Record of the Missing Sect Master Chapter 24

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Although that hand had been pressed down, the thumb took the opportunity to caress his wrist for a bit, with a slight ambiguous feeling to it. Wenren Heng couldn't suppress the movement of his Adam's apple and wanted to ask, “You certainly have a lot of guts; aren't you afraid I'll actually do something to you,” but started having second thoughts when he remembered that the outside was full of people. He was also unable to hit his Junior Brother's acupoints, so he couldn't easily swallow the other person down.

He knew that his Junior Brother had definitely calculated all this, and he immediately felt like both fuming and laughing.

The inside of the carriage was dark, and both of their silhouettes were fuzzy and indistinct. Ye You made a slight approach, breathing as if he wanted to wind the two of them together.

Wenren Heng resisted the urge grab the other ruthlessly into his embrace and instead let go of the other's hand. Patting the other's shoulder, he let out a soft sigh.

When Ye You heard his Senior Brother sigh, he put on the pretense of a smile, only it didn't seem as if he was putting his heart into the act. And he didn't know why, but he suddenly felt a somewhat penetrating heaviness.

His movements stopped.

“You're truly hard to please. I treat you well, yet you still suspect me. Do you still have a conscience?” Wenren Heng said helplessly. After a while of silence, he told him a truth, “I know you've always suspected that I have some ulterior motives. Actually, I've concealed one thing from you. When you've fully recovered your memories, then you'll naturally understand everything from beginning to end. We still don't know what's wrong with your internal energy, so don't blindly go around tormenting me.”

Ye You asked, “It's not convenient to say?”

“You've known from the start. Just slowly think it over, and you'll understand. It's all related to the things that's been happening recently,” Wenren Heng said, “Didn't you say you were interested in the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison? First be obedient for a few days and see what exactly that person is planning on doing. The other things we can talk about later.”

Ye You was silent for a moment. He had been persuaded.

He then also said something that was in his heart, “Senior Brother, do you know my true identity?”

Wenren Heng said, “I know it, but I don't want to tell you.”

Ye You said, “Why?”

Wenren Heng let out another sigh. This time his tone was also like the one from before, looking pained, but also seeming as if he didn't care all that much. He quietly said, “When Master was alive, he taught us to always stick to the proper path and not to go astray. Before he left, he told me to take care of you properly, but I not only lost you but also witnessed you walking on a crooked path. These past few years, Senior Brother has always blamed himself.”

Ye You turned a deaf ear. “Am I part of the Demonic Sect?”

Wenren Heng said, “In any case, you aren't part of the righteous faction. While you still have amnesia, stay by my side. Once you've fully recovered, if you still want to return, Senior Brother won't stop you.”

In reality, he didn't need to think over any of this. His Junior Brother had single-handedly created the Demonic Sect, so this person would definitely return to it. Even if he tried stopping the other, it would be of no use.

Ye You thought for a bit and reluctantly agreed.

Wenren Heng asked, “If I really had some sort of designs on you, what were you planning on doing?”

Ye You innocently replied, “I haven't thought of it yet.”

There was no way he hadn't thought of it yet. Wenren Heng understood him too well. He would've coincidentally “awakened” saying that it had been a misunderstanding, and he had done everything in a half-asleep daze. But if Wenren Heng truly tried something, he'd go through all the words previously said between them and, when the time came, might even put some distance between them.

Wenren Heng truly didn't know if, in this person's hand, the other trusted him or not and said, “Let's sleep.”

Ye You listened obediently and looked for a place to lean against, closing his eyes.

Seeing the other back off, Wenren Heng let out an internal breath of relief, feeling as if the extra warmth in his body had not yet dissipated. If after his Junior Brother regained his memories and still dared to tease him like this, he felt as if he'd definitely swallow the other up. But unfortunately when this person remembered everything, he's afraid that the other would return to that aloof and untouchable, annoying and frustrating Sect Master of the Demonic Sect.

Before the sky turned bright, everyone had already woken up and continued anxiously hurrying along the road. They then quickly discovered that their worries weren't unfounded because the map gradually abandoned the flat, open official roads, purposely going along small, winding and twisting roads, sometimes even having to climb up a hill. All of which, the carriage couldn't traverse, so they had to go on foot.

Li Shao had always been pampered and spoiled, so how could he possibly endure all this. But since he was afraid of missing Sect Master Ye, he managed to push on in the face of adversity for four hours[1] before giving up. He could only tearfully call it quits when advised by those pack of scoundrels. Besides, none of them were at all interested in that rare book.

Only Qin Yuemian remained.

No matter how one looked at it, Sir Xiao was someone he had brought to Wenren Heng, so he was much more meticulous towards this matter. As these series of events had started happening only after Sir Xiao appeared, and he didn't know if the two had become allies, the only thing he could do was remain to see.

Those pack of scoundrels had no idea about the truth and thought that he was only here to play around. With heartfelt feelings, they held his hand and told him to take a good look at this play and, in the future, to tell them the whole thing from beginning to end. Li Shao also instructed that if he was to see Sect Master Ye to ask the other how the Demonic Sect accepted new members.

Qin Yuemian mocked good-naturedly, “All right. Now, buzz off.”

