Chapter 89: Pre-emptive Move
Everyone watched on with a combination of shock and intrigue as word after word started appearing on the table top, eventually forming into multiple lines themselves.
But for some reason, everyone apart from the seated elder could only see the words as a blur, as though the words were hidden behind a mystical veil.
All they could tell was that Zhao Yunxiao had written three lines of words before finally stopping and taking a step back.
Unable to see the actual words, their attention naturally fell upon the seated elder, who was currently fully focused on the words laid out in front of him.
The main hall fell silent for a few moments, but these few moments felt unbearably long for those present.
He Luoxuan, especially, felt like he was walking on eggshells.
At this point, it was no longer possible for him to remove himself as an accomplice to whatever Zhao Yunxiao was doing.
His heart had already skipped a beat when Zhao Yunxiao suddenly dipped his finger into the elder's tea earlier. Now, he could only pray in his heart that Zhao Yunxiao had not simply gotten carried away from all the attention that he was getting!
Huu-!
The elder let out a deep breath and closed his eyes.
As though taking that as a cue, the lines of words on his table instantly evaporated, leaving not a single trace behind.
All eyes remained on the elder as everyone tried to gauge his reaction.
And under everyone's watchful eyes, the elder opened his eyes and stood up before turning towards He Luoxuan.
He Luoxuan immediately got nervous.
There were simply too many things about what was happening today that he did not understand, so even someone as experienced as him felt like his mind was starting to fall into a state of turmoil.
At this point, he really did not know what to expect anymore.
In front of everyone, the elder respectfully clasped his fists towards He Luoxuan.
"Elder He is truly on another level. I am impressed by your wisdom, and cannot be more thankful for the guidance today," the elder said.
These were simple words, yet impactful enough to make everyone freeze in astonishment.
Everyone had already guessed as much by now, but it still felt different hearing the confirmation from the elder.
Now that Zhao Yunxiao- no, now that Elder He was done giving guidance to the disciples, he had actually started giving advice to the Origin Lake Sect elders!
And from the looks of it, the advice was something that the elder truly appreciated as well!
The only regret they had was that unlike the advice given to the disciples, the one given to the elder had been privy only to the elder himself, and bystanders like them could not benefit from it too.
Then again, perhaps that was also to be expected.
It was one thing to have the master find out what their disciples lacked, but it was a completely different story for the disciples to find out what their masters lacked.
In a way, they understood that He Luoxuan was trying to save face for the elder.
"Please don't stand on ceremony," He Luoxuan hurriedly stood up to return the greeting to the elder. "We are all here to share our ideas, and I have benefited greatly from this session as well."
"Elder He is too kind," the elder said with a smile before sitting back down.
"Hahaha! Look at me helping you earn brownie points for your elder. It's all right, you don't have to thank me!" Cha laughed.
Zhao Yunxiao felt wronged on many levels, but he did not even have time to think about the matter as he felt his body continue moving towards the next elder.
Although Zhao Yunxiao had decided to play along earlier, that was when it was still about giving guidance to the disciples.
It was a totally different matter now that the elders were involved!
Unfortunately, even though he refused to speak up, Cha was not intending to let that small hiccup stop it from achieving its goals.
This sea serpent really intended to have him go one round for the elders, just like how it had done for the disciples!
He got it right this time.
In fact, when he stopped in front of the next elder, the elder actually offered up his tea by voluntarily pushing his tea cup nearer to Zhao Yunxiao.
Zhao Yunxiao did not let down the elder's expectations either, dipping his finger into the tea before writing away without hesitation.
As expected, Zhao Yunxiao did not stop there.
One by one, he started writing down advice for each individual elder.
And one by one, the elders immediately thanked He Luoxuan after receiving these words of advice specially catered to their needs.
As time passed, He Luoxuan felt increasingly uneasy as he sensed others looking at him with gazes that seemed to be bordering on the level of worship.
It would be nice if he earned this respect himself, but that was not the case at all here!
Just like that, Zhao Yunxiao made one round around the main hall once more, finally arriving back beside He Luoxuan.
This time around, He Luoxuan did not say anything.
He did not ask Zhao Yunxiao to return to his station, thinking that his words would likely fall upon deaf ears just like before.
Instead, he continued looking at Zhao Yunxiao, wondering what this disciple was intending to do next.
In a way, while He Luoxuan might be feeling extremely confused right now, he was also starting to feel rather fascinated by the current situation at the same time.
After all, no matter why this was happening, it was undeniable that the reputations of both him and the Black Tortoise Sect were rising as a result!
Could it be that this was a surprise event that another elder of the Black Tortoise Sect had arranged for him in secret?
If an elder of the Black Tortoise Sect took the effort to study the elders and core disciples of the Origin Lake Sect over a period of time, such a result was indeed not impossible to achieve.
He Luoxuan was even starting to think that nothing could shock him further at this point, so he might as well just sit back and enjoy the show.
He was wrong.
Zhao Yunxiao's eyes glazed over as he realised that he had started to slowly make his way towards the main seat in the hall.
