Chapter 7

Daguan followed a man with a golden crown on his head and walked in.

The man looked around and said in a calm tone, "Our sect has always been strict in selecting disciples, but we are also compassionate. You can stay for now, and those with excellent aptitude can become formal disciples of our sect in due time. Those with poor aptitude will be given other arrangements. If anyone does not wish to stay, they can leave now."

After a while, no one said they wanted to leave. Originally, all the orphans in the Sanyuan Sect had developed feelings for the place, and were unwilling to leave. The newcomers had nowhere to go, and as orphans, staying meant having food to eat, while leaving meant no means of survival. As for the opportunity to become disciples of the Huhai Sect, few truly understood its value.

The Sanyuan Sect no longer existed, and they all became disciples of the Huhai Sect.

Hengyi did not feel happy at all. If he had a choice, he would have preferred to stay in the original valley.

His residence in the Huhai Sect was with a group of junior disciples from the former Sanyuan Sect. There were twenty of them, living in a large house, each with a bed, and they did all the miscellaneous tasks for the sect. The person in charge of them was also a junior disciple of the Huhai Sect, who always spoke harshly and had the character 'e' (evil) in his name. They secretly called him "Evil Dog."

Hengyi and the group of junior disciples carried water, washed vegetables, and delivered meals to the dining hall on the mountain slope every day.

For ten consecutive days, no one taught them any skills.

On the eleventh night, deep into the night, Daguang suddenly came with the young man, Hengyi's unforgettable enemy, the one who killed his Second Master, Li Hua!

"He is called Hengyi, a very reliable person. I hope you will take good care of him, Senior Brother Li." Daguang's respectful attitude made Li Hua laugh. "Alright, once the matter is settled, he won't have to continue doing miscellaneous tasks. Let's go."

Daguang hurriedly instructed Hengyi, "Follow Senior Brother Li to the cave and get the things. Don't trouble Senior Brother Li's noble hands with anything. Do whatever he says, remember." Daguang then made a gesture of three behind Li Hua's back. Hengyi, though confused, guessed it had some significance.

Hengyi followed Li Hua as they flew away from the Huhai Sect. Li Hua glanced at him a few times and smiled. "I didn't want a third person to know about this matter, but Daguang couldn't leave at night. He repeatedly assured me of your reliability. As long as you can keep silent, I will naturally take care of you in the Huhai Sect."

"Yes," Hengyi replied insincerely. At this moment, he still harbored deep hatred towards Li Hua, but he was no longer impulsive. He had long thought it through; revenge required waiting for the right opportunity. This grudge must be avenged because his Second Master should not have died.

"I ask you, how many kinds of immortal techniques does the Sanyuan Sect have?"

Hengyi immediately recalled Daguang's gesture and said, "Three."

"Oh?" Li Hua was still half-doubtful. "It's not uncommon for Daguang and Sanyuan to be able to cultivate qi at their age. However, their progress and the techniques they practice are not ordinary. The sect leader admitted you because of the immortal techniques you contributed. If you know more techniques, the sect leader will certainly reward you heavily."

"Only three." Hengyi believed that if he didn't say, the Huhai Sect would never find out more. Wang Feizi only cultivated two techniques, and only Daguang, he, and Sanyuan knew the number of divine techniques.

Li Hua did not ask further, guessing that even if there were more, Hengyi wouldn't know. "Fly faster, we must return within three hours."

When leaving the Huhai Sect, Hengyi noticed that Li Hua's route did not encounter anyone. He casually asked, "Do we still go back the same way to avoid being seen?"

"Of course."

Returning to Qianshanxueling, seeing the familiar wooden houses, Hengyi felt a wave of sadness. The sheep pens and pig pens were empty, and the cows in the cowshed had also been taken away.

Li Hua eagerly entered the cave and saw that the valuables were still there, which put his mind at ease. He had not had the opportunity to go out for days, and he was afraid that the treasures in the cave would be discovered and taken during this period. "Pack them up."

Hengyi quickly packed the valuables into the cloth bag given by Daguang, thinking about Li Hua's words and the events of that day, suddenly understanding a lot.

The Huhai Sect did not originally intend to kill them because of Wang Laohu's matter. They were interested in the secret techniques of the Sanyuan Sect, and Li Hua was not truly capable of saving them...

After the valuables were packed, Li Hua saw that Hengyi did not put them on his back and urged, "Hurry up, let's go."

"Senior Brother Li, the Sanyuan Sect actually has a treasure sword. I know where it is hidden and am willing to offer it to you." Hengyi bowed, his face showing no particular expression.

"Treasure sword?" Li Hua laughed. "Bring it here for me to see!"

"Yes, Senior Brother, please wait. The sword is buried in animal bones." Hengyi said and went. Li Hua did not want to go to such a foul-smelling place and preferred to wait in the cave.

Hengyi dug out the unknown treasure sword, put the scabbard back in place, and returned to the cave with the sword in both hands.

Li Hua, upon seeing the sword, did not find anything particularly remarkable about it. Seeing Hengyi slightly lowering his head and standing still with the sword in both hands, he frowned and said, "Bring it here for me to examine closely!"

"Yes." Hengyi approached with the sword. When he reached Li Hua, a burst of red light suddenly exploded around him!

The seventh technique from the divine book—Death Sword—suddenly erupted!

The explosive true qi propelled the sword to fly like lightning, instantly piercing Li Hua's throat, who tried to dodge but was too late to react!

"You—impossible, I, I have the third level of Huhai Decision, and the first level of Dharma Venerable, yet... " Li Hua's hastily raised true qi had no chance to be released. The true qi in his body rapidly drained, and the hateful Hengyi stared at him, his lips moving, but the sound in Li Hua's ears grew weaker and weaker.

"Second Master should not have died! You are too cruel—Second Master scolded you once, and you killed him! I must avenge this grudge for Second Master."

As Li Hua died, the sword suddenly glowed red for two seconds.

Hengyi looked at the full moon in the sky, knelt on the ground, and murmured, "Second Master, Hengyi has avenged you." As he spoke, he felt his eyes moisten. Death cannot be reversed, and avenging the grudge did not alleviate the pain of grief.

Under the moonlight, a figure drifted down from the sky, landing gracefully.

The person, upon seeing Hengyi and the body on the ground, was taken aback. The fair, almost feminine face, with sharp eyes under fine eyebrows, quickly retracted its gaze. The wide robe fluttered in the wind.

Hengyi, holding the long sword, stood still, looking at the stranger. This person was not wearing the Huhai Sect's attire, but might be someone closely related to Li Hua. Since Li Hua feared the sect's people discovering his valuables, he likely would not take them back.

"Are you his friend?"

The person remained silent for a moment, then asked, "Do you want to kill me to silence me?"

This made Hengyi pause. This person had not made him panic since appearing, and Hengyi, who had just killed someone for the first time, was not panicked either. He felt a bit of pity when killing pigs, cows, and sheep, but not when killing Li Hua, as he believed he was doing the right thing, and killing Li Hua felt no different from killing a vicious wild animal. "I won't kill you to silence you. He killed my Second Master because my Second Master stole something and scolded him. But if you are his friend, I don't want to return to the Huhai Sect and seek death."

The person laughed, his expression suddenly relaxing from its original alertness. "So he did deserve to die! If I say I won't tell anyone about what happened here, will you believe me?"

Hengyi put away the sword, picked up a hoe, and started digging, smiling as he worked. "I can only believe, because I can't kill you. If I did, I would become like him."

The person saw another hoe nearby, picked it up, and helped dig, smiling as he worked. "If I'm digging my own grave, please tell me early, at least don't let me die in a ridiculous way."

Hengyi laughed, but he felt this statement was half true and half false, just like his doubt about whether this person would reveal him to the Huhai Sect. "It's difficult. We both hope the other will keep their word, but it's hard to fully trust."

The person laughed heartily, buried his head in digging, and soon the hole was ready. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "This hole can bury not just two people, but seven or eight."

Hengyi threw Li Hua's body into the hole, stripped off the clothes and burned them, left the sword and valuables, and started filling the hole. The person saw this and offered to help, quickly filling the hole. Hengyi then made some arrangements to cover the traces of the disturbed soil. After finishing, Hengyi sat on the ground to rest for a moment and said to the person, "You can go now."

The person picked up Li Hua's sword and said, "This sword is also a clue. I'll take it and deal with it for you."

"Thank you."

The person walked a distance, then turned back and shouted, "My name is Chen Zizai."

"Hengyi." Hengyi replied, and the person flew away.

Hengyi sat quietly for a while, reburied the sword properly, and decided to return to the Huhai Sect.

He remembered the route Li Hua took when leaving the sect and indeed did not encounter anyone on the way back, which made him secretly relieved.

Hengyi often practiced at night or helped sick junior disciples with their tasks, often going to bed very late.

A junior disciple, waking up to use the restroom, saw him and said drowsily, "Senior Brother, are you back from practicing? ... Second Sister looked for you twice, she might still be in the garden..." and then went back inside.

The junior disciples from the Sanyuan Sect still called him Senior Brother in private. The Second Sister was Wang Feizi.

Hengyi's group lived in the garden on the mountain slope, which was convenient for work.

He walked around the garden and saw Wang Feizi, wearing a sea-blue long dress, sitting quietly in the pavilion.

"Feizi!"

"Senior Brother!" Wang Feizi ran over happily, and they looked at each other.

Since joining the Huhai Sect, the male and female disciples from the Sanyuan Sect had been separated and sent to different places. After eleven days without seeing each other, everyone missed their former companions. Hengyi found Wang Feizi, wearing the Huhai Sect's good-quality clothes, even more beautiful, though he didn't realize that in Wang Feizi's eyes, he now looked handsome and dignified.

"Senior Brother, are you all well?"

"We are all well, how about you?"

Wang Feizi nodded and said happily, "Although we have more work to do than before, the senior sister in charge of us is easy to get along with and hasn't been hard on us."

"How did you sneak out? If anyone finds out, you will be punished."

"I have a problem I don't know how to solve... I can only come to ask Senior Brother for help."

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