[Scum Villain Fanfic] The Writing Adventures Of Liu Su Mian Hua

#8 : Troubled trade (of) heart(s) (1)

Three years went by. During this time, Mingyan improved her cultivation and perfected her sword skills. She would also go about completing tasks and duties assigned to her by her Shizun. She would follow Qingqi on extermination expeditions and social events. Being the top disciple of Xian Shu Peak came with its own responsibilities. But that did not stop her from reading Danmei. Mingyan read a tonne of books. She had pretty much completed reading the entire secret stash and quite often found herself waiting for new books to come in. She would read out her original works and fan-fictions during the weekly meetings and had accumulated a bunch of fanart.

One morning, Qingqi informed her that a meeting of all the Peak Lords was called by Sect Master Yue on Qiong Ding Peak. Naturally, Mingyan was expected to accompany her. In the evening, the two of them went to Qiong Ding Peak, greeted all the Peak Lords present and walked to the seat assigned to Xian Shu Peak. Qingqi seated herself while Mingyan stood behind her. Other Peak Lords also walked in with their chief disciples. Only the seat for Qing Jing Peak was empty. Peak Lord Shen had been travelling a lot during those three years and would only return briefly to take his batch of medicine prepared by Qian Cao Peak Lord Mu Qingfang and have the poison cleared from is body by Liu Qingge. Mingyan had also heard from her brother about the times when he accompanied Peak Lord Shen on these long journeys. From what Liu Qingge told her, it seemed like Peak Lord Shen was doing fine. Peak Lord Shen had been called back to the mountain urgently for this meeting. Sect Master Yue waited at the gate of the hall for his Shidi. When Shen Qingqiu finally arrived, he rushed forward to greet him and brought him to his seat.

Ning Yingying and Chief Disciple Ming Fan were accompanying him and stood behind the seat meant for Qing Jing Peak, which was opposite to the one assigned to Xian Shu Peak. As Peak Lord Shen seated himself, he noticed Mingyan and seemed stunned. He looked behind his own seat and had the slightest hint of sadness in his eyes. Mingyan noticed his actions and face. If Luo Binghe were alive, he would have been the only one standing behind his seat. It seemed like Peak Lord Shen had only momentarily forgotten about his (beloved) disciple. He had probably stayed away from Qing Jing Peak on purpose: to distance himself from the place that reminded him of Luo Binghe. But he immediately shook his sadness away and focused on the meeting. Mingyan felt bad for him. If he truly liked Luo Binghe, he was in quite a sorry state. He could not even freely express what he felt. A male having feelings for another male was taboo as it is. To add to that he was a Peak Lord - a position with a lot of dignity. If anyone even had a hint of his feelings, it wouldn't be good for his reputation. How much he must have suffered silently...

In the meeting, Sect Master Yue spoke about a very serious and urgent matter. Jinlan city: an area under Zhou Hua Temple's protection, the junction point of rivers Luo and Heng, and a bustling and prosperous trading hub, had closed its city gates two months ago. Nobody was allowed to go in or out. A weapon's shop owner covered completely in black clothing had escaped to Zhou Hua Temple twenty days ago to inform the monks that there was a terrible plague in the city, but the person had turned into a skeleton soon after that. The abbot of Zhou Hua Temple had immediately sent Masters Wu Chen, Wu Huan and Wu Nian to investigate. None of them had returned. Huan Hua Palace and Tian Yi Overlook had also sent more than ten disciples. They did not return either. And someone had managed to send a message Cang Qiong Mountain Sect asking  for help. It was highly likely that this was the work of the Demon realm.  By the end of the meeting three task force units were made: Peak Lords Shen, Mu and Liu, were assigned the task of entering the city through a secret route to investigate, Sect Master Yue, Peak Lord Qi, and some others along with their disciples were to wait outside the city gates as stand by to act in case of emergency, and the rest were supposed to protect the Sect premises. The investigation force left for Jinlan city immediately, while the others busied themselves with further preparations.

The group to remain on standby outside the city left at nightfall. Mingyan, Qiaohui, Xiuying, and Chuntao were accompanying their Shizun with other Xian Shu Peak disciples. Swarms of swords flew towards Jinlan city. Troops from other sects were also waiting outside the gates. There were no means to enter or contact those inside because of the powerful formations placed by Zhou Hua Temple monks. They could only wait until someone opened the city gates.

The gates were finally opened at dawn and all the cultivators rushed in. There was no emergency: the gates were opened to celebrate. Sowers, creatures from the Demon realm that could turn a living being into rotten meat, were causing the 'plague' in the city. Seven sowers were captured and contained overnight and Peak Lord Mu prepared medicine for those who were affected.

Cheers filled the town square; the people were overjoyed. But they quietened down and made way for the leaders of the four powerful sects. A young man wearing black robes that formed a stark contrast against his pleasant jade-like face was accompanying the Huan Hua Palace Master. His seemed familiar but Mingyan couldn't figure out where she had seen him. She glanced at her brother standing beside Peak Lord Shen, both of them did not look happy. Liu Qingge seemed agitated while Peak Lord Shen stared at the man in black robes with a forlorn expression. He looked so miserable that even Sect Master Yue and Peak Lord Mu asked him if he was alright. A doubt cropped up in Mingyan's head:

"Is this person Luo Binghe? How can it be? Luo Binghe is dead. Then why is Master Shen staring at him with such a heartbroken face?"