Feng Rugu did not respond, only gazing at the bright moon in the sky.

Moonlight has always been fair, shining on everyone regardless of good or evil.

Wen Chen spoke to himself, clearly obsessed: "Over the years, I've increasingly been unable to understand my father, unable to understand all these matters of the Dao Sect, unable to understand why the glory of the Dao Sect is more important than self-cultivation and restraint... The more I cultivate the Dao, the further I get from the 'Dao'. Why is this?"

Feng Rugu suddenly said: "You should go."

Wen Chen seemed not to hear, raising his face, full of confusion: "Ten years ago, should I have died in the 'Forgotten World'? Then I wouldn't have to face the current situation, caught between a rock and a hard place, disloyal to the Dao, unfilial to my father, and even more so as a brother..."

Feng Rugu suddenly burst out laughing, interrupting Wen Chen's self-pity.

"What a ridiculous thing to say." Feng Rugu stared at his face and said, "Back then, you begged me to let you live. Now you're saying it would have been better to die?"

He leaned down and yanked the jeweled scabbard from Wen Chen's waist, using the scabbard to lift the sword from the ground.

That unfamiliar sword in his hand moved as if an extension of his arm. The long sword spun in a circle on the scabbard, the hilt turning to face Wen Chen, steadily stopping.

Feng Rugu held out the scabbard horizontally and said: "Then now, personally return to me what you owe, and go die."

Faced with the sharp blade, Wen Chen's mind gradually cleared.

He loudly swallowed, clearly still clinging to life.

"Not going to die?"

Feng Rugu observed him for a moment, showing a look of disinterest. He casually tossed the fine sword down with a clang of metal, startling Wen Chen's hair on end.

"Then please get lost and don't disturb my drinking."

Wen Chen picked up the sword and slunk out of the side hall.

Feng Rugu downed the wine in his cup, and holding the empty cup, quietly snuck back to the main hall entrance and flung open the doors—

Luo Fuchun and Sang Luojiu both tumbled out from inside the door, sprawling on the threshold.

Luo Fuchun showed a bit of embarrassment, while Sang Luojiu blushed and gave Feng Rugu a sheepish smile.

Feng Rugu squatted down with a grin, face to face with the two eavesdropping disciples. He placed the wine cup on Sang Luojiu's head, wiped his wine-stained hand on the back of Luo Fuchun's Daoist robe, then clasped his hands behind his back and stepped over them into the hall.

Ruyi sat at the table drinking tea, while Hai Jing didn't dare let his attention wander, vigilantly facing the corner of the room with his hand on his sword hilt, staring ahead intently.

But this was actually completely unnecessary.

Feng Rugu walked towards the corner of the room.

Four children, the youngest no more than seven or eight and the oldest no more than eleven or twelve, stood in a row, trembling.

Feng Rugu counted them.

"One, two, three, four." He asked the young demon cultivator with red marks still on his face, "It's just you four who were captured and brought into the mountains, no one else, right?"

The young demon cultivator mustered his courage and nodded.

He was a descendant of the Corpse Sect, and was also responsible for cleaning the side hall. He had unintentionally witnessed the scene of the Third Young Lady Wen's beheading.

At the time, Wen Chen's mind was greatly affected and he had no energy to pay attention to that small aura hidden in the shadows.

After Wen Chen left, he also fled in a panic, found his companions, and told them everything. Then he secretly returned and used a spell at the Third Young Lady Wen's burial site.

The walking corpse was also refined by him.

Although his technique was frighteningly crude, this young demon cultivator could be considered as having the highest cultivation among these four children.

Feng Rugu made an "mm" sound, but was thinking in his mind that while Wen Chen's thoughts were in chaos, the person wielding the Tang saber was extremely calm.

He did not expose the young demon cultivator hiding in the shadows, and even ordered Wen Chen to bury the corpse. His every move seemed random, but in fact, his every step was meant to deliver this difficult problem to Feng Rugu's doorstep.

...As if he was at leisure, wanting to see how Feng Rugu would handle this scandalous matter of the Dao Sect.

