Miao Yue's face went red and pale by turns. He had already thrown the words out in public, declared he wanted an explanation from Xue Mu—if he shrank back now just because he heard the surname Xue, how was he supposed to walk the jianghu ever again?
Watching his face cycle through five or six colors, Xue Mu suddenly smiled. "Little Chan, this Xinyi Sect of yours is actually kind of interesting."
Yue Xiaochan had no idea what he meant, but she played straight man anyway. "How so?"
"Their whole thing is following the heart's intent, right?"
"Right."
"Follow the heart." Xue Mu put one character over the other with his hand. "Stack 'follow' on top of 'heart' and together they make the character for 'coward.' So what they really cultivate is cowardice, isn't it?"
"Pff—" Yue Xiaochan bent double laughing, and every girl of the Star Moon Sect behind her burst out laughing without a shred of restraint.
Miao Yue was so furious he stabbed out a finger and snarled, "You insolent little brat—how dare you!"
Xue Mu rolled his eyes. As if I'm scared of you. This is the Star Moon Sect's own turf—go on, just try touching me. Even leaving friendship out of it, I killed a man for the Star Moon Sect a moment ago. They've got a face to keep too; you think they'd let you come here and win it back at their expense?
Sure enough, a cool, clear voice soon came from somewhere unknown. "What a nuisance." It seemed to come from far away in the sky, drifting and echoing, yet in people's ears it carried a cold that seeped into the marrow.
Miao Yue's expression changed in terror.
As the voice sounded, the sky abruptly lost its color. A shaft of radiance streaked like a meteor chasing the moon, tore through space, and arrived in the blink of an eye. Miao Yue roused every ounce of his power and blasted it out; it collided with that radiance, and with a bang that shook heaven and earth, Miao Yue was flung backward, spat a mouthful of blood in midair, crashed heavily to the ground, and lay there clutching his chest and vomiting blood.
This supposedly fearsome elder of the righteous path had just been casually one-shotted by Xue Qingqiu from who knew how far away... Xue Mu couldn't help swallowing. Now he understood where that terrifying reputation came from.
Only after a long while did Miao Yue force out a sentence. "So... it is Sect Master Xue herself who graces this place... cough, cough... Let's go."
People came to help him away, slowly. As he passed the gate, Miao Yue suddenly seemed to remember something and turned his head to glance at Xiahou Di. Xiahou Di's face was blank; Miao Yue seemed to understand something, and his expression turned to resentment.
Xue Mu read this little mime show too. Miao Yue had had no idea Xue Qingqiu was in the capital and thought he could throw his weight around... and ended up beaten like a dog, and now he resented Xiahou Di for not warning him.
Xue Mu shook his head. If you're going to resent someone, resent Xue Qingqiu for not giving you any face. What the hell does resenting Xiahou Di even mean? Is this what the righteous path is like? Or is it only their follow-your-heart sect that's like this?
Never mind—he was safe now, so he might as well swallow a pill first. Can't you see all the girls are keeping their distance from me? Being shunned like this really sucks... Xue Mu fished out his pill bottle, swallowed one, and took stock of the scene.
The scene had turned rather interesting. The pack of righteous disciples who had come in such a fury were withdrawing battered and bruised, propping each other up, leaving a few corpses on the ground; a few of the girls had been taken alive and were plainly about to be stripped, gazing pitifully at the only person present who could save them, Xiahou Di.
Xiahou Di had not come here to meddle in the righteous-demonic feud at all. She could only turn her head away from the girls' eyes, sigh softly, and say, "Whose nasty idea was it, anyway, to use other people's clothes? Xiaochan's?"
Everyone in the Star Moon Sect, the girls included, couldn't help looking at Xue Mu. Xiahou Di's gaze followed, and the corner of her mouth twitched. She truly could not figure out where this man had come from, and had settled on treating him as Xue Qingqiu's brother. So she said, "Your righteous-demonic grudges are no business of the Six Doors. Just have your girls take off the Six Doors uniforms and never use them again, and this Sect Master will turn around and leave."
Xue Mu spread his hands. Like he had any say in it at all.
Yue Xiaochan picked up the thread, looking pitiful. "Since Sister has given the order, I ought to obey, but our Senior Aunt in the prison is so miserable, Sister—couldn't you do a good deed..."
Xiahou Di said flatly, "Have your master come and discuss it. This isn't yours to decide."
Xue Qingqiu's voice drifted over. "As long as Yinye remains one more day in the Six Doors, the girls of Baihua Garden will let the capital's guests enjoy a taste of constable charm."
Xiahou Di flew into a rage. "Xue Qingqiu, don't push it too far!"
Xue Qingqiu's voice turned cold. "We're merely taking a bit of your face. What you're holding prisoner is the pillar of my sect. And Yinye has done nothing wrong at all—just which of us is going too far? Does the Six Doors really take the Star Moon Sect for easy prey?"
