As it turned out, the so-called Secret Cavern was more like a Secret Cavern plus an expansive cave system. Frankly, Jiao Ziyu wondered if it did not actually rival that of the Green Jade Peaks – because he knew that one was expansive, even though he’d yet to explore it himself.

Oh, he had definitely used the tunnels closer to the surface, especially during his days as a disciple – and if the Sect Leader knew about it, then he was gracious enough not to comment on it. The latter’s views on the tunnels were no great secret after all, seeing as to how one of Yi Yeguang’s first actions upon taking office had been to restrict access to them.

As for the reasons why, Jiao Ziyu had his suspicions but nothing concrete. He’d made a point never to ask about it though, because the one time he’d brought it up, the other had gotten this look in his eyes and Jiao Ziyu had made a note to himself to never ask about it again.

It was possible that Mingyue knew why though, because Mingyue knew a lot of things. Besides, now that certain events had jogged Jiao Ziyu’s memory, he suddenly did recall seeing Yi Yeguang around a fair bit around those days – like, obviously, the other had spent the majority of his time following former Sect Leader Yi around, but now, Jiao Ziyu could suddenly recall it; he could clearly recall seeing Yi Yeguang around – and not just around the Green Jade Peaks in general, but around Peak Lord Bai’s peak in particular.

And even more astoundingly, Bai Jixue had seemed to prefer him over Jiao Ziyu, given the dark looks the other sometimes sent his way. The looks were far better than the smiles though, because Bai Jixue’s smiles were akin knives that would either stab you or cut you. Some were different though – Jiao Ziyu had seen how the former Peak Lord Bai smiled at Mingyue, and that was a completely different matter.

Coming to think of it, it was kind of like with Mingyue and⸺

“Yue!”

It was dark, and then there was light, illuminating the scene before them – and it was definitely a scene.

“Yue!”

Youming Jun had arrived, and that white ferret with him, and upon stumbling onto the scene – the sight of Yue, laid out, bloody, unmoving, and the sight of a red-clad demoness – he hadn’t waited. With a sharp cry, he’d jumped right into it, swinging that red sabre of his – and while Hua Hongzhu had managed to dodge the first strike, she hadn’t managed to dodge the second.

In the blink of an eye, there was a sword embedded in her gut, and then there was a high-pitched scream, emerging in part from Hua Hongzhu and in part from some other source. Both of them echoed in-between the walls, resonating strangely, and then in-between one moment and the next, another appeared in their midst – and a very familiar someone at that.

“I don’t have fucking time for this!” Bai Jixue snarled, and in the next moment, he was right by Yue’s side, pulling up his sleeve. He then bent over Yue, and with the other’s back facing them, it was impossible to tell what he did other than that it was done quickly. Because not long thereafter, Bai Jixue snapped his head around, and didn’t even spare them a glance. Instead, he moved with single-minded focus, and as for his target, well⸺

There was an orb of light, frantically darting around the room, targeted by Youming Jun. He even managed to hit it, and then⸺

The thing screamed, and there was another blinding light, accompanied by a shockwave of energy. Jiao Ziyu didn’t even try to look though, because he had his back to it and stood in-between it and Mingyue, who’d gone straight for Yue.

The latter honestly didn’t look too good though. Pale and unmoving, he lay limp in Mingyue’s lap with bruises around his throat and traces of blood on his lips.

For a fraught moment, Jiao Ziyu even feared that the other might even be dead. But then he saw it; the faint rise and fall of the other’s chest and the faint tremble rocking his frame.

“Poison,” Mingyue determined, pulling out a vial. “Mad honey.”

Ah. “Not good.”

At this there was a mild scoff, because of course Mingyue knew that. He didn’t seem overly frantic though and instead tipped the contents of the vial down Yue’s throat with great efficiency.

And shortly thereafter, there was a cough – a weak one but a cough nonetheless – and Mingyue hugged Little Yue close to his chest for a moment, even though his eyes were firmly fixed upon what was going behind Jiao Ziyu’s back – except for when he suddenly locked eyes with Jiao Ziyu.

“Take him,” Mingyue then said, and this was about as much of a warning Jiao Ziyu got before he ended up with an armful of Little Yue – and it felt like... déjà vu, or whatever Master Jiao always used to call it.

Jiao Ziyu certainly didn’t protest though, because looking over his shoulder, he definitely wasn’t about to jump into that fray.

Another seemed to think differently however. Because out of nowhere, again, there was the Demon King. He didn’t stick around for long though, moving quickly around the cavern before vanishing once more – but not without what he’d apparently come for and not without pausing to smile at them.