Luo Fuchun patted the dirt off his body and eagerly stepped forward, eyes shining: "Master!"

Just now, from behind the door, Feng Rugu had taken on the appearance of the master Luo Fuchun imagined.

Luo Fuchun said excitedly: "Master, the Wenshi Sect has done such a despicable thing, how should we punish them?"

But Feng Rugu acted as if he had amnesia: "Punish? Punish what?"

Luo Fuchun pointed at the four children: "Kidnapping children and colluding with demon cultivators, these are both major crimes."

"Oh."

But Feng Rugu's reaction was mild. He turned to Ruyi and greeted him: "The Dao Sect's aggravating matters have been an embarrassment for the Buddhist Sects to see."

Ruyi's expression was calm, as if he was used to seeing such things.

"...Master?" Luo Fuchun heard something was off. "Could it be that Master plans to let the Wenshi Sect off?"

"If we don't plan to let them off, what punishment does Fuchun want?"

Luo Fuchun replied without hesitation: "We should use these four demon children as witnesses to expose the Wenshi Sect's deeds to the world, remove them from the Dao registry, and never allow them to be reinstated!"

"Okay, you personally hand over these four children." Feng Rugu propped his chin. "They are demon sect descendants, their bloodline is proof, absolutely certain. According to the current Dao Sect rules, once demons are caught, the lightest punishment is beheading."

The four little turnip heads shivered in unison, suddenly unsure if coming to find Feng Rugu was right or wrong.

Luo Fuchun choked: "But... they are children, they are innocent."

"Innocent or not, it's not for them to say." Feng Rugu said, "Let me ask you, if Wen Runjin says these four demon children are spies who infiltrated the Wenshi Sect and he was unaware, what would you do?"

"They have the Wenshi Sect's 'forbidden from leaving the mountain' spell imprint on their bodies! How could the Wenshi Sect leader not know? He can't possibly shirk responsibility!"

"What if every Wenshi Sect disciple has this spell imprint on their body?"

Now Luo Fuchun was shocked: "This..."

Feng Rugu: "Ah, I'm just making this up."

Luo Fuchun: "..."

"...But if that old man Wen really says this, how would you respond?" Feng Rugu said lazily, "In the end, this is still his Wenshi Sect, he can put as many imprints on his disciples as he wants."

Feng Rugu always preferred to sit rather than stand. After standing for a while, he sat down beside Ruyi again, naturally taking the teacup Ruyi had just put down and taking a sip.

His movements were so smooth that before Ruyi could react, the cup had already touched his lips.

Ruyi stiffened, and only after seeing Feng Rugu put down the cup with the sheen of water on the other side where he had drunk from did his expression improve slightly.

Luo Fuchun was still racking his brains when Feng Rugu's words completely shattered his illusions.

"When it comes down to it, this is just a small matter. If they really wanted to investigate, they would have plenty of reasons to exonerate themselves. In the end, at most, they could only charge Wen Runjin with the crime of negligence."

"Wen Runjin could even beautify his actions, saying that he did it to retrieve lost items of the Dao sect, for Fengling, for the Dao sects, and that's why he resorted to this scheme. And the parents of these four young demon cultivators were truly evil and unorthodox, holding their children hostage, so they got what they deserved."

"As long as he knows how to make himself look good and smear others, the other sects might even credit him for his actions."

"But no matter what, once this matter is exposed, the four young demon cultivators are doomed."

Sang Luojiu, who was standing to the side, opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he obediently closed it and acted as if nothing had happened.

Luo Fuchun couldn't help but feel deflated. "Is there really no way to teach Wenshi Sect a lesson?"

Ruyi, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, "There is."

Feng Rugu raised his hand, "Spare it. Luojiu knows this idea is inappropriate, so Master Ruyi, there's no need to say more."

Ruyi didn't speak again.

Luo Fuchun looked at Sang Luojiu in surprise.

Sang Luojiu lowered his eyes, his expression very docile.

Luo Fuchun said dejectedly, "Letting them off so easily is too much of a bargain."

