Chapter 27 Astonishing the World with One Remarkable Achievement (III）

　　Gu Ning was stunned; everyone gasped. The woman looked adorably foolish, yet her heart was ruthless. For cultivators, losing cultivation could be recovered, but destroying one’s root-bone was a different matter — it reduced a person to a mere mortal, confined to birth, aging, sickness, and death. For a cultivator, that fate was worse than death.

　　Qiwu Jun hadn’t expected her reply and asked again, “Why?”

　　Ruoshui spoke slowly: “A cultivator above all must have a righteous heart. There’s a saying: the greater the power, the greater the responsibility. But if a person’s heart is crooked, the greater his power, the greater the harm he can do. Admitting one’s mistake and changing is the greatest good; yet he first took advantage of his luck and then spat vile lies. He shows no awareness of wrongdoing. If we don’t punish him, he won’t repent; if we punish lightly, he’ll not be grateful for clemency but will resent us and will come back stronger one day, never to stop.”

　　Her argument had weight; even Lord Qingshan and Minister Mulin looked at her with renewed respect.

　　“He won’t,” Elder Qiu said with a forced smile. “My son is inexperienced—please, Lord, show mercy and our Yingzhou clan will be grateful.”

　　Fangyi Jun snorted, “Mercy? Elder Qiu, your boy has abused the honor of Zhaoyao by assaulting my lord’s wife at our gate. Is Zhaoyao a place to be trampled?”

　　Elder Qiu protested, “Fangyi Jun, my little prince did not know that lady was the lord’s wife!”

　　“Not know?” Fangyi Jun’s tone sharpened. “Not knowing is no excuse to act as you please. Not knowing does not give license to bully someone. You thought you could hide it; when found out you spew nonsense to cover your tracks, attempting to bite and tear at others. If she weren’t the lord’s wife and believed your lies, you might have taken her back to Yingzhou — then she’d have no one to call on, no help, and her name would be ruined.”

　　Elder Qiu was speechless.

　　Lord Qingshan stroked his beard and said, “It is after all Yingzhou’s young master — not irredeemable. I suggest a light punishment with a lasting lesson.”

　　“Many thanks, Head of the Sect.” Elder Qiu breathed with relief.

　　Qiwu Jun looked at Ruoshui. “What do you say?”

　　Ruoshui made a small snort, a bit sullen. “Saying won’t change anything. Why ask me? Waste of breath.” Having had a drink, she just wanted a place to sleep.

　　Fangyi Jun protested, “Master, Gu Ning acted with corrupt intent and did this on Zhaoyao’s land. Will a mere light punishment satisfy the public?”

　　“Corrupt intent?” Gu Ning interrupted, wild-eyed, pointing at Ruoshui. “Who’s more corrupt than she? Everyone in the sect knows how she climbed into Qiwu Jun’s bed — by trickery, by drugging, utterly shameless. She’s standing here unscathed; who are you to call me corrupt? Hypocrites! I say she is the one who should lose cultivation and have her root-bone destroyed!”

　　What audacity. The assembly fell into awkward attention.

　　Elder Qiu broke into a cold sweat — he’d thought the Head’s compromise let him soften matters, but Gu Ning’s outburst threatened ruin.

　　Fangyi Jun’s chest tightened hearing the slander against Ruoshui. He knew the truth was not as rumored and meant to defend her; before he could speak, Ruoshui stepped forward.

　　“First: I am not a cultivator. I have no cultivation to strip, no root-bone to destroy.”

　　“Second: I’m an ordinary mortal with no strength. If I had the power, you wouldn’t be standing here alive. Even if I wanted to harm someone, I lack the ability.”

　　“Third: I can explain.” She turned to Qiwu Jun, her eyes bleary with drink but clear. “I bought the wine, but I did not put any sedatives in it. At the time I was looking for you, but I didn’t know who you were or where you were. There was a strange man who said he would help me; he didn’t look like a good man, but in desperation I accepted his help. I suspected he had hidden motives. I intended to find you only to tell you what happened, but I never had the chance. I truly only wanted to see you and to congratulate you; at most I hoped for a small job near you.”

　　“I didn’t mean harm. I don’t say this to excuse myself—the wine I gave was my fault, I wronged you. Ultimately it’s all because of me that you became the talk of the world and Zhaoyao was shamed. To stop the slander and clear things, I would die as penance if you wished. Kill me.” She handed Qiwu Jun Yun Bumei’s ceremonial sword.

　　Nobody dared breathe. She who had crawled into Qiwu Jun’s bed spoke plainly, with logic and guts. Her soaked face, still a little tipsy, made her seem harmless — yet she had played the part of a cunning fox. Fangyi Jun had long suspected she was no ordinary mortal: lost memories, persistent nightmares, zither music that made listeners feel transported, and the miraculous blood cure; none of it was normal. He worried Qiwu Jun might indeed kill her — their status constrained him from acting too much, and one wrong move would make the world heap scorn on her.

　　Lord Qingshan and Minister Mulin now viewed her anew: if her explanation was true, she was not to blame; she had been the victim. Her words swayed their judgment.

　　Gu Ning’s face was ashen. This woman — drunk and reckless — actually offered herself to die, a mad card, but it fell unexpectedly with power. Seeing her demand, he growled, “Qiwu Jun, be fair.”

　　All eyes turned to Qiwu Jun. If he spared her, the public would be appeased; if he punished her, he would be accused of cruelty. Should he mete out impartial justice for the sake of the sect, or show partiality?

　　“You humiliated her, and she thinks stripping your cultivation and destroying your root-bone is fitting. I find that reasonable. She deceived me; how to punish him is my affair. Besides, there are hidden facts. The matter concerns all of Zhaoyao, so we must investigate fully, examine the truth and judge impartially. Zhaoyao’s internal affairs cannot be subject to outside interference.” Qiwu Jun’s voice was even but carried authority.

　　Elder Qiu had no further words. In the gaze of the assembly, Gu Ning was condemned — sentenced to become an ordinary mortal, banned from cultivation, and sent back to Yingzhou.

　　Ruoshui was taken back to Gushu Peak by Su Mu; Fangyi Jun returned to the Herb Valley. Overnight it felt as if a world had shifted. Fangyi Jun had resolved to hide her and claim her as his — but the man in question was Qiwu Jun, and for Fangyi Jun the opportunity to fight for her was limited. He knew, too, that Ruoshui had always pined for Qiwu Jun; beyond heartbreak he felt worry. Her secrets were too many and too strange. What would happen should her true origin be revealed?

　　Yu Furong watched Fangyi Jun’s melancholy with guilt. She blamed herself for failing to protect Ruoshui, felt sad for Fangyi Jun, and mourned for herself: love that is reciprocated is a blessing, one-sided love is suffering, and unrequited love is pain.