Chapter Twenty Nine

As Elder Shao Lin made to step in to mediate, Lan Biyu held a hand out and uncharacteristically spoke up first under her breath. "Elder Shao, things between disciples should stay between disciples." The man's frown deepened but thinking about it for a second he also pursed his lips and didn't make another move to step forward. Looking down at Lan Biyu's cold face he calms down, moved by the girl's meticulous but daring personality. Thinking she was going to settle it herself he even felt a hit of envy for his friend being able to adopt such a mature daughter. "Then-" Just as he was about to praise her and give her advice.

Lan Biyu, without changing expressions, grabbed a baffled Mianyang behind her and pushed the weak girl out into the clearing while they continued hiding in the shadows. All the boys took out their swords aiming them at the dazed and fallen-over Mianyang whose astonished appearance mimicked theirs. Elder Shao "...." Lan Biyu made a light half-hearted excuse "After all I am an inner disciple." Meaning, I shouldn't lower myself to the standards of outer disciple disputes. Elder Shao although baffled for some reason couldn't help thinking in his heart ...As expected of Minglan's daughter. 

Gao Chang was the first to recognize her and although he was displeased with this person in his heart he still sheathed his blade slowly while observing Mianyang's still dazed appearance. Fallen to her knees her pretty dress was now covered in dirt and her hair was askew as if she had a rough time in the short amount of time they entered the An Xing realm. However, even if he saw this he moved his gaze away like a gentleman would while making his cold-hearted attitude toward the vicious girl known. As he did this he also carefully searched for something behind the girl from the corner of his eyes. Gu Ping on the other hand, even if he was upset and angered by Mianyang's previous attitude couldn't help the sympathy welling up within him due to her embarrassing predicament. Forget it, she's still a girl and should be treated a bit gentler. 

So putting his sword away he hurried to her side and helped Mianyang up asking the stupefied girl who seemed to be having a hard time. His expression was concerned and cautious "Sister Qing, are you alright? How did you end up here?" Just as Mianyang recovered about to rant feeling wronged and angry at Lan Biyu's heartless actions she felt a chill along her spine and shivered. Her mouth opened and said instead through gritted teeth "I lost my communication jade when entering the portal." Taking her anger as feeling both annoyed and stifled with her current appearance and suffering. 

Gu Ping couldn't help feeling a bit sympathetic for her once more. They didn't see anything wrong with her explanation as the portal indeed was a bit dizzying when they entered too. Not only that but with Qing Mianyang's level of cultivation... Cough. Gao Chang scoffed under his breath and left the other confused party behind to also arrive at their side to look her over. Seeing that Qing Mianyang managed to make her way out of the pine woods unharmed he was suspicious but after scrutinizing her it was indeed the vicious little girl he remembered and let down his guard. 

"You left your place without waiting for master to find you." Were his first words instead of asking if she was alright. Which she had expected since he was Rui Shi's little dog however it still succeeded in making Mianyang bristle. She stood up straighter with a snarky response at the ready, glowering at him. "Without my jade should I have stayed in place waiting to die? Wouldn't you like that?! Besides you two also didn't follow orders and ran about that's how you found each other right?" Hmph! Hypricrital! 

"Ok. Ok, it's been hard on all of us. The An Xing realm isn't a place to mess around so let's get along ok?" Gu Ping tried mediating weakly. Even elder Shao pressed his temples helplessly toward the hostility the two disciples showed each other in front of outsiders. They glared at each other neither willing to back down from the other but a mocking laugh coming from their uninvited audience attracted the threes' attention. "I guess all Azure sect disciples are foolish and useless. One lost their jade and the others blamed random passerby for their mistakes. The Azure sect sure has fallen even lower this year, no wonder the inner disciples only amount to a couple of pretty vases. It must be to make up face for lack of skill." 

