Zhao Yunxiao tried to resist, but how could he?
The difference between he and Cha was as large as the gap between heaven and earth. No matter how hard he tried, it was meaningless in the face of Cha's strength.
All he could do was watch on helplessly as his body moved against his wish.
"Don't worry, kid. Even though you are rather disobedient, this great one is full of magnanimity and will only make you look good!" Cha's voice sounded out in his head.
And with that, Zhao Yunxiao felt his hand stretching out towards the teapot once again.
Even though everyone's attention was on He Luoxuan right now, they did not fail to pay notice to Zhao Yunxiao at the same time.
That was why they all felt intrigued when Zhao Yunxiao grabbed the handle of the teapot.
They remembered that earlier, Zhao Yunxiao had delivered He Luoxuan's advice along with a cup of hot tea. Therefore, they naturally felt excited upon seeing his current actions, thinking that the same scene was about to play out once more.
But what they saw next only caused their mouths to fall open in disbelief.
Instead of pouring a cup of tea, Zhao Yunxiao stepped forward and stretched out his hand.
Splash-!
Hot tea poured out from the teapot... straight onto the floor in the middle of the main hall!
Zhao Yunxiao could almost feel his soul leaving his body at this point.
What do you mean you will make me look good?
This is reputation assassination!
After today, he would probably have to find somewhere to hide whenever He Luoxuan was in the vicinity!
Hu Nan and Song Xiaoqiao widened their eyes in shock and quickly looked towards He Luoxuan, only to see that He Luoxuan was frowning as well.
Yet even then, He Luoxuan chose not to interfere at this point.
By now, he had learnt that even though Zhao Yunxiao was just an outer disciple, he was at least a rather intelligent one at that.
There was no way Zhao Yunxiao would not know that doing such a thing was akin to asking for punishment, so He Luoxuan wanted to see how he would explain himself out of this situation.
And seeing that even He Luoxuan was not saying anything, no one else in the main hall dared to voice their concerns.
With mixed feelings, everyone watched on silently as Zhao Yunxiao quickly emptied the entire pot of tea onto the floor.
Zhou Qin furrowed his brows and looked hard at the spilt tea, trying to find any glimpse of a message from within.
He was not the only one either.
Everyone focused their attention on the puddle of tea that was slowly spreading across the floor, thinking that He Luoxuan's message was somehow contained within this mess.
"Brother Zhao… forgive me for being slow, but is it possible to explain the meaning behind this?" Zhou Qin asked awkwardly.
He then saw Zhao Yunxiao raise his palm, signalling for him to wait.
At the same time, the more observant ones revealed looks of surprise upon hearing Zhou Qin address Zhao Yunxiao as Brother Zhao.
It seemed that the two were acquainted?
That would not be too surprising if it was someone else, but Zhou Qin was known to be a cultivation maniac who cared not about most others.
For him to know Zhao Yunxiao, could it be that Zhao Yunxiao was actually some important character in the Black Tortoise Sect?
Many of those who had this thought felt regretful that they had not researched sufficiently about this year's entourage.
After all, the attendants had usually been random outer disciples, so none of them had thought much of them.
But now, they could not help but regret that decision.
Most of them thought that they had to go look up the three attendants that came with He Luoxuan after the end of this session, especially this Zhao Yunxiao!
"The tea is moving!" Chen Pingxi suddenly exclaimed in surprise from her seat.
Her words brought everyone's attention back from Zhao Yunxiao to the puddle of tea.
It was indeed as the prime disciple had said.
The puddle of tea on the floor had started to move in an unnatural way, forming into lines of words facing Zhou Qin.
The sun might be bright and dazzling, but the moon has its own allure.
The moon might be mystical and elegant, but the sun has its own strength.
Referencing others is a good thing, but duplicating without variation will only lead to confusion.
To reach the pinnacle, one has to first ask who is it that they truly are within.
Zhou Qin narrowed his eyes at these words. After a few moments, he looked over at Cui Junhe who was seated right beside him.
Seemingly having understood what he was thinking, Cui Junhe nodded in response and stood up beside him.
