Chapter 26 (1/2)

26 – Ye Zhen

A shadow suddenly emerged under the flickering candlelight, “Palace Master.”

Qi Qiqi had just frowned, when someone called her.

“Uncle Teacher Ye…” Qi Qiqi sighed, ma.s.saged her temples, and looked up from a scroll.

Standing not far away, Ye Zhen's face was as expressionless as ever, his thoughts inscrutable.

Ye Zhen's figure swam in her vision, and Qi Qiqi became slightly dazed.

At times, this uncle teacher of hers was a real pain in the but.

She didn't know what this uncle teacher of hers, whose cultivation base was much higher and whose was much better at trickery, thought of her. That alone was enough to make her feel uneasy and restless like a duckweed without roots.

“Elder Liu came today to ask me how the investigation was going.”

Ye Zhen's words brought Qi Qiqi back to her senses, and she sighed: “How many time has it been already?”

“Practically once a day.”

“Does Elder Liu think that I'm not busy enough…” Qi Qiqi put down the scroll and ma.s.saged the bridge of her nose.

It has been more than six days since Qin Chen's body was found. Every day, Liu Chengzong would go to ask Ye Zhen or Qi Qiqi about the progress of the investigation.

Qi Qiqi naturally knew that Liu Chengzong was angry and urgently wanted an explanation, but she also knew that this covert pressure was deliberate, and Ye Zhen was probably the one behind this.

She who had taken the position of the sect master out of the blue, had authority to speak of, and Liu Chengzong only paid her lip service.

Needless to say, Ye Zhen's att.i.tude towards her wasn't like that of a subordinate towards his superior. On the contrary, at times, he put on the air of a senior and opposed her regardless of her prestige.

“… Elder Liu is just anxious about this matter.”

“I know this of course!” By the time she reacted, she had shouted out emotionally.

“It seems that you're tired, Palace Master.” Startled, Ye Zhen sighed.

“It's nothing, Uncle Teacher.”

Ye Zhen took a deep look at Qi Qiqi and said no more.

After a long silence, Qi Qiqi asked: “Are there still no news about Senior Disciple Sister Li?”

“There are none, as if she had vanished from the face of the earth.”

Where did Senior Sister Ting go? She wouldn't… Uneasy and under great pressure, Qi Qiqi breathed a long sigh and uttered in a stifling tone: “What's going on? How can someone disappear without a trace?”

“There's no point in continuing with this stalemate. All evidence points to Elder Li…”

What does he mean? Is he trying to pressure me?! An obscure fire spontaneously arose in her heart, and Qi Qiqi slapped the table and stood up.

“Enough, Ye Zhen! You want me to pa.s.s judgement before understanding the whole story?” She didn't know why she was this angry. She had never been this emotional and angry in front of others before.

This was probably the last straw… But it didn't matter.

Not expecting such an outburst from the rather well-behaved Qi Qiqi, Ye Zhen was struck dumb for a long time, and then spoke apologetically: “I didn't meant that, Palace Master.”

What's wrong with me? Qi Qiqi took a few deep breaths to dispel the anger in her heart.

“No, I'm just…” She sat down dispirited and shook her head.

“I understand.”

Qi Qi lifted her head and said wearily: “You understand, but you have no intention of being considerate.”

Ye Zhen stared deeply at Qi Qi and said indifferently: “… As the Palace Master, you should take a panoramic view of the situation, and not mix in personal feelings. Qin Chen was an Elder. As such, his death is of great importance. If you don't settle this matter as soon as possible, it will affect the Merak Palace's reputation, and will make it difficult to make an account to the entire Merak Palace.”

“Even if the dead person deserved it?” Qi Qiqi pretended to ask casually.

“Your words are inappropriate, Palace Master.” Ye Zhen frowned and uttered sternly.

Qi Qiqi scoffed at his statement, “We're both well aware of that.”

“It seems that you don't understand why I defended Qin Chen at the time, Palace Master.”

Qi Qiqi raised her eyebrows and asked defiantly, “… Is there any reason other than to oppose me?”

Ye Zhen showed a look of surprise, and then he shook his head in disappointment, “Palace Master, you still can't trust me…”

For some reason, when she noticed the bitter look flash past Ye Zhen's face, Qi Qiqi had an odd feeling. She felt that she might be prejudiced against Ye Zhen.

But she soon dismissed that thought, and then lowered her eyes and said faintly: “… You have never explained yourself, so tell me how could I trust you?”

“…” Ye Zhen was silent for a while before sighing deeply.

“Now the critical point lies in Elder Luo.” Maybe he felt that it was useless to talk about the tangled relations.h.i.+p between the two of them, but Ye Zhen suddenly changed the subject, going back to proper business.

Aware of the other party's intentions, Qi Qiqi nodded, receptive.

