“You think too much.”

Situ Hong was pulled from his thoughts. He grinned and his fan snapped open. “I do, don’t I? Gosh, I have such a wild and creative imagination. No wonder the ladies love me.”

Wu Lingtian stared at Situ Hong and could not find the exact correlation to anything he had just said.

“So!” Situ Hong poked the chest of one of the puppets with his fan. “What do you think this is?”

“That man surnamed Shan—I believe that these puppets are not his.”

“Oh?”

“If his goal here was to utilize these puppets to destroy the sect for revenge, then he would have already done so before we arrived—he had enough time. They’re a never-ending army,” Wu Lingtian gestured to the ones further back. They continued to bleed profusely, yet nothing showed that they would collapse soon.  

“I see.”

“When you arrived, the puppets did not stop. On top of that, I believe the look of shock in his eyes when he saw those things was genuine,” Wu Lingtian replied.

“Mm. You do have experience dealing with liars,” Situ Hong flourished his fan.

Wu Lingtian glanced at Situ Hong, rather unamused.

“So, what is your hypothesis on the goal of planting these puppets? For us to discover them?” Situ Hong tilted is head.

“Aren’t we already thinking the same thing?”

Situ Hong laughed brightly. “Then I will tell you my hypothesis!”

Situ Hong snapped his fan shut and walked around the puppets. He began to wave his fan dramatically as he spoke. He acted as if he were reciting an exhilarating poem. “I believe that this was planted by someone who already had an eye on the situation. Otherwise, how would these puppets get here? Perhaps it is even to sow the seeds of discord between us righteous cultivators and you unorthodox. The only groups that could benefit from this are the devil cultivators or the demons.

“However, they miscalculated and hadn’t expect you to be here—nor did they expect me to arrive so soon,” Situ Hong glanced at Wu Lingtian out of the corner of his eyes. His fan snapped open. “But who could have known about this so far ahead in advance? Are they watching us?”

Wu Lingtian watched Situ Hong’s dramatics a moment longer before gesturing to the puppets. “What are you going to do with them?”

“Oh, them? Well, first, we’ll have to see if that Shan whatever was really telling the truth and these are not his. Then, we have to figure whose they belong to if they’re not his. As for what we’re actually going to do with these half-dead, half-alive puppets…they’re doomed. I doubt they could go back to living,” Situ Hong shrugged. His fan snapped shut. “A shame.”

“You are not even going to try?” Wu Lingtian asked.

“Try? Do you want to try?” Situ Hong quirked an eyebrow. “My dear friend, you said so yourself—look at how tainted they are. Even their veins have turned black. Their eyes are milk white. Even if they still bleed like you or I, they are better off dead. Or, otherwise, what? Let them continue living and slobbering over people?”

“Crass, as always.”

Situ Hong smiled. “Not everyone can remain as gentlemanly as you, Lord Immortal.”

Wu Lingtian quirked an eyebrow. He was just about to say another word when Su Han returned to Wu Lingtian’s side. His expression was rather dark.

“What’s wrong?” Wu Lingtian asked.

Su Han glared at Situ Hong and looked away.

Wu Lingtian’s voice lowered. “Do not take your anger out on someone just because they are on the same side.”

“…Martial Uncle,” Su Han struggled to control his emotions.

“If you have something to say, then say it,” Wu Lingtian said.

Su Han glanced at the leisurely Situ Hong before turning back to Wu Lingtian. “Stygian Dragon Sect has not plundered anyone in the past year. What that man and his sect did was accuse Stygian Dragon Sect with no evidence…there are about twenty critically injured and six dead.”

Wu Lingtian turned to Situ Hong.

“He will receive his just punishments,” Situ Hong reassured Wu Lingtian. But his brows furrowed deeper. “I should head back. This situation seems…murkier than I thought.”

“Then, I will not see Feng Ling Immortal out,” Wu Lingtian said.

“Hey, wait,” Situ Hong smiled and tapped Wu Lingtian on the shoulder with his fan. “If I need you, how do I get in contact with you?”

