Chapter 139 The Young Lady

This felt like the gathering of a storm. No matter how composed Qiu Wan'er tried to keep her expression, and no matter how poised her movements were, a certain restlessness stirred within her heart. After all, she was still a young woman in her early twenties, and having spent all these years secluded on Mount Kunlun, she had truly never faced a situation like this. Thus, while one hand held her teacup, the other involuntarily tightened its grip slightly on the long sword resting on the table.

"Eldest Miss, the Alliance Master learned of your arrival in Jinjiang and specifically sent us humble ones to welcome you!" After exchanging brief glances, all four men cupped their fists in salute simultaneously. Such words came as quite a surprise to Qiu Wan'er. Her hand paused mid-motion, and the teacup that was originally meant for her lips ultimately never reached them. A voice inside her heart could not help but mutter: "For these people to address me this way, and with the Martial Arts Alliance located right here in Jinjiang City, it seems that old man must be here as well. While it is true he is my master, how can someone who could deal such a blow to his own disciple still be considered a master? But what if Senior Brother really is a member of the Blue Lotus Cult, and Master was merely forced by circumstance? How can I blame him then? Just thinking about this makes..."

The more she pondered these things, the more confused she became. If the answer were truly so easy to find, she would not have spent three grueling years agonizing over it on Mount Kunlun. Now, it was impossible to tell whether returning to the Central Plains this time was right or wrong. In short, it had both good and bad aspects. At this moment, perhaps the two most fitting words for her were silence. Seeing her reaction, the four men momentarily did not know how to respond. As they lowered their cupped fists, their eyes quickly darted among one another, as if silently communicating their thoughts. After a long while, the man on the far left tentatively spoke up again:

"The four of us brothers noticed that Miss looked somewhat unfamiliar, so we hurried back to Jinjiang City, never expecting to run into the Alliance Master at the corner ahead. After we described you, the Alliance Master immediately concluded it must be you. Feeling a sense of guilt toward you in his heart, he did not dare to come in person, so he sent us brothers to invite you. He said that if you are willing to forgive him, you should return with us; if you are unwilling, he will not force you, and he asked us to pass this token on to you, Miss!"

At this, Qiu Wan'er naturally raised her gaze and happened to see the man pulling a plaque from his pocket and respectfully handing it over. Given this rhetoric, she had no reason to refuse and was forced to reach out and take it. Putting everything else aside, facing Dao Tianfeng at this very moment was truly no easy task for her. Looking at the large character "Dao" engraved on the plaque, an awkward smile involuntarily spread across her face. Her mind flashed back to the days of her youth on the Qilian Mountains, where she had been raised. In other words, although Dao Tianfeng was nominally her master, in reality, there was little difference between him and a true father.

"The Alliance Master said that times are turbulent right now," the man continued, seeing that Qiu Wan'er remained silent as she stared at the plaque. "With Mingyue Manor suffering such a catastrophe and the Blue Lotus Cult making a comeback, walking the jianghu is quite unsafe. While this plaque is nothing extraordinary, throughout the Central Plains martial arts world, seeing this plaque is like seeing the Alliance Master in person. It will certainly afford the Eldest Miss a measure of safety, and even the prefectural yamen will have to show some respect."

Seeing that Qiu Wan'er remained silent while gazing at the plaque, the man pressed on. Since she had already accepted the item, their mission was successfully accomplished, giving them something to report upon their return. Of course, persuading the young woman to return with them would be an even greater merit, so he was still trying his utmost to bring about that outcome and had no intention of giving up just yet. "The Alliance Master misses you dearly, and it is still rather unsafe for the Eldest Miss to travel outside alone. It is best to return as soon as possible!"

Whether it was because of the man's nagging or because Qiu Wan'er's inner knot remained untied, her gaze stayed fixed on the plaque for a long time. Only after the man finally stopped talking did she hand the plaque back, paying no heed to whether he would take it or not. As she slowly stood up, she glanced toward the end of the main road. At that moment, her thoughts were undoubtedly complex; her expression was tangled, and an ambiguous, faint smile lingered at the corner of her lips.

"Take this plaque back for me, and pass a message to the old man: tell him I still have some matters to attend to, and once I finish them, I will return to the Qilian Mountains to see him. I only hope that by then, we can still do so under the bond of master and disciple!"

