Chapter 54: Settling Accounts and Working Them to the Bone

As Lin Fan had anticipated, after the fierce fighting outside lasted for nearly half an hour, it gradually came to a halt.

Shortly afterwards, a flurry of chaotic footsteps echoed from within the cave.

Ji Qingwan and Nangong Miaoyu walked in the absolute front, positioning themselves far apart on the left and the right with a clear and distinct boundary between them, both showing a mutual disdain as if neither could bear the sight of the other.

Ji Qingwan’s expression was terrifyingly gloomy, and a trace of fresh, bright red blood still lingered at the corner of her lips, indicating she had suffered injuries.

Her flowing robes were somewhat disheveled at the moment, with several torn spots revealing patches of snow-white skin that appeared exceptionally alluring in the dim lighting of the cavern.

Nangong Miaoyu’s complexion was equally unsightly. Her vital energy was somewhat depleted, showing that she too had consumed a vast amount of strength.

Her normally opulent court attire was now wrinkled, and her once immaculate hair bun was slightly undone, with a few strands of dark hair draping delicately across the sides of her cheeks. This added a somewhat bedraggled look to her appearance, yet it paradoxically amplified a pitiful and heart-stirring charm.

Upon seeing that Lin Fan was still alive, Ji Qingwan visibly heaved a sigh of relief, her tense nerves finally relaxing.

When Su Xingyue caught sight of Lin Fan, a flicker of profound heartache crossed her beautiful eyes, and she quickly hurried forward. Her soft, delicate hands gently stroked Lin Fan’s body as if inspecting him for any hidden wounds.

"Husband, are you alright?"

"Did you get hurt anywhere?"

Su Xingyue’s voice was brimming with deep concern, her eyes full of worry and her eye rims slightly reddening.

"I'm fine," Lin Fan shook his head and said softly.

"As long as you're fine, as long as you're fine." Overwhelmed with a sense of relief, Su Xingyue tightly embraced Lin Fan, as though fearing he might vanish into thin air.

"Ahem! Ahem!" Ji Qingwan coughed twice to interrupt the two of them. "Lin Fan, since you are unharmed, let us leave this place first."

"Where to?" Nangong Miaoyu let out a cold laugh.

"Naturally back to my immortal dwelling!" Ji Qingwan replied as if it were a matter of course.

"Return to your dwelling? On what grounds?" Nangong Miaoyu sneered. "Right now, this place is my territory!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Ji Qingwan rebuked angrily. "Lin Fan is my disciple; it is only natural that he returns to my dwelling with me!"

Nangong Miaoyu let out a derisive chuckle. "A treasure like Lin Fan—is he someone you can monopolize? Believe it or not, the moment I spread the word that your disciple possesses a unique constitution capable of helping others break through their bottlenecks—"

"Setting aside the internal scramble within the Joy Sect, if practitioners from other sects catch wind of this news, well, hehe..."

"You!" Ji Qingwan shook with rage, yet she was utterly helpless.

"Alright, enough arguing, both of you!" Lin Fan interrupted them impatiently. "Have either of you bothered to ask for my opinion?"

"Now, hear this: I declare that I will find a place of my own and build my own dwelling. Whoever wishes to break through their realm can come find me!"

Lin Fan spoke in a deep voice, his tone carrying an unquestionable firmness.

He had grown thoroughly sick of being treated as a prize to be fought over and tugged back and forth; he was determined to take control of his own destiny!

Presently, Ji Qingwan and Nangong Miaoyu were locked in a stalemate where neither could overpower the other.

Thus, Lin Fan believed he could leverage their mutual checkmate to carve out a sliver of autonomy for himself.

"No way!"

The two women, who had been arguing with intense hostility moments before, spoke in absolute unison to reject the idea.

Lin Fan: "..."

Clearly, in this cultivation world where might makes right, Lin Fan possessed very little say in the matter.

He let out a helpless sigh.

"Lin Fan, you'd better come back with me! Xingyue is carrying our child and will give birth in just a few months. If you stay at my place, you'll be much closer to the baby!"

Ji Qingwan took the initiative to speak, breaking the silence.

Her tone carried an imperceptible gentleness, resembling a kind-hearted senior expressing care for her junior.

"Lin Fan, you should come with me instead. Among my disciples under my tutelage, every single one is as breathtaking as a flower. If you come over... I guarantee you the blessing of all beauties!"

Nangong Miaoyu refused to be outdone. She cast a sultry wink at Lin Fan, her eyes overflowing with temptation.

The two women resumed their quarrel, their voices growing increasingly louder until it seemed as though they might tear the entire cavern apart.

"Stop, stop, stop!"

Helplessly interrupting their bickering, Lin Fan spread his hands in an expression that conveyed a total surrender.

