“Zhuo Peak? Isn’t that where Uncle Gu used to live?”

“Shh! He already signed the Abandon Sect Spirit Contract. We can’t call him ‘Uncle’ anymore; use his name directly!”

“I actually thought Uncle Gu was quite kind. Even if he’s gone, is it really necessary to tear down Zhuo Peak?”

“Tsk, don’t you understand that ‘the tea cools once the guest leaves’? Besides, this wasn’t our call. We shouldn’t recklessy criticize our elders.”

The whispering disciples gradually walked away, but Nian Zhaoxi, who had overheard every word, froze in her tracks.

Gu Xiu’s residence on Zhuo Peak… was being demolished?

Snapping back to reality, she blurred forward and instantly blocked the path of the two inner sect disciples.

“Senior Aunt!”

“Pavilion Master Nian!”

The two disciples were jolted with fright. Recognizing her, they hurriedly bowed, their faces pale with confusion. Nian Zhaoxi had always been distant and aloof; she never initiated conversation with subordinates. What was happening now?

Before they could process their shock, her voice, as cold as a mountain frost, cut through the air: “You said the house on Zhuo Peak is being demolished?”

“Huh?” The disciples blinked, then stammered: “Reporting to Senior Aunt… yes, that’s correct.”

“Who ordered the destruction of Gu Xiu’s home?” she asked icily.

“This…” The disciples hesitated, looking at each other in fear. “It’s… it’s the Fifth and Seventh Senior Aunts…”

“Qin Moran and Lu Qingyao?” Nian Zhaoxi’s brow furrowed. Seeing the sheer terror on the disciples’ faces, she pressed harder. “They both have their own peaks. Why would they bother with a hut on Zhuo Peak?”

“This…” They hesitated again, but under her piercing gaze, they had no choice but to confess. “Seventh Senior Aunt said she needed a place to teach Junior Uncle Jiang beast-taming techniques. Since Zhuo Peak is vacant anyway, she thought it would be… convenient to use that land.”

“Fifth Senior Aunt is there too, saying she wants to use her talisman power to help Junior Uncle Jiang construct a perfect taming ground…”

They squeezed the words out with immense effort, as a suffocating pressure began to emanate from Nian Zhaoxi, forcing them to their knees.

Finally unable to bear it, they prostrated themselves on the ground. “Senior Aunt, mercy! We won’t gossip about our seniors again!”

“We will never mention Gu Xiu’s name again!”

They assumed her anger was triggered by their mention of the “traitor.” As soon as their pleas left their mouths, the crushing pressure vanished. By the time they dared to look up, Nian Zhaoxi was long gone.

Nian Zhaoxi didn’t have a second to waste on low-level disciples. She was racing toward Zhuo Peak with every ounce of her cultivation.

Even though Gu Xiu had left the sect, her every hope was pinned on finding him and bringing him back. If his home was razed to the ground… how would she explain it to him? How could she ever face him again?

It was a tragedy. Despite pushing her speed to the absolute limit, she arrived a heartbeat too late.

BOOM!

Accompanied by a sickening roar of splintering wood, the modest hut atop Zhuo Peak collapsed. In the blink of an eye, the home was reduced to a pile of scarred timber and dust.

In front of the ruins, Gu Xiu’s little senior sister, Lu Qingyao, was dancing with glee. Beside her, Qin Moran wasn’t as boisterous, but a faint, satisfied smile touched her lips.

“Senior Sister, now that this shabby hut is gone, can we start preparing the beast pens for Little Junior Brother?”

“Let’s burn these filthy remnants first,” Qin Moran replied. “Little Junior Brother’s taming grounds must be pristine. We cannot afford any mistakes or lingering traces.”

“You’re right! I’ll clear the debris!”

“Why bother? I’ll use a Blazing Fire Talisman; it will wipe this place clean.”

As they spoke, Qin Moran reached into her robes, produced a talisman, and activated it. Instantly, a merciless heavenly fire capable of incinerating stone swept toward the ruins.

Nian Zhaoxi, standing frozen in a daze, finally snapped. She lunged in front of the ruins. “Stop!”

The sudden movement startled the two women. Qin Moran frantically jerked her hand back, redirecting the torrent of fire into a nearby patch of empty earth, where it scorched the soil black.

“Senior Sister! Why did you just appear out of nowhere?”

“Good heavens, Senior Sister! I almost hit you with the talisman!”

The two spoke in rapid succession, hearts racing. However, their voices grew quiet as they realized Nian Zhaoxi was staring at them with eyes of pure ice.

“Se-Senior Sister… we’re sorry. We didn’t see you… we didn’t mean to hurt you…”

As the Eldest Senior Sister, Nian Zhaoxi’s prestige was second only to Guan Xuelan. To be pinned by her glare made them both shrink back in fear.

“What do you think you are doing?” she asked, her voice trembling with suppressed fury.

“Huh?” They blinked.

“Do you not know that Zhuo Peak belongs to Junior Brother Gu? That this hut was his residence?”

Qin Moran was the first to recover. “Senior Sister, Gu Xiu already signed the Abandon Sect Spirit Contract. He is no longer a member of our Qingxuan Sacred Land.”

“Exactly, Eldest Senior Sister!” Lu Qingyao nodded emphatically. “He’s gone. Surely we can’t let a ghost occupy valuable space?”

Nian Zhaoxi snapped back, “His departure was a misunderstanding with Master! He will return! If you destroy his home now, where is he supposed to live when he comes back?”

“If he actually has the gall to crawl back shamelessly, we can just throw him in the outer sect quarters,” Lu Qingyao muttered.

“What did you say?” Nian Zhaoxi couldn’t believe her ears.

Qin Moran added, “Eldest Senior Sister, you’ve been away, so you don’t know. Master has already decreed: if Gu Xiu ever begs to rejoin the sect, he is only to be admitted as a common outer sect disciple.”

“That’s right! He thought he could use that contract to threaten the sect into valuing him more? Pure delusion! If he comes back now, he won’t even qualify for the inner sect!” Lu Qingyao smirked.

Nian Zhaoxi stood there, stunned into silence. She could understand her master’s harshness—Guan Xuelan was uncompromising by nature. But these two?

“You two… weren’t you his closest friends?”

“Moran, didn’t you used to pester Gu Xiu every day to practice calligraphy with you?”

“Qingyao, weren’t you always clinging to him like a shadow? When Master scolded you, you’d run to hide behind his back. When you wanted to tame a beast, you’d beg him to weaken it for you first.”

She looked at them with profound disbelief. “When did you become so heartless?”

Qin and Lu both frowned.

“Senior Sister… what you’re talking about happened five hundred years ago. Why bring up the past?”

“Yes, Senior Sister! We were young and foolish then. We hadn’t seen through Gu Xiu’s true nature; we were deceived by his facade. Why are you still clinging to those memories?”

Five hundred years ago? A facade?

Nian Zhaoxi felt like she was looking at strangers. She usually stayed secluded in the Inquiry Pavilion; she knew there had been friction, but she never imagined the rot had spread this deep.

“Senior Sister,” Qin Moran said, noting her expression. “You stay in the Inquiry Pavilion and don’t see the world. You don’t know the truth.”

“Gu Xiu is no longer the man he was five centuries ago.”

“Exactly!” Lu Qingyao interjected. “You don’t understand the situation. Ever since he returned, he has done nothing but cause trouble. So many vile deeds!”

“