“Elder Xia should have arrived at Jinling by now. Has she sent any news back?” Before Li wanting went missing, the last person who saw her was Luo Qing, so she might know something.

In addition to asking Xue Qilin back, the other reason why Qi Qiqi had Xia Xue rush to Jinling was for Luo Qing. Ye Zhen naturally knew this. After all, Qi Qiqi didn't purposefully hide it from him. And even if she did, she couldn't deceive Ye Zhen.

“Not yet.” Qi Qiqi shook her head, fidgety.

“But with Senior Disciple Sister Xia's speed, I guess she should have met the Young Ancestor in Jinling by now.” She added.

“That's good. I feel like I soon won't be able to bear the pressure from Elder Liu.”

“…” Qi Qiqi didn't respond. As for what Ye Zhen said, she naturally also knew that that old stick-in-the-mud Liu Chengzong was really vexing.

… At this time, Ye Zhen suddenly raised his head and looked outside, and a puzzled gleam flashed past his eyes.

“What's the matter?” Qi Qiqi frowned and asked doubtfully.

“Elder Xia seems to be back… But she's alone.”

Alone? What happened? She hasn't met the Young Ancestor? Qi Qiqi felt a little uneasy for some reason.

Maybe Senior Disciple Sister Xia returned first… Qi Qiqi tried to come up with a reason, but this reason was so unconvincing that she couldn't even persuade herself.

Qi Qiqi stood up restlessly and walked outside, and Ye Zhen slowly followed behind her.

She just walked out, when she saw a figure rus.h.i.+ng towards her. It was Xia Xue.

Qi Qiqi was just bout to greet her, when the other side has already landed in front of her.

When she saw Qi Qiqi, the anxious Xia Xue felt relieved for some reason.

“Senior Disciple Sister Xia, where's the Young Ancestor?” Just like Ye Zhen had said, Qi Qiqi didn't see the Young Ancestor, so she asked directly.

But this question made Xia Xue's face fall.

Apparently apprehensive of him, she cautiously glanced at Ye Zhen standing beside them.

“Palace Master, I'll take my leave first.” Apparently aware of Xia Xue's vigilance towards him, Ye Zhen spoke.

Qi Qiqi wanted to nod and say something in agreement, but for some reason a sentence popped up in her head… “Palace Master, you still can't trust me…”

Have I really no trust for Ye Zhen? Qi Qiqi was silent for a while and sighed, saying: “It's okay. Vice-palace Master Ye, please stay… It's nothing that needs to be kept a secret”

Stunned, Ye Zhen stood still.

“Is this okay?” Xia Xue frowned and whispered into Qi Qiqi's ear.

“It is…” Qi Qiqi gave Xia Xue a look to rea.s.sure her, and then continued to ask: “Where's the Young Ancestor? Didn't she come back with you?”

A dignified look on her face, Xia Xue enunciated each syllable clearly: “The Young Ancestor was captured by the Heavenly Sword Gate.”

“Ah…” Qi Qiqi couldn't react for a moment. What Xia Xue said was beyond her expectation.

Instead, Ye Zhen immediately reacted and asked Xia Xue gravely, “What happened?”

Xia Xue's eyebrows creased tightly, and she explained in an uncertain tone: “I'm not sure. Qing'er said that the Heavenly Sword Gate suddenly attacked them. In order to let them escape, the Young Ancestor stayed behind… But there are no further news of her.”

“What do you mean by they caught her?”

“Qing'er said that this was Senior Disciple Sister Luo's conjecture. Senior Disciple Sister Luo thinks that so long as the the Young Ancestor is still in their clutches, we will hold back. Thus, the Heavenly Sword Gate won't kill her, as that would be the beginning of a full-scale war. The current Heavenly Sword Gate has no a.s.surance that it can win a full-scale war against us. Therefore…” Xia Xue relayed the information she got from Gong Tianqing.

“What about Martial Grandniece Gong?”

“We ran into each other on the road. When I met her, she was exhausted. Seeing this, I found an inn for her to stay. After inquiring about the situation, I returned to notify Palace Master first.”

“And Senior Disciple Sister Luo?” Qi Qiqi, who has already come back to her senses and was silently listening to the conversation, interjected.

“According to Qing'er, Senior Disciple Sister Luo stayed in Jinling in order to gather information. Qing'er still wanted me to relay Senior Disciple Sister Luo's words, to ask…” Xia Xue glanced at Ye Zhen, and then continued,”Vice-palace Master to go rescue the Young Ancestor at once.”

Qi Qiqi quickly figured out why Luo Qing had such a request.

If the Young Ancestor was caught alive by the Heavenly Sword Gate, then Ye Zhen was needed to rescue her. After all, the Heavenly Sword Gate had Hua Tianji.