Song Que sped along at top speed, radiating killing intent, completely confident that his aunt would take the lead in presiding over justice. She would either kill Nightcrypt or force him to submit to Song Que.

“I’m the firstborn of the Song Clan! If it weren’t for Bai Xiaochun from the Spirit Stream Sect, I would have definitely reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment. Then I wouldn’t have to help Aunt Junwan become blood master; I would have been able to take the spot myself!” He was like a streak of light speeding toward the upper finger.

“Well, I can’t do anything about that now. Besides, Aunt Junwan only wants to become the blood master for strategic purposes, to make sure that Xuemei doesn’t take the spot. Just wait until I’m in late Foundation Establishment, then I can fight for the position of blood master on my own. This piddling Nightcrypt! If I can make use of him in the future, I will, but if he refuses to accept my good graces, I’ll kill him and make sure he never gets a proper burial!” More confident than ever, he rumbled along through the upper finger toward Grand Elder Song Junwan’s immortal’s cave behind the blood lake.

Once he was behind the waterfalls, he saw the four young guards. Instantly, their eyes snapped open, glowing brightly as they observed him approaching.

Song Que didn’t even pause. Just as he was about to enter the immortal’s cave itself, the four young attendants threw themselves in his path.

One of those young guards was very well aware of the high position Song Que occupied. Even still, he didn’t dare do anything other than try to block his path. Bracing himself, he said, “Elder Song, please wait a moment for--”

The fact that the young attendants were blocking his path caused Song Que to frown. Then his rage and killing intent soared, and he roared, "Get the hell out of my way! I have something to talk about with the grand elder!”

Usually, he never had any problems entering Song Junwan’s immortal’s cave. Considering his status, he didn’t technically have free reign to come and go as he pleased, but for all intents and purposes, could. After all, Song Junwan was quite fond of her nephew.

But now the young attendants actually dared to stand in his way. Song Que snorted coldly, then pushed them aside and proceeded forward.

The four young attendants’ faces flickered, and they were of a mind to try to stop him. After all, they were fairly certain that it was important to keep the identity of the other person inside the cave a secret. However, they were not really capable of stopping Song Que.

Before they could even react, Song Que was inside the door.

Usually, Song Que wouldn’t act so impulsively. However, this was his aunt, and he was also consumed by rage. Because of that, he had completely lost his usual cool. Besides, as far as he was concerned, he wasn’t asking for anything outrageous.

In the instant that he set foot inside the immortal’s cave, and before he could even get into the main hall, he heard his aunt laughing, a strange laughter that seemed both cheerful and chiding at the same time.

Looking surprised, Song Que hurried forward. When he brushed the door curtain aside, a sight met his eyes that left him completely and utterly thunderstruck. As his mind spun, his jaw dropped. He almost couldn’t believe the incredulous scene which was playing out right in front of him.

There was his aunt, Song Junwan, sitting on a chair, laughing lightly, her left hand covering her mouth the way a woman would in front of her lover. Nightcrypt sat next to her, clasping her right hand, studying it closely. He even seemed to be sniffing it delicately as he leaned over.

Song Que was virtually struck mute. He felt like he might fall over from the shock, and even wondered if he was hallucinating....

However, the scandalous image which was now burned into his mind couldn’t be mistaken for anything else, and left Song Que stunned.

The moment Song Que entered the room, Song Junwan pulled her hand out of Bai Xiaochun’s. Her smile vanished, and she coughed dryly. Expression somber, and looking very much like someone from the Senior generation, she turned her gaze toward Song Que.

“How rude of you to barge in like that,” she said. “What’s the matter?” Although she was trying to look like someone from the Senior generation, her cheeks were still flushed. That combination of flirtatiousness and somberness made her unbelievably attractive.

At the same time, she felt somewhat humiliated and angry. If any other person had burst in the way Song Que had, she would have punished that person severely. But Song Que was her nephew, so there was little she could do.

Startled by Song Que’s sudden entrance, Bai Xiaochun quickly sat up straight and proper. He actually felt a bit guilty for having been caught in the act. After giving Song Junwan the spirit medicine he’d concocted, he had taken advantage of the moment to offer to read her palm.

Song Junwan had never forgotten his amazing performance in the Spirit Stream Sect, and had immediately allowed him to take hold of her hand. Then he had showered her with praise and complements, causing her to laugh in delight.

Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and sat in place, looking at Song Que just as somberly as Song Junwan was.

Song Que stood there panting for a long moment before he pulled himself together. Even still, he almost couldn’t believe what he was seeing. In his eyes, his aunt was a lofty and magnificent figure, and yet here she was allowing a virtual stranger to grab her hand. Then she even laughed flirtatiously.

Although all of that was completely beyond anything Song Que could ever have anticipated, he might have been able to accept it if the person who had just been holding his aunt’s hand was someone other than the infuriating Nightcrypt.

Song Que’s anger began to rise to explosive levels, until he could hardly breathe. His eyes burned bright red as he glared at Bai Xiaochun and madly howled, “Nightcrypt!!”

Taking a step forward, he looked over at his aunt, Grand Elder Song Junwan.

