Chapter 36 - 36
Shen Qingqiu narrowed his eyes and said, "As for what Cang Qiong Mountain Sect Qing Jing Peak successor's character may be like, since when did other sects start jumping to conclusions based on a mere rumor?"
The old palace master said, "If it were just rumor and hearsay, then naturally we wouldn't have believed it so easily. It's just that these words were spread precisely from people of your respectable sect." He surveyed his surroundings and continued, "Everyone here knows and would agree that it is common for disciples to have good relations with one another. It is also inevitable for some gossip and slander to spread. It's only this matter of Peak Lord Shen deliberately suppressing how he beat and harmed his disciples, which makes him unworthy of being described as "a n.o.ble and unblemished moral character."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingqiu was incredulous.
Harming his disciples?
That was indeed the truth. When Luo Binghe was growing up, Shen Qingqiu would abuse him in every possible way, using him for child labor and the like. All those bygone days could be written into a tragedy novel of its own. As for the rest of the disciples who were outstanding enough to be picked on, treated harshly, or evicted by Shen Qingqiu... they were so numerous they could form their own gymnastics team. Only, the perpetrator of this cruel treatment wasn't him, but the original goods!
Yue Qingyuan said solemnly, "Since you know they were just rumor and hearsay, then how can you not know there's no benefit in dwelling on the subject? Admittedly, my younger sect brother does not habitually pamper his disciples, but to say he abuses them is crossing the line."
Suddenly, a tender voice spoke up. Qin Wanyue could no longer resist the need to speak up for her crush: "If my humble self may be so bold to ask Sect Leader Yue... Ordering a teenage youth to fight against a demonic sect elder with hundreds of years of experience and armor bristling with poisoned spikes—could this not be counted as persecution and abuse?"
This time, Shen Qingqiu could not continue to stand by like a quiet wallflower.
Neither spiteful nor mild, he said, "Whether it is or not, I don't know. But what I do know is, if a master pushed their disciple out of the way of the poisoned spike armor and blocked it with his own body, this probably can't be counted as persecution. What do you think, Luo Binghe?"
Hearing this name, the faces of many cultivators present flickered in astonishment, especially those from Cang Qiong Mountain sect. Some had originally held some suspicions upon seeing his face, such as Qi Qingqi, and were now shocked by the reveal. As for those group leaders who had only just arrived at Jinlan City and been brought to their knees upon meeting Luo Binghe... they had already weathered the hail and storm and were now, in fact, calm and collected.
In the past, because Shen Qingqiu frequently punished Luo Binghe, Yue Qingyuan had also seen Luo Binghe a few times, but that was during Luo Binghe's youth. Later, when Shen Qingqiu started putting Luo Binghe to good use, he would often be absent from Qing Jing Peak running various errands, making it even harder to meet him. During the Immortal Alliance Conference, he'd glimpsed Luo Binghe's face in the crystal mirror, but only for a brief moment and through the mirror's murky surface no less. Thus, this whole time he had not recognized that this handsome, commanding youth beside Huan Hua Palace's Palace Master was, in fact, Shen Qingqiu's "dearest disciple" from back then. Before this, Yue Qingyuan had heard that the Palace Master thought highly of his most senior disciple, so he had mistaken Luo Binghe for Gongyi Xiao this entire time. Now with Shen Qingqiu revealing this, he was also stunned.