Huang Rong from The Return of the Condor Heroes: Guo'er, calm down.

"Go find the sect leader!"

Yin Zhiping's shout was heart-wrenching.

Yang Guo did not hesitate.

He slipped away quickly, ducked low, and slipped through the sword net of the two Taoist priests.

"Grab him! Don't let him get away!" Zhao Zhijing roared in exasperation.

Yang Guo didn't look back and sprinted towards the main hall of Chongyang Palace. He had practiced running away on Peach Blossom Island for over a decade, and even without using his internal energy, these pampered Taoists couldn't catch him.

The wind whistled past my ears.

As Yang Guo ran, he rubbed his hair even more tangled, and grabbed a handful of ash from the ground to smear on his face. His collar was ripped open, his sleeves torn—he went as far as he could to look miserable.

If you're going to file a complaint, then you should go all the way.

Reaching the entrance of the Sanqing Hall, Yang Guo didn't slow down; instead, he increased his strength and smashed open the half-closed door.

"Bang!"

The sound of the door being broken shattered the tranquility of the main hall.

Qiu Chuji was sitting cross-legged on a futon, meditating, his hands forming a mudra, when he was startled by the sudden commotion and frowned. He opened his eyes and saw a ragged, filthy boy roll in and lie on the ground, panting heavily.

"Guo'er?"

Qiu Chuji was taken aback for a moment, then stood up and quickly walked down from the platform. "What happened? Who injured you?"

Yang Guo lay on the ground, his shoulders shrugging, not saying a word, only letting out suppressed sobs.

He had tried this "silence speaks louder than words" tactic countless times in front of Huang Rong, and it always worked.

"Speak!" Qiu Chuji, quick-tempered, bristled at the sight of his disciple's miserable state. "Has someone bullied you?"

Yang Guo then raised his head.

His once handsome face was covered in dust, his eyes were red, and tears were welling up in his eyes, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"Grandmaster..." Yang Guo sniffed, "Grandmaster...Grandmaster has come to say goodbye."

"Saying goodbye?" Qiu Chuji's face darkened. "Where are you going?"

"Back to Xiangyang." Yang Guo lowered his head, looking at the ground. "Uncle Guo sent me up the mountain hoping I would learn to be good and not follow in my father's footsteps. But now... now I can't stay in the Quanzhen Sect anymore."

"Nonsense!" Qiu Chuji waved his sleeve. "You are a disciple personally accepted by me. Who dares to drive you away?"

"No one drove me away." Yang Guo gave a bitter laugh. "It's my own fault for being useless. My master said I had a wicked heart, that I used poison in the fight, and that he wanted to take me to the disciplinary hall for severe torture. I'm afraid of pain, and even more afraid... even more afraid of bringing shame to Uncle Guo."

"Poison?"

Qiu Chuji's brows furrowed even more.

Just then, a series of noisy footsteps came from outside the hall.

Zhao Zhijing, leading a group of disciples, chased after them aggressively. Upon entering the main hall and seeing Qiu Chuji standing there, Zhao Zhijing's arrogance immediately diminished, but when he saw Yang Guo lying on the ground, the resentment in his eyes resurfaced.

"Sect Leader!" Zhao Zhijing stepped forward, pointing at Yang Guo, "This little beast used underhanded tactics during the duel, causing Qingdu to remain unconscious and his wounds to fester! This disciple is about to apprehend him and bring him to justice!"

Qiu Chuji's gaze sharpened as he swept it over Zhao Zhijing: "You're saying he used poison?"

"Absolutely true!" Zhao Zhijing gritted his teeth. "If it weren't for the deadly poison, how could Qingdu have been injured so badly?"

"Fine," Qiu Chuji said coldly, "Take me to see."

The group arrived at the side hall.

Lu Qingdu was still groaning in bed; his thigh was swollen and purple, which looked quite frightening.

Qiu Chuji walked over, placed his hand on Lu Qingdu's pulse point, and carefully examined the wound.

