Zhang Guan Yu didn’t expect him to answer. He just smiled and then turned back to the door, raising his brows when he still didn’t see any of the Elders. "When you’re promoted, you better make sure that you’re a bit faster if I have you notified of something. Always waiting around … it’s really driving me crazy."

As if the Elders had heard his scolding, the first one finally rushed in.

The person in question was none other than Elder Huyan, Ao Jing’s Master. Considering what his disciple had confessed to, he felt like he needed to make up for matters so he had been stricter with his disciples recently, and also made sure to contribute more to the sect himself.

He knew that this wouldn’t help Ao Jing get around anything. And he knew that it shouldn’t either. His disciple had done something horrible. Something that had cost lives. If just doing their duties and gaining some merit was able to offset that, they really couldn’t call themselves a righteous sect. No, he knew that whenever this mission in the border region was over, his disciple would be punished and he would be punished harshly. There was just no way around that.

Be that as it may, he still couldn’t help but hope that his behavior would be able to help a little. Maybe between the harshest punishment possible and the one that his disciple actually got, this could be the deciding factor.

Also, he needed to make sure that none of his other disciples would follow in Ao Jing’s footsteps and ever make this kind of mistake. So he should be strict and also lead by example. Clearly, as Ao Jing’s Master, he had neglected these things. Otherwise, how could things have turned out this way?

When Elder Huyan walked in and saw Mei Chao Bing, he couldn’t help but freeze for a moment but then nodded at him after he greeted the Sect Master. "Chao Bing, how are you doing? I know that my disciple and the others made trouble for you in the border region. Ao Jing already confessed everything."

Mei Chao Bing also inclined his head. "Thank you for inquiring, Elder Huyan. I’m doing very well. Also, it is thanks to Ao Jing that we were able to save Shen Lei. He really did something good there when he rushed back to the sect."

Elder Huyan walked over to sit down and heaved a sigh of relief. "Shen Lei made it through, yes?"

Mei Chao Bing nodded in response. "He did. I’m sure that Sect Master Zhang will explain in detail to the Elders when the others arrive."

Elder Huyan nodded and then stopped speaking, just glancing at the door as well to see when the others would arrive.

They didn’t need to wait for much longer. One after the other, the other Elders also arrived.

It didn’t happen often that all of them were called over so seeing others already gathered there or meeting each other on the way made all of their expressions turn grim. It didn’t help when they realized that Mei Chao Bing was there who had clearly come from the border region. It made them feel that something bad had happened again.

Zhang Guan Yu didn’t waste any time. As soon as the last Elder had arrived, he motioned for the disciples to close the door, and then succinctly informed the Elders about everything that had happened from the original report that Shen Lei and the others had been supposed to bring over, to everything that had happened since then, and finally, even to the conclusion that Mei Chao Bing had drawn.

Needless to say, the Elders’ expressions didn’t get any better. Each and every piece of information that they had gotten was a bad one. Of course, they weren’t happy. And the worst thing was that they also didn’t know what to do about it.

"Should we send more people over?"

Zhang Guan Yu inclined his head. "That would be an idea but if it is true that Feng Bai Xiao is somehow able to foresee future events, then he would know, and we might be confronted with yet another ambush.

"We have already lost two disciples for sure, and a third one is still missing so I wouldn’t want to add onto that. Actually, this can still be called lucky. Two alive, two dead, on yet unaccounted for … It could’ve been worse. And it might be worse in the future. We can’t forget that."

The Elders furrowed their brows, not quite sure what to say. Really, from the time they had planned this mission, they had been aware that things in the border region were bad. There had been larger movement than previously but it seemed that even though they had managed to catch that, they had failed to catch what had happened before. And that was something that they only had to blame themselves for. Yes, they had not been thorough enough in keeping an eye on the border region. This was something that they would come to regret now.

Zhang Guan Yu sighed, knowing just how the Elders felt. "I will go and speak to the black warrior to see if we can find out more information. In the meantime, I want you to think about what you know about Feng Bai Xiao and his disciples. Also, have all your disciples write down whatever they can remember as well. I don’t care what it is. Even if they are able to tell me what those brats liked to eat for breakfast, I want it on a piece of paper or on a jade. Anything we can find out is something to work with. So don’t leave anything out just because you think it might be unimportant."

The Elders promised and then left, some of them throwing Mei Chao Bing another glance but nobody said anything.

The last one to get up was Elder Huyan. He also couldn’t help but look at Mei Chao Bing for a moment longer. He had already said the words he had to say when he came in. But after hearing everything else that had happened, he felt like thanking him again for saying so. But then, he really didn’t have a right to do that, did he? In the end, he merely turned around and shook his head at himself, and then left the Sect Master’s palace.

At the same time, Zhang Guan Yu got up and waved at Mei Chao Bing. "Let’s go."

Mei Chao Bing stared at him in a daze, not quite sure what this was about, and only followed when Zhang Guan Yu waved at him again. He wasn’t sure if he understood right but … it seemed that he was supposed to go and see the black warrior as well? This was something he really hadn’t expected.