The air became crisp as Li Meirong dismounted Cai Huise"s broad furry back. The morning chill breezed atop the island floating at such a high alt.i.tude that cooled her skin and left her with a trail of gooseb.u.mps. s...o...b..ll thoughtfully rubbed his paws up and down Li Meirong"s arms while she thanked Cai Huise and was about to head towards the sect"s hall.
"~Wait a minute." Li Meirong heard the twin-tailed cat call her back.
She masked her dolefulness with a faint smile as she turned and asked, "Is there anything else?"
Cai Huise stared at her in silence for a moment, contemplating his next words and thinking that she better be prepared than not, he told her the sect"s rules. "According to the regulations, when a disciple is summoned to trial, they cannot bring any form of weaponry with them and your spirit beast counts as one. You must go alone and without any means to defend yourself…"
Li Meirong took a deep breath and exhaled, thinking perhaps that this was for the best. s...o...b..ll was only a baby, should anything happen to her, he shouldn"t get caught in the crossfire if he remained outside. Besides, she now had a few hidden powers to protect herself with.
In agreement with Cai Huise, she placed s...o...b..ll by his side. The cat apprehensively backed away, he disliked the idea but was left without a choice in the matter.
"So foolis.h.!.+ I will not be left here while my wo- err, master goes alone to be scolded by a bunch of overgrown imbeciles!" s...o...b..ll angrily barked, his golden irises blazed with fury.
Bai Qingyue lordly trotted to Li Meirong"s side but was faced with a fierce glare. Caught unprepared by her sudden change in behaviour, his legs froze midway.
She walked to him, bent down to his level and pinched his b.u.t.ton nose in reproach.
"You must listen to me now. I have to go alone, you have to follow my orders as my familiar and I order you to stay put! Don"t leave Cai Huise"s side unless I call for you, understood?!" Li Meirong"s forehead wrinkled while she scolded him. Her eyes were as cold as frost, and her pouty lips stretched into a thin line. At some point during the flight to the sect, her hair had broken loose from the tie, framing her visage like a vengeful G.o.ddess.
Bai Qingyue stared at his wife, having never witnessed this side of hers before. She possessed a fierce kind of beauty when she was angry and was appreciating that he could see this new side to her, it was somewhat more unique than usual because of its rarity.
Still, he was not a pet but a husband. Though it"s not good to anger the wife frequently, this was one order he definitely won"t listen to.
After Li Meirong let go, Bai Qingyue placed his paws on his snout, blinking away crocodile tears as he wept. "Uuuwuuuwuu...So painful. Alright, master, s...o...b..ll will listen to you."
s...o...b..ll"s cries softened Li Meirong"s heart into pudding but she needed to show how serious the matter was at hand and to make sure he properly listened, especially in this sect because it wasn"t certain whether she would be able to leave unscathed.
Placing a gentle kiss on her fox"s forehead, she said, "Be good now, the pain will go away soon and I"ll be back before you know it."
Saying her farewells, Li Meirong headed towards the hall. s...o...b..ll sat "obediently" outside, waiting until her small back disappeared from his view.
"You"re a shrewd little one, aren"t you?" Catching the whole theatrical play, Cai Huise commented as his tails swished behind him.
s...o...b..ll glanced at the nosy cat, his tone cooled down and his pupils sharpened into their usual bloodthirsty, petrifying look, changing his conduct at once.
Ill at ease, Cai Huise shuddered and gulped down the saliva stuck in his throat. He regretting opening his mouth.
"It would be wise of you to keep your mouth shut from now on."
Bai Qingyue didn"t dawdle to converse. After warning the cat, he dashed towards the hall"s direction and climbed onto its roof, skipping across the plated glazed tiles and dislocating several tubes, making a hole big enough to look through and to jump down to the rescue if needed.
He saw Li Meirong in the middle of a brightly lit and finely made hall designed with smooth marble. Her narrow, fragile and s.h.i.+vering back greeted his sight as she kneeled in front of various early stage Nascent Soul pract.i.tioners, surrounded by a myriad amount of cultivators at each side garbed with the same tacky coloured robes.
Bai Qingyue raged inside, every fibre of his being felt close to bursting.
These vile, pretentious, pompous weaklings making his wife submit- How dare they?!
At the same time, Li Meirong"s hands were cuffed with spiritual binding ropes, limiting her powers and ruining her plans to fight when cornered. Currently, she felt like a pig being led to the slaughterhouse.
Since she became a disciple in the bestiary coalition, her fate was placed in the hands of the coalition"s elusive Grandmaster, otherwise known as Zhu Zhang.
The last time she saw him was at the acceptance ceremony years ago when he nearly choked her to death, his strikingly familiar features had been edged deep within her memories.
The additional governing Grandmasters were seated on carved antique rosewood chairs upon the elevated stage, waiting for Zhu Zhang"s arrival. He wasn"t only the Bestiary Coalition"s Grandmaster, but also one of the strongest cultivators on the continent. It was already nearly impossible for the other high-level cultivators in the sect to perceive his strength, showing just how powerful he actually is. Naturally, the disciple"s judgement would be placed upon his capable shoulders.
Only the succeeding disciples were admitted inside the halls. Captain Liang, who is representing the accused disciple"s division stood up front. Her formidable countenance causing cheers of respect and admiration to reverberate in the hall. She had already acc.u.mulated a high status with her vast number of accomplishments. Captain Liang"s words bore weight in the sect.
A group of servants scurried forth to the main hall and dropped an uncovered bamboo basket on the ground. It was filled with a pile of putrid flesh, dismembered body parts and skeletal remains scattered from the bag onto the s.h.i.+ny marble floor.
Choking from the foul smell, Li Meirong"s eyes watered as she forced herself to breathe slowly. The wedded siblings" remains that were dropped at her feet only caused her to stress more. She knew it would be difficult to escape condemnation, even though her actions were in self-defence.
The succeeding disciple Miss Liang glared daggers at her. Li Meirong avoided her gaze, no eyebrows lady certainly made her intentions clear. With no apparent reasons for hatred, she still wanted to bury her six feet under.
Gripping the hem of her sleeves tightly as she knelt, Li Meirong swore she wouldn"t back down without a fight.
The doors of the inner halls blasted open, nearly breaking off the adjoining walls. The Bestiary Coalition"s Grandmaster Zhu Zhang strode inside. The cheers ceased at once. An air thick with oppressive Qi filled the halls, causing the weaker cultivators to faint and the higher level cultivators to abase themselves as they kneeled down due to the pressure. Even the other Nascent stage Grandmasters felt slight discomfort breathing as Zhu Zhang went to stand in front of Li Meirong.
When a dog gets beaten, it will always fear the person who abused them and it was not that different with humans who experienced trauma. Li Meirong"s trembling intensified as she saw the familiar set of leather shoes in front of her.