~~~

Several things happen in the aftermath of the trial, the most amusing one being the drastic increase of disciples going into isolation training. Even before the trial, many disciples were using all their points to buy as much time as possible in the isolation chambers. After it, not a single one remains free. Some won’t be available for years.

Everyone knows what is coming. Liu Jin wouldn’t be surprised if there is a similar increase in disciples going on long-term missions starting tomorrow. He wishes he could do the same, but, like many others, he has already picked a side.

And right now, that side is winning.

“Rejoice!” Khong Hu yells out. His cheeks are flushed, and there is no hiding the excitement in his voice. It is a stark contrast to his usual demeanor; the cup of alcohol in his hand, which has been emptied and refilled several dozen times throughout the night, goes a long way towards explaining it.

“Elder Xun’s wisdom has seen through the petty lies of Elder Dang and those like him! The wise and generous Elder Xue has been allowed to continue watching over those in the Medical Pavilion!”

There is a bit more to it than that. Elder Xue has been allowed to continue watching over the Medical Pavilion, but only until a new Elder has been chosen. Once that happens, Elder Xue will have to give up that power. However, those are problems for a later day. Indeed, Khong Hu’s words are greeted by cheers and raised cups from those around him.

“Brother Jin!” Khong Hu puts an arm around his shoulders. “Do not be so dour! You have been most critical for this victory! It is proper for you to be proud of yourself!”

Despite himself, Liu Jin smiles. “Well, if Brother Hu says it, how can I refuse?”

This little celebration in the Medical Pavilion is not something anyone had planned. Someone had raided Elder Cheung’s private collection and decided to share it with the others. Another disciple, one who could be quite lethal with the pipa as Liu Jin understands it, had decided to play it for far more joyful reasons. Things spiraled from there. Even some of the Medical Pavilion disciples ended up joining, though that comes as little surprise.

Everyone had been tense during the occupation. Some may have hidden it behind pomp and others behind hostility, but not a single person hadn’t known the stakes involved. At any point, the Elders of Lord Feng Shang’s faction could have launched an attack to “liberate” the Medical Pavilion. That possibility had been hanging over their heads all this time.

In the aftermath of Elder Xun’s verdict, how can they do anything but rejoice?

Tomorrow would bring its own set of troubles. They would have to worry about how to manage the Medical Pavilion from now on, who could be trusted and who couldn’t, and what to do once Lord Feng Shang returned.

However, those are all tomorrow’s problems.

Tonight, they can bask in their victory.

All except Liu Jin.

There is one thing he must do.

~~~

Many disciples rethink their loyalties after the trial. Quite a few of them start shifting to Lord Feng Gui’s side.

“Are you an idiot?”

There is, unfortunately, always one idiot that will go against the grain.

“That is not a rhetorical question,” Lu Mei adds, hands on her hips and one foot impatiently tapping against the floor. “Are you an idiot? Were you born without brains? Or was it so small it fell out of your ears one day? Perhaps the Bei Clan is fond of raising their children with repeated blows to the head?”

Rather than getting angry at her, Bei Hong meets her scowl with stoic resolve.

“Suitability is determined through rigorous testing.”

Which, Lu Mei guesses, is his way of confirming the Bei Clan does indeed hit its children one too many times. She would like to say that went a long way towards explaining many of the Golden Fist Sect’s eccentricities, but it is not like the Red Sky Pavilion is any better. The truth is all high-level cultivators are weird. There are no exceptions to this. Either they are born weird or become weird.

Which begs the question: Which one is she?

And which one is Qing Jin?

“This is not the time for your usual nonsense.” Lu Mei raises a hand to her forehead. As expected, dealing with Bei Hong is always a headache. “Lord Feng Gui’s faction has struck a major blow today. Lord Feng Shang’s faction will not take this lying down. Things are already in motion. There is no longer any point in staying neutral.”

Bei Hong somehow has the gall to look insulted, his brow creasing and his lips thinning as he crosses his arms.

“I am not an idiot, Lu Mei. Of course, I know that.”

“Well, you are certainly acting like one!”

