao—reportedly to properly grind down her temper—and Xie Yu’an hadn’t come either, seemingly staying behind at Piaomiao Peak to handle some matters.
Aside from Ji Bingyu, Zhong Ziqi, and Pei Leyue, there were fewer than ten scattered others. Among them was a disciple from the lineage of Sect master Chang qing named Jiang Nianbo. He wasn’t much older than Ji Bingyu, looked rather refined and dashing, and yet… oddly enough, he didn’t look anything like a disciple of Chang qing.
“Heh, if I hadn’t confirmed seeing Senior Brother Jiang at Taiyue Peak,” Pei Leyue muttered quietly, “I would’ve sworn he was a disciple under Uncle Qianming.”
Ji Bingyu silently nodded in agreement.
Perhaps because Ji Bingyu had been sizing him up for too long, Jiang Nianbo suddenly turned his head to lock eyes with her.
“Junior Sister Ji.”
He gave Ji Bingyu a brief appraisal before retracting his gaze, speaking in a rigid, by-the-book tone.
“Listen to the lecture properly; do not engage in improper conduct.”
Ji Bingyu was startled, inexplicably hit with the uncanny illusion of being watched by the principal’s son.
“R-Right, Senior Brother!”
Ji Bingyu immediately straightened her posture completely. Putting on a matching solemn face, she stared strictly back at Jiang Nianbo.
“Senior Brother, why don’t you hurry up and turn your head back? A handsome and outstanding youth like you staring unblinkingly at me will greatly arouse my inner evil thoughts, making it impossible for me to concentrate on listening to the lecture properly!”
Jiang Nianbo: “…”
Meeting Ji Bingyu’s gaze, which was brimful of condemnation, Jiang Nianbo felt a lingering sense that he had been mocked by the other party, yet couldn’t quite pinpoint how.
And yet, if he were to claim those words of Ji Bingyu’s were a compliment, that didn’t seem entirely right either?
Hmph, Great-Grand-Uncle was right. These people from Xueyu Peak are truly all completely unhinged and need to be kept at a distance!
The Heaven’s Will, having witnessed the entire exchange: …
How should it put it? When it comes to acting shamelessly, this crowd still simply couldn’t out-shameless Ji Bingyu.
[Dad, pay close attention to this class.]
Breaking through heavy barriers and obstacles, the Heaven’s Will managed to transmit its voice to Ji Bingyu: [Jiang Nianbo is an important plot character!]
The Heaven’s Will offered a frantic hint: [Newly appeared! Special status! You’re not close with him!]
This was the absolute limit of the hints the Heaven’s Will could provide.
A three-syllable name…
A special status…
Not particularly acquainted with her…
Ji Bingyu’s gaze unconsciously drifted back toward Jiang Nianbo.
Newly appeared, three-syllable name, not close with me.
The only thing missing was a special status!
Thinking along those lines, Ji Bingyu couldn’t help muttering out loud.
“Senior Brother Jiang is, after all, a relative of Master Qianming’s household,” a female disciple whispered quietly to Ji Bingyu.
“Word has it he was originally supposed to enter Piaomiao Peak, but because his chosen weapon was the qin, it caught the sect master’s eye instead, which is why he went to Taiyue Peak.”
Ji Bingyu experienced a sudden moment of enlightenment!
No wonder Jiang Nianbo looked familiar just now!
Wasn’t it obvious? This fellow’s every single move and gesture was practically mimicking Master Qianming!
Yet he was still young, and when he spoke with such affected airs and deliberate tones, it lacked any of Master Qianming’s dignity and imposing aura. Instead, it carried a comical air of “drawing a tiger and ending up with a dog,” which was precisely the reason why Ji Bingyu found him more and more incongruous the longer she looked.
The more Ji Bingyu thought about it, the more certain she became, and her eyes grew brighter and brighter!
A blind student has discovered a blind spot!
As a result, Jiang Nianbo—who was trying to listen to the lecture earnestly—could feel a burning gaze fixed squarely on his back, scorching him as if it were a ball of flame meant to devour him whole.
Jiang Nianbo: “…”
Having grown up sheltered in an aristocratic ivory tower, when had Jiang Nianbo ever encountered someone as brazen and thick-skinned as Ji Bingyu? Recalling their earlier exchange, Jiang Nianbo’s brow furrowed tightly, his sitting posture growing even stiffer and straighter in a desperate bid to remain flawless, directly soaking the clothes across his back with sweat.
Master Leshui swept his gaze across the assembled disciples and casually called out Jiang Nianbo’s name.
