None of them had expected that the spineless cowards in the East Wing who had always not dared to put up any retaliation no matter how much they were bullied would suddenly house such an unreasonable and obnoxious little tyrant. That puny sized brat had charged straight into them and thrashed all of them up, not giving them any opportunity to even speak up.
After those youths had left, the air in the courtyard hung with a faint smell of blood and the place was suddenly quiet.
Qiao Chu sniffled his nose and suppressed his emotions. Without a word, his held up Jun Wu Xie’s bloodied hand and wiped off the blood carefully with the corner of his tattered shirt.
“Why would you hit them? They have now dirtied your hands.”
“Felt like it.” Jun Wu Xie said calmly, as the murder in her eyes diminished.
Qiao Chu sniffled again and did not say anything else. Only after wiping Jun Wu Xie’s hand clean, Qiao Chu looked up again at Jun Wu Xie, but did not say anything but only scratched at his own head.
Jun Wu Xie turned and walked towards Rong Ruo and handed him a hanky.
Rong Ruo was surprised a moment before he accepted it and muttered his thanks softly as he wiped the spit from his face.
“That felt great.” Hua Yao carried the little black cat and came before Jun Wu Xie, returning the unconscious cat back into her arms.
Jun Wu Xie carried the black cat in her arms and lowered her eyes. Those eyes were now calm and tranquil, completely unlike what they saw just moments ago, brutal and murderous.
“I swear, if Qiao Chu had not stopped Jun Xie earlier, Liu Chan would surely be dead now.” Fei Yan whispered softly into Rong Ruo’s ears.
Jun Xie’s body was small and skinny, and he did not speak much. But her temperament was something else. She spoke with her fists, simple and straightforward.
Rong Ruo stared at Jun Xie thoughtfully, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
She’s rather….. nice.
“Whoa! What mischief have you brats been up to again!?” Yan Bu Gui who had just left them just moments ago was led to come back after hearing the ruckus. When he saw Jun Wu Xie standing in the middle of his four disciples, he stopped in his tracks. But the faint smell of blood in the air did not escape him and he scanned his eyes around, seeing the splatters of blood just outside the entrance to the courtyard.
“Teacher, Liu Chan brought people from the South Wing here again.” Qiao Chu stiffened up when he saw Yan Bu Gui and he replied honestly to the query.
Yan Bu Gui frowned slightly, but his bushy beard covered much of his face and they could not read his expression.
“You retaliated?” Yan Bu Gui’s voice suddenly turned chilled.
Qiao Chu opened his mouth slightly and stopped. He then lowered his head and muttered in a low voice: “They were extremely rude to Rong Ruo and I could not hold myself back.”
Qiao Chu heaped all responsibility for it upon himself.
Yan Bu Gui’s eyes steeled and a flash of light burst from his hand, hitting Qiao Chu on his chest, the blast throwing him across the courtyard.
“I warned you guys so many times! You are not to lay a finger on the other disciples of the Phoenix Academy! Did my words not get into your head!?”
Volume 4
Chapter 362: “I Did It. So? (4)”
Yan Bu Gui strode quickly over and stood before Qiao Chu, his hand raised.
In the courtyard, Hua Yao and the others lowered their heads unable to watch.
Yan Bui Gui’s raised hand remained in the air and did not lower.
Jun Wu Xie held Yan Bu Gui’s hand back with her eyes. The small faced looked up at Yan Bu Gui, her eyes bitingly cold.
“I did it. It was me.” She said curtly.
Yan Bu Gui hesitated.
“If you seek to punish, it should be me.” Jun Wu Xie said, narrowing her eyes.
Yan Bu Gui looked at Jun Wu Xie, the anger fading from him. He retrieved his raised hand turned to walk away. He took two steps and turned back as if to say something but could not find the right words.
But Jun Wu Xie had something to say instead.
“I take back my words.” Jun Wu Xie said suddenly.
Yan Bu Gui waited silently for her to continue.
