“At what point do you think the discussion is at?” Daoyi asked. In front of her was a sheet of parchment where she was painting. Tianyi looked on with twitching lips. Compared to her, his painting skills were far inferior.
They were the same on the technical level, but his painting didn’t have the same spirituality that Daoyi’s had.
“I don’t know,” Tianyi said. While Daoyi was painting, he was sorting through all the souvenirs that his mother had purchased for him. It still baffled him why his mother bought him souvenirs.
Most of the stuff she purchased were trinkets and novelty items. But the sheer amount meant that Tianyi was still looking through them, although he found a few rare and fascinating things.
“My plan aims to remove Elder Redseal from his position as Head Elder. But removing a Head Elder isn’t such an easy objective. In the end, all of Lovespot’s victims were mortals. Their lives would hardly make a dent compared to the value of an Immortal Monarch. Still, I didn’t expect Lovespot to kill disciples of other sects, and elite ones at that. Should I praise him for being daring or ridicule him for seeking death?”
“A person like Lovespot doesn’t deserve an iota of praise of any kind,” Daoyi said before changing the topic. “So why did you aim for that then?”
“Don’t you know, you have to aim higher than what you intend in order to achieve your goal,” Tianyi said while wagging his finger. “though, it wouldn’t hurt if Head Elder Redseal was removed from his position. But even if he isn’t, that Lovespot won’t be able to escape punishment.”
Tianyi’s smile was brilliant, but it contained a dark undertone. “However, it’d be best if Elder Redseal got removed from his position. I don’t feel safe having someone so trigger happy to cripple my cultivation at such a position of power. And if Head Elder Redseal really is removed from his position, do you think Lovespot would be able to live as before? Although Elder Redseal would still protect him, but how can Lovespot live the same as before? Being impeached from his position, Elder Redseal wouldn’t be able to have much clout. At best he can protect Lovespot from getting harmed, but how can a leopard change its spots? Lovespot is going to cause trouble again, and with Elder Redseal not having as much power, his life will become miserable. A quick death is too good for him.”
“Aren’t you just adding fuel to the fire by having master try to remove him from his post?” Daoyi asked.
Tianyi shrugged. “I don’t think avoiding him is going to make it better in any way. It’s not like he can do any worse than killing me after attempting to cripple my cultivation. If he really did try to kill me, I won’t stop mother from trying to kill him either.”
“That’s not likely. I’ve seen many people in positions of power during my times at the Duke Estate. Humans are creatures who would abandon their own kin in exchange for power. Redseal is an Immortal Monarch who has lived for over a hundred thousand years. Compared to that, the time he spent with Lovespot is like a blink of an eye.”
“If given a choice between his grandson and his position, I’d think Elder Redseal will choose his Lovespot.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Elder Redseal wanted to cripple me just because I almost hurt his precious widdle grandbaby.”
Daoyi covered her growing smile at Tianyi’s mocking words. “Senior brother is really focused on the fact that Redseal almost crippled you. This is the third time you mentioned it in a short time.”
“So what? Fifteen years of cultivation almost got wasted because of that. If my cultivation technique wasn’t special, I’d have been truly crippled. I already formed my Spiritual Core, so even if I gain the ability to cultivate again, my full potential would be damaged.” Tianyi crushed the item in his hand while speaking, highlighting his anger. “What about you? You’ve directly gone to removing the Elder when addressing Elder Redseal.”
Daoyi rolled her eyes. “Someone capable of raising such an asshole doesn’t deserve to be an Elder.”
“Wow…you really…hate him,” Tianyi said, his eyes widening at the crass language and dark aura radiating from Daoyi.
“Both Lovespot and him aren’t good things. I don’t expect people to be the epitome of empathy, but Lovespot is unnecessarily cruel and despotic. Redseal, who raised him, is just as wrong if more.”
“So you wish for Elder Redseal to be removed from his position too?”
“I want both of them to be punished.”
“Not likely, only one of them will be punished.” Tianyi before a thought struck him. “Say, want to make a bet?”
“A bet? What kind of a bet?” Daoyi asked as she tilted her head at Tianyi.
“A bet on whether or not Elder Redseal or Lovespot would be punished.”
“Since it’s a bet, what are we wagering?”
Tianyi stopped. What would they wager?
In terms of wealth or items, Daoyi couldn’t compare to himself. He had wealth that would make even a True Immortal green with envy. Aside from the egg, which he did not covet, Daoyi had nothing that he didn’t or couldn’t attain. So if it’s not materials items, it should be an act or service.
He looked over and observed Daoyi. She was wearing one of her blue dress today and a feather-like hair accessory that held her sidebang behind one of her ears.
Daoyi is really pretty, Tianyi thought. As soon as the thought occurred, he turned his head away to hide his reddening face.
“B-bragging rights. No need to complicate anything. This is all fun and games at the expense of Elder Redseal and Lovespot, after all.”
Daoyi giggled. “Alright, I’ll bet on Lovespot being punished. I don’t think Redseal would be willing to give up his power for his grandson. The saying power corrupts isn’t without basis.”
“Then I’ll wager that Elder Redseal will give up his position to keep his grandson safe.”
Once again, Mengfei sat across from Zhang Cuiying. There was a small plate of snacks and cakes that her servant had brought out.
Zhang Cuiying took a sip of the fragrant tea before placing it down. “I believe this is the only time met each other within such a short time frame.”
“Yes,” Mengfei picked up a dainty confectionary with her chopsticks and placed it within her mouth, covering her mouth with her sleeve as she chewed. “The first time was to ask a favor, the second time was for gratitude, but I don’t know why you have called me here today. Is it something important?”
“Earlier, Redseal’s decision…” Zhang Cuiying began.
