Chapter 63

Chapter 63: The Elders

Even though the Tianshan disciples had already mentally prepared themselves, hearing Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan's words still made them all collectively gasp in shock.

Yu Han, anxious, said, "Then why are Senior Brother and Bai Brother still here talking to us? Hurry and find Master!"

She turned to her fellow disciples, "Since this is a major matter, it can't be left for Master to know alone. Let's go and inform the various uncles and elders. Senior Brother, Bai Brother, you two wait here with Master."

In just a few sentences, she arranged everything. Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan listened and felt there was nothing more to add, so they both nodded in agreement.

"Alright," they said, "then we trouble the younger disciples."

Yu Han replied, "Don’t say 'trouble'! Hurry up and go, don't waste time!"

She pretended to push Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan, but the two didn’t give her that chance. They nodded toward the other disciples and Mei Yinghan said, "Bai Brother, let’s go then."

Bai Zhengliu smiled slightly, "I haven’t been to Tianshan for so long, I’ve actually forgotten the way. After you, Mei Brother."

Mei Yinghan said, "After you, Bai Brother."

The two of them left, and sure enough, the Tianshan disciples behind them got busy. Not long after Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan found Mei Yinghan’s master, Ling Bozi, the other Tianshan elders, including Ling Xiaozzi and Ling Yunzi, also gathered together.

As for Yu Han and the others, who had brought together the elders, they peeked inside the room before raising their voices, "Since this is a major matter, we won’t listen further. We’ll wait until Master and the elders have made a decision, and then we’ll follow their instructions."

With that, they thoughtfully closed the door for the people inside.

Mei Yinghan glanced helplessly at Bai Zhengliu, "Bai Brother, you’re making me laugh."

Bai Zhengliu was indeed smiling, but he only found the atmosphere of Tianshan very pleasant. The disciples, aside from Gu Miao, were lively and interesting, and they could be serious when needed. All in all, they were easy to get along with.

Hearing Mei Yinghan’s words, Bai Zhengliu shook his head, "Mei Brother, no need to…" He paused, then turned to the Tianshan elders, "Let’s get to the main issue."

Mei Yinghan also showed a serious expression, "That’s how it should be."

In front of them, the Tianshan elders, who had been puzzled by the younger disciples' calls, slightly tensed as they observed Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan’s state.

The first thought that crossed their minds was: "Could something have happened to Gu Miao outside?"

The younger disciples had thought the same. But soon, the elders realized that if that was really the case, Mei Yinghan wouldn’t be acting this way.

With that thought in mind, before long, the elders heard Mei Yinghan helplessly clarify: "This matter has nothing to do with Gu Miao, but he has now pledged his lifelong loyalty to the Ninth Prince. When we parted, they said they were heading to the capital."After speaking, he didn’t give the elders a chance to ask questions, but instead continued immediately.

“Gu Shidi and the Ninth Prince are going to the capital, and the matter they are involved in is the same as the one Bai Brother and I wish to discuss. However, before we begin, I ask that the esteemed elders give us something.”

Bai Zhengliu listened to these words, his ears twitching, and he understood in his heart.

That's right, it was just like when they encountered the Jun family brothers. They needed to first show the elders something extraordinary in order to make them believe what they were about to say.

This process, both of them were quite familiar with. Bai Zhengliu didn’t interrupt, just listened as Mei Yinghan carefully explained their requirements for what they needed from the elders. When Mei Yinghan hesitated, thinking "But we also need a little blood to act as a catalyst," Bai Zhengliu casually drew out the blade of the Twenty-Eight Generals, grazing it against his own finger.

—But it didn’t touch.

Despite being incredibly sharp, a blade that the swordsman regularly honed, it seemed to become like cotton at that moment. As Bai Zhengliu’s finger advanced an inch, the blade retreated an inch.

But the Twenty-Eight Generals didn’t just retreat. Bai Zhengliu clearly felt a warm current flow from the blade, gently brushing against his finger.

He raised an eyebrow. While Mei Yinghan was still pondering whether to visit the kitchen, Bai Zhengliu called out, “Mei Brother, could you hand me the sword tassels the elders brought?”

