Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Clear Breeze Sect
Someone shouted from beneath the mountain gate: “This is the sacred land of our sect, outsiders must halt!”

Beneath the towering gate, two young female cultivators stood on the left and right, blocking Yu Zhao’s way with wary faces.

Yu Zhao looked at the mountain gate that was exactly the same as the one in the painting, her gaze complicated.

After Water Cloud Palace was wiped out, a new sect had actually been built here, and even the mountain gate had been rebuilt to look exactly the same.

There was no way she could believe there was no connection between the two.

She asked: “May I ask how your honored sect is called?”

The two female cultivators became even more alert as one of them answered: “Senior, our sect is called Clear Breeze Sect.”

“Clear Breeze Sect?” Yu Zhao nodded, then said: “Then please help me pass on a message. I wish to pay a visit to your Sect Master.”

One of them replied: “Senior, please wait here. I will be back soon.”

The two female cultivators whispered a few words to each other. Then one bowed to Yu Zhao and hurried toward the gate, leaving the other behind to stand guard at the entrance.

With a small trick, Yu Zhao coaxed quite a bit of information out of the remaining female cultivator.

Clear Breeze Sect had been founded ten years ago. The current Sect Master was a late Golden Core stage cultivator named Master Zi Wei.

Many of Clear Breeze Sect’s disciples, including the Sect Master, had once been disciples of Water Cloud Palace.

When Water Cloud Palace was destroyed, they all fled in different directions. Ten years later, for various reasons, they gathered again and formed this new sect.

As for the two young female cultivators guarding the gate, they had joined Clear Breeze Sect later, so they were excluded and pushed aside, sent to watch the gate at the mountain entrance.

After learning all of this, Yu Zhao was very pleased. Since the new Sect Master had once been a disciple of Water Cloud Palace, then she should also know more news related to Shui Qing Yue.

Yu Zhao wondered what exactly the other female cultivator had said after going inside, because after a while she saw more than a dozen female cultivators coming down together from the direction of the mountain gate in a grand group.

Their expressions were serious, and a sharp killing intent hovered around them.

The gate-guarding female cultivator grew nervous. She retreated a few steps to pull away from Yu Zhao, afraid the two sides would start fighting in the next moment.

The message Clear Breeze Sect had received was that an unknown female cultivator had come to their mountain gate, asking to see the Sect Master. It sounded like she did not come with good intentions.

When the elders of Clear Breeze Sect heard this, they were shocked. They had the Sect Master remain in the main hall, while they went first to “meet” this uninvited guest.

But when they reached the gate and saw the young woman standing there, tall and graceful like a bamboo stalk, handsome and refined, everyone froze.

Someone stared and blurted out: “Pa… Palace Master?”

“Am I seeing things? Why do I feel like I am seeing the Palace Master?”

“It is the Palace Master! It is really the Palace Master! The Palace Master has returned!”

In an instant, the more than ten fierce-looking female cultivators all had red eyes, and a few emotional ones even started crying.

They had thought they would never see the Palace Master again in this life.

A teary elder of Clear Breeze Sect broke away from the group and rushed straight toward Yu Zhao, trying to throw herself into her arms as she sobbed: “Palace Master, I missed you so much. You finally came back…”

The other elders cursed her in their hearts for being fast, then quickly squeezed forward too, afraid of falling behind.

Yu Zhao hurried to dodge while explaining: “Wait, you are mistaken, I am not Shui Qing Yue…”

But no one listened carefully to her words. They used every bit of strength, each trying to be the first to dive into her arms.

Yu Zhao was on the verge of tears. In the end she had to use her spirit power to forcibly suppress them before they finally calmed down a little.

The two young disciples who guarded the mountain gate were completely stunned.

Wasn’t this person supposed to be here to make trouble? Why did it look like a reunion of old friends instead, and not just any old friends either?

