Chapter 344 - 43: First Meeting Dang Rushuang

Zhang Deming looked at her, his brow furrowed slightly. "Senior Sister, do you have business with me? If not, please leave. The Flying Spring Waterfall Tower is a humble place, too small to host someone of your stature."

Dang Rushuang paused for a moment. "Junior Brother, you’re really no fun at all!"

Seeing this, Zhang Deming, with no intention of flirting back, simply turned and walked away.

This time, Dang Rushuang was genuinely taken aback.

In all her years, she had never been treated this way by anyone from the younger generation. It was a first—especially since she had been the one to initiate the flirtation!

"Aren’t you afraid I might ’accidentally’ say something? That a visit to the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower was so enchanting I can’t get it out of my head? It would certainly attract quite a few of our fellow disciples, wouldn’t it?"

The words from behind made Zhang Deming pause. He then said, "In that case, I’d have no choice but to post the recording from today’s Array Screen on the Sect-wide mission Light Screen."

"Then, I’ll go have a little talk with Sect Leader Dang and ask him what the punishment for spreading rumors in the Sect is."

As he finished speaking, Zhang Deming even brandished the Array Card in his hand.

Dang Rushuang froze, her expression souring. ’So this is what it feels like to be schemed against?’

’No wonder all those junior brothers seemed so foolish over the years!’

’She used to think their foolishness was cute, that it was all great fun. But now, it seemed being the one on the receiving end wasn’t cute at all!’

Zhang Deming paused, turned to look at Dang Rushuang seriously, and said, "Believe me, if I were to go to Sect Leader Dang with solid evidence, it wouldn’t be hard to have you sent to Wanghui Peak for the next eight to ten years."

With that, Zhang Deming turned and left without a backward glance.

"You..."

For a moment, Dang Rushuang stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

Seeing that Zhang Deming was about to step into the Array, she moved to follow, but he, without turning his head, immediately raised the Array Card in his hand again.

Dang Rushuang stopped in her tracks and quickly called out, "My Old Ancestor sent me with a message for you and the three Peak Masters! Regarding the previous order, would it be possible to request several at once?"

Zhang Deming replied, "You can ask Peak Master Yuee about that."

He paused, then, as if still not feeling assured, offered a final piece of advice. "Senior Sister, with your status and your looks, you’re in a high enough league to play these games within the Sect."

"It’s not necessarily a bad thing. As long as you don’t go too far, people might even find it endearing."

"But don’t try it on me. Seriously."

"After all, I’m the one who raised Juan’er—yes, that would be your Junior Sister Ling’er—from the time she was little."

"And you... didn’t that girl Juan’er teach you many of your tricks? Including this untouchable goddess act?"

Without waiting for a reply, Zhang Deming stepped into the Array and vanished completely.

Dang Rushuang remained where she was, conflicted for a long while, but ultimately didn’t dare to press any further.

A woman of her standing might not have known his exact circumstances, but she was well aware of the high regard her Old Ancestor held him in. That wasn’t the kind of respect one could gain by being a mere freeloader.

Originally, her Old Ancestor had intended to send someone else on this errand. But she had chanced upon the opportunity and wanted to see for herself this person she had heard about for so many years.

So she had volunteered for the task. Before she left, her Old Ancestor had specifically warned her: her usual antics were not to be repeated at the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower.

For years, her Old Ancestor had watched her playful games—which never quite crossed the line into actual trouble—and had never said a word.

A direct warning like this was an absolute first.

This alone forced her to consider the truth behind Zhang Deming’s earlier threat.

’If I really get sent to Wanghui Peak for three or five years just for a bit of fun, that would be a terrible bargain.’

She gazed in the direction Zhang Deming had disappeared, a profound interest kindling in her eyes.

Over the years, countless disciples had tried to catch her eye, and she had seen nearly every trick in the book.

But in the end, she had manipulated them all into fighting amongst themselves in a jealous rage, and none of them ever came out ahead.

But someone so direct, someone who avoided her like the plague? That was truly a first.

And she could tell it was genuine aversion, not some tactic of playing hard to get.

"It seems Junior Sister Ling’er’s taste in men is as good as ever," she mused. "But he’s so interesting... I really want to tease him. Oh, what to do?"

Musing to herself, Dang Rushuang rose and departed.

···

Back in his pavilion, Zhang Deming watched Dang Rushuang leave and let out a long sigh of relief.

Without leveraging his connections to the Peak Masters, Dang Rushuang was a complete minefield for him—the untouchable kind.

One wrong move and his peaceful, lazy life would be over.

She wasn’t like his own little brat, who knew how to look out for him and would quietly handle any trouble that came his way.

If he got entangled with this woman, the Flying Spring Waterfall Tower would become a hub of activity. The constant drama on Celestial Spirit Peak over the years was the best proof of that.

So, the woman was beautiful, but as far as Zhang Deming was concerned, she was a landmine.

As for the message she had delivered, Zhang Deming wasn’t particularly concerned.

They had obviously heard about the Tier Three Mastery Bead, and the few who had tested it before were getting greedy.

But as he’d said, that was a matter for Yuee Mengsheng and the others to handle. They had surely dealt with plenty of similar requests before.

Thanks to Dang Rushuang’s disturbance, Zhang Deming’s leisurely mood had vanished.

He decided to just head back inside to the Cultivation Room and start crafting Spirit Nurturing Beads. It couldn’t hurt to build up a stockpile for the future development of the Business Alliance.

···

「Several days passed in a flash.」

This day, after completing his daily training regimen early in the morning, Zhang Deming arrived in the Cyan Wood Secret Realm.