A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 539 Ten Major Sexual Crimes
In the darkness of night, more than a dozen maids dressed in colorful skirts, carrying lanterns, had already reached the back of the maids' quarters.

"Oh! I'm finally back! I've been running around all day, my legs are about to give out!"

"That's right! Those old men from the Tianyan Sect are really ruthless! And they've been staying up this late every night for the past few days, I'm starting to feel the strain."

"You should be content! We're doing alright in the Elders' Council! You haven't seen the Dragon Fish Hall these past few days, it's been open all night! Those servants are sleeping on the floor in the hall at night."

A tall, slender maid carrying a lantern suddenly noticed a piece of white paper hanging on a pine tree by the roadside. She frowned. "Huh, what's this?!"

The tall maid casually took down the white paper and looked at it in the dim light. Upon seeing it, her originally fair face instantly turned bright red.

"What are you looking at?" A group of maids immediately gathered around.

At the very top of the white paper, the words "Ten Great Crimes of Lust" were written in bold, vigorous strokes, four large characters that seemed to penetrate the paper itself!

Below are ten more items, which are actually a list of ten lewd and disgusting scandals committed by Li Ruozhou, the young sect leader of Tianyan Sect, in the past two years.

The maids blushed as soon as they saw the words.

"How could this person be so wicked?!"

"This is more than just bad; it's downright inhuman!"

"This refers to Li Ruozhou, the young sect master of the Tianyan Sect! Isn't he going to form a marriage alliance with our Taiyi Sect?"

"Alright, stop gossiping! Who knows if what's written on this paper is true or not?" The tall maid who had initially taken the paper from the pine tree suddenly exclaimed, letting go of it as the white paper flew away on the night breeze. "We shouldn't talk about what's written on this paper, or we might get questioned!"

“Sister is right!” Another maid, who seemed more composed, chimed in, “I’m afraid someone is stirring up trouble.”

"Let's go back and get some rest. We have to get up early tomorrow!"

A group of maids carrying lanterns arrived at the gate of the maids' quarters. One of them took out a key from her waist and opened the gate.

A few tiny lights, like beans, flooded into the dark courtyard.

They dispersed and walked through the courtyard, heading towards their houses in twos and threes. No one noticed that Li Ruozhou was lying unconscious in the middle of the courtyard, covered with a blanket.

Before long, dim lights came on in all the low-rise houses.

The maids took off their skirts, wearing only underpants and bibs, and carried wooden basins to the well in the courtyard to draw water for washing and grooming.

Because there were many people queuing by the well, some were also making beds and collecting clothes.

A petite maid, wearing a bib, was collecting clothes on the clothesline. She had collected a few pieces of clothing for herself and her sister who shared a room with her. Then she went to the center of the courtyard to pull down the blanket hanging there.

She pulled the blanket off, hugged it to her arms, and was about to leave when she suddenly stopped and turned to look at the wooden stake in the center of the courtyard.

This sudden sight was so shocking that she was terrified and her face turned pale!

In the dim night, a naked man was clearly tied to the wooden stake. His face was bruised and swollen, like a pig's head. Illuminated by the dim light from the house, he looked like a monster with a human body and a monstrous head.

"Ah~"

The petite maidservant dropped the clothes and blankets she was holding to the ground and screamed in terror…

"Xiao Qi, what's wrong?"

Inside the room, the maids by the well gathered around.

They immediately saw Li Ruozhou, who was tied to a wooden stake and unconscious. His face was swollen and covered in bruises, and they didn't know whether he was dead or alive. Moreover, he was naked. All the maids turned pale and dared not go forward.

"Is this person dead or alive?!"

After a while, someone finally came to their senses and asked.

"It looks like he's wearing a sign!" Someone standing closer could vaguely see it.

Most of these maids were unmarried and had never seen a naked man before, so they all turned their faces away, not daring to look. Only a few older women stood in front.

Just as they were recovering from their shock, a frantic knocking sounded at the gate of the maids' quarters, accompanied by shouts of, "Open the door! Open the door!"

Hearing the gruff, shouting male voice, the maids, who were only wearing underpants and bodices, immediately fell silent and huddled together in fear...

Li Yunjing came out of the Elders' Courtyard and returned to his own room in the manor, exhausted.

He sat in the armchair, sipped a couple of mouthfuls of ginseng tea, and suddenly called out towards the door, "Tianyi, come in here!"

The door creaked open, and a middle-aged man dressed in coarse linen clothes walked in, cupping his fists and saying, "Sect Master!"

Li Yunjing glanced at him wearily and said, "Go and call Li Ruozhou over. I have something to tell him!"

"Yes!" Yang Tianyi clasped his hands in a salute and left.

Not long after, he rushed back and said, "Reporting to the Sect Master, the Young Sect Master is not in his room!"