A moment later, Qiu Chuji stood up, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

"Is this the deadly poison you were talking about?" Qiu Chuji stared at Zhao Zhijing.

Zhao Zhijing felt uneasy, but still forced himself to say, "Your Excellency is wise, this wound is red, swollen, and festering; it is clearly..."

"It's clearly an external force striking the acupoints, causing stagnation of qi and blood. Add to that this fat man's usual gluttony and laziness, which led to excessive damp-heat in his body, causing the heat to accumulate and become toxic, resulting in this malignant sore!" Qiu Chuji roared, his voice booming like a bell. "Zhao Zhijing, you've cultivated Taoism for so many years, and you don't even understand this basic medical principle? Or are you intentionally framing a fellow disciple?"

Zhao Zhijing was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he knelt on the ground with a thud: "Disciple...disciple dares not! It's just that this injury is too strange, and disciple acted rashly in a moment of panic..."

"In a moment of desperation?" Qiu Chuji sneered. "In a moment of desperation, you want to arrest your nephew and torture him in the disciplinary hall? Have you completely forgotten the rules of the Quanzhen Sect?"

Zhao Zhijing was sweating profusely and lay on the ground, not daring to raise his head.

Yang Guo stood aside, his head bowed and eyes downcast, but inside he was overjoyed.

Although this old Taoist priest had a bad temper, he wasn't blind.

"Guo'er." Qiu Chuji turned around, looked at Yang Guo, and the anger in his eyes turned into guilt.

The child had just suffered such a great injustice, yet remained silent. In a daze, he seemed to see Yang Kang from back then.

If he had been more patient and less harsh with Yang Kang back then, perhaps...

"Grandmaster," Yang Guo stepped forward to help Qiu Chuji up, and said softly, "Please don't blame Uncle Zhao. Uncle Zhao was just worried about his disciple and acted rashly. Besides, it was indeed my fault for not being careful and injuring Senior Brother Lu."

These words were spoken with magnanimity and propriety.

Qiu Chuji was stunned.

Zhao Zhijing was also stunned, and suddenly looked up at Yang Guo with disbelief. Had this kid changed his ways?

"You...you don't blame him?" Qiu Chuji asked.

"My senior is my master," Yang Guo said, lowering his eyes. "The Quanzhen Sect values ​​respect for teachers above all else. Although I am unruly, I know the proper order of seniority. If I were to harm the harmony within the sect for such a trivial matter and become a laughingstock to outsiders, that would be my fault."

Qiu Chuji took a deep breath and patted Yang Guo's hand.

I am very pleased.

This child is so sensible it breaks my heart.

"Zhijing." Qiu Chuji looked at Zhao Zhijing kneeling on the ground, his tone cold, "Listen to this, this is the 'little beast' you speak of. Even Guo'er knows how to maintain harmony within the sect, yet you, as the third generation leader, have such a narrow mind. Go back and face the wall for three months, copying the Tao Te Ching a thousand times. If you miss even one, you will be held responsible."

Zhao Zhijing's face turned deathly pale. He glared at Yang Guo with resentment, but could only kowtow: "Disciple...accepts punishment."

He got up, had Lu Qingdu carried away, and slunk away.

Only the grandfather and grandson remained in the main hall.

Qiu Chuji looked at Yang Guo's tattered Taoist robe and sighed, "Guo'er, you've been wronged."

"I'm not aggrieved," Yang Guo shook his head. "As long as I can learn real skills at Quanzhen Temple and serve the country in the future, this little hardship is nothing."

Qiu Chuji nodded: "It's good that you have this intention. If anyone dares to bully you again, come directly to me."

Yang Guo took a step back, knelt down, and kowtowed heavily.

"Grandmaster, your grand-disciple still wants to leave."

Qiu Chuji was startled: "Why? Zhao Zhijing has already been punished, what are you still worried about?"

