Mei Chao Bing furrowed his brows when he heard that. This was really one of the most difficult questions to answer. The idea that maybe it had to do with the sect tokens had been a good one but unfortunately, they hadn’t been able to find any evidence of that. So either they had overlooked something or they were plain wrong.
It would probably be better for them if it was the former since that would mean that if they looked for a longer time, they would be able to figure it out but considering that it had been two Elders who had taken a look he wasn’t optimistic that this was the case. No, most likely, the answer was a different one. And he wasn’t sure what kind of answer that might be.
Thinking about it logically, there weren’t that many options. Either it was something that the disciples were carrying around so that they would have an accurate grasp on where everyone was or it was something that was in the border region itself. Maybe some kind of array that was incorporated into the buildings or some kind of markers along the way that the disciples hadn’t noticed.
Considering that quite a few of them were of a high level, some like Zhi Guan and Shen Lei not that far below the stage the Elders had, this also wasn’t that likely but it was more likely than something that they carried around that the Elders had overlooked while deliberately looking for it. In any case, it might very well be that the disciples just hadn’t looked for something like that since they had been occupied with the task of investigating the caverns.
The problem was that this was a theory that would be difficult to make sure of. It didn’t help that there were still many other things left to do for them. And there were only so many disciples that could be sent out on this mission without needing to worry that they would get ambushed and killed. Because right now, the chance of that happening was always high.
Mei Chao Bing sighed when he thought of that. "Well, I guess we can only try to think of something then. Not that I think that our chances are very good."
Zhi Guan looked at him but he also couldn’t offer any suggestions. Still, he was at least on Mei Chao Bing’s side when it came to doing something. In a fight, it was always better to be on the offensive than on the defensive. It gave you the impetus and would let you work toward a desirable outcome.
If you just defended, you gave opportunities away to your opponent. That wasn’t something that he was willing to do. No, they needed to regain their momentum in this fight. But for that, they first needed to see through the moves of the opponent. How to do that though when that person wasn’t directly in front of them … that was the most difficult part about it and the one that frustrated him to no end.
He really wished that they could just have an open and honest fight about this and end things like that. But he knew that it wouldn’t happen. That just wasn’t the way that things went. Not with the demonic practitioners.
He furrowed his brows while he thought about it and finally shook his head. "Right now, it would be best if my second junior martial brother was here. He is rather resourceful when it comes to figuring things out. He might’ve been able to come up with an idea to find out what is going on."
Mei Chao Bing nodded faintly, having heard about some of Yan Hong Min’s escapades before. It definitely wasn’t as infamous in the sect as his first and third martial brother but there had certainly been some situations that had made his name and the sect as well.
"Well, I’m afraid that it currently isn’t safe to send a message over there or have him come here. We will have to figure this out on our own." Although … "Maybe we should talk with the other older disciples. In any case, the more people pool ideas together, the more likely it would be to find something out."
Zhi Guan nodded and then motioned over to the other side of the garden where two more disciples were standing. "I guess you should go ahead then and talk to them. I’ll wait here. It’s probably best if everyone thinks about it on their own for a while and then we can gather ideas. As Master said, it wouldn’t make sense to go today anyway. We should wait until tomorrow morning at least."
Mei Chao Bing nodded, feeling that it made sense, especially when they had another task until then. He nodded at Zhi Guan and then indeed left to the other side, stopping next to the disciples over there.
The rest of the group that Zhi Guan had been leading back at the underground palace had left for the camp after they saw the situation with Shen Lei to support the disciples and Elder Xing there. Right now, on the other side of the garden, Xi Ju Hai was standing together with Kang Mu who had been at the camp the whole time.
The two of them turned to look at Mei Chao Bing and Kang Mu nodded at him while Xi Ju Hai’s gaze lingered on him for a moment.
She couldn’t help but be reminded of the moment when she had seen Qu Yijun lying on the ground like that. And inwardly, she couldn’t help but think of Mu Qing. If Mei Chao Bing met him … the outcome would be the same. Considering that she herself wasn’t even sure if she would be able to do that, she had to say that she respected him a lot more than she ever thought she might.
