Like a Ray in My Night (Part 4)

648 Not Making Them Suspicious

With Song Yu Zheng and the other two finally seeing reason, Zhi Guan made his way through the corridors and soon found Mu Qing and Liu Bao Ru in one of the rooms. If he didn't know the real situation, he might indeed think that this senior had simply brought a junior martial sister to where she could move in and was now having a simple chat.

Zhi Guan glanced around, making sure that nobody else was around, and then nodded at the two of them. "I ditched the disciples of the Wu Yun Sect to check how things were going. You were gone for quite some time."

Liu Bao Ru inclined her head. "Senior martial sister Xi has headed back but we took a while longer to talk through their ideas. Plus, senior martial brother Mu told me a little more about the Yu She Sect so I won't accidentally give our identities away."

Zhi Guan nodded. This was indeed worth considering. He himself knew a little about all the sects that practiced sword arts so he was sure that he could bluff his way through this unless he was asked more detailed questions. But then, even if he was, it might not be a problem. After all, his personality had always been straightforward and focused on the important matters. So if somebody asked, he wouldn't have any issues saying that he had no idea and didn't care.

He had done the same in the Teng Yong Sect countless times. Even though it sometimes made people feel that he was odd, after enough time had passed, they all simply accepted it. Now, there was also his supposed 'sister' around. As long as she mentioned that he had always been like this, who would doubt it? And he could do the same for her. They could simply be a pair of weird siblings together and nobody would do more than raise an eyebrow.

Seeing as Zhi Guan didn't ask further questions, Mu Qing took the initiative to tell him the gist of what he and Xi Ju Hai had agreed upon earlier. "We can't do anything more on that side and only hope that the Elders and other disciples can come up with a workable plan. On our side, we should use the next two days to try and come up with something ourselves.

"I'm just afraid that, right now, we won't have the time. As senior martial brother Zhi said, we've been away for quite some time. Not just junior martial sister Liu and I but you too. That Song Yu Zheng isn't a vegetarian. If we let him catch onto the slightest clues, he'll figure out that you guys aren't from the Yu She Sect at all no matter what you can repeat of what I've told you. My information isn't that detailed, after all."

Zhi Guan thought back to how he had first met Song Yu Zheng and was almost immediately attacked because the person indeed found him to be suspicious. Clearly, Mu Qing's appraisal of him was spot on in this regard. It was just ... he obviously had a completely different side to himself as well, one that could probably be summarized as 'deep emotional attachment'.

He didn't know Song Yu Zheng's life story but ... if he was anything like most disciples of cultivation sects in the righteous faction, then he had likely grown up in the Wu Yun Sect. And if this was true, then he would care for the place and the people around him.

He might not want to protect somebody who was weak and who he considered dead weight for the sect but for those who could contribute to the Wu Yun Sect, it was naturally different. He'd absolutely support them. That was why he easily got ensnared when he heard Zhi Guan talk about his supposed sister and wanted to set Mu Qing up with her so he could forget about his original fiancee.

It was like hitting two birds with one stone: They could help Zhi Guan and entice him to join the Wu Yun Sect with his sister, adding to their fighting prowess, and at the same time, he could allow Mu Qing to cut the last ties with the Teng Yong Sect and become a disciple of the Wu Yun Sect with no distracting thoughts. Wasn't that perfect?

Anyway, at the end of the day, most demonic practitioners didn't want to destroy the righteous faction, kill all cultivators who didn't follow their path, and enslave the common people. No, people who thought like that should be few and far between. Most instead wanted to live a happy life with those they cared about. It was the long-standing grudge between the factions that made that almost impossible without also fighting the righteous faction.

Looking at it from that perspective, it was actually sad. After all, as long as they forgot their identities, they were obviously able to get along. If it was up to him, the two factions would put down this senseless fight, come to an agreement that everyone was happy with, and then just focus on their own lives. They could come together every once in a while for some friendly sparring and then, they could go back to ignoring each other. He was well aware that this wouldn't happen though. Thus, they naturally couldn't allow for their true identities to be discovered.

Liu Bao Ru had only seen that trio from the Wu Yun Sect for a few short moments so she didn't have much of an impression of them. If they were allowed to come to the underground palace at this time though, that had to mean they were valued as talents of the demonic faction. Naturally, they wouldn't be easy to fool.

She looked from Mu Qing to Zhi Guan and faintly raised her brows. "Then I'll stay away for now to 'settle down'?"

Zhi Guan nodded. "That seems like a good idea. I'll go back with senior martial brother Mu." He had only come out to see how things were going since they had been out for a while. After checking up on them, he should go back immediately and better have an explanation ready. "We can meet up again in the evening. You know which room so you can simply come over. Let's just say you want to practice. That'll give us an excuse to leave."

Liu Bao Ru inclined her head. "Very well. I'll stay put until then. If something happens ..." She thought for a moment but, in the end, there wasn't much they could do. They were two righteous cultivators among the elites of the demonic faction. If something happened, no plan could save them.