Chapter 78 Peace and security
"Don't worry, I won't take advantage of others. Besides, you and I are half fellow disciples. From now on, you and I will not interfere with each other. I won't cause trouble for you, and you don't cause trouble for me. How about that?"
"Are you so kind?" Ruan Xing couldn't believe his ears.
"Because I don't want to waste time and energy on you anymore." Xie Huai chuckled, holding the talisman between his slender fingers and raising it to the side of his face, "And I already have something on you, don't I?"
Ruan Xing was silent for a moment, glanced at the prison, and asked, "What about Zhao Fengchun?"
"I will not break my promise to you. She will live, because a disobedient pawn will have to pay the price."
Xie Huai's tone was relaxed and casual. The flickering candlelight reflected in Ruan Xing's black eyes. Then, she ended the simulation.
Looking at the room full of bamboo slips and jade slips, Ruan Xing rubbed his brows with his hand.
Although the development of the matter was somewhat unexpected, it did not cause much impact on Ruan Xing.
It was better for the talisman to fall into Xie Huai's hands than into Xuanbing Sect's hands. It was also her carelessness. She had originally thought of giving two talismans to Zhao Fengchun, and then she and Qin Yi would each use one to escape. As for the lives of others, she was not familiar with them and could not care so much.
I didn’t expect that Zhao Fengchun still had one left... Between the two of them, who didn’t use the talisman?
After knowing the result of the matter, Ruan Xing was no longer as nervous and flustered as at the beginning. She continued to look at the remaining jade slips on the table, but there was no useful information in them. After processing and timestamping them, she went to report to the elders and found that her senior brother had finally returned.
"The elder asked me to find someone to go with me to retrieve the letter. Junior sister, do you want to go?"
Ruan Xing nodded, "Okay."
Outer disciples' sect jade tokens do not allow them to enter the main peak, so only inner disciples can go and get them.
The two of them flew towards the clan hall on their swords. This time, Ruan Xing did not see Xie Huai's figure in the corner, but followed behind the outer sect elders to greet them.
"Let's go in and talk first." said the senior brother.
Seeing this rare scene, many outer disciples at the entrance of the Zongwu Hall began to talk in low voices.
"It's rare to see inner disciples coming to the sect hall."
"Is it related to what happened with Senior Brother Qin? What they encountered might not be a simple mad monster."
"It's a pity that Senior Brother Qin is still in a coma, otherwise we could go find him and ask what's going on."
This matter is being kept secret from the outer disciples for the time being, in case there really is an evil cultivator among them, but it looks like it can't be kept secret for much longer.
After hearing the disciples' private speculation, the few of them looked calm. After entering the sect hall, the senior brother asked, "We are here in the name of Elder Xu to get Yu Xin. Where is Yu Xin now?"
"Don't worry, the feather letter will naturally be handed over to Elder Xu, but..." The outer sect elder hesitated for a moment, "Xie Huai, you tell me."
Xie Huai, who was standing behind the outer sect elder, stepped forward, folded his hands and saluted, "Yes."
"Originally, we had already detained Zhao Fengchun after receiving the anonymous report from a disciple. However, when the disciple saw that the reporter had a strange look on his face, he asked a few more questions and found out some unexpected things." Xie Huai said, his eyes lingering on Ruan Xing's face intentionally or unintentionally, and then he waved his hand. From the next room, a disciple from the Sect Affairs Hall came over, holding a male disciple with his hands tied with soul-locking ropes.
The male disciple was extremely panicked and kept begging for mercy, "I am innocent. I did not collude with the evil cultivators! I was just bewildered for a moment..."
The senior brother frowned and said, "Tell me clearly what's going on."
"Yes... that feather letter inexplicably appeared in my room a few days ago. The content of the letter was to let me quietly put the feather letter into Junior Sister Zhao's room and expose her. After I read the letter, the handwriting on it was automatically destroyed. I hate Zhao Fengchun's behavior of not following the right path and relying on Senior Brother Qin's support and care, so... I am really not a traitor, I dare not do it!"
The male disciple fell to the ground, sobbing and regretting deeply. Ruan Xing felt that his face looked somewhat familiar. Upon closer inspection, she found that it was the young neighbor who lived in Bingzi Courtyard.
"It seems that Zhao Fengchun was wrongly accused. The Shattered Ice Valley monster going crazy was indeed an accident." The outer sect elder said with a little regret, "But this matter still needs to be decided by Elder Xu."
The senior brother's face was full of contempt. "It is a disgrace to Xuanbing Sect to have such a person stay in the sect. We must not let him off lightly. I will report this matter in detail to Elder Xu."
"That's right." The outer sect elder echoed, and then said: "Xie Huai, go and get Yu Xin."
