The entire venue fell silent.
Yu Qingtang pretended not to care as he discreetly looked around, paying particular attention to Scholar Xiao.
Scholar Xiao had been smiling as he watched the show, but the second he met Yu Qingtang’s gaze, his eyes widened in shock. He hurriedly waved both hands, signaling that it was not him.
Then he turned and found quite a few people giving him furtive looks. Instantly realizing he could not clear his name, he began bowing in every direction with a miserable expression.
“It really wasn’t me! The Four Books Academy only publishes respectable books!”
Which was exactly why books like this had to be hidden and read in private.
Yu Qingtang muttered that to himself, then looked away, pretending he knew nothing at all.
Tianji Zi added with a genial smile, “You cannot lie before the Buddhist sects.”
“If it belongs to you and you deny it, that counts as lying too.”
He pointed at the staff in Master Huiming’s hand, half joking and half threatening. “See that head-smacking staff? Once Master Huiming brings it down, it won’t just scare out a copy of Amorous Secrets. You’ll be sobbing and confessing every age at which you wet the bed.”
Master Huiming gently shook his head and sighed.
“To bring such a thing to an important event like the Golden Core Competition... Your six faculties are far from pure.”
He raised his staff and struck the ground. The sound was like thunder, as though delivering a blow meant to shock everyone awake.
“Who did this? Step forward and admit it!”
All the prodigies in the area shuddered. Those who were not firm of heart nearly collapsed where they stood.
Yu Qingtang was startled as well, but Ye Chenyan moved faster than Master Huiming. He covered Yu’s ears, sparing him the humiliation of falling over on the spot.
Yu Qingtang had an excellent grasp of the fact that, among everyone present, his Dao heart was the least steady and his six faculties the least pure. He gave Ye Chenyan a grateful smile.
Under the eyes of the entire crowd, Baoding lowered his gaze and sighed. To everyone’s astonishment, he stepped forward and bowed his head.
“Master. It was me.”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened.
“Huh?”
Baoding, of all people? The thick-browed, upright-looking monk had secretly...
He exchanged a look with Ye Chenyan and found the same shock in his eyes.
Yu Qingtang’s gaze quietly fell upon the copy of Amorous Secrets before them.
He did not mean anything by it. He merely wanted to see what sort of temptation even a Dharma Academy prodigy could not resist.
But he did not dare open it himself.
He stole a glance at Ye Chenyan and urged him in a whisper, “Why don’t you take a look?”
“What?” Ye Chenyan stared at him. “I...”
“Ahem.” Yu Qingtang put on a perfectly serious expression. “An ordinary copy of Amorous Secrets would not have been drawn in by the Treasure-Gathering Basin. There might be something strange about it.”
Ye Chenyan narrowed his eyes at him. Yu Qingtang did his best to meet his gaze with a solemn face.
Ye Chenyan raised a brow. The silver battle spear dropped into his hand, and with one sharp motion, he used its tip to flip open the book.
Yu Qingtang immediately covered his eyes with one hand, then peeked through the gaps between his fingers.
The book had barely opened when a cloud of pink smoke floated out. It made Yu’s vision swim so badly that he nearly forgot which way was up, and his legs almost gave out beneath him.
“Hey!”
Ye Chenyan was startled. He caught Yu at once and swept the suspicious pink mist away.
“Are you all right?”
The brat was terribly calculating. He deliberately sent the smoke toward the Golden Light Sect, throwing that side into instant chaos.
Elder Lieyang’s face changed.
“What is this? This isn’t an ordinary copy of Amorous Secrets!”
Yu Qingtang’s mind was still hazy, but the familiar burning of karmic fire flared beneath him. Frightened, he immediately sat down cross-legged and circulated his cultivation method, rapidly clearing his muddled mind.
The Scripture of Awaiting Good Fortune worked extremely quickly. Yu regained his clarity, shook his head, and asked without thinking, “Huh? How do you know it isn’t an ordinary...”
The air went quiet for a moment.
Tianji Zi slowly turned his head, his smile growing brighter and brighter.
“Elder Lieyang, you...”
“Absurd!” Elder Lieyang flung his sleeve in fury. “I have merely confiscated such things from useless disciples in my sect before! I’ve never read one myself!”
He hurriedly denied it, redirecting the attention that had somehow landed on him.
“Baoding of Dharma Academy already admitted it! This crooked and deviant thing was brought in by him!”
“Hmph. What an excellent disciple your Dharma Academy has raised!”
