Duyuan Empire, Thousand Autumn City, Blueflag Mountain to the East.
</a> Snow-capped peak, Verdant trees, Point where all things meet.
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And the moment they saw them, the group immediately realised who these newcomers were.
Members of the Vermilion Bird Sect!
They were neither dressed in their ceremonial robes nor openly showing their sect’s emblem in any manner.
Damn it, he slipped up!
He had gotten too excited upon realising that Lin Xiao had information on Jiang Taiming, only thinking about taking this opportunity to find out more about the ancient cultivator.
As a result, he had failed to link Lin Xiao’s identity to the members of the Vermilion Bird Sect that they had encountered back at Full Moon Restaurant.
Back then, the pair had mentioned that they came to the northern regions of the Duyuan Empire to chase after a potential deserter – a certain Senior Martial Brother Lin.
No matter how he looked at it now, there was no doubt that Lin Xiao was this exact person!
What a blunder!
How could he have failed to draw such a simple link?!
“These are fresh traces, someone has been here up until just a moment ago,” one of them reported after examining the clearing.
“We have surrounded the area before closing in, so there is no way for anyone to escape,” Quan Hui said. “Search the area! Anyone who was here should still be around!”
“Yes, Senior Martial Sister Quan!” the rest of them answered.
With that, they started to spread out and comb through the area, examining every last detail.
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but swallow a mouthful of saliva in nervousness.
Now that they had ended up in such a situation, they definitely could not reveal themselves or let the members of the Vermilion Bird Sect find them.
Otherwise, who knew what these people would do to them?
But just as he was thinking about this, the unthinkable happened.
Before Zhao Yunxiao’s very eyes, Lin Xiao voluntarily stepped out of the concealing array, revealing himself to the members of the Vermilion Bird Sect.
“There’s no need to search, Senior Martial Sister Quan,” Lin Xiao said as he slowly walked towards Quan Hui. “I am right here.”
“Junior Martial Brother Lin...” Quan Hui narrowed her eyes as she closely observed Lin Xiao.
Quan Hui might be younger than Lin Xiao, but her seniority in the sect was not to be questioned. A core disciple had absolute authority over any other disciple in the sect!
Zhao Yunxiao: “...”
Gu Qiansi: “...”
Lu Zhiying: “...”
Why would he do that?
What should they do now?
Should they show themselves as well?
They might have only known Lin Xiao for a night, but they had still managed to build quite a bit of rapport with him during this short amount of time. This was especially the case since Lin Xiao had been so generous in sharing the black death, cooking for them, and even telling them all that he knew about the Untethered Sage.
Continuing to hide made them feel like cowards who were refusing to face up to their problems together with their comrade!
In any case, the other party was from the Vermilion Bird Sect.
Considering that their sects were allies, they were unlikely to do anything too extreme to them.
Nevertheless, Zhao Yunxiao chose to adopt a wait-and-see approach.
After all, this was the Vermilion Bird Sect’s internal matter.
If Lin Xiao could handle things here himself, then there was no reason for them to get involved.
Otherwise, they might end up complicating matters further!
“You have finally decided to show your face,” Quan Hui said.
“I have never tried to hide from the sect,” Lin Xiao answered. “I was merely spending some time to find myself.”
“For someone who is not trying to hide from the sect, you sure have come a long way – all the way to the northern regions!” Quan Hui scoffed before looking towards the spot where he had stepped out from earlier. “What an exquisite concealing array. This has never been your strong suit. Speak, who is helping you?”
“...Who can be helping me?” Lin Xiao answered. “I have been travelling alone since I left the sect.”
“Do you take me for a fool?” Quan Hui narrowed her eyes. “Break apart the concealing array!”
“Yes, Senior Martial Sister Quan!” the other members answered immediately.
Zhao Yunxiao sighed.
He was still considering whether to show himself, but the other party had ended up making the decision for them.
As the creator of the array, he naturally knew it the best.
It was one thing if the other party had not noticed the concealing array. But now that they were aware that there was a concealing array, it would not be too difficult for them to unravel it completely.
Since that was the case, they might as well save themselves the embarrassment of being found while hiding in a corner.
With that thought in mind, Zhao Yunxiao decisively stepped out of the concealing array, with Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying swiftly following behind.
The group of twenty Vermilion Bird Sect members stared intently at the three, scrutinising them from head to toe.
“Greetings,” Zhao Yunxiao awkwardly clasped his fists towards Quan Hui. “I am Zhao Yunxiao of the Black Tortoise Sect, and these are my fellow disciples.”
Upon his cue, Gu Qiansi and Lu Zhiying greeted the other party as well.
“Gu Qiansi.”
“Lu Zhiying.”
“I’m sorry for implicating you, Brother Zhao,” Lin Xiao apologised.
“Don’t worry about it,” Zhao Yunxiao answered. “Perhaps this is for the best as well. We might be able to provide some perspective as a third party in this matter.”
He might have said that, but Zhao Yunxiao was actually rather unhappy with Lin Xiao at the moment.
If he was going to feel sorry now, then why did he have to walk out of the concealing array without asking them in the first place?
Just what did he think was going to happen?
This was why one had to choose their friends carefully.
The saying was indeed right – having a bad teammate was much worse than having a strong opponent!