The two of them clasped their fists towards He Luoxuan and bowed simultaneously.
"Zhou Qin thanks Elder He for the guidance!"
"Cui Junhe thanks Elder He for the guidance!"
This action of theirs caused everyone else to take a deep breath in shock.
They did not know what the words were referring to exactly, but it would appear that He Luoxuan had indeed given his guidance to not just Zhou Qin, but also Cui Junhe at the same time.
Judging from their reactions, it was something truly enlightening as well!
The hearts of the other disciples started to race upon realising that.
"Not bad, it seems that they aren't too stupid," Cha said in satisfaction. "These kids are worth nurturing."
Zhao Yunxiao sighed in his heart as he felt his body moving back to his station.
He did not care about what was going on anymore.
All he could think about was how he should explain himself after this thing ended.
"Listen to Elder Xie, he will still be the one who has the best plans for you," He Luoxuan forced a smile in response to the two disciples. "Yunxiao, go clean up the mess you made."
At the same time, He Luoxuan could not help but feel surprised.
If Zhao Yunxiao had simply spouted some random words, He Luoxuan would surely be angered by Zhao Yunxiao using his name in such a reckless manner.
However, what Zhao Yunxiao just said clearly resonated with the two core disciples of the Origin Lake Sect.
That caused a question to form within He Luoxuan's head.
Just how was Zhao Yunxiao pulling this off right now?
Not just that, but he had not felt any energy fluctuations coming from Zhao Yunxiao earlier either.
In that case, how did he move the tea on the floor to form words?
Zhao Yunxiao felt his heart skip a beat.
He Luoxuan had asked him to clean up the tea, but how was he supposed to do that when he was not in control of his body right now?
It was not as though he had not been trying. However, his body simply refused to move a single inch, which meant that Cha clearly did not intend to obey.
To make things worse, he even had his chest puffed up and his hands clasped behind his back, as though he was trying to give off the air of an expert.
Did this Cha forget that it was controlling the body of an outer disciple right now?
Even if it did this, he would only look like a joke instead of an expert!
Thankfully, Dan Juexing spoke up at this point.
"Are the two of you just going to stand there and let our esteemed guest clean up the hall after you reap the benefits?" Dan Juexing said sternly.
"We will do it instead!" Zhou Qin and Cui Junhe answered at the same time.
They had been pondering over the advice that they just received, but were instantly broken out of their daze by Dan Juexing's timely reminder.
They quickly stepped out from their seats to approach the centre of the main hall.
"No rush, Junior Martial Brother Zhou, Junior Martial Brother Cui," another disciple stood up and clasped his fists towards He Luoxuan at this point. "Pardon my transgression as well, but can this junior also humbly ask if Elder He has any advice for me?"
As though that was a spark, the various disciples all stood up and clasped their fists towards He Luoxuan.
"We humbly seek Elder He's guidance!"
Everyone spoke up in unison, as though they had already rehearsed this beforehand. Among them was even Qian Luming who had been feeling bitter about Zhao Yunxiao being in the limelight.
"If Elder He is in the mood, I hope that you will be able to give some words of advice to the kids here," Dan Juexing immediately added with a smile, seemingly not at all surprised at the scene playing out before him. "Of course, a word or two for all of them will do as well. I will leave it up to your discretion."
"This..." He Luoxuan felt the corner of his lips twitch.
"Hahaha! These kids are quite smart!" Cha laughed. "This is great! Let's take this opportunity to fix all their problems! Now then, are you finally ready to stop being a mute?"
Zhao Yunxiao: "..."
"You do realise by now that I have ways to make you do things even if you refuse to say any words, right?" Cha said in a triumphant tone. "You might feel even more embarrassed if I do that, so why don't you just do it? Come, repeat after me..."
As he listened to Cha's words ringing in his head, Zhao Yunxiao looked up towards the sky in resignation, though all he could see was the beautifully adorned ceiling.
Life is truly difficult sometimes…
"Cultivation is a complicated path unique to each individual, so perhaps it is best that I do not speak carelessly here," He Luoxuan shook his head. "Yunxiao."
