Fusang Sword Heart Diagram

Chapter 55 Discipline Hall

Yang Ruo had sent a letter back beforehand via flying sword, and the people from the Law Enforcement Hall were already waiting in front of the mountain gate.

The Law Enforcement Hall of the Southern Star Sword Sect consists of three main parts: the Qinglu Pavilion, the Discipline Hall, and the Wanfang Hall. The Qinglu Pavilion is responsible for drafting and compiling the sect rules, issuing and replacing identity jade tokens, and other miscellaneous matters. The Wanfang Hall is responsible for the market and the sect's internal security patrols.

The Discipline Hall is the core of the entire Enforcement Hall. Generally speaking, the head of the Discipline Hall is the deputy head of the Enforcement Hall, and Yu Wanwu currently holds this position.

He wore a black robe with wide, flowing sleeves embroidered with ancient gold characters, a jade belt around his waist, and a ruler at his side. His brows were stern, and his demeanor was extraordinary.

The group bowed and greeted Elder Yu.

Yu Wanwu glanced at the group that had returned, his gaze lingering on Ning Fusang for a while longer. The young woman was composed and at ease.

"Go to the Discipline Hall first, and after the Sect Leader and Hall Master Qi have finished their questioning, then go and hand in the mission."

Behind Yu Wanwu, two disciples stepped forward and escorted Luo Dujun.

A-Quan and the few surviving members of their clan followed behind nervously.

She had never been to the Southern Star Sword Sect before, and she dared not look around too much along the way. When she arrived at the Discipline Hall, A-Quan slightly raised her eyes. Above her hung a giant sword, which looked extremely majestic and sharp, making her feel slightly uncomfortable.

More importantly, the sect leader Shen Hongxue, the head of the Enforcement Hall Qi Wenling, and Gu Pingsheng were all present. Even outer disciples like Hua Yue and Dong Fangfei rarely saw any of these three, let alone A-Quan. If you include Yu Wanwu, the head of the Discipline Hall, then there were four.

A-Quan and her clansmen dared not utter a sound.

As Yang Ruofei explained in his message, the purpose of the Discipline Hall's questioning was simply to confirm some issues with them.

After the questioning was finished, Dong Fangfei, Yang Ni, Hua Yue, Xie Feng, and a few others who were not involved in the matter left first.

Yang Ruo and Ning Fusang were left behind.

Shen Hongxue looked at the group of merfolk, feeling deeply moved. He then turned his gaze to A-Quan, the oldest among them.

"The elders stationed at Qingbo Cave Lake, Lu Cong and Dou Yuan, sold the mermaids from the lake. Once was thirty years ago when they sold them to Lingyu Palace, and the other time is this time when they want to sell you to Qiushuang Sword Sect, right?"

A-Quan's eyes widened slightly, seemingly in shock, before she nodded blankly.

There are some things you shouldn't ask, so you have to suppress your curiosity. Ah Quan understood this principle well, so she just answered whatever the other person asked, avoiding any unnecessary complications.

Qi Wenling lifted her eyelids and said, "After Yang Ruo returned with the message via flying sword, our Enforcement Hall sent people to investigate Lu Cong and Dou Yuan. Lingyu Palace did not deny it and directly sent a copy of the evidence to the Enforcement Hall. But the deal is done, and your clansmen will never be able to return to Qingbo Cave Lake."

Qi Wenling's words were an explanation that the Southern Star Sword Sect did not allow its elders to abuse their power for personal gain or to sell merfolk.

The Southern Star Sword Sect did not know about the sale of merfolk thirty years ago, but turned a blind eye. It was only after Yang Ruo exposed the sale of merfolk this time that they could no longer hide it and came out to uphold justice.

After hearing Qi Wenling's words, A-Quan's doubts vanished completely. "Yang Ruo, Ning Fusang," Yu Wanwu called out their names, "When you two went to Qingbo Cave Lake in private, did you discover Lu Cong's transaction with the Qiushuang Sword Sect beforehand and went down to the lake to verify it, or did you only learn about Lu Cong's trafficking of merfolk after you went down to the lake?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Dujun couldn't help but look at the two of them. He had been so careful in his actions at Qingbo Cave Lake, how had he been discovered?

Yang Ruo began by recounting how he retrieved mermaid silk and found mermaid tears. He worried that his private affairs in Qingbo Cave Lake might implicate Ning Fusang, since Elder Yu didn't seem to like her very much. Yang Ruo took all the blame upon himself: "Elder Yu, it was my curiosity that led me to drag Junior Sister Ning down to the cave lake with me. This matter has nothing to do with her. If you want to punish me for what happened in the cave lake, then punish me."

Ning Fusang remained calm throughout, but when she heard Yang Ruo trying so hard to distance herself from the situation, a small smile appeared on her lips.

Admittedly, Yang Ruo is a bit of a fool, but Ning Fusang would not truly laugh at someone like him.

She can simply appreciate the qualities that others possess but she herself lacks.

Yu Wanwu's voice was devoid of emotion: "I did not say that I would punish you for going to Qingbo Cave Lake without permission."

Those were the rules of Qingbodong Lake; he had no say in them, nor should he. Yu Wanwu simply wanted to confirm the order in which events occurred, to avoid reversing cause and effect.

Luo Dujun was speechless. So, he had fallen to this state because of a tiny mermaid tear pearl? Would this kid die if he lost a little curiosity?
Hearing that Yu Wanwu would not punish the person who had privately visited Qingbo Cave Lake, Yang Ruo breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, he had been forcing himself to say those words, as he was still a little scared inside because Elder Yu had punished people so severely.

"Elder Yu must have let it go leniently because of Master's sake. Fortunately, Master came to the joint trial in the Discipline Hall today, otherwise, Ning and I would not know where we would have been punished to mine." Yang Ruo felt a wave of fear.

After Shen Hongxue stood up, Qi Wenling and Gu Pingsheng also stood up.

Despite her refined and approachable demeanor, Shen Hongxue, despite holding the position of sect leader, still exuded an unavoidable air of authority that made people hesitant to look directly at her.

He casually announced Luo Dujun's fate: "Cripple his cultivation, sever his tendons, and send him back to the Autumn Frost Sword Sect."

Luo Dujun's face changed drastically, as if he had lost his soul, and he shouted ferociously, "You can't treat me like this! I am a disciple of the Autumn Frost Sword Sect, what right does your Southern Star Sword Sect have to punish me?"

"Lu Cong was the one who sold the merfolk. If he didn't want to sell them, would my Autumn Frost Sword Sect force him to buy them?"

"Lingyu Palace also traded merfolk, and your Nanxing Sword Sect didn't care. But when it came to my Qiushuang Sword Sect, you made a big fuss..." Luo Dujun suddenly realized something and blurted out, "I understand, you're holding a grudge against Wei Shaoqing! Hahahaha, the Nanxing Sword Sect prides itself on being upright and honorable, but it still can't accept that the pure and innocent Fairy Li has a mortal fiancé who can't cultivate."

But this was a calculated move by the Autumn Frost Sword Sect, and they had no choice but to accept it, otherwise they would be branded as heartless and ruthless.

Righteous sects are different from rogue cultivators and demonic sects; they cherish their reputation and are therefore burdened by it.

The four powerful figures, Shen Hongxue, Qi Wenling, Yu Wanwu, and Gu Pingsheng, glanced at him indifferently. Luo Dujun's laughter gradually subsided, and his expression turned ugly.

He knew that they didn't take him seriously at all, and wouldn't even bother to get angry.

(End of this chapter)