"He Qing," Xuan Qingzi stroked his beard and said earnestly, "Although the fault is serious, we must also consider the actual situation."
He Qing didn't look at him. He leaned sideways and touched Lu Li's head, then pinched Le Qingru's ear, obviously absent-minded.
Xuan Qingzi cleared his throat with a bit of embarrassment, and nodded his chin towards Guanyue, then continued, "Changnian's situation was handled by Guanyue himself. The evil spirit has been corroding Changnian's sea of consciousness for a long time, and the inner demon that has formed is powerful and can seduce people. It is understandable that Changnian is young and lacks concentration."
Guanyue nodded, indicating that the above situation was true.
But He Qing couldn't help but laugh: "I understand what the Immortal said, but what does this have to do with me? I have already drawn out the miasma for him, but he still let the evil spirit enter his body. Who can I blame for this? Purifying the heart is the basic training for the immortal sect. He was unable to purify the evil spirit in time, so he became a demon in his heart. Am I responsible for this?"
These words were calm and rational, and no one could find fault with them. However, they were also so ruthless that it was hard to believe that He Qing had said them, and the target was Gu Changnian, her most cherished disciple.
He Qing put away the teasing on his face, and asked in a serious and nonchalant tone: "To put it another way, even if he was affected by his inner demon, if he had not intended to kill his master, how could he have attacked me so cleanly and neatly?"
After hearing this question, everyone had different expressions on their faces. They could neither say anything to refute nor were they willing to acknowledge the logic behind it.
Guanyue could understand Heqing's decision. Firstly, she had indeed let go of Gu Changnian. Secondly, killing one's master was an ominous sign and such a thing could not be easily covered up in any immortal sect.
But this time, he still advised: "I understand your feelings, but how are you going to improve your cultivation from now on? Besides," Guanyue looked at the other two disciples of Yaoguang Sect worriedly, and sighed: "As far as I know, since Qingru established her foundation, Changnian has been leading her in joint training."
"..." He Qing paused in kneading Le Qingru's ears and remained silent.
Xuan Qingzi and the others also saw that He Qing's heart, which was as solid as a fortress, was shaken, and they quickly said, "Guan Yue's words make sense. Now that things are changing, we may have another dispute with the Demonic Path at any time. You have two new disciples, one who is just about to enter the Tianxin Jue technique, and the other one who hasn't even opened his mind yet. Chang Nian is such a good one, but you want to expel him from the sect. It's too much... You should reconsider it?"
He Qing frowned slightly. Frankly speaking, if she hadn't practiced with Lu Li so many times, which would have contaminated her with demonic energy, she would have kicked Gu Changnian out of the sect long ago.
But her tolerance still earned her a counterattack from Gu Changnian.
So He Qing thought, since nothing could be perfect either way, she might as well give it a try and let Lu Li continue to practice with her, and then think about how to conceal the demonic energy.
However, after Guanyue's reminder, Heqing still hesitated.
Yes, what should Yue Qingru do?
Yue Qingru's cultivation was too low, and she had not yet mastered the Heavenly Heart Technique, so she was unable to transform the demonic energy. If it happened too many times, it would not be a matter of concealing it, but she would be directly swallowed by the demonic energy...
He Qing fell into deep thought, his fingers unconsciously rubbing Le Qingru's ears. The latter also sensed his master's concerns from He Qing's increasingly slow movements and could not help but lower his head.
Xuan Qingzi wanted to persuade him again, but Guanyue signaled him to stop talking, and then turned back to Heqing and said, "Let's put it aside for now. Even if you want to expel me from the sect, I can't remove my name and extinguish my lamp until I return to Lingshan. Now we have to go to the northern border, so there is no rush."
This was undoubtedly the smoothest step at the moment. He Qing looked at Guan Yue with gratitude, and they smiled at each other in tacit understanding.
But this smile was a bit glaring in Lu Li's eyes, causing him to roll his eyes and turn away expressionlessly.
The entire Qi family mansion had basically collapsed, and the few remaining rooms were all protected by the barriers set up by several Qi family monks in a hurry.
The other one was the large guest room on the west wing, which was intact, with even the threshold not tilted.
On the way back, Yue Qingru's neck was almost broken with depression. He asked weakly, "Master, you hesitated in front of the other immortal masters just now. Was it because you were worried that I would not be able to learn it?"
He Qing comforted him, "Of course not, don't think too much."
Yue Qingru pursed her lips to show her disbelief, and muttered, "In fact, Master Guanyue said a long time ago that my aptitude is very suitable for me to learn the Jinshui Jue from him. If... if Master makes it too difficult, I..."
He Qing was stunned. She had never expected that Le Qingru, who always stuck to her, would take the initiative to ask to change her major, and the major she chose was exactly the one she was supposed to study. She was speechless for a moment.
But Lu Li sneered, and took a step ahead of He Qing, and said considerately: "Junior sister, you worry too much. How can Master let himself be controlled by others for others? Master just can't bear to leave Senior Brother."
"..." He Qing glanced at him speechlessly: If you can't speak, then don't speak. Who would believe such an excuse?
Yueqing is as trustworthy as expected.
After Yue Qingru was stunned for a moment, he suddenly let out a long breath as if relieved, and changed his previous dejected look, he chuckled and said: "I knew that Master, you couldn't bear to part with Senior Brother, otherwise why would you not only stay still when you were almost hit by Senior Brother, but also stop and don't fight back."
"..." He Qing twisted his facial features and forced a smile, then glanced at Lu Li: Was this also in your prediction?
Lu Li looked at He Qing with a half-smile and raised his eyebrows meaningfully.
The three masters and apprentices returned to the west wing talking and laughing. Now Qi Guanjia had an excellent view and could see two people standing in front of the door from a long distance away, as if they were waiting for the owner of the room to come back.
He Qing sensed the aura of the two people, and the smile on his face faded a little, but his steps did not stop. When he approached, he even took the initiative to greet them: "Chi Yu, you are here?"
Hua Chiyu's eyes were as uneasy as a frightened little rabbit, and he nodded awkwardly: "Master."
Hua Chiyu was supporting Gu Changnian's arm, worried that he would be disturbed by the miasma left in the city, which would pollute his sea of consciousness, which had just cleared up. She kept chanting to purify the air around Gu Changnian. But now that He Qing was here, she didn't know whether she should let go immediately and distance herself from Gu Changnian as before, or continue to maintain contact.
He Qing saw Hua Chiyu's concerns and patted her shoulder to comfort her: "Don't be nervous. What's wrong? Do you have something to talk to me about?" While speaking, he didn't even glance at the people around Hua Chiyu.
(End of this chapter)