Translator: Scrya
Editor: Faith
Xiaodong wasn’t actually worried about this.
If not for Eldest Senior Brother bringing it up, he would have forgotten all about it.
As to whether Senior Sister would cause trouble… Xiaodong expressed that with Senior Brother in hand, the world was his to have… Heheh. In any case, on the land of Returnflow Mountain, there was nothing that Eldest Senior Brother could not do. Senior Sister Linglong might be very fierce and have incredibly tough fists, but as long as Eldest Senior Brother were to step in, Senior Sister would be unable to do anything.
Senior Sister successfully stepping out of seclusion was a good occasion.
Jiang Fan even told Eldest Senior Brother to take out a jar of Master’s wine again to celebrate.
Xiaodong felt that Senior Brother Jiang was simply finding an excuse to drink Master’s wine.
No one knew if Master actually kept a record of how many wine jars he had. Previously, using the opportunity of his birthday celebration, Jiang Fan had already pushed Eldest Senior Brother to take one jar out. This time, he said he wanted to drink again because Senior Sister had stepped out of seclusion.
Xiaodong was firstly still young, so no one would let him taste the wine. Secondly, he was worried. If they were to keep taking out wine jars like this, as the number continued to grow, Master would definitely notice. When that time came, if Master were to get angry, wouldn’t Eldest Senior Brother take the fall?
Jiang Fan wasn’t the only one urging him on, as even Ning Yu chimed in, “That’s right. We should have one good drinking session. We rarely get the chance to taste the wine that Spiritual Master Li personally ferments. It’s great that I get to satisfy my craving this time.”
Craving for wine?
Xiaodong did not realize that Ning Yu was also an alcoholic.
Jiang Fan shot him a glance. “You should leave yourself out of this. Aren’t you afraid that people will find out about your ‘down in one cup’ title?”
Down in one cup?
Xiaodong covered his mouth and giggled to himself. The title was rather straightforward, and people would immediately understand the limit of his alcohol intake just by hearing it.
Unexpectedly, Mo Chen happily agreed without hesitation. “Sure. Senior Sister had a successful seclusion, so we should indeed have a celebration.”
Glancing at Xiaodong, Mo Chen added, “I recall that Master fermented some honey wine when he took in some wild bees. It shouldn’t be a problem for Brother Ning and Little Junior Brother to have a little taste.”
Since it was called honey wine, it should be sweet, right?
As the group were heartily chatting, the way back felt much shorter.
When Xiaodong raised his head, he could already see the tip of the stone tower. The moment they reached this place, Xiaodong could not help but recall the incident from that day.
When Xiaodong’s feet paused for a moment, Mo Chen quickly nudged him without leaving any obvious traces, and they continued forward. When they were still a short distance away, they saw an outer sect disciple running to them as if he was flying. When the disciple saw them, he loudly shouted, “Eldest Senior Brother, Master has returned!”
Master had returned?
Now this was truly a coincidence.
Other than Mo Chen, who was still rather calm, the rest all had smiles on their faces. Linglong hurriedly stepped forward, tugged at that disciple and asked, “Did Master really return? When did he come back? Where is Master now?”
“He’s at the room behind the main hall right now. Master told me to find all of you. Eldest Senior Brother, you all should hurry back.”
Xiaodong was then pulled by Eldest Senior Brother’s hand, and it felt as if his feet were swept off the ground. He did not recall how they crossed the remaining distance. It was as if, in a blink of an eye, they were already standing in front of the main hall.
Li Fulin was draped in a rather old blue-rimmed robe as he stood outside the door of the main hall and looked at them with a smile.
“Yo, you lot are back? And all of you are together too.”
With Mo Chen taking the lead, the disciples bowed to Master in unison. Li Fulin irritatedly waved his hand and said with a smile, “Enough, enough. Stop with all the kneeling and bowing, it’s not like there are any outsiders here.”