Thereupon, that crowd of young masters buzzed off. The remaining people painfully continued struggling. Complaints were heard all around, especially when they huffed and puffed up a particularly difficult-to-climb hill and discovered, upon looking back, that they only had to follow along the official road and turn at the right moment to reach the same place. With anger as fuel, they climbed to the top in a flash.

“Fuck, this is on purpose, right! Definitely on purpose to mess with people!”

“This elder can't endure it anymore, and it's still just the first piece of the map! There's still five pieces after! Five pieces!”

“I almost can't endure it either. Is that old fellow using this kind of thing to test our sincerity?”

“No, I think he's just bored and looking for a fight!”

“You're right! We owe him a beating!”

Everyone swore up a storm and thought countless times about pulling up their sleeves and beating it, refusing to play that old fellow's game any longer. But then they were also afraid that there truly was that rare book, so the only thing they could do was grind their teeth and persist. And, on the way, whenever they found a tendency to go back whence they came, their heart felt suspended with worry, and they could only nervously force themselves slowly forward.

Two days passed in this way, and everyone was even more emotionally and physically exhausted. The only comfort they had was that they were moving forward overall, and they haven't been turned back to the beginning.

Wenren Heng gave his Junior Brother a glance. “How do you feel? If you're not feeling well, remember to tell me.”

Ye You said, “I'm all right.”

Wenren Heng unraveled the bandages on his forehead to investigate and, discovering that there was a layer of sweat, wiped it for him before asking, “Are there any near your injuries?”

Ye You replied with a simple, “No,” and stood there, unmoving, not at all disgusted with the other's actions.

Wenren Heng thought that, after that night, this Junior Brother of his had become a bit more well-behaved, though he didn't know if the other had properly listened to what he said. He felt a slight satisfaction and carefully rearranged his Junior Brother's bandages.

These intimate actions made both those Elders and Lady Wei see red, the former wanting to kill Wenren Heng dead, and the latter feeling extremely wronged. Since she was young, Lady Wei had been loved dearly by those around her, and she had never before faced this kind of hardship. Seeing Wenren Heng caring so deeply for someone else, she felt even more wronged for a time, almost crying out. “Dad…”

Manor Lord Wei said, “Listen to me. Go home first, don't stay to be tormented.”

Lady Wei said, “I won't!”

The moment her voice dropped, she heard the person from “Moon's Shadow” leading the group say that they now had to cross a gutter. She couldn't help lifting her head and happened to see Wenren Heng holding his Junior Brother, not looking back while stepping over the water. This time, she completely couldn't endure it, and her tears came flowing out. In the end, it was Manor Lord Wei who made the excuse that she had been frightened by insects to gloss it over.

In the morning of the sixth day, they finally finished going through the first piece of the map.

The Alliance Leader sized up everyone's conditions and also checked their current position, discovering that if they walked a bit more, they'd have reached Huayang City[2]. He thereupon discussed for a while with Manor Lord Wei and the others and decided to first leave a mark before going to Huayang City to rest and reorganize. The best thing they could do was think of countermeasures, as they couldn't always be at that person's mercy.

When they heard this, those people of Jianghu, who had previously been lying on the ground and crying out, stopped shouting and, with quivering slowness, stood up. They worried that this crowd of bosses would privately piece the map together. Although they trusted some of the people in this group who had high moral standing, they still couldn't feel at ease with the rest.

The Alliance Leader then was forced to placate everyone and promise that they definitely wouldn't secretly piece the map together.

Manor Lord Wei said, “I can't keep watching this. Let's first go to Huayang City, find a local to look at the second piece of this map, and draw out a route. Then we can cut out all the roads we don't need to use and pick out an easy road to go directly to the destination, saving us the trouble of going such a roundabout way.”

Everyone immediately thought it was a good idea and happily got ready to set out, deciding to go to Huayang City to take a good bath and have a good meal.

Even before they entered the city, at the gates, they saw a team of people in welcome, lead by a young sir wearing a blue robe, around twenty-four to twenty-five, with pretty and delicate features, carrying a folding fan in hand, with a dense scholarly air.

Manor Lord Wei laughed. “Your news travel very fast.”

The youth also laughed and said, “Rumors have abounded these past few days. There's been such a ruckus that it's become known by everyone. Even not wanting to know wouldn't work. This nephew heard some people a few days ago say that they saw all of you, and that you seemed to be heading in this direction. This nephew then thought that he'd wait at the city gates to see, and as it happens, Uncle really did come.”

He walked up to Manor Lord Wei and politely greeted the crowd of elders, inviting them to stay at the Yang[3] family residence.

A few people in the crowd couldn't help but mutter, “Ah, it's Sir Yang…”

“Yes, it's Sir Yang.”

Ye You felt like these voices carried with it many twists and turns, with some slightly unspoken and unclear implications. Out of habit, he looked in the direction of this Senior Brother of his.