“A Master like you doesn’t deserve me to be your disciple.” Jun Wu Xie said coldly. She saw very clearly what Qiao Chu and the rest of them had to put up with. She had never had a master but she knew that as a master, if they could not protect their own disciples and instead expected them to swallow the pride and rage when they suffered under the humiliation countless times and not allowed to fight back…..
That clearly showed the incompetence of the master!
A master like that, however powerful, did not deserve her respect!
Yan Bu Gui remained silent. He stared at Jun Wu Xie and that cold face and that chilly expression. Those eyes were frosty as they stared at him and he felt as though he was sinking in an icy lake, its waters crystal clear.
Qiao Chu and the others were shocked beyond words.
Jun Wu Xie turned to walk away but Yan Bu Gui suddenly spoke: “A master like me? What did that mean?”
Jun Wu Xie stared at Yan Bu Gui with the same frosty eyes and said: “As a master, if they cannot protect their disciples, and allow their disciples to suffer humiliation and endless bullying from others, a master like that, I’ll rather do without.”
Jun Wu Xie’s voice was soft, but every single word of hers struck at the heart.
Yan Bu Gui narrowed his eyes, but his bushy beard hid his expression on his face.
Qiao Chu quickly reacted then and stood before Jun Wu Xie. “Little Xie! You’ve misunderstood! Things are not what they seem to be! Our master….. he is doing all this to protect us!”
Jun Wu Xie turned to Qiao Chu and said coldly: “If I’m constantly oppressed by people like those, and am forced to bear and grin it, even if I were to achieve what I wanted in the end, that would be no victory and I would get no satisfaction from it. To live, you live gloriously. Even if the skies fall, the back must never bend! Arrogance can be done without, but pride must never sway!” Forbearance did not mean to bear up under merciless bullying and character building did not mean getting beaten down all the time.
Jun Wu Xie might have been locked up in a room for more than a decade and had no freedom, constantly bombarded and forced by that demon’s ideals throughout that period, Jun Wu Xie had never bowed down to him and never allowed a moment’s humiliation from it.
Even if her bones crushed, her back would remain straight till the last moment!
Jun Wu Xie’s words drove a shock through Qiao Chu and made Yan Bu Gui seemingly thoughtful.
Living like dogs and subjected to the abuse and humiliation of anyone that wanted to, was that a life worth living?
Maybe, the little lad was right.
Living like this, they were better off dead.
“You’re Jun Xie right?” Yan Bu Gui raised his head at that moment and his eyes seemed different.
Jun Wu Xie looked at him with the same chilly eyes.
“If you think that we can live a properly and proudly, don’t take back your words. Let me see if you can do it your way, and turn the fates of Qiao Chu and the others.” Yan Bu Gui said smilingly.
Volume 4
Chapter 363: “Human Skin Map (1)”
It was interesting to note that when the little lad seeked for discipleship, Yan Bu Gui was hesitant to accept. And now that the little lad was unwilling, Yan Bu Gui was seeking to accept the discipleship.
But…..
It was now up to Jun Wu Xie to decide instead.
Jun Wu Xie did not reply and Qiao Chu was getting flustered. He grabbed at Jun Wu Xie by the arm and pulled her into his room.
The others stood still and did not move from their spots. They knew very well what Qiao Chu was up to and did not step in to stop him.
When they were inside the room, Qiao Chu searched and produced a small brocade bo
x. Jun Wu Xie had seen that box before. They retrieved it when they were in the Qing Yun Clan.
“This is the reason why Brother Hua and I infiltrated into the Qing Yun Clan.” Qiao Chu brought the box before Jun Wu Xie and gestured for her to open it.
Jun Wu Xie opened the box and a map laid within. She looked closer and she saw that the map was drawn on a piece of human skin!
“That piece of human skin was cut out from my father’s back.” Qiao Chu’s voice suddenly grew suppressed.
Jun Wu Xie looked up. The map drawn on the piece of human skin was not complete and she could see that it formed only a part of the whole map.