Mei Yinghan glanced at him, his gaze filled with questioning.

Bai Zhengliu’s expression remained calm... well, calmly allowing Mei Yinghan to inspect his hand, especially where it had previously touched the Twenty-Eight Generals.

After a moment, Mei Yinghan seemed to let out a breath of relief and said, “Alright.”

No more words followed, but Bai Zhengliu seemed to understand something. When the sword tassels were passed, and their fingertips brushed together, he jokingly spoke to Mei Yinghan, “Mei Brother, should you carefully examine my hand?”

Mei Yinghan’s pupils contracted, and he looked at Bai Zhengliu.

But Bai Zhengliu had already lowered his head, and just like when he worked with copper coins in the temple, he hooked his finger onto the sword tassels and quickly brushed across.

The elders watched the scene in confusion.

Had it been anyone else in their place, they likely would have turned their gaze away by now. But since it was Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan — both outstanding juniors who had shown great promise during the Blood Demon disaster — the crowd patiently waited and watched.

Then, they were shocked to see the sword tassels move.Bai Zhengliu’s hand was flat and open, facing upwards, without any other movement. The sword tassels, however, seemed to be lifted by some invisible force. At first, it wobbled slightly, but then it floated toward the Tian Mountain disciples.

Before they knew it, everyone in the room, including Mei Yinghan, held their breath and quietly watched this scene.

Bai Zhengliu, even more focused, began to murmur the intricate and obscure incantations. His voice, though once stumbling and inexperienced, now grew smoother and more confident. By the end, the sword tassels stopped in front of Mei Yinghan’s master, Ling Xiaozhi, who, with a complex expression, reached out and caught the object, admitting, “This indeed belongs to me.”

Mei Yinghan let out a long sigh.

The others in the room each expressed their own astonishment.

Master Ling Yunzi spoke first, “I looked carefully. From where Bai Shaoxia passed to here, there were no fine threads or any other means to guide the movement of the sword tassels!”

Master Ling Bozi also said, “What is this…”

Ling Xiaozhi, who was holding the sword tassels and most certain that Bai Zhengliu had not tampered with it, raised his eyes to look at the two young men in front of him, asking, “Yinghan, Bai Shaoxia, what are you trying to tell us by showing us this?”

As his words reached their ears, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan exchanged glances.

Then, they began to speak, telling the story of the two events that took place in the Chang’an Prefecture and the Tan family village.

When they described the endless corridor and the vengeful ghost that gradually drew closer, the group again held their breath.

When they heard that the ghost had appeared again in broad daylight and nearly dragged the Ninth Prince into the water, the elders all clenched whatever they had in their hands.

When Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan spoke about seeing the "Star-Gathering Record" in Chang Laoye's house and noting down the array formations inside, Ling Bozi involuntarily exclaimed, “It shouldn't be!”

This exclamation interrupted the storytelling of Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan.

The two of them looked at him. The elders in the room also turned their gaze to Ling Bozi.

If one observed closely, they would notice that their expressions were not quite the same.

The younger Ling Yunzi’s face was filled with confusion and uncertainty. The slightly older Ling Xiaozhi, however, wore a look of unspeakable complexity.

Mei Yinghan hesitated slightly, then asked, “Master, you...?”

Ling Bozi took a deep breath, seemingly to steady his mind, and then said, “The fact that you and Bai Shaoxia are standing here means that you didn’t follow the array formations inside. Fine, please continue. The rest…”His expression grew complicated. He exchanged a look with his senior, Ling Xiaozhi, as though they were silently communicating.

Ling Bozi continued, “The rest, we will discuss later.”

With these words, Bai Zhengliu and Mei Yinghan were indeed puzzled, but they could only continue speaking.

Fortunately, it was a story they had told many times before. Even though they were interrupted once by Ling Bozi, they still managed to speak smoothly about the rest of the events.

They recounted how Miss Liu reappeared, dragged Bai Zhengliu into the well, and how, despite Mei Yinghan’s efforts to complete the array, he ultimately failed.

