Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Go Bring Little Ruo Back

With tears shining in her eyes and her lip caught between her teeth, Bai Mu Mu said, “Second Senior Brother is right. Mu Mu only joined halfway. I can’t compare to the deep bond between the Senior Brothers and Fifth Senior Sister.”

“I used to think you all truly treated me like family, but I was too full of myself. Mu Mu misspoke and upset Second Senior Brother, so Mu Mu will go back and reflect,” she added with a self-mocking, broken smile as she turned to leave.

Wen Xuan hurried to block her, saying, “No, that’s not it. I’m sorry, Junior Sister. Second Senior Brother said the wrong thing.”

He stumbled over his words in a rush, adding, “I was anxious and spoke without thinking. That wasn’t what I meant.”

“It’s just that Little Ruo has changed so much lately that I felt uneasy and said the wrong thing,” he said as he caught the disappointed, cautious look on Bai Mu Mu’s face. In that moment he felt a sharp pain in his head at the memory of how careful she had been when they first found her.

Back then she was so thin and weak she looked like a breeze could knock her over. She had wandered outside for years and no one knew how much she had suffered. She is Shen Dao Chen’s real daughter, and she should have grown up like Shen Sang Ruo, in comfort and under Master Ling Xiao’s careful teaching. [He thought Shen Sang Ruo had stolen Bai Mu Mu’s life, and Mu Mu had borne that suffering for her.] How could he say something so hurtful to his Junior Sister?

He rubbed Bai Mu Mu’s head and said softly, “Second Senior Brother and the others are sincere to you. Don’t overthink it.”

Feng He Yun and Lu Shi Qing joined in with gentle words to comfort her. The three of them spoke for a long while before Bai Mu Mu calmed down.

Bai Mu Mu had thought that since she looked so heartbroken, Wen Xuan would, like before, put all his attention on her and stop mentioning Shen Sang Ruo. To her surprise, once he had soothed her, he still insisted on going to find Shen Sang Ruo. Feng He Yun and Lu Shi Qing agreed.

With no other choice, Bai Mu Mu followed them as they searched all over the sect for Shen Sang Ruo.

They checked every place Shen Sang Ruo used to visit, but she was nowhere to be seen. They went to Clearheart Pavilion, and the Elder in charge said she had indeed left on time a few months ago.

They asked other Disciples, but not only did no one know where she went, no one had even seen a trace of her. For a full four months, there was not a single sign of her in the Flying Cloud Sect.

Wen Xuan was burning with worry, even imagining she had been taken by some evil cult to be sacrificed. Feng He Yun and Lu Shi Qing were also uneasy.

After all, if Shen Sang Ruo had gone down the mountain by choice, she would have first gone to bid farewell to Shen Dao Chen and Master Ling Xiao, and she would have told them too.

Lu Shi Qing lifted his foot to head for Master Ling Xiao. He might not like Shen Sang Ruo, but he would never allow anything to happen to her.

All their hearts were fixed on Shen Sang Ruo, and none of them noticed how dark Bai Mu Mu’s face had grown.

[If my capture targets keep having mood swings because of someone else, that’s bad for me.]

[So I did underestimate Shen Sang Ruo. She has a few tricks after all.]

[At first I planned to spare her. Watching her trail after Wen Xuan and the others like a little lapdog, working hard for nothing, was decent entertainment.]

[But now it seems I can’t let her stay.]

[I need to use a few moves and pull their attention back to me.]

Bai Mu Mu planned to have the System fake a bout of weakness and fainting before they reached Master Ling Xiao.

But on the way, a Disciple told them he had seen Shen Sang Ruo leave the sect to train down the mountain.

Wen Xuan frowned and asked, “Are you sure? That’s impossible.”

How could Shen Sang Ruo go down the mountain without telling them?

“Whether it’s true or not, just ask the Elder at the Sect Registry Office and you’ll know,” the Disciple said, baffled by their doubts.

Every Disciple who goes down the mountain to train must register at the Sect Registry Office to help the sect manage things.

The Disciple went on his way. Wen Xuan and the others stood still, each lost in thought. After a pause, Wen Xuan seemed to make up his mind and said, “Let’s go to the Sect Registry Office.”

The result showed that on the very day she left seclusion, Shen Sang Ruo had requested to go down the mountain to train.

Bai Mu Mu’s eyes flickered. This was a fine chance to drive a wedge between them.

“Fifth Senior Sister really did go down the mountain. Then why didn’t she tell us?” she said, touching her chest as if to calm herself, “She left so fast without a trace and made us worry so much. I’m just glad she’s safe.”

She had underestimated Shen Sang Ruo twice and had learned her lesson. This time she carefully chose her words and pointed from the side.

[Use your sudden departure to win back their attention? Nice idea, but Shen Sang Ruo went too far. It will only backfire.]

[Still as childish as before. She doesn’t know where the line is.]

[She can’t compare to me, a seasoned strategist.]

Lu Shi Qing snorted and said, “So she’s really grown bold now. She says we’re the ones she cares about most, but she didn’t even tell us she was going down the mountain.”

“Full of tricks. Does she think I’ll worry and change my mind about her because of this?”

He saw at a glance that this was Shen Sang Ruo’s deliberate “move,” and his reaction was exactly as Bai Mu Mu expected. This trick had no effect on someone who had never liked Shen Sang Ruo.

Feng He Yun echoed him, saying, “Yes. Going down the mountain to train is a big deal. It’s one thing not to tell us, but she didn’t even tell Master and Senior Uncle. That’s a bit hurtful.”

In recent months, Shen Dao Chen and Master Ling Xiao had not mentioned Shen Sang Ruo at all, so they probably didn’t know either.

[In Bai Mu Mu’s view, Feng He Yun was a fence-sitter. Aside from brewing and drinking wine and living free, he just agreed with whatever other people said. Easy to handle.]

Now only Wen Xuan was left. His attitude toward Shen Sang Ruo had been odd lately. In the past, he avoided her whenever he could.

Bai Mu Mu watched Wen Xuan closely. As long as he didn’t say they should go after Shen Sang Ruo, she wouldn’t need to pretend to faint.

As for Shen Sang Ruo, even when she hovered around them every day, they didn’t react. Now she had left the sect. Given time, who would even remember her?

[So I was right. Her move was foolish.]

Wen Xuan looked worried and said, “Little Ruo’s cultivation was scattered. After only a year of Closed-Door Cultivation, she might not have even reached Foundation Establishment. Now she’s gone down the mountain, and she can’t even guarantee her own safety. No, we have to bring Little Ruo back.”

Bai Mu Mu had expected Wen Xuan to say this and was about to have the System help her fake a faint.

But the System’s voice sounded in her mind: [Please, Host, go look for Shen Sang Ruo. If you follow her, you will find what you want.]