Duan Zhengchun transmigrates to Yin Zhiping

"Did he tell you who was locked in the dungeon?"

Duan Zhengchun pressed him for more questions.

Yang Guo shook his head, looking aggrieved.

"Then the facts are much clearer. Is it possible that Lu Qingdu deliberately concealed the truth from Yang Guo, just so that Yang Guo would release Hou Tonghai and the other two?"

"I heard that the disciples under my senior brother have never been friendly to Yang Guo. They often beat and scold him in private. I even witnessed it with my own eyes once. It seems that this matter is not so simple."

Duan Zhengchun glanced at Zhao Zhijing, then turned to face the crowd surrounding the hall and spoke loudly.

Upon hearing this, discussions arose outside the hall, with many disciples saying that they had indeed witnessed Lu Qingdu humiliating and beating Yang Guo.

"Nonsense! Qingdu would never deliberately frame him!"

"Since Junior Brother Yin said that letting Hou Tonghai and the other two go was unintentional, what about injuring the other disciples? Many people witnessed it!"

"Besides Ouyang Feng's Toad Stance, he also learned a sword technique from somewhere that severely injured Qing Du. How do you explain that?!"

Zhao Zhijing looked anxious, waved his hand, pointed at Yang Guo who was kneeling on the ground looking aggrieved, and questioned him loudly.

"I taught you."

Duan Zhengchun curled his lips and said indifferently.

"what?!"

Zhao Zhijing was stunned for a moment, then looked at Duan Zhengchun with a puzzled expression.

Duan Zhengchun looked at the Five Masters of Quanzhen and raised his voice, "Although Yang Guo has become the disciple of the eldest brother, the eldest brother has only taught him the mental techniques and incantations, without imparting any specific moves or techniques to him. What is the meaning of this?"

"That day, when I saw him being bullied by several of his senior brothers, Lu Qingdu, he was powerless to fight back. So I secretly taught him a move, hoping that he could protect himself if he was bullied again."

Zhao Zhijing looked flustered and shouted, "You're talking nonsense! Since the sect leader has made him my disciple, how could I not train him diligently?!"

"Junior brother is being so aggressive today, I think he not only wants to protect him, but also wants to deal with me as well!"

Duan Zhengchun looked at Zhao Zhijing with a cold smile and said in a deep voice, "Since you refuse to admit it, why not let him try? Let's see if you've taught him properly!"

Zhao Zhijing immediately said, "This child is dull-witted. Although I have taught him, he has not learned it. What can I do?!"

Duan Zhengchun sneered, "If he is really as dull-witted as you say, why was he able to severely injure Lu Qingdu after I only taught him one move?!"

"Could it be that Lu Qingdu is also a mediocre good-for-nothing?!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhijing was speechless once again, his face turning even redder with anger, but he simply didn't know how to refute it.

"I can believe he was deceived by Hou Tonghai and the other two, and we can put aside the matter of him injuring his fellow disciples for now. But what I want to know is, how do you explain his secret practice of the Toad Style Kung Fu?!"

"Toad Style Kung Fu is the old poison master's signature move! Zhiping, have you forgotten that your Uncle-Master Tan died at the hands of that old poison master?!"

Just as Zhao Zhijing was speechless, Wang Chuyi, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke, looking at Duan Zhengchun with disappointment and dissatisfaction.

Upon hearing this, Duan Zhengchun frowned, for he knew that the Toad Style was the most fatal flaw!

"Tell me, why do you know the signature move of Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison?!"

Qiu Chuji sat back down in his chair, looked coldly at Yang Guo, and asked in a deep voice.

"Answer properly. If you can't explain it clearly, no one can protect you!"

Duan Zhengchun gave a reminder, then turned around and found a seat.

Seeing that Duan Zhengchun was sitting on equal footing with them in front of everyone, Wang Chuyi and the others couldn't help but frown and glance at Qiu Chuji.

However, Qiu Chuji's mind seemed to be completely elsewhere, not on Duan Zhengchun, but rather fixed on the silent Yang Guo.

The group exchanged glances, but no one said anything more.

"Speechless now?!"

Zhao Zhijing glared fiercely at the silent Yang Guo, a cold smile flashing across his lips.

"I was forced into it!"

However, just as Zhao Zhijing finished speaking, Yang Guo suddenly spoke up as well.

Who forced you to do that?

Qiu Chuji pressed on with a deep voice.

