The Scent of the Orchid in the Forest of Secrets (密林兰香)

Chapter Thirteen

Shu Haolin was exhausted from flying the sword, secretly trailing behind the group from the Yu Sect heading to the Lianyun Temple. Everyone in the group had years more experience that she had, and they sped along as quickly as possible, only settling down in a small abandoned village as the sun sunk beneath the sky. Not only did she have to push herself to the limits to carry herself and Chen Linfeng on the rickety, old sword they'd stolen from the Sect's public armory—she'd debated about stealing one from the private armory that Yu Jielan had shown her, but she'd felt too guilty to do so—she had to rapidly dodge through trees and hide when they occasionally glanced backwards to check if they were being followed by demonic cultivators.

Shu Haolin arranged a place for her and Chen Linfeng to sleep in a nearby hut that nobody chose to occupy. However, the next morning, Shu Haolin woke up to find that everyone was gone. Panic spreading through her, she hurriedly woke up Chen Linfeng.

"Quick, we have to go! Everyone's gone, we have to hurry up, or we won't be able to catch up with them."

Chen Linfeng blinked blearily and slowly picked himself up, getting dressed. The two of them were ready in record time, hopping onto the sword and flying in the direction they'd gone the day before. But they hadn't traveled too long before Shu Haolin felt an inexplicable flash of fear. More on instinct than by reason, she ducked, and narrowly avoided an arrow that nearly pierced her heart.

"Stop!" She heard a familiar voice call. It was Yu Jielan. "Stop! Stop! I know her. She's not a demonic cultivator."

Shu Haolin's knees were weak from the scare, and she drifted in a spiral all the way down to the forest floor. There, a circle of the Yu Sect's senior cultivators and clan elders surrounded them. She turned to face Yu Ziyan. "Sect Leader Yu." She greeted him unsteadily, not daring to look up.

"It's you. You were the person that my daughter asked to become her study mate. Why are you here?"

"I..."

"Father, it's my fault."

Shu Haolin turned her head around quickly to look at Yu Jielan. She knelt before her father with her sword in hand and continued speaking, unfazed. "It was I who allowed them to come. Haolin's little brother was hurt by the Baiyu Alliance long before, and she merely wanted to come along and help. If Father wants to punish anyone, then you can punish me!"

Yu Ziyan frowned at Shu Haolin, giving her a thorough look from head to toe. The Baiyu Alliance... why were they targeting her? Since when had they been interested in small prey like this?

Shao Mingrong cleared his throat. "Since it was Jielan who allowed them to come, then they should not be blamed. We have already traveled so far, and it would be dangerous to let them go back on their own. Just let them follow along."

Yu Ziyan waved his hand haphazardly, not looking quite concerned, but when he turned away, his brows were tightly furrowed, and his lightly bowed head seemed to leave his entire face in shadow.

Yu Jielan looked at Shu Haolin, seeming as if she wanted to speak, but in the end, she didn't say anything. After all, what had she expected? She knew that Shu Haolin would want to come along. At the end of the day... she hadn't disappointed her expectations. "Let's go," she said, gesturing to Shu Haolin. "Come on my sword, you'll get too tired from flying all day."

Shu Haolin scratched her head. "But Linfeng can't fly on his own..."

Yu Jielan cast a cool glance towards Chen Linfeng. Even though it was as impassive as ever, Shu Haolin suddenly felt like it was a little icier than normal, and Chen Linfeng, as if feeling the same thing, involuntarily shivered. But that moment seemed to pass as quickly as it came, and Yu Jielan cleared her throat. "Fine, then he can come with me. Flying on your own will be easier than flying with a passenger."