Chapter 30 (2/2)

“From the moment when the Heavenly Sword Gate captured you, they effectively declared war on us, Young Ancestor. And there's also our rescue mission. Although it doesn't seem like a big deal now, but there's already an irreconcilable enmity.”

Xue Qilin was slightly annoyed at Ye Zhen's grave tone of voice: “So what?”

“So under these circ.u.mstances, it's hard for us to send people to search for Martial Niece Luo. The Heavenly Sword Gate won't sit back and watch. It might not end well for the people we'll send… what's more, now that the pot was stirred, if Martial Niece Luo really fell into the Heavenly Sword Gate's hands, then there's no way Hua Tianji will let her go.”

“Little Seven, you think so as well?”

Qi Qiqi nodded, looking ashamed.

“In other words, it's just a speculation, right?” She couldn't suppress the anger in he voice.

Ye Zhen and Qi Qiqi exchanged a look. Finally, Qi Qiqi spoke: “Young Ancestor, calm down…”

“Calm down?” A burst of anger suddenly arose inside her, and Xue Qilin stared at Qi Qiqi and slapped the headboard.

“I don't know what you think of a sect, but in my view, the sect is home, and everyone in the sect is family. A member of my family is missing, and you want me to calm down?”

Xue Qilin didn't want to see anyone else lie unresponsive before her eyes like her niece did, let alone suddenly turn into cold bodies and return to her like her parents did.

… don't want to. I don't want to feel that suffocating sense of loss, never again.

But the reality is often unsatisfactory. If I'm really that unfortunate as to lose people around me again, then at least… at least let me say my goodbyes. If you can't even say your goodbyes, then that's really sad.

“… family?” A dull look in her eyes, Qi Qiqi ruminated this word.

“Yes, a family! A sect should be considered a home, so isn't everyone in the sect our family?” Ye Zhen paused, and then continued with a tone of reminiscence, “Not so long ago, the Great Ancestor has told me that I should treat the fellow disciples as relatives, yet… I forgot this principle unwittingly. Where it not the case, then I and the Palace Master would have no need to doubt one another…”

When he reached this point, Ye Zhen's expression flickered, and he looked at Xue Qilin closely, “But Young Ancestor, even if Martial Niece Luo is suspected of harming you, do you still think of her as family?”

“… I don't believe that she really wanted to harm me.”

Truth be told, Xue Qilin also suspected Luo Qing. After all, ever since they went on a journey to the Heavenly Sword Gate, she had noticed many strange things about the other party.

If Luo Qing was the one behind the incident, then Xue Qilin had no doubts that she had her reasons – she certainly didn't want to harm me. Otherwise, how could her guilty expression be explained? Why did she rescue me at her own peril? And she even stayed behind to block any pursuers, with her life and death being uncertain.

Even if it wasn't the case, even if her sentiment was groundless, Xue Qilin wouldn't believe it, she didn't wan't to believe it, “If… if Little Qing truly wanted to harm me, then it's just…”

… too sad.

“However, do we have more family members take risks for the sake of one family member?” Ye Zhen's words were rather reasonable, leaving Xue Qilin at a loss for words for a while.

If you really think of everyone in the sect as family, then you should treat everyone equally.

There was never a reason to sacrifice the majority for the sake of the minority.

Otherwise, it would prove that her pretty words just no were just that, words, and in fact, she regarded Luo Qing as more important than others. She would show that she's just a hypocrite.

However, who could attribute the same value for everyone? Even family members had different degrees of importance… just like some people liked one parent more than the other.

Xue Qilin drooped her eyes and said in a flat but indisputable tone: “Then I'll go myself.”

Ye Zhen suddenly sighed and uttered emotionally: “Just like I don't understand the Palace Master, and haven't put myself in her shoes, we often stand on the side of reason, but forget about what's called human heart… your straightforward approach is admirable, Young Ancestor.”

Ye Zhen paused, and then said something that caught Xue Qilin by surprise, “Young Ancestor, you're not in a good condition right now, you still can't leave the bed. Let me be the one to go in your stead…”

When she heard his words, Xue Qilin gazed blankly at Ye Zhen.

“What do you think, Young Ancestor?”

“That's not ideal… Just like you said, we already stirred the pot. Although you may not be afraid of Hua Tianji, but there's still Luo Hong…”

Qi Qiqi and Ye Zhen exchanged a look, and then Qi Qiqi spoke with a smile: “Ohhhh, how come your att.i.tude has changed 180 degrees?”

She even imitated Xue Qilin's speech pattern.

“So annoying! I wasn't thinking clearly just now…” Embarra.s.sed, Xue Qilin looked away. After Ye Zhen's poignant remarks, she realized that she was being selfish.

“Don't worry, Young Ancestor. If I'm not mistaken, Luo Hong isn't really colluding with the Heavenly Sword Gate. I think that he was prompted by Martial Niece Luo to act.” Ye Zhen spoke confidently.

“… have you figured things out?”

“I reckon that the wily old fox Uncle Muster Ye has guessed the truth of the matter for the most part.” Perhaps because she thought that Ye Zhen often pretended to be profound, Qi Qiqi hummed adorably. Ye Zhen shook his head and smiled wryly.

Has Ye Zhen changed? Previously, even if someone made a cutting remark, he would just take it with a straight face. He never showed so many expressions. As for Little Seven, she has never revealed such a petulant behavior in front of other people before.

Although she thought that the two were a little odd, but Xue Qilin didn't delve into it. After all, Luo Qing's matter was more important, “What happened exactly? Spill it out.”

“After you and Senior Disciple Sister Luo set out for Jinling City, Qin Chen was found dead.”

“Dead? How did he die?”

“He was murdered. At that time, Senior Disciple Sister Li's whereabouts were unknown, so we suspected her. Later, we heard that Luo Hong joined hands with Hua Tianji, and that Luo Hong owed Senior Disciple Sister Luo a favor. According to this, Uncle Teacher Ye concluded that Luo Hong didn't fall out with the Merak Palace out of the blue. Thus…” Qi Qiqi stole an uneasy glance at Xue Qilin.

Are you concerned about my feelings? Xue Qilin smiled bitterly.

In order to show the other party that it didn't matter, she rolled her eyes at Qi Qiqi and asked helplessly: “You suspect that everything was Little Qing's doing?”

“Yes. In a secret chamber inside Martial Niece Luo's living quarters, we finally found the missing Martial Niece Li.”

Ye Zhen chimed in, and then returned the floor to Qi Qiqi, “When Senior Sister Ting saw us, she urgently asked us to stop Senior Disciple Sister Luo, to not let her do anything stupid.”

“Did…” Xue Qilin suddenly stopped and looked up.

… a Heaven Realm expert was approaching the Merak Palace, and their aura felt familiar to Xue Qilin.

It's Luo Hong? She frowned.

“It seems that the person who will dispel the fog has come at last.”  The corners of Ye Zhen's mouth rose slightly, and he spoke meaningfully.

“Little Seven, bring me my clothes. Let's go meet our guest.” Xue Qilin narrowed her eyes and uttered in an unquestionable tone.

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