“Me, Brother Hua, Fei Yan, Rong Ruo and our Master, were all from the Middle Realm. The powers of the Middle Realm is broken up into, One region, Four sides, Nine Temples and Twelve Palaces. The lone region among them refers to the Dark Regions, under the command of the Dark Emperor, and is the most powerful force in the Middle Realm. The people who attacked us previously were two people from the Palace of Flame Demons from the Twelve Palaces. Centuries ago, the Dark Regions held control over the Middle Realm, and the four sides, nine temples and the twelve palaces capitulated and surrendered all their magic items and weapons to the Dark Emperor. But the Dark Emperor died suddenly and all his treasures and magic items were buried together with him deep in the catacombs of the Dark Emperor.”
Qiao Chu slowly explained further: “The tomb of the Dark Emperor, contains all of the most powerful magical items and unimaginable riches in the Middle Realm and it was the treasure trove everyone in the Middle Realm dreams of possessing. But for the unendingly and rigidly loyal minions of the Dark Emperor, no one knew where the catacombs of the Dark Emperor laid. The Dark Regions had lost their Dark Emperor and their might was not like before. But the Dark Emperor was the one man who dominated the entire Middle Realm and even after his death, his dominating reputation lingered. If anyone dared to make any moves towards the Dark Emperor’s tomb, the Dark Regions would swarm out of their nest and annihilate them.”
“But human greed had always been insatiable and people continued to eye the Dark Emperor’s treasures. With intensive but discreet investigations over long periods of time, they finally uncovered news that the Dark Emperor’s tomb laid in the Lower Realm. In order to not alert anyone, and to keep the treasures for themselves, the Twelve Palaces sent a group of people into the Lower Realm to locate the catacombs of the Dark Emperor. The search carried on for hundreds of years over an endless number of expeditions. Finally, seven out of the countless people sent out found the location of the tomb. They had come from different powers and in order to curb and restrict each other, they split up the map and tattooed them on the backs of the seven of them.”
Upon saying that, Qiao Chu’s face darkened as he continued: “The people who located the Dark Emperor’s tomb all returned to the Middle Realm, and handed their portion of the map to the powers they served respectively. They had thought that their mission was accomplished with all the hard work they had put in in the Lower Realm, and they deserved a good rest. But what awaited them instead was a massacre!”
“The Twelve Palaces were fearful of reprisal from the Dark Regions and pushed all blame of desecrating the Dark Emperor’s tomb onto the seven men. None of them survived and the tattooed maps on their backs were carved out and held by seven of the twelve palaces. As the maps were split and all the individual palaces selfishly wanted to monopolize the treasure, till this day, they still have not found the exact location of the catacombs.”
Volume 4
Chapter 364: “Human Skin Map (2)”
“Those people gave up their whole lives in the search for the Dark Emperor’s tomb for the powers they served, they suffered the curses and verbal abuse while alive and were not able to rest in peace even after their deaths. They died under torture and their souls were completely destroyed. Their families were not spared and massacred without exception.” Qiao Chu laughed loudly suddenly after he told the story, tears forming in his eyes as he looked at Jun Wu Xie.
“Wouldn’t you think that those people were so dumb? They knew that the Dark Emperor’s tomb was not to be desecrated and they got themselves and their whole family tree massacred because of their blind loyalty to the various powers they served respectively. The Twelve Palaces seek the Dark Emperor’s treasures, but they did not want to shoulder the responsibility of betrayal and used those few people as scapegoats. Those people were really dumb to fall for the tricks of the Twelve Palaces.”
Jun Wu Xie listened to every word in silence. Qiao Chu laughed, seemingly mocking himself as the tears flowed down his face endlessly at the same time.
“If not for Master’s timely interference that saved the four of us here, we would not be here now. Master sneaked us out of the Middle Realm and brought us here into the Lower Realm at a great risk. Here, he taught us how to develop our spiritual powers, and to hide our identities to bide for time. Right from the moment our entire families were massacred, we had all given up on life. The only thing driving us forward is to exact our revenge upon the Twelve Palaces! Our Master has forbidden us to fight the other students so as we do not draw attention to ourselves and expose our identities which will bring us certain doom. So, Little Xie, please do not blame him. If not for him, we would not be alive now.” Qiao Chu said as he wiped the tears from his face and pushed down the raging emotions within him.
