Chapter 145: The Bootlicking Immortal Lord Who Wants to Live Off a Woman (Part 11)

“What do you mean, ‘what happened’? You’ve got the nerve to ask me that?” Sect Master Xia slammed the table with a thunderous crack, and in an instant, the poor piece of furniture disintegrated into dust beneath his palm.

Anyone could see he was absolutely furious.

He continued, his face darkening further, “Instead of asking me, why don’t you ask your precious disciple what kind of mess she’s made this time!”

The Second Elder’s heart sank the moment he heard Sect Master Xia’s cold and detached tone.

It had to be about that wretched disciple sneaking back on her own. Someone must’ve ratted her out.

But who? No one else knew she had returned on her own.

Wait—there was one person who did.

Ning Cui.

Could that girl have gone and tattled?

No way… unless… unless the Ancestral Master himself had taken an interest in such a trivial matter?

Even though he was already imagining the worst, the Second Elder still tried to salvage the situation.

“Is this about that little stunt the girl pulled today?” The Second Elder wiped the cold sweat from his brow and bowed low. “Rest assured, I’ve already disciplined her. She’ll be there early this afternoon, and she’ll never do something so disgraceful again.”

“Yes, yes, Sect Master, I know I was wrong. I promise I won’t slack off again. I’ll head over right away and won’t come back before nightfall,” Ruan Xi’er chimed in quickly.

Sect Master Xia looked at Ruan Xi’er, who was saying all the right things, but her eyes showed not a shred of remorse.

Instead, they seemed to say, *Isn’t this a bit of an overreaction?*

Sect Master Xia sighed inwardly. Clearly, he had misjudged her before. He snorted coldly. “Too late.”

The Second Elder’s face changed dramatically. “Was it Ning Cui who tattled?”

“Hmph.” Sect Master Xia let out a furious, icy laugh. “If only it were her. No, it was the Ancestral Master himself who came to question me!”

The moment he said that, he could no longer suppress the fury in his heart. His spiritual pressure surged once more, and Ruan Xi’er collapsed to the ground in a cold sweat, unable to even lift her head.

“W-What…” The Second Elder staggered back two steps, his face pale with disbelief.

Then he slumped into the nearby chair, his limbs limp.

How could the Ancestral Master possibly care about something like this? He had long transcended worldly concerns, aloof and indifferent. He had no interest in such matters, nor any desire to interfere.

He hadn’t involved himself in sect affairs for centuries.

So why today? Was it a whim?

The Second Elder glanced coldly at Ruan Xi’er. Should he say she was unlucky… or lucky?

To get caught up in something like this…

Sect Master Xia sneered at the two of them. “Where was all this obedience before? Putting on a show now—who do you think you’re fooling?”

The Second Elder asked nervously, “What… what did the Ancestral Master say?”

“The Ancestral Master…” Sect Master Xia’s mind drifted back to earlier that day.

*

Three quarters of an hour earlier, Shen Xiuyan had returned with a food box in hand, walking alongside Wang Gang to report back.

Fortunately, there were no major matters in the sect today, and the Outer Sect disciples were allowed a brief moment of rest in the afternoon.

Shen Xiuyan took the opportunity to bid Wang Gang farewell, then slipped away and teleported directly to Heaven-Reaching Peak.

Although it was already midday, Ning Cui was still there, sweating profusely as she cleaned the courtyard.

For a cultivator, such labor shouldn’t be tiring. So the sweat wasn’t from exhaustion—it was from fear.

Yesterday, Elder Su had warned her not to be careless while cleaning, lest she damage any of the Ancestral Master’s belongings and bring disaster upon herself.

So under Elder Su’s guidance, Ning Cui had been forced to study a number of ancient and rare treasures.

Now, as she cleaned the courtyard, everything she saw looked like a priceless artifact. She thought she was just being paranoid—until she spotted a large patch of weeds…

Wasn’t that the Phoenix Immortal Grass she was so familiar with?

Only then did she realize, to her horror, that she hadn’t been mistaken at all. Those were real treasures—each and every one of them.

With that realization, Ning Cui didn’t dare move freely anymore.

She tiptoed through the courtyard, cleaning every corner with extreme caution, terrified that one wrong move might damage something irreplaceable.

If she broke anything, it would be one thing for her to die for it—but to drag down her master and senior sister as well? That would be unforgivable.

She had focused all morning and had only managed to clean less than a tenth of the courtyard.

And that was just the courtyard. The mountain outside stretched for thousands of acres—she didn’t even dare to think about it.

Then she remembered how the Ancestral Master had shown such favor to Ruan Xi’er on her very first day. That probably meant all of this cleaning would fall to her from now on.

At that thought, even the ever-diligent, never-complaining Ning Cui felt like she’d rather die.

When Shen Xiuyan returned to the main hall, the first thing he noticed was Ning Cui’s utterly defeated expression.

Was she exhausted?

Well, of course she was. With Ruan Xi’er slacking off, all the burden had fallen on her.

Still, she was one of his own. When it came time to deal with Ruan Xi’er, he could use the opportunity to get some justice for Ning Cui too.

Shen Xiuyan’s cool voice rang out across the courtyard.

“Ning Cui, come in.”

Ning Cui froze. She’d been so careful—had she still done something wrong?

Though she couldn’t see the Ancestral Master, she bowed respectfully toward the air. “Yes, this disciple is coming.”

She rushed into the hall at the fastest speed of her life, then knelt down. “Ancestral Master, what are your orders?”

She kept her head bowed, not daring to look up.

Shen Xiuyan said, “You’ve done well today. You’ve worked hard.”

Ning Cui let out a breath of relief. “Thank you, Ancestral Master. This is what I should do.”

Shen Xiuyan continued, “Since you’ve done a good job today, you deserve a reward. But I already gave you something yesterday, and giving more might seem inappropriate.”

Ning Cui quickly shook her head. “This disciple needs nothing.”

Just receiving the Ancestral Master’s approval was more than enough for her.

But Shen Xiuyan thought, *That won’t do. If you don’t want anything, then what about my wife?*

His wife had lived such a hard life—she hadn’t even seen the kind of treasures he gave to Cui Cui yesterday. His heart ached just thinking about it.

So he said, “I heard you have a Master surnamed Su… and a senior sister?”

Ning Cui was stunned—Ancestral Master even knew about something this trivial in such detail?

She didn’t dare hesitate and quickly replied, “Yes, Ancestral Master.”

Shen Xiuyan nodded. “Good. Then let these rewards go to them. Since you’re all from the same sect, I trust you won’t mind.”

At those words, Ning Cui forgot all about her fear. She looked up in delight and saw a large screen blocking her view, but she could still make out that ethereal, otherworldly figure beyond it.

“Not at all, not at all. I thank you on their behalf, Ancestral Master.”

Ning Cui beamed with joy. If the rewards had gone to someone else, she might’ve felt a tiny pang of regret.

But since they were going to her Master and Senior Sister—who treated her like their own daughter and little sister—she didn’t mind one bit.

In fact, it made her even happier than receiving the rewards herself.

Because now, she could finally give something back to them with her own strength.