Xiahou Di said, "I've already told you: Yinye's power is too terrible. She is on the verge of mastering her divine art; she absolutely cannot be allowed to roam the jianghu, or the world will be thrown into chaos."
Xue Qingqiu sneered. "What a joke. This Sect Master says it's Xiahou Di wearing clothes that has thrown the world into chaos. Why don't you take them off and do a lap around the capital—I guarantee the realm will be at peace."
Xue Mu's brain had been reduced to one long string of 666666...
Xiahou Di's face was a mask of fury. "The master of a great sect, spouting such shameless talk—have you no shame for your station?"
Xue Qingqiu couldn't be bothered to argue. "Talk is useless. I truly don't believe the Six Doors is yours to decide, you madwoman. Chan'er, see them out!"
Xue Mu finally understood where the knot lay. He also understood why Xue Qingqiu called Xiahou Di a madwoman—jailing a person over something that hadn't happened yet. How should he put it... you couldn't say she was wrong to fix the roof before it rained; it just depended on whose side your ass was sitting on.
"Young Sect Mistress, no need to see me out." Xiahou Di turned away in anger. She was about to leave when she caught sight of the captured righteous girls, and felt that ignoring them entirely would look altogether too ugly. At last she softened her tone. "I don't meddle in your grudges, but I'll still advise you not to harm the innocent. At least let those few go."
Yue Xiaochan gave a bewitching smile. "That won't do. I still want to pick a couple of pretty ones to wait on our Boss Xue."
This had only been a casual excuse to fob Xiahou Di off, but Xue Mu instead spoke up to advise her.
"Actually, letting them go isn't a bad idea. Otherwise the righteous path will come make trouble every day and we'll never have any peace—beat the young one and the old one shows up; are we supposed to do business or not? Letting them go at least leaves us some room, a buffer. The clothes matter can be discussed properly; it's not as if there's no negotiating."
Then he lowered his voice.
"We've still got two or three more moves. The clothes business is only a transition in the end."
Yue Xiaochan was slightly taken aback, then said happily, "I'll do as you say. Strip them first, then let them go."
Xiahou Di had already reached the doorway. Hearing those two lines, she turned and glanced at Xue Mu, something deep in her eyes.
Xue Mu answered with a smile, then suddenly said, "Chief Constable Xiahou..."
Xiahou Di's willow brows arched. "Hm? Does Young Master Xue have some instruction for me?"
Xue Mu pointed at the street outside the gate. "There are a great many people out on that street about to commit indecency. Does the Six Doors handle that sort of thing?"
Xiahou Di could never in a thousand guesses have expected Xue Mu to come out with that. She said, startled, "Where did that come from?"
Xue Mu blinked. "Because they've all got the equipment for it. They absolutely can't be left to run around loose—you'll have to arrest the lot of them, just in case."
Xiahou Di finally realized what he was saying. The analogy left her pondering for a moment, and she actually could not think how to refute it. After quite a while she threw out, "The situations are different. It's no comparison." Then she strode out the door.
Over there, Yue Xiaochan had released the prisoners, and came over beaming to sidle up to Xue Mu. "Oh my, our Boss Xue really does have a trick or two. A madwoman like Xiahou Di was actually left without a word to say."
Xue Mu laughed. "The right was on our side to begin with."
Another "our." Yue Xiaochan grew even happier hearing it. She pointed at the row of tragic heroines in their undergarments, filing out looking utterly pitiful, and laughed. "Isn't it a shame to just let them walk away? If you want a couple to play with, I really can make that call for you."
You're a little kid—do you have to keep bringing this kind of thing up all day long? Xue Mu was thoroughly speechless, and answered aloud, "With jewels like all of you around me, those cheap painted things are fireflies before the bright moon—utterly flavorless."
At that, everyone in the Star Moon Sect was beaming, and Yue Xiaochan was smiling too, though there seemed a hint of sourness in the smile—perhaps because the sentence had said "all of you" rather than "Xiaochan."
Just then, Xue Qingqiu's voice drifted over. "Chan'er, bring Xue Mu to me. Tell him the situation along the way."
Xue Mu let out a breath. He knew that starting with today's killing, he had won Xue Qingqiu's basic trust, and then that exchange with Xiahou Di had been rather interesting—and now at last Xue Qingqiu had decided to consult him.
Thank you, Uncle Liu; thank you, Jian Yong... True, the history of a different world couldn't be used directly here, but history itself is a treasure house, an endless source of inspiration. Pull out any old anecdote at random and it can be put to work.
This was a "job interview" far more important than the one back in the carriage; it could already be counted as his advice being sought. Whether he stepped into the core of the Star Moon Sect from here on hinged on this one move.