"Yu Zongfan!" Jian Dan repeated the name with a faint smile, then turned to Yu Zhangshi."Zongfan's spirit pet offended me. I told him to hand over that little white mouse, but he refused."
Yu Yuanhai's eyelid twitched. He stopped pleading.
Yu Zongfan glanced at his biggest backing—yet even with Yu Yuanhai here, they were no match for her. He realized he had truly provoked the wrong person this time. Hugging Bai Bai tightly, he stepped forward.
"Senior, my spirit pet acts on my command. If there must be punishment, let it fall on me."
Jian Dan lifted her hand. With a casual beckon, the little white mouse floated out of Yu Zongfan's arms and drifted to hover before her.
Yu Zongfan panicked, taking a step forward to snatch Bai Bai back, but Yu Yuanhai blocked him.
Yu Zhangshi, knowing Jian Lu Zūnshàng was not the petty sort, suspected there was another reason for her actions, so he kept his nephew from interfering.
A drop of golden liquid shot from Jian Dan's fingertip into the mouse's mouth. Within moments, the tiny creature began to tremble violently. Blood vessels burst one after another, crimson spreading over its body until it lay still inside the transparent light sphere she had conjured.
"Bai Bai!" It was the first time Yu Zongfan had felt such helplessness.
"Do you still wish to take the punishment on its behalf?" Jian Dan asked.
"Zongfan is willing to take Bai Bai's punishment," he answered at once.
Dodging Yu Zhangshi's restraining arm, Yu Zongfan knelt before Jian Dan and bowed low.
Jian Dan smiled and turned her gaze to the barely-breathing creature."See this? Your recklessness nearly cost you your life and dragged your master into trouble. Do you know your mistake?"
A weak, high-pitched squeak drifted through the air.
She turned back to Yu Zongfan, lifting him from the ground with a sweep of spiritual power."Do you not understand the saying 'wealth should not be flaunted'? In the cultivation world, your spirit pet is the kind of treasure any cultivator would covet. Yet instead of hiding it, you parade it about. It's no different from a child clutching a supreme-grade spirit stone while strolling through the marketplace—of course everyone will have their eyes on it."
Only then did Yu Zongfan realize she had not sought to punish him, but to warn him. He glanced at Bai Bai. The mouse's aura was growing stronger, the blood coating its fur fading away, and its snow-white coat was gradually turning gold.
"I understand my mistake. Thank you for the guidance, Senior. Zongfan will remember it well."
Yu Yuanhai, sensing something, left briefly and returned with Yue Liang. The beast bounded onto Jian Dan's shoulder in a flash, curling its tail around her neck as its gaze fixed on the now-empowered Bai Bai.
"Zūnshàng, whose little one is this?" Yue Liang asked.
"It belongs to Yu Zhangshi's household," Jian Dan replied with a smile, recognizing the jealousy in Yue Liang's tone. She accepted the newly replaced purple jade sword pendant from Yu Zhangshi and hung it at her waist again.
"This is Zūnshàng's new robe and the sect's offering." Yu Yuanhai also presented a storage bracelet.
Jian Dan nodded, taking it. Across from them, Bai Bai had completed its transformation into a golden mouse. With a wave of her hand, it floated back into Yu Zongfan's arms.
Yu Zongfan immediately bowed in gratitude, and Bai Bai, too, pressed its tiny forepaws together in thanks.
"Yu Zhangshi, has Zongfan taken a master?" Jian Dan asked.
Yu Yuanhai's eyes lit up. "Zongfan has been cultivating within the family. He has not yet taken a master. His current cultivation is late-stage Qi Refinement."
Good. No master yet—no need to worry about poaching.
"Yu Zongfan, are you willing to take me as your master? You will first serve as a registered disciple. After you form your core, you will become my personal disciple."
Yu Zongfan did not need prompting. Dropping to his knees, he kowtowed three times. The little golden mouse mimicked him, bowing thrice.
"Good. Rise." Jian Dan tossed him a storage pouch."This is your gift. Take the contents when you return—they will cleanse your marrow and refine your body. Your cultivation is far too scattered."
She turned to Yu Yuanhai."Yu Zhangshi, arrange Zongfan's affairs. Send him to Tianyue Peak. I will adjust his foundation for a few days before placing him in the 'Children's Hall' to cultivate. Any objections?"
"None at all. I will see to the family matters and send him to Tianyue Peak in three days."
"Good."
With her purpose achieved, Jian Dan left the Affairs Hall with Yue Liang.
Yu Zongfan, still dazed, asked, "Uncle, I still don't know my Master's name."
Yu Yuanhai chuckled and ruffled his head. "She is Jian Lu Zūnshàng of Tianyue Peak, Heavenly Sword Sect."
On the way back to Tianyue Peak, Yue Liang's voice sounded in Jian Dan's mind. "Zūnshàng, you accepted that disciple because of his spirit pet, didn't you?"
"Heh, Yue Liang is getting smarter," Jian Dan said with a grin.
"I sensed a trace of Pixiu bloodline in that little mouse. Very faint, and awakened by you."
"Yes. It's a natural treasure seeker. Had they not come to me, I wouldn't have acted. But since they brought themselves to my door, I had no reason to refuse."
In truth, in her previous life, Yu Zongfan had been well known, nicknamed the 'Treasure-Gathering Boy'. His combat ability was mediocre, but with his treasure-seeking mouse, he always found the resources to advance, leaving his peers behind. Unfortunately, he was eventually captured by a high-level cultivator who forced him to search for rare treasures, and he met a tragic end. The mouse's fate remained unknown.
Now that fate had placed him before her again, she had given him a practical lesson, hoping he would not repeat past mistakes.
"Zūnshàng, do you mean for him to find treasures for you?" Yue Liang asked.
"Your master lacks for nothing. This is simply to form a karmic bond. By the way, did you find a suitable defensive treasure in the Treasure Pavilion?"
"Yes. It's a top-grade defensive artifact." Yue Liang took out a golden armguard from her storage collar. Four fingers wide, made of rare secret gold, it could passively or actively defend—capable of taking a full blow from a Mahayana Zhēnzūn, two from a Unity Zūnshàng, or three from a Void Refinement Zūnzhǔ. An exceptional treasure.
"Fortune smiles on you, Yue Liang. This will serve you until ascension. Bind it quickly."
"Yes, thank you, Zūnshàng." She pricked her paw and claimed ownership of the 'Scarlet Gold Armguard', then removed the star-moon bodhi bracelet Jian Dan had given her to cleanse her of demonic taint.
"Zūnshàng, here is your bodhi bracelet. I am fully healed now."
A sweep of Jian Dan's spiritual sense confirmed the demonic qi was gone. She took the bracelet back and wore it again.
By then, their light had descended upon Tianyue Peak. Ting Feng stepped forward and bowed. "Reporting to Zūnshàng, Jian Gui Jūnshàng from Tianzhen Peak has been waiting for a while. He said he came at your summons."
"Yes, I sent for him."
Jian Gui hurried forward to greet her. "Zūnshàng, I've come to take Yue Liang."
The two were familiar. Without prompting, Yue Liang leapt to Jian Gui's shoulder.
"Be quick," Jian Dan said.
"Yes." Jian Gui departed for the Enforcement Peak to take the long-distance teleportation array to Yaoguang City.