Chapter 24: Refined Iron Mine

The Taiping Office official on duty that day saw that Tang Yue had already begun voicing her accusations and had no choice but to formally open the case. After listening for a while, he and the onlookers finally understood that this was just a minor dispute from a sparring match between disciples. The official let out a sigh of relief, while the crowd felt somewhat disappointed—they had been hoping to witness some earth-shattering scandal from the City Lord's household.

Tang Yue angrily proclaimed, "Chu Tianshu had no evidence whatsoever and still claimed I ordered my cousin to poison Tang Wan. He even tried to settle it as an ironclad case right then and there, leaving me no way to defend myself!"

"Honorable Official, I have been grievously wronged. If I cannot clear my name, then may snow fall in June and Kunwu City suffer a three-year drought! Please, uphold justice for me!"

She nearly fell to her knees in a dramatic display of grief. Thankfully, she stopped herself—had she actually knelt, the official would likely have lost sleep over it.

The official coughed awkwardly. "Miss Tang, there's no need for that. This seems to be a misunderstanding that occurred during a sparring match. The situation is not as serious as it appears."

Chu Tianshu, seeing how far Tang Yue was taking this, began to doubt she had truly orchestrated anything. Perhaps she had merely encouraged it in secret. "Even if Tang Yue didn't directly command it, Miss Ruan still violated Kunwu City's rules and should have her arm severed as punishment."

Tang Yue ignored him. "Esteemed Official, Chu Tianshu falsely accused me without cause. What should his punishment be? How will I clear my name?"

Chu Tianshu was stunned by how stubborn Tang Yue had become. Just as he was about to speak again, the City Lord arrived—followed by Madam Shui and the Ruan couple.

The City Lord signaled to him that he would handle the situation personally. "Official, this is all a misunderstanding. My son has caused enough trouble barging into the Taiping Office like this. Let's drop the case—we'll handle it privately."

The official naturally had no objections. He hadn't wanted to get involved in a dispute involving the City Lord's prized disciple and biological daughter, especially since it also touched upon relations with Wuji Mountain. Having the City Lord handle it himself was the best outcome.

The elders quickly understood what had happened. Ruan Ying's father raised his hand to slap her—how dare she stir up trouble again so soon, and while away from home at that?

But Shui Peishan stopped him. She was extremely protective of her daughter and couldn't allow her to lose face in front of so many people.

"City Lord, it's true that Ruan Ying was in the wrong. She had some poison on her for self-defense, which accidentally spilled out during the duel. I'll have her apologize to Tang Wan."

Chu Tianshu was furious. Shui Peishan had the nerve to call it an accident and try to brush it aside. Looking at the silent and downcast Tang Wan beside him, his heart ached even more. He imagined countless scenes of her being bullied within the City Lord's estate and snapped, "It was clearly intentional. She used poison in front of everyone! If I hadn't intervened in time, Tang Wan would've been harmed. How can this be chalked up to an accident?"

Shui Peishan replied coolly, "As you said, you intervened in time. Tang Wan isn't hurt at all. Besides making Ruan Ying apologize, I'll also offer compensation."

Chu Tianshu's anger flared. "Unbelievable—!"

But Tang Wenhua stopped him. Tang Wan hadn't actually been harmed; this wasn't worth risking tensions with Wuji Mountain. Their two families still had to maintain ties. "Let's chalk it up to youthful recklessness. I'll accept the apology on Tang Wan's behalf."

Chu Tianshu was about to argue again when Tang Yue cut in, "And what about my innocence? If no justice is done today, there really will be snow in June and three years of drought—!"

He was taken aback by the interruption and, thinking about it, realized he might indeed have been mistaken about Tang Yue. His confidence faltered.

Tang Wenhua scowled. "Nonsense! Your senior brother simply misunderstood. Why are you talking about snow and droughts?"

Tang Yue replied, "A scholar may die, but must not be humiliated..."

Chu Tianshu cupped his hands and bowed to her. "Junior Sister, I was mistaken. I apologize to you."

He then turned to Madam Shui and the Ruan family. "But I will never accept those who bully others with power. Though I yield today for the sake of the bigger picture, I will avenge my junior sister one day."

Madam Shui and her in-laws were not pleased. They were respected senior cultivators, yet Chu Tianshu had the gall to vow revenge on them in public?

Tang Yue frowned. "What does this have to do with my mother?"

Chu Tianshu didn't reply. He simply turned and left the Taiping Office.

In his eyes, Madam Shui was hiding behind the might of Wuji Mountain, forcing Kunwu City to endure humiliation and allowing Tang Wan, a powerless concubine's daughter, to be mistreated.

As the City Lord's direct disciple, Chu Tianshu was usually respected and privileged wherever he went across Liu Continent. People would defer to him, treat him with courtesy. But he never saw himself as someone in power.

So now that things hadn't gone his way just once, he immediately felt oppressed and vowed to rise even higher to crush those who looked down on him.

Tang Yue could only sigh: what a drama king.

She knew Tang Wan was the victim and that the perpetrator shouldn't be let off easily, but the cultivation world wasn't a modern, law-abiding society. Prestige and family status mattered most. Tang Wenhua had his reasons for letting the matter slide—for the sake of Kunwu City.

