Chapter 100

Chapter 100: The Mysterious Man
Elder Qiu Shuang did not say it out loud, but everyone who had lived through that disaster already silently believed that Shui Qing Yue had fallen twenty years ago.

After all, back then she had fought like she did not care about living at all, just to cover the retreat of the others.

It was also because of Shui Qing Yue’s disregard for her life that, after they escaped this place, the survivors all returned here one after another, without any prior agreement, to continue the traditions of Water Cloud Palace and found a new sect.

This move carried great risk. They did not know if the people from back then would come back again, but they still chose to do it.

Now, although Clear Breeze Sect had not become some great power famous far and wide, it was still full of life and growing well.

Elder Qiu Shuang sighed and said: “Actually, the Sect Master was the earliest one to follow at the Palace Master’s side. She knows more than we do.”

She shook her head.

It was a pity the Sect Master’s prejudice against Yu Zhao ran too deep, and she was not willing to talk to her.

Yu Zhao did not pick up Elder Qiu Shuang’s words, but instead asked: “Did Shui Qing Yue ever have any man she was especially close with?”

Elder Qiu Shuang gave Yu Zhao a strange look and said: “Of course not. The Palace Master kept herself very clean. She never liked those little matters of love and romance.”

Whether it was the old Water Cloud Palace or the current Clear Breeze Sect, they had always only accepted female disciples.

In the past, there had even been troublemaking cultivators who came to cause a scene and cursed that Water Cloud Palace was a nunnery.

Yu Zhao suddenly felt as if an arrow had shot into her chest.

She let out a sigh.

As expected, finding clues about her own origins would not be easy.

According to Elder Qiu Shuang, besides an elder brother whose whereabouts were unknown, Shui Qing Yue had no other relatives in this world.

She also did not interact with men, so it was impossible for her to suddenly become pregnant for no reason. The relationship between Yu Zhao and her was still a mystery.

It seemed she could only go find Master Zi Wei and ask, to see if she could get some other clues.

As for whether Master Zi Wei would be willing to see her…

Yu Zhao thought, [I have plenty of ways to make Master Zi Wei unable to refuse.]

She then asked her final question: “Those people who attacked Water Cloud Palace back then, do you know who they were?”

Elder Qiu Shuang smiled bitterly and said: “I do not.”

They had never even seen those people clearly, and did not know why they had come to attack Water Cloud Palace at all.

Everything that day had happened so suddenly that they were caught completely off guard.

Once Yu Zhao had learned almost everything she could, she took the initiative to say goodbye.

Elder Qiu Shuang looked at her again and again, reluctant to part. After a long time, she asked softly: “May I hug you?”

Yu Zhao tilted her head, then opened her arms.

In the next moment, the warm body of the young woman, carrying a faint fragrance, fell into her embrace.

Elder Qiu Shuang’s choked voice sounded by Yu Zhao’s ear: “Yu Zhao, thank you.”

Yu Zhao smiled and said: “You are welcome.”

[ I am very glad I could help you fulfill your wish. ]

She whispered: “Aunt Qiu.”

Yu Zhao left the courtyard where Elder Qiu Shuang lived, slipped back into the night, and silently moved toward Master Zi Wei’s residence.

She did not know any techniques for hiding her tracks, but her Illusion Art could achieve a similar effect, so as she walked along, no one noticed her.

She spent some time finding out exactly where Master Zi Wei lived.

Just as she finally confirmed the exact location, a black shadow flashed out from Master Zi Wei’s room, jumped over the wall in a single bound, and rushed straight toward the back gate of Clear Breeze Sect.

Yu Zhao was startled.

Someone else was sneaking into Clear Breeze Sect at night at the same time as her?

Suspicious, she followed at once without any hesitation.

The other person was very fast, and he was clearly very familiar with the paths inside Clear Breeze Sect. He met almost no obstacles at all, then slipped out through the back gate as if no one else existed.

Yu Zhao trailed behind him, keeping a distance that was not too close and not too far.

From her observations, the mysterious figure running out of Master Zi Wei’s room was clearly a man.

Yet the very first rule of Clear Breeze Sect’s sect rules was that no man was allowed to enter.

Judging from his practiced movements, it was obvious this was not his first time coming and going from Clear Breeze Sect.

A man slipping in and out of the Sect Master of Clear Breeze Sect’s room again and again in the middle of the night… did Master Zi Wei know about this or not?

A playful light flashed through Yu Zhao’s eyes.

The mysterious man ran down the mountain in one go, then headed toward another mountain forest next door, never stopping for even a moment.

Yu Zhao followed silently behind him.

She had a feeling that he might be about to reveal some astonishing secret.

…

Early in the morning, when the sky was already bright, Little Red tiptoed out of her room, looking left and right like a thief. She jogged all the way to the back kitchen and dug out the food box she had hidden among the clutter piled in the corner by the wall.

Then, while everyone was still sleeping, she hugged the food box and slipped out through the side door of Floating Fragrance Teahouse.

Walking on the way home, Little Red’s eyes curved like crescent moons, showing a mouthful of white teeth.

Grandpa Tea had told her to stay obediently at the teahouse these days and not to run about. He had also arranged for someone to take care of her younger brothers for her, but Little Red still could not feel at ease. Without her by their side, her younger brothers would definitely not be used to it.

She was only going back to take a look, really just one look. Then she would hand over the food box that Senior had left to her younger brothers, and she would hurry back. Grandpa Tea would not find out.

Little Red lived in the Southern Ward of Nanming City, which was also the dirtiest and messiest area in all of Nanming City.

She knew the roads well, carefully avoiding the junk piled in the alleys and the neighbors with bad intentions. Without drawing anyone’s attention, she smoothly made it home.

Calling it a home was actually too kind. It was only a broken house that could barely keep out the wind and rain, with drafts blowing in from all four sides. Sometimes, when it rained, even the things inside would get wet.

Even so, Little Red was very content.

Their situation was poor for now, but once she got a little older and found a way to earn more spirit stones, life at home would become much better.

Maybe in the future, her younger brothers could also become powerful cultivators like Senior.

She called out as she walked in: “Little Fur, Little Bean, Little Xi, Big Sister is back. Look, Big Sister brought you something good!”

Holding the heavy food box, Little Red walked into the room with a bright smile.

The room was empty.

There was no reply from her younger brothers.

Just as Little Red was feeling strange, her three younger brothers ran back from the side room. They pointed at her, faces full of excitement, and shouted: “Lord, she is back! She is Little Red!”

The smile on Little Red’s face froze at once.

She did not know what had happened. Her instincts made her turn around to run out.

But after only two steps, her legs were bound by an invisible force.

Her upper body was still stuck in a running pose.

Bang!

She slammed hard into the ground, and the food box she had been holding all this time rolled away.

Little Red felt dizzy and in pain. She reached up to touch her head, and her hand came away full of blood.

“Big Sis, why are you running? Lord came to ask you some questions!”

“Sister Xiao Hong, hurry and tell Lord where you went these last few days. Lord will give us a mid grade spirit stone as a reward!”

“Tsk, so clumsy, so useless!”

Her three younger brothers crowded around, squatting by her side and chattering nonstop. No one noticed that the blood on Little Red’s forehead was still pouring out in a steady stream.