“You will not need me,” Wu Lingtian placed a hand on Su Han’s back and began to guide him away.

“But I do,” Situ Hong flicked his fan open in front of Wu Lingtian’s face and directly stopped him from walking. Situ Hong wandered in front of Wu Lingtian and Su Han, fanning himself as he did so. He smiled. “Lingtian, you know you’re the only person I can trust.”

“But can he trust you?” Su Han bit out.

“Su Han.”

Su Han huffed and looked away.

Situ Hong smiled. “No, no. It’s good for a youth to be this outspoken. Don’t scold him too much, you might beat it away.”

Wu Lingtian gazed steadily at Situ Hong and reaffirmed his previous statement: “You will not need me.”

Situ Hong observed Wu Lingtian silently. His lips curved in a smile as his fan flourished outwards again. He fanned himself lethargically but his gaze remained on Wu Lingtian’s indifferent expression.

“You, Wu Lingtian, are implying that you will not help me?” Situ Hong asked.

“I am merely saying that Feng Ling Immortal will not need the likes of me,” Wu Lingtian replied.

Situ Hong let out a light laugh. He pushed his fan closed. “I beg to differ. This world has only gotten more chaotic. A Situ Hong that doesn’t need Wu Lingtian in this kind of world does not exist. Even if that Wu Lingtian is ‘the likes of you’.”

Situ Hong did not avert his gaze even when Wu Lingtian looked up at him.

“In what era has the cultivation world been crystal clear and black and white?” Situ Hong continued. The fan in Situ Hong’s hand was slightly clenched. When Situ Hong looked at Wu Lingtian, it did not seem like he was looking at the man before him, but peering into the past. “Whatever spurned you must have been a good reason.”

“You trust blindly,” Wu Lingtian spat out the three words with an icy expression.

“Do I?” Situ Hong shot a question right back.

The two men fell silent. Finally, Situ Hong sighed.

“Whether I need you or not, we will still end up working together,” Situ Hong said. “Yu Lan Sword Immortal purges evil, but Wu Lingtian cannot bear to watch the world burn.”

Wu Lingtian listened to Situ Hong’s outrageous comments in silence and did not bother to refute him. “You seem to know Wu Lingtian very well.”

“Wu Lingtian is my friend,” Situ Hong tilted his head. “It was Yu Lan Sword Immortal that I was unfamiliar with.”

Situ Hong smiled. “If my flowery words don’t persuade you, then think about this—do you think that whoever plotted this would let you off?”

Wu Lingtian glanced at Situ Hong.

“They’ve already gone so far as to drag a well-known unorthodox sect into this—do you truly believe that this is the end? I think it is only the beginning. And you know this too, don’t you?” Situ Hong asked. “You could say that the matters of the righteous sect no longer concern you. They abandoned you, so why not abandon them? But will you be able to stand back when the fire burns into your own backyard?”

Wu Lingtian seemed to hesitate.

“This isn’t a war that you can sit out. The unorthodox sect either joins us or is set against us. That at least should be apparent, after this,” Situ Hong said. His fan snapped shut. The sound was especially jarring in the quiet surroundings.

Wu Lingtian turned back to Su Han and placed his hand against the youth’s back. He had just begun to walk away when he paused again and looked back at Situ Hong.

Situ Hong seemed to have lost his confident expression. There was only a shadow of sadness, but there was no doubt.

“Screeching Sparrow Sect has connections to the Hall of Impartiality. There is naturally a way for you to contact me.”

Situ Hong’s eyes widened in surprise. His fan snapped open and he recovered his jovial form. “Alright!”

Situ Hong was practically hopping with joy. “If I find anything, the first person I’ll tell will be you, Wu Lingtian!”

Wu Lingtian ignored him.

“Wu Lingtian! Lingtian, we’ll keep in touch, alright?”

Wu Lingtian languidly lifted a hand and gave him a noncommittal wave, but that was enough to satisfy Situ Hong. A smile donned the man’s face as he pulled out a strange, sack like device. It was a special pouch that allowed you to carry living creatures—it was a very rare magical item.