Li Yunjing's facial muscles twitched, and he shouted, "Not in the room?!"

It was already past midnight, and the boy was still not in his room. Li Yunjing felt a little anxious. He was afraid that Li Ruozhou might do something despicable here at Taiyi Sect, as old habits die hard.

Yang Tianyi naturally noticed the change in Li Yunjing's expression. "The servant in the young sect leader's room said that the young sect leader left before 7 PM."

"Before 7 PM?" Li Yunjing's eyes flashed. "That's just over an hour!"

Li Yunjing was not worried about Li Ruozhou's safety. Li Ruozhou himself had good cultivation and was protected by the Li family's ancestral magic treasure. Unless a cultivator in the late stage of the Cave Realm made a move, it would be impossible to keep him.

"Tianyi, take some men and go out to search," Li Yunjing instructed with a worried expression.

"Yes, Sect Master!" Yang Tianyi clasped his hands in a salute, then strode away, sword in hand.

He selected seven or eight patrolling guards and led them out of the manor.

"Head Yang, it's pitch black, where are we supposed to find the young sect leader?" a thin guard asked, looking at the endless, dark mountains.

Yang Tianyi also frowned, looking somewhat troubled. "Let's search around on Cuiwei Peak first. We'll see what happens if we can't find it!"

Just then, a gust of night wind suddenly howled, and a piece of white paper was smeared onto the face of one of Yang Tianyi's guards.

The crowd chuckled.
Yang Tianyi turned his head and, in the dim light, saw that the white paper pasted on the guard's face was covered with writing. At the top were four large, bold characters: "Ten Major Crimes of Lust." Yang Tianyi's eyes widened.

"damn it!"

The guard had already snatched the white paper off his face. He had seen the paper flutter past him, but hadn't paid it any attention. However, the wind shifted and the paper ended up directly on his face.

Just as the guard was about to use his inner energy to blast the white paper into dust, Yang Tianyi suddenly called out to him.

"and many more!"

Yang Tian reached out and took the white paper, examining it under the dim light.

After reading it, he was shocked!
"Who is this person?! How dare they cause trouble at this critical juncture?!" Three days later is the engagement ceremony for the marriage alliance between the two families, yet at this very moment, a sheet of white paper listing the disgraceful deeds of their young sect leader has appeared on Cuiwei Peak, and it is titled as the Ten Great Crimes of Lewdness!
"His intentions are despicable!"

Yang Tianyi's expression shifted between light and dark. He was about to take the white paper back to the manor to have Li Yunjing review it when he heard a shrill, terrified scream coming from the foot of the southeast mountain.

The scream pierced the dark night sky.

That was clearly the scream of a frightened woman!

Yang Tian's expression hardened. He looked up and saw a dim, yellow light shining at the foot of the dark mountain. He knew the young sect leader's temperament very well, but this was Taiyi Sect territory!
"follow me!"

Fearing something might happen, Yang Tianyi immediately took flight, like a large bird, towards the dimly lit courtyard at the foot of the mountain.

The guards also leaped up, stepping on the treetops in the darkness, following Yang Tianyi as they sped down the mountain.

As soon as Yang Tian arrived near the courtyard, he scanned the area with his divine sense and immediately knew what had happened. He was Li Yunjing's personal bodyguard and had watched Li Ruozhou grow up since he was a child. Even though Li Ruozhou had been beaten into a pig's head and tied up there, Yang Tian recognized him immediately with a scan of his divine sense. More importantly, Li Ruozhou was wearing the Li family's ancestral longevity lock around his neck.

Yang Tianyi did not jump directly into the courtyard. This was Taiyi Sect territory, and the courtyard was full of maids wearing only underpants and bibs. If he jumped in directly, who knows what trouble he might cause.

He immediately darted to the courtyard gate, reached out and knocked, shouting in a gruff voice, "Open the door! Open the door!"

The maids inside were in a panic. One of them, a tall maid, her eyes turning cold, shouted, "What's the panic?!"

She pulled a blanket from the clothesline, wrapped it around herself, and asked the gate, "Who is knocking at the gate in the middle of the night?"

Yang Tianyi shouted from outside the door, "I am a guard of the Tianyan Sect! The one who was knocked unconscious in the courtyard is my young sect master! Open the door now!"

The tall maid's eyes flashed, and she turned to look at the flustered maids, saying, "You all go back to your rooms and put on your clothes!"

Upon hearing this, the maids immediately ran to their respective rooms.

Seeing that all the sisters had returned to their rooms, the tall maid wrapped herself in a blanket and went over to open the courtyard gate.

As soon as the courtyard gate opened, a dark figure darted in.

"Young Sect Master!"

The man shouted and immediately rushed to the wooden stake in the center of the courtyard.

