"What?! That Yu Sheng who looked like a gentleman stabbed Cheng-shixiong?!" Xiao Le exclaimed after he heard Lei Ling's story while You Rou and Lei Qing nodded while their beautiful face is frowning.
After Fan Wen heard it, he was very mad. They really didn't expect for Yu Sheng to stab Cheng Sheng. Pai Lie, on the other side, looked worried and guarded the Cleansing Stone to wait for the two to come out and capture Yu Sheng. However, none of them went to Zhongyang to inform Xie Lan, much less Zuo Zhe who is Yu Sheng's lover. They don't want to worry the two who are also fighting in case it would distract them.
"Goodness…!" Xiao Le sighed as he fell back on his seat weakly. "If I had gone to the fourth stage…"
"No." Lei Qing said. "From Li-shidi's story, the Feng Hua Palace is an extremely dangerous place. Even I doubt I would survive it." She said.
Xiao Le fell silent.
"By the way, Xiao-zi." Lei Qing called. "I remembered Shu Mu went to look for you before. Have you seen him?" she asked.
After they entered the Yunxiao Inn that day, Xie Lan told them to take Pai Lie to the Xinfaxian Sect along with Su Rong and Qie Shi for safety, since Zuo Zhe wanted to stay behind to help, and so they didn't know what happened to Zhongyang after that. They only heard news from the people Xie Lan and Jing Rui saved and sent to Xinfaxian through the array.
Hearing Shu Mu's name, Xiao Le shook his head and asked in surprise. "Mu-ge looked for me?"
The three nodded. "Xiao Le." Kang Ce called before he glared at Lei Qing, Lei Ling and You Rou.
"Da shixiong." Xiao Le gave him a small smile and nodded.
"We have to return to the sect." Kang Ce told him.
Xiao Le looked surprised, but then nodded before he lowered his head to hide his tears. His sect didn't abandon him.
Kang Ce was taken aback. He knows his behavior of Xiao Le. He raised his hand to touch Xiao Le's head, but pulled it back. They have already talked to each other last night, and reconciled. However, their relationship that has been broken can never return to how it was before.
Seeing Xiao Le crying, it was Lei Qing's, You Rou's and Lei Ling's turn to glare at Kang Ce. Kang Ce got no choice but to return to Li Nanzi and the other disciples. He saw Li Nanzi reading a letter.
"Shifu, what's wrong?" he asked.
"… Mu Yanshan was killed by the demonic cultivators, while Mu Rongrong was eaten by the walking corpses that found her when she escaped." Li Nanzi said.
(A/N: please let me celebrate for the bitch's death! YEAAAAAA!!!)
Kang Ce's expression changed. How can the joy in his expression escape Li Nanzi's eyes? Li Nanzi sighed. He knew that Mu Rongrong was the cause why Kang Ce and Xiao Le was split apart, and why their sect has become like it was now – divergent. "There's no need to go back and lose more lives." He said. Their sect was annihilated. "Let's stay here for now, and help the Xinfaxian Sect as much as we can in exchange for their protection." He told them.
"Yes!"
Nanshu Sect, South.
"I like him… I'm sorry, Mu-ge…"
Shu Mu lowered his gaze when he remembered Xiao Le muttering in his sleep after he and his fellow disciples took refuge in the Yunxiao Inn.
When he heard Xiao Le muttered 'I like him', he thought it was him and he felt elated. He realized, he already likes Xiao Le after the kid grew in his heart after he was hurt from his secret love towards Tang Zhe. Those years he hasn't been with Tang Zhe, Xiao Le was there by his side. His affection towards Tang Zhe lessened, but his affection towards Xiao Le grew.
He likes Xiao Le. However, the next sentence of Xiao Le crushed his heart: "I'm sorry, Mu-ge." What was he apologizing about? That he doesn't like him? If so, then who does he likes? Who does Xiao Le likes?
Suddenly, his mind went to the Huli Sect, and Kang Ce. He remembered Kang Ce and Xiao Le were like real blood-related brothers. So, it's him?
Shu Mu lowered his head when he felt a pain in his chest. He ran away from Xiao Le's room after that. It just so happened that someone told him their sect colluded with demonic cultivators with his father on the lead, and so his mind left Xiao Le. He immediately approached Xie Lan and Jing Rui, who were the present leaders, to explain the situation. Xie Lan has seen him hanging out with his disciples, and also knew about Shu Mu's condition before, and so he suspected that Shu Mu's father might have suffered the same. However, Shu Mu was cured by Cheng Sheng, but his father, whom he has a bad relationship, hasn't.
Shu Mu was stunned and his memories of his father flashed in his mind. He remembered, when he was young, his father was very strict on him. However, every night, there would be pastries on his bedside table. It was only years later that his father's temper grew. His suspicion increased and they immediately left for South.
"Da shixiong." His fellow disciples called from behind.
Shu Mu was pulled out from his thoughts, and only did he hear again his fellow disciples' cries. Their sect was annihilated. It was because of that man that stood tall in the middle of the ruins, but he is no longer breathing.
"The previous generation's debt… or was really there? It ended now." Qian Tian said while Qian Lin was kneeling on the ground, crying.
Shu Mu came too late. When he arrived, he only seen a blood-soaked Qian Tian, and the crying Qian Lin who has less bloodstains on his clothes.
Qian Shan self-destructed. Qian Su, his wife, died when their sect was attacked by demonic cultivators with Shu Mu's father on the lead. Qian Shan and Shu Mu's father fought, Qian Shan leading their fight to the Nanshu Sect to avoid more damages and more lives to be lost in the Qianxu Sect. After he saw that even the Nanshu Sect disciples were not spared by the demonic cultivators despite Shu Mu's father defecting on them, Qian Shan, also heartbroken by his wife's death, self-destructed.
It was that moment Qian Tian and Qian Lin finally arrived, and were stunned by their father's self-destruction. Qian Tian and Qian Lin, enraged, killed every demonic cultivator around. After they killed them all, Qian Lin cried while Qian Tian stood there, still stunned of what happened. They became orphaned in a single night. Finally, he couldn't hold it in and also cried.
Their cries echoed the bloodstained land filled with corpses.