Kui Min needed a while to get back her bearings but then, she nodded as if they just decided on a very grave matter. "Yes, Elder! I definitely won't disappoint you or let senior martial brother Mei and junior martial brother Yun down!"
Baili Chao almost wanted to laugh when he saw how serious she looked. "Very well. You can go with Yun Bei Fen and play around with that little rabbit then. I'll need to talk about some things with Mei Chao Bing."
Kui Min nodded and leaped to her feet, following Yun Bei Fen out of the room who was still looking back every now and then.
"What do you think Master wants to speak to senior martial brother Mei about?"
Kui Min looked at him and raised her brows. If he didn't know it, how would she? But, well, considering the situation ... "They're probably going to talk about your mission in more detail. If Yang Wu Huang and the others are really planning something, then your Master probably wants to make sure that Mei Chao Bing is prepared well enough."
Yun Bei Fen nodded. That made sense. He lifted Xiao Hui and looked into the spiritual beast's eyes. "I guess we don't have to worry. Mei Chao Bing has planned very well. I'm pretty sure that nothing will happen to us. What do you think?"
Kui Min couldn't help but laugh when she saw Yun Bei Fen talking to his spiritual beast. "Has he answered yet?"
Yun Bei Fen turned to look at her, giving her a puzzled look. "Senior martial sister Kui, what are you talking about? Xiao Hui is a spiritual beast. How could he answer me?"
Kui Min was taken aback. Was Yun Bei Fen just telling her that she was behaving weirdly? She wasn't the one who had been talking to a spiritual beast! She wanted to argue but looking at Yun Bei Fen's expression, she finally couldn't bring herself to do it. Well, just let him do what he wanted to. There was no reason to make a fuss about it. "Anyway, we should go play with him for a while like your Master said. I need a lot of ammunition so I can talk Yang Wu Huang and his people into the ground."
Yun Bei Fen nodded and the two of them went off, playing with Xiao Hui in the courtyard.
Meanwhile, Mei Chao Bing sat down in front of Elder Baili and waited for him to speak up.
Baili Chao watched him and finally sighed. "Alright, what are your thoughts on this matter?"
Mei Chao Bing kept quiet for a moment and then sighed as well. "I won't keep it from Elder Baili. I'm pretty sure that whatever Yang Wu Huang is planning will be bad. To be honest, I am afraid that somebody will be hurt. If what I think about this matter with the array before is true, then Yang Wu Huang doesn't really care who gets hurt as long as he is able to achieve what he wants to. Thus, he won't shy away from anything.
"Considering that we will leave soon, he will either need to act immediately tomorrow or somehow figure out a way to follow us. The former might only endanger our group. As for the latter ..." He shook his head. "I'm afraid that he would have to do something very drastic to make this plausible. A lot of other groups could be embroiled in that conflict as well. Considering where we are, involving the demonic sects in his own plan would likely be the best option he has."
"Provoking an attack and then pretending to flee in the direction you're traveling in?"
Mei Chao Bing nodded. "That would be the easiest way to achieve what he wants, wouldn't it? Anyway, if he does manage to follow us, then he would do so until the Zhen Yan Sect. After that, my group and Song Mu's will split. Thus, it would be fewer people on our side. On our way back ... He would have a lot of opportunities to do something shady.
"As for the time at the sect ... Well, I'm pretty sure that he will try to insert himself into our mission. He's all about face. He wants to become known as a peerless talent. I guess in his eyes, he still hasn't managed to achieve that."
Baili Chao gave a short laugh. "Yang Wu Huang is seriously overestimating himself if he thinks that he could manage that. You will always be better than him. In fact, Song Mu was also always better than him. He was just able to make himself seem less conspicuous next to you. And after that, he joined Yang Wu Huang's side. Having a strong follower probably was a boost to Yang Wu Huang's ego as well."
Mei Chao Bing nodded. "I don't doubt that at all." He still doubted his own ability to judge people though. Back then, Song Mu definitely couldn't have been called his follower. He wouldn't have thought that he was willing to become anybody's follower either. Song Mu had always seemed proud. Too proud to accept something like that.
But then, things had changed. They changed to a degree that made him question if he had understood the people around him. Strangely enough, the only one who had held onto the belief that he was a good person and had never acted out against him had been Yun Bei Fen, the person he hadn't known very well before. Come to think of it, in a way, even Yun Bei Fen had changed his behavior. After all, the day his Master betrayed the sect had been the first time that Yun Bei Fen actually approached him. Before then, he had always run off.
Thinking back now, Mei Chao Bing couldn't help but smile to himself. Just imagining how his little bunny had been hiding whenever he looked in his direction and then pretended not to be there at all, his heart would flutter a little. Back then, he hadn't understood. Now, he was clear on the matter though. Somehow, that little one had fallen in love with him early on. But he had been too shy to admit those feelings. In the end, if he hadn't made a move now, then they probably still wouldn't be together.
Baili Chao watched Mei Chao Bing's expression, his brows slowly raising. He really wondered what he was thinking about right now. He didn't dare ask though. Something told him that whatever the answer was, he wouldn't like it.
In the end, he cleared his throat. "Well, I will consult with Elder Xing tonight and try to come up with a plan to make sure that Yang Wu Huang won't interfere. It will be difficult though. After all, the groups will leave tomorrow to continue with their own mission. If there's no drastic change in the situation, there's no way for us to keep them here. And I don't think anything is going to happen. It didn't look like that at the very least."
Mei Chao Bing nodded. "I understand. If there's any way that I can help in this matter, then I hope that the Elders will tell me. Both my and Song Mu's cultivation bases are higher than that of Yang Wu Huang and the others. If we work together, there will be a chance for us to maybe disrupt them."
Baili Chao lightly shook his head. "I can see where you are coming from. And if I can think of a plan to utilize this, then I will make you a part of this. But you can't forget that your actual task is to inform the Zhen Yan Sect. This warning could be vital. We can't let anything prevent them from being informed. Do you understand?"
Mei Chao Bing had a hard time nodding his head. Knowing that there was somebody endangering the others and maybe ruining the whole mission, he couldn't help but want to do something. But, unfortunately, he was not in a position to do so because there were other things to consider. It was maddening.
Baili Chao sighed when he saw his expression. He could imagine how Mei Chao Bing felt about this. If it was him, he also wouldn't like it. But what could be done? They needed the group to go and inform the sect. "I would leave you here to make sure that this doesn't happen but ... What we did say the other day was true: The overall strength of your group is quite high. And this is a dangerous task. If you are right in that maybe those clues were left deliberately, then it would be a problem to send anyone who is less strong or experienced. I hope you understand that."
Mei Chao Bing sighed but still nodded. "I do understand. I just can't help but feel it is a pity I am not able to do anything else. I would like to be of more help."
Elder Baili nodded but there was nothing he could do about it. "Just focus on your task for now. I'm sure that we will be able to take care of this later on. Yang Wu Huang won't be able to hide behind his reputation forever. Someday, he will be caught in that web of lies he has spun himself. We just have to be patient and try to make sure that the worst won't happen."
Mei Chao Bing nodded. Yes, even though he wished that things were different, that was definitely the best way to go about it. Since he couldn't change the current situation, he could only move a step forward and then try to see if there was a way. That was just how matters were. There was no use bemoaning that.