Wenren Heng slowed his pace, letting a distance form between him and the person in front, before saying, “At that time, when that monster murdered three influential families, the only one who lived was this one child. He was rescued by Manor Lord Wei and his men from a pile of corpses and was raised until adulthood. Later, Manor Lord Wei helped him rebuild the Yang family and return to Huayang City. Although the Yang family isn't comparable to how it was before, in the end, this one sprout still remains…”

As he spoke, he noted that his Junior Brother didn't seem to be listening and followed the other's line of sight to the engraving of a flower on the city gates, next to the words “Huayang City”. He patiently explained, “That's the Liuzhu flower[4]. The people of Huayang City all really like it. Right now it seems to be its flowering season, so you can go see it. It's quite beautiful.”

Ye You slowly averted his eyes and gave a sound in acknowledgment. He followed for two more steps before suddenly asking, “Sir Yang's entire family was slaughtered by that monster, so there must be a huge debt of blood between them. When the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison resurfaced in Jianghu, why didn't he hurry to the Wang family residence?”

“Since he received a serious injury during that time, his arterial flow is not good, so he never studied martial arts,” Wenren Heng said, “But seeing how he waited for us at the city gates, he must've been following this matter very closely this whole time.”

The Yang family residence was destroyed twenty years ago. The newly built residence was located on the east side of the city. Although the place wasn't as big as it was in the past, it still had ample space left over even after situating the group of elders and Shuangji Sect's Sect Master. Right now, it was precisely midday, and Sir Yang had already long sent people back to prepare food. The moment they stepped into the residence, the meal was also coincidentally almost about ready.

Sir Yang lead them into the anteroom and instructed his people to bring tea. Only then did he put away his smiling expression and turned to Manor Lord Wei. “Uncle, the matter with the Lantern-Extinguishing Poison hasn't been uncovered yet?”

Manor Lord Wei didn't conceal it from him. “There's a possibility that it's the same person as the one who hid Pursued Until Scattered.”

Sir Yang had a somewhat faraway look in his eyes and, in a quiet voice, said, “Pursued Until Scattered… If it's real, I really want to see it at least once.”

At that time, because of this book, that monster murdered his entire family in such a deranged way. To this day, he had never forgotten that devastation.

These people all knew about that old affair, so not a single person spoke. Manor Lord Wei had raised the other to adulthood, and at the core, they could at least be considered almost father and son, so he advised, “We saw that monster let out his last breath with our own eyes, so this matter is perhaps not even related to him. But regardless, in the end, I'll tell you everything that happens. Your body isn't well, so don't follow us, rushing around all over the place.”

“I understand.” Sir Yang paused and then asked, “I heard that it apparently isn't going very smoothly?”

That one sentence made everyone remember some unpleasant memories, with distress in their hearts.

Manor Lord Wei said, “Don't get me started. That person is too good at tormenting people.”

Sir Yang said, “How?”

Manor Lord Wei then simply outlined for him what had happened. Hearing all that, Sir Yang was dumbfounded, inwardly thinking of his own body's condition. If he really followed along, then he definitely wouldn't have been able to endure it. He asked, “Just now I saw that Xiao Rou didn't seem very cheerful, even refusing to eat. Was it because she's tired?”

“Exactly,” Manor Lord Wei said helplessly, “I already advised her to return home, but she insisted otherwise. Let her stay here at your residence for a few days.”

Sir Yang had grown up in the Wei family, and he was as close as siblings to the Wei family children, so he naturally agreed. Manor Lord Wei then remembered the matter about the map and told him to find a local to take a look. Sir Yang nodded in response and immediately instructed the steward to look for someone.

Following their days hurrying along the road, everyone was somewhat tired, so after the meal, following the Yang family servants' directions, they each went to their individual rooms to rest. Wenren Heng gave his Junior Brother a glance. He didn't know if it was just his imagination, but his Junior Brother's spirits did not seem to be very high. His whole person seemed to be loose and listless, not even feeling inclined to respond to others.

The two entered their room. Without even unraveling the bandages on his face, Ye You took off his outer clothes, cleaned himself up very simply, and went to bed without so much as a by-your-leave.

Wenren Heng walked to the side of the bed and sat down. “What is it?”

“I'm a little tired,” Ye You said, not knowing why he suddenly felt somewhat stuffy, which even now hadn't been relieved. But it wasn't yet at a level that he couldn't endure, so he said, “Maybe it's because of the gloomy weather that I'm so sleepy.”

Wenren Heng swept his eyes over to look outside. It really was overcast today.

He unraveled the bandages to look at his Junior Brother's complexion while also probing for his internal energy, discovering that it was the same as it had always been, and only then did he manage to push down his sliver of worry, encouraging his Junior Brother to get a good rest.

Ye You asked without thought, “You're not going to sleep?”

Wenren Heng looked at his Junior Brother lying on the bed delivering an invitation, and although he knew that the other didn't have such intentions, he still didn't have the ability to resist such temptation. He first went outside to issue orders to his subordinates to confirm the whereabouts of Miracle Doctor Ji's disciple before returning to lie down next to his Junior Brother. With the light scent of herbs in the air, he slowly fell asleep.

In contrast to their warm comfort, the atmosphere over at the Wei family's side was not very good.