"It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark." Yang Guo raised his head, his face sincere. "After all, my master is the head disciple. He must be holding a grudge against me for being punished this time. I am in the open, while he is in the dark. Besides... all my fellow disciples listen to him. If I continue to live in the dormitory, I'm afraid I will be living in fear every day, and I won't be able to improve my martial arts."

Qiu Chuji remained silent.

Yang Guo was telling the truth. Zhao Zhijing was narrow-minded; having lost face so badly this time, he would definitely retaliate even more fiercely. As the sect leader, he couldn't possibly be preoccupied with these trivial matters every day.

Moreover, Zhao Zhijing is a disciple of his senior brother Wang Chuyi, so he couldn't punish him too harshly.

"Then what do you intend to do?" Qiu Chuji asked.

Yang Guo bit his lip, as if he had made a great decision: "I want to... find a quiet place to hide from them."

"Hide?" Qiu Chuji frowned. "Although the Quanzhen Sect is large, it has many disciples. Where is there a quiet place?"

"Yes." Yang Guo looked up, his gaze clear. "The back mountain."

Qiu Chuji's expression changed.

"The back mountain is a forbidden area," Qiu Chuji said in a deep voice. "Disciples are strictly forbidden from entering, except for the sect leader and a few elders."

"I know," Yang Guo quickly replied. "But it's precisely because it's a forbidden area that my fellow disciples dare not go there. Only there can I practice in peace. I don't wander around inside; I just build a thatched hut on the edge of the forbidden area. I help my master sweep fallen leaves and wipe the stone tablets on weekdays. As long as no one disturbs me, I can calm down."

He paused, then added fuel to the fire: "When Uncle Guo brought me here, he said that the Quanzhen Sect is the orthodox school of martial arts in the world. I don't want to neglect my studies because of these mundane matters and let down Uncle Guo and my grandmaster's expectations."

The phrase "failed to live up to expectations" struck Qiu Chuji's weak spot.

The fact that he failed to properly teach Yang Kang back then was a lifelong regret for him.

Now that Yang Guo is so ambitious and sensible, all he wants is to find a place to practice his skills in peace. If he refuses even this small request, how will he face Yang Tiexin in the afterlife?

Qiu Chuji paced back and forth in the main hall with his hands behind his back.

Yang Guo knelt on the ground, not daring to breathe, but counting in his mind.

One step, two steps, three steps...

"That's enough."

Qiu Chuji stopped, took an iron plaque from his waist, and threw it to Yang Guo.

"This is a token of my faith."

Yang Guo caught it with both hands. The iron plate was cold and had the words "Quanzhen" engraved on it.

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible," Qiu Chuji sighed. "Since you want peace and quiet, then go to the back mountain. But to outsiders, don't say you're going to hide away; just say you've been ordered by me to go to the back mountain to guard the stele forest and cultivate your character."

"Thank you, Grandmaster!" Yang Guo was overjoyed and kowtowed three more times.

"Get up," Qiu Chuji helped him up. "The back mountain is quiet, but also austere. Moreover, it's right next to the Tomb of the Living Dead, where people from the Ancient Tomb Sect live. They have strange personalities. Remember not to provoke them and stay within your bounds."

"I understand!" Yang Guo patted his chest and assured him, "I will definitely behave myself and never cause trouble. Every day, besides practicing martial arts, I will sweep the floor, and I won't even step on an ant."

Looking at his confident demeanor, Qiu Chuji couldn't help but smile: "Go ahead. If you lack food or clothing, come back to your master."

"Yes, Grandmaster, take care."

Yang Guo put the iron plaque into his pocket and respectfully withdrew from the main hall.

Once you step out the gate and turn the corner...

The submissive look on Yang Guo's face vanished instantly, replaced by a smug, wicked smile.

He tossed the iron plaque in his hand, glanced back at the solemn and majestic Sanqing Hall, and felt apologetic.

Old Taoist priest, I'm sorry.

This is a forbidden area of ​​the Quanzhen Sect; I have no choice but to go.