Master Huiming’s eyes remained closed. When he opened them again, his gaze flashed like lightning, too sharp for anyone to meet directly.
He asked Baoding in a low voice, “Was it truly you?”
Baoding silently lowered his head.
“It was.”
“Lies!”
Master Huiming shouted. Two thick bolts of lightning shot from his eyes and struck Baoding. Baoding grunted, but did not move an inch.
Master Huiming grew even angrier.
“You still dare lie!”
Once Yu Qingtang confirmed that the karmic fire was no longer scorching him, he finally had the leisure to keep watching the show. He quietly asked Ye Chenyan, “How can he tell that Baoding is lying?”
“Master Huiming cultivates the Wisdom Eye,” Ye Chenyan replied in a low voice. “It can distinguish truth from falsehood.”
“Oh...”
Yu Qingtang suddenly understood, only to become more confused.
“But if it wasn’t him, why did he admit it?”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Could it be that Buddhists can’t bear to see other people suffer—or even be embarrassed—so he’s taking someone else’s punishment?”
The people of Dharma Academy were surprisingly nice.
Baoding trembled from the lightning, but still kept his hands pressed together. He said nothing, clearly determined to carry the blame.
At last, a handsome young monk behind him stumbled forward, dropped to his knees, and cried out, “Master, stop hitting Senior Brother! It was mine! It was mine!”
“Senior Brother was protecting me...”
Baoding opened his eyes.
“Baoshan has only recently entered the sect. As his senior brother, I failed to notice that improper thoughts had arisen in his heart. That is my negligence.”
“Master, punish me. Please spare Junior Brother.”
“No! It’s all my fault! I was too afraid to admit it, and I disgraced the sect. Master, beat me to death!”
The young monk named Baoshan cried until tears and snot ran down his face. He had clearly joined the sect only recently and had not yet become one of those muscle-bound Barbies with nothing but handsome faces going for them. For now, he was simply a delicate, good-looking young monk, and he looked especially pitiful while crying.
Yu Qingtang muttered under his breath, “Are Dharma Academy’s rules really this strict? He just read... that kind of thing. It doesn’t warrant beating him to death, does it?”
The whole mess had been caused by his disastrous Treasure-Gathering Basin. If Baoshan truly suffered for it, Yu Qingtang would feel a little guilty.
“At Guiyi Sect, at least, it wouldn’t come to that,” Ye Chenyan muttered. Then he cleared his throat and added, “But I don’t read it.”
“You’ve never read one either?” Yu Qingtang asked curiously. “Then what is even in there? Enough to make Dharma Academy...”
Before he could finish, he suddenly felt a prickling sensation at his back and immediately fell silent.
He cautiously turned around and met an imposing stare.
Within Guiyi Sect’s group, an elder stood glaring at them with a stern expression, deep furrows etched between his brows.
Ye Chenyan lifted a brow and stepped in front of Yu.
“Discipline Elder.”
Over at Dharma Academy, they were nearly about to expel someone over that book. Meanwhile, these two had been whispering to each other and still wanted to look inside. The Discipline Elder felt thoroughly humiliated. He gave a cold snort, put the book away, and said, “No nonsense!”
“Yes.” Ye Chenyan smiled obediently on the surface. “Elder, you should read it first.”
The Discipline Elder’s face instantly darkened.
“You!”
“All right.” Li Xunzhen helplessly pressed a hand to her brow. She offered the Discipline Elder a word of advice, then gave the two of them a warning look. “Neither of you is allowed to fool around.”
Only then did Ye Chenyan obediently answer, “Yes.”
He turned to Yu Qingtang and shrugged.
“No chance to read it now.”
Yu Qingtang sighed in disappointment. When he met Ye Chenyan’s unreadable gaze, he instantly straightened his back and put on an expression of righteous dignity.
“I-I wasn’t that curious!”
Ye Chenyan let out a muffled laugh, turned away, and said nothing.
Just as the monks were about to make the matter worse, Tianji Zi shook his head, preparing to intervene. Before he could, Pretty Butterfly drifted out from the crowd with a soft laugh.
“All right, all right. It’s mine.”
Baoshan’s face immediately turned bright red.
“No, no! It has nothing to do with this young lady!”
“It’s mine...”
“You say it’s yours?” Pretty Butterfly asked with a playful smile. “Then tell us what’s drawn on the third page.”
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened. He tugged Ye Chenyan’s sleeve, unable to contain his excitement.