And blaming Shui Yingrou? That was pure nonsense. The male lead wanted to be both emotionally detached and strictly just—yet he was projecting Ruan Ying's actions onto Madam Shui. Such a double standard. So in his mind, only his judgment counted as truth?

Well, maybe that was exactly the case—Chu Tianshu was the male lead, after all. Maybe he was the so-called "son of the plane," destined for fortune and greatness. Those who followed him lived; those who defied him perished. Could she, a transmigrator halfway into the plot, escape his "protagonist halo"?

Tang Yue was still lost in thought when Shui Yingrou called out to her, but she didn't hear. It was Ruan Ying who finally tugged her away from the Taiping Office.

Ruan Ying was still shaken. "That Chu Tianshu is terrifying. He really was going to cut off my arm—he totally doesn't respect Aunt."

"Cousin, please, don't act impulsively again. I won't be able to help you next time."

Ruan Ying dismissed her concern. "Got it, got it. Next time I'll be more careful—not get caught."

Tang Yue sighed inwardly. She knew her cousin hadn't learned a thing.

The next morning, Tang Yue and Madam Shui saw the Ruan family off. Before leaving, Shui Yima spoke earnestly to Madam Shui: "Cousin, that top disciple Chu Tianshu doesn't seem to respect you. You should be wary of him."

Madam Shui fell silent at those words. Chu Tianshu was close to Zhuang Qiaohui and her son, and had shown her clear disrespect. Yesterday, he even openly treated her like an enemy. If he gained more power in the future, he might become a serious threat.

Tang Yue mused aloud, "Mother, Junior Brother is also a direct disciple. His talent is no worse than Senior Brother Chu's. He's even earned our Grandmaster's favor."

"He lives with us and treats us like family. I'm sure he'll stand by us in the future."

Madam Shui considered this. That's right—there was still Mu Chongyun. He might even surpass Chu Tianshu one day. "Yes, you're right. When we return, I'll prepare a generous gift and bring you and Chongyun to thank the Grandmaster."

At that moment, Mu Chongyun was happily chasing crickets on the mountain, blissfully unaware that his idyllic childhood was about to be cut short in the name of "ambition."

Tang Yue only mentioned him to comfort her mother. She had no intention of repeating the original storyline and getting crushed between the male and female leads again. Worst case scenario, they could just retreat to her maternal grandfather's Wuji Mountain—Shui Yingrou's eternal fallback.

Shui Yima hadn't only hired a tutor for Tang Yue—she'd also gifted her many rare herbs and treasures, including a mine deed she had acquired but hadn't yet inspected.

Not long after bidding farewell to Shui Yima's family, Tang Yue gathered a few senior brothers and sisters to explore the mine, promising them a share of the profits as payment.

She tried using her rudimentary feng shui skills to locate it, but failed completely. Thankfully, an experienced senior led them to the site.

The mine turned out to be a refined iron mine—not especially valuable, but still worth something. The senior helped her establish a contract under Shangqing Palace law, formally marking the mine as her private property.

Shangqing Palace governed all of Liu Continent. While each sect had its own autonomy, certain matters—like confirming mine ownership—required Shangqing's approval to prevent internal strife.

Tang Yue already had plans for the refined iron: she'd use it to sharpen her artifact-refining skills and take her craftsmanship to the next level.

She'd been designing more and more small spiritual artifacts lately, and she hated always relying on the smithing pavilion seniors. It was better to refine them herself.

She applied for a two-week leave from the academy to focus on smithing at the mine, accompanied by a Jindan-stage senior for protection.

Tang Yue mined and refined materials herself, also taking the opportunity to practice her earth-element spells. Not far from the mine was a portable refining room she had brought.

These kinds of mobile buildings were sold by the Tiangong Artifact Pavilion. They could be stored in a small orb and set up instantly—perfect for moving cultivators.

After ruining several batches of refined iron, Tang Yue finally started seeing success. The senior guarding her muttered, "Practice really does make perfect. After wasting so many furnaces, she's finally getting the hang of it. Back when I learned artifact refining, I never dared waste this much."

She was crafting basic swords—standard issue for Kunwu City disciples. Making a bunch wouldn't be a waste; she could even bring them back to distribute through Qionghua Pavilion.

She had already forged a hundred basic swords and was getting into the flow, completely immersed. Suddenly, the furnace lid exploded, and something flew out.

But in her flow state, she wasn't afraid. She calmly wrapped it in spiritual energy and continued refining it with controlled flame.

It was unusually difficult to smelt, so she added spirit stones to boost the refining power. Eventually, it stabilized—turning into a silver-white orb.

Then, light burst from her chest, and the orb was pulled into her heart.

Tang Yue snapped out of it, dazed. Oh no… Am I going to start glowing at the chest out of nowhere? People might think I'm trying to get attention!

She checked her spiritual platform. The dual ritual rings didn't absorb the silver orb but instead began to rotate it continuously.

The orb emitted intense metal-element energy, which the rings refined further until it became a mass of pure metallic essence and vanished into her spiritual platform.

Tang Yue felt her body grow lighter and more agile. The fog that had once clouded her spiritual platform had lifted a bit, and her meridians flowed more smoothly than before.

On the ground lay a layer of discarded skin—she had just molted. Now her skin was even whiter and smoother.