Volume V: Showing Initial Prominence - Chapter Twenty-Four: A War of Words

Family matters of a clan are not to be interfered with by outsiders! Zhou Dunru was the first to react, glaring at Elder Li Xiuyuan who was still looking at Boss Li and licking his lips. He stepped forward and spoke righteously, though after being disrupted like that by Boss Li, Elder Zhou's words somehow lacked a bit of conviction.

His strenuous efforts earlier were merely to butter up that master so that the Jade Rabbit Clan could stay out of harm's way when danger struck. Whether that master even noticed or not was no longer within the two elders' consideration.

Li Xiuyuan's old face flushed red, realizing he had lost his composure, and he quickly chimed in, "Precisely! As you yourself said, this is the internal affair of our Jade Rabbit Clan. Since when is it your turn to speak?"

"Ahem, no need to rush, no need to rush," Boss Li smiled lewdly, turning to look at the Holy Mother Granny. "Well, how should I address you?"

"Audacious! Is the Holy Mother's name something you can ask?" Zhou Dunru was determined to cross paths with Li Cenzhu; no matter what the man said, he had to butt in. Li Xiuyuan quickly echoed his support on the side.

"It is no matter!" The Holy Mother suppressed the protests of the two elders, looked kindly at Li Cenzhu, and smiled. "It has been a long time since anyone asked my name, and I had almost forgotten it myself. I remember I used to be called Shui Yu'er."

At these words, Boss Li felt a chill run straight from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Having a granny with a face full of wrinkles tell you her given name was Shui Yu'er was truly a comical thing. Fortunately, Boss Li had strong psychological fortitude. After a brief moment of astonishment, he recovered his composure, smiled slightly at the Holy Mother, and said, "Senior Shui, well, how shall I put it? This brother and I are guests after all. Is it quite inconvenient for us to be standing while we talk? Is this any way to treat guests?"

"Ah?" The Holy Mother was startled. She turned her head to look, and throughout the entire hall, except for herself sitting and Shui Ruyan kneeling, everyone else was standing.

The old granny feigned a light tap on her forehead and smiled bitterly, "Ah, I am getting old and muddled. It has been a very long time since the Jade Rabbit Clan had guests, and I actually forgot even the most basic hospitality. Please forgive me, two immortal friends. Someone, bring seats for the two immortal friends."

A response came from outside the door, and soon two women stepped lightly and gracefully, carrying two chairs woven from something resembling rattan. They placed them slightly below the Holy Mother's seat, symmetrical on left and right.

"Please sit. Two immortal friends, do not take offense. Ah, I am old and useless now." The old granny put on a frail appearance, looking heartbroken and remorseful.

Boss Li exchanged a glance with Yuanmu. The two of them cupped their fists toward the Holy Mother, stepped forward, and sat down.

Zhou Dunru and Li Xiuyuan had no idea what Li Cenzhu was trying to pull. Mid-conversation, how did they suddenly end up discussing seating? Did this man even listen seriously to what others were saying? The two elders felt extremely depressed inside. Once Li Cenzhu was firmly seated, Zhou Dunru stepped forward, facing the Holy Mother. Before he could even speak, Boss Li raised an eyebrow at Shui Ruyan, who was kneeling on the floor, and spoke ahead of him, "Lady Ruyan, would you like to come over and sit?"

Shui Ruyan slowly raised her head, meeting Li Cenzhu's lewd expression directly. That large hand even patted his own thigh, gesturing for her to come up and sit. A blush spread across Shui Ruyan's face, and she quickly lowered her head, whispering, "Ruyan wouldn't dare."

"Ah, Senior Shui's family discipline is truly strict," Boss Li said, not a single trace of redness on his old face as he smiled slightly at the Holy Mother.

The Holy Mother Granny finally understood: of these two, the one with the lower cultivation was the one calling the shots, while the one with the higher cultivation seemed merely like a foil, never uttering a word from beginning to start. Yet the Holy Mother still could not figure out what their relationship was. Master and servant? Not quite. Master and disciple? Even less so.

Boss Li saw that his mischievous disruption had diffused the previous atmosphere, and only then did he speak up: "This truly is your family affair, and I neither can nor wish to meddle in it. Even if you throw this fair-skinned maiden into that what... what chamber, it is none of my business."

Hearing this from below, Shui Ruyan's slender shoulders trembled with a surge of sorrow. Indeed, even if she were thrown into the cultivation chamber, it was in accordance with the ancestral decree, and she could provide her own cultivation to many brothers and sisters; naturally, she would harbor not the slightest grievance. But why—why did she hold expectations for the man before her?

"However—" Boss Li changed his tune, "There is a saying in my hometown: A person without credibility cannot stand! Trustworthiness is the fundamental basis of human conduct, and keeping promises is a virtue. I wonder if the Jade Rabbit Clan has any credibility to speak of?"

"Nonsense! Although we are spirit beasts, we also value our word, and we naturally keep the promises we make," Zhou Dunru said with a sneer of disdain toward Li Cenzhu. "Unlike you cultivators, humph!"

Boss Li wiped his mouth, turning a blind eye to Zhou Dunru's disdain. "As far as I know, the Holy Maiden holds a rather high position in your clan, doesn't she?"

"Yes," the Holy Mother Granny nodded. "The Holy Maiden dedicates her life for the survival and development of the clan, and she is the pride of the clan." At the Holy Mother's words, all the elders lowered their heads to listen to the instruction.

Pride, my foot! You feed people to a giant snake and still call it a dedication. Only foolish women like these would do such a thing, and heaven knows how the Jade Rabbit Clan brainwashed these Holy Maidens—each one of them was incomparably loyal, viewing the sacrifice of their lives to the sacred beast as the greatest glory.

