Chapter 967: Supreme Luo Qiu

At first, Sha Rulai had not known what had happened. Luo Fangfei had handled the matter quietly, just as she had quietly arranged for Niu Youdao to be brought into Sacred Realm in the first place. She had simply tried to please him without claiming any credit for it.

Then someone from his master's side suddenly came with a message summoning husband and wife together.

Luo Fangfei could not resist asking what her father wanted them for. The messenger instead asked whether she had sent Niu Youdao out of Sacred Realm.

Luo Fangfei said yes. Sha Rulai was speechless on the spot.

The messenger gave a bitter smile and said the matter had displeased the other Sacred Lands. They were already demanding to know what was going on and pressing the Sacred Venerable for an explanation.

Sha Rulai understood immediately. The matter had grown somewhat serious. The same principle still applied: the Sacred Realm tempering had been jointly decided by the Nine Saints. It was not something any one Sacred Land could dictate. Now someone had disrupted it, so Daluo Sacred Land naturally had to provide an explanation.

From deep behind the hall came steady, unhurried footsteps.

Before long, an old man in green robes emerged from the rear hall. He was lean, not especially tall, and looked entirely ordinary, merely clean and neat. Yet when his eyes swept across the room with a faintly disdainful cast, the force of long-standing supremacy was impossible to miss. The restrained vitality within him also gave the impression that it might erupt at any moment.

The newcomer was none other than Luo Qiu, one of the nine supreme experts. Among the major sects of today's cultivation world, only a handful of people had ever seen him.

Most people outside Sacred Realm could meet him face-to-face and still have no idea who he was.

"Greetings, Sacred Venerable!" Husband and wife saluted formally and properly. The occasion called for that form of address, and necessary rules were still rules.

Luo Qiu did not slow his steps. He walked straight up to the two of them and stopped only when he was very close. His gaze moved from one to the other. Finally, he shifted slightly until he stood directly before Sha Rulai and said evenly, "Rulai, there are a few things I want to ask you."

Sha Rulai replied respectfully, "Please ask, Master. This disciple will tell you everything I know."

Luo Qiu said, "Before this, I didn't want to ask too much. A small matter wasn't worth wasting words over. But enough small matters accumulated together can become a major one. There are things the girl has done that I don't understand. You're the man who shares her pillow. When it comes to understanding a woman, a father may not know her as well as her husband does. She was perfectly fine, so why did she suddenly put Niu Youdao on the Sacred Realm list? She was perfectly fine, so why did she suddenly run to Shouque Villa and send Niu Youdao out of Sacred Realm? Rulai, I want to hear your view."

Luo Fangfei hurriedly said, "Father, this has nothing to do with Senior Brother..."

"Girl, you're not young anymore. Have you forgotten all sense of propriety?" Luo Qiu swept her with a cold glance and said in a tone that remained exceptionally calm and steady. "I'm asking your Senior Brother. Don't interrupt. I want to hear his explanation."

Sha Rulai's lips tightened. Lowering his head, he said, "The fault is entirely this disciple's. I was the one who urged Junior Sister to do it."

"No..." Luo Fangfei grew anxious, but the words at her lips were blocked by another cold look from Luo Qiu.

Still, when she bit her lip and looked toward Sha Rulai, her eyes were full of tenderness. Sweetness flooded her heart. The matter clearly had nothing to do with Senior Brother, and she herself had made the mistake. He bore no responsibility at all, yet he had taken everything onto himself for her sake.

In her eyes, no matter how coldly Senior Brother had treated her before, this alone made everything worthwhile. It proved that she still had a place in his heart.

Luo Qiu gave an "Oh?" and continued, "Why? Niu Youdao is merely Niu Youdao. Why would he make you go to such lengths? I want a reason."

Sha Rulai fell silent briefly, composing an explanation. "This disciple encountered him in Tiangu. He behaved recklessly, so I intended to force him into a dead end and teach him a lesson. Unexpectedly, he escaped disaster. When the Sacred Realm tempering came along, this disciple thought to use the opportunity to teach him another lesson."

Luo Qiu said, "Niu Youdao is nothing but an ant. If my direct disciple wanted to crush him to death, would it require this much effort? If you wanted him dead, you could simply kill him. He cannot stir up any waves. Why go to such trouble? I'm not satisfied with that explanation. Give me another."

If Niu Youdao had heard such words and learned that his name was being mentioned over and over by the dignified Sacred Venerable of Daluo Sacred Land, one wondered whether he would have felt honored.

Sha Rulai, however, found himself in difficulty. Saying he wanted to teach Niu Youdao a lesson was not acceptable. Saying he wanted to kill him made the whole matter seem far too simple. What other explanation was he supposed to produce?

Seeing him unable to answer for so long, Luo Qiu said slowly, "There must be a cause behind every event. Why you acted, you should know in your own heart. If you cannot say it, then there is only one possibility: it is inconvenient to speak aloud. In that case, may I understand it as you harboring some thought about this Niu Youdao, some thought you do not wish others to know? If you will not speak even in front of me, may I take that to mean it is a thought inconvenient to voice before me? What sort of thought would require you to hide it from me?"

The implication behind those words had become dangerous, almost an accusation aimed directly at the heart.

Sha Rulai hurriedly explained, "Master, I have no such thought. It was purely coincidence."

Luo Fangfei's heart was pounding with alarm as well. She rushed to explain. At this point, she had to. Otherwise something serious might happen. "Father, it isn't what you think. Senior Brother truly knew nothing. I hid it from him and acted on my own."

"The girl is speaking up for you. Tell me, should I listen to her explanation?" Luo Qiu circled behind the two of them and brought his mouth close to the back of Sha Rulai's head, beside his ear. "A daughter grows up and her elbow naturally bends outward. Do you think she might deceive me to protect you?"

