Some Great News

Lu Bang was at the other side of the deck, looking back at the vast blue horizon. Gangkou was already out of sight even though it was just roughly ten hours since they left the city. The wind was picking up as if the guardians of the sea were making them pass by quickly.

It was his first time to leave the island where he had grown up in. He was tasked to take care of his little brother who used to be seasick until he had enough cultivation level to ride his sword. Since then, Lin Kun would travel outside Huayuan for formal gatherings with their father and some entourage. Lu Bang had always been the whore's son, and so they were against him being seen by the other sects.

However, he was still popular. Heici and Huayuan were on the same island, and so all sports fest were still done on their island. Lu Bang shone so bright; it was hard for people to think it was Lin Kun who would succeed the sect. Then again, the brothers were too tight that they cared too little about who was succeeding their father.

When they learned that Lu Bang volunteered to have his core melted, they all wore a displeased face on the outside. They saw him more deserving than Lin Kun, but Lu Bang did not care. It was also a way to erase the speculations of him leading the Huayuan Lin sect. Lin Kun's only response to that truth was to be better than anyone else. Lu Bang sat through all of his brother's training, catapulting his skills enough to rival the current Chief Cultivator.

A bitter grin escaped to his lips. He buried his face into his arms as he tried to pry those thoughts out of his head. "This sucks..."

"Lu Bang!" Sun Yin came back to his side with the robes she brought to the swindlers. "I have great news!"

"What great news?" He turned to her, his gaze following her to his side. He then frowned at the clothes she had with her.

"They said they just got them from a traveling duo." Sun Yin giggled as she brought the clothes down at the railings. She was supposed to lean on those, but Lu Bang slid them away with his hand pressing them against the railing. She only smiled mischievously before continuing. "They tailed the two men and took away their luggage. They mistook the traveling duo as rich people. They were wearing elegant clothes after all."

"Huh. What's great about that?"

"They were heading to Heici that night."

Lu Bang froze a little. He then hissed and shook his head. Huaban flew from the sheath and struck on the clothes as soon as Lu Bang's hand left its spot. He leaned his face on an open palm. "This is getting bad. I hope Lin Kun is okay back home."

"I also heard from Ren Junjie that some senior disciples of the Huayuan Lin sect and the Reqi Ren sect were being lured to try the Hushe Path." Sun Yin pouted, but her comical lips did not fit the real rage in her eyes. She then closed her eyes and cleared her expression. "For now, I need to recover Yuanyan. Without Yuanyan's regeneration powers and Buyue's—to think about it, I haven't taught [Steel Body] to Lin Kun."

"[Steel Body]?" He sounded like he was interested, but he was not really. "You gave him full authority to Fenqi. He will be able to unlock all of its secrets in no time."

"I hope not." Sun Yin stared into the horizon like what he was doing earlier. "Like I said before, that sword was forged from the ashes of my ancestors. They died filled with resentment. It could be poisonous to him."

The male looked at Sun Yin without a word coming out of his lips. He could not choose which one to say first.

"I let him play with Buyue even though I'm away because I feel like a month could be too short for him to tap into Buyue's dreadful power." She turned to the man next to her. "Like what you saw before, even the Cinder Army was not kept at its full power. There were limits to what was to be wielded. Don't praise your brother; I'm getting worried."

"It's new for you to worry." Lu Bang could only huff. He could not do what she told him to do. He knew that his little brother had their father's will carried on, as well as his very own. Lin Kun would work so hard with everything he could use to make it happen.

"We should chase the traitors when we get back." Sun Yin hummed, shifting the conversation to what it was before one of the digressed. "Of course, they should not be able to return without anyone noticing that they did not have their robes on them."

Lu Bang leaned against the railing as well. "There were a lot of senior disciples that supported Lin Dong even though he was not as superior as my father. They started to question my father when my mother and I were let to live inside the temple." He remembered quite a long list of names and faces who opposed their stay in the Huayuan Lin sect. They were also the ones who kept on pushing Lu Bang into just being a whore's son.

He turned to the woman who kept her eyes upfront. "Sun Yin, do you think some of those in the last raid against the Storm Snake had connections to the Heici Xu sect?"

"I can't say for sure. The Fenglan Qiao sect seemed to be oblivious of the Hushe Path while the Haiyang Cheng sect could be gearing towards it. With Cheng Huan capable of wielding Yuanyan, they might be thinking of using it as an edge to be prioritized by the Heici Xu sect."

"Cheng Huan, huh." There was a smirk trying to break into his lips. However, he already lost his core so he was nothing better than the useless lady. "She's not really a good fighter. She's clumsy, and she cannot ride her sword. She is the only child of Cheng Jianguo, and she doesn't seem to be liked even by other houses in Haiyang."

"But Ren Junjie was head over heels with her." Sun Yin chuckled.

"That's impossible." Lu Bang wiggled a finger at her. "No one ever stood up for Cheng Huan's shortcomings; neither did anyone try to take her away from shame. Both of her parents were excellent cultivators, and yet the princess was like a normal mortal. She had no talent as they would all say. Getting married to her was like tainting one's bloodline."

Sun Yin gasped. She slapped the railing with her palm. "Now that's harsh!"

The male shrugged his shoulders. "You'd know when you meet her. Then again, you're Sun Yin; you might know something that we all don't."

The maiden was teeming with secondhand anger. It was as if she was the one being insulted by Lu Bang's words. It was hard to imagine that she used to be like so, thinking that she learned from no one. Cheng Huan was only turning sixteen; she should at least be given some time to be the best version of herself.

That was when it hit her. Sun Yin gasped and looked around as if fitting puzzle pieces together in mid-air. She earned Lu Bang's attention even before she spoke, "Yuanyan. She must be doing something to the poor girl."

"How prone is the fan to stunt someone's progress?"

"It's not stunting. Maybe she's hiding it." Sun Yin hummed with a hand on her face. "Maybe it's so terrifying she wished to not show anyone."

"A terrifying power, huh." Lu Bang somewhat considered what she said. Back then, he had no idea how strong the Bride really was. If someone else told him that the fan's power could be so ugly it had to be kept away from people, he would probably think that person was a lunatic. Now that even the Bride herself feared for the subjects being taken by her creations, he could believe it a little.

The maiden then flicked her finger to take Huaban off of the clothes. She let the sword go back to her sheath before collecting the torn garments. "Thinking about these things makes my head hurt. Let's head back into our cabin. I want to sleep."

"Could you at least tend to yourself when you sleep? You're not living on your own anymore." Lu Bang as he extended his arm for her to take as they walked back to their cabin. "It's bothering to see you sleep for hours and wake up without even grooming yourself. At least untie your hair or wear something else to bed, not the sect's hanfu."

"Oh, my, you want me to undress in the same room as you?" Sun Yin giggled as if she was embarrassed yet still teasing the male.

"The entire Huayuan Lin sect saw you in your dudou. What else is there not to see?"

"Oh, that's a bare back. How about a bare front?"

"Not interested."