My disciples are all villains.

Lu Zhou walked into the room with a stern expression on his face.

Zhao Yue was, indeed, awake, but she seemed weak as she lay on the bed. Moving seemed to be too great of an ordeal for her at this moment. Her cultivation base had been sealed, and she was subjected to the torment of the Brahman Lullaby. It was good enough that she managed to hold onto her life. She was able to stay alive due to her firm foundation.

Lu Zhou walked up to the table and slowly sat down. He looked at Zhao Yue.

Loyalty: 10%.

'Just as expected,' Lu Zhou thought to himself.

When Zhao Yue saw her master next to her, her face paled immediately. She quickly scrambled off the bed without minding her appearance or condition, causing her to nearly fall on the floor due to her weak limbs. Fortunately, Little Yuan'er caught her just in time.

"Master! This disciple knows that she has done wrong! I know that I have done wrong!" Zhao Yue did not even bother coming up with an excuse as she began to kowtow.

Zhao Yue continued for some time before Lu Zhou waved his arm and said indifferently, "That's enough."

Zhao Yue looked at him with a hint of remorse. There was also a slight hint of fear mixed in.

Before Zhao Yue could explain herself again, Lu Zhou asked bluntly, "Who abducted you?"

Zhao Yue shook her head like a child who knew she had made a blunder. Not even a shred of dignity as the villain of the Golden Court Mountain could be seen in her at this moment. She said softly, "I only know the person is an elite from Clarity Sect. His cultivation base… is profound… He's almost on the same level, no, no, he's slightly weaker compared to you, master."

There were three true elites in the Clarity Sect. The first one was the sect master, Mo Qi. Rumor had it that his cultivation base was at the Seven-leaf Nascent Divinity Tribulation realm. The second elite was their grand elder, Pan Litian. This man had vanished without a trace long ago, nobody knew where he went. It was said that Pan Litian's cultivation base surpassed that of his sect master. However, this rumor was never verified. The third one was the second elder, You Hongyi, the most powerful female cultivator in the Clarity Sect.

"Zhao Yue… I've said that I won't deal with traitors of the sect lightly. Do you remember that?"

When Zhao Yue heard this, she trembled and shook her head. "Master, you must listen to my explanation! I have no intention of betraying you. I wanted to return to my hometown to pay homage to my parents after completing my mission the other day, and I was intercepted by the Clarity Sect's elite along the way."

Pak!

Lu Zhou raised a hand and slammed it down on the table.

Zhao Yue's heart raced from the shock.

"You dare lie to me?" Lu Zhou turned to look at Zhao Yue with a piercing gaze.

Zhao Yue withered under Lu Zhou's gaze. She began to recount what happened systematically and in detail, "I went to the Derived Moon Palace… Junior Sister Tianxin wanted to harm you, but I... I didn't plan to cooperate…"

Lu Zhou remained silent, waiting for more of Zhao Yue's confession.

Zhao Yue continued, "It's true that I returned to my hometown… but…"

"You wavered?" Lu Zhou raised his voice.

Zhao Yue did not dare to retort. She could only swallow her frustrations. Although she felt her master was different compared to before, she did not dare to push her luck.

"This disciple knows that she's done wrong! I shouldn't have listened to Ye Tianxin's slanderous words…"

"If you didn't think about leaving, things would not have escalated to this stage," Lu Zhou said calmly.

Zhao Yue seemed to have remembered something as she hurriedly said, "Ye Tianxin has laid a Formation near Bluesun Mountain. I had falsely promised her that I'd activate it… You're good to me, master, so I would never think about harming you. I would rather not go than bear the sin of killing my master! I'm telling the truth. If my words contain even the slightest lie, I'm willing to be punished in whatever way!"

Lu Zhou recalled the scene where Ye Tianxin led the cultivators into battle. With his Nine-leaf avatar, it was true that he did not sense Zhao Yue's presence.

Zhao Yue stayed on the floor, she did not even dare to breathe loudly. 

In the end, Lu Zhou decided to deal with Zhao Yue's punishment once they were back in Golden Court Mountain. When he recalled the events of the past two days, he asked, "Who sealed your cultivation base?"

"The only thing I know is that he's from the palace… I didn't see his face," Zhao Yue said.

