"Enough!"
Li Tingyun raised a hand coldly, interrupting their conversation.
Xiao Mo suddenly thought of something, his face turned even paler.
He said with trepidation and entreaty, "Sect Leader... it really wasn't me..."
Li Tingyun cast a silencing spell, and his voice instantly vanished.
An ordinary sect disciple was not someone he needed to concern himself with.
"You instigated senior disciples of the sect to commit mistakes. The Wushang Sect cannot tolerate you. From today onwards, you are expelled from the Wushang Sect." Li Tingyun frowned with disgust, then looked at Bai Shengyi. "Young friend Bai, the main culprit is handed over to you for disposal. Is that acceptable now?"
He stared grimly at Bai Shengyi and added forcefully, "If young friend Bai is still not satisfied, our Wushang Sect does not mind escalating the matter further."
Li Tingyun's gaze swept over the onlookers who were keeping a distance, his threat undisguised.
"Damn it! Disgusting!" Feng Wuya muttered lowly. If Luo Feihua hadn't held him back, he would have charged out and started cursing.
He had never seen such an overbearing and cruel sect as the Wushang Sect!
Bai Shengyi, however, remained very calm. She did not answer Li Tingyun, but instead stepped forward and asked Xiao Mo, "You were the one who captured the person, right?"
The silencing spell was lifted by Bai Shengyi. Xiao Mo immediately shook his head. "It wasn't me, really, it wasn't me! Senior Brother Li ordered me to do it!"
"But you were the one who captured the person." Bai Shengyi smiled, but her eyes didn't reach her smile. She then asked, "You were the one who inquired about the Spirit Root Impurity Removal Pill, weren't you?"
Xiao Mo met her gaze, which seemed to see through everything, and stammered, "Uh... yes..."
Bai Shengyi's smile grew colder.
She beckoned to Bai Yuyue, who immediately stepped forward and tied the person up.
"I already said it wasn't..." Xiao Mo struggled and screamed, but Bai Yuyue directly gagged him.
Bai Shengyi said unhurriedly to Li Tingyun, "Sect Leader Li is magnanimous and fair in his dealings. I am deeply impressed."
She emphasized the word "fair," her smile neither here nor there, her gaze sharp and transparent.
Li Tingyun felt a blockage in his throat, making him extremely uncomfortable.
Yet, Bai Shengyi, as if unfazed by him using Xiao Mo to substitute Li Yihui, continued, "Since Sect Leader Li has handed this person over to me for disposal, I hope the Wushang Sect will not regret it, no matter how I deal with him."
"Of course! You can kill him or skin him however you please!" Li Yihui said quickly.
Xiao Mo's face turned deathly pale.
Bai Shengyi ignored Li Yihui and asked, "Sect Leader Li, what do you say?"
Li Tingyun did not want to speak.
Bai Shengyi waved her hand and said to Bai Yuyue, "Take him, let's go! Take him to the execution ground!"
Bai Yuyue did not understand Bai Shengyi's actions but still escorted the person.
"Sect Leader, should we send someone to keep an eye on them?" Yuan Bingxin reminded cautiously.
Li Tingyun withdrew his sinister gaze from Bai Shengyi, gave her a look of unfathomable depth, and then said coldly to the sect disciples kneeling on the ground, "Useless! All of you get back and accept your punishment! Have Red Valley pick a new batch of disciples! Useless trash!"
What a disgrace!
Yuan Bingxin's heart sank. Disregarding their location outside, she quickly knelt down. "Sect Leader, please calm your anger!"
"Sect Leader, please calm your anger!" the others echoed.
Even Li Yihui behaved himself, not daring to speak further.
"Send someone to keep an eye on them," Li Tingyun said indifferently and coldly. "One day, this lord..." His voice trailed off, then he pointed at Yuan Bingxin and Li Yihui. "You two, get upstairs."
Anping City still maintained the city wall design from its time as the imperial capital. Within the city, the liveliest place was not the bustling street occupied by merchants, but the execution ground in the northwest corner, where criminals were punished in the past.
Bai Shengyi and her party made no attempt to conceal themselves, dragging Xiao Mo along. Their procession attracted countless gazes, especially from the cultivators of the various sects residing in the city.
After the scene at the meeting, Bai Shengyi had already become a target of secret investigation by various sects, who were eager to unearth her entire lineage.
Her face was not unfamiliar to the various sects, and the cultivator being dragged in the middle wore the attire of the Wushang Sect. Upon seeing this, disciples from various sects immediately reported the news back.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, many people were secretly observing them.
"Master," Bai Yuyue said, having followed orders and dumped the person on the steps of the execution ground, then hesitated to speak.
Bai Shengyi said, "Just say what you have to say. When did you pick up the bad habit of stuttering like others?"
"Why don't we just let him apologize to Qiuyu and be done with it?" Just as Bai Shengyi protected them, they did not want to cause trouble for Bai Shengyi.
Bai Yuyue understood her master very well. Seeing her demeanor, she was determined to stir up trouble throughout Anping City.
If so, it would mean completely alienating the Wushang Sect.
"If he doesn't apologize, will you be disappointed?" Bai Shengyi turned her head and asked.
"Of course not," Bai Yuyue shook her head. "Although Li Yihui is arrogant and overbearing, he wasn't entirely wrong in one thing. Qiuyu is just a mortal, and his life is inherently cheap. We and Aunt Qiuyu are already very satisfied that Master could come to help today."
After all, he was just their younger brother, and what relation did he have to their master?
And mortals, people who cannot cultivate, are destined to have their lives as fragile as paper scraps and their fates beyond their own control in this world.
"No one's life is cheap," Bai Shengyi corrected her, disagreeing. Then she instructed, "Go find a gong and drum."
"Huh?" Bai Yuyue was momentarily stunned by the abrupt change of topic, but she quickly sent someone to fetch them.
As soon as they arrived, before Bai Shengyi could give any orders, Feng Wuya immediately snatched them and began to beat them loudly.
He shouted, "Everyone, come and see! Come and see! This is the person, a disciple of the Outer Continent's Wushang Sect, who colluded with the chief disciple of the Wushang Sect, the daughter of the Glorious Emperor Jun, to bully commoners and capture ordinary people for drug testing! Everyone, hurry..."
Feng Wuya had been holding back a surge of frustration for a long time. Now that he understood Bai Shengyi's intentions, he felt like applauding.
He was a gifted orator, eloquent and persuasive, and showed no fear facing so many people. He recounted how the Wushang Sect had bullied people and made threats.
The other sects, which had been monitoring their movements, were astonished.
"Holy cow! Is Shenqi Mountain this bold now?"
"Shenqi Mountain is trying to flay the Wushang Sect!"
"Quick! Quickly report this matter to Master and the others!"
"And you, junior brother, you're best at stealth. Go and see what the Wushang Sect looks like right now! Whether senior brothers and sisters can enjoy the fun for the rest of the afternoon depends on your skills!"
...
The small execution ground became as lively as a festival.
Countless divine senses and spiritual senses crisscrossed. Cultivators strained their necks, eager to catch the freshest "gossip."
Even more so, disciples from top-tier sects like the Xuan Nü Sect, who were not afraid of the Wushang Sect, stood openly below the platform.
Among the disciples of the Xuan Nü Sect, the leader was an acquaintance Bai Shengyi had met before – Alchemist Xuan Fang.
After hearing Feng Wuya's accusations, Alchemist Xuan Fang couldn't help but ask, "Is the Wushang Sect on the verge of collapse?"