Wrongly Accused

"I-I'm going to have my own... my own courtyard?"

Hearing those stuttered words, coupled with Ye Zhihao's flushed and excited expression, Yin realized that he must have been neglected a lot, probably even to the point of having to experience countless sufferings, for him to be so thrilled over something as simple as having his own courtyard.

What if she had Old Fogey Mo buy him a stick of the greatest invention this mortal realm had ever made, tanghulu? Then wouldn't he be floored to the point of no return?

Aiya, so easy to please!

"Silly boy!" Arms akimbo, with her nose turned up so high she was nearly looking at the sky, Yin made a derisive yet elegant harrumph. "You dare underestimate me? This virtuous lady will even give you better things in the future, just learn to follow me with absolute conviction. Do you understand what I mean to say when I said absolute?"

"Y-Yes, of course, Boss! I promise that I will always follow Boss!"

Yin laughed loudly at his words.

Ah, being revered still is the best!

Maybe Yin should hurry up with her matchmaking plans and leave Leaf City soon. The faster she finds strong talents to nurture, the stronger her Church of Love would be.

More followers, more worshippers, more believers to the Dao of Love!

Ignoring that lurking elder-whoever from the Li Clan, Yin turned to leave, feeling great satisfaction at the reward she got for today's morning walk. She felt that this was truly a harvest.

In this little place alone, she had already found two toys with great potential, two lackeys that she could bring along her future journeys in exploring this mortal realm.

This Ye Zhihao might be a little shallow and ignorant, maybe even slow, but she was sure this little guy with an incomplete soul would bring plenty of amusing things in the future.

Her new toy might not have realized that he had just broken through, so she had to bring him back to Old Fogey Mo's place to stabilize his position in his improved cultivation level... well, er, what was the cultivation system of this realm?

Yin knew that Ye Zhihao now had exceeded the realm where fleshly bodies are refined. But she had no idea what it was called. Even the next levels, nobody had bothered to inform her!

She seemed to have forgotten that for most people, things like these were common sense. Given her 'background', everyone would not have doubted that she already knew the cultivation system practiced within Qing Blessed Lands.

Besides, she could not blame people for not telling her. She never asked in the first place!

"Hao'er," she asked with a solemn tone an elder uses to a junior, "What's your cultivation level now?"

Ye Zhihao instinctively lowered his head. "I-I'm just a new disciple that had just started cultivation... I'm still...uhh, the first level of the Body Washing realm..."

As he admitted that, his voice trailed off in shame. Divided into nine stages, the Body Washing realm was the first and lowest realm of cultivation. It focused on absorbing the spiritual qi from the heavens and earth and using it to temper and refine the fleshly body.

Genius cultivators like his paternal half-brother Li Mao could reach the peak of the first stage of the Body Washing realm in less than two months from Awakening. Even the youths with the most ordinary cultivation talents would take at most three months.

Despite being able to cultivate, Ye Zhihao had a trashy talent never seen before. It actually took him four and a half months to reach the peak of the first stage!

This was the reason why he could only be joined to the Ye Sect as a janitor disciple, while Li Mao who was just as old as him was an outer sect disciple.

"Boss, I am..."

Only at this moment did he truly understand that something inside him had changed. Beneath the strength of his healed fleshly body, he could feel the vigorous circulation of thick spiritual qi inside his body's meridians.

He broke through!

However, Ye Zhihao was unable to continue his words as a sudden oppressive force enveloped him, causing his head to buzz and the blood in his chest to feel stifled.

This was nothing like the pain he had experienced earlier. It was like all the air around him had compressed.

Suffocating!

He couldn't breathe!

As his consciousness began to fade, he seemed to have heard his little boss scoff. "Oh, no wonder a lurker like you dared to be so confident... you have this kind of toy with you..."

---

On the centermost courtyard inside the Ye Sect.

Qing Wu You could not understand what that attractive force was, but the calling was so intense that if it weren't for the fact that he was a mortal with no cultivation, he would have, by himself, run towards the eastern direction the moment it appeared.

Too bad he was a cripple.

He raised his thin arms in order for the old servant to carry him like he always did; however, the old servant called Xiao Ku did not even budge.

"What are you doing?" Qing Wu You asked coldly. "You dare defy my order?"

"This cannot be!"

It wasn't that Xiao Ku wanted to defy his orders—it's just that the old man felt that not only would it be highly improper, it would be also too dangerous to bring the young prince to the source of that terrifying cold qi.

"Young Master Qing," he pleaded earnestly, "do not make it hard for this servant. The Blood Commandant would chop off the heads of my family's nine generations if something were to happen to you. Let this old servant send someone to look into the situation first. If he is to give a clear signal, then I will bring you. Besides, are you not meeting that little miss from the Tenth Elder's courtyard today?"

However, Qing Wu You was having none of it. "Tell a servant to inform her to wait in that lakeside pavilion. If you were to bring me now, we'll make it in time for lunch. If I were to be delayed, I can only have you take the blame and be punished for interfering with important matters."

Despite his ripe age, how could a servant like Xiao Ku outtalk a rigorously-trained direct descendant of the Imperial family?

This boy's brain had the intelligence that even the Qing emperor recognized!

Seeing the determined look on the young prince's face, Xiao Ku gave up and released the cultivation of a peak Divine Ascension stage expert. In any event, something that abnormal would have caused alarm to all experts in the vicinity. As long as they stay a safe distance away and just observe, no danger would befall the young prince.

In half a breath's time, Xiao Ku carried Qing Wu You and disappeared from the courtyard.

The forest behind Ye Sect was neither near nor far from where Qing Wu You was staying. In about the time it takes one incense stick to burn, the pair of master and servant arrived at the edge of the forest where a few people were standing in heated discussion.

Qing Wu You recognized Sword Flash Ye Mo to be one of them. He was seemingly giving instructions to the disciples of Ye Sect. His cousin Qing Chuntao was there as well, but she was only calmly observing the trees, lost in thought.

A milky dome of blue mist covered a part of the forest.

Seeing the gathering of people, Xiao Ku, who was carrying Qing Wu You, flashed towards Qing Chuntao and her retinues. He set the young prince on the ground and bowed in ritual. "Servant pays respect to the Purple Plumed General."

"Why did you come here?"

Qing Chuntao's heroic bearing was emphasized by her cold and serious expression and her full armor that exuded an aura of bloodthirst. She did not even look once at the old servant. For someone of her status, only her little cousin was worth paying attention to.

"General Qing." In public, Qing Wu You respectfully addressed her by title to keep his status a secret. "Why is there such a high-class soul-suppressing array activated in here?"

As a member of the Imperial Family, Qing Wu You had been exposed to many fields and expertise aside from cultivation and warfare. As he was also a curious child to begin with, he had at times browsed through several collections of array books.

Aside from the Purple Plumed General, everyone else was taken aback that a boy not even a decade old could recognize the kind of array surrounding this part of the forest. One had to know that a soul-suppressing array belonged to the more obscure class of arrays.

"That we would like to know as well," she coolly answered. "By the time we arrived, this array was already in place."

"Could this be another ploy from the Demonic Faction?"

"There are no traces of them appearing so far, but there is no enough evidence to prove this is not their doing as well."

Qing Wu You's skin continued to tingle. The urge to approach was making him nealy lose his composure. "Inside this array, I can feel..."

Suddenly, several hurried footsteps were heard behind them. Based on the badge on their chests, Qing Wu You had determined the newcomers to be a Battle Court elite leading several inner sect disciples.

The Battle Court elite bowed to Sword Flash Ye Mo. He then moved forward and said in a lowered voice.

"Reporting to Tenth Elder, these junior martial brothers and sisters have seen..."

After several breaths of listening, Sword Flash Ye Mo's face turned black.

"What?! You mean to say that Little Yin is inside this thing?! Ah, I should have known it is that brat's doing once again! Everyone, disperse, disperse! There is no danger here!"