Chapter 120: I Thought Long and Hard about It

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Several things happen in the aftermath of the trial, the most amusing one being the drastic increase of disciples going into isolation training. Even before the trial, many disciples were using all their points to buy as much time as possible in the isolation chambers. After it, not a single one remains free. Some won’t be available for years.

Everyone knows what is coming. Liu Jin wouldn’t be surprised if there is a similar increase in disciples going on long-term missions starting tomorrow. He wishes he could do the same, but, like many others, he has already picked a side.

And right now, that side is winning.

“Rejoice!” Khong Hu yells out. His cheeks are flushed, and there is no hiding the excitement in his voice. It is a stark contrast to his usual demeanor; the cup of alcohol in his hand, which has been emptied and refilled several dozen times throughout the night, goes a long way towards explaining it.

“Elder Xun’s wisdom has seen through the petty lies of Elder Dang and those like him! The wise and generous Elder Xue has been allowed to continue watching over those in the Medical Pavilion!”

There is a bit more to it than that. Elder Xue has been allowed to continue watching over the Medical Pavilion, but only until a new Elder has been chosen. Once that happens, Elder Xue will have to give up that power. However, those are problems for a later day. Indeed, Khong Hu’s words are greeted by cheers and raised cups from those around him.

“Brother Jin!” Khong Hu puts an arm around his shoulders. “Do not be so dour! You have been most critical for this victory! It is proper for you to be proud of yourself!”

Despite himself, Liu Jin smiles. “Well, if Brother Hu says it, how can I refuse?”

This little celebration in the Medical Pavilion is not something anyone had planned. Someone had raided Elder Cheung’s private collection and decided to share it with the others. Another disciple, one who could be quite lethal with the pipa as Liu Jin understands it, had decided to play it for far more joyful reasons. Things spiraled from there. Even some of the Medical Pavilion disciples ended up joining, though that comes as little surprise.

Everyone had been tense during the occupation. Some may have hidden it behind pomp and others behind hostility, but not a single person hadn’t known the stakes involved. At any point, the Elders of Lord Feng Shang’s faction could have launched an attack to “liberate” the Medical Pavilion. That possibility had been hanging over their heads all this time.

In the aftermath of Elder Xun’s verdict, how can they do anything but rejoice?

Tomorrow would bring its own set of troubles. They would have to worry about how to manage the Medical Pavilion from now on, who could be trusted and who couldn’t, and what to do once Lord Feng Shang returned.

However, those are all tomorrow’s problems.

Tonight, they can bask in their victory.

All except Liu Jin.

There is one thing he must do.

~~~

Many disciples rethink their loyalties after the trial. Quite a few of them start shifting to Lord Feng Gui’s side.

“Are you an idiot?”

There is, unfortunately, always one idiot that will go against the grain.

“That is not a rhetorical question,” Lu Mei adds, hands on her hips and one foot impatiently tapping against the floor. “Are you an idiot? Were you born without brains? Or was it so small it fell out of your ears one day? Perhaps the Bei Clan is fond of raising their children with repeated blows to the head?”

Rather than getting angry at her, Bei Hong meets her scowl with stoic resolve.

“Suitability is determined through rigorous testing.”

Which, Lu Mei guesses, is his way of confirming the Bei Clan does indeed hit its children one too many times. She would like to say that went a long way towards explaining many of the Golden Fist Sect’s eccentricities, but it is not like the Red Sky Pavilion is any better. The truth is all high-level cultivators are weird. There are no exceptions to this. Either they are born weird or become weird.

Which begs the question: Which one is she?

And which one is Qing Jin?

“This is not the time for your usual nonsense.” Lu Mei raises a hand to her forehead. As expected, dealing with Bei Hong is always a headache. “Lord Feng Gui’s faction has struck a major blow today. Lord Feng Shang’s faction will not take this lying down. Things are already in motion. There is no longer any point in staying neutral.”

Bei Hong somehow has the gall to look insulted, his brow creasing and his lips thinning as he crosses his arms.

“I am not an idiot, Lu Mei. Of course, I know that.”

“Well, you are certainly acting like one!”

To think she had just sought him out because Qing Jin, for some bizarre reason that completely escaped anything resembling rational thought, had left his pet with Bei Hong. Who knew what that brute would do to such a beautiful creature? No, it was imperative for her to go to the Inner Disciple’s quarters, be seen by as many people as possible on her way there for the sake of plausible deniability while Qing Jin decided to be himself, and then hopefully return to find her Qing Jin still in one piece.

Foolish her. She had not counted on Bei Hong being Bei Hong.

Curse troublesome men. Curse the Heavens, who seemed to enjoy putting her near them.

“If you know all of this,” she began, slowly and with much derision, “why would you choose to join Lord Feng Shang’s faction now of all times!”

The Division of Internal Disputes. That is where Bei Hong was heading when she found him. Lu Mei did not discover this through clever deduction. The imbecile didn’t even have the common sense to lie to her about it! As everyone picked sides, Bei Hong had apparently deemed it sensible to ally himself with the Elder who had just been publicly humiliated.

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“Is it not as if I made this choice without thinking,” Bei Hong tells her. “I thought long and hard about it.”

He nods to himself as he says it, his thoughts in full agreement with his words.

Unsurprisingly, the idiot thought his idiot thoughts were clever.

“In the first place, Bei Duyi has been trying to get me to side with Lord Feng Gui for a while now.”

Lu Mei stares.

She congratulates herself for not sending Bei Hong flying. Even if he absolutely deserves it, the fool would consider it an invitation to fight, and she has no desire to waste her time beating him. Unlike some, she is not some brute that gains satisfaction from violence.

“You are picking a side on the basis of not liking your cousin?”

Lu Mei makes a small mental note to do something horrible to Bei Duyi later. The fool should have known trying to get Bei Hong to do anything is guaranteed to backfire.

“Bei Duyi annoys me to no end, but that is not my only reason.”

“Oh?” She arches an eyebrow. “Do enlighten me.”

“Huang Shing.”

Lu Mei’s face sours.

“There is no way he’ll accept being on the same side as Feng Zhi once he leaves isolation training.” Bei Hong shrugs his shoulders. “Someone should be on his side.”