218: Chapter 218 is really rude; they're treating Xiao Nianyin like a maid!

Watching Xiao Nianyin standing rooted to the spot, Lady Qingli deliberately raised her voice, her tone carrying a command that sounded only natural:

"What's wrong, little servant girl? Why are you standing there like a fool? Have you forgotten your current status?"

"When your master leaves, you should follow voluntarily! Do you expect the Sect Master to invite you?"

The three words "little servant girl" were like three ice picks, piercing fiercely into Xiao Nianyin's defenses.

Her body trembled violently, and she suddenly raised her head. In her ice-blue eyes, a final spark of unwillingness erupted as she stared fixedly at Lady Qingli, then looked toward Xu Ruyu.

However, upon meeting Xu Ruyu's equally complex (mainly confused and helpless) gaze, and thinking of the cultivation Seal within her body, personally placed by Ancestral Master Mo Hehuan and removable only by Xu Ruyu... all her anger, unwillingness, and pride ultimately transformed into a bone-deep sense of powerlessness.

Whether her cultivation could be restored, her future, and even her life and death, now all hung on the whim of the man before her, whom she had once viewed as an ant and wished to kill immediately.

Resistance? Aside from bringing humiliation upon herself, and possibly inviting even more terrifying punishment (like being dealt with again by that temperamental Old Ancestor Qingtian), it was meaningless.

Xiao Nianyin bit her lower lip so hard it almost bled, and her fingernails dug deep into her palms, sending waves of sharp pain.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her eyes held only the coldness of stagnant water and the numbness of resignation.

She moved her feet with difficulty, as if dragging a heavy burden, and silently followed behind Xu Ruyu and Lady Qingli, maintaining a distance of about three steps, head lowered, no longer looking at anyone.

Xu Ruyu felt the aura behind him, like a shadow, yet cold and oppressive, and his heart was filled with mixed feelings.

What kind of situation is this...

The three did not head to the Ningyin Hall that originally belonged to the Sect Master.

On the way, Xu Ruyu suddenly spoke, his voice somewhat dry: "Sister Qingli, we aren't going to Ningyin Hall."

Upon hearing this, Lady Qingli nodded in understanding: "That's fine, after all, that place... then let's return to Tingzhu Peak, the place where you stayed before is also quieter."

Xu Ruyu gave a hum of agreement.

The memories Ningyin Hall left him were hardly pleasant; that was Xiao Nianyin's residence, and also the place where he was first summoned, experienced his cultivation being "drained," and was half-forced into "Dual Cultivation."

Although the situation had changed drastically, he still held a grudge against that place in his heart and did not want to go there again.

Tingzhu Peak, the remote peak where he had first awakened, although simple, made him feel a rare sense of peace.

Soon, the three returned to the simple bamboo house courtyard on Tingzhu Peak.

The green bamboos in the courtyard stood tall, and as the breeze blew, the bamboo leaves rustled, feeling like a lifetime ago compared to the absurd and bizarre scene on the Law Execution Platform just moments before.

Lady Qingli naturally took on the role of the host.

She first said softly to Xu Ruyu: "Xiao Yuer, sit down first and steady your mind."

Then, she turned her gaze to Xiao Nianyin, who was standing at the courtyard entrance not knowing whether to enter or retreat, and ordered in a flat tone:

"Xiao Nianyin, go boil water and make tea. The Sect Master is tired and needs to rest."

Xiao Nianyin's body stiffened again.

Boil water? Make tea? These chores done by menial servant girls... now actually required her, the former Saint Realm Sect Master and the supreme existence of the Hehuan Sect, to do them?

She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white, standing in place without moving.

Lady Qingli did not urge her, just looked at her with a half-smile, her gaze seeming to say: What? Unwilling? Don't forget your current status, and don't forget your cultivation...

Watching this scene, Xu Ruyu opened his mouth, wanting to say "Forget it, I'll do it myself," but swallowed the words back.

He knew that Lady Qingli was helping him establish authority and also beating Xiao Nianyin down.

If he were soft-hearted now, it would only make things more troublesome.

Besides... thinking of all those things Xiao Nianyin had done to him before, the bit of sympathy in his heart faded quite a bit.

In the end, under the gaze of Lady Qingli's calm yet unquestionable eyes, Xiao Nianyin yielded.

She turned silently and walked toward the kitchen to the side.

Her movements were somewhat clumsy and unfamiliar; clearly, she had likely never done this kind of work in her life.

Watching her stiff and desolate back disappear at the kitchen entrance, Xu Ruyu sighed in his heart and sat down on a bamboo stool in the courtyard.

Lady Qingli also sat down opposite him, the smile on her face fading, replaced by a serious and concerned expression.

"Xiao Yuer, no matter what happened before, and no matter how bizarrely this Sect Master position came about," Lady Qingli looked into Xu Ruyu's eyes, her voice soft yet firm, "now, the fact is, you are the Sect Master of the Hehuan Sect.

The fate of everyone in the entire Sect, including those who have left and those who have stayed, at least in the foreseeable future, all hangs on you alone."

Xu Ruyu smiled bitterly: "Sister Qingli, please don't say anymore, my head is still a mess. Being the Sect Master... I can't even manage myself, how can I manage a Sect?"

"I know this is very sudden and very difficult." Lady Qingli nodded understandingly, "But things have reached this point, and avoiding it is useless. You must adapt to this status as soon as possible and make decisions."

She paused, her expression becoming more serious: "Moreover, the current situation, I fear, does not allow you much time to slowly adapt."

At this time, Xiao Nianyin walked over with a coarse pottery tea tray, on which were placed two cups of steaming tea, her steps somewhat stiff.

She placed the teacups in front of Xu Ruyu and Lady Qingli respectively, then retreated to the side, standing with hands hanging down, eyes lowered, like a jade statue without Life Qi.

Only her slightly trembling eyelashes and tightly pursed lips betrayed that her heart was far from calm.

Lady Qingli picked up the teacup, blew gently on the steam, glanced at Xiao Nianyin, and then, right in front of her, began to analyze the current situation for Xu Ruyu.

Her voice was not loud, but every word clearly reached Xiao Nianyin's ears.