Xie Liufeng withdrew his gaze from the bag and reached out to pat off the dust on Chu Xinghui’s clothes after his ordeal, also removing a few grass leaves that had stuck to his head, asking: “What happened?”

Chu Xinghui obediently stood still for him to tidy up and casually recounted the events that had happened in the sect during that time.

After hearing Chu Xinghui’s explanation, Xie Liufeng couldn’t help but glance again at the bag in his hand: “So… this is?”

Chu Xinghui nodded, a bit troubled: “It’s Ming Xiao.”

To be exact, it was at least Ming Xiao’s body.

He had actually already caught Ming Xiao once before, but Ming Xiao’s behavior was clearly not very rational, and Chu Xinghui couldn’t communicate with him at all.

Moreover, Ming Xiao not only refused to cooperate, but he also attempted to attack him.

As a formation cultivator, Ming Xiao had always had weak combat abilities, and logically, he shouldn’t have been able to fight against Chu Xinghui.

But after losing his sanity, Ming Xiao’s strength was inexplicably overwhelming. Chu Xinghui had been caught off guard and let him run away again.

So now… he could only knock him out for the time being and deal with the rest later.

After hearing Chu Xinghui’s explanation, Xie Liufeng fell silent for a moment.

He sighed and rubbed Chu Xinghui’s head: “Let’s go. We’ll take these two back first.”

Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng, carrying their two targets, finally returned to the sect after nightfall the following day.

Xue Heng had already returned to the sect and was waiting for them with Fang Yan at Daoyuan Peak.

There were too many people accompanying them, so compared to Ming Xiao’s residence, Xue Heng’s cave was more spacious and closer. Xue Heng took charge and decided to settle his disciple there first.

Xue Heng took Ming Xiao out of the bag, checked his condition, and then found a few spirit pills, intending to wake Ming Xiao up.

Chu Xinghui, recalling his previous experience, cautiously reminded everyone: “If Ming Xiao hasn’t recovered yet, be careful. He’s… very agile.”

Xue Heng paused but still shoved all the spirit pills into Ming Xiao’s mouth.

No matter what… they had to wake him up first and see if he could speak.

At first, everyone didn’t quite understand what was meant by “agile,” but once Ming Xiao opened his eyes, they finally understood the meaning of Chu Xinghui’s warning.

Ming Xiao woke up completely normally.

Ming Xiao suddenly jumped up from the bed.

Then, before anyone could react, he jumped off the bed and began running wildly around the room.

Chu Xinghui, having seen this scene before, was slightly calmer than the others. He immediately rushed to the door and closed it.

If Ming Xiao ran out, regardless of whether they could catch him, with him like this, if he ran around the sect… he might just commit suicide once he came to his senses and found out about it.

Ming Xiao continued running around the room, crashing everything he could break.

Xue Heng finally reacted and his forehead began to twitch in frustration.

Why… had he suggested placing Ming Xiao in his room first?

Eventually, Ming Xiao couldn’t find an exit and finally stopped, crouching on the table, facing off against the group that was trying to catch him.

Seeing him on the table, Xue Heng had already rolled up his sleeves.

Ming Xiao crouched on the table, staring at Xue Heng from a distance, and moved his hand: “Bang!” He threw a teapot.

It was one of the expensive, exquisite, and rare teapots Xue Heng had just bought before leaving the sect.

Xue Heng’s face immediately turned dark.

Seeing that Xue Heng was about to explode, Xie Liufeng, as the elder, quickly intervened: “Don’t get angry, don’t get angry… the kid’s still young.”

Ming Xiao “Bang!” threw another matching teacup.

Xue Heng almost swore out loud: “He’s young, huh…”

How old is he? Even Chu Xinghui at this age already knew how to find a Dao partner!

But Ming Xiao was, after all, in a special state. Xue Heng closed his eyes, gave Ming Xiao an excuse, barely calmed himself down, and then released a surge of spiritual power, striking Ming Xiao on the back of his head.

Ming Xiao neatly fainted again.

The others couldn’t help but remain silent for a moment.

Truly, this was a father-son relationship!

They temporarily sent the lively monkey-like disciple back to the bed.

Xue Heng pressed his forehead, and his reason slowly returned. He stared at Ming Xiao on the bed and suddenly spoke: “He’s like this… it’s very similar to the time when Qin Suyun went mad.”

Chu Xinghui looked at Ming Xiao, frowning.

He had never witnessed the scene when Qin Suyun… or Yue Yao went mad, but Xue Heng had been there at the time. Since he said this, it must mean he saw some similarities between the two situations.

Having the experience of a previous incident, no one dared to approach Ming Xiao anymore. They could only tie a rope around him and wait for him to wake up on his own.

Half an hour later, Ming Xiao finally woke up again.

