Chapter 7: The Enforcement Hall Descends

Cool fingertips flicked, extinguishing the room’s sole light source.

“Senior Sister,” Shen Zhaoqing couldn’t help but instinctively recoil. “It’s cold; your hand is freezing.”

The hand resting on her head paused, then meticulously tucked the quilt around her.

The gesture was clumsy, causing Shen Zhaoqing a slight pang of discomfort.

“You should sleep now,” a voice murmured from above her, followed by the soft sound of retreating footsteps. Soon, silence reclaimed the chamber.

****

Shen Zhaoqing exhaled slowly.

Merely an incense stick earlier, she had been seething with indignation, contemplating her impending house arrest – a ‘luxury double bed with built-in cooling’ upgrade, as she sarcastically thought. Yet, in the very next moment, Gu Chang’an was summoned away by a transmission talisman from the Sect Master.

Before departing, her impassive Senior Sister had deliberately turned back, fixing her with a stare. The unspoken message in those eyes was clear: ‘You, stay put. If you dare to flee, I’ll break your legs.’

What choice did Shen Zhaoqing have? She could only nod frantically in response.

Where exactly could she run?

The entire Qingyun Sect now regarded her as little more than a walking, breathing magnet for demonic energy. The moment she stepped foot outside Frostbright Abode, she would be apprehended on the spot by patrol disciples. The charge wouldn’t even need to be fabricated: “Colluding with the demonic path, harboring nefarious intentions.”

Yet, she had severely underestimated the cultivators’ imaginative prowess and their uncanny ability to deflect blame.

News of the outer disciples’ poisoning spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Qingyun Sect overnight.

Initially, everyone had been righteously indignant, condemning the vile acts of the demonic scoundrels. But before long, the tide of opinion began to shift, taking a sinister turn.

“Those three who were poisoned, it seems they were gossiping about Shen Zhaoqing just a few days ago…”

“Is that true? The servant brought back to Frostbright Abode by Senior Sister Gu?”

“Exactly! And just think: why did nothing happen until *after* the Demon Lord caused such a scene at the mountain gate for her? Could that possibly be a mere coincidence?”

“Now that you mention it, the implications are chilling! That demonic energy, she might have summoned it herself!”

“I’m convinced she’s an inside accomplice! How else could a mere mortal servant enchant both Senior Sister Gu and the Demon Lord? She must have employed some dark sorcery!”

The rumors festered faster than any twenty-first-century online slander.

From an initially ‘pitiable victim’ to a ‘bringer of calamity’ and finally, a ‘traitor allied with demons,’ Shen Zhaoqing’s public image underwent a rapid, three-stage transformation, ultimately nailing her to the Qingyun Sect’s pillar of shame.

These whispers and rumors, relayed hesitantly by an outer disciple delivering her meal, reached Shen Zhaoqing’s ears. At that moment, she was cradling her wine gourd, deeply pondering whether to savor its last drop that morning or defer the pleasure until the afternoon.

After hearing it all, she fell silent.

Slowly, she lifted her head, gazing melancholically at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, bathed in the warm sunlight.

“Why do I feel like it’s getting colder and colder?” She shrugged, slowly raising her head to cast a bewildered glance at the sun, which moments ago had been scorching hot.

Without warning, an icy, chilling aura descended, enveloping the entirety of Frostbright Abode.

This was not Gu Chang’an’s usual cool detachment, but a stark, emotionless chill, imbued with the weight of unyielding law and impending judgment.

Shen Zhaoqing shivered, nearly fumbling the wine gourd from her grasp.

She looked up, her eyes widening. Outside the courtyard gate of Frostbright Abode, a throng of cultivators had silently gathered, each clad in snow-patterned robes and bearing a Decree Plate at their waist.

Their faces were grim, their stances as unyielding as ancient pines. Their combined auras merged into a single, suffocating wave of oppressive power.

At their head stood a tall, commanding woman.

She wore a dark teal ritual crown, her features sharp and defined, her eyes like chips of ice. A blue and white Decree Sash was tied across her chest, and her entire being exuded an unassailable aura, proclaiming, ‘I am the rule, and the rule is me.’

This was Ning Jihe, the Head of the Qingyun Sect’s Enforcement Hall and Gu Chang’an’s Senior Sister.

A woman who seemed to have the sect’s regulations etched into her very DNA.

