Dong Huang Clock Tower.

The air seemed to be frozen in the solemn hall.

Elder Bo Yan sat at the front with not much of an expression on his face. Only his slightly clenched fists reflected that his current mood wasn’t as calm as it seemed on the surface.

In front of him were the four people who had just come out of Million Wine Mountain.

“…That’s basically what happened.” Elder Ouyang narrated the entire story once, and he almost spoke until his mouth was dry.

Then, the hall fell into silence again.

After a while, Elder Bo Yan said gradually, “So you guys rushed over early in the morning because… the few of you destroyed half of Million Wine Mountain?”

Shang Yulin couldn’t help but remind, “It’s mainly to help Chu Yue refine the Chi Xiao Sword’s weapon soul… The weapon soul—ahem, ruined some trees and rocks, and…” That fountain is still fine! 

He didn’t finish his last sentence, and his tone became much lighter when he said the first few words under Elder Bo Yan’s solidifying stare.

Everyone who understood Elder Bo Yan knew that he rarely got angry. But once he was furious, it would be very hard to handle!

Even Shang Yulin and Elder Ouyang—who had worked with him for so many years—felt a faint sense of coldness.

“Chu Yue, this means that this incident still started because of you?”

Chu Liuyue’s shoulders dropped, and she hung his head slightly. “I was impulsive and made a huge mistake. Elder Bo Yan, please punish me.”

“Of course, you should be punished.” Elder Bo Yan really didn’t know what to say. This Chu Yue—just as I thought he would be more obedient and stop his troublemaking ways, he caused new trouble again! And it is even more serious than the previous time! This time, he has even implicated Shang Yulin and Ouyang! Oh yes, and a Rong Xiu! 

“Elder Bo Yan, if I didn’t take the initiative to propose the idea, Junior Brother Chu Yue wouldn’t have gone to Million Wine Mountain today.” Rong Xiu spoke calmly and also very sincerely. “Previously, I promised you that I would guide Junior Brother Chu Yue properly, so the person who should be punished is me.”

Elder Bo Yan was so furious that he laughed. “Do you think I won’t punish you?! You can’t be absolved of responsibility in this incident! Rong Xiu, you’re very capable, but you should see if it will work and if you can handle the responsibility!”

“None of you can escape from this!” His gaze swept across the few of them. What kind of place is Million Wine Mountain? It’s fine if Chu Yue didn’t know, but the remaining three know very clearly. Under such a situation, they still dared to do such a thing. They are literally defying the heavens! 

The four of them fell silent—even Shang Yulin had lost his temper and stood obediently.

Elder Bo Yan closed his eyes. “Is there anyone else who knows about this?”

Elder Ouyang replied, “Other than the people inside this hall, nobody else knows.”

This also meant that only Elder Bo Yan had received news of this so far.

This made Elder Bo Yan relax a little. If this matter was blown up, it wouldn’t be easy to resolve it. 

He fell into deep thought and started considering how to punish the few of them.

Time seemed to pass especially slowly.

Elder Bo Yan didn’t speak, and the four of them maintained their silence.

Finally, after some time, Elder Bo Yan looked up at Chu Liuyue first. “Chu Yue.”

“I’m here.”

“Was the weapon soul refinement successful?”

“Elder, it’s done.”

Elder Bo Yan nodded. Even though this incident is ridiculous, it can’t be considered unfruitful. The Yuan instrument has already become Chu Yue’s, and nobody can steal or take it away. It can be considered a good thing that he could refine the weapon soul and merge it completely. 

Even though everyone didn’t say much about the Yuan instrument recognizing Chu Yue as its owner, in actual fact, a large portion of the elders in the know was very unhappy.

The academy had made preparations a long time ago and had put in a lot of effort to snatch the item back again. But in the end, it was taken by a new student who had just come to the academy two months ago. They naturally wouldn’t be elated.

But as this incident had already happened and they couldn’t change it, they could only accept it as it was.

Chu Yue could only use his abilities to prove himself and convince those people.

Actually, Elder Bo Yan thought highly of Chu Yue, which was also why he gave the latter chances repeatedly. Even though Chu Yue had gone against the rules several times, he still largely stood on Chu Yue’s side.

Chu Yue has gone overboard in this incident, but I really can’t do much to him. After much thinking, the refined weapon soul is the only good news. While Elder Bo Yan comforted himself, he waved his hand toward Chu Liuyue. “Alright, you can go back first. Later on, I’ll discuss with your mentor and see how we can punish you.”

An idea popped up in Chu Liuyue’s head. She instantly guessed that Elder Bo Yan probably had some things he wanted to discuss with the other three, so she sensibly left first.

“Yes.” She bowed and quickly left the hall. Her movements were clean and succinct, without any form of hesitation.

When her figure had completely disappeared outside the door, Elder Bo Yan looked at the remaining three people.

He finally knitted his brows gradually, and his voice became increasingly stern. “Did this commotion affect that fountain?”

“No,” answered Elder Ouyang immediately. “At that time, all of us were above the mountain peak, and we were a distance away from the fountain.”

In actual fact, all those lightning bolts were absorbed by the Chi Xiao Sword. Only the after-effects had caused some damage to the surroundings, but everything else was safe.

Of course, this wasn’t considering Chu Yue’s last unintentional slash.

“Okay then. However, I’ll still have to go over and check personally later,” said Elder Bo Yan.

The three of them had no objections to this. The fountain was very important, and it was normal for Elder Bo Yan to treat it so seriously and carefully.

“We must seal this news and not let anyone else find out about it.” With an additional person knowing about this, there would be additional trouble.

“Even though it’s understandable that you helped today, you still have to be punished.” Elder Bo Yan glanced at the three of them. “Go back and think about what you should do about this!”

…

The sky gradually got brighter.

When Chu Liuyue walked out of Dong Huang Clock Tower, it was already morning. However, there weren’t many people at Qing Ming Square at this time, so nobody saw her walk out.

Chu Liuyue turned around and glanced at the tightly shut door. Then, she pressed her lips against each other, turned around, and went toward Jiuheng Peak.

…

When she returned to Jiuheng Peak… The moment Chu Liuyue landed on the ground, she felt that something was amiss.

She paused and still went forward. Following that, she opened the door and saw a familiar face.

Dugu Mobao was sitting cross-legged. When he heard the noise, he looked up.

“Big Baby—” Chu Liuyue called him. When she met those purple demonic-like eyes, she felt guilty for some reason.

Dugu Mobao looked at her quietly in that manner. “You went to Million Wine Mountain during the restricted hours again?”