Mianyang, and Gao Chang, forgetting their enmity simultaneously shot the laughing group mocking them with exceptionally dark looks. Before Gu Ping could cover her mouth Mianyang sneered at the boys openly turning up her nose. "At least they have pretty faces. Some people can't even compete lacking both aspects of their life and passion so they love comparing with the spectacular to forget their own inferiority. Outer disciples with no talent and pig-like heads can't even compare to a single finger of our senior brother but pretend to be more noble. Hah!" She gave the choked boys a fearless snort looking down on them with scorn and disgust as if they were truly hideous beyond repair. 

Even going as far as to cover her nose and take a step back exaggeratedly "How did you two run into such stinky company? The filth spilling from their mouths is really too hard to endure!" Gu Ping although at first wanted to stop her from speaking stood staring at her with wide eyes before bursting into laughter at Mianyang's face crinkling seeming as if she were genuinely revolted. Gao Chang didn't hide his smirk nor step in to defuse the situation, seeming to even take pleasure in it. Seeing they were being laughed at the leader of the other group angrily pointed at Mianyang who although female had the most vicious personality. "You!!"

Lan Biyu side-eyed Elder Shao whose lip kept twitching. Whether it was due to finding her words amusing or despairing the inevitable fight the two groups would engage in was still unknown. Mianyang was fearless only because she knew elder Shao would never let them truly come to harm. Still not having her fill and finally finding a place to vent she unleashes her mouth again mocking him sharply "Me. Me what? Huh? Can't face the truth or too speechless from having your faces ripped off? Did the pigs finally run out of human words to say? Can't figure a rebuttal with intelligence where there is none in the first place right?" 

She even gave them a pitiful look "It is too bad I don't speak rubbish otherwise we'd be able to trade words more comfortably. However, I won't hold it against you. After all, Confucius once stated 'Wisdom, compassion, and courage are the three universally recognized moral qualities of men.' Right, brother Gao Chang?" Gao Chang's lip quirks to one side and in a rare show of teamwork, sends the speechless boys a mocking glance masked with benevolence. "Indeed. We shouldn't lower ourselves to the level of animals and live by Confucious's teachings of having compassion for less intelligent lifeforms. 'The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.' " 

"....Spending so much time in the mountains to practice your cultivation was false. In reality, Minglan taught you all how to speak nonsense and twist words into your favor all these years to provoke your enemies right?" Even Elder Shao couldn't help asking Lan Biyu this after watching the fight unfold with his own eyes. He long knew Minglan's students were abnormal as even the so-called gentle Da Chaunlin was masking himself as a gentleman while being as black-bellied as his master. But it was his first time seeing the children be so, unrestrained in person, and he didn't even know if he should be rooting for them anymore. Lan Biyu out of respect for the man being her master's old friend considerately tilts her head and thinks before replying. 

"Master never taught us explicitly, he only stated that we should remember a few verses from random books to make others speechless enough to buy time to run away or be saved by senior brother." This, really does sound like something Minglan would say. A true scholar wouldn't use these sacred verses in such a vulgar way. However, in this case, it was enough to stun their foe. Gu Ping having had enough time to laugh quickly took out the tassel handed to him by Mianyang when he helped her up earlier with a smile at the furious boys who looked ready to murder them. "Brother Chang is right, one should only think of the good and not the bad to accumulate the virtue of being lucky enough to be born human."

With that, he quickly activated the lingering spell upon the tassel and the three with haughty expressions before the other sect could react already disappeared into a flash of white light. The two didn't linger after the three were teleported away and so didn't see the pale expressions of the ones left behind. Being able to teleport so many people at once, was an advanced spell that took more than just knowledge to accomplish. Even their masters weren't able to do so without appearing troubled! Didn't the Golden Cloud sect claim that the Azure sect was just a bunch of lucky people with no real talents to speak of?!

