Jade Dynasty: I am the master of the Burning Sword, my swordsmanship is unparalleled.

Chapter 146 Dilemma
Several days later, at the manor outside Changhe City.

Because of the presence of the Kui Niu, the Qingyun Sect members naturally could not enter the city. Otherwise, the Kui Niu's enormous size alone would have been enough to cause panic among the people.

Coincidentally, the large manor where Zhang Xiaofan got married came in handy.

At this moment, in the hall, Tian Buyi was sitting at the head of the table, his face grim as he looked at Zhang Xiaofan standing there below, and spoke in a cold voice.

"Seventh Brother, don't you have anything you want to say to me?"

"Go back to Master, no."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xiaofan replied softly without the slightest hesitation, which immediately angered Tian Buyi, whose face darkened. However, Su Ru, who was standing to the side, reached out and tugged at Tian Buyi's sleeve.

Seeing that Zhang Xiaofan was unwilling to speak, Su Ru sighed softly and comforted him gently.

“Xiao Fan, how could your master and mistress harm you? There are some things you need to tell them so that your master and mistress can help you.”

Zhang Xiaofan fell silent. How could he not know all this? Tian Buyi, Su Ru, and even Dao Xuan Zhenren were all willing to protect him.

This matter concerns Tianyin Temple, and it's no ordinary matter. Otherwise, even if it were truly necessary to give an explanation to the righteous path of the world, Dao Xuan Zhenren would at most order Zhang Xiaofan to be confined and punished by sweeping the ancestral hall for a few years.

At most, Dao Xuan Zhenren would just let Zhang Xiaofan receive some whippings, giving the righteous cultivators of the world a passable explanation, and then the matter would be over.

But the current situation is different. The disciples of Qingyun Sect have learned the supreme mental cultivation method of Tianyin Temple. In fact, Zhang Xiaofan has even cultivated it to an extremely profound level.

This is a major matter that Dao Xuan Zhenren and the Qingyun Sect cannot decide on their own.

Of course, Qingyun Sect couldn't say that it had no right to deal with its own disciples. If Qingyun Sect really wanted to protect them, Tianyin Temple would have to give them face. Otherwise, if things fell apart, no one would look good.

However, this is on the condition that Zhang Xiaofan cooperates, so that Tian Buyi, Su Ru, and Dao Xuan Zhenren can conveniently plead with Tianyin Temple.

In particular, Tian Buyi could even roughly guess the identity of the person who passed on the Great Brahma Prajna to Zhang Xiaofan. At that time, as long as he pushed the matter outward, would Tianyin Temple still be able to continue to pursue it?
However, Zhang Xiaofan was unwilling to speak, not only because he had personally promised the monk Puzhi, but also because it was a promise he himself had made.

Besides these, there were many other reasons why Zhang Xiaofan couldn't speak.

Regardless of anything else, the Venerable Master Puzhi was Zhang Xiaofan's first master in this life, the one with whom he had kowtowed and formally become a disciple.

Although the monk Puzhi committed many atrocities, once a person dies, their life ends and their light is extinguished, so why bother with such matters?
This is not only forgiveness towards others, but also forgiveness towards oneself; it is letting go of the past. If you dwell on the past all day long, you will only be trapped by it.

Rather than suffering together, it's better to let others go and forgive yourself.

"Master's wife, I promised that person that I would never reveal this secret, not even if it meant my death!"

Facing Su Ru's gentle gaze, Zhang Xiaofan remained unmoved and simply responded in a deep voice.

Seeing Zhang Xiaofan's stubbornness, Tian Buyi became even more furious, slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair, and cursed angrily.

"Traitorous disciple, traitorous disciple, traitorous disciple, get out of here! Go back and reflect on your actions!"

After bowing respectfully to Tian Buyi and Su Ru, Zhang Xiaofan withdrew.

As soon as Zhang Xiaofan stepped out of the hall, he saw that many Qingyun disciples were waiting for him outside. Not only were Tian Ling'er, Bi Yao and Lu Xueqi there, but Qi Hao, Lin Jingyu, Song Daren, Wen Min and others were also there.

Upon seeing Zhang Xiaofan emerge, Tian Ling'er immediately spoke.

"Xiao Fan, are you alright? Did my father make things difficult for you?" "Master just told me to go back and reflect on my actions. I'm sorry to have worried all of you senior brothers and sisters."

Zhang Xiaofan responded softly, and then bowed to Qi Hao, Song Daren and the others.

Seeing this, Lin Jingyu took a few steps forward and said with considerable dissatisfaction.

"Hmph, Xiao Fan, your master is really something. It's just a small matter, why is he so petty? And my master, it's clearly not a big deal, why is he so fixated on it?"

"Jingyu!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Hao quickly gave a soft shout and pulled Lin Jingyu aside. Even if you think this in your heart, you must never say it out loud.

Otherwise, where would Tianyin Temple's reputation, the rules of the righteous path, and the name of Qingyun Sect be placed?

"It's alright now. Everyone, get some rest tonight. We'll be heading back to Qingyun tomorrow."

Zhang Xiaofan spoke softly, then headed back to his room. Tian Buyi had told him to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors, so naturally he had to go; otherwise, people would gossip.

Inside the hall, Tian Buyi naturally heard the discussions among the disciples outside. His face immediately darkened with anger, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"These disciples are truly young and ignorant!"

Some things are not so simple. Public opinion is the greatest shackle for the righteous path.

Don't you know that even Dao Xuan Zhenren had to personally execute Wan Jianyi back then? Although Dao Xuan Zhenren didn't actually kill Wan Jianyi, Wan Jianyi had no choice but to live in anonymity from then on.

After all, someone has to bear the blame for the crime of killing one's master, unless the fact that Tianchengzi has become a demon is made public.

However, once the fact that Tian Chengzi has become a demon is made public, his lifelong reputation will be ruined, and he will become a demon in the eyes of the world. Even the reputation of Qingyun Sect will be damaged.

"Sigh, Xiao Fan is still too kind-hearted."

Su Ru couldn't help but sigh softly. As husband and wife, they were one. Tian Buyi naturally didn't hide his own guesses from Su Ru.

Upon hearing this, Tian Buyi couldn't help but snort coldly and said angrily.

"Don't mention that traitorous disciple. Just to protect Puzhi's reputation, he's willing to sacrifice his own?"

Tian Buyi could easily see that Zhang Xiaofan's silence was to protect Puzhi's reputation, since privately passing on one's sect's supreme cultivation method was a grave mistake.

Moreover, allowing one's disciples to steal the martial arts techniques of other sects is an even greater mistake.

Stealing techniques from other schools is also a grave mistake.

This is a dilemma for anyone: either they bear all the blame themselves, or they let their teacher, who has been so kind to impart knowledge, bear all the infamy.

Of course, there was another reason why Tian Buyi was so angry: he was also Zhang Xiaofan's master, and his own disciple had even kept it a secret from him for the sake of another master, so he was naturally angry.

However, Tian Buyi was unaware that Puzhi had already died, and Zhang Xiaofan did this not just to preserve a little bit of Puzhi's reputation.

Once the truth is fully revealed, the reputation of the Venerable Master Puzhi, who has dedicated his life to doing good deeds, will be completely destroyed.

(End of this chapter)