Manor Lord Wei and the Alliance Leader had left to discuss business. Wei Jiangyue looked at his sister who had suddenly lost a bit of weight and like his father, also had thoughts of wanting her to stay behind and rest. At the dinner table, Sir Yang had seen the warm expression that Wenren Heng had towards his Junior Brother and so had also come over after dinner ended. He had just stepped inside when he saw Wei Jiangrou asking her second brother how they could possibly make that Junior Brother go away.

Wei Jiangyue said, in a low voice, “So noisy.”

Choked with sobs, Wei Jiangrou said, “Isn't his health not good? Can't Dad think up a way to convince him not to follow?”

Wei Jiangyue said, “Do you think Dad can pay attention to everything?”

Wei Jiangrou said, “So he needs to think up a way.”

Wei Jiangyue wanted to scold her, but he was unable to speak such harsh words, so the only thing he could do was repeat that she was being too noisy.

Although he was the Wei family's young master, since young, he had followed by his dad's side, and from that influence, he was determined to be just like his dad, an independent, righteous martial hero who was respected by others. Thus, although he was somewhat conceited and arrogant, he also never dared use his own identity as a weapon to commit wrongdoing.

Looking at his little sister's pitiful expression, he calmed his tone and advised, “If you send him away, Wenren Heng will also go.”

Wei Jiangrou said, “That won't happen. Brother Heng has a piece of the map, so he can't go.”

Wei Jiangyue reminded, “He could just give the map piece away to someone else.”

Wei Jiangrou choked, thinking that it was very possible that Wenren Heng would do such a thing, and her tears immediately bubbled forth once again.

Wei Jiangyue and Sir Yang hastily went over to coax her, and meeting one another's eyes, they both wanted to laugh bitterly.

Manor Lord Wei had a total of eight sons from his legal wife and concubines, but it was only after praying to the gods that he got a daughter, not to mention it was even a daughter from his legal wife. Thus, the entire family spoiled her rotten. Over the years, although she wasn't raised to be arrogant and reckless, she had still been given everything she had ever wanted, so she had never experienced any grievances before.

And since time immemorial, this word “feelings” had always brought with it much suffering. Xiao Rou had been sheltered too well, so the the only thing she knew was that to like someone was to want to be together, not knowing that Wenren Heng's heart wasn't hers at all. As such, no matter how beautiful or outstanding she was, they weren't a good match for one another.

Sir Yang said, “Recently, a famous theatrical troupe has come to the city. Let's go, Brother will take you to see a play.”

While crying, Wei Jiangrou said, “I won't go. I just want to make that Ah-Xiao go away. Why is it that he's only just returned and Brother Heng is already so good to him? What's wrong with me?”

Wei Jiangyue inhaled a deep breath and didn't speak. Sir Yang had more patience than him and had brought over a chair to sit, carefully trying to talk some sense into her, eventually managing to stop this little sister's thoughts of trying to send the person away.

Wei Jiangrou sniffled. “Then… then do the both of you have any way to make time for me to be around Brother Heng? As long as we spend enough time together, Brother Heng will see my good points.”

Wei Jiangyue and Sir Yang had nothing to say, and they especially didn't want to refute her with, These past few years, every opportunity you've had to be alone together have all been expertly avoided by Wenren Heng without batting an eye. Judging from Wenren Heng's skill, no matter how many ways they thought up, that person would probably never fall for any of them.

Wei Jiangrou looked at them, letting out a sob. “Can… can you?”

Wei Jianyue was silent while Sir Yang continued trying to reason with her, tactfully telling her that Wenren Heng wouldn't come out.

Wei Jiangrou bit her lips, at a loss for a while. Finally she said, unresigned, “If we invite Ah-Xiao directly, will Brother Heng also come?”

This was actually a possibility.

The two were speechless.

The local Sir Yang found was an elderly man who had already lived here for some decades and so was extremely familiar with the surrounding areas of Huayang City. In the afternoon, he came to the large residence, and at that time, Wenren Heng and Ye You had already woken up. However, seeing that his Junior Brother was still apparently in low spirits, Wenren Heng originally planned to go by himself, but thinking it would otherwise be boring, Ye You ended up following along.

The Alliance Leader and the others had already arrived long ago. They gave the second piece of the map to the elderly man and relayed their reason for coming once more.

The elderly man nodded in understanding, and he drew while looking at the map. At first, there was a sense of everything going smoothly, but as time went on, he began hesitating.

The person who placed the book perhaps predicted that they would find someone to draw a out a route and so had picked a particularly tricky path where usually no one would ever go. The elderly man looked for a long while before sighing and shaking his head.

Through the sound of this sigh, the Alliance Leader and the others felt as if their hearts had been dragged into a swamp, with desires to struggle as much as they could, but simply sinking deeper into the waters the more they tried. Sir Yang said, “Uncle Liu, how is it?”

The elderly man pointed at a map showing all of Huayang City. “From the place they'd previously stopped, that map piece leads them first to Huayang City and then after they continue from there, they reach this place…” He pointed at a place outside the city and then continued with, “Although this is also within the boundaries of Huayang City, I've never been there. Alas, I can't detail it properly.”

The Alliance Leader's group turned to look at each other, and their expressions were all very funny.

