Who is spreading rumors that my filial piety towards them has changed?

Chapter Four: The Bottom Line Can Be Lowered!

The current situation seems very complicated, but after prioritizing, Chu Mingkong's thinking became much clearer.

The royal family is making so many moves, but there's been no news from the Cui family. It's assumed they're fine for now. The real problem would be if they had any news, because it would mean that even with Aunt Gu and the others keeping such a low profile, someone is still deliberately trying to draw attention to the Cui family.

First, go to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy to see if there's anything we can do to help. Xiaoxiang Qin Academy concealed his itinerary from him, so Chu Mingkong should help handle the aftermath, both morally and logically.

Afterwards, he immediately returned to the capital to handle matters and ensure the safety of the Cui family's young ladies.

"These things really do pop up all at once, they really know how to pick their timing, sigh!"

Feng Ying, unusually, stopped teasing Chu Mingkong. Hearing this, he felt sorry for him and sighed.

Chu Mingkong sat next to her, and hearing that she had no intention of continuing the discussion about the viewing stone, he wondered where she had put it. He thought he should snatch it away and crush it to destroy the evidence.

However, Feng Ying did not give Chu Mingkong this opportunity, and she had hidden the viewing stone somewhere.

Chu Mingkong pretended nothing had happened and returned to the topic, saying:

"Since it has happened, there's nothing else we can do but deal with it gradually."

Zuo Qiuchi rested her chin on her hand, toying with a small teacup in one hand, turning it around like a pebble. Just thinking about so many things was already making her tired.

"Mingkong, what identity do you plan to use to go back? Go to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy, say 'I'm out,' and then continue to the capital as a hostage? I feel like that's unnecessary, isn't it?"

"I also think it's unnecessary, and that would be too unpleasant, having to be careful about where you go wherever you want." Chu Mingkong agreed.

Feng Ying turned her head and gave Chu Mingkong a disdainful look, recalling the difficulties she had faced in finding him, and complained:

"You still need to be careful? Your Abyss Wound has concealed your presence, and it's difficult to detect your whereabouts if you pay a little attention."

"Uh... Although it's hard for others to spot me, I still feel psychological pressure when I travel." He revealed his thoughts: "I will definitely return to the capital later, and I even want to visit the emperor's harem. However, I'll give up on going back to be a hostage. I want to sneak back to the capital and change my identity."

Whether being a hostage has any benefits is another matter. If he becomes a hostage, his mother in Xiling will be under pressure, worried that he will be targeted in the capital, and that various plans will be difficult to implement.

Feng Ying was an expert in changing names and forging identities, she asked:

"So what identity do you plan to change to? Or rather, what identity can you change to?"

"How about the Taoist priest? It just so happens that Master Yun Nongyu's Taoist temple is unoccupied. We can find a place to rest up there, and there are even ready-made formations."

Chu Mingkong still remembered his title of Daoist Juejuezi.

Upon hearing the mention of that Taoist temple, Zuo Qiuchi lightly kicked her traitorous disciple under the table. Chu Mingkong gave her a confused look, as if asking, "What?" Zuo Qiuchi said angrily:

"You demolished that Taoist temple. I was resting there peacefully, and you kept coming up to bother me, causing the temple to be demolished!"

Chu Mingkong recalled for a moment, and realized that things didn't seem to be like that. He said:

"Wasn't it Master who knocked me off the mountain several times with one palm, causing my prostate to brake several times, and also catching Cui Lian stealing chickens and dogs several times?"

"You offered your face up to me so I could hit you."

Feng Ying watched helplessly as the master and apprentice argued like children, finding it quite adept at being shameless with each other.

However, when it comes to changing identities, it inevitably involves disguising oneself, and Feng Ying had long wanted to give Chu Mingkong a proper makeover.

Seeing Feng Ying suddenly take out scissors, Chu Mingkong felt a chill rise from below and quickly said:

"Feng Ying, please speak calmly, don't use weapons!"

Feng Ying ignored his words and took out a bottle of white dye. The smell was not strong, and it was unknown what kind of plant it was made from.

“You just said that the royal family is now planning to get closer to the tribes in the Crescent Kingdom, so let’s dress up in the style of the Crescent Kingdom. It might make things much easier,” Fengying explained.

This convenience naturally refers to the body search. It was quite troublesome for Chu Mingkong to be searched. Once his clothes were pulled off, his heart injury would be exposed. Moreover, this kind of search was unconditional. Even if they were walking on the street, the soldiers could search him at will. However, if the person was a member of a faction close to the royal family, the soldiers would not bother them as long as they did not do anything outrageous.

Chu Mingkong had to admire Feng Ying's keen insight in this regard. She had actually discovered the temporary advantage of "pretending to be an outsider in one's own country and being treated better than the natives."

