Amidst The Clouds

Chapter 04: Punishment

The once tranquil bamboo forest is now filled with sounds of gasps of disbelief and wrath as it is reduced to quiet stares awaiting the full story. Snow fell gracefully on anything they could land on and waited for itself to melt into a puddle of water.

Lan Wangxue took a box out of his long sleeves and it opened with a click. A jade bottle was seen laying on the box before he took it out and gave it to Lan Qiren.

Lan Qiren looked into the youth's eyes and found the answer he was looking for. 'So, he knew all along.' With that single thought, he took the bottle and uncapped it.

Silence once again wrapped itself as Lan Qiren sniffed the content of the item in the bottle before he threw it with wrath in his strength. His anger caused it to break into pieces.

"T-this is sapphire poison!" more gasps were once again heard throughout the facility

Lan Xichen's hand shook in shock as he recalled the effect of the poison. Sapphire poison; is a type of poison that is mixed with three different ingredients that were used to treat heat exhaustion and one type of poison. The effect caused the consumer to feel cold before they died from coldness, the symptoms were feeling oddly cold even in the heat of summer and the most noticeable was that frost bites will start to form on the fingertip and finally to the neck.

"Then..." Lan Xichen suddenly has an absurd idea

However, it seemed the rest of the family was thinking of the same thing and it was quickly identified when Lan Wangxue started to speak.

"Sapphire poison is known for being made in the south. This is where your family is from right, elder Lan Yang?"

Lan Yang's shoulders were shaking from anger and shock and thought of various scenarios as to why his plan had failed. The young man in front of him should have already died due to the poison!

Qingheng-jun stepped up from the side, and his son and his younger brother parted for him to stand in front of the said elder. His glare was icy cold, but it wasn't as cold as Lan Wangxue, no matter how he wanted to imitate it.

"Elder Lan Yang is now stripped from his position. His grandchildren will be punished with thirty-three whips and have their name removed from the Jade Stone." His voice came out more like an order from a Sect Leader

Every elder present bowed their head whilst knowing in their heart that their Sect Leader will once again meddle in the cultivation world. However, this left one of their interests unanswered but they didn't have the guts to speak out as they knew it was their decision when the first elders persuaded them.

Lan Wangxue bowed before he saw his uncle looking at him from the corner of his eyes whilst his siblings were looking at him for guidance. He stood up properly after seeing his uncle have stood up, before walking calmly toward his siblings.

"Wangji, give me your hand." His whisper was heard as the tiny hand extended

"Meet me in the conference room later. Thank you for your presence today." Qingheng-jun didn't forget to bow to the elders who all rode on their swords and goes to their separate residences.

Qingheng-jun sighed through his mouth before he confronted his sons crowding their elders. The said youth kneeled to their height and was adjusting to the band around Lan Wangji's arms and only nodded from time to time when Lan Xichen said something.

"Xiong Zhang,"

he turned his attention to his younger brother, "What is it, A-Ren?"

Lan Qiren frowned when he saw the look in his brother's eyes. "We will talk about it after the conference."