Complicated Circumstances
“I think we shook them off,” shared Ximen Buxing, starting to fan himself leisurely again. “I think we should name our trio. We could make a debut in the world of cultivation. I’m thinking, Lady-Killer Trio, Eight Grass Village’s Three Young Masters, The Ultimate Trio…”
Mu Yu was too busy catching his breath to rebuke Ximen Buxing – not that he would’ve wasted his breath on what was obviously a time wasting endeavour. Once he could talk, he asked, “Second Brother, why are you two here?”
“You think I want to be here? I came here to find you, god damn it! I’m asking First Brother to handle these menial tasks next time.”
“Just asking, sheesh, hot head. It’s not as if I wanted trouble at my door,” Mu Yu wanted to say. “First Brother is also here? How did you know I was at the village?”
“Are you playing stupid or actually stupid? First Brother explained everyone has their unique energy signal, especially us. He planted his metal energy on all of us, allowing him to sense our presence within a specific radius. He picked up on your energy signal a few days ago and told me to pick you up.”
Seeing Mu Yu pondering where and when Cheng Yan planted the metal energy on him prompted Lie Shang to clarify, “In Shadow Splitter Sword.”
Mu Yu: Hmm, that must be how he found me in the spider freak’s cave back then.
“Where is First Brother now?”
Ximen Buxing chimed in. “We came to conduct an investigation on the elemental demons. Therefore, we have been nearby for over a month. You were just a bonus discovery. There’s something going on near Mist City. They’ve been frequenting it too many times for comfort. Cheng Yan has gone on ahead to probe into it, while we came to fetch you. Lie Shang recognised your Celestial Sword Nine Catalysts swordplay when you blitzed the fiends.”
“How do you know Celestial Sword Nine Catalysts…?”
“I know much more than you think. I even know about your wood-control ability,” Ximen Buxing answered with a wink.
Mu Yu didn’t want to pursue the topic any further since there was no telling when Ximen Buxing was serious or just trying to take someone’s brain for a ride. He broached another topic apologetically. “Second Brother, Shifu has left Moyun Mountains. He mentioned he has gone to see Xie Bulao to stop the fiend’s tyranny…”
“What is your shifu looking for my shifu for at his current level?” asked Ximen Buxing.
“Xie Bulao is your shifu? What?”
“It can’t be good news if venerated Sword Shadow Dust Gale goes searching for Xie Bulao. You do know my shifu hates nobody more than your shifu? When Shifu took me in, he made me swear I would chop off a finger before killing Sword Shadow Dust Gale or his disciples if I ever bumped into them. If I failed to do so, I would lose my cultivation and die.”
“You swore an oath?”
“Yeah.”
“So?” Mu Yu quickly stole a glimpse of Lie Shang.
“’So’ what?” What does his grudge have to do with me?”
“You swore an oath!”
“I have broken as many oaths as I have sworn, hehe. I hereby swear all pretty maidens in the world of cultivation and I am not related in any capacity. If I told any falsehoods, lightning will strike me down where I stand.”
Boom! Thunder rumbled but never left the clouds.
“See, the lightning won’t even come down.”
“A man’s oaths cannot bind, so he can live however he chooses for there are no consequences” – Ximen Buxing.
“We need to go find Shifu as soon as possible, then,” asserted Mu Yu.
“There’s no need to rush. Xie Bulao and the fiend race’s Azure Dragon are friends. They’re probably going to negotiate.”
“Negotiate what?”
Ximen Buxing folded his fan and explained as if he was reciting poetry, “Third Heaven Palace shall not sit by and watch now that the fiends have resurfaced. The fact that they haven’t given other sects the order to stop the fiends proves that Third Heaven Palace tacitly acknowledges their resurgence. The elemental demons are growing bolder with their raids, attacking cities beyond Mist City. Declaring war on the fiends in this situation is unwise.”
“In addition, the fiend king didn’t kill anyone since coming here. If nobody sent him a warning, he wouldn’t play so nicely,” added Lie Shang.
“As you’ve been tailing the elemental demons, what information do you have on them?” Mu Yu queried.
Lie Shang and Ximen Buxing exchanged eye contact. Both shook their heads. Lie Shang reported, “I located the fire demons’ den; however, all I saw was them bouncing around in the lava. The sentries outside were but fodder. The powerful ones were nowhere to be seen.
“Cheng Yan found out the metal demons are building a teleportation formation to make a trip to Second Heaven. He was going to sneak through to search for you at Second Heaven. Thankfully, you escaped on your own, saving us trouble.”
Lie Shang scolded Mu Yu with his gaze. Mu Yu dryly chuckled, apologetic and grateful they cared about him.
Second Heaven’s spiritual qi levels provided an ideal environment for the elemental demons to recover their powers. That was grim news.
“What’s the name of the girl with the fiends? We need to inform her she’s one of us,” mentioned Lie Shang.
Mu Yu recounted the events at Second Heaven. Lie Shang surprisingly didn’t chide Mu Yu for being nosy. “You’ve finally done something right for once. Bailing her out was the right call.”
Ximen Buxing wanted to check out the spiritual qi core Mu Yu mentioned until Mu Yu told him he was welcome to kill himself trying to cross the barrier.
“Come with us now and quit running around. We need to meet up with First Brother and then make our way to Southern Twenty-Five Kilometres Garden,” stated Lie Shang.
“Before that, Second Brother, you need to find Shifu as soon as you can. Don’t let him return to Moyun Mountains. I’m going to drop into Pill Cauldron Sect because Ku Mu can help shifu recover his cultivation. We can’t return to Moyun Mountains at our current cultivation to help him if he returns.”
“You better keep your wits about you, then. You’re not welcome there anymore. We’ll reach out to Xie Bulao in the meantime.”
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