The shadow guard soon finished and apologized again for interrupting them before disappearing into thin air.
"What did he say?" Xiaomei asked, but ZhangWei just stood there in silence. "ZhangWei?" Xiaomei said, looking at him.
ZhangWei didn't say anything but held her hand tightly. She glanced at his grip and felt the heat in their hands. "ZhangWei, what's wrong? What happened?" she said again.
"Let's head back. I have to talk to the others," he said.
"Oh...alright," she said, not knowing what else to say. She could tell it was something serious because of the deep look on his face. So she quietly followed him as he refused to let go of her hand.
______
Once they arrived, everyone (LiJie, Baozhao, Chuhua, Bojing, and Junfeng) had already gathered around waiting for them.
"Junfeng had told us the news. Is it true?" LiJie said as everyones' face has a dark concern on them. Xiaomei stood there, gazing at the faces around her, eager to learn the news. Zhang Wei's silence confirmed their suspicions, but they still sought verbal confirmation.
"It seems so," he reluctantly said and met his eyes with Xiaomei, who looked at him confused. She didn't understand why he was looking at her or what the news was. She waited until someone said it.
"So, it's really true that they are coming?" Baozhai said with her eyes widened in fear.
"How did they know about this place?" LiJie said with his voice slightly raised higher."
"It must be Zhou Haitao. It has to be. Who else will it be? He must have informed the Emperor in some way that these people here are still alive," Bojing said. Once Xiaomei heard that her eyes jumped in mixed emotion. She was shocked and surprised but also relieved that the story was still going in the right direction. The story was coming to an end.
How could she forget that Zhou Haitou had sent out a secret letter informing the Emperor about the little sect and causing the Emperor to be enraged? However, the Emperor was hesitant to believe it, unsure if it was true or false. Since he didn't want to be fooled again, he ordered one of the leaders to bring a group of men to go and investigate. If it was true, then they must slaughter every living person there. And here they are now.
No one paid attention to Xiaomei except ZhangWei. He instantly noticed the change in her eyes and saw her mixed emotions. His eyes grew completely dark, and he looked at the hand that he was holding. His face immediately became darker, and he kept silent.
"What should we do?" Chuhua asked. Everyone's eyebrows frowned in deep thought except for ZhangWei and Xiaomei, who quietly stood there. "I will immediately go and stop the men from coming here. Since I am a general; they will listen to me," Bojing said.
"Yes, do that, and I will go and inform the Emperor about Zhou Haitou before anything more happens," LiJie said as the two men were ready to go. Both Baozhai and Chuhua said to LiJie and Bojing, "I will go with you."
"But is there another routine I can take to make me get to the capital city faster than the path we came from?" LiJie said as everyone looked at ZhangWei.
ZhangWei quickly snapped out of his thoughts. " There is a different routine, but it's a difficult and bumpy path. It's on the east side of us. If you are willing to proceed that way. Junfeng will give the details." ZhangWei said, absentminded. They didn't seem to notice, but Xiaomei did. She slightly tilted her head as she stared at him in concern, but he ignored her.