He Luoxuan was reminding Zhao Yunxiao to return to his station, but felt his lips twitch once more when he saw Zhao Yunxiao walk forward once again.
This brat…!
With that timing, it would appear as if He Luoxuan was really the one asking Zhao Yunxiao to go ahead and deliver the message in his stead!
His hands casually clasped behind his back, Zhao Yunxiao started walking around the main hall this time.
He stopped in front of an elder, and looked over at the disciple standing behind.
Their gazes matched.
"Jian Qifa humbly awaits Brother Zhao's guidance," the core disciple hurriedly clasped his fists towards Zhao Yunxiao.
"Say it now!" Cha urged.
Zhao Yunxiao appeared extremely calm right now, but he was feeling anything but that.
His proud movements and expressions had all been carried out under the control of Cha. And now it wanted him to complete the performance by reciting the script that he had been given?
Well, now that things had come to this, Zhao Yunxiao decided that he might as well do just that.
Not only that, but the more exaggerated he acted, the better.
Only then would others be more likely to suspect that there was something amiss about the situation!
"The blood of violetridge bulls – that is what you are lacking right now. But the ideal route is still to completely abandon your current pursuit. Continuing on this path will likely bring you more harm than good," Zhao Yunxiao said in a confident manner, not losing eye contact with Jian Qifa for even a single moment.
"Blood of violetridge bulls...!" Jian Qifa widened his eyes in surprise but his head quickly turned red after. "Jian Qifa is grateful for the guidance!"
"Mm," Zhao Yunxiao nodded in approval before he kept walking, stopping again in front of the next elder.
There, he matched gazes with the disciple standing behind the elder yet again.
Just like that, Zhao Yunxiao walked around the room and gave specific advice to the disciples one by one.
Watching Zhao Yunxiao acting in such a haughty manner, then looking at how grateful each of the core disciples of the Origin Lake Sect looked, He Luoxuan could not help but have mixed feelings.
Even then, he tried to compose himself and maintain a calm expression as he could sense Dan Juexing and the other elders looking at him from time to time.
Not just that, but the looks that they were throwing him seemed to contained a greater sense of respect and awe with every passing moment.
From behind him, Hu Nan and Song Xiaoqiao also had their expressions start to change, turning into ones of great fervour.
"Q-Qian Luming is grateful for the guidance..." Qian Luming said reluctantly.
"Mm, and don't worry about earlier," Zhao Yunxiao added before walking away, causing Qian Luming to feel conflicted in his heart.
With that, Zhao Yunxiao had basically walked around the main hall once, returning back to where He Luoxuan was seated.
"Kids, thank Elder He again for his generosity today," Dan Juexing said with a satisfied smile. "And don't forget our Little Brother Zhao here."
The core disciples all clasped their fists towards He Luoxuan and Zhao Yunxiao.
"Our sincerest gratitude to Elder He and Brother Zhao!" all of them shouted in unison.
"All right, Yunxiao, that's enough. Return to your station," He Luoxuan said helplessly.
He was relieved that things had finally come to an end, and nobody seemed to have any issues with what Zhao Yunxiao said.
Right now, he could not wait to end this session as soon as possible, just so he could question Zhao Yunxiao and find out what exactly was going on!
"Understood, Elder He," Zhao Yunxiao answered.
Or rather, he wanted to answer that.
But when he opened his mouth, no words actually came out of it.
Hmm?
Zhao Yunxiao blinked blankly in confusion.
"Are you planning to stop after only helping out the younger kids? What about the older kids?" Cha asked.
Older kids?
Zhao Yunxiao had a bad premonition.
No way... right?
The next moment, He Luoxuan truly felt like cursing out loud as Zhao Yunxiao confidently walked straight past his seat to the elder seated next to him.
The seated elder watched on in confusion as Zhao Yunxiao stopped in front of him.
Their gazes matched.
Zhao Yunxiao's mouth opened but no words came out.
Zhao Yunxiao's hands then moved, suddenly dipping a finger in the elder's tea cup. And with tea as a substitute for ink, he immediately started writing away on the table top.