Yang Tianyi reached out and checked Li Ruozhou's breath, and was relieved to find that she was just unconscious.

He noticed a sign hanging around Li Ruozhou's neck.

Yang Tianyi tore off the wooden sign and looked at it in the dim light. He saw that it read: "Lewd Young Master!"

But the brushstrokes and the overall style of the writing were different from the characters on the white paper I had just seen.

Duan Rong has already devoured quite a few calligraphy and painting spirits. He changes the font every day and can write in a different style every month. Moreover, each one has the air of a master!

Yang Tian cleaved the ropes binding Li Ruozhou with a powerful, blade-like motion. With a flick of his right hand, a blanket lying on the ground nearby flew up and wrapped around Li Ruozhou.

Yang Tianyi held the unconscious Li Ruozhou wrapped in a blanket, then looked at the tall woman behind him. At this moment, the seven or eight guards also poured in from the courtyard gate.

The tall woman, wrapped in a blanket, stood in front of the guards. Her expression showed only a slight moment of panic before she regained her composure.

Yang Tianyi asked, "Who injured my young sect leader?"

The tall maid said, "We just came back from the Elders' Council after our shift. It was when Xiao Qi was collecting the clothes that she first discovered that... that person was tied to the wooden stake..."

Yang Tian's eyes flashed. These were all maids from the Elders' Council. The Elders' Council had indeed just finished its term, and he had been at the manor gate not long ago when he heard that terrified scream that pierced the night. It was probably around that time that someone discovered the young sect leader.

Moreover, the young sect leader is a cultivator at the Qi Cyclone Realm, and these maids cannot harm her.

Yang Tianyi said in a deep voice, "Miss, I know this matter has nothing to do with you. However, if you have any questions about today's events, I hope you can answer truthfully."

The tall maid said, "Don't worry! I'll say whatever I see!"

Yang Tian nodded, glancing at the woman with a hint of appreciation. To remain calm in this situation showed she was a person who could handle anything.

"let's go!"

Yang Tianyi, carrying Li Ruozhou wrapped in a blanket, took to the air and flew towards the manor.

Suddenly, the guards, like large birds, leaped over the wall and disappeared.

The tall maid stood there, looking at the suddenly silent and empty courtyard. She stretched out her long, cold hand from under the blanket and touched her face before letting out a long sigh, as if she had just woken from a nightmare.

Only then did the doors open, and the maids timidly emerged from their rooms…

Inside the manor, Li Yunjing was pacing anxiously in his room when he suddenly heard someone shout from outside the door, "Sect Master! Something's happened!"

Li Yunjing's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately pushed open the door and went out. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, he saw Yang Tianyi carrying the unconscious Li Ruozhou as he leaped over.

Li Yunjing immediately saw that Li Ruozhou, wrapped in a blanket, had fainted with bruises all over his face, and his heart suddenly ached.

He had spoiled Li Ruozhou since he was a child. Although his son was a troublemaker, there were still many close relationships between father and son.

Li Yunjing panicked and asked, "What's wrong with my son?"

Yang Tianyi said, "Sect Master, do not worry! The young sect master is only unconscious; his dantian and meridians are undamaged!"

Li Yunjing felt a little relieved and said, "Bring him into the room!"

Yang Tianyi carried Li Ruozhou into the room and placed him on the bed. Li Yunjing sat sideways, took his pulse, and then put a pill into Li Ruozhou's mouth, helping him swallow it with tea.

Seeing that Li Ruozhou was naked, Li Yunjing felt a surge of anger. He glanced at the longevity lock around Li Ruozhou's neck, turned to Yang Tianyi, and asked, "Where did you find him?"

Yang Tianyi then recounted what he had seen and heard in the maids' quarters.

Upon hearing this, Li Yunjing's eyes flickered. The protective magic item, the Longevity Lock, was still around Li Ruozhou's neck, so who exactly knocked him unconscious?

Could it be a cultivator in the late stage of the Cave of Clarity Realm?

At this moment, Yang Yitian suddenly handed a wooden plaque and a piece of white paper to Li Yunjing and said in a deep voice, "This wooden plaque is hung around the young sect leader's neck. My men have found quite a few of these pieces of white paper floating around on Cuiwei Peak."

Li Yunjing took it, and upon reading it, his anger surged.

"You lecherous young sect leader!"

"The Ten Great Crimes of Adultery!"

Suppressing his anger, Li Yunjing finished reading the blank paper and felt a mix of emotions, because each of the ten major crimes of lust was indeed true.

Li Yunjing stood up, his eyes somber. He suddenly said in a deep, mournful voice, "Tianyi, go find Sect Leader Chu and Chief Yang of the Taiyi Sect! It seems someone is trying to sabotage the marriage alliance between our two sects!"

(End of this chapter)