He glanced at the hair dye; it was still white. He quickly hugged Fengying.

"Fengying, so you like white hair too! Dye my master's hair white as well."

"I only plan to highlight a few white strands in your hair, not to dye it all white."

Feng Ying had just asked Chu Mingkong to inquire with Qing Se about which tribe Princess Yongzhen was marrying into. He learned that the tribe was still using the banner of the old royal family of the Old Yueqi Empire, but the authenticity of this claim could not be verified at the moment. However, Feng Ying knew a little about the Yueqi Empire.

The Moonlit Empire worshipped the crescent moon and regarded a rare falcon as its auspicious beast. This falcon had a strand of white "hair," so in those days, members of the Moonlit Empire all adopted this style of dyeing their hair.

Zuo Qiuchi had no interest in watching Feng Ying slowly dress up Chu Mingkong. She was not interested in things that required patience. After watching for a while, she started to yawn and got up to walk outside the deck.

Feng Ying sat astride Chu Mingkong's lap, dyeing his hair up close and face-to-face, and suddenly asked:

“Mingkong, why didn’t you ask Zuo Qiuchi to cultivate with you? It’s not like you.”

Chu Mingkong stroked Feng Ying's black-stockinged legs, occasionally pinching them; they were wonderfully elastic. He said:

"What kind of personality do I have? How come I'm not like that?"

"In that small inn on the sandbar in Baihu Plain, didn't you go out with Zuo Qiuchi halfway through? It looked like you did something, but then again, it didn't seem like you did anything?"

Why is Feng Ying gossiping about this? Is it a habitual intelligence gathering tactic or something...? Chu Mingkong stammered.

"The one who does the work is the mouth above Master... Anyway, Master doesn't cultivate the extreme yang path, so she's mine anyway, so there's no rush. Let's pick a good time to do it. This first time should be done in a suitable atmosphere."

Hearing him say that, Fengying smeared dye on both sides of his philtrum, creating a mustache, and said reproachfully:

"You care so much about Zuo Qiuchi, but you're so casual about me?"

"No, not casually. The atmosphere was just right back then, and even now, I think the atmosphere is still great!"

Chu Mingkong gazed at Feng Ying's exquisite face with deep affection, but this affection was shattered by the viewing stone she immediately took out.

He said, his teeth itching:

"Fengying, you just wait. Once I lower my standards and sense of shame a little, I'll call my mother to teach you a lesson in a couple of days."

Chapter Five: Suspicion of Royal Family

Xiaoxiang Qin Academy.

Since the Buddhist monks made a visit a few days ago, Xiaoxiang Qin Academy has closed its gates for some time, but this closure is more about refusing visitors.

Acting sect leader Qu Wuyue sat on the main seat, surrounded by elders and her close junior sisters, who offered her advice and heartfelt words regarding the events of the past few days.

"Sect Leader Sister, haven't you been hiding the matter of the Stone Bamboo Forest Secret Realm from the Prince of Xiling for too long? The Stone Bamboo Forest Secret Realm has been intact for so many years, yet now you're claiming that the secret realm has encountered a problem and is difficult to open, in order to conceal the Prince of Xiling's whereabouts. Isn't that going too far?"

"Sect Leader Qu, your junior sister's words make sense. The Stone Bamboo Forest Secret Realm is a source of many medicinal herbs for our Xiaoxiang Qin Academy, as well as a major source of revenue from spirit stones. This situation will affect the future operation of the Stone Bamboo Forest!"

"We promised to keep the Xiling Crown Prince in the dark for a while, and he would return on his own afterward. But now it seems he has broken his promise, leaving behind a mess. The matter of the spirit stone economy is secondary. The Buddhist sect's affairs have just been settled, but now the Jianxuan Sect, which has the strongest foundation, and the Cihang Duzhai, which has been in seclusion for hundreds of years, have been brought out to exert pressure. We old bones are not afraid, but the disciples in the sect are uneasy, and our training trips will also be affected."

Faced with so many voices, Qu Wuyue simply drank her tea silently, which made those who came to offer advice feel exhausted and anxious.

While there were dissenting voices, there were also many who supported Qu Wuyue. For example, the elders who had previously presented the jade dildo to Chu Mingkong as a gesture of filial piety, though they remained silent, were already expressing their support by sitting with Qu Wuyue.

The current situation was something Qu Wuyue had foreseen, and it's no wonder there are so many opposing voices.

When Chu Mingkong made the agreement, Chu Mingkong left his whereabouts at Xiaoxiang Qin Academy, and then lied that he was entering the Stone Bamboo Forest Secret Realm to get medicine for the emperor, but in reality he ran back to Xiling to deal with the ownership of Tianya City.

