While the groups were preparing to move out, the other disciples had already reached their areas and were looking for further clues. At the very least, this was what most of them did. One of the groups had stopped though and was currently standing around their leader.
"Senior martial brother Yang, what do you think why they chose these three? One of them is a traitor and another one wasn't even leading a group. Shouldn't they have decided on you for one of the positions?"
Yang Wu Huang gave him a subtle look, not reacting much to the obvious flattery. "They have to notify three sects so they will need three groups. Those two were the ones that managed to find the clues. Since nobody else did, they were unable to choose anybody else."
The other still looked indignant though. "Well, then they at least should have made Song Mu the leader of that group. I didn't understand why they didn't do that before either. His reputation is much better than that of Mei Chao Bing and they should be around the same strength, shouldn't they? He would be a much better candidate."
Yang Wu Huang gave a hum, this time also showing some displeasure on his face. "That is true. I guess Elder Baili's personal preferences played a big role in this." Even though he did accept that Mei Chao Bing's cultivation level wasn't low, he still felt that this had to be the case. After all, the level wasn't everything. To be the leader of a group, you needed to be able to make the other disciples submit to you. Could a traitor like Mei Chao Bing really do that?
He scoffed at the thought. He'd really like to see that! Mei Chao Bing was a traitor, an outsider. There was no way he would be able to lead a group in the right way. Who would listen to him? The only one would be Yun Bei Fen with his impressionable mind.
Then again, Elder Baili was making things easy for Mei Chao Bing as well. He had actually handed one of the groups over to him and even announced it in such a fashion. Naturally, the disciples would be hesitant to defy Mei Chao Bing. Otherwise, wouldn't they be the one to suffer a loss since he had an Elder behind him? They probably wouldn't want to risk that.
The other disciples were anxious when they thought about it. "Then what should we do? We can't just let him get away with this, can we?"
Yang Wu Huang furrowed his brows. He also didn't want Mei Chao Bing to get any advantage from this matter. But they had to stay in their area and continue to investigate while he would be on his way to a different place. There was no saying when they would even meet again. How would they be able to do anything about this?
One of the others looked from Yang Wu Huang to the rest of the group and then back again. "Maybe ... Song Mu will do something? They should be going in the same direction at first, shouldn't they?"
The others' expressions lit up but Yang Wu Huang shook his head. "You shouldn't rely on that. Have you forgotten what happened the last time? He was livid when he found out about what we did with the array. If he had had any evidence, he might have even told the Elders. Do you really think he will want to do anything about Mei Chao Bing?"
The others exchanged glances. "That ... He's our person. Shouldn't he be against him? I mean if Mei Chao Bing somehow ..." The disciple shut up and gave Yang Wu Huang a worried look. They all knew that they were in this together. They still wouldn't just say that outright though. After all, what if this angered Yang Wu Huang? They still had to rely on him.
In turn, Yang Wu Huang shook his head. "Maybe he isn't even as much of our person as we thought. After all, he was friends with him before, wasn't he? He turned against him when things looked down for Mei Chao Bing but that doesn't mean that he might not try to brush up the good feelings again now that he's doing better. We should be prepared for that."
"That bastard! And this after everything we did for him. These few years, senior martial brother Yang has treated him very well despite his past mistakes. He should be thankful that you're doing this for him."
Yang Wu Huang didn't bother to say anything about that. While it was true that he hadn't harped on Song Mu's relationship with Mei Chao Bing, there naturally had been a bit of estrangement in the beginning. While it had gotten better with the years, he still felt that they weren't on the same page sometimes.
That wasn't what he wanted. He wanted followers that would be a hundred percent loyal to him. Otherwise, what was the use of having them? He didn't want to be worried that one of them would betray him at the drop of a hat. Well, maybe in that regard, Song Mu had never been an option for this at all.
In the end, Yang Wu Huang shook his head. "No, we can't rely on him for this. If we want to do something, will have to do it ourselves." He narrowed his eyes, wondering just what that something might be. They couldn't just go to the sects as well and try to do something there, could they? Or maybe ...
His lips curved up into a smile and he turned to look at the others again. "Well, I might have come up with something splendid. I'm just not quite sure if you will like it. This might get a little dangerous for one of you."