"The palace?" These incidents were somehow related to the palace. Since Lu Zhou had descended from the mountain to investigate the kidnapping in the Ci Family, the impersonation of the Ci Mansion's butler, Wang Fugui, to the palace elite who sealed Zhao Yue's cultivation base, all signs pointed to the palace taking a keen interest in the Evil Sky Pavilion.

Zhao Yue looked at Lu Zhou with an aggrieved expression on her face. "I was kept in the holy altar by the Clarity Sect after I was kidnapped…"

"Lift your head." Lu Zhou's tone was still stern.

Zhao Yue did not dare to disobey Lu Zhou. She mustered up her courage before she lifted her head. She thought her master was going to punish her, but she did not expect him to study her glabella.

The peculiar golden lotus usually looked enchanting and eye-catching under the sun. but it appeared dull and washed-out in the room.

"Witchcraft."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yue and Little Yuan'er were taken aback.

There were a plethora of cultivation methods under the skies of Great Yan. The Daoist Societies were the largest, followed by the Buddhist Societies. The Confucian School could not regain its former glory, and the remaining cultivation methods could hardly be regarded as refined and presentable. Witchcraft was one of those cultivation methods.

Most witchcraft methods were extremely evil in nature. A cultivator would gain far less from practicing witchcraft compared to cultivating the Daoist methods. As time went by, witchcraft was rejected by the people from the Noble Path. It gradually waned, and the people who cultivated it dwindled as well.

Who would have expected there was a witchcraft elite in the palace?

Zhao Yue hastily kowtowed and said, "Master, please free me from the Restriction!"

Lu Zhou looked at Zhao Yue indifferently. It seemed like her loyalty was increasing.

"Zhao Yue."

Zhao Yue hastily lowered her head in fear. She kept her eyes trained on the floor and did not dare to make a sound.

Lu Zhou said, "I've already said I won't deal lightly with those who betray me."

When Zhao Yue heard this, she did not resent Lu Zhou. On the contrary, she began to feel hopeful. She remembered the incident on the holy altar and hastily kowtowed. "This disciple willingly accepts any punishment!"

"That will come in due time." After Lu Zhou finished speaking, he slowly rose to his feet.

Zhao Yue quickly said, "I'll respectfully see you off, master!"

Lu Zhou glanced at Zhao Yue as he said to Little Yuan'er, "Yuan'er, write to your Senior Brother… Tell him to take Zhao Yue back and punish her."

"Oh." Little Yuan'er was trembling slightly from fear and trepidation.

When Lu Zhou left the room, Little Yuan'er helped Zhao Yue up. She said with a smile, "I knew that you're not like Ye Tianxin, Senior Sister…"

Zhao Yue shook her head and said with a sigh, "In any case… I've made a mistake this time. If master didn't bring me away from the holy altar, I would've been…"

Little Yuan'er said, "It's alright. You don't know this, but master displayed his majestic strength when we're on the holy altar. Those self-righteous Noble Path's sects and the Fiend Temple were all defeated!"

"Little Junior Sister… you were there?"

"Of course! There were many bald donkeys there as well. They kept buzzing like flies. I was irritated to no end…" Little Yuan'er conveniently left out the part where she had fallen asleep.

Zhao Yue sighed again. "You're the only one who cares for me, Little Junior Sister."

…

Lu Zhou had barely left Zhao Yue's room when he saw the officers who investigated Zhuo Ping's death. The few of them ran up the stairs toward him.

"My lord! I've finally found you."

"You were looking for me?" Lu Zhou was puzzled. He had nothing to do with Zhuo Ping's case. What would these officers want with him?

"We're tasked with escorting you to the General's residence in Runan City to make a statement," an officer said as he went down on one knee.

"I'm busy." Lu Zhou spat out two words coldly before he returned to his own and slammed the door shut.

The officer seemed to understand the situation at once. 'How can I let the Lord run over to meet the General? Isn't this just like taking his rank lightly?' He quickly apologized, "My lord, I've spoken wrongly. It's not my intention to make you travel there!"

Lu Zhou ignored him. Clearly, the royal token had found its way to the General's residence in Runan City. The palace would be notified about this in half a day's time as well. Would the elite who harmed Zhao Yue be bold enough to show up?