Too Young to Meddle

Silence was the only thing that came from Ren Junjie. He seemed to admit that he was not yet strong enough to take on the power of the Bride if ever. Then again, he still eyed at Sun Yin. Before words flow out of his lips again, the cultivators around them yelled. They pointed fingers at the water as the waves began to surge again. However, it was not strong enough to startle them all.

Sun Yin and the masters turned to the water, seeing dark shadows swimming underneath them. Before they would even move to see more, another beast rose from the water. In fact, seven of them surrounded the dead Storm Snake.

However, they were not hostile. Kindness and grief were in their eyes, and then one moved towards Sun Yin. It had no voice like most of the beasts so it could only communicate through what sounded like howls that failed to escape their throats.

The maiden looked at them before getting on Huaban and leaving the body. The rest followed before the six other beasts latched their beaks onto the Storm Snake's skin. They dragged the body underwater—into the abyss where they lived.

"Remember the brothers I was talking about?" Sun Yin grinned at the lower guardian beast which seemed to be speaking to them through its eyes. "It's probably thanking us for taking Storm Snake out of its misery."

"So the waters will still be protected?" Ren Junjie turned to the maiden.

"Probably. Who knows when they will move along?" Sun Yin waved at the beast, soon watching it go with its brothers. She returned Ren Junjie's gaze. "Now that the Storm Snake's gone, the fish should come back after we leave. Gangkou would be able to produce its catch again."

"Hm, it should return to normal soon." He sighed. "We will be meeting with the proprietor of the city. Are you joining us?"

"Perhaps, yes. Perhaps, no." She held onto her forehead. "I used too much energy today. I should rest."

For some reasons, Ren Junjie clasped his hands before her. "Then I shall see you when I do, Investigator Sun."

"Ah, Lady Sun would be okay. Wow, children these days are so respectful." She giggled softly, fatigue evident in her voice. "My, my, it might even be a contest between you and Master Lin."

"It was Master Lin who told me to be humble and respectful to everyone." He flushed faintly as he lowered his face with a tinge of embarrassment. "Both of our families had a history of arrogance that caused trouble to our own sects. We must learn from our forefathers' mistakes."

Sun Yin only looked at him. She had so many questions for him later.

With that, the morning was concluded. The Storm Snake had been vanquished, and the fish was slowly coming back to the sea. Gangkou was starting to receive the good news, and Proprietor Cao was happy to hear that their city was saved from starvation. He wished to see the representatives of the Huayuan Lin sect, but Sun Yin and Lu Bang decided to sit it out. It was because they did not think Ren Junjie would give them some credit.

Lunch flew like hours turned into minutes instead. Sun Yin had to stay in a lotus position and skip eating lunch before Zhang Min came to see them. It was because Ren Junjie had gotten back from talking with the owner of the city. He asked to see Sun Yin alone so Lu Bang chose to walk around the city. He could stay, but he wanted to get some alone time from Sun Yin.

With everything settling down in silence, Sun Yin started to talk after watching Ren Junjie pour tea for himself. "When those snakes came, it seemed like you were trying to say something."

"I can't understand how come you knew so much. Is this what Master Lin knew about his father's murder?"

"Not really. He just figured it out when I came around." Sun Yin hummed before inching closer. "You said it was orchestrated. What do you know about it?"

Ren Junjie looked at his reflection on his tea for a moment. "Not much. I only heard it from my father. He said it would be best for us—for me to follow them and not be like Master Lin." He brought it down. "It was as if he knew that the Society wanted to get rid of the main family of the Huayuan Lin sect for some reasons. They even went as far as turning some of their seniors against them.

"My father was a madman." There was loathing in his eyes. "He had no visions but to be powerful. This... secret cultivation technique being shared among them was something he prioritized over the sect. He left all his responsibilities to my uncle. When my uncle got a whiff of what was happening, he forced me to take care of the sect while they frolic back and forth Heici."

He closed his eyes, easing his emotions. "It didn't take long before he completely neglected the sect. He even tried to gift several magical treasures to the Heici Xu sect for reasons we don't understand—reasons I don't see worthy of those gifts." His grip tightened. "As the master of the Reqi Ren sect, I had to punish my own father and my own uncle. I fed them to Huaishuang and broke ties with the Heici Xu sect. Their faithful men tried to kill me after, but I was lucky Master Lin visited by then."

"He visited? Why?"

"The Iron Fan Yuanyan. He wished to see it." Ren Junjie hummed as he recalled unimportant words from that night. "He considered me close to Lady Cheng who was taking care of the fan. He was hoping I would help him convince her to show the fan to him."

Sun Yin pouted. "I knew it—his father had more notebooks about it." She then chuckled. "Master Lin felt that the murder of his father was connected to him snooping around weird places. Perhaps that was why he looked into such things."

Ren Junjie frowned at her. "One of her core pieces? How many pieces were there?"

"Eight. Each represented the main techniques of the Bride. We already uncovered the location of four of them: Huayuan, Heici, Haiyang, and in the hands of the Storm Snake. Four more were lost in the wind…" Sun Yin hummed as she felt rather easy talking to a child Lin Kun handled as well. "If ever, would you like to help me find all of them?"

"No." Ren Junjie turned his face away. "The talks about the Bride are destructive, and her belongings more so. If someone could take that fan away from Little Huan, I would force that someone to do so." He huffed angrily. "That Bride had brought too much turmoil into this world. She must be forgotten… but the things she showed the world are too much to pass.

"My father once mentioned he would love to see the Bride again. But not in her original form."

Sun Yin twitched at his words. She continued staring at him intently. "How not in her original form? Not in this body—I mean a human body?"

The master turned to her and shook his head. "That's all I can say. I didn't look into it all that much. I only hunted the Storm Snake in case there were new treasures to be claimed." He turned away again. "But it seemed like it's about the Bride…"

"Are you seeking for a perfect gift for Little Huan?" Sun Yin lifted her sleeve and chuckled. "It's going to be her sixteenth birthday soon after all."

"...Why shouldn't I? What kind of suitor am I if I let it pass without me finding her a present?" Ren Junjie grew pissed—not at Sun Yin, but at the fact that he could not find a nice present for his darling.

Sun Yin giggled as she figured it would be hard to tease such an honest man. He was like Lu Bang but was more sensible and softer. She just learned he liked the young lady from the Haiyang Cheng sect. Perhaps the same one Lu Bang said was a feisty girl.

Ren Junjie dropped his angry face before squinting at the maiden. "How did you know she would be sixteen soon? It wasn't something shared outside of the Haiyang Cheng sect. Who are you really, Lady Sun?"

"It doesn't matter right now." Sun Yin suddenly grew excited. "What matters is that the night market should be open soon. I'll ask Zhang Min to guide us around the city. This is a coastal city; there should be pretty stones being sold here."

"H... Hairpins. She loves hairpins. Those are the only gifts she wore." Ren Junjie stuttered as he started daydreaming about his lady love.

The maiden did not bother to disrupt him as he did so. She only sat there and watched him curl his lips with a rare smile. She sighed to herself. 'Even though he has punished his father and his uncle for neglecting their sect, this man is still a child. Probably too young to meddle with the ones who sought the destruction of the cultivation world.'