Luo Fangfei hurriedly said, "Father, no. Your daughter will tell the truth. I would never dare conceal anything from you."

"It would seem a little unreasonable not even to hear my own daughter's explanation." Luo Qiu abruptly turned and looked toward the open hall, standing back-to-back with the two of them, hands clasped behind him. "Fine. Since my daughter insists on explaining, I'll hear what she has to say."

Luo Fangfei turned around. "Father, it truly has nothing to do with Senior Brother. Back when we were talking about the Sacred Realm tempering, Senior Brother merely asked about the roster..." She then explained the causes and consequences of both incidents from beginning to end. Under her father's pressure, and in order to protect Sha Rulai, she spoke in considerable detail and genuinely concealed nothing.

Sha Rulai's lowered face remained still, but the corners of his mouth tightened.

After hearing the explanation, Luo Qiu turned and walked back. Ignoring the daughter directly in front of him, he circled once more until he stood before Sha Rulai, who faced inward. Leaning forward slightly until his face was almost touching Sha Rulai's, he said softly, "I didn't want her to marry you in the first place. But this girl inexplicably took a liking to you and gave you her whole heart. I spoiled her too much when she was young. With that temper of hers, once she decided it had to be you, I had no way to marry her off to anyone else. If I married her into another family and she made a scene about looking for some other man, what then? She really could do something like that. There was no choice but to let her marry you. Did that wrong you?"

Sha Rulai hurriedly said, "No. I am the one who has wronged Junior Sister."

Luo Qiu said, "She is utterly devoted to you. If you tell her to go east, she won't go west. If you forbid her to do something, she absolutely won't do it. What you like becomes what she likes. She's thrown away even this old father's face. With a girl like that, why would you casually bring up Niu Youdao in front of her? You've been husband and wife for so many years. Did you really not know what she might do? Fine. Let's say the first incident truly surprised you. When she later said she would make Niu Youdao roll out of Sacred Realm, why didn't you stop her?"

As he spoke, he slowly turned his head toward Luo Fangfei as well, as though asking whether she had never considered that herself.

Luo Fangfei had not thought deeply about it at all. Even now, she still had not.

Sha Rulai hurriedly explained, "The first time truly was unexpected. This time also surprised this disciple. I hoped she would run into a wall and perhaps change that temper of hers. I believed Ding Wei could never possibly agree to release Niu Youdao. Who could have known Ding Wei would happen not to be there? That was genuinely beyond this disciple's expectations."

Luo Qiu asked, "If you had spoken, she would not have done it. It could have been prevented. Correct?"

Sha Rulai said with difficulty, "It was all this disciple's fault."

"Fine. It was an accident. I accept your explanation." Luo Qiu straightened and nodded. "And yes, it would be good if this girl's temper could change. I would like that too. This isn't some great matter. What's done is done. But Rulai, I still want to remind you of something."

Sha Rulai said, "This disciple is listening."

Luo Qiu said, "People in the mortal world say that even an upright magistrate finds family disputes difficult to judge. There is truth in that. Outsiders have a hard time interfering in family affairs. She has already married you. There are some matters between husband and wife that I can speak about, and others I cannot. What happens between the two of you behind closed doors, whether you make her happy or make her miserable, is not something I can govern. Killing a person is easy; forcing someone to love another is hard. But you need to understand something. A man who cannot even discipline his own woman is also lacking in ability. A man who can be hamstrung by the willfulness of the woman in his own household is not fit to shoulder great responsibilities. Keep her under control. It should be easy for you. She listens to you. I do not want this kind of thing happening again. Do you understand? Otherwise, you will bear the consequences!"

Sha Rulai replied, "Yes. This disciple will remember."

Luo Qiu nodded and swept his gaze across both their faces. "It's been many years since the three of us sat together and had a proper talk. I've said rather a lot today. Family matters are finished. Now let's talk about public business. A mistake is a mistake, and mistakes deserve punishment. I also owe the other Sacred Lands an explanation. Girl, you're sentenced to ten days of facing the wall in the cave and reflecting on your mistakes. Go."

Luo Fangfei immediately became unhappy. She stamped her foot and muttered, "Father, isn't it just one Niu Youdao? Is it really necessary to punish your daughter over him? In your eyes, am I not even as important as Niu Youdao?"

Luo Qiu said coldly, "One month facing the wall."

"..."

Luo Fangfei fell completely silent. She still wanted to say something, but Sha Rulai tugged lightly at her sleeve.

The moment Senior Brother stopped her, Luo Fangfei pursed her lips and instantly lost all temper. She obediently accepted it.

Luo Qiu saw the tiny gesture clearly and barked, "Someone! Take her away!"

Two people immediately entered from outside the hall, seized Luo Fangfei by the arms from either side, and directly escorted her away.

Luo Qiu swept his broad sleeve and turned away as well. After several steps, his figure abruptly flickered and vanished as though it had been an illusion.

A faint breeze slowly stirred through the hall. Left alone, Sha Rulai bowed slightly, then turned and departed too.

After leaving the great hall and walking halfway down the mountain, Sha Rulai suddenly turned to look back at the towering Sacred Hall. The series of questions from the man inside had placed enormous pressure on him, pressure that had nearly suffocated him. That fearsome pressure had always been there.

Outsiders envied the disciples of the nine supreme experts beyond measure. Only Sha Rulai himself knew what it truly felt like.

He turned back and continued down the mountain.

Inside one of the Sacred Hall's upper chambers, Luo Qiu stood behind a closed lattice window with his hands clasped behind his back. He stared indifferently at the figure descending the mountain, a faint flicker passing through his eyes.

[End of Chapter 967]