The unrestrained

Lotus Pier

Lights burned brightly before Lotus Pier's gates and its docks, reflecting against the water to form pieces of gold. In the past, it was rare that so many boats of so many sizes could gather at the dock at the same time. Not only the guards at the gates, even the old men still at their stands selling midnight snacks were wide-eyed in astonishment. Jiang Cheng was the first to disembark the boats. He said a few words to the guards, and countless armed disciples immediately rushed out the gates. The people disembarked one after another, led inside by the YunmengJiang Sect's guest cultivators. Sect Leader OuYang finally caught his son. Chastising in a low voice, he dragged him away. Wei Ying and I walked out the cabin and leaped down the fishing boat.

Wen Ning said, "gongzi, I'll wait for you outside."

Wei Ying knew that Wen Ning wouldn't enter the gates of Lotus Pier. Jiang Wanyin definitely wouldn't let him in, either. He nodded.

SiZhui spoke up, "Mr. Wen, let me keep you company."

Wen Ning paused in surprise, "You'll keep me company?" He was quite happy, having never expected this.

SiZhui smiled, "Yeah. The seniors are going inside to discuss important matters anyways. There is not much need for me to be present. Let us keep chatting. Where were we again? Did Wei Qianbei really plant a two-year-old child in the soil like a radish before?"

Although his voice was small, the two of us walking in the front had acute hearing. Wei Ying almost tripped on his own foot. My eyebrows curved, but immediately went back to normal. I wanted to tell him. But now SiZhui is happy with what he have. It will be very hard for him if he knows about his past. Let the problems be over. Sooner or later I will tell everything to him. I said to myself.

When their silhouettes finally disappeared into the gates of Lotus Pier, SiZhui finally continued, whispering, "Poor child. But, in reality, I remember that when I was young, HanGuang-Jun had also put me in a pile of rabbits before. They are actually quite similar in some ways..."

Before he stepped inside Lotus Pier's gates, Wei Ying took in a deep breath, trying to calm himself. But after he went in, he didn't feel as excited as he thought he would.

It was perhaps because too many places had been renewed. The training field was two times larger. Each new building seemed to be taller than the previous, adorned with curving roof decor. It seemed grander than before and had more splendor. But, compared to the Lotus Pier of his memories, it had changed too much.

Somehow while I was looking at this building I could see two boys laughing. And a girl giving them soup. Yes I was imagining his days when he was in Lotus cove with Jiang Wanyin and Jiang gunya. Jiang gunya must've spoiled them so much feeding his favourite soup, Lotus root and pork rib soup. He invited me many times to visit this place and stay with them for a few days. He wants me to taste that soup his shijie made. But I was a stupid jerk in the past. I was an angry tsundere who was shy on the inside, pride on the outside. Why did I reject him so much in the past? I really want to slap myself for being a jerk. I could hear his laughter in this building, laughing with his junior disciples and I can see Jiang Wanyin's angry face tired of Wei Ying's silliness.

Wei Ying felt a sense of loss from deep within. He didn't know whether the old buildings from the past were blocked behind these impressive new buildings or if they were torn down already. He really miss those days at Lotus Pier and I could understand his feelings.

On the training field, the disciples gathered in the square arrays again, sitting in the lotus position to rest and restore their spiritual powers. Having been so busy during both the day and the night, all of these people had long since worn themselves out, desperately needing to catch their breaths. On the other hand, Jiang Wanyin led the the sect leaders and other important personnel into the main hall, Sword Hall, to further discuss today's matter.

Just as they entered, before anyone was seated yet, someone who looked like a guest cultivator walked up, "Sect Leader."

He shifted toward Jiang Wanyin's ear and whispered a few words. Jiang Wanyin frowned, "No. If there's something important, tell them to come at a later date. Don't you see the situation right now?"

The guest cultivator said, "I told them already. The two ladies said... that they were here for none other than today's matter."

Jiang Wanyin asked, "What's their background? Which sect do they cultivate at?"

The guest cultivator said, "None. They aren't cultivators either. I am certain that that both are ordinary women without any spiritual powers. They brought with them some expensive medicinal herbs as well, but they didn't say which sect leader sent them. They only said that they had a few things to tell you, Sect Leader. From their words, I judged that what they were speaking of was no small matter. In case they feel disrespected, I already placed them within one of the guest residences. The medicinal herbs haven't been stored yet, either. They have been examined already. There are no abnormal spells or curses."

It wasn't that anyone could see the Yunmeng Jiang Sect's sect leader whenever they wanted to, even without telling him why they were there. On top of that, they were two women who lacked both spiritual powers and sects to support them. However, since they brought rare herbs, the guest cultivator responsible for receiving them didn't dare show disrespect. Even if not for the lavish gifts, the oddity of the incident itself was enough for him not to ignore them.

Jiang Wanyin said, "Everyone, please help yourselves. Please excuse my momentary absence."

Everyone responded, "Sect Leader Jiang, please go ahead."

However, Jiang Wanyin didn't return after just a few moments. He hadn't returned for a long while. To have unentertained guests at one's home was already disrespectful, much less during such times, when everyone was waiting to discuss important matters. Almost an hour later, Jiang Wanyin still hadn't returned. Many people began to feel either anxious or displeased. At this point in time, Jiang Wanyin finally came back. He looked perfectly fine when he went, but as he returned, his expression was icy cold, walking fast. He also brought with him two people-two women, probably the two who were visiting. The people originally thought that even if those were two ordinary ladies, to be able to visit with such lavish gifts meant that they had to be extraordinary in some ways. However, neither of the two ladies retained their youth. Age was spelled among the details next to the corners of their eyes and lips. One of the two looked both meek and uneasy, while the other not only looked weathered, but also had around half a dozen cuts on her face. Although the cuts seemed old, they were nonetheless so gruesome that the crowd was both disappointed and turned off. They began to mumble in silence, wondering why Jiang Wanyin brought such women into Sword Hall and even pointed them to a position in the center of the hall.

Jiang Wanyin's face was dark. He turned to the women, who had just sat down gingerly, "You can speak here."

Sect Leader Yao asked, "Sect Leader Jiang, you mean?"

Jiang Wanyin spoke, "The matter is too shocking and I did not dare act hastily. The delay was due to careful questioning. Everyone, please quiet down, and lend your ears to these two." He turned around, "Which of you two will speak first?"