They absolutely did not want to be tossed around in the same manner again, so they sent their best people from “Moon's Shadow” and “Heaven's Firmament” to scout out the route ahead, at least beyond the boundaries of Huayang City. After that, they'd try to find someone else to try and draw another route from the next directions. No matter how much was drawn, it'd still be better than going themselves to find the route.

Since this needed two or three days worth of time, the people scattered.

Wenren Heng looked at his Junior Brother. “Still tired?”

Ye You said, “I'm all right.”

Wenren Heng once again told him to say immediately if he was feeling unwell and, once he obediently nodded his head, brought him back to the room.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

On this day, Sir Yang saw that the weather was quite good, so he invited some of his fellow youths to go out and play, and Sir Xiao happened to be in the lineup.

Sir Yang said, “Those searching for a route are about to return, and everyone is on the verge of setting out again. Why not go out to play, with my assuming the honor of acting as the host.”

In actuality, it was him who had finally given in to his little sister's beseeching cries, and Wei Jiangyue had remembered that that father of his had mentioned introducing Sir Xiao to new people, so they decided that they might as well take this opportunity to call the person out.

The ones who were going on this trip were famous young sirs and young ladies with good-repute from Huayang City, some Junior Sect Masters who had come to the city with the troops, and even a few of the ones who had been drinking wine with Wei Jiangyue back at Fengchun House. The relationship between them were all quite good. Over the past few days, they had been concerned only with hurrying along the road and complaining, so they haven't had the opportunity to have a good chat.

Sir Yang said, “Second Brother Wei is also going to be there. If Sect Master Wenren happens to be free, then why not also come along?”

Wenren Heng looked at his Junior Brother. “Are you going?”

Ye You was not very interested, but he still asked, “Where?”

Sir Yang didn't wait for Wenren Heng to look over and took the initiative to say, “We're going outside the city. It's been the flowering season for the Liuzhu flower recently, and there's quite a few blossoming outside the city. There's even a valley filled with Liuzhu flowers; it's especially beautiful.”

Ye You was still hesitant, but Wenren Heng had some interest in participating. Recently, this Junior Brother of his had been quite listless, though even having a doctor come over to examine him had found no issues. If he went outside and walked around, maybe it'd be good for him.

Sir Yang observed the other's body language, and seeing that Sect Master Wenren wasn't against it, he hurriedly described the scenery with untold eloquence, eventually succeeding in arousing Sir Xiao's interest.

The party thereupon got on a carriage and unhurriedly went outside the city gates. When they reached a small road, the carriage stopped at the side, and everyone set off on the road on foot. Both sides of the small road were blossoming with white flowers, flowing together like pearls, following along the city for a vast stretch, winding to and fro, as beautiful as a dream.

Ye You asked, “Did someone grow these?”

Sir Yang said, “Not exactly. Us people of Huayang City all love the Liuzhu flower, so we'll occasionally scatter some flower seeds. Whether they grow or not is all up to the will of the heavens, so over time, it's become this vast stretch. In the valley up ahead, the Liuzhu flower has grown the best.”

Ye You followed them with slow steps, feeling as if the stuffy feeling of the past few days seemed to be vaguely spreading, pressing down on him so his entire chest felt sore. He swept his eyes over to see that his Senior Brother was currently speaking to Wei Jiangyue and that the circle of people in the surroundings were all looking quite happy, so he didn't have the heart to dampen their spirits. He instead tried to circulate his internal energy in an attempt to suppress the smothering pain he was feeling and, in this way, arrived at the valley without paying attention.

Everyone couldn't help but let out a sound of admiration. Ye You lifted his head, and the only thing he saw was that the entire valley was completely covered by the Liuzhu flower, so beautiful that it almost seemed like an illusion. It was a scenery that plainly warmed the heart and delighted the eyes. Unfortunately, it was at this time that his internal energy finished circulating, and the pain not only did not disperse but also increased in force, ferociously dashing outwards.

He felt an acute pain spreading throughout his limbs, and together attacked his heart. He couldn't help stepping back a few steps to lean against a tree, layers of cold sweat soaking him through.

Wei Jiangyue had intentionally pulled Wenren Heng into a conversation, wanting the others to have more chances to chat with Sir Xiao. Those Junior Sect Masters weren't idiots, so they naturally understood his intentions, and since Sir Xiao was Wenren Heng's Junior Brother, they were also interested in getting to know the other, so all of them went over.

But if Wenren Heng was that easily tricked, then he wouldn't be Wenren Heng. Especially in such a beautiful place as this, he naturally wanted to stand by his Junior Brother's side. Thus, with only a few sentences, he sent away Wei Jiangyue, ignored the Wei Jiangrou on the side with the tearful expression, and turned around to look for his Junior Brother.

He hadn't yet approached when he heard those people shouting, “Sir Xiao,” and feeling a sting in his heart from nowhere, he hastily ran over.

Ye You felt as if the surrounding sounds were all fuzzy and indistinct, like they had been separated with a layer of water. He faintly perceived a crowd of people circling in front of him and powerlessly waved his hand in an attempt to get them to back off slightly so that he could more easily breathe. But opening his mouth, he merely felt a sweetness in his throat before he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood without warning.