The time he could keep this a secret was running out, so Chu Mingkong had to return to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy as soon as possible and pretend that he had come out of the secret realm. Whether he found the medicine or not was secondary; as long as his whereabouts at Xiaoxiang Qin Academy were "complete and traceable," that was enough.

If Chu Mingkong had rushed to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy the moment the martial arts competition in Tianya City ended, he would have made it in time. However, the Buddhist sect caused trouble in Jiyuan, and his two mothers kept him occupied for two more days, so the pressure shifted to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy.

Qu Wuyue's response to the outside world was that there was a problem with the Stone Bamboo Forest Secret Realm, and she insisted that the young master was trapped inside and could not get out, in order to continue to buy him time, which is why so many voices of opposition have arisen.

After a long silence, Qu Wuyue finally responded to them:

"Everyone thinks I'm acting on my own, but haven't you seen how the Sword Profound Sect and other sects put pressure on us? If we have grievances, they come to us to express them in person, but they secretly support the Heavenly Extreme Empire and let a secular dynasty put pressure on us. It's one thing for those small sects to be so, but the Xiaoxiang Qin Academy is no small sect. When did it fall to the point where it needs to look at the face of a secular dynasty?"

Ultimately, they're just trying to take advantage of the recent events to gain the upper hand, seeing the rapid development of Xiaoxiang Qin Academy in recent years.

Instead of worrying, you should all use this time to cultivate yourselves diligently. Opportunities to sit down and converse with others are earned through your own strength, not given to you by others.

Everyone fell silent. It wasn't that they didn't understand this principle, but their practice, though brief, wasn't of much benefit in the long run.

These people knew that Chu Mingkong had done a favor for the sect, and they didn't really think there was anything wrong with Qu Wuyue continuing to help him cover it up. It was just that his disappearance had dragged on for too long, and the mess he left them with was getting bigger and bigger, and that was the real problem.

Just then, Qu Wuyue exclaimed "Huh?" in her heart. She sensed that someone had broken into the sect's protective formation, seemingly by using the elder's token to enter directly.

People would come to Xiaoxiang Qin Academy at this time...

"Elders and junior sisters, please disperse for now. I will give you a solution as soon as possible."

Qu Wuyue offered a reassuring remark, dismissed the crowd, and then looked at Elder Si Chunhua, asking in a low voice:

"Is this the Elder's Token that Elder Si sent out?"

Si Chunhua recalled her situation back then, her face flushed, and suppressing her awkwardness, she nodded and said:

"Yes."

Qu Wuyue felt a huge weight lifted from her heart; Chu Mingkong had finally shown himself.

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After sitting down in Qu Wuyue's cave, Chu Mingkong quickly expressed his apologies.

"I'm so sorry, I only found out about all the things that have happened recently after I left Xiling!"

Qu Wuyue accepted his apology and asked with concern:

"How is the matter of Xiling handled by His Highness the Crown Prince? News has been blocked in Xiling. The outside world only knows that a mysterious man surnamed Cao in full armor won the martial arts competition. There has been no further news since then. However, I have heard that some waves have arisen in Jiyuan?"

She had long suspected that the mysterious man surnamed Cao was Chu Mingkong. Although she didn't know why he chose that surname, this style of concealing his identity was most likely Chu Mingkong.

Chu Mingkong was grateful for the acting sect leader's kindness; even at a time like this, the leader was concerned about his situation first. Without beating around the bush, he said directly:

"Xiling is safe and sound now. I've entrusted Tianya Tower with its management. I originally planned to come earlier, but the Buddhist monks staying in the Abyss delayed my journey. I'm truly sorry!"

His apology was sincere because... if he hadn't spent two extra days with Princess Chu and Consort Wan, he could have arrived much earlier. However, he couldn't bring himself to say that he had been delayed because of lust, so he felt extremely guilty.

He immediately discussed countermeasures with her, asking what he could do for Xiaoxiang Qin Academy.

Things like disciple training are easy to handle. Let's go to Xiling! Xiling offers preferential treatment, and the disciples of Xiaoxiang Qin Academy don't need to worry about being targeted. Later, disciples of Wenqing Pavilion will also appear there. These two sects are close factions, so it will be even easier to proceed!

Moreover, in terms of the difficulty of the training, you can also go to the edge of the Abyss and take a few breaths of the extreme yin energy if you want to challenge your own limits.

As long as you don't suck yourself straight into a coffin, it'll be fine.

Qu Wuyue knew that Chu Mingkong wanted the disciples of Xiaoxiang Qin Academy to go and help Xiling stabilize the situation and deal with the troubles, but the discussion was still easily agreed upon. Mutually beneficial things are more sustainable than things that only benefit one party.

The mere fact that it deepens the friendship between Xiaoxiang Qin Academy and Wenqing Pavilion is enough to make Qu Wuyue's efforts worthwhile.