Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Chapter 453 What is a Hero?

Something happened here.

Zhu Wuyao maintained his appearance as Zhu Wuji and returned to Qingyun Sect with Wu Heng.

Because of their relationship with Wu Ya, the two decided to first visit Elder Qian and then see how to handle Hou Feng's matter.

Zhu Wuyao had long heard of Elder Qian.

I'll take this opportunity to meet him today.

There are not many plants on Wanren Mountain where Elder Qian lives. There are some low shrubs scattered around his residence at the top of the mountain, while on the mountainside, like other cultivators, he has cultivated medicinal fields and maintained them with spiritual arrays.

It is exceptionally pragmatic.

Zhu Wuji had a very bad reputation on Wanren Mountain. When he encountered Elder Qian's disciples, he was met with a lot of disdain and ridicule. Everyone thought that Zhu Wuji had taken the opportunity to go up the mountain to curry favor with Senior Sister Wuya.

Scattered whispers reached her ears, and Wu Heng felt quite uncomfortable listening to them.

"That arrogant brat is here again."

"Zhu Wuji has his eye on Senior Sister Wuya's future status; he's eager to become her husband and share in her wealth!"

"Who wouldn't see through his little scheme... If he truly admired Senior Sister Wuya, even without the fate of being her Daoist partner, she would have treated him with courtesy and politely refused him. Why did things have to turn out so ugly?"

"that is!"

"..."

Although everyone was criticizing Zhu Wuji, the person behind that facade was now Zhu Wuyao, and she felt somewhat embarrassed listening to them.

Fortunately, Wu Heng was in an equally awkward situation.

Apart from Hou Feng, who was being carried on Wu Heng's shoulder and constantly making "woof woof woof" noises, the atmosphere was unusually quiet along the way.

Elder Qian never expected that Zhu Wuji would come to the mountain today.

Zhu Wuyao's sudden whim caught Elder Qian off guard.

After hearing about what happened during Wu Heng and Hou Feng's journey and learning the whole story of what happened at the theater, Elder Qian pondered for a moment, nodded, and first comforted Wu Heng with gentle words, then exchanged a few polite words about the good relationship between the two sects.

Then he turned to look at Zhu Wuji and smiled:

"Some time ago, I heard your master say that you experienced a lot on this trip down the mountain and have made some progress."

"Judging from your actions this time, you haven't disgraced my Qingyun Sect."

Zhu Wuyao listened to Elder Qian's praise, but dared not let her guard down. As far as she knew, Elder Qian was more adept at working behind the scenes, and his thoughts were hard to fathom.

Back then, they sent Wei Gui to Beixuan City to capture her, a cultivator in the Qi Refining stage.

At the Immortal Cultivation Conference in Zhongling City, Wei Zhang was asked to step forward and avenge his father. He was tested by the Order of Respecting Heaven and Punishing Evil, and even attempted to directly incite the Heavenly Dao to destroy him.

Regarding the matter in Tongzhou, he then sent his junior brother, Elder Liao, to expose the true identity of Daoist Wuyan.

The two clashed openly and secretly several times. Zhu Wuyao couldn't guard against thieves for a thousand days, nor could he predict what tricks Elder Qian would play. He also suffered losses at his hands.

Even in this direct confrontation, Zhu Wuyao never let down his guard against Elder Qian.

She clasped her hands in a respectful bow, performing the proper etiquette, and said:

"As a member of the Qingyun Sect, I must uphold the sect's honor when I am away from home."

Elder Qian nodded.

He made no further comment on the matter, and kindly arranged accommodation for Wu Heng. Wu Heng's act of listening to slander and attacking disciples of his sect was categorized as "playing around among juniors." He also stated that he would talk to Hou Feng's master about the matter and discipline him more in the future.

With the matter settled, Wu Heng couldn't wait to see her elder sister. She politely took her leave, and Zhu Wuyao also made a move to leave with her.

As expected, Elder Qian took the initiative to ask Zhu Wuji to stay.