He exposed this most painful wound he carried in his heart all his life to Jun Xie as he did not want to see his newly found brother harbour any prejudice against his revered Master.
They were both precious to him and he wished they could get along well.
Jun Wu Xie narrowed her eyes and suddenly stood up to walk towards the door.
Yan Bu Gui stared at Jun Wu Xie as she strode quickly towards him, his face was edged with worry.
Jun Wu Xie stopped before Yan Bu Gui and she said in a clear voice.
“Master.”
“My disciple.”
Yan Bu Gui wasn’t just being weak, but doing everything he could to protect his four disciples. His methods might have been a little extreme but his intentions were nevertheless noble.
For Yan Bu Gui to escape from the Middle Realm with four young ones in tow, only the Heavens knew how much hardship he had gone through to hide and protect the four young kids from the pursuit and persecution from the twelve palaces while he brought them up and teached them.
The simple form of address of “Master” made the tensed up Hua Yao and the others heave a sigh of relief. Jun Wu Xie’s earlier unhesitant defence of Rong Ruo against the humiliation by the youths had left a deep imprint of gratitude on their hearts and they were glad things had turned out well.
“Cough….. Since you have addressed me as your Master, would that mean you will listen to Master from now onwards? When things just like today happens in future…..” Yan Bu Gui was deeply gladdened by his new disciple and was just starting to educate him on the “ways to survive in the Phoenix Academy” when Jun Wu Xie suddenly interrupted him by saying:
“If something like this happens again, I will fight back just as I did today.” Her face calm and expressionless.
Yan Bu Gui was at a total loss for words.
“I appreciate Master’s noble intentions and your justified concerns for us, your disciples. But I cannot agree.” Jun Wu Xie’s eyes were determined. She acknowledged Yan Bu Gui’s righteous and noble character, but his methods of handling such matters were a little overboard.
“For such matters, please leave it to your disciple to handle in future.” Jun Wu Xie said finally.
They were now in the same boat now that she had acknowledged Yan Bu Gui as a Master. She would never in a million years allow her Master and fellow senior disciples to live under anyone’s humiliation and abuse.
Yan Bu Gui gaped like a goldfish and no words came out.
Standing on one side, Qiao Chu was beaming like a newly risen sun. They had held back and suppresse
d their rage at the constant abuse for a long time, and they wished for nothing more than to see their new junior teach those brats from the other wings a lesson they would never forget.
Those four youths who had always abided by Yan Bu Gui’s words and had not challenged him once, did not notice that with Jun Wu Xie’s addition, their lives had started to change. This was the first step towards what fate had for them to become and their lives were to change drastically. In the near future, the destined six that were to come together to kick up a unbelievable storm throughout the three realms now numbered five!
Volume 4
Chapter 365: “Human Skin Map (3)”
Faced with Jun Xie’s “insistence”, Yan Bu Gui was helpless and had no choice but to give in to him. But he secretly instructed the others to keep an eye on Jun Xie and protect him from harm.
Because Jun Xie possessed a rather unique ring spirit, Yan Bu Gui did not give him the usual instructions in the development of his spiritual powers but to just stay by the lotus pond and accompany the recovering Snow Lotus.
Qiao Chu and the others were looking into ways to locate the other six human skin maps. The Twelve Palaces might have seized possession of them, but they did not dare to keep that hot potato in hand. The Twelve Palaces had instead secretly colluded with various powers of the Lower Realm and had given the maps to them to do their dirty job of searching for the Dark Emperor’s tomb on their behalf.
Sneaky tactics like this, were commonly employed by the Twelve Palaces.
The treasures in the Dark Emperor’s tomb, would grant anyone who found it, power capable of obliterating the Twelve Palaces.
Qiao Chu and the others seeked revenge and Jun Wu Xie’s objective coincided perfectly with them as she seeked the annihilation of the Palace of Flame Demons.
On the other hand, Jun Wu Xie’s discipleship had also made her aware of Yan Bu Gui and his disciples’ painful destitution.
Genius Doctor: Black Belly Miss Volume 4 Page 16