Dan Juexing was initially surprised to see Zhao Yunxiao heading in his way too, but quickly let out a meaningful smile.
"Here, Little Brother Zhao," Dan Juexing pushed forth a tea cup and a brush.
"This Dan Juexing is truly impressive in his own way, always eager to learn new things no matter the situation," Cha commented in Zhao Yunxiao's head. "The only problem about him is that he is too much of a pacifist!"
For a moment, Zhao Yunxiao was afraid that Cha would make him write down those exact words.
Rather than cultivation guidance, that would be more like berating Dan Juexing for his character!
Thankfully, that was not the case.
Picking up the brush and dipping it into the tea, Zhao Yunxiao started writing away on the table top, but it was all related to Dan Juexing's cultivation instead.
At this point, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but feel impressed by Cha as well.
To be able to accurately point out exactly what each elder and core disciple lacked, just how much had it been watching them over the years?
Not just that, but Cha surely possessed a great wealth of knowledge as well.
How else would it know the answers to fix all of their flaws?
After all, it did not seem to have anyone that it could consult.
He thought that Cha was finally starting to act like a proper guardian spirit of the sect. The only problem here was that it was doing so at his expense.
Dan Juexing let out a faint smile after seeing the words written with tea, and clasped his fists towards He Luoxuan just like the other elders had done.
"Thank you for the guidance, Elder He!" Dan Juexing said.
"As I said, this is an exchange of ideas, nothing more..." He Luoxuan hurriedly returned the greeting. "Everyone, please pardon us if we have overstepped in any way today."
The elders were one thing, but as the sect leader of the Origin Lake Sect, Dan Juexing's status was almost comparable to that of his own.
Such words from him were something he dared not accept lightly!
"Not at all! If anything, it has been a very beneficial session for all of us here today!" Dan Juexing shook his head. "Everyone, let's give a toast to Elder He and our Little Brother Zhao here who have worked hard today!"
"Elder He! Little brother Zhao!"
"Elder He! Brother Zhao!"
The elders and disciples of the Origin Lake Sect immediately toasted towards He Luoxuan and Zhao Yunxiao as instructed, and it was by no means against their wills.
All of them felt genuine gratitude towards the duo right now. Most even could not wait to return and ponder upon the advice that they had just been given.
"Now then, I'm feeling rather tired now, so if you will excuse us..." He Luoxuan stood up from his seat.
"Elder He has worked hard today, please go get some rest," Dan Juexing said with a smile. "I will see you at the banquet later."
"I will see everyone later then," He Luoxuan nodded. "Let's go."
While saying that, He Luoxuan basically only kept his eyes on Zhao Yunxiao.
He knew that Hu Nan and Song Xiaoqiao would surely follow his instructions, and before today, he would have thought that Zhao Yunxiao would too.
But after what just happened, he was no longer that sure about Zhao Yunxiao.
That was especially ironic, considering that Zhao Yunxiao was only the outer disciple here and thus should have been the most obedient of all.
On the other hand, Zhao Yunxiao panicked after seeing that He Luoxuan was intending to leave.
Thankfully, Zhao Yunxiao felt the power restraining his body draining away.
Bit by bit, he began to regain control over his body once more.
"Leaving already? Your elder is such a bummer!" Cha's voice sounded in his head. "Fine, I will let you go for now. See you later."
Zhao Yunxiao felt the corner of his lips twitch.
Stop telling me that you will see me later!
I don't want to see you anymore!
Even then, Zhao Yunxiao felt slightly thankful that Cha was at least willing to let him go in time, and immediately went after the departing He Luoxuan.
However, he knew that the matter had not passed just yet.
If he were He Luoxuan, the next thing he would do was surely to question him on what happened.
In that case...
The moment the group stepped out of the main hall and the door closed behind them, Zhao Yunxiao saw He Luoxuan turn towards him and immediately decided to put his plan into action.
Zhao Yunxiao suddenly closed his eyes and loosened all four of his limbs, letting his body fall limply to the ground.
He had run through multiple scenarios in his head earlier, and this was what he had decided on.
To make it easier for himself, Zhao Yunxiao decided to take the initiative with a pre-emptive move of his own – the ancient art of pretending to faint and act like he did not remember anything!
By doing so, he could pretend that he had been possessed, and with that, shirk all responsibility for what happened earlier!
Then again, what happened earlier was probably the same as being possessed anyway, so he was not exactly lying!
"Hmm?" He Luoxuan frowned.
With a flick of his wrist, a wave of energy wrapped around Zhao Yunxiao, holding him up and preventing him from hitting the ground.
"Junior Martial Brother Zhao?" Hu Nan was shocked to see this. "What happened to him?"
Song Xiaoqiao furrowed her brows as well.
"I'm not sure either," He Luoxuan said. "Let me take a look."
He Luoxuan might not have high attainments in the path of healing, but as an accomplished cultivator, it was not difficult for him to at least find out the general condition of others by investigating with his spiritual sense.
Hearing his words, Zhao Yunxiao instantly understood that it was time to stop pretending.
"Eh? What happened?" Zhao Yunxiao said weakly as he slowly opened his eyes. "Where are we?"
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