One elder, whose bearing was elegant like an orchid in an empty valley, stared at Yu Zhao in doubt for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed softly as she asked: “Palace Master, you still love to joke with us so much.”

Another elder agreed at once: “Yes, you are the Palace Master. Do not deny it. Even if you turned to ash, I would still recognize you.”

A third elder’s eyes were full of worry as she asked: “Palace Master, have you not escaped danger yet? Is that why you do not want to show your identity?”

With over a dozen women all speaking into her ears at once, Yu Zhao’s head felt like it was about to explode.

Helpless, she raised her hand and pointed to the corner of her eye: “Look carefully. Shui Qing Yue has a tear mole at the end of her eye, but I do not.”

That should be enough to prove her identity.

All of them stared at the corner of Yu Zhao’s eye, their gazes hot and strange.

Suddenly, one elder clapped her hands as if she had understood: “Palace Master, you removed the tear mole to hide your identity! How hard that must have been!”

The other elders all showed distressed, heartbroken looks when they heard this.

Yu Zhao: …

She looked at the elder who had guessed she had removed the mole and asked: “What is your name?”

The elder smiled shyly and said in a deliberately soft, coy voice: “Palace Master, how could you forget my name? I am called Qiu Shuang. You used to call me Little Shuang~”

“Alright, Aunt Qiu,” Yu Zhao said calmly.

“W-what? What did you just call me?”

Qiu Shuang stared at her in shock.

Yu Zhao said seriously: “Aunt Qiu, and all you seniors, I truly am not Shui Qing Yue. But Shui Qing Yue should be deeply related to me. I came here this time to ask all of you to tell me about Shui Qing Yue. Yu Zhao would be very grateful.”

Yu Zhao bowed deeply to them, her face solemn.

The elders of Clear Breeze Sect, who had been full of joy, all went quiet. After a long moment, someone let out a soft sigh: “Little Yu Zhao, you are so cruel. You will not even leave us a little hope.”

Yes. How could they not know that Yu Zhao was not the Shui Qing Yue who had lived with them day and night for so many years?

Even if the two looked exactly the same, eyes and aura could not lie.

They only clung to Yu Zhao’s face, wanting to use it to trick themselves into believing Shui Qing Yue was still alive in this world and still thinking of them.

Yu Zhao’s words had ruthlessly torn open the truth, forcing them to face reality.

Yu Zhao stayed silent.

These people had been very close to Shui Qing Yue, but to her they were still only strangers.

She had come here for one reason: to seek the truth.

Besides, there was always a sense of danger lingering in her heart, urging her to move faster.

Elder Qiu Shuang finally said: “Enough. Come with us to the main hall. The Sect Master is still waiting there for our news.”

Yu Zhao agreed with a nod.

The group turned and headed up the mountain toward the main hall.

No one spoke along the way. The air was so heavy it felt hard to breathe.

Yu Zhao could feel the deep sadness and loneliness coming from the elders of Clear Breeze Sect.

She wondered what kind of young woman Shui Qing Yue had been to make these elders, all so different in temper and personality, miss her this much.

In the main hall, Sect Master of Clear Breeze Sect, Master Zi Wei, paced back and forth in worry. Deep in her eyes hid a fear she could not press down.

Clear Breeze Sect had always kept a low profile. They never stirred up trouble outside, and they would never provoke strong enemies. So why had someone suddenly come to their door?

Could it be that the group from twenty years ago had returned to wash Clear Breeze Sect in blood again?

She wondered: [If I run now, will I still make it in time?]

She did not want to be as foolish as Shui Qing Yue, who had stayed behind to cover the disciples’ escape, fighting one against a hundred, trading her life for theirs. Her own life was the most important to her.

But if she tried to leave now, would it not be too late already? Just like last time, the paths up and down the mountain were probably blocked again.

If she had known things would turn out like this, she would not have been greedy for the position of Sect Master and returned to this unlucky place.

Now, it was probably too late for regret.