“He chose to give up his position as Head Elder. I don’t like him. He hurt my son, but I cannot say he is heartless.” Mengfei said. Redseal’s action trial gave her complicated feelings towards the whole affair.
“Sect Master has also punished him to be confined for a thousand years since he no longer has any wages after being removed from his position. Why do you think he did? In my eyes, removing his position as Head Elder is already punishment enough.” Zhang Cuiying asked.
Mengfei froze. She hadn’t thought of such a thing. Had she had her way, Redseal would have had his cultivation crippled or at least beaten half to death. But even she knew that such a thing wasn’t likely, so she settled for her son’s plan.
“A child with an Immortal Elder with a high amount of power within the sect as a backing and pampered to the point of ridiculousness since birth, doesn’t this situation remind you of someone?” Zhang Cuiying asked once more.
There were a lot of Immortal Elders that had descendants, but Zhang Cuiying wasn’t speaking about those Immortal Elders, but rather Immortal Monarchs. Or at the very least an Immortal Monarch or an Immortal Empress like her.
“You are talking about Tianyi,” Mengfei said, no stated.
“Doesn’t the situation look familiar?” Zhang Cuiying rebutted. “Since young, all the best things have been available to him. What Lovespot has, your son already has, what Lovespot doesn’t have, your son also has.”
Mengfei’s expression darkened. “Yi’er is nothing like Lovespot.”
“I know,” Zhang Cuiying didn’t deny Mengfei’s words. “It’s not your son I’m worried about. If you compare your son to Lovespot, it would be insulting your son. I know not of his character, but at the least, he isn’t a trouble-maker. His accomplishment isn’t something that-are you listening to me?”
“Yes,” Mengfei said, she was looking very seriously at Zhang Cuiying. “You can continue praising Yi’er more.”
Zhang Cuiying felt as if something had got caught in her throat, preventing her from speaking anything. Finally, after composing herself once more, she said. “I wasn’t worried about your son, but you.”
Mengfei looked at her in surprise.
“The way you treat your son, I’m worried that you might turn into the second Redseal.” Zhang Cuiying said. “You even went to the Vast Void to find a treasure for your son. I’m not worried about him committing a crime. He knows what he should and should not do. But you place too much importance on him. It isn’t good for your Daoheart.”
“I don’t feel anything wrong. After understanding my heart a bit, I’ve even advanced.” Mengfei said, unconvinced.
“That’s right. You’ve discovered a path to enter the Origin Immortal Realm, right?”
Mengfei nodded. She didn’t deliberately hide her aura so sharp Immortal Monarchs and Emperors would be able to tell. This was especially so for Zhang Cuiying, who she had travel back with.
“To be more precise, I’m closer to the Half Origin Immortal Realm than the Extremity Immortal Realm.”
“That’s why I’m even more worried.” Zhang Cuiying said. “From the moment Redseal made his decision, it was clear that in his heart, his grandson is even more important than him than his Dao. If Lovespot were to die, then I’m afraid his Daoheart would collapse. He might even regress to a True Immortal or even return to become a mere mortal.”
Zhang Cuiying looked at Mengfei in the eye as she spoke her next sentence. “What would happen to you if your son were to die?”
“He wouldn’t.” Mengfei didn’t even stop to consider before saying those words.
“There are no impossibilities. I don’t want your years of effort to go to waste. I’m not saying you shouldn’t love your son, but you shouldn’t let it reach the point of affecting your Dao.”
Mengfei didn’t speak, and the two descended into silence.
“I didn’t begin cultivating because I sought the Dao,” Mengfei said after a moment. “I cultivated because my master wanted me to. When she left, I continued because she wanted to. All these years, I’ve never cultivated for myself.”
“Is it wrong to place my son before my Dao?”
Sect Master Xia sighed as he poured tea for his guest, the Justice Hall’s former Head Elder. The meeting concerning the issue of Lovespot had already finished.
Redseal sat next to him with a defeated expression. His features seemed to have aged ten years. There were even streaks of gray in his hair and crow feet around his eyes.
“I didn’t think you’d be so foolish. If you really wanted to save your grandson, I could have just let him “die.” Sect Master Xia said.
Redseal shook his head bitterly. “Do you really think that one would let it end like that?”
Sect Master Xia stayed silent. After all, the only reason Redseal had his position taken away was because Grand Elder Xi had spearheaded the proposal.
“I’m sorry.” Sect Master Xia said. For him to have become the Sect Master of the Buzhou Immortal Sect, Redseal had played a critical role in the affair.
“Don’t mind it.” Redseal said, shaking his hand. “You helped me become the Head Elder of the Justice Hall, so I supported you to become the Sect Master. Our debts were long paid.”
Sect Master Xia’s eyes couldn’t help but contain pity. “You only have a few more days before your Thousand-Year Imprisonment; spend it with your grandson.”
“I know, thank you.” Redseal said. “Could you look after Fan’er in these thousand years?”
Sect Master Xia felt his temper rising, hating iron for not becoming steel. But in the end, he relented and nodded his head. “As long as he doesn’t break any more sect rules, I will make sure he won’t suffer vengeance.”
“That’s all I can ask.” Redseal said as he stood up and started to leave.
“Redseal, I hope you can rebuild your Daoheart in these thousand years.” Sect Master Xia said. He didn’t punish Redseal to be contained for a thousand years so simply, but so that Redseal could be separated from his grandson and have time to ponder over his Dao. Rather than improve, Redseal seemed to have regressed in strength.
Redseal paused for a moment before he started walking away once more. He had so many things to do: erase all the evidence of his grandson cultivating with Living Pills, asking his friends to look after Lovespot, hiring guards, and…
Hatred flashed in his eyes, so quickly that no one would notice.