They were also intimidated by the show of force by that sir name Wang's disciples but in the end. Didn't the Golden Cloud sect disciples insinuate that they only went easy on the other to not humiliate the beauty? Not knowing the thoughts of others Lan Biyu and Elder Shao effortlessly met up with the waiting little disciples who had a temporary truce awaiting them a distance away on a hill Lan Biyu casually spotted and marked. Seeing the two appear from thin air Gao Chang saluted them respectfully. "Elder Shao, sister Wang." Seeming to have already suspected something was off with how the Mianyang would provoke someone so much without fear in a dangerous realm alone. 

Gu Ping caught on quickly also greeting them and hurriedly returned to tassel to elder Shao with a light pep in his step. "Elder Shao! I thought it was strange that sister Qing Mianyang had such a powerful spiritual tool in her hands. So it was you who gave it to us." Elder Shao wore a kind smile and shook his head, not taking the tassel back. "It wasn't me." Lan Biyu unhurriedly snatched the tassel back into her hands and they watched as it simply disintegrated into dust in the next second as if it never existed in the first place. Stunning the students besides Shao Lin who internally commented it was already a surprise the item could survive that long after being used up. 

"Master gave it to me." She didn't seem upset at all that the item was now destroyed after being used once as Gao Chang revealed a thoughtful expression while Gu Ping showed a regretful one. Mianyang complained inside that their master was still so blatantly showing off his favoritism. But the time spent on creating that crafty escape item probably wasn't little either so the only person who had the right to have it was indeed their master's darling Wang Lan Biyu. Instead of wondering what other treasures were in Lan Biyu's hands, the disciples questioned Elder Shao on their next course of plans. 

It had already started to show signs of nighttime and it naturally wasn't safe to travel in the dark in unfamiliar territory. Aware of this Shao Lin naturally guided them to an area that seemed somewhat safe and allowed the young ones to rest while he kept vigil. The one with the weakest stamina was still Qing Mianyang who was used to being pampered and flattered. She pouted before taking out a blanket and curling up by her lonesome against a tree to rest her aching feet. Massaging them occasionally when no one was looking. Admittedly the boys were also a bit exhausted from today's events and also made their own little corners to close their eyes for the time being. 

Lan Biyu was even less polite and gracefully took out a stool and her guqin from her spacial pocket. Unwrapping the instrument she wasn't ceremonious in the least and directly started playing a dreamy tune making the originally falsely resting disciples really start drooping into dreamland. Shao Lin glances over at the sleepy children. He sighed when thinking of his little disciple, only hoping that she didn't run into trouble and was waiting for him or Minglan to find her. As the night came, so did the danger. 

Lan Biyu waited precisely for this time, the quiet of the night so heavy even crickets didn't chirp and interrupt. Her hands muffled her guqin after the rest of her companions were in a deep sleep due to her influence. Shao Lin who hadn't spoken a word nor criticized her decision just now laid his hand upon his jian sword's handle. "Minglan is sure to have taught you that there is more to the An Xing realm than your brothers and sister know." The flash of silver light was so fast and vicious that it was hard to believe such a gentle person could move without hesitation cutting down the lurking demonic beast that seemed to come from nowhere. 

Unable to even cry the beast slack-jawed and fell into a mere mass of fur and flesh, not a single drop of blood could be seen on the silver blade nor its owner. Shao Lin was not phased and neither was Lan Biyu who took the attack as nothing. Flicking his blade once just in case there was residue he elegantly reshealth the deadly weapon wearing a neutral expression. He reminds Lan Biyu carefully "In the darkness of night, the more people gathered the more likely they are to be hunted by the arrogant beasts of An Xing." Lan Biyu lowers Chi who appeared from behind her hair to the ground. Her calm equal to the elder before her.

Already, a soft light was escaping her fading shadow to slowly envelope their clearing. He watched as the tiny white snake started swallowing the corpse of the demonic beast with squinted eyes as if satisfied with its self delivered meal. "Elder Shao need not worry, this disciple won't needlessly drag you down."