Chapter Twenty Eight

Bristling out of both embarrassment and anger Qing Mianyang spoke through gritted teeth and red cheeks. "Are you making fun of me?" Wang Lan Biyu wasn't, she meant it. She hopes Mianyang will always be this selfish, at least when it comes to self-preservation. So she said calmly to the fuming girl "If there comes a time where something happens in this place I hope you will say everything you can while protecting yourself. No matter how vicious or wrong other people think it is, if you feel it is in your best interest to keep silent I think you should do so."

Is this some kind of joke? But with no care towards the other girl's whirling thoughts, Lan Biyu went on briskly and indifferently. "No matter what you see and as long as it is me who will take the brunt of things and no other within the sect you may continue using me as the scapegoat." "Hey, Wang Lan Biyu are you sick in the head?!" Thinking Lan Biyu had lost her mind and was speaking nonsense Mianyang tugged the back of her skirt hard to get her attention. Lan Biyu glanced at her calmly, her expression entirely serious baffling Mianyang even more.

"You don't have to understand now, but knowing how your mind works you will figure it out later without me having to remind you." Angry at how her character was so blatantly slapped and exposed. Mianyang was about to argue but a robe of almost unnatural white fell from the sky like an angel descending from heaven. "This disciple greets Elder Shao." Lan Biyu elegantly nodded at the man as Mianyang held in the original words she was going to say. Silently followed the girl's lead while bowing from her waist and hiding her puzzled eyes from him. "So it was you two who sent out the signal a bit ago." Elder Shao seemed relieved after finding the two girls safe but questioned how they managed to meet so fast.

Seeing the question in his eyes Lan Biyu explains the situation vaguely "Seeing that I was sent close to Qing Mianyang I figured it would be safer to be together with another than alone to settle master's nerves." There was more Shao Lin wanted to say so he looked at Lan Biyu's calm face conflictedly but could only silently accept her explanation since she didn't seem intent on sharing more. "I see. As long as you are fine...I will call Minglan now to let him know I found you two." "Elder Shao it's better to leave out the fact that you found me just for now." Both the elder and Qing Mianyang peered at the indifferent Lan Biyu bewildered by her words. Qing Mianyang hurriedly lowered her head burying it in her chest to hide her slowly recovering brain as Lan Biyus's previous words before the elder came and her current behavior now gave rise to more suspicion.

Meanwhile, Elder Shao furrows his brows at Lan Biyu disapprovingly. Not agreeing with her suggestion "You are his daughter." Lan Biyu remains calm while confronting him. "It is because I am Master's daughter that I make this suggestion to you. Master is aware of my capabilities so he will not panic even if he nor you have yet to find me since that only means I managed to hide that well from dangerous folk as well. But if you tell Master that you found me already, wouldn't Master rush over in a panic to reunite with me and possibly end up injured due to his insistence to come over? And what about my other senior brothers and sisters? What if they sent out their signals but due to Master rushing over the hills to our location he missed their cry for help?"

Shao Lin's hand which was about to crack the jade talisman hesitated after Lan Biyu explained her reasons. She could see the conflict and worries in his gentle eyes as he realized there was indeed a possibility the things she said would come true. Based on Minglan's doting behavior and personality, mixed with how Wang Lan Biyu isn't in her best condition right now too it was entirely possible that guy would do exactly as his daughter says. Even Mianyang almost fell for her explanation if not for her weird words before. She side-eyes Lan Biyu questioningly while Shao Lin troubled himself over her request. But thinking a bit more she decidedly kept her mouth shut and didn't choose a side.

This silence to the elder, effectively meant she was silently agreeing with Lan Biyu too though, convincing Shao Lin further. "...I understand. But should anything happen to you at all even if it's a minor injury, know that I will call Minglan over immediately no matter what you say." Lan Biyu accepts his condition easily making the man fall at ease as it was the girl acquiescing she won't do anything reckless if it could be helped. And yet, there was a person who thought otherwise. Mianyang once more peeked at elder Shao with conflict, glancing at Lan Biyu with skepticism. Shao Lin sighed before cracking the jade and reporting to Minglan about the current situation. As he did so, Mianyang received a small look from Lan Biyu making her stiffen up.

Her brow rose gently towards the other girl as if to say "See? Didn't you do exactly as I asked you to naturally anyway?" Unable to refute that silent yet loud accusation, Mianyang could merely assent with more silence and gritted her teeth. However, she couldn't help feeling that Lan Biyu was planning something big. From her earlier implications, it had to do with not only their sect but other sects too. From what she knows about Lan Biyu though, this rigid girl would never harm their sect and their master. So wasn't it fine to just watch it from the sidelines for now? After keeping quiet while Shao Lin reported, the man gestured in another direction "I saw that another one of the sect's fireworks went off over there just a bit before I came to you two."

He sternly warns her afterward "Stay close and no matter what don't touch anything you don't recognize even if it's a flower you find harmless. The An Xing realm is dangerous and you never know what might be trying to harm you." "Yes, Elder." With Shao Lin protecting them and watching their backs the two girls were more relaxed and Mianyang even let go of Lan Biyu's skirt choosing to walk between the two of them where it was safest. Lan Biyu saw through her thoughts but didn't care to expose her. For her, it was just like taking a stroll in her old backyard anyway so she didn't feel much urgency to keep close to Shao Lin. Occasionally she even had the leisure to look at a familiar plant and recall its name as they peacefully made their way towards the other sect member.

She even had time to somewhat hope it wasn't a specific senior brother who was waiting at the end of the forest and casually brushed aside common snakes who wanted to greet her. Naturally, she did this subtly under the watchful eyes of Shao Lin who worriedly glanced behind at her to see if she could keep up with his pace. Did she look that sickly? Mianyang also sensed the elder's worries and almost wanted to bluntly say "Elder Shao you don't have to worry about that girl she's already at Martial King rank and can handle herself." She clicked her tongue instead and pretended to be blind as was her talent as a commonly overlooked disciple. Bringing misfortune to myself by speaking out, I am foolish but not mentally ill.

The silence between the three people who rarely interacted with one another was obvious as the stillness went on until they came closer to the signal. Passing a threshold of younger pine trees that seems to mark the end of the forest. All three people's faces sour when a familiar young man's voice entered their ears full of sarcasm. Becoming louder and clearer as they arrive "-ow are we to know if you all didn't purposely follow brother Chang and bumped into him to break his communication jade? Everyone knows that our Azure sect never makes trouble and yet trouble continuously brings itself to our doorsteps."

The other party outnumbered the dark-faced Gao Chang and Gu Ping who stood by his friend fearlessly to sharply reprimand the offenders. The golden red-clothed youths' expressions turn ugly and their leader sneers in response. "Narrow-minded and arrogant just like your predecessor. It's just a simple piece of jade and yet you treat it like a priceless treasure in this An Xing realm. Perhaps to you bumpkins, it really is a rare treasure." He mocks making his group of fellow sect members snicker to themselves infuriating the boys further. "Who doesn't know that your Azure sect has long been in decline because of your lacking talents? If it weren't for the close relationship between your patriarch and other masters who would even bat an eye at your threats?"

The boy scoffs and tosses a gold coin at them which flies and hits Gu Ping's chest falling into the dirt pathetically. Ignoring the fury continuing to grow within the hot-blooded teens and relying on the fact that they had numbers over the two. His eyes held quite a bit of scorn towards the other "Since I'm generous and know where I wronged I won't bother arguing with you anymore. That should more than cover the damages right? Or, are your secular and noble selves too removed from the mortal realm where you can't even recognize the value of currency nowadays?"