Feng Rugu said, "Boy, governing is a hundred times harder than conquering. These kinds of messy affairs, even my master and your grandmaster can't handle them, let alone you. Take these youngsters down. Arrange a few beds in the empty side hall and have them sleep. I'll have arrangements in the morning."

Luo Fuchun was full of questions but could only say yes and lead the trembling young demon cultivators out.

After settling the young demon cultivators, locking the hall, and leaving, he couldn't wait to ask Sang Luojiu, "Junior Brother, what did you want to say just now? What solution do you have?"

Sang Luojiu said softly, "Luojiu doesn't dare to deceive Senior Brother. Please lend me your ear."

Luo Fuchun muttered, "So mysterious," but still leaned his face over.

After Sang Luojiu said just a couple of sentences, Luo Fuchun's face changed. "...Luojiu, are you joking with me?"

"Luojiu wouldn't dare." Sang Luojiu said, "As long as we kill these four young demon cultivators and say they harbored resentment and came to the guest house to assassinate us in the middle of the night, and were killed on the spot when discovered, the matter will completely blow up and no longer be a small private transaction that can be glossed over. Master can immediately lock down Wenshi Mountain from the inside, detain the Wen sect leader, and not give them any chance to make a move. Then, verifying the magic seal on the bodies of these four will confirm the connection between this matter and the Wenshi Sect. By then, even if the Wen sect leader is full of excuses, he won't be able to explain it clearly."

Luo Fuchun felt a chill all over. "What kind of idea is this... Isn't this framing them? These four children haven't done anything wrong, how unjust!"

Sang Luojiu: "It is indeed framing them, no mistake. But doing this is the most thorough solution. It can completely confirm the Wenshi Mountain's collusion with the demon sect and give these four young demon cultivators a quick end. After all, even if they are released, they may not be able to live well in this world. They will either turn bad or die."

Luo Fuchun always felt that these words were not quite right, but for a moment, he couldn't find the words to refute them.

He scratched his head, "Demon cultivators, are there really no good ones?"

"As long as the wind of demon extermination does not cease for a day, they have no chance to change for the better." Sang Luojiu said, "Have you heard of the name Sa Si?"

Of course Luo Fuchun had heard of it.

He fell silent because he had no words to say.

"What does it matter if one has deep gratitude to the Dao sect? What does it matter if one betrays the demon sect for the sake of Dao sect friends? What does it matter if, by one's own efforts, one protects more than a thousand Daoists of the Dao Sects during the thirteen years of the demon sect's rule? After Grandmaster Lord Xiaoyao ascended with his Dao companion, didn't he still get schemed against by those minor Dao sects, forcing him into a dead end?"

With that said, Sang Luojiu patted Luo Fuchun's shoulder, his expression still gentle and agreeable, and said in a refined manner, "Senior Brother, don't be discouraged. The current state of the Dao sect will always change. Sooner or later, Senior Brother will return to his own sect, and at that time, we will have to rely on Senior Brother to clear the air in the Dao sect."

Luo Fuchun couldn't help but say, "We'll also need to rely on you..."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he remembered Sang Luojiu's background and wished he could slap himself.

"I am my father's illegitimate child, of lowly status, naturally different from Senior Brother."

Sang Luojiu clasped his hands behind his back, not at all like someone who had just come up with a ruthless plan. His smile was sincere and clean. "I only want to stay by Master's side for life and be his disciple. I don't care about anything else."

Luo Fuchun patted Sang Luojiu's shoulder comfortingly, walked a few steps, and suddenly remembered something. "Just now in the main hall, could it be that Master Ruyi also thought of this idea?"

Sang Luojiu: "Since Master stopped him and didn't let him speak, it should be the case."

Luo Fuchun showed a look of disbelief and casually put his arm around Sang Luojiu's shoulder. "You said monks are supposed to be compassionate, so how could he come up with such a plan?" He didn't seem to mind at all that Sang Luojiu had come up with such a plan.

Sang Luojiu obediently said, "Who knows?"

Sang Luojiu felt that this wasn't the only strange thing.

— Before Master Ruyi could speak, Master seemed to know what he was going to say, and his tone was particularly certain, as if he knew Master Ruyi very well.