The disciples straightened Ning Yu stepped forward to give another long bow, “Greetings to Spiritual Master Li.”
“You’re here too?” Li Fulin asked, “When did you arrive? Is your master doing well? What kind of mess is he getting himself into this time?”
“My master is recently pondering over a talisman manual with Spiritual Master Bai. When this disciple arrived, Master even requested me to invite Spiritual Master Li over to Heavenly Secrets Mountain if you’re free. My master misses you.”
“Alright, I will go over when I have the time.”
Master then turned around and asked Mo Chen, “Did anything happen on the mountain in the past few days? Was your junior sister’s seclusion successful?”
As the master and disciple began to talk about internal sect affairs, Ning Yu understandably found an excuse to step away.
Li Fulin waved his hand at the rest of his disciples. “You lot go get some rest first. We will talk later.”
Seeing Eldest Senior Brother enter the room with Master, Jiang Fan said, “Master came back rather early. It’s unfortunate that we don’t get to drink anymore.”
Though regret could be heard in his words, Jiang Fan’s face was filled with smiles. Master returning safely was a happy occasion. Ever since the incident from before, and with Chen Jingzhi’s departure, even if everyone on the mountain did not say it outright, their hearts were all filled with worries. Without Master present, it felt as if they had lost their pillar of support.
Now that Master had returned, everyone in sight clearly looked more spirited. Their expressions were different than they had the past few months.
Thinking about the unfated delicious wine, Jiang Fan pouted a little regretfully as he patted Xiaodong’s shoulder. “Now that Master returned, he will likely interrogate us about our training tomorrow. You don’t have to worry since you have improved a lot recently. Haah, as for me, I think it’s best that I head back to cram and straighten out all the things I comprehended recently.”
“Senior Brother usually does not laze around, so Master definitely will not reprimand you. What’s there to worry about?”
Jiang Fan scratched his head.
He indeed had never loafed about.
However, there are certain things that could not be done well by just putting in the effort. Jiang Fan felt like he was bad with words. Even if he was usually sure about things, he would not be able to recall them the moment Master asked about them, and he would give vague answers. In any case, it was all because of his shaky foundation, and his sword techniques and heart cultivation not being up to par.
After sending Jiang Fan off, Xiaodong turned to look at the direction of the main hall.
He wondered just what Master and Eldest Senior Brother were talking about right now?
He was still young and had yet to learn anything practical. Even if he wanted to shoulder Master’s worries and help Senior Brother, he could not do it.
The moment he thought this, he felt anxious.
Li Fulin pointed at the chair. “You should have a seat before we start.”
Mo Chen nodded and sat down. “Master, was your trip successful?”
Li Fulin replied with a “mn”. After a short while, he spoke up, “At the end of last month, together with Spiritual Master Yanying and Spiritual Master Chang Ye, we intercepted a group of demonic cultivators at Firmseed Mountain. Among them, there were a few who once participated in the previous incident at our Returnflow Mountain.”
“Who is behind this incident?”
Li Fulin shook his head slightly. “I didn’t get an answer to that. However, one confessed about another matter.”
Seeing Master’s expression, this matter should be something incredibly important.
“He said that the new tomb at the back of Returnflow Mountain did not have any bones. It was an empty grave.”
Mo Chen was startled. “How could that be?”
Back then, when Senior Yun Lie passed away from illness on Returnflow Mountain, there had been people ofReturnflow Mountain who witnessed him being buried. How could it possibly be an empty grave?
“That person wasn’t the only one who said that.” Li Fulin did not believe it at first, but those people confessed about everything else in detail, and there wasn’t any reason for them to lie about this. And after their capture, they hadn’t had any chance to come up with such an elaborate lie.
The master and disciple exchanged glances.
Then, where did the problem lie?
Where did the corpse that should be in the tomb go?
Previously, they thought that the corpse was taken away by those demonic cultivators, but looking at things now, it might not be the case. This could only mean that before that incident, that place was already an empty grave.