“Jiang Nianbo, step up and demonstrate what you just learned for everyone.”
Master Leshui had just lectured on how to reasonably adapt and transform based on a weapon’s form in order to ride it through the air, and it was precisely the right moment for a student to demonstrate.
As a disciple under Chang qing and someone who had entered the sect a few years earlier than Ji Bingyu, such a trivial matter was naturally well within Jiang Nianbo’s capabilities.
He took a deep breath, stood up, and saluted respectfully to Master Leshui.
“Yes!”
Jiang Nianbo walked over to the open area.
With a flick of his wrist, a qin materialized, followed by him forming hand seals and chanting incantations under his breath as if communicating with his natal instrument.
The surrounding spiritual energy suddenly surged, kicking up gusts of wind.
The qin, which had been floating in midair, rapidly expanded, transforming into a moon-white floating skiff in the blink of an eye, with Jiang Nianbo already standing aboard it.
A handsome young master, refined and outstanding; a skiff as white as the moon, bathed in a pure radiance.
—Regardless of anything else, the visual spectacle was certainly dazzling enough!
No amount of textual description could compare to seeing it with one’s own eyes. Many of the disciples present watched with yearning hearts.
Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Master Leshui no longer held the disciples back, waving his sleeve as he commanded, “Go on! All of you, go give it a try!”
“As the saying goes, myriad thoughts yield no fixed path; spiritual weapons are born by drawing upon the vital energies of heaven and earth, and communicating with them does not rely on some rigid incantation! You only need to let them comprehend your state of mind!”
No sooner had Master Leshui’s voice faded than Pei Leyue bolted toward the open area first, followed closely by several other disciples who scrambled to find an open spot to practice.
Among those left behind, only Ji Bingyu and a male disciple in lavish attire remained.
Ji Bingyu had no interest in making small talk. She slowly scanned the surroundings, determined to find the absolute best spot to hide herself away.
After all, when making a fool of oneself, she certainly didn’t want too many people watching.
Yet almost every time Ji Bingyu arrived somewhere, that male disciple would follow right behind her. After happening several times in a row, quite a few disciples even began to notice something was amiss.
Three times is the limit. After bumping into the fellow for the fourth time, Ji Bingyu simply put away her suona, rolled her eyes at the male disciple, and asked helplessly, “I have no idea what grievance or enmity this fellow Daoist has with me that you must pursue me so relentlessly?”
Seeing that Ji Bingyu had finally deigned to pay attention to him, the male disciple’s eyes lit up instantly.
“I am Xie Wenrui of the Xie family’s direct lineage, born of the elder branch, and the eldest grandson of this generation of the—”
“Alright, understood, got it; you’re a grandson.”
Ji Bingyu disliked the way this person was looking at her—it was exceptionally disrespectful, resembling the way one might appraise a commodity waiting to be priced and sold.
And so, she brushed him off with perfunctory politeness.
“And then?”
If not for the consideration that she was representing Xueyu Peak’s image while outside, the retort “And then, turtle grandson?” would have slipped right past her lips.
“Nothing else, this humble self merely wishes to make the acquaintance of Miss Ji.”
Xie Wenrui tossed his head back, striking a smile he believed to be dashing and debonair.
“This humble self is currently staying at Piao Miao Peak as a guest disciple. I previously had the fortune of witnessing Miss Ji’s imposing demeanor during Master Qianming’s class, and I’ve been unable to forget it ever since…”
Ji Bingyu experienced a sudden epiphany.
“Oh! You’re the one who got scared into squawking like a chicken that day!”
Xie Wenrui’s facial muscles twitched, and he found it rather difficult to keep up his expression, yet when his gaze caught sight of Ji Bingyu’s face, he felt an overwhelming surge of desire.
Such a breathtaking beauty—if he were to marry her back home, how much prestige would that bring him? Most importantly, it would also slap Xuanyuan Fentian right across the face, while conveniently securing the precious treasures left behind by the Ji family.
It was practically killing multiple birds with one stone.
—Oh right, leaving everything else aside, any future children would definitely be born cute as snow-carved dolls. Well, he’d need at least three sons, minimum.
While Xie Wenrui was already indulging in wild fantasies, his face glowing with a hint of complacency, he said, “I was lacking in manners that day. I wonder if Miss Ji might be willing to give this humble self a chance to make amends?”
“Not willing,” Ji Bingyu answered decisively.
“Fellow Daoist and I are not acquainted.”
The subtext was: I don’t know you, now hurry up and scram.
