Minglong

Chapter 333 Hundred Flowers Forest

Moon Pavilion.

Outside the five-story building, thunder and rain raged, while a faint fragrance permeated the elegant room.

A painting table was placed by the window, on which were carefully framed calligraphy and paintings. Ye Yunchi stood in front of the table, leaning over to carefully observe the details of the brushstrokes with a magnifying glass. He was almost in a state of immersion, his eyes filled with admiration and amazement for the ancients.

Inside the room, Ye Yunchi had removed her veil, revealing her jet-black hair piled up at the back of her head, as well as her fair and delicate face. With long eyelashes and a high nose bridge, she exuded a refined and scholarly air, looking like a well-educated lady from a strict family. Although she was not a courtesan, her purity and chastity were the most alluring poison to a libertine.

Her voluptuous figure was also on full display in the candlelight, her heavy breasts dangling in front of her as she leaned forward. If a child bumped into her from behind, one wonders what a sight it would be...

Unfortunately, the children haven't arrived yet.

After Ye Yunchi returned, she waited for Wei Kun and the master calligrapher and painter to come to visit. As the saying goes, "There are many acquaintances in the world, but how many are true friends?" There are not many people who are obsessed with calligraphy and painting in the cultivation path. It is not easy to meet a literary master in this foreign land. She also asked Yuezhuolou to prepare musicians and wine so as not to mistreat the distinguished guests.

But after waiting for a long time, Wei Kun still hadn't arrived, and instead, several commotions came from downstairs:
"Eh?! Mrs. Han is here..."

"So sexy..."

"Shh! Want to die? I'm the patriarch of the mountain peak..."

……

Ye Yunchi frowned, put down the mirror, walked to the window and looked down, only to see a procession walking down the street.

Outside the motorcade were women holding umbrellas. Although they all wore white veils, revealing only their eyebrows and eyes, their colorful skirts were quite daring, with low necklines that revealed their fair skin and high slits on the sides, exposing their plump thighs as they walked, attracting onlookers from the street.

In the middle of the procession was a float, its sheer curtains billowing in the wind, revealing a woman in colorful clothes sitting inside. She had ample breasts and a large bottom, reclining on a soft couch, a white jade pipe in her hand, puffing out smoke. She exuded a stunning allure; even without uttering a sound, her voice seemed to linger in the air…

Ye Yunchi looked like a virtuous and chaste female teacher who was afraid to talk about sex. When he saw the courtesan parading through the streets, he couldn't help but frown.

Meanwhile, in another inn not far away, two stunningly beautiful women were also peering in through the window. Bu Yuehua muttered under her breath:
"This Hundred Flowers Forest Sect Leader may seem more flamboyant than you on the surface, but he might not be as flamboyant as you in private."

?

Nangong Ye's eyes turned cold, but he felt in his heart that this might be the truth.

After all, Baihualin are practitioners of the Hehuan School, not local prostitutes. They follow the 'path of ruthlessness,' treating men only as medicinal residue. Those who fall in love will be severely punished, since how can practitioners fall in love with ingredients or furnaces?
Therefore, the cultivators of the Hundred Flowers Forest should have a stronger Dao heart than her. They would never be tempted by male beauty, much less engage in humiliating acts like the Jade Tree Back Garden Flower, which have nothing to do with cultivation, just to please a man.

Upon discovering that the demoness was spouting nonsense, Nangong Ye said coldly:
"Be careful what you say. Madam Han has been famous for decades and is of the same generation as Lü Yan. She is not someone you can mess with."

“I didn’t say anything bad about her, that she was more conservative than the fairy of the Dan Ding Sect. She’s probably overjoyed.”

"you……"

Nangong Ye didn't want to pay any more attention to this vixen, so he turned around and disappeared out the window.

……

Gulu gulu...

The Hundred Flowers Forest procession passed through the main street and arrived at the accommodation prepared by Yanbo City. Several female disciples waited outside, while two direct disciples held up oil-paper umbrellas.

Madam Han, the sect leader, emerged from the carriage, carrying her pipe, and walked into the house, asking questions along the way:
"That little brat from the Northern Underworld Sect, can his luck really be this good?"

"It seems that Lü Yan of the Divination Sect calculated the location, but the Northern Underworld Sect beat him to it. In my opinion, the immortal artifact is unlikely to change hands..."

"That's natural, but if you know your place and return this item to Yanbo City, you can always get a lot of benefits in return. It would be a shame not to take it today..."

As they spoke, the group entered the dark courtyard.

The accompanying disciples wanted to light the lamps, but Madam Han stopped at the entrance to the hall, looked around, and then gave instructions:
"Go down."

"Yes."

The disciples immediately obeyed and withdrew from the courtyard. *Thump, thump...*

Madam Han, with one hand resting on her arm and holding her pipe, walked unhurriedly into the rain-shrouded courtyard. She simply exhaled a puff of white smoke, and the surrounding lanterns lit up.

"I was about to send someone to invite you downstairs at Yuezhuo Tower, but I didn't expect Junior Sister Ye to arrive first. How have you been these past few years?"