Throughout the retelling, Ling Bozi remained in a tense posture. It wasn’t until they reached the part where “Once Miss Liu regained her strength, she went to the main courtyard to capture Chang Laoye, An Bo, and the others for revenge. When we looked into the well, we discovered that it was Bai Shengliu who had torn the sealing talisman from the well,” that Ling Bozi let out a long sigh, finally showing a look of relief on his face.

He cupped his hands toward Bai Zhengliu and said, “This time, it was Bai Shaoxia who saved my useless disciple.”

Mei Yinghan: “...” blinked his eyes.

Bai Zhengliu, flattered, said, “Senior, there’s no need to be so polite. Mei Yinghan and I have been through many dangers together, and he has saved me more than once. Besides, at Chang’s house, Mei Yinghan’s intention was to save me, but he was deceived by Chang Laoye’s lies.”

In saying this, Bai Zhengliu was trying to explain that he truly could not claim “life-saving grace” from Mei Yinghan. But before he could finish his words, Mei Yinghan, in a serious tone, said, “Bai Brother, you’re always so humble, it makes me unsure of how to respond.”

Bai Zhengliu’s eyelids twitched, giving him a side glare.

Where did all this politeness come from?

Mei Yinghan smiled faintly, implying: this wasn’t “politeness,” it was heartfelt words.

This small interaction did not escape the eyes of the elders.

Ling Xiaozhi and Ling Bozi only sighed, thinking, “After going through all this, no wonder Yinghan is so close to Bai Shaoxia.” But Ling Yunzi, on the other hand, seemed to have thought of something, her eyes flickering, though it was unclear what exactly.

She smiled slightly and said, “As I see it, you two shouldn’t be so humble. Bai Shaoxia saved Yinghan, and that’s a great favor to our Tian Mountain Sect. As for whether Yinghan has saved Bai Shaoxia, that’s between you two, but we can still thank Bai Shaoxia.”

Hearing this, Bai Zhengliu was both amused and speechless. “Senior, you say this and really make me…”

Ling Yunzi laughed. “You’re just going to be humble again, aren’t you? You can’t do that. By the way, where were we? Miss Liu took her revenge, and you came out of the well—”

She patted her chest."In that narrow, small space underwater, facing a skeleton, just thinking about it gives me the chills! It's hard to imagine, yet you were still able to calm your mind and think through it."

Bai Zhengliu replied, "It’s also because Miss Liu did not have the intention to take my life. Moreover, I had traveled with my master in the past. Although I haven’t encountered a situation identical to that at Chang’s house, when it comes to ‘facing a skeleton,’ I do have some experience."

Ling Yunzi’s expression grew even more compassionate. "Poor child."

Bai Zhengliu continued, "After that, we learned the truth from Miss Liu," briefly explaining the matter. "Then, when day broke, we left Chang’s house."

Mei Yinghan took over, "Later, Sister Wang returned to her family from the Governor’s mansion, and I, along with Bai Brother, parted ways with Gu Shidi and the Ninth Prince." As he spoke, noticing the elders’ curiosity about the relationship between the four of them, the swordsman hastened his words. "We had agreed to report this matter to the sect. On the way, we met two of the Jun brothers from the Emei Sect. After that, we were once again involved in a strange incident."

Upon hearing this, the elders' curiosity dissipated. "You’re talking about Jun Yang and Jun Tao?"

Bai Zhengliu confirmed, "Exactly."

Mei Yinghan added, "Also, if there’s anything else involved, it’s the Emei Sect's senior Nie Qing’e and Wudang's senior Lu Qing…"

The author says:

Here’s an introduction to the new characters of these two chapters:

Shidi (Junior Brother): Han Shu, a rather calm person.

Shimei (Junior Sister): Yu Han, easily anxious and a bit loud.

Shifu (Master): Ling Bozi, seems to know some things about the Star Picking Record.

Shibo (Senior Brother): Ling Xiaozhi, seems to know things that Ling Bozi knows.

Shushu (Senior Uncle, female): Ling Yunzi, seems to have noticed something between Bai and Mei... 2333.