"Yes." Xie Huai glanced at Ruan Xing imperceptibly.
Ruan Xing said to his senior brother, "Senior brother, I will go with him to get it."
"Okay, go ahead." The senior brother nodded in agreement without thinking too much.
It just so happened that he had something to say to the outer sect elders, and it was not convenient for a child like Ruan Xing to hear it.
Ruan Xing followed Xie Huai to the room where the evidence was placed and protected by a magic circle.
There were disciples from the Zongwu Hall outside, so it was not a place to talk. After entering the room, there was no one around. Xie Huaicai smiled and said, "I thought you would come to me as soon as you got the news."
"Isn't it the same if I look for you now? I kept winking at me just now. What do you want?" Ruan Xing said unhappily.
"You saw it just now. I have already shown my sincerity. Are you still not satisfied?" Xie Huai took out a talisman and waved it in front of Ruan Xing, then quickly put it back.
He gave up a chess piece and saved the lives of Zhao Fengchun and Qin Yi.
What the disciple said should be the truth, but he was just used by Xie Huai.
Xie Huai continued, "You may not know that the outer sect elders have entrusted me with the task of catching the sect traitor. I wanted to kill two birds with one stone and solve the aftermath of Hanshan Secret Realm, but for you, I have to go through a little more trouble."
"The thief cries thief?" Ruan Xing found it a little funny. "I understand what you mean. Is everything going well? I guess you will leave Xuanbing Sect after the end of Jintai Secret Realm, right? That's why you don't want to cause trouble."
Xie Huai smiled and said, "That's exactly what I meant. What do you think?"
"I have no objection, but if you really want to show your sincerity, why not return the talisman to me?" Although Ruan Xing felt that Xie Huai would not agree, he still gave it a try.
"That won't do." Xie Huai shook his head slightly, "I don't dare to believe everything you say. This is my guarantee."
He opened the magic circle, took out the box inside, opened the lid and let Ruan Xing take a look. It was indeed Yu Xin.
Ruan Xing snorted and stopped talking. The two of them walked out of the house again as if nothing had happened.
When they reached the front hall, the senior brother and the outer sect elder seemed to have finished their conversation. After checking that the box was correct, they said goodbye.
On the way back, Ruan Xing asked, "Brother, how will you deal with those two people?"
"That female disciple should probably be given some compensation and allowed to go home. After all, she was involved and punished, so it's not good for her to stay in the outer sect." The senior brother thought for a while, "As for the male disciple, it depends on what Elder Xu thinks. Although according to his words he was deceived, if he didn't have such intentions, how could he be bewitched by the evil cultivator? It's not unfair to sentence him for colluding with the evil cultivator." What a pity... I wonder how Qin Yi will face it when he wakes up.
But this has nothing to do with her. She just wants to save their lives. She doesn't want them to die in vain after they met each other. As for the future, there is a high probability that they will not meet again.
The two handed the box containing Yu Xin to Elder Xu and returned to the External Affairs Hall of the main peak.
Elder Xu looked somewhat unapproachable and asked the two of them a few questions in a stern tone.
However, Ruan Xing did not think he was that scary. She had seen Jindan cultivators many times in her simulated memory, such as the familiar national teacher… The Jindan stage was just like that, just a person with powerful abilities, not a monster.
"We have dealt with the jade slips. If there is nothing else to do, you can go back first." Seeing her bored look, the senior brother said considerately, "Come back tomorrow. We are quite free here. After finishing the work, you can go back to your residence to practice."
"Okay, brother. I have something I want to ask you. I can actually draw some first-grade talismans. I have sold some of them when I was in the city before. I wonder if there is a place in the sect that buys these talismans?" Ruan Xing found an opportunity to ask the question that she was concerned about. She was now in a state of only spending money and not making any money, and she was quite anxious.
"Talismans, can't you use contribution points to exchange for elixirs and talismans in the treasure pavilion? Those are actually made by the brothers and sisters. But contribution points are precious, and basically everyone uses them to exchange for skills and spells. If you want to exchange talismans for contribution points, it will be a big loss. It's better to find a market in the town to sell them. But since you don't like to go out, there are small trade fairs held by outer disciples in our sect. Do you want to take a look?"
"Okay." Ruan Xing was a little surprised. There really was a way to make money. She agreed immediately. "I'll take some time to draw some talismans in the next few days. Brother, when are we going?"
"Haha, no rush. We have a party in the middle of every month. It's only the beginning of the month now, so it's still early." The senior brother said with a smile.
"Okay, then I'll go back first. See you tomorrow." Ruan Xing still had a few first-grade talismans and unused yellow paper and cinnabar in her storage bag. If she went back to work on them, it would not be a problem to draw a few dozen more.
