In the hall close by, the other disciples looked up when the first explosion sounded and then rushed in the direction it had come from, their weapons drawn and their spiritual energy ready to be used. Seeing a person in their sect’s robes instead of a demonic practitioner’s, they didn’t know what to do.
They silently watched as Mei Chao Bing threw his final attack and got up after taking a few deep breaths, half steadying himself on the wall. The dust around him settled and exposed the heap of rubble further into the corridor that barely covered a person in a black robe beneath.
The disciples rushed closer, looking from Mei Chao Bing to that person on the ground. They weren’t sure if the demonic practitioner was dead even though it sure seemed so at first glance. Still, Mei Chao Bing seemed out of strength so they stayed vigilant, ready to take whatever that person might do instead of him.
Mei Chao Bing stared ahead as well but didn’t actually look at Qu Yijun. He just took another deep breath to steady himself, the tension slowly leaving his body. When he exhaled, he raised his hand and then threw the jade slip to the ground. "You chose the wrong person to approach."
Having said that, he shook his head. He wanted to just forget about him now but there was one more thing to do. He went over and pushed some of the rubble away, exposing the bloody face beneath. And checked to make sure that Qu Yijun was actually dead and then grabbed his bag. Since they needed resources, he wouldn’t give an opportunity to gain some up. And most likely, Qu Yijun would have at least some of them with him.
Having done this, Mei Chao Bing finally returned to the disciples of the Teng Yong Sect and the Zhen Yan Sect. He didn’t explain the matter with Qu Yijun and instead went right to the original reason he had come here to make sure that they didn’t waste any more time.
"They ambushed some of our disciples in the north when they were escorting Yang Wu Huang and the others to the sect. So far, only Shen Lei seems to have survived but he is in dire straits and the resources left at the camp aren’t enough to help. We need whatever you can spare to try and save his life."
When Mei Chao Bing explained the reason why he had originally come here, the others exchanged a glance, seeming to look a little uncomfortable.
Mei Chao Bing furrowed his brows at that. "What’s the matter?" To be honest, he hadn’t expected this reaction. Especially considering the relationship between Zhi Guan and Shen Lei he had thought that the former would immediately hand over whatever he had. This … was it because they didn’t trust him as the one delivering the resources?
He glanced at Qu Yijun on the ground again, feeling that maybe this was because this person had suddenly appeared. Even though he had obviously killed him just now, just the fact that the two of them had met up might have made the others doubt his honesty.
If this were to cause Shen Lei’s death … he didn’t know what he would do. Maybe at that time, he would have to pull back from the border region and this whole mission. No matter how much he wanted to help with stopping whatever his Master was planning, he might be a liability. And right now, they couldn’t use that.
The leading disciple of the Zhen Yan Sect, Taishu Min, realized that he was getting the wrong idea and hurriedly spoke up. "We were attacked just a while ago. I’m afraid that most resources were used to treat the disciples here. The same happened to some of the other groups so I’m afraid it won’t be looking much better there either."
Mei Chao Bing didn’t even have time to be relieved that it had nothing to do with him. In the end, if they had just been distrustful of him, he could have asked them to hurry back themselves and help with healing Shen Lei. Now though … if there were fewer resources than anticipated, who knew what if it would be enough? Shen Lei had been in such dire circumstances, the amount of resources needed to heal him …
Taishu Min hesitated for a moment and then closed her eyes. She knew that she had something that would be able to help Shen Lei. She really wasn’t whether she should take it out though.
Her Master had said that this might be the only vial of this they would get no matter how long the situation in the border region lasted. If something happened later on where they would need this … But then again, this situation seemed to be an emergency. And she had fought at Shen Lei’s side before. She wasn’t willing to let him die if there was something she could do.
Making up her mind, Taishu Min took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. "Let’s go back there. I may have something that can help him survive."
Mei Chao Bing looked at her, not sure what to think of this but he finally just nodded. In any case, he wasn’t willing to let go of any chance to help Shen Lei. He turned away but then stopped after two steps, turning back to Qu Yijun. After a moment, he bent down to pick up the jade token and weighed it in his hand. Finally, he turned to Zhi Guan and tried to hand it over.
The other disciple just evaded it though and then looked up at him, not seeming to want to take it.
Mei Chao Bing stared at him, not quite sure how to say this. "This might come in handy later on. We are missing information. Maybe there’s a chance to use this to get some."
Zhi Guan still hesitated for a moment, not wanting to have anything to do with the demonic practitioners. In the end, he finally accepted it though and put it away, feeling that right now, it was more important to go and help Shen Lei. They could still argue about this matter later on.
Having cleared this up, the group rushed out of the underground palace and back to the caverns. When they arrived, a few people more had gathered there and they had even taken out some of the resources they had been given by their Masters. The disciples that had previously talked to Mei Chao Bing quietly handed them over, evading his gaze. They were probably quite ashamed of the previous encounter.
Mei Chao Bing didn’t say anything and just nodded, thanking them quietly. Then, he rushed after Zhi Guan and the others, leaving the caverns to the array outside, and then rushing back to the place where Luo Lin and Elder Baili were waiting, guarding Shen Lei.