Situ Hong glanced at the pouch and then up at the puppets. He let out a soft sigh before opening it and sucking the puppets in. After this task was finished, he pulled his sword out and flew away from the unorthodox sects’ territory.

Su Han glanced at Wu Lingtian.

This martial uncle of his had fallen out of nowhere. He used to be a righteous cultivator, yet now seemed detached from their affairs. It was as easy as cutting a piece of thread. Emotional attachments seemed to not exist to such a man and it gave him a frosty aura that Su Han couldn’t exactly explain. But he could somewhat understand.

His anger towards righteous cultivators had not yet subsided. He had just witnessed Xiao Peiri, a girl who was always strong and hardheaded, crying until she had difficulty breathing. Not to mention her, even the other Stygian Dragon disciples, that were known for their rowdiness and foul mouths were biting back tears as they watched their fellow disciples’ bodies pile up.

The righteous cultivators walked around with the word “righteousness” etched onto their foreheads, but even they themselves knew how hypocritical they were. Two-faced and cowardly. All they wanted was to protect themselves and their material belongings as well as their good standing. If something didn’t boost their reputation, then they didn’t know it. It was no wonder no one had ascended into immortality for more than several centuries despite the abundance of spiritual energy that permeated this continent.

Although Wu Lingtian had been known to slaughter indiscriminately, at least he took care of matters big and small. That much already set him apart from the other righteous cultivators.

He cared little for inter-sect politics and cared only to purge the world of evil. He was a mechanical force, charging forward and acting as the judgement for those that strayed even a little from the path, as deemed by the Drifting Clouds Mountain Sect.

For someone who blindly listened to such a sect, something indeed must have happened for Wu Lingtian to not only kill his master, but also defect to someone like Fan Yi.

As for what, it seemed, for now, only the dead and Wu Lingtian would know.

Su Han silently tailed after Wu Lingtian with his head bowed until they found Hu Rongming, sitting outside the main hall. The sounds of suppressed sobs drifted outwards despite the closed doors. The loudest one that cried was Xiao Peiri.

Su Han’s fingernails dug into his palms, slowly drawing blood.

“Sect Leader Hu, we are returning back to our sect now,” Wu Lingtian informed him.

“Did the puppet thing get sorted?”

“Feng Ling Immortal is on that case,” Wu Lingtian paused. “I have faith he will be just. Do not worry.”

Hu Rongming smiled. The energy from just earlier that day was completely drained. He even appeared several years older. He hummed and nodded. “Thank you. And the money I owe you—”

“Can be returned at a later date.”

Although Screeching Sparrow Sect was poor, it was obvious that a lot of man power and money needed to be used to patch up Stygian Dragon Sect right now. 

“…If they compensate me, then I’ll pay you back.”

To be sympathized by someone in Screeching Sparrow Sect in the aspect of money, really left a bitter taste in one’s mouth.

Wu Lingtian bowed his head. He glanced at Su Han. “Let’s go.”

Su Han bowed to Hu Rongming and cast a glance at the closed doors before following Wu Lingtian.

However, Wu Lingtian didn’t bring Su Han back to Screeching Sparrow Sect.

Su Han’s sword mindlessly followed Wu Lingtian until his martial uncle landed near a large, sparkling lake. The water was clear enough to see to the bottom and, below the surface, one could see strange, dragon-like fish swimming about. The trees in the forest seemed to part to allow the sun to touch the lake. It created a strange, dome-like structure, where the branches of the trees seemed to intertwine with each other.

“…Martial Uncle…?”

“Sit down and meditate,” Wu Lingtian advised as he set his sword down and sat as well.

Su Han could feel the abundance of spiritual energy swirling in the area and he sat down after a moment of hesitation.

“You are the chief disciple of Screeching Sparrow Sect,” Wu Lingtian said. “While you can lose your head around elders, you must keep your calm in front of your junior siblings.”

“…Yes, Martial Uncle.”