Clearly, they’d all been used – used as a diversion.

“That fucking bastard!” Bai Jixue growled. “I’m going to fucking kill him!”

The aforementioned made for quite a sight as well – because not only was the other’s previously quite pristine white robes dirty and torn, but he seemed to have sprouted something else as well.

And although visibly surprised, Youming Jun barely even paused. Instead, he readily ditched his sabre and reappeared right next to Jiao Ziyu, obviously frantic. “Yue!”

Looking at the aftermath of the previous... well, fight, Jiao Ziyu noted the state of the other’s blade – in pieces strewn around the floor – and then he thought: I wonder what happened to Master Jiao.

He quickly filed the thought away for later though, because there was little that he could do for his old mentor and he needed to focus his attention on the matters that lay immediately at hand – like keeping an eye on what Mingyue was up to.

As expected, Mingyue was making his way over to Bai Jixue, who didn’t look particularly pleased to see him. In fact, the venerable master looked like he had a few choice words to say to his onetime disciple, and possibly more as well. He was clearly quite agitated, and the massive wings attached to his back shook noticeably where he kneeled.

Oh, and Hua Hongzhu was there as well, bleeding out on the floor from the looks of it.

“Stay put,” Mingyue said, undoubtedly addressing his master as he crouched down beside Hua Hongzhu, putting a hand just above the bleeding wound. Then, with a flash of glowing qi, the wound bled no longer, leaving Mingyue’s hands free for other things. “Hand.”

Bai Jixue looked like he’d much rather slap the other’s hand away than take it. But, after a fraught moment, he finally offered up his wrist for inspection – which Mingyue readily took.

It closely mirrored the events from earlier – scarcely hours ago, even though it definitely felt like it had been a whole lot longer than that. It was also different, because when Mingyue’s inspection had finally finished, Bai Jixue immediately drew his hand back and pulled away – and although Mingyue’s back was turned, Jiao Ziyu could very much imagine the sting.

This wasn’t to say that it wasn’t deserved though, because Mingyue had just recently used a hug to stab a poisoned needle into the back of the other’s neck, which was bound to have dissolved a fair amount of the trust the other had previously had in him.

Then, as if to drive the point home even further, Bai Jixue forewent speaking with him entirely and instead directed himself towards Youming Jun.

“Get us back to the palace,” he said. “This is no place for treating patients, and you’re going to need another System to sort out this mess. I can fix a lot of things, but this is beyond my level.”

And even if such hadn’t been the case, then Jiao Ziyu got the feeling that the other would’ve considered this way above his paygrade, and possibly way beyond what he could be trusted with, given his current state.

“Jun,” Bai Jixue said more firmly this time around, jolting the demon brat out of his fretful state. “Take us back to the palace... before Mingyue does something irreversibly stupid.”

He undoubtedly earned himself a look for that, but obviously paid it no mind. And in Jiao Ziyu’s mind, he was probably perfectly justified in saying so as well, seeing as to how he did seem to be the one with the best grasp on the situation at hand – who was present at this point in time, at least.

That said, Bai Jixue did not look good – it wasn’t quite so obvious at first, but then, his frame convulsed, and he quickly covered his mouth. This didn’t quite manage to smother the oncoming cough though, nor the blood that had apparently accompanied it.

Predictably, Mingyue was at his side within moments, prying the hand away. And although the venerable master seemed quite tempted to spit on him, he instead turned his head away as he spat out the thing that had apparently just lodged in his throat; a clump of something that looked a lot like congealed blood.

Whose was it though? Was it Bai Jixue’s own, stemming from some internal bleeding? Because if so, then shouldn’t Mingyue have noticed it just now? Also⸺

Jiao Ziyu suddenly found his arms empty, but that was fine, because the Demon Prince was now the one cradling Yue. As for Yue, well⸺

Jiao Ziyu had been so focused on what had been going on with Mingyue and Bai Jixue that he’d almost missed it; almost missed that tiny mumbled “Jun”. Youming Jun clearly hadn’t though, and the relief emanating from him was so strong that Jiao Ziyu could practically taste it.

“I’m...” the Demon Prince began, then trailed off. “I don’t think I have enough left in me to bring everyone along.”

Well, that wasn’t surprising, all things considered. Still⸺ “The Demon King then?”

Because if Youming Jun could only bring a few – and perhaps only himself along – then having him go and fetch the Demon King seemed like the quickest and the safest option – to Jiao Ziyu at least.

However, as it turned out, not everyone agreed.

“No,” Bai Jixue said, clearly pained. “This can’t wait.”