Wenren Heng had just walked over, and having witnessed this, his expression immediately changed. “Ah-Xiao!”

Ye Ye could no longer support himself, and he crumbled forward. Wenren Heng caught him and drew him rigidly into an embrace. Wei Jiangyue and the others also got a fright and quickly crowded over.

Wenren Heng probed his Junior Brother's internal energy, and feeling his entire palm covered with cold sweat, he didn't dare to transfer energy[5] to the other heedlessly, becoming increasingly anxious.

Ye You coughed a few times and, upon seeing that a Liuzhu flower by his side had been stained with drops of blood, thought it was truly a pity. But his train of thought was clear for only this one instant. In the next moment, he started feeling as if the color of that blood was boundless, spreading from the bottom of his eyes upwards, combining with the distant mountains full of Liuzhu flowers, hiding the skies and covering the earth, taking up his entire world. Afterwards, all of it together reversed and warped.

He finally closed his eyes.

Before he completely lost consciousness, he suddenly heard a familiar sound, and within its ordinary depths was a bit of a voluntarily disorganized air, as if it was something that had been repeated over a thousand times, resounding in one's mind, “Concentration, meditation, without anger, without passion, maintain inner peace and expel distractions, clear the mind and protect the thoughts[6]…”

He had the instinctive thought that these words were coming from his previous self, right before sinking gradually into the abyss of unconsciousness.

The Elders of the Demonic Sect were all in the vicinity.

Those who had gone to the city of Suzhou had learned from their mistakes. Fearing that these great leaders would sneak off and leave in secret, they thereupon agreed that even if it was only a housefly that had flown out of the Yang family residence, they would still send people over to keep watch. Thus, on this day, when Sir Yang brought a party of people outside, they had sent several people to follow. When those Elders saw that the Sect Master was among the party, they naturally also went.

Now, seeing Wenren Heng holding the Sect Master and hastily rushing over to the carriage, they felt their expressions change and ran over. “What happened?”

Wenren Heng originally didn't want to pay them any mind, but in an instant, he had differentiated Miao Wang's voice among them, and only then did he look more closely at them. Finding that it actually was the Demonic Sect's Elders, he immediately stopped and pulled the person over. Cleanly throwing away all his previous refined mannerisms, he shouted, “Quickly come examine him!”

At once, Miao Wang examined the Sect Master's condition and, feeling that there were no ailments other than the weak internal energy, couldn't help but furrow his brows. Seeing the bloodstain on the bandages next to the mouth, he suddenly thought of that third order from the brocade bag, and his hands immediately shook.

Wenren Heng asked, “How is he?”

Miao Wang didn't answer and instead turned around silently to look at those three people behind him. Elder Mei and the others looked at him face to face for one moment. Quickly recalling that matter, they all collectively startled in horror, so that their first response was to back away half a step, not wanting to do such a thing. Miao Wang also didn't want to do it and silently stared at them.

The four were in a deadlock and, as one, looked at the Sect Master. Just as they were about to reach the point of no return[7], they saw the Sect Master's eyelashes move and the other slowly opening his eyes. The four's expressions immediately eased, and they wiped their cold sweat, feeling as if they had just been on a trip to the underworld.

Wenren Heng didn't have the time to pay them any mind. Looking at his Junior Brother, he asked, “How do you feel?”

Ye You propped himself up. “Nothing's wrong.”

He examined himself for a moment, finding that his chest felt much lighter, as if all the stuffiness from the past few days had been expelled with that mouthful of blood.

Wenren Heng said, “Even though you spat out blood, there's nothing wrong?”

Ye You wanted to say that there truly was nothing wrong, but it was at this time that Sir Yang's party caught up to them, and the entire group looked at him with worry. Internally, he thought that he still inadvertently ended up dampening everyone's spirits. He then moved to stand up but was pushed back down by Wenren Heng.

Wenren Heng indicated that the others should continue playing, while carrying his Junior Brother, he prepared to return to the Yang family residence.

Ye You said, “Senior Brother, I can walk by myself.”

Wenren Heng didn't even lift an eyelid. “Obediently stay still.”

Ye You sized up his expression and said, “It was only that my chest was feeling somewhat stuffy a moment ago.”

Wenren Heng said, “Why didn't you say so?”

Ye You said, “I thought it was nothing.”

Wenren Heng wanted to give him a beating and, with an insincere smile, gave him a look. Ye You could guess that he had irritated his Senior Brother and obediently stopped moving, instead contemplating how he could remedy the situation. Seeing his Senior Brother's footsteps stop, he looked and saw the four people sneakily trying to follow them from behind.

Those Elders stopped, not knowing why it seemed as if Wenren Heng's gaze felt cold to the bone.

Wenren Heng said, “All of you come over.”

Those Elders blinked and mutually turned to look at each other. They internally pondered if this person had seen through their identities, wanting to make them scream, so that he can keep the Sect Master all to himself? Their hearts felt a burst of anger, and they immediately felt like pulling up their sleeves and fighting with this lecherous wastrel as if their lives depended on it, until they swept their eyes and saw the Sect Master carelessly lifting up a hand. With one wave of that hand, they immediately had a flash of realization, turned around, and ran off.