“Shen Zhaoqing,” Ning Jihe declared, her voice devoid of warmth. “The case of the outer disciples’ poisoning involves you. By order of the Enforcement Hall, you are to accompany us immediately to the Snow Law Forbidden Courtyard for interrogation.”

Her voice was not loud, yet each word struck like an ice pick, piercing sharply into one’s ears.

At her command, the dozen or so Enforcement Hall disciples uniformly stepped forward, their hands subtly forming incantation gestures. Their spiritual energy instantly locked onto the still-dazed girl, who was clutching her wine gourd within the courtyard.

Shen Zhaoqing could only stare.

‘Wait, are they just coming to arrest me directly?’

‘Have they even skipped the formality of a summons?’

“Senior Sister Ning.”

An unmistakable surge of sword qi emanated from behind Shen Zhaoqing.

Gu Chang’an had returned, though Shen Zhaoqing hadn’t noticed her arrival. She stood silently before Shen Zhaoqing, clad in her customary simple snow-patterned sword robe, the Frostbright Longsword sheathed upon her back.

“This matter is still unresolved,” Gu Chang’an stated, her tone remarkably flat. She met Ning Jihe’s gaze directly, showing not an inch of concession. “You cannot take her.”

Ning Jihe regarded her former most accomplished junior sister, a flicker of complex, indecipherable emotion crossing her eyes before being swiftly replaced by an even deeper chill.

“Junior Sister Gu, I am enforcing the sect’s laws, not negotiating with you,” Ning Jihe’s voice grew even colder. “This woman is implicated with the demonic path and is a major suspect. For the safety of the sect, she must be isolated and interrogated.”

“If you insist on obstructing, you will be openly defying the sect’s regulations and showing contempt for the Enforcement Hall!”

‘What a hefty accusation,’ Shen Zhaoqing thought.

Shen Zhaoqing, listening from behind, couldn’t help but click her tongue in dismay.

“I will say this one more time,” Gu Chang’an’s reply was simple and direct, her gaze unwavering. “She will not go with you.”

The air, at that instant, seemed to solidify.

The two Senior Sisters – one the Qingyun Sect’s sharpest blade, the other its most unyielding law – now stood in stark opposition, all for a single, unarmed ‘minor servant.’

“Good, very good,” Ning Jihe retorted, a furious laugh escaping her lips. For the first time, such a vivid expression animated her usually icy face. “Gu Chang’an, it seems you are willing to forsake your identity as the Qingyun Sect’s Chief Disciple, all for this woman of unknown origins!”

She dramatically waved a hand, her voice sharp as she commanded, “Form the array! Clear Law Heart Lock Array!”

“As you command!”

The dozen or so Enforcement Hall disciples moved instantly, their forms shifting as their hands wove intricate incantations. Streaks of light, shimmering with green and white decree runes, shot forth from their palms, interweaving in mid-air to form a colossal legal net that descended directly upon Frostbright Abode.

A resonant hum vibrated through the air.

The moment the grand array unfurled, an indescribable sense of oppression descended upon them.

It wasn’t merely spiritual pressure, but a binding force originating from the very essence of ‘rules.’ It felt as though everything between heaven and earth had been shackled; the air grew viscous, spiritual energy ceased its flow, and even heartbeats and breaths were forcefully held in a heavy, oppressive rhythm by an unseen hand.

Shen Zhaoqing felt as though she had been thrust into a program of absolute obedience, where any nascent thought of resistance was mercilessly crushed by this frigid ‘rule’ of power.

This was the Enforcement Hall’s revered guardian array: the Clear Law Heart Lock Array! It bound the heart, bound the breath, and bound all thoughts!

“Gu Chang’an, I ask you one last time: will you yield, or will you not?” Ning Jihe stood at the heart of the array, her voice resonating with the cold, majestic authority of a heavenly judgment.

A sharp, resonant clang echoed.

Her answer came in the form of a clear, resonant sword cry.

The Frostbright Sword was drawn with defiant force, a chilling sword light soaring skyward. Like a streak of startling crimson against a frigid night, it forcefully held back the slowly descending net of decree.

Gu Chang’an stood firm, her sword held aloft, robes fluttering around her. A frosty sword intent swirled, forming an absolute domain in her immediate vicinity.

“My sword is her rule.”