He knew it. A beautiful female character who had never joined Long Aotian’s harem had to have something extraordinary about her.
She was taking the young monk-and-demoness route!
It wasn’t in the original novel. Fresh gossip!
Across the crowd, he met Scholar Xiao’s eyes. They saw the same fascination and excitement in each other’s faces. Like kindred spirits meeting at last, they nodded vigorously.
Ye Chenyan frowned and leaned over to block Yu’s view.
“What are you looking at?”
Yu Qingtang’s lips curved.
“The show.”
And, better still, the kind of show that wasn’t going to land on him.
Baoshan stammered, unable to answer. He closed his eyes and forced himself to sound brave.
“I-I... the book is mine, but I didn’t read it!”
“Oh?”
Pretty Butterfly stood in the middle of the grounds, completely fearless beneath the elders’ gazes. She smiled as she said, “But I happen to know that the third page shows...”
Baoshan was horrified and hurriedly stopped her.
“Young lady, don’t!”
“Enough!”
Master Huiming’s face darkened.
“The bewitching illusion hidden inside that book is one of your Pleasure Sect’s usual tricks!”
“But he wasn’t affected by the illusion, which proves he never read it.” Pretty Butterfly clasped her hands behind her back and lightly kicked at the ground. “That means your disciple has a steady heart. What are you dissatisfied with?”
“Hmph.”
Master Huiming struck the ground with his staff again and snorted.
“But he didn’t dare admit it at first. That proves he feels guilty!”
“So what?” Pretty Butterfly gave a light laugh. Her eyes swept lazily across the assembled crowd. “I don’t believe every one of you famous, lofty figures is as honorable and guiltless as you appear.”
“You twist hearts with wicked words!”
Master Huiming was about to strike when Pretty Butterfly retreated and shouted, “Mom! Dad! Save me!”
Elder Green Snake laughed. The giant python beneath Pretty Butterfly suddenly shot forward, transforming into a tall man whose cheeks were covered in snake scales. He raised a hand coldly and blocked Master Huiming’s attack.
The giant python that had remained beside Elder Green Snake like a spirit pet was actually a cultivator with formidable cultivation.
“A demonic cultivator!”
Quite a few faces changed in the crowd.
“Dad!”
Pretty Butterfly caught his hand, pointed at Baoshan, and gave it two coquettish shakes.
“I want him! His master is about to beat him to death, so he clearly doesn’t want him anymore. Let’s take him home!”
The tall demonic cultivator looked deeply at the young monk. A trace of helplessness crossed his face, though his voice remained indulgent.
“...Your mother said you could come down from the mountain once you caught a powerful monk and brought him home. Why did you choose the weakest one?”
“But I don’t like the ones who look like raging bulls.” Pretty Butterfly pouted. “I want this one. He’s soft and fine-skinned.”
The demonic cultivator sighed.
“Your mother told you to choose someone you liked, not something you liked to eat.”
“What’s the difference?”
Pretty Butterfly bent toward Baoshan with a smile.
“If you behave, I’ll like you. If you don’t...”
She bared her little canine teeth.
“I’ll eat you!”
Baoshan went deathly pale.
“Y-you...”
But he still forced himself to finish.
“Young lady, I belong to the Buddhist sects. I cannot...”
“You’re lying.” Pretty Butterfly circled him once. “You’re not nearly so proper. Your master himself said your six faculties aren’t pure.”
“Unless you simply don’t like someone like me.”
She suddenly leaned close, smiling.
“Then what kind do you like?”
Baoshan’s face turned scarlet.
“I am devoted to the Buddha! In my heart, there is only...”
“You like that one, don’t you?”
Pretty Butterfly abruptly raised a hand and pointed at Yu Qingtang, who was standing among Guiyi Sect’s group and enjoying the show immensely.
“I saw you. Inside the great hall, you kept looking at her.”
“No, no, no!”
Baoshan’s face was so red it looked ready to bleed. He collapsed to the ground.
“I didn’t! I-I was looking at the Lotus Realm!”
“You panicked!” Pretty Butterfly’s eyes lit up. “I guessed right!”
She took a step forward and asked Yu Qingtang with a smile, “Hey, are you going to fight me for this little monk?”
Yu Qingtang froze.
Why did his name have to come up in this thrilling story?
“I—”
Before Yu could speak, Ye Chenyan covered his mouth with a smile.
“He won’t compete with you. He’s all yours.”
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