With a slightly grim look on his face, the Demon Prince nodded, then looked down at Yue, expression softening significantly.

“I’ll give it a shot,” he then said, already making his way over. “But I’ll definitely crash afterwards, so... against my uncle, you’re on your own.”

Well, that sounded decidedly ominous. Granted, the Demon King had seemed pretty reasonable so far, but⸺

Jiao Ziyu still knew much too little. He didn’t have the necessary information to make an informed decision – and it wasn’t really his decision to make either, because he was just sort of along for the ride?

And since he was, Jiao Ziyu obviously got closer as well – it wasn’t as though he thought he might just get left behind, but he quickly made his way over nonetheless – and once there, Youming Jun promptly deposited Yue back into his arms – to Mingyue’s visible disapproval. That wasn’t necessarily the root cause of it though, because Mingyue quickly shifted his gaze elsewhere, narrowing his eyes as Bai Jixue, still kneeling, held out his hand towards Youming Jun.

“Master,” Mingyue then said. “I’ll⸺”

A decidedly cold look from Bai Jixue made him go quiet. This by no means diminished the disapproval in his gaze however.

“Jun,” Bai Jixue said. “Hand.”

Youming Jun obediently offered his hand, pressing his palm up against that of the former Peak Lord Bai, who in turn interlaced their fingers, drawing and releasing a shuddering breath as he closed his eyes and raised his other hand with a look of obvious concentration on his face – and the seeming energy transfer obviously took quite a lot out of him as well, given the visible tremors.

“Okay,” the Demon Prince eventually said. “I think I have enough to⸺”

He attempted to pull his hand back, but Bai Jixue didn’t let go. For a brief moment, something passed in-between them, and then Youming Jun dipped his head, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then he brought his other hand up, partially mirroring Bai Jixue’s movements from before.

Then, a wave of demonic energy gradually began to spread from beneath his feet, forming a circle that grew and grew until it included all of them. Then, eyes still shut and brows furrowed in obvious concentration, the Demon Prince finally said: “Brace yourselves.”

And this was the extent of the forewarning that they got before the ground promptly disappeared underneath their feet.

They didn’t fall very far though, and thankfully, Jiao Ziyu did manage to land on his feet and not drop his precious cargo. He did stumble though, but Mingyue quickly steadied him.

As for the others, a quick glance confirmed that Bai Jixue had also landed on his feet, and that he’d grabbed hold of both Hua Hongzhu and the Demon Prince, keeping them both from crashing right down to the floor. This only lasted for so long however, because once the Demon Prince’s portal had vanished, Bai Jixue promptly dropped them both.

This was about as much as Jiao Ziyu saw before his attention was promptly drawn elsewhere, taking in the demons surrounding them.

The Demon King noticeably wasn’t among them, but judging by the attire and demeanour of some of them, Jiao Ziyu could very much imagine that they were more than just regular servants.

“Xunyun,” Youming Jun said, quickly getting back to his feet.

“Prince Jun, Peak Lord Bai, Peak Lord Jiao,” the demoness said, lowering her head. “Please come this way.”

“No need,” Mingyue said, herding Jiao Ziyu along. “I know the way.”

“If you insist, Peak Lord Bai,” Xunyun said, offering up a bow. “Preparations are complete.”

Mingyue said nothing to that, only narrowed his eyes. He didn’t linger – instead, he pushed onward, pulling Jiao Ziyu along – and Jiao Ziyu readily followed, although he did have to struggle a bit to keep pace with him while refraining from jostling the body still in his arms. As such, it took several moments before he finally realised that the Demon Prince was lagging behind – and the other wasn’t the only one either.

Because looking over his shoulder, Jiao Ziyu finally noticed what Youming Jun had already noticed – Bai Jixue wasn’t following.

Bai Jixue wasn’t following – he wasn’t doing anything, not even as some other female demons quickly got Hua Hongzhu’s prone body onto a stretcher and carried her away.

“Go,” the former Peak Lord finally said, turning away. And in doing so, he inadvertently showed them not just his back but also the massive wings attached to it – massive and undoubtedly heavy too, considering how much they were drooping. Then again, that was likely also because the other was already about to⸺

“Let’s hurry,” Youming Jun said, suddenly caught up.

Now he was the one hurrying Jiao Ziyu along whereas Mingyue was the one lagging behind. Mingyue soon caught up though, and before long, they’d left the large chamber they’d arrived in and entered another.

Bai Jixue didn’t follow though. He didn’t follow, and it would be over half a day before Jiao Ziyu saw him next.