By the end of her words, her tone was heavy with emotion. She made a motion as if to walk away. The man on the far left said nothing, merely picking up the plaque, but the other three made instinctive gestures to block her path. This puzzled Qiu Wan'er, and her gaze naturally shifted back to rest upon the leader, as if demanding an explanation. Without turning back, the man seemed to have sensed her reaction and gave a casual wave of his hand—his intent was crystal clear. Sharing a tacit understanding with him, the other three consciously stepped aside, clearing a path for Qiu Wan'er. Without hesitation, she channeled her spiritual energy and strode forward, moving at an incredible speed that vanished from the four men's sight in the blink of an eye.

"Boss, why didn't we stop her? How are we going to answer to Alliance Master Dao now?" One of the men turned his gaze back to the leader and asked with some worry.

The leader's eyes, however, remained glued to the plaque, and his reply was soft, carrying the tone of someone talking to himself: "Rest assured. Since the Alliance Master could entrust her with this item, it shows just how much weight our Eldest Miss holds in his heart. We just need to report her exact words to the Alliance Master. Even if he puts on a show of displeasure on the surface, he will certainly be gladdened and pleased in his heart, and he won't do anything to us. What we do need to watch out for is Old Third Xia. Unlike Dao Tianfeng, I've felt that his actions and behavior over the past few months have been much stranger than before. If necessary, we must report these matters to the Prince!"

The light following the sunset always carried a chilling bite, a sensation that grew even more acute deep within the mountains. A gentle mountain breeze swept past, causing those in lighter attire to sneeze uncontrollably. Hemmed in by mountains on all sides, the echoes of their movements sounded inexplicably loud. Though he walked at the very rear, his actions felt somewhat awkward. Almost simultaneously, Shui Linglong and Hua Hudie both halted their steps, fixing their gazes on Han Tanyi with eyes filled with worry. Whether restrained by each other's presence, though the emotional weight was thick, neither made any excessive move. After a brief pause, they quickly turned around and continued on their way.

Thus they walked on for an unknown length of time, pressing ever forward. When the sun was still up, they could occasionally discern direction, but once the final ray of light vanished from sight and absolute darkness swallowed the surroundings, all orientation was lost. To make matters worse, the weather refused to cooperate, rolling in a dense fog at that precise moment. The mist further blurred their vision, rendering even the immediate scenery hazy. In this season, heavy fog in the mountain forests was hardly a common occurrence, let alone one of this magnitude. Hua Hudie had lived on the Qilian Mountains for years and was well-versed in mountain weather, yet she had never encountered such a spectacle. The fog grew thicker and thicker until nothing could be seen at all, to the point where she could not even clearly make out her own outstretched palm.

"Where do you come from? Who on earth are you? Where do you come from? Who on earth are you?"

When one's vision fails, one's hearing naturally becomes sharper. Whether due to this reason or not, as Hua Hudie blindly pressed forward, following the sound of footsteps, a voice suddenly echoed from out of nowhere, repeatedly asking those two exact questions. At first, it sounded muffled, but soon it grew exceptionally clear. More bizarrely, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity with the voice—it sounded precisely like her own, matching in tone and pitch so perfectly that it stirred an overwhelming impulse within her mind to answer back.

Yet, she quickly steadied herself, circulating her spiritual energy to seal the meridians of her ears. The voices instantly faded, reduced to a mere faint murmur. Having accomplished this, a hint of smug triumph naturally arose in her mind:

"It seems this must be the outer perimeter of the Blue Lotus Cult's territory—the Sumeru Illusion Realm my mother spoke of. These voices are far too bewitching. The moment anyone answers, they immediately fall into the illusion, spilling all their secrets with no way to conceal them. It seems the Water Fiend not only possesses supreme martial arts but is also extremely scheming. Although she couldn't refuse Tanyi and agreed to bring me here, she still harbors deep precautions against me. Had it not been for my mother's prior warning, I would surely have fallen into her trap. For now, I must remain cautious and avoid causing any trouble at this critical juncture. Once I enter the secret realm and find the treasure vault, I will settle this score with her clearly and thoroughly!"