“Don’t be so quick to refuse, Miss Ji can consider it a bit longer,” Xie Wenrui smiled.
“Let us get to know each other first. Perhaps Miss Ji will find that this humble self isn’t half bad?”
Never before had Ji Bingyu been so grateful for Xuanyuan Fentian’s existence.
She faked a smile and said, “I have a fiancé.”
“I won’t mind,” Xie Wenrui’s eyes lit up, as if he had caught sight of hope. “As long as Miss Ji promises to make a clean break with him and have no further dealings after marriage, strictly adhering to the virtues expected of a woman, I will explain things to my family and ensure you can enter the Xie family ancestral hall.”
Ji Bingyu: “…”
This statement—who knows how many centuries ago it should have been buried in the dirt.
Seeing her fall silent, Xie Wenrui assumed she had been dazzled by his charm. He flashed Ji Bingyu a greasy smile.
“Ever since I laid eyes on you, beautiful lady, I’ve been driven mad with longing. I haven’t been able to eat or sleep properly since meeting Miss Ji. I only hope Miss Ji will give this humble self a chance—I definitely won’t disappoint you.”
Hardened.
Her fists hardened once again.
Ji Bingyu took a deep breath.
She firmly reminded herself that this was Enlightenment Hall, and Master Qianming seemed to be lecturing right next door today.
She absolutely must not make a scene again.
The Heaven’s Will, which was keeping a constant eye on the situation here, felt immensely relieved.
Ji Bingyu has finally grown up, become sensible, and learned to temper her quick fuse.
It quietly withdrew its attention, planning to go challenge Rong Qingyuan to a single combat session once more!
The “finally grown-up” Ji Bingyu slowly turned to look at Xie Wenrui. After taking several deep breaths, she squeezed out a fake smile.
No, I must be a proper lady, a well-behaved and sensible little junior sister.
Ji Bingyu turned around and walked away briskly.
Not far off, Pei Leyue also seemed to have noticed the situation on this end.
Steering his floating skiff directly over, he rapidly cut in between the two of them.
“Thanks a lot.”
After boarding his flying skiff, Ji Bingyu let out a sigh of relief and praised, “This floating skiff of yours shaped like cuttlefish noodles is quite unique.”
“—Thank you.”
Pei Leyue squeezed out a smile that looked uglier than crying.
“Though the flying skiff I actually wanted to manifest was a Black Obsidian Golden Dragon.”
Ji Bingyu: …
As expected, after spending too long being sarcastic, one forgets how to speak like a human being on short notice.
She silently chose to keep her mouth shut.
To Ji Bingyu’s surprise, while Zhong Ziqi was being held back by Master Leshui and couldn’t break free, the female disciple who had earlier reminded her of Jiang Nianbo’s identity rushed to her side alongside Jiang Nianbo, helping her block Xie Wenrui.
Ji Bingyu remembered that the female disciple was named Hu Jiaojiao, a outer-sect disciple from Taiyue Peak who was exceptionally talented and diligent.
Just as Ji Bingyu voiced her thanks to the group, Hu Jiaojiao waved her hand and said cheerfully, “It’s nothing. Junior Sister, if you need anything else, just say the word.”
Touched as she was, Ji Bingyu couldn’t help but feel curious.
Quietly tugging at the corner of Pei Leyue’s sleeve, she asked him what exactly this Xie Wenrui’s background was.
For some unknown reason, she kept feeling as though the name sounded strangely familiar.
This single question finally brought out the underlying cause.
As it turned out, this Xie Wenrui was also a disciple of the Xie family, biologically considered Xie Yu’an’s cousin.
Due to physical health reasons, he had been unable to participate in the Newcomer Trials, so the Xie family pulled some strings to place him at Piaomiao Peak.
“I only just found out today that the reason Yu’an didn’t come was because he accidentally fell into the water yesterday.”
Pei Leyue said discontentedly, “Word has it Xie Wenrui was also present at the time. If you ask me, maybe Xie Wenrui intentionally set up Yu’an to steal his spot.”
…That possibility really couldn’t be ruled out.
After all, Xie Yu’an was afraid of water.
Connecting all the clues together—accompanied by the Heaven’s Will’s previous mention of “Xie Yu’an being abused by his family” and “blackening after repeated abuse”—Ji Bingyu cast a thoughtful glance toward the distance.
Very good, you little piece of trash, I’ve remembered you.
However, the pressing priority right now was still to master the contents of this class; vengeance could wait until after class was over.
Ji Bingyu found an open area, dispersed from Pei Leyue and the others, and began practicing on her own.
Yet after a long while had passed, when it was almost time for class to end, Ji Bingyu—despite trying every trick in the book—still couldn’t grasp the key to it.
The suona remained as unyielding as a mountain; far from changing shape, not even the slightest micro-movement had occurred.
Ji Bingyu fell into complete despair, her face turning wooden as she chanted every single spell she could think of under her breath.
“Guru Noodle God, total body transformation—”
“Avada Kedavra Wakanda Big Melon—”
Just as despair was taking root in Ji Bingyu’s heart, Xie Wenrui’s voice floated over from afar once again, emerging from who knew which realm of the underworld.
“Miss Ji—”
Ji-your-grandma’s-leg!
With a crisp ‘snap’, the string inside Ji Bingyu’s already-frazzled mind snapped completely!
To hell with being a lady! To hell with being sensible! To hell with being well-behaved!
Why couldn’t this suona cover this infuriating annoyance upside-down like the Leifeng Pagoda?!
This was purely a wild, utterly irrational thought born out of Ji Bingyu’s rage.
Yet, beyond all her expectations, such a simple, single thought actually caused the suona to start expanding—
Expanding—
Expanding even further—
With a loud ‘BOOM’, the suona—inflating endlessly like a water bead—suddenly slammed down upside-down right over Xie Wenrui’s head at lightning speed! Keeping this pose, it rotated 360 degrees in every direction—North, South, East, and West—before unleashing a long, groundhog-like screech, finally coming to a steady rest right in front of Ji Bingyu.
It looked practically like a small mountain, immensely breathtaking.
Divine Justice from the Heavens.
Ji Bingyu: “…”
Ah, her spiritual weapon… might, perhaps, be just a tiny bit short-tempered.
Yet for the very first time, Ji Bingyu felt that ‘Na’ was so adorable.
This so-called “heart-to-heart connection”—she seemed to understand it a little bit now.
A nearby disciple who had witnessed the entire scene swallowed his saliva in sheer terror.
His finger trembled as he stuttered out a question after a long pause,”J-Junior Sister Ji, how on earth did you transform your spiritual weapon into such a state? Is there some trick to it?”
Raising a city out of flat ground was nothing more than this!
Ji Bingyu turned to him and summarized her formula in concise terms.
“Change-change-change, jump-jump-jump, trap-trap-trap.”
Disciple: “???”
Seeing that the other party half-believed and half-doubted her, Ji Bingyu turned back to the suona.
Concentrating her mind, she recalled Xie Wenrui’s ‘overbearing CEO quotes’ from just now, fully mobilizing her anger.
“Na! Grow big—! Jump up—Na! Trap him to death—! Yes, exactly, great shot!—Ah, sorry, slipped of the tongue.”
The suona spun and leaped once more in tandem with Ji Bingyu’s words.
The more joyfully Ji Bingyu laughed in her heart, the more excited the suona seemed to get, making its movements even more energetic.
Accompanied by the shaking of the earth and mountains, waves of screams from Xie Wenrui echoed from within.
Ji Bingyu flashed a satisfied smile and looked sincerely at that disciple.
“Ah, right, that last sentence doesn’t count.”
The disciple, utterly dazed,”It’s really that simple?”
“Yes.”
Ji Bingyu pondered for a moment, attempting to crack a joke,”Perhaps this is a case where the most delicious ingredients often require only the simplest cooking methods?”
She had originally intended to liven up the atmosphere.
However, after staring blankly back and forth at each other for three seconds, she realized he had no intention of laughing whatsoever???
On the contrary, his gaze grew increasingly terrified, as if he were scared she might eat him???
Wait…?!
Belatedly realizing the issue, Ji Bingyu looked up to see Jiang Nianbo not far away, his face a complicated mix of shock and horror.
She immediately tried to explain, “No, I’m not—”
“What happened here?”
With such a massive commotion going on, it was impossible for Master Leshui to ignore it. Pinching the timing perfectly, he arrived at Ji Bingyu’s side.
Seeing a ring of disciples already gathered around, he raised an eyebrow.
“Did something go awry with your flying skiff practice?”
He didn’t mention a single word about Xie Wenrui.
Ji Bingyu caught on instantly.
She put on a flawless, shy smile.
“It’s Senior Brother Xie; he wanted to make friends with this disciple.”
“And this disciple happened to be practicing the unique skill of taming the suona into a flying skiff.”
“Senior Brother Xie probably thought it looked interesting? In short, he climbed inside the suona all on his own!”
Master Leshui’s eyelids twitched violently at the explanation.