Wenren Heng, “…”

Wenren Heng silently looked at the person in his arms. Ye You's eyes were the picture of innocence, calmly looking back at him. Wenren Heng pushed down his anger and, lifting up the corners of his mouth, tried to ask as tenderly as possible, “Are you thinking that I've seen through that you and them are companions and so I wanted to capture them?”

Ye You didn't have his memories, and he didn't know what his situation used to be, so he really was thinking like this.

He put on an act of ignorance. “Hm?”

Wenren Heng said, “They really do know you, but I only wanted to ask if they knew what happened with your internal energy.”

Ye You looked in the direction where those people's shadows had long disappeared and, for the first time, felt somewhat uneasy. Rubbing his nose, he said, “…Next time then.”

Wenren Heng lowered his eyes to look at him. “Remember, I'm your Senior Brother, I'd never hurt you. Next time if you still suspect that I'd harm you, I'll throw you away and stop looking after you.”

Having heard the anger from this Senior Brother of his, Ye You had a clear view of things and said, “I understand.”

Wenren Heng made a sound in acknowledgement.

The scarred man had always been guarding the carriage. Seeing the Sect Master's silhouette wildly rushing over in this direction, he knew that something had happened so hastily drove the carriage over. He looked over Young Master Xiao's situation and felt a burst of alarm in his heart.

Wenren Heng told his subordinate to return to the Yang family residence and, carrying the other, entered the carriage. Today, he had truly been unbearably frightened by his Junior Brother and so he'd probably have carried this person forever if it had been possible. But he knew that it wasn't, and so he forced himself to set the other down.

Ye You slowly thought over recent events and asked, “Senior Brother, just now you said that those people know who I am?”

Wenren Heng said, “What do you want to say?”

Ye You said, “I once heard them call me Sect Master.”

Wenren Heng didn't open his mouth to respond.

Ye You looked at him. “Senior Brother?”

Wenren Heng still wanted to beat the other up, but reining in his temper, he gently asked, “You don't worry about why you spat blood and instead worry about this?”

Ye You said, “I feel like I'm pretty good right now.”

The other really did look pretty good, at least it was clearly obvious that the other's spirits were better than it had been these past few days. If that bloodstain on the bandages didn't exist, Wenren Heng would've been quite happy. He pushed down the unease in his heart and asked, “If I said they recognized the wrong person, would you believe it?”

Ye You didn't refute him and earnestly said, “Of course I'd believe the words that Senior Brother says.”

Wenren Heng then tenderly told the other, “They recognized the wrong person.”

Ye You nodded. “Yes, I believe you.”

The two people looked at one another for a moment and came to a tacit understanding not to look too deeply.

The scarred man was outside driving the carriage and felt a faint desire to wipe his sweat.

Young Master Xiao had even spat blood, and when the Sect Master returned just now, his expression had already become that bad. Now, after the urgency had passed, how can these two people still fight and scheme against one another!

Sir Yang and Wei Jiangyue had originally planned this day to manufacture an opportunity for Wenren Heng and Wei Jiangrou. With this matter happening, they no longer had the heart to play and so returned after a short while. Then they lightly asked around a bit, hearing that Wenren Heng had invited a doctor but that the doctor hadn't found any problems.

Wei Jiangyue actually knew some things, so he was not surprised. After all, even Miracle Doctor Ji didn't have any ideas, so how could any other doctors possibly have a solution?

Wei Jiangrou asked, “What happened to his Junior Brother?”

Wei Jiangyue simply explained the situation and said, “Who knows what kind of illness it actually is.”

Wei Jiangrou's eyes flashed. “Even Miracle Doctor Ji can't cure it? Then…”

Wei Jiangrou's heart shook, and even she was scared of the thought she just had. In her fear, she looked at him. Wei Jiangyue let out a sigh in his heart and patted his little sister's shoulder, telling her not to wish disaster on other people. Wei Jiangrou shook her head at once. “I didn't!”

She simply thought that it would be good if that person died for a mere split second, and holding her chest, she continued to feel some lingering fear. Wei Jiangyue looked at her for a while, and only when he confirmed that she really was telling the truth did he feel satisfied.

The people who were out searching for a route returned that night. The next day, the Alliance Leader's group crossed off the extraneous paths and prepared to inform the ones outside to set out.

Wenren Heng said, “Everyone, elders, please go ahead first. This young one will catch up in two days.”

The group turned to look at him together. Manor Lord Wei said, “Because of your Junior Brother?”

Wenren Heng made a sound in acknowledgement.

When they first set out, Miracle Doctor Ji had said he would send his disciple over. The only issue was that the other party had never caught up with them. Last night, he finally learned of the other's whereabouts and so decided to wait two days. The other reason is that he wanted to find an opportunity to make contact with the members of the Demonic Sect to see if they know something.

Luckily, Manor Lord Wei had not yet convinced his daughter to stay behind, so he ended up saying that everyone should wait together. After all, no one could know what they'd encounter in the future, so people should be allowed to have a chance to prepare, and they shouldn't leave in such a rush. In the end, they decided to leave after three days.

