Mei Chao Bing could see that she was feeling uncomfortable. He hesitated for a moment, not quite sure if he should just leave again. He knew that Xi Ju Hai didn’t think that well of him. She had been willing to work together before but that didn’t mean that she liked him.

But in any case, after thinking about it for a moment longer, he finally decided that there was no reason at all to leave. What he wanted wasn’t for him personally. Well, it was in part but it was mostly for the benefit of the Teng Yong Sect and the righteous side. Xi Ju Hai of all people should be in favor of doing something that benefited them.

"Senior martial sister Xi, senior martial brother Kang. I hope I’m not disturbing you."

Kang Mu shook his head with a smile. "Not at all. It’s good to see that you made it back uninjured. I was worried when you left with Elder Baili before and then stayed out so long."

Mei Chao Bing shook his head. "Well, I would’ve been more worried if he had left on his own. As just one more person I might not have been able to do much but my level is at least high enough to not be needless baggage. And with several of our disciples out there and possibly injured, it is better to have one pair of hands more. A pity that it wasn’t that useful."

Kang Mu sighed when Mei Chao Bing said that. "I still can’t believe that Yu Min is dead. We … spent a lot of time together. Before this whole mission in the border region."

Mei Chao Bing nodded even though he wasn’t sure of their relationship. From what he remembered so, it seemed that Kang Mu had been good friends with one of Yu Min’s senior martial brothers. Most likely, he had felt protective of him. Now, the person that he had wanted to guard was dead. Of course, he felt horrible. If it was him, it would be the same. "I assume senior martial sister Xi already told you about what happened at the underground palace?"

Kang Mu raised his brows and looked from Mei Chao Bing to Xi Ju Hai and then back again. "You mean about … your senior martial brother? It’s good that you got him." He hesitated for a moment and then reached out, patting Mei Chao Bing’s shoulder. "This must be hard on you.

"In any case, no matter what, you still grew up around him. I can’t say that I ever thought Qu Yijun to be a likable guy but if I think of my own senior martial brothers, I’ve always looked up to them. If one of them suddenly betrayed us, I’d be devastated. Even more so if he killed a bunch of our disciples afterward."

Mei Chao Bing couldn’t help but shift uncomfortably on the spot. He looked away, really not sure how to answer that. Yes, he had looked up to Qu Yjiun. To be honest, he was probably not the person he had looked up to the most among his Master’s disciples but he had still been a role model.

He had probably lacked some impressiveness because he had been so similar to their Master. In that regard, it was easier to just look up to their Master himself. And as for those senior martial brothers of his … The one he had been closer to had always been Mu Qing. Even though he had had a lot of the qualities his Master tried to instill in all of his disciples, he had always felt … warmer.

Thinking of that, he couldn’t help but glance at Xi Ju Hai again. Clearly, he had not been the only one who lost people because of his Master’s betrayal. And to her, this probably wasn’t any easier than it was to him. But he had never heard her complain about that. So he didn’t really do dare to say anything.

Thinking for a moment longer, Mei Chao Bing finally shook his head. "It wasn’t easy to accept in the beginning. But seeing what he did to people that he knew, to the people of our sect, I’ve already lost all respect I ever had.

"That person … I call him my senior martial brother out of habit but he is not a disciple of our Teng Yong Sect, neither is my Master an Elder of our sect any longer. They are … two strangers on the other side who have the wrong title in my life. I can’t change it but if I ever meet either of them, I will show them no mercy. Whether that is Qu Yijun or my own Master. My piety has ended long ago."

Kang Mu nodded but he wasn’t sure what else to say to that. He would’ve liked to give him some words of encouragement or at least say something that would help but at this point, he figured that there wasn’t anything like that. No, what Elder Feng and his other disciples had done was unforgivable. And anyway, Mei Chao Bing had proven once and for all this time around that he really was the side of the Teng Yong Sect.

In the end, Kang Mu felt like he should at least acknowledge his situation though and maybe offer some help. "It still has to be rough on you. Just … if you need help in the future to deal with any of these things, you can always tell us." He frowned a little when he said that, thinking of what he had heard about how Mei Chao Bing had been treated before.

Mei Chao Bing was of the younger generations so he hadn’t paid too much attention but he could very much imagine this being the case. So in the end, he couldn’t help but feel awkward about saying something like this. To this disciple, it probably rang like empty words.

Mei Chao Bing smiled though. He hadn’t heard these kinds of words that often. In fact, it had only been after coming to the border region that people were slowly accepting him. This was something that he hadn’t expected but it was a nice surprise. "Thank you. To be honest, there is something that I could use some help with. I’m not sure if you have a moment to listen?" He looked from Kang Mu to Xi Ju Hai, indicating that he would’ve liked her opinion as well.

Xi Ju Hai still looked quite uncomfortable around him but she still nodded. "Go ahead then. In any case, we are from the same sect and currently on the same boat. We should work together to make it possible that we get out of this while paying the smallest price possible."