Mind spinning with rage, he cried, “Aunt Junwan, ever since Nightcrypt came to Middle Peak, he’s caused one disaster after another. All the disciples here hate his guts because of how he’s screwed them over. I actually suspect that he’s a spy, sent to sow chaos in the Blood Stream Sect! Aunt Junwan, please make an example of him and expel him from the sect!!”

As his cries echoed about in the immortal’s cave, Bai Xiaochun’s expression flickered, and anger began to rise in his heart as he realized that Song Que had come here to complain about him. Unfortunately, Song Que was actually right about some of his accusations, which caused Bai Xiaochun’s heart to leap in fright. Just when he was about to speak up to defend himself, Song Junwan’s face turned grim, and she slapped her hand down onto the table.

The resounding smacking sound that rang out instantly drowned out Song Que’s voice.

“Shut up!” she said, her expression grim and murderous. As her voice echoed out, the immortal’s cave suddenly turned, very, very cold, causing Song Que to shiver. From a very young age, he had always feared this aunt of his, and to see her so mad caused him to subconsciously look down at his toes.

Seeing Song Que react in such a way sated a bit of Song Junwan’s anger. He was her nephew, whom she loved dearly. Looking both sincere and also profoundly disappointed, she slowly said, “Que’er, you’re the firstborn of the Song Clan. There are no limits to what you could do in the future. How could you be so muddle-headed and short-sighted? Nightcrypt has a clean background, and has performed great services for the sect. It’s true he’s annoyed some of the other members of the sect, but none of that was intentional! Neither you nor I know the full extent of the humiliation he endured on the path of pursuing the Dao of medicine for the sect!” From the tone of her voice, she seemed to truly lament her nephew’s unreasonable behavior.

As he sat there off to the side, Bai Xiaochun felt deeply moved. He gazed softly over at Song Junwan, and mused that everything she said was correct. He never intentionally did things to annoy or harm others.

He suddenly felt as if Song Junwan understood him on a deep and even intimate level. In fact, he really had nothing bad to say about how the Blood Stream Sect had treated him.

Even as Bai Xiaochun sighed inwardly, Song Que stood there trembling. From the time he was young, he had often been rebuked by his aunt, and he had rarely ever talked back to her. But the situation right now was something he just couldn’t accept. That was especially true considering the emotional look on Bai Xiaochun’s face. Song Que couldn’t help but think about how Nightcrypt had been holding his aunt’s hand, and how the two of them clearly seemed to be involved in some illicit affair. Song Que’s breath came in ragged pants as he looked up and said, “Nightcrypt, you--”

When Song Junwan saw that Song Que was refusing to acknowledge his mistakes, her expression turned even grimmer, and she angrily yelled, “Que’er! Back down!” Then she looked at Bai Xiaochun and said, “Junior Brother Nightcrypt, please don’t take offense. Que’er just doesn’t understand adult matters, the little brat.”

Bai Xiaochun sighed. Looking like the picture of someone from the Senior generation, he nodded and smiled bitterly.

“There’s no harm in it,” he said. “Que’er is young and full of energy, which is normal at his age. Members of the Senior generation like us can only do our best to educate him a bit more.”

When Song Que heard Bai Xiaochun call him Que’er, he felt like he was about to go insane. His cultivation base immediately surged with power, and a murderous aura spread out from him.

“Nightcrypt, I’m gonna kill you!” he howled, and then charged toward Bai Xiaochun. Because he was so close, there was no time for Song Junwan to interfere.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Song Que performed an incantation gesture, summoning a huge blood-colored hand almost directly in front of Bai Xiaochun’s face. The hand surged with energy, destroying the chair and table. Bai Xiaochun’s eyes flashed up in thought for the briefest of moments, and he decided not to dodge or evade. The hand slammed into him, causing his face to go pale. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he staggered backward.

Seeing that, Song Junwan was both worried and angry. She waved her hand, causing a wave of power to surge out and suppress Song Que. Incapable of moving forward, Song Que stood there, eyes bloodshot, trembling physically. He knew that Nightcrypt had intentionally spit out some blood; even if he had been injured somehow, there was no way he should have coughed up any blood.

𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“Song Que, what gall you have!” Song Junwan yelled at the top of her lungs. Just when she was about to start reprimanding Song Que, Bai Xiaochun raised his right hand to stop her.

Wiping the blood off of his chin, he looked over at Song Junwan and said, “Que’er did nothing wrong. I might be of the Senior generation, but I’m not perfect. I make mistakes too. It’s my fault that Que’er is now hairless. Therefore, I will immediately go into seclusion to concoct some spirit medicine to help him grow some more hair.”

He even reached out and squeezed her hand to show how sincere he was.

Song Junwan’s cheeks immediately flushed bright red. To have her hand squeezed right in front of her own nephew was something that instantly caused her heart to start racing. It was a very odd sensation.

Pulling her hand back, she looked over at Song Que and angrily said, “Que’er, apologize immediately to your Sect Uncle!”

Song Que stood there trembling, blue veins bulging out on his neck and face. Laughing shrilly, he said, “You two fornica--”

Before he could finish speaking, Song Junwan’s eyes flashed with cold light, and she waved her hand. A huge wind swept over Song Que, carrying him out of the immortal’s cave.

“Song Que, your impertinence has earned you three months in secluded meditation! Don’t step a foot outside of your immortal’s cave during that time!”