Wenren Heng knew that as soon as the number of people increased, it'd become much more difficult to meet those Elders. But he had plenty of patience, so he agreed and returned to accompany his Junior Brother.

Miracle Doctor Ji's disciple arrived at the Wang family residence on the night of the second day, and he was immediately invited to Wenren Heng's small courtyard.

As the head of the household, when a guest arrived, Sir Yang would naturally be the first informed of it by the servants. At that time, Wei Jiangyue happened to be sitting in his room, so the two decided that they might as well go over together.

A few days ago, Sir Xiao spat blood, and although it wasn't their doing, they didn't know if it was related to their going outside, and with Wenren Heng being that terrifying, they tactfully didn't go and bother the two these past few days. Now that the Miracle Doctor's disciple had arrived, they fortunately could go and see Sir Xiao's condition.

At this time, Ye You was about to rest, and since the bandages on his face had just been unraveled, he was too lazy to reapply them. Thus, when Wei Jiangyue and Sir Yang entered the room, they saw that the “lantern” had disappeared, and they both faintly stared, distracted.

They followed their consciousness closely, and uniformly looked in the direction of the young sir behind Wenren Heng.

Ye You walked to his Senior Brother's side and politely smiled at them.

He put out a not quite negligent air, casually wearing a sleeping robe, looking disorganized and laid-back. Half his face carried burns, but they were already quite light. The other half had a floating beauty that pressed down upon people, so beautiful that it shook one to the core.

Wei Jiangyue and Sir Yang were immediately dumbfounded and blankly stared at that half-undamaged face.

Wenren Heng's eyebrows rose, and he pressed his Junior Brother back into the chair and looked towards the young sir that had entered with the other two.

This person looked to be around eighteen, with a round face and big eyes and dimples on his face, looking very soft. He was Miracle Doctor Ji's last disciple, Young Miracle Doctor Fang. Although this person's innate skill was very high, he was neither arrogant nor impatient, and his temperament was very good. Even Miracle Doctor Ji had once said that his future accomplishments would probably be higher than his master's.

Young Miracle Doctor Fang hadn't been stunned by Sir Xiao's face, and his heart seemed to be entirely filled with thoughts of saving people. His first words were, “Is this young sir the patient that Master mentioned?”

Wenren Heng nodded. “A few days ago, he spat out a mouthful of blood.”

Young Miracle Doctor Fang's expression changed slightly, and he hastily went over to take the patient's pulse.

When Young Miracle Doctor Fang opened his mouth, Wei Jiangyue and Sir Yang returned to themselves in a flash, feeling as if their faces were red, and awkwardly looked for a place to sit. Wei Jiangyue once again glanced at Sir Xiao before suddenly remembering the words his father spoke, finally understanding what the other meant.

The room was quiet. Afraid of disturbing the Young Miracle Doctor, no one opened their mouths, and even their own breathing became deliberately light.

A short while later, Young Miracle Doctor Fang retracted his hand and said, “He doesn't have any issues.”

Wenren Heng had already become numb to those words.

He internally thought that, for this matter, it seemed that he had to find the members of the Demonic Sect. He wanted to exchange a few pleasantries and hurry these three out the door, but the Young Miracle Doctor immediately followed by gravely saying, “But if he spits out blood twice more, it'll become troublesome. From today onwards, I'll have to stay by his side and watch him.”

Wenren Heng felt his spirits shake and wanted to ask the other if something had been found but then heard the Young Miracle Doctor add on another sentence, “Including the time spent sleeping at night.”

Wenren Heng, “…”

[1] 2時辰. A 時辰 is a two-hour time period.

[2] 華楊城 Again, probably not a real place. (There is a Huayang City in Guangdong, but the characters are different.)

[3] The Yang in this is the same 楊 as in the name of the city. (Meaning “poplar”, a type of tree.)

[4] 流珠花 lit. Flowing Pearl Flower, or somesuch. Definitely not an actual flower, from what I can gather.

[5] 運功 Apparently this is the phrase for an energy/qi transfer. If you've watched any wuxia (and some anime, now that I think of it), you've probably seen this in action when a character places the palm of their hand onto someone's back and then glowy CG happens and tdah! unresolved sexual tension energy transfer.

[6] Oh man, the last two phrases of this 抱元守一，存無守有 were a nightmare. Apparently they're classical Daoist meditation practices, and so I tried reading some notes on them, but they're as obfuscated as the actual phrases themselves. They sound very nice in Chinese, but they're practically untranslatable in English. I, uh, did my best. If anyone else has some better ideas, I would genuinely love to hear it.

[7] 破釜沉舟 lit. break one's cauldrons and burn one's boats. Basically, cutting off their own means of escape. In other words, they were about to bite the bullet and do that third order of Ye You's.

Hoo boy, so I usually don't check character counts, but for the record, the previous Missing Sect Master chapters were around 3k characters, while this one is around 10k. So more than three times as long. Future chapters won't be quite as long, but they'll still be longer than the previous ones, so expect some slowdown. But, regardless, hopefully I won't take as long with the next chapters. I got distracted this week oops.

Also, I can't believe in 10k words, we still haven't learned the most important thing: what is the name of the fourth Demonic Sect Elder!!

Chapter end