He slowly opened his eyes and, seeing a circle of people around him, was a little confused. He called out to the two people closest to him: “Master… Chu Xinghui? Why are you two here?”

He tried to sit up but winced in pain immediately.

His body ached severely, like he’d exercised excessively and then been beaten like a punching bag for three days.

Especially the back of his head, which felt like it had been beaten repeatedly, and he could even feel a bump there.

Chu Xinghui reached out to help him.

Ming Xiao, following his strength, finally managed to sit up halfway. He then looked down at himself, even more confused: “Wait, how did I end up here? Why are you tying me up?”

Seeing that Ming Xiao seemed to be back to his normal mental state, Chu Xinghui temporarily untied him.

Xue Heng asked: “Do you remember what you were doing before?”

Ming Xiao struggled to recall for a moment, then answered: “I was just… on my way back to the sect.”

Yeah, wasn’t he just walking normally on the road?

How did things end up like this? How did he suddenly end up in his Master room?

Chu Xinghui looked at him and first confirmed: “Did you visit the sect’s storage room before?”

Ming Xiao’s head throbbed, feeling even more bewildered: “Why would I go there?”

He was so busy, there was no way he’d waste time wandering around weird places.

Just as he finished answering, he noticed the solemn expressions of the people around him becoming even more serious.

Ming Xiao began to feel scared: “Am I… terminally ill? Or… have I been poisoned by something with no antidote?”

He was so young and talented, he really didn’t want to die young.

Chu Xinghui stayed silent for a moment before reassuringly patting his shoulder.

Ming Xiao trembled at the touch, feeling even more afraid, and couldn’t help but glance at his usually silent Master.

Xue Heng, thinking of his losses and looking at his troublesome disciple, wasn’t in a good mood. He instructed: “It’s fine, just stay here for now.”

Ming Xiao didn’t dare to move.

Chu Xinghui turned to Fang Yan, asking: “Senior Brother, did you bring the things?”

Fang Yan knew what he was talking about and took out a familiar box, simply saying: “I brought it.”

Chu Xinghui then turned to Xue Heng to seek the opinion of Ming Xiao’s guardian.

Xue Heng nodded. He directly took the box, opened it, and handed the feather inside to Ming Xiao.

Ming Xiao took the bird feather, inspecting it, confused: “What is this… and why are you giving this to me?”

Everyone observed him with serious expressions.

Seeing the strange looks on everyone’s faces, Ming Xiao wanted to ask again, but suddenly felt a headache coming on.

Then, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted again.

Xue Heng, with a grim face, reached out and checked his unlucky disciple. Sure enough, he found a familiar strange mark on the side of Ming Xiao’s neck.

… It was the same “sacrifice” as Yue Yao’s.

He turned to leave immediately.

Xie Liufeng asked: “Where are you going?”

Xue Heng replied: “You all keep an eye on Ming Xiao. I’m going to find Biyun.”

Xie Liufeng knew he was angry and didn’t stop him, only saying: “I’ve brought back Biyun’s Senior Brother.”

Right now, Biyun’s master was nothing but a mass of black fog, unable to speak. Beating them up would relieve some anger, but to figure out what was going on, they still had to interrogate Old Man Zheng.

Xue Heng forced himself to calm down, asking Xie Liufeng: “Where is he?”

Xie Liufeng pointed to the bag at the door that still hadn’t been opened.

Xue Heng grabbed the bag and directly took the person to the dungeon.

After all the chaos, it was already late at night.

Ming Xiao was still unconscious, and since the sect’s dungeon wasn’t far, Fang Yan arranged for someone to look after Ming Xiao. The three of them then found an empty room on Daoyuan Peak to rest for two hours.

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, Chu Xinghui received news that Ming Xiao had woken up.

It was Ming Xiao who contacted him first.

The first thing Ming Xiao did upon waking up was to ask what had happened. When he couldn’t find Xue Heng, who was handling Old Man Zheng, he came to find Chu Xinghui.

When Chu Xinghui opened the door, Xie Liufeng was already outside, moving around.

Chu Xinghui instinctively followed him with his gaze as he turned around twice.

Xie Liufeng heard the movement inside and walked over, kissing Chu Xinghui on the lips first.

Chu Xinghui blinked, reaching up to touch his forehead where he had been kissed, feeling very pleased with how thoughtful his Dao partner was today.

He was particularly satisfied.

Seeing his expression, Xie Liufeng couldn’t help but smile and said: “Senior Brother Xue has found some things. I’m going to the dungeon.”

He then asked Chu Xinghui: “Do you want to come with me?”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment: “I’ll go later. Ming Xiao’s awake, and he just sent me a message asking what’s going on. I’ll go explain things to him first.”

After Xie Liufeng left, Chu Xinghui went to check on his unfortunate friend.

When he arrived, Ming Xiao was sitting on the bed, carefully inspecting the bump on the back of his head.