Wu Heng has already left.

Hou Feng was also taken to Wu Ya's place.

Now, only Zhu Wuyao and Elder Qian remain in the room.

Even though she had expected it, Zhu Wuyao was still a little nervous. She didn't try to hide it, because it was natural for Zhu Wuji to be a little nervous when facing someone like Elder Qian alone.

After a long silence, Elder Qian asked in a cold voice:

"Zhu Wuji, do you know your crime?"

Zhu Wuji's voice sounded nervous as he answered, fitting his foolish persona, and he tried to cover it up by saying:

"This disciple...this disciple is not doing this for Senior Sister Wu Ya, but is truly considering the reputation of the sect."

Elder Qian snorted coldly and said:

"If you truly care about the sect, you shouldn't allow outsiders to bully our disciples."

"That Wu Heng was just a cultivator from a minor sect. She was instigated to attack the people of Qingyun Sect. She should have been in the wrong and felt uneasy."

"Yet you admitted your mistake on behalf of the Qingyun Sect in front of everyone."

"Zhu Wuji, who is your identity, and from what stand are you apologizing on behalf of my Qingyun Sect?"

Zhu Wuyao was naturally able to figure out the ins and outs.

If Wu Heng realizes she is in the wrong, then Qingyun Sect can easily put on a tolerant facade.

But now, things have turned out differently. Wu Heng has become the "victim" who was deceived. With Zhu Wuji's meddling, although she was in the wrong, she also had a righteous reason. If Qingyun Sect were to let things go now, it would be as if the matter should have been resolved peacefully, and they could no longer act superior.

She could understand it, but Zhu Wuji could not.

If Zhu Wuji had that kind of brain, how could he have ended up being hated by cats and dogs?

Therefore, faced with Elder Qian's cold gaze, Zhu Wuyao could only remain silent, attempting to argue:

"Elder Qian, how can the magnanimity of our Qingyun Sect, a major sect, be compromised by such a trivial matter..."

Then, observing Elder Qian's expression, he quickly adopted a fawning demeanor and said:

"This disciple knows his mistake. In the future, when I travel, I will think things through carefully and plan before I act... Please, Elder Qian, forgive this disciple for the sake of my master..."

Elder Qian remained expressionless, his thoughts unreadable.

After a while, seeing that Zhu Wuji was restless and seemed to be panicking, he softened his tone and spoke more gently.

"That's it.

"I heard from Wu Heng that you met at the theater, and the play being performed was 'The Golden Buddha'. Did you watch it?"

Zhu Wuyao had to figure out Elder Qian's thoughts while also putting on an act, always keeping himself on high alert.

Hearing Elder Qian bring up this topic, he was genuinely puzzled, nodded in agreement, and waited for Elder Qian to continue.

Elder Qian considered himself a scholar and enjoyed writing and painting in his spare time. He would occasionally quote famous sayings in his conversations. He said:

"Then let me test you."

Zhu Wuyao: ...

For a moment, she almost couldn't keep up the act and just wanted to ask Elder Qian, "Are you serious?"

They actually wanted to use "The Seven Killings Stele" and "The Golden Buddha" to test her, this calligrapher.

On the surface, however, he could only put on a humble yet smug foolish act and ask Elder Qian to pose a question for him to answer.

Elder Qian asked:

What is a chivalrous hero?

Zhu Wuyao frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly.

This question is too general. Even if one were to answer it, it would only be a vague statement and not a particularly insightful one.

After a moment's thought, I gave an ambiguous answer:

"Hide your sword in its sheath, waiting for the right moment to strike."

Elder Qian's second question followed immediately:

When to move?

Just as Zhu Wuyao was about to answer "acting when injustice is seen" as a matter of course, he remembered the incident of seizing the golden Buddha, in which Fu Ji acted out of injustice and violence.

What one perceives as justice is not chivalry.

She not only had to give an answer, but also had to carefully consider the nuances to ensure it matched Zhu Wuji's level of expertise.

This is a difficult question to answer...