579: Chapter 579 A woman like her would be called a chivalrous heroine where I'm from.

"Sect Leader Xu..." Lu Yao's voice trembled slightly, "Are you truly willing to let them go?"

"I said I'd release them, so I will." Xu Ruyu walked back to his seat and sat down again. "Grand Elder, take her to collect the people.

Release everyone from the Taixu Sect."

The Grand Elder acknowledged and walked to Lu Yao's side.

"Young lady, follow me."

Lu Yao bit her lip, followed for a few steps, then stopped and turned around.

"Sect Leader Xu, I... I owe you a favor.

If there is an opportunity in the future, I will surely repay it."

Xu Ruyu waved his hand.

"No need for repayment.

Go back and cultivate well. And keep your eyes open—don't let others use you as a pawn again."

Lu Yao's eyes reddened slightly.

She bowed deeply and followed the Grand Elder out.

A gap opened in the light screen, and the Sect Head of the Taixu Sect, Master Qingxu, emerged with several Elders.

Their clothes were tattered, their hair disheveled, and their faces were filled with exhaustion and fear.

Seeing Lu Yao, Master Qingxu was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked over.

"Lu Yao? Why are you here? Did you gather the Spirit Stones?"

He asked.

Lu Yao nodded.

"I gathered them. Junior Martial Uncle and the others borrowed from all the major Sects and sold off some belongings.

For the portion of Spirit Stones that was still lacking, Sect Leader Xu waived it."

Master Qingxu was taken aback.

"Waived it? Why did he waive it?"

Lu Yao lowered her head and did not answer.

She didn't know how to explain. Should she say that Xu Ruyu wasn't the lecherous man the rumors claimed and had voluntarily reduced the debt? Or that she had almost sold herself to him?

Master Qingxu didn't ask further; he glanced at Lu Yao with a complex expression but said nothing.

He turned around and said to the Elders, "Let's go. We're heading back."

"Sect Head, they said they'd release us just like that. Could there be a trick?"

An Elder asked in a low voice.

"What if there is? Can we defeat them?"

Master Qingxu walked toward the mountain gate without looking back.

The Elder remained silent for a moment and then followed.

Lu Yao stood in place, watching the retreating backs of her Sect Elders.

They didn't look back, they didn't ask how she had gathered enough Spirit Stones, and they didn't ask if Xu Ruyu had made things difficult for her.

They simply left, walking very quickly, as if afraid the Hehuan Sect would change its mind.

The Grand Elder stood nearby, watching those departing figures and sighing.

"Young lady, your Sect Head left quite decisively.

He didn't even say thank you."

Lu Yao gave a bitter smile.

"The Sect Head is... not a man of many words."

"Being a man of few words is different from not asking at all."

The Grand Elder shook his head and said nothing more.

Lu Yao took a deep look at the mountain gate of the Hehuan Sect and turned to leave.

The setting sun stretched her shadow very long, dragging it lonely across the ground.

She didn't know why Xu Ruyu had shown her such mercy, nor did she know what Xiao Nianyin's final look at her meant.

She only knew that she owed the Hehuan Sect a favor.

Inside Ningyin Hall, Xu Ruyu reopened the ledger, but his mind was not on it.

Xiao Nianyin put down her book and looked at him.

"Feeling sorry for her?"

She asked.

"Feeling sorry for what?"

"Feeling sorry for that Little Girl. She is quite beautiful and has a fierce temperament."

Xu Ruyu looked up at her.

Her expression was calm, showing no emotion, but he always felt there was something else hidden beneath that surface.

"I just think it hasn't been easy for her," Xu Ruyu said. "Shouldering the affairs of an entire Sect alone, she almost sold herself.

This kind of personality is called a 'Heroine' where I come from."

"Heroine?"

Xiao Nianyin repeated the word.

"Yes, the kind of person who can sacrifice themselves to save others."

After Xu Ruyu finished speaking, he felt the term might not be entirely appropriate for the Cultivation World, but he couldn't find a better one.

Xiao Nianyin did not speak again.

She picked up her book once more, flipped through a few pages, and suddenly spoke.

"If you didn't let her sell herself, what will she do when she goes back? Who will repay the Spirit Stones that the Taixu Sect owes?"

"That is their business. We received the Spirit Stones and released the people; the transaction is complete.

As for how she faces that heartless Sect Head after she returns, that is her own destiny."

Xiao Nianyin glanced at him.

"You certainly are open-minded."

Xu Ruyu shrugged and didn't respond.

He looked at the ledger, the numbers dancing before his eyes, but his mind was filled with Lu Yao's bow before she left.

It wasn't for her own life; it was for her Sect.

Someone like her should not be failed, and certainly should not be abandoned by her own Sect Head.

He thought for a moment, picked up a brush, and wrote a line in the ledger: Taixu Sect, Spirit Stones settled in full.

Then he closed the ledger and put away the brush and ink.

"Tomorrow, it's time to deal with those old fogies who are Half-step True Immortals.

If the Sects behind them don't hand over the Spirit Stones, I'll raise the price.

The price will increase by ten million per person until they pay up."

He looked at the light screen outside the window, a faint smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

By the time Lu Yao left the Hehuan Sect, it was almost dark.

The setting sun stretched her shadow very long, dragging it lonely across the bluestone path.

She still clutched the Jade pendant in her hand; it was the one Xu Ruyu had returned to her, a relic left by her mother.

She held it very tightly, the sharp edges of the Jade pendant digging into her palm until it hurt, but she did not let go.

She walked out from the mountain gate of the Hehuan Sect, step by step, very slowly.

She didn't know how long she had been walking, nor did she know where she was going.

She only knew that she had finished what she needed to do—the Sect Head and Elders were safe, the Spirit Stones were paid in full, and she had nothing left to worry about.

By the time she returned to the Taixu Sect by Sword-kinesis flight, it was already noon the next day.

The mountain gate was still the same mountain gate, with its dilapidated stone pillars and mottled plaque. The three words "Taixu Sect" had faded, but she had grown up looking at them and could trace every stroke with her eyes closed.

She sheathed her sword, landed before the mountain gate, tidied her robes, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

But she never expected that what awaited her was not a welcome or gratitude, but a sea of cold faces.

The gate-keeping Disciples were stunned when they saw her, then turned and ran as if they had seen something foul.

Before Lu Yao even reached the Martial Arts Arena, the news had already spread throughout the entire Sect.

By the time she reached the front of the Main Hall, the Disciples and Elders of the Taixu Sect stood in a dense crowd. Everyone's eyes were fixed on her—gazes filled with loathing, distaste, and contempt, like knives stabbing at her from all directions.

Sect Leader Qing Fengzi stood at the very front, his face ashen and his lips pressed into a thin line.

Seeing Lu Yao approach, he didn't retreat but instead stepped forward, his eyes staring at her fixedly as if to nail her to the spot.

"Why have you returned?" His voice was as cold as a wind blowing out of an ice cellar. "Who allowed you to come back?"

Lu Yao was stunned, and her footsteps faltered.

"Junior Martial Uncle, I... I delivered the Spirit Stones to the Hehuan Sect and ransomed the Sect Head and the Elders.

Sect Leader Xu waived the remaining Spirit Stones and let me return."

She didn't know what she had done wrong or why her Junior Martial Uncle would speak to her in such a tone.

"Let you return?" Sect Leader Qing Fengzi repeated those words, his lips curling into a mocking arc. "You are now a person of the Hehuan Sect. Why have you come back?"