I have to add some points and then try to see if what Xie Huai said is true.
Could he really keep his distance from her? Would she be safe once she left the Xuanbing Sect?
As for the spirit gathering array in the quiet room... Ruan Xing doesn't have the confidence to use it for the time being. He only has more than 400 points left, so he doesn't dare to use it casually.
Ruan Xing went back and drew a few talismans, then had a refreshed sleep. The next day, she came to the External Affairs Hall early, bringing her yellow paper and cinnabar.
There's nothing busy here anyway, so as long as no one disturbs her, she can paint anywhere.
Unfortunately, Ruan Xing didn't expect that someone would actually disturb her.
She was drawing the talisman when the senior sister next door pushed the door open to remind them, "The elder is here."
The elder is here? Ruan Xing looked at his senior brother in confusion.
The senior brother explained, "Let's go to the meeting."
No, you really treat Xuanbing Sect as a company. Aren’t we colleagues if not fellow disciples?
Ruan Xing complained, put down his pen and went out. He followed the sparse number of people from the External Affairs Hall and stood together. He folded his hands in front of his chest and bowed to the stern-faced Elder Xu, "Disciple greets the elder."
"Yes." Elder Xu agreed and said, "The sect is sure that there are traces of demon cultivators. The letter sent by the sect hall yesterday is solid evidence. If so, we should send a message to other sects and ask them to check their own sects to prevent fakes from coming in and letting the demon cultivators make a comeback. You two will form a team and notify the nearby Zhengyi Sect, Hongyi Pavilion, and Liuyang Study."
The disciples said in unison: "Yes! We will obey the elder's order."
After the elders left, the disciples began to discuss.
There are only seven people in the Foreign Affairs Hall now. Six of them are going out, and the one who stays will be responsible for running the entire Foreign Affairs Hall. Although it will only take one or two days... no one is still willing to stay.
Ruan Xing really wanted to stay, but she had only been working for one day and might not be able to handle her own job smoothly, let alone other people's.
After discussing for a long time, the senior sister who was finally confirmed to stay looked depressed.
The senior brother called out, "Junior Sister Ruan, I'm in your group, where do you want to go?"
"Brother, let me think about it." Ruan Xing frowned and thought, then opened the real-scene simulation.
She had to first make sure that Xie Huai wouldn't come out and kill her.
Senior brother is in the middle stage of foundation building, she is in the early stage of foundation building, the two of them together, Xie Huai should not be so arrogant...
"Let's go to Liuyang Study." Ruan Xing said.
It has been more than half a month. The distance is too far and there is the obstruction of the barrier tree. Her and Jianlai's telepathic communication has not been moving for a long time. She doesn't know whether Jianlai has digested the Yin energy in his body well. He is the big killer that Ruan Xing has been looking forward to for a long time.
If all goes well, maybe we can meet.
After a few people prepared themselves, Ruan Xing put the unfinished talisman back into the storage bag and set off immediately.
At the speed of the flying sword, it only takes a day to travel several hundred kilometers. By the evening, Ruan Xing and the others had already arrived in Yunyang City.
"Let's take a night's rest and go to Liuyang Study tomorrow," suggested the senior brother.
Ruan Xing was a little confused, "Is this okay? Aren't we going to deliver a message?"
Friends who often watch spy wars know that the most important thing in information warfare is timeliness. Sometimes when there are spies on both sides, whoever spreads the news faster wins.
The senior brother couldn't help but laugh, "If you really want the message to spread as quickly as possible, why not use a teleportation array?"
Yes, the teleportation array must be faster than their flying swords.
Ruan Xing didn't understand.
The senior brother sighed, "It doesn't matter if we come a day earlier or later, because we are here only because Xuanbing Sect is the largest sect in this area, and we represent the reputation of Xuanbing Sect."
He was still not satisfied, but Ruan Xing understood.
Sending them here to deliver the message was not only to make the various sects beware of the evil cultivators.
Also for the purpose of showing off, our Xuanbing Sect is very powerful. We have already caught the trace of the evil cultivator and found the evidence left by him. You didn’t notice it, right?
The reason for the collapse of the Hanshan Secret Realm had long been kept secret by the Xuanbing Sect. There was no secret realm in the world that could exist safely forever. Collapse was a matter of time. However, there was a difference between a natural collapse due to the end of its lifespan and a collapse caused by someone's interference.
The Xuanbing Sect really cares about its reputation.
Thanks to Rosetta_ for the monthly ticket~
Thanks to book friend 20200530093008398 for the monthly ticket~
Thanks to Ji Shenzhu Yi Lei Jixukun for the monthly ticket~
(End of this chapter)