Yang Guo looked helpless and continued, "It was Ouyang Feng. Before Uncle Guo found me, I lived in the Jiangnan region. Once, I accidentally met an old man with disheveled hair who was crazy and insisted on teaching me martial arts."

"At the time, I didn't know what kind of Toad Style I was learning, let alone who he was, Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison. It was only later, from Uncle Guo and Aunt Guo, that I learned his identity."

"If I had known back then that he was not a good person, I would rather die than learn his martial arts!"

Upon hearing Yang Guo's answer, everyone present fell silent, their brows furrowed.

"It seems that everything was a misunderstanding, but he was wrong to attack his fellow disciples too harshly. It would be better to punish him by making him reflect on his mistakes at Chaomu Cliff and observe his future behavior."

"Master, what do you think?"

Duan Zhengchun slowly stood up, and as he spoke, he approached Qiu Chuji and respectfully clasped his hands in a salute.

Qiu Chuji waved his hand impatiently and said, "Enough, enough. Since you have pleaded so hard for him, let's leave it at that. Punish him by sending him to Chaomu Cliff to reflect on his mistakes for a month. If he can admit his mistakes and correct them, that would be even better."

"But if he makes another mistake in the future, I will not let him off lightly! He is forbidden from practicing Toad Kung Fu again! Do you hear me?!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Guo hurriedly kowtowed and said loudly, "Thank you, Master! This disciple will remember!"

"Sect Leader?!"

"Senior brother?!"

Upon hearing that Yang Guo was being let off so easily, Zhao Zhijing and Wang Chuyi spoke almost simultaneously, their eyes filled with resentment.

"Alright! I'm getting tired, let's not talk about this anymore!"

Qiu Chuji waved his hand and walked straight out.

Zhao Zhijing wanted to say something more, but Wang Chuyi secretly shook his head to stop him.

"Sect Leader, I have a request!"

But at this moment, Yang Guo, who was kneeling on the ground, turned around to face Qiu Chuji, who was walking past him, and spoke loudly again.

"What else do you want?!"

Qiu Chuji stopped, turned around, looked at Yang Guo with displeasure, and asked in a deep voice.

Yang Guo bowed respectfully and said loudly, "This disciple humbly requests the Sect Leader to allow me to switch my allegiance to Uncle Yin!"

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chuji's expression instantly turned solemn, and he hesitated.

After what just happened, he had realized that Zhao Zhijing did not genuinely want to take Yang Guo as his disciple. However, whenever he thought of the past when he had taken Yang Guo's father, Yang Kang, as his disciple, he felt complicated.

Like father, like son. He worried that Yang Guo would be like his father back then, so when Yang Guo came to the mountain, he did not let Yang Guo become his disciple, but instead let him become Wang Chuyi's disciple.

However, it seems that if Yang Guo continues to serve under Zhao Zhijing, similar incidents will likely occur again in the future.

"This disciple humbly requests the Sect Leader to allow me to become a disciple of Martial Uncle Yin!"

Yang Guo lay down on the ground and spoke loudly again, his voice trembling with tears.

After hesitating for a moment, Qiu Chuji turned to Duan Zhengchun and said softly, "Zhiping, what do you think?"

Duan Zhengchun glanced at Yang Guo, who was looking up at him pitifully, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Since that's the case, then I'll take him in. Anyway, I've already taught him a move, so we can be considered master and disciple."

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chuji nodded, said nothing more, and left the main hall.

As Qiu Chuji left, the others followed suit, though Wang Chuyi and Zhao Zhijing did not look too happy when they left.

Immediately afterwards, Duan Zhengchun took the wounded Yang Guo back to the back garden.

Lin Zhiyuan had been busy practicing martial arts recently, and he happened to need a follower to serve him tea and water, so taking Yang Guo in was a natural progression.

However, he did not intend to teach Yang Guo martial arts for the time being. Instead, he thought he should temper Yang Guo's temperament first. Yang Guo was already disobedient enough, and he did not want to take on a disciple who was equally disobedient.

After returning to the back garden, Duan Zhengchun took Yang Guo to his residence and personally examined Yang Guo's injuries.

Although Zhao Zhijing disliked Yang Guo, he did not beat Yang Guo too badly; he only suffered some superficial injuries that would heal after a period of rest.

"Have something to eat."

Lin Zhiyuan brought in some food and placed it on the table in front of Yang Guo as he spoke.

After Duan Zhengchun nodded in agreement, Yang Guo immediately picked up his chopsticks and began to wolf down his food. It was clear that during this period under Zhao Zhijing's tutelage, he had barely eaten his fill...