Of course, this information had been dug out just now while chatting idly with Shui Ruyan. According to her, the Jade Rabbit Clan always maintained a contingent of over a hundred Holy Maidens. Exchanging a single Holy Maiden for a Dark Ice Fruit meant the entire Jade Rabbit Clan could only swap for around a hundred of them.

"That settles it, then." Li Cenzhu spread his hands and pointed at Shui Ruyan. "I want you to pardon her of whatever crimes she's supposed to have committed."

"On what grounds?" Zhou Dunru shouted loudly. "On what grounds should she be released? She has been unfaithful and unjust to the sacred beast, and her actions must never be condoned."

"On the grounds that your Holy Maiden promised to fulfill any condition of mine in exchange for the safety of your sacred beast!" Was it a shouting match they wanted? Li Cenzhu's spit flew onto Zhou Dunru's face—he did it on purpose.

"Which Holy Maiden promised you?" After a moment of silence, Zhou Dunru reacted and retorted.

Li Cenzhu pointed smilingly at the kneeling Shui Ruyan. "Her, of course. Earlier, just as I was preparing to slaughter that giant snake of yours, she said she would agree to any condition of mine. That's why I let the nine-headed serpent go. Otherwise, do you think your sacred beast would still be alive right now?" Boss Li sneered, squinting at Zhou Dunru. "Or perhaps Elder Zhou feels that the words of the Holy Maiden cannot represent your clan?"

"This, this..." Zhou Dunru was caught in a dilemma. The position of the Holy Maiden was indeed high; they were all meant to be fed to the sacred beast and did not live long. One could say the entire clan owed them a debt, which was why the Holy Mother had decreed that the request of a Holy Maiden was the request of the entire clan. Aside from a few unreasonable demands, the entire strength of the clan had to be mustered to fulfill them. If he refused this man's demand now, it would somewhat arouse public anger and potentially sow seeds of doubt among the other Holy Maidens in the clan.

Zhou Dunru was so angry his intestines turned green. Where on earth did this good-for-nothing pop out from, carrying a belly full of malicious tricks?

"The words of the Holy Maiden can indeed represent our Jade Rabbit Clan, but Shui Ruyan has already been stripped of her status as Holy Maiden and is now merely an ordinary member of the Jade Rabbit Clan." Li Xiuyuan had a sharper mind and instantly caught the loophole regarding the timing in Boss Li's words.

"Oh?" Li Cenzhu looked coldly at Li Xiuyuan. "May I ask Elder Li, was Shui Ruyan a Holy Maiden when she made her promise?"

"Yes!" Li Xiuyuan said through gritted teeth, "However..."

"There are no 'howevers'!" Li Cenzhu waved a hand. "Although she has now been stripped of her Holy Maiden status, she was indeed a Holy Maiden at the time she spoke those words. Two elders, am I right or not?"

"Right!" Li Xiuyuan had no choice but to acknowledge it.

"That settles it then." Boss Li smiled lewdly, turning to look at the Holy Mother. "I have said all that needs to be said. As for how Senior Shui will rule on this, I presume you already have your own conclusion."

"Holy Mother!" Zhou Dunru grew bolder with every setback, stepping forward unwillingly. "I believe Shui Ruyan has violated the ancestral teachings and been disloyal to the sacred beast. If she goes unpunished, it will be hard to appease public anger, and even harder to pacify the sacred beast's wrath. I implore the Holy Mother to demoted Shui Ruyan to the status of a beast-slave as a warning to others!"

Look at the mess today's affair had become: even though his side had lost all its advantages, he absolutely could not let the other party get off easy. This request wasn't overly excessive; desecrating the sacred beast was a capital offense, and going unpunished was out of the question.

Hearing Zhou Dunru's demand, Shui Ruyan's body went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground. Although she had never seen what a beast-slave looked like, she had heard stories from chatting with her sisters in her spare time. A beast-slave was synonymous with baseness; once one became a beast-slave, one lost the right to cultivate and could only live by the charity of a master and by trying to please them. Even in death, as long as the soul remained intact, one would still be controlled in the palm of the master.

One could say that falling to the status of a beast-slave was even worse than being slashed with a blade and tossed into the cultivation chamber.

"No..." Shui Ruyan bit her lip gently, crying out in her heart as tears streamed uncontrollably down, pattering onto the floor and ringing clearly in the temporarily silent hall.

"This girl, there's no need to be this emotional over it. The sacred beast is the one I injured, and your body is the one I touched. If I can't even save you, I, Old Li, really wouldn't need to show my face in the Immortal World anymore." Boss Li was immensely proud and completely oblivious to what a beast-slave actually meant.

"Very well," the Holy Mother nodded. "Elder Zhou's words are reasonable. Shui Ruyan has desecrated the sacred beast; capital punishment is spared, but the crime cannot go unpunished. Strip her of her Holy Maiden status and demote her to a beast-slave."

"Understood." Hearing this punishment, Shui Ruyan felt her heart turn instantly icy. She prostrated herself flat on the ground and sobbed, "I obey the Holy Mother's teachings."

Zhou Dunru looked triumphantly at Li Cenzhu. In the end, he had won this battle after all. Where on earth did this punk come from? Humph. Once he passed this news to the sacred beast and found a time to beg for this beast-slave and present her to the beast, today's matters would surely be concluded. Presumably, the Holy Mother wouldn't refuse to give him face over a mere beast-slave.

Yet Boss Li noticed a faint, ambiguous smile lingering at the corner of the Holy Mother Granny's mouth—a smile that seemed... thoroughly wretched.