Su Han silently reflected. It was true, if he had stormed back into the sect like he had planned on just now, the other would certainly be frightened. And then, adding onto the news of what happened to Stygian Dragon Sect, the silly kids would not be able to sleep for days.

“…Martial Uncle?”

“Hm?”

Su Han could not concentrate on meditating. He fiddled with the tassel of his sword as his mind drifted back to the corpses that were strewn across the previously greenish fields.

Wu Lingtian’s eyes remained closed, but he knew Su Han would not be speaking up again.

The pair remained there for half a day before Wu Lingtian stood and pulled his sword out again. “When we return, make sure to take care to not tell anyone.”

“…Not tell anyone?” Su Han’s brows furrowed.

Wu Lingtian hummed. “Paper can’t cover fire, but until the Pillars return, I do not want panic among our disciples. Help the Stygian Dragon disciples return and then rest.”

“…Yes, Martial Uncle.”

Wu Lingitan paused before he took off and turned to Su Han. “And give me a way to contact Nightly Butterflies and Hall of Impartiality.”

Su Han’s brows furrowed but he nodded after another beat.

Since Wu Lingtian was old enough to descend the mountain himself, he had gotten into the habit of writing reports. These reports would often be handed in to Rong Meihua, though some that spoke about suspicious activity were actually sent to the Hall of Impartiality. This aspect of writing a report every time he returned from his travels had become engrained into him. If he didn’t write one, he felt uncomfortable. On top of that, this time, there was actually something amiss, so he felt that even if Situ Hong was reliable, he had to write to the Hall of Impartiality personally.

And, with the matter of Nightly Butterflies, if it was true that someone was trying to sow seeds of discourse between the unorthodox sects and the righteous sects, he had to reach out to warn the other powerhouse before things got out of hand and were actually blown out of proportion.

As Wu Lingtian finished the last few strokes, he heard a knock on the door.

When he hummed to grant permission to enter, he heard the door creak open, but no footsteps wandered in.

Wu Lingtian lifted his head and looked at the three chicks that normally followed him around.

“Martial Uncle.”

“Martial Uncle.”

“Martial Uncle.”

Wu Lingtian set his brush down. “What’s wrong?”

The three disciples glanced at each other.

“Martial Uncle, you’ve had a long day,” Liang Jun finally said.

“Martial Uncle, you should rest today,” Hua Anting followed up.

“Martial Uncle, your health is most important,” Li Qing said softly.

Wu Lingtian lifted the page and lightly blew at it to dry the ink. “I’m almost done.”

The trio watched him silently.

“Come in and close the door. You’re letting air in,” Wu Lingtian said as he set down that page and picked up another sheet.

The disciples obediently stepped in and sat down.

“If you have something to ask, then ask.”

“Is Chief Martial Brother okay?” Hua Anting hesitantly asked.

Wu Lingtian’s brush traveled down the page as he hummed. “No. Today, your Chief Martial Brother witnessed something terrible. Let him be for a few days and he’ll recover.”

“…Is Stygian Dragon Sect okay?” Liang Jun asked.

“They will recover as well,” Wu Lingtian set his brush down and reached for two envelopes.

On one he wrote “Hall of Impartiality” and on the other, he wrote “Nightly Butterflies”.

“What are you doing?” Li Qing questioned.

Wu Lingtian glanced up at the child and looked back down. “Writing reports.”

Liang Jun and Hua Anting glanced at each other.

“Tomorrow, Liang Jun, take this to the Hall of Impartiality. Anting, take this to Nightly Butterflies,” Wu Lingtian carefully slipped the folded letters into their respective envelopes. “Travel fast, but discreetly.”

“Yes, Martial Uncle,” the two echoed.

“…Then what about A-Qing? What can A-Qing do?” Li Qing shift from foot to foot. The two martial siblings that she had been clinging to recently were suddenly sent on a mission. Li Qing already felt a bit of loneliness settle in. Besides if everyone left like this, with a task to do, she would feel a little useless. Therefore, she looked at Wu Lingtian with a bit of hopefulness in her eyes.

Wu Lingtian thought a moment before turning to Li Qing. “Make dumplings with me.”