"Stop arguing, both of you! Fine, I'm not going anywhere. I think this cave looks rather nice right where it is!"

Lin Fan decided to simply give up struggling!

He had finally figured it out: he was nothing more to them than a sweet pastry that everyone wanted a bite of.

Since that was the case, he would go nowhere and simply stay right here, eager to see what they could possibly do to him!

"How about this? Let us each take a step back. This place is remote and barren, yet the spiritual energy is passable. I noticed that flanking this small hill, there are two slightly taller peaks on either side!"

Nangong Miaoyu blinked her gorgeous eyes and proposed a suggestion.

"You take one peak, I'll take the other, and Lin Fan can use this very cave as his dwelling. How does that sound?"

Ji Qingwan touched her smooth chin, falling into deep thought.

Just as Nangong Miaoyu had described, the three hills here were connected in a chain.

The cave where Lin Fan currently resided happened to be nestled inside the smaller hill right in the middle.

If she and Nangong Miaoyu each occupied one of the flanking peaks, they would effectively "protect" Lin Fan right in the center.

It would also prevent others from discovering Lin Fan.

This plan seemed entirely feasible.

"I suppose this is workable. In that case, I shall relocate my dwelling here within the next two days!"

Ji Qingwan nodded in agreement.

"Good! Then I shall claim the peak on the left!"

Nangong Miaoyu spoke immediately, fearing that Ji Qingwan might change her mind.

"On what grounds? You want the left one? The spiritual energy on the left side is obviously much denser..."

Naturally, Ji Qingwan refused to concede, and the two immediately resumed their wrangling...

Their voices rose and fell in waves, resembling a pair of tireless sparrows.

"Stop arguing for a moment! There is still another matter to deal with!" Seeing that the two of them were about to start bickering again, Lin Fan spoke up.

"My dear disciple, just name it. As long as your master is capable of it, I will definitely help you accomplish it!" Ji Qingwan said hastily, a flattering smile gracing her face.

"That's right, Lin Fan. As long as you speak of it, your Senior Martial Sister will surely satisfy you as well!" Nangong Miaoyu chimed in.

Pointing directly at Li Jiu and Bai Jie, Lin Fan said coldly, "These two abducted me to this place and nearly caused my death. How should we settle this score?"

The complexions of Li Jiu and Bai Jie turned deathly pale as they shrank behind Nangong Miaoyu.

They lowered their heads, not daring to meet Lin Fan’s icy gaze.

To frame this lightly, it was an act of insubordination against superiors; to frame it gravely, it was apostasy and betrayal of the sect, a crime punishable by death!

Within the Joy Sect, the lives of disciples—especially those of attractive female disciples—were frequently held entirely in the hands of their masters.

They functioned more like resources, mere chips to be used for trading favors and interests.

Such occurrences were far from rare within the Joy Sect; one might even call them commonplace.

"This..."

Nangong Miaoyu’s expression stiffened as well, momentarily at a loss for how to handle the situation.

Nominally speaking, these two women were Ji Qingwan’s disciples, but in reality, they had become Nangong Miaoyu’s people.

After all, they were the ones who had betrayed Ji Qingwan and sworn allegiance to her instead.

Now that Lin Fan demanded to punish them, if she simply handed them over, wouldn't it portray her as unfeeling and disloyal?

If word of this got out, who would ever dare pledge allegiance to her in the future?

What would become of her reputation?

As Nangong Miaoyu, she was a person of considerable pride within the Joy Sect!

Nangong Miaoyu furrowed her brows deeply.

Ji Qingwan let out a cold snort, fixing her icy glare upon Li Jiu and Bai Jie. "Rebelling against one's master and destroying one's ancestors—by the rules, they deserve death!"

"Senior Sister, please save us!" Li Jiu and Bai Jie cowered behind Nangong Miaoyu.

Clearly, they knew that the only person capable of sparing their lives right now was Nangong Miaoyu.

"Now, come here and face your death!" Ji Qingwan showed no mercy, raising her hand to strike.

"Wait!" Nangong Miaoyu hastily intervened. "Ji Qingwan, don't forget, they are my people now!"

"Your people? Have you no shame?" Ji Qingwan rebuked angrily. "They are disciples I cultivated with painstaking effort!"

"So what? Since they have now entered my sect, they are my people!" Nangong Miaoyu refused to yield an inch.

"Very well, very well... Then how shall we settle this debt with Lin Fan?" Ji Qingwan demanded.

Glancing over the two stunning and alluring faces of Bai Jie and Li Jiu, Nangong Miaoyu smiled. "Why don't we bestow the two of them upon Lin Fan to serve as his concubines? How does that sound?"