To think she had just sought him out because Qing Jin, for some bizarre reason that completely escaped anything resembling rational thought, had left his pet with Bei Hong. Who knew what that brute would do to such a beautiful creature? No, it was imperative for her to go to the Inner Disciple’s quarters, be seen by as many people as possible on her way there for the sake of plausible deniability while Qing Jin decided to be himself, and then hopefully return to find her Qing Jin still in one piece.

Foolish her. She had not counted on Bei Hong being Bei Hong.

Curse troublesome men. Curse the Heavens, who seemed to enjoy putting her near them.

“If you know all of this,” she began, slowly and with much derision, “why would you choose to join Lord Feng Shang’s faction now of all times!”

The Division of Internal Disputes. That is where Bei Hong was heading when she found him. Lu Mei did not discover this through clever deduction. The imbecile didn’t even have the common sense to lie to her about it! As everyone picked sides, Bei Hong had apparently deemed it sensible to ally himself with the Elder who had just been publicly humiliated.

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“Is it not as if I made this choice without thinking,” Bei Hong tells her. “I thought long and hard about it.”

He nods to himself as he says it, his thoughts in full agreement with his words.

Unsurprisingly, the idiot thought his idiot thoughts were clever.

“In the first place, Bei Duyi has been trying to get me to side with Lord Feng Gui for a while now.”

Lu Mei stares.

She congratulates herself for not sending Bei Hong flying. Even if he absolutely deserves it, the fool would consider it an invitation to fight, and she has no desire to waste her time beating him. Unlike some, she is not some brute that gains satisfaction from violence.

“You are picking a side on the basis of not liking your cousin?”

Lu Mei makes a small mental note to do something horrible to Bei Duyi later. The fool should have known trying to get Bei Hong to do anything is guaranteed to backfire.

“Bei Duyi annoys me to no end, but that is not my only reason.”

“Oh?” She arches an eyebrow. “Do enlighten me.”

“Huang Shing.”

Lu Mei’s face sours.

“There is no way he’ll accept being on the same side as Feng Zhi once he leaves isolation training.” Bei Hong shrugs his shoulders. “Someone should be on his side.”

“How odd,” Lu Mei says, forcing her body to remain calm. “I did not expect you to show so much consideration for someone you once deemed trash.”

Bei Hong laughs. “Amusing, I know. However, Huang Shing is not trash. He is someone I can call a friend. Isn’t it a good thing you stopped me from beating him up that day?”

As expected, he had noticed. It is not because she had been looking out for Huang Shing or anything like that. She is not like Qing Jin, who can show concern for strangers.

She just hadn’t wanted to start the Selection Exam on such a violent note. That was all.

“So you are saying I only have myself to blame for this?” Lu Mei shakes her head. “Should I laugh or cry?”

“Consider the bright side: When we win, we’ll speak up for the two of you.”

Idiot.

What a colossal idiot.

This is not some silly sparring match, and he knows it. It is because he is aware of the stakes involved and still acts like he does that Bei Hong is such an idiot. However, what is she to do? No matter how much she tries to reason with him, he won’t change his mind.

Lu Mei will not beg. Not for Bei Hong.

There is only one thing she can do.

“When you win?” Lu Mei echoes with practiced disdain. “I hardly think two savages can be considered our match.”

“That’s the spirit!” Bei Hong grins. Unsurprisingly, his grin is far more genuine than hers. Her eye twitches.

“You are enjoying this far too much.”

“It’s been a long time since we last fought, and I have always wanted to fight Qing Jin. I might as well enjoy myself now that the chance has arrived, although…” His grin widens. “You know, I warned Qing Jin about you. I am now wondering if maybe someone should have warned you about him. I never imagined you’d state your loyalties so plainly.”

“A good man attracts a good woman. Naturally, you have no experience with such things.”

“Good? Is that what you tell yourselves? No, I think you two are just trouble.”

“Trouble, is it?” Lu Mei puts on her best haughty smile. “You’ll come to regret standing in our way then. I think you will find being our foe is far more trouble than you could have ever imagined.”