He looked lively, completely different from the state of repeatedly fainting the day before.

Although the position was almost the same, Ming Xiao felt like there were two bumps on the back of his head, likely because he had been hit twice.

Chu Xinghui pretended not to notice what Ming Xiao was doing, nor did he acknowledge the strange situation of having two bumps on his head. Instead, he just found a spot and sat down.

Without wasting time, he quickly explained to Ming Xiao everything that had happened during the time he was unconscious.

Ming Xiao, no longer concerned about the bumps on his head, couldn’t help but confirm: “So… you’re saying, when I lost control, I was like a… agile monkey?”

Chu Xinghui thought that his focus might be a little off, but still nodded. That was, after all, the most objective and accurate description he could come up with.

Ming Xiao’s mind was spinning with the absurdity of it all, but what really struck him was the idea of being compared to a “monkey.” He stood frozen, his thoughts thunderstruck for a long moment.

Then, his expression turned serious as he looked at Chu Xinghui and said with utter determination: “Forget it. If you don’t, we’ll both be doomed.”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment, then answered honestly: “But you can’t beat me.”

Ming Xiao: “…”

Chu Xinghui added: “And it wasn’t just me who saw it. Xie Liufeng, your Master, and even the sect master saw it too.”

Ming Xiao’s face lost all expression.

He didn’t want to speak anymore. He curled up in the blankets and lay still, covering his head with them as if he had already died.

Chu Xinghui, unaffected by his dramatic gesture, continued: ” Sect Master Xue Feng found something from Old Man Zheng. Xie Liufeng’s gone over, and I’m leaving now.”

Ming Xiao immediately perked up: “Wait for me! I’m going too!”

After all, this concerned his own life, so he had to join in the investigation.

Chu Xinghui and Ming Xiao quickly made their way to the dungeon.

Xue Heng was holding a strange divination disk that glowed similarly to the Crimson Crane Feather, while Old Man Zheng sat across from him, looking like an utterly beaten man.

When Chu Xinghui arrived, Xie Liufeng waved at him.

Chu Xinghui immediately abandoned his little buddy and went over to Xie Liufeng.

Ming Xiao: “…”

Reluctantly, he walked over to his Master side.

Seeing Ming Xiao following him, Xue Heng frowned and put away the object in his hand.

Chu Xinghui, recalling something Yue Yao had said before, speculated: “Is this Old Man Zheng’s natal magic tool?”

Xie Liufeng nodded: “Exactly.”

As soon as Chu Xinghui thought of Yue Yao, she appeared, leisurely walking over with her fan in hand.

It wasn’t surprising to see her now, after all, it had been her idea to bring Old Man Zheng here, and now she had come to see it through.

Seeing her, Old Man Zheng immediately began to beg: “I’ve already shown you all, I’ve handed over my magic tool, I’m no longer useful for questioning! I’m an old man, I can’t take any more scares!”

Yue Yao glanced at the people in the room, then called out clearly: “Senior student.”

Hearing her voice, Old Man Zheng froze for a moment.

His momentary loss of composure quickly vanished, and his wrinkled face broke into a smile: “Ah, Yao Yao! It’s really you! You’ve grown so much!”

Yue Yao sneered, twisting her fan as she retorted: “It’s been a hundred years, and it seems like you’ve gotten more muddled, Senior Student.”

After leaving the sect, she had been keeping an eye on this old fool. But it seemed that, despite how nearly useless he had become, he still managed to slip through her grasp. Only today had she finally gotten the chance to confront him face to face.

Old Man Zheng didn’t seem to catch the sarcasm in her tone and continued to smile foolishly.

Yue Yao stepped closer and directly asked: “What did my master see a hundred years ago? And how involved were you in this?”

Old Man Zheng’s expression turned troubled: “Ah, not again… I’ve already told Sword Master everything. I can’t speak about this, I was sealed long ago. I can’t say a word. Even if you kill me, I can’t say anything.”

“If you want to know about this, you’re better off asking him” he suddenly added, turning to look at Chu Xinghui: “Little Cultivator, you must’ve seen something in Biyun’s memory, some terrible conclusion, right?”

Chu Xinghui had only intended to listen in on the conversation, but now the focus had shifted to him. He frowned slightly.

“I can’t say what she saw, nor can I say who the person destined by heaven is,” Old Man Zheng said, his eyes squinting as he studied Chu Xinghui: “But, you all must know who her target has always been, right?”

Now the conversation was leading back to him. Xie Liufeng raised his eyes and glanced at Old Man Zheng, his expression turning cold.

Ming Xiao couldn’t hold back and interjected: “So you’re saying… Chu Xinghui is the person destined by heaven?”

Old Man Zheng immediately looked away and vigorously shook his head: “No, no… I didn’t say that! I can’t say anything!”

 

Support translation: