Chapter 30: A Day Tour of the Hall of Enforcement

Gu Qiu was actually quite curious, but years of habit and discipline kept him silent.

The little girl behind him, who looked no more than a dozen years old, showed no trace of panic when she saw them. Her composure was wholly at odds with her age—there was not even a flicker of fear in her eyes from start to finish.

Her cultivation at the sixth level of Qi Refining was already impressive for her age; when Gu Qiu was her age, he himself was only at the seventh level. Were it not for the rule that all outer sect disciples could not possess more than three spiritual roots, Gu Qiu might have believed she was a prodigy with dual spiritual roots.

Though they had already walked far—beyond the range an average sixth-level Qi Refining disciple’s divine sense could reach—Gu Qiu sensed that the young girl still heard the noisy voices behind them. Her expression darkened as if a cloud loomed over her brow. Yet just moments before, faced with so much discord at the courtyard gate, she had listened without the slightest change in countenance.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought she feared being brought to the Hall of Enforcement. That was interesting indeed.

Gu Qiu turned these thoughts over in his mind but betrayed nothing on his face. The four of them walked together in silence, following his steady pace, neither hurrying nor dawdling toward the Hall of Enforcement.

As they approached, they saw the chief of the Hall of Enforcement seated on the dais—a man known as Mo Daoyan, the current master of Heavenly Law Peak. Below him stood a man with his back to the main doors, reporting something to Master Suwen.

Due to the formation array isolating the hall, those outside could not overhear the conversation within. The man standing below the dais wore neither the robes of the Hall of Enforcement, nor the uniform of an inner sect disciple—just a pale blue long robe, his figure upright and poised.

Gu Qiu led Ji Yao and the other two to wait respectfully at the entrance. Only when Master Suwen nodded did Gu Qiu signal for Ji Yao to follow him inside. Ji Yao took a silent breath, maintaining a two-step distance behind Gu Qiu as she entered, while the other two paused at the threshold, bowed toward the hall, and then withdrew.

Gu Qiu noticed the little girl behind him had returned to the same calm state as when he first saw her at the courtyard gate, and he couldn’t help but feel amused—though his face remained impassive.

“Master, I have returned in place of Senior Brother to deliver the mission report,” Gu Qiu said, bowing and producing a token which he presented.

Master Suwen accepted the token and set it aside. “So your senior brother found another excuse to shirk his duties.”

“Senior Brother requests that Master see through clearly—he claims to have discovered an important clue and has gone to investigate.”

At this moment, the man in blue standing beside Gu Qiu bowed and spoke in a flat tone, “Uncle Master, since you have official business here, I will take my leave for now.”

Master Suwen raised a hand to halt him. “No need to hurry. Wait a moment nearby. Since Lu Ming says he has a lead, something must have been discovered. When matters here are settled, you may go after him and see if help is needed.”

“Yes, Uncle Master,” the man in blue replied, stepping to the side to wait.

Master Suwen continued, “Gu Qiu, later take Baiyun to the pavilion to retrieve the information.”

“Yes, Master.” Gu Qiu moved aside, revealing Ji Yao behind him, and stepped to the other side to stand.

Ji Yao felt as if ants were crawling under her skin, the fire of curiosity threatening to flare up again, but she forced herself to remain calm and betrayed nothing.

Just from these brief exchanges, Ji Yao had already deduced the identities of the two men before her. She hadn’t expected that the enforcer who had escorted her here was actually Master Suwen’s youngest disciple.

It was said that Master Suwen had accepted only two disciples in his life, both direct disciples. The elder disciple, Lu Ming, possessed a single gold spiritual root; the younger, Gu Qiu, had dual ice and earth roots. Both were outstanding among their generation.

As for the other, he was the stuff of legend, the leading man in countless romantic tales—the chief senior disciple of Lingyun Sect, Mu Baiyun! The youngest cultivator to achieve the Golden Core stage in the entire cultivation world!

His status, cultivation, and abilities went without saying—one did not reach such heights by being ordinary. Ji Yao longed to sneak a glance, curious to see what manner of handsome youth could so enrapture the famous fairy maidens of the realm, stirring their hearts and setting them at odds.

But she dared not—truly dared not make a careless move. This was the Hall of Enforcement of Lingyun Sect, presided over by Master Suwen himself.

This place was notorious in Lingyun Sect legends as somewhere one entered but never left.

Though Ji Yao didn’t believe she would be trapped in the Hall of Enforcement today, the rumors were so fearsome that she had to be cautious. Who knew if a careless word might doom her here?

She wondered if, on her way out later, she might be fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of that legendary senior disciple.

No matter her thoughts, she did not forget the proper etiquette. Ji Yao lowered her head, gathered her sleeves, bowed deeply to the dais, and said respectfully, “Outer Sect disciple Ji Yao greets Master Suwen.”

She then turned and gave a shallow bow to Mu Baiyun in his pale blue robe. “Greetings, Master Mu.”

Indeed, after forming a Golden Core, a cultivator could be addressed as “Master,” and since Mu Baiyun had not taken a Daoist title, he was referred to by his surname.

In fact, among the inner sect disciples, most unassigned Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment disciples would address Golden Core Mu Baiyun as “Uncle Master Mu.” Only true disciples, direct disciples, or registered disciples with a formal master would address him as “Senior Brother Mu.”

Perhaps sensing Ji Yao’s nervousness, Master Suwen’s tone was not severe when he spoke, and he even offered her a word of reassurance.

“Don’t be nervous. You were summoned only so we could ask about the recent situation of your fellow disciple Li Fanghua, who shares your courtyard.”

Ji Yao had anticipated this and had spent her walk here carefully recalling recent events.

“Please ask, Master. If this disciple knows anything, I will answer honestly.”

In truth, such a minor matter would never warrant the personal attention of the Hall’s chief. The death of an outer sect disciple without connections was ordinarily handled directly by the Outer Sect Affairs Hall. This time, however, Li Fanghua’s corpse was unusual. The matter could not be made public for fear of causing panic, so Master Suwen ordered the information sealed and came to question her personally.

“Very well. Tell me, have you noticed anything unusual in Li Fanghua’s behavior recently?”

Ji Yao hesitated. Could she say that she really wasn’t familiar with Li Fanghua? How was she to judge what counted as unusual?

Master Suwen, believing Ji Yao was apprehensive, reassured her, “Do not worry. Just speak honestly. Whatever is said here today will go no further than my ears and yours—no one else will know.”

Ji Yao realized Master Suwen had misunderstood and quickly replied, “Master, it’s not that I am afraid to speak, but rather I truly cannot say. I have never exchanged a single word with Senior Sister Li.”

Master Suwen seemed surprised, then glanced at Gu Qiu, who nodded. Only then did Master Suwen turn back to Ji Yao.

“Then think carefully—has she acted in any way different from usual these past days?”

Ji Yao thought back. “Senior Sister Li leaves early and returns late every day. We seldom cross paths, and if we do, it is always I who greet her first. She never responds—at most, she’ll nod.”

“If there is anything different, perhaps it was one evening half a month ago. I was returning to the courtyard and happened to see her leaving. Normally, she would not be at the courtyard at that hour, and she seemed to be in a great hurry.”

“Someone claims the two of you quarreled then,” Gu Qiu, who had been silent until now, interjected.