He told Ji Bingyu to let the person out first.
Ji Bingyu blinked, and before she could even open her mouth, a furious roar bellowed out.
“JI BINGYU!!!!!”
Master Qianming descended from the sky riding his long flute. Always one to strictly observe etiquette, this time he didn’t even greet Master Leshui, landing straight in front of Ji Bingyu and spritzing his rage directly at her—
“JI! BING! YU!” Master Qianming roared, “What did you do when entering your name into the Floating Leaf Token?!”
Sprayed until she was utterly bewildered, Ji Bingyu replied,”I didn’t do anything ah.”
Master Qianming was so enraged that the black mist surrounding him nearly condensed into solid matter.
“Impossible! If you didn’t do anything, how could entering your code name into the Disciple Register end up directly destroying the entire register?!”
The Floating Leaf Token was something every disciple participating in the inner-sect martial tournament possessed.
Recorded on this token was each disciple’s true name, but they also needed to assign themselves a code name.
On the tournament stage, blurring one’s appearance and using only a code name helped reduce incidents of private vendettas after losing a match.
Unless the disciple themselves permitted it, no one could see the code name chosen by the disciple.
This was precisely the reason for Master Qianming’s fury.
Even though the Xuanguang Register froze, he still didn’t know what kind of bizarre code name Ji Bingyu had chosen.
It had been over three hundred years! From the creation of the Xuanguang Register until now, there had never been a single issue!
Putting herself in Master Qianming’s shoes, Ji Bingyu also felt it was quite tragic.
This was equivalent to when your project proposal was down to the very last line, or your essay had been revised down to the very last word—and click, the power went out before the file was saved.
Just thinking about it made Ji Bingyu feel suffocated.
However, wrong accusations were wrong accusations.
Ji Bingyu maintained steadfastly,”I didn’t! Uncle Ganming, this time it really wasn’t me!”
In Master Qianming’s eyes, this was entirely Ji Bingyu putting up a deathbed struggle.
Master Qianming said, “This token relies on pinching the top with your index and middle fingers while pouring spiritual energy into it. Are you certain you didn’t do it?”
Ji Bingyu said decisively, “I didn’t!”
Master Leshui chimed in, “Ahem, Qianming ah…”
Master Qianming flicked his sleeve and snapped pettily, “Leshui, if you still consider me your senior brother, don’t plead on her behalf!”
He turned to Ji Bingyu,”Then do you dare to hand over your token?”
Ji Bingyu said, “Why wouldn’t I dare!”
She retrieved the Floating Leaf Token from her storage ring and handed it over to Master Qianming.
Master Qianming tapped on the dark green stone, rapidly channeling a thread of spiritual energy into it, and sneered, “You still won’t confess? Must this old man make your code name public for all to see?”
Ji Bingyu stuck her neck out stubbornly.
“Go ahead and publish it! This disciple really didn’t do it.”
Refusing to shed a tear until facing the coffin.
Master Qianming humph-ed coldly. It just so happened he also wanted to see what on earth Ji Bingyu had done to cause the Xuanguang Register—which hadn’t failed in hundreds of years—to suddenly freeze up.
Without the disciple’s own permission, no one could learn their code name.
Thus, no matter how furious Master Qianming had been earlier, he hadn’t been able to find out Ji Bingyu’s code name.
Now having obtained the owner’s explicit consent, Master Qianming looked at Ji Bingyu with an insincere smile and pressed his index finger down firmly.
In a flash of lightning, Ji Bingyu suddenly remembered.
When Li Fuqing handed her the Floating Leaf Token earlier, hadn’t a eerie streak of green light flashed across it…?!
If Eldest Senior Brother had accidentally activated the Floating Leaf Token back then…?!
“Wait—”
Before Ji Bingyu could get the words out, her own voice blared out from the dark green token.
It was the exact code name she had uttered with her own mouth back then—
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAH HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HA HONK HONK HONK HAHAHA HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HONK HA HONK HA HONK HA HONK HA HONK HONK HONK—”
Ji Bingyu: “…”
Master Qianming: “…”
Master Leshui & All the Disciples: “…”
Alright, now everyone knew why the Xuanguang Register had frozen 🙂
The goose honks reverberated through the heaven and earth, scattering the dark clouds and kicking up wild gales, driving the birds and beasts into a frantic panic.
After a long silence, Ji Bingyu attempted to save some face for herself.
“Uncle Qianming, look on the bright side.”
She wiped her face and hesitated, “Uh… at least we didn’t only find out on the day of the tournament?”
“—JI BINGYU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