Bei Hong grins a foolish, overly simple, and thoroughly doomed grin.

“I am counting on it.”

~~~

There are guards stationed outside the Apothecary. All of them are disciples trusted by Elder Xue. All of them recognize Liu Jin by sight and let him through. After the trial, he has more than proven his loyalties.

“I must say this comes as a surprise,” Elder Xue tells him after letting him into her study. She is looking over some documents. “Certainly, whatever you wish to tell me could have waited until the morning? At times like these, it is not bad to enjoy yourself a little. There is no need to worry about security. Elder Ju lent me a few disciples to put around the Medical Pavilion.”

As expected, Lord Feng Gui’s faction started moving as soon as the trial ended. However, that is not the reason why Liu Jin is here.

“I do not think this can wait. Or rather, it is probably best if I say this right now.”

“Oh?” Elder Xue raises an eyebrow but motions him to go on. “Very well, then. Let us hear it.”

“Back when this disciple fought Pan Qiu in the Summer Forest, it was Elder Xue who found us. Not only that, but it was the Apothecary that was harmed by Pan Qiu’s actions. It would have made complete sense for Elder Xue to decide his fate. However, when the time came to mete out punishment, it was Elder Cheung who did so.”

Elder Xue slowly puts down the documents, her dark eyes now focused only on Liu Jin.

“Even though he was an Elder of lower rank, he was the one to punish Pan Qiu and his companions. I can only conclude he was able to do so because Elder Xue allowed Elder Cheung to take care of punishing those disciples.”

At the time, he had not thought it odd. Lu Mei spent most of her time in the Medical Pavilion, so Elder Cheung had gotten involved over the course of the investigation. Elder Xue had allowed it because the whole matter had been beneath her. His thoughts had been those, yet looking back on it, was that really the case? Even back then, Elder Xue had used the incident to send them with Feng Zhi. Why should leaving the punishment to Elder Cheung not be a calculated move as well?

“A good theory,” Elder Xue says, almost approvingly, “yet, that is not what you truly wish to say. Get on with it. You have earned that much.”

Liu Jin takes a moment to steel himself.

“At that time, did Elder Xue know about Elder Cheung’s actions? Were Pan Qiu and the others bait?”

Rather than looking offended or shocked, Elder Xue smiles.

“Did I deliberately set a trap for my fellow Elder?” Elder Xue hums and rubs her chin. “What an interesting thought.”

“During the trial, Elder Xue said she asked us to start looking into the disciples who had left the Eternal Flame Clan after we had identified the ones tampered by Elder Cheung in the Medical Pavilion, but that was not the case. Elder Xue asked us to look into those from the beginning.”

“I did.”

She says no more, allowing the silence to drag on, leaving Liu Jin keenly aware that he is alone in a room with someone who could easily dispose of him.

“I suspected,” Elder Xue says at last. “I did not imagine he’d be harvesting dantian, but I did suspect Elder Cheung was attempting some sort of experiment. The attack on the Summer Forest presented a unique opportunity. A group of Inner Disciples in the Spirit Realm. They were a bait too tempting for Elder Cheung to ignore. The fool.”

Liu Jin frowns. “They could have died.”

“They could have,” Elder Xue admits, lightly waving her hand as if brushing off a mote of dust. “Are you going to tell me that is enough to turn you against me and abandon your goals? Shall I point out the hypocrisy of such a statement?”

“No.” Liu Jin shakes his head. “There is no need for it. I am already well aware of those things. I just wanted to make sure. I did not want to sleep with any doubts tonight.”

He does not want to have any illusions about the people he has sided with, nor does he want to fall into the trap of believing himself righteous.

Liu Jin bows his head to Elder Xue.

“I can only thank Elder Xue for her honesty with me.”

Elder Xue’s face softens.

“Child, you are far too honest,” she tells him. Chides him, really. “You’d do well to fix that, or else you will find yourself in far more trouble than you can bear.”

“I am sure I will surprise, Elder Xue.”

“Perhaps you will. Rest. Sleep. Tomorrow, we begin anew.”

~~~