As the dim light came on, a woman in a blue robe and carrying a sword appeared in the main room:

"I've come here simply to reclaim what belongs to me, and by the way, to advise you to turn back before it's too late. You'd better stop being so stubborn."

Madam Han chuckled, entered the room, and circled around Ye Yunchi:

"You really think you're some righteous female knight-errant from the outside world? You were born a member of my Hundred Flowers Forest sect. You left the sect without permission to establish your own sect, and the sect didn't execute you according to the rules. I've helped you shoulder the burden for so many years, and yet you don't remember my kindness. Instead, you come back to ask me for the sect's treasures and try to persuade me to collude with the righteous path and betray the sect..."

Ye Yunchi's expression remained unchanged; he simply said calmly:
“I have no connection with Baihualin. That sword originally belonged to me. My advice to you to repent is out of good intentions. Being stubborn will not do you any good.”

"Ah……"

Madam Han sat down on the couch and crossed her legs:

"The righteous path is open and aboveboard. If one could leave, who would want to eke out a living on Dragon Bone Beach and suffer scorn? But the Hundred Flowers Forest has been passed down for six hundred years, and eleven generations of sect leaders have struggled to survive, thus preserving the Hehuan Sect as its only remaining branch."

“If I listen to you and betray our sect by colluding with the righteous path and leading my disciples, then the Hundred Flowers Forest and even the Joyful Union Sect will perish without any successors. Such a heinous crime of ‘betraying one’s master and destroying one’s ancestors’—how can I face my ancestors after my death?”

Ye Yunchi turned around: "The Hundred Flowers Forest techniques are all dross and should not have been passed down in the first place. If you don't want what you've learned to be lost, you can find a Daoist partner, just like the Daoist sect..."

Mrs. Han shook her head:
“Junior Sister Ye, you are still too young. Techniques are ‘skills,’ while doctrines are the ‘way’ to be passed on. Taoism emphasizes ‘following the natural way, tranquility and non-action, and helping the world and benefiting people,’ while Buddhism emphasizes ‘dependent origination and emptiness, cause and effect and reincarnation.’ Those who follow this way, even if they indulge in wine and women, are true Taoists and true monks; while those who do not respect this way, even if they are as powerful as Shang Lianbi and know a thousand kinds of Taoist and Buddhist techniques, are nothing more than miscellaneous scholars.”

"The doctrine of my Hehuan Sect is the words left by the first patriarch after he was hurt by a man and had a great enlightenment: 'Sever all feelings and thoughts, cultivate in seclusion and save yourself.' Most of the disciples recruited by the sect are also pitiful people who have been hurt by love. The patriarchs of all generations have taught them to forget the pain of love and to live happily on their own. Men treat them as playthings, and they can also treat men as playthings."

"And now, you want me to tell my disciples that this path is wrong, to let them return to the so-called 'right path,' to open their hearts and find a good man, and to be subservient to men for the rest of their lives. Ha... that's true, but don't advise others to be good if you haven't experienced their suffering. Junior Sister Ye has never been deceived by men, so naturally she has fantasies about men. When you meet a heartless man, you will naturally know why Hundred Flowers Forest has been able to continue to this day."

Ye Yunchi responded calmly:
"There are indeed many scoundrels with immoral private lives in the righteous path, but if you give up on yourselves and degrade yourselves because of a few men, aren't you going against the path of 'severing all emotions and desires, cultivating yourself in seclusion'? If you don't want to be tainted by lust, you can enter the immortal path or the Buddhist path and walk the path of the world."

Madam Han held her pipe, exhaling snow-white clouds of smoke from her red lips:

"Abstaining from lust is one's true nature, while harming men is revenge; both are indispensable, otherwise the Hehuan Sect wouldn't have been labeled as heretical. If you're deceived and harmed by a man, you should just obediently become a nun, suppressing all your grievances, hatred, and love in your heart and bearing it all yourself. Wouldn't that just be letting those scoundrels have it easy?"

“Every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. You may have a thousand grievances, but it is wrong to take revenge on innocent people. And now that you are under the control of Yanbo City, it is not a matter of revenge. You are more like a courtesan who does not know how to respect herself.”

"Ha ha……"

Madam Han shook her head and sighed:
"Yes, you're so high and mighty. My Hundred Flowers Forest is a filthy place. We're not on the same page, so you can leave on your own. I won't stop you. When you're heartbroken someday, you'll come back on your own, just like your mother..."

Choking——

Sword light suddenly appeared in the hall, and the clamor of thunder and rain mingled with the chilling sword energy, instantly filling the courtyard with a menacing killing intent, even causing the lanterns and candles to veer off course.

Madam Han moved her pipe aside, exhaled a puff of smoke onto the gleaming sword blade engraved with the image of a sword within arm's reach, her eyes revealing a hint of casualness:

"Don't you like hearing that?"

Ye Yunchi's eyes flickered with emotion, but he eventually regained his composure.

"There's no need to dwell on the past. You're stubborn and won't listen to reason. I can't interfere in your private affairs. I just want to take back what's rightfully mine."

"What if I don't give it?"

Ye Yunchi, his sword pointed at Madam Han's throat, was crafting his words when he suddenly frowned and glanced at the rain curtain outside the door...

……

(End of this chapter)