Chapter 44 - The Scum Is Petty

'Cheng'? Fei Lin thought, then dismissed it. They have pressing matters right now. "Please follow me." He said and rode on his sword. Xie Lan, Ming Ye and Fei Yin followed. Cheng Sheng climbed back on the blanket and made it followed the others. Fei Lin saw his action. He thought that Cheng Sheng is only worried about Chen Jing.

Northeast Peak.

Fei Lin opened the door and they saw Wu Fan lying on the bed. A man wearing the same uniform with Fei Lin and a head shorter than him wore a frowning face. He is standing beside the bed where Wu Fan is sleeping. The man turned when the door opened. "They finally arrived." The man said.

Xie Lan and Ming Ye looked at him. "Young master Xi." Ming Ye greeted.

"Junior Xi." Xie Lan said, his face expressionless. He looked at Xi Ling – the peak master of the West Peak.

Xi Ling is the third young master of the Xi Clan. However, his parents died in an accident. His eldest brother was killed by a demonic cultivator, and his second elder brother met the same fate. Naturally, Xi Ling should look like he hated life. The only family left of him is his uncle, Xi Peng – the peak master of the Northwest peak. But, Xi Peng has a sinister attitude. There are rumors that it was Xi Peng who killed Xi Ling's entire family.

"Senior Xie. Senior Ming." Xi Ling greeted and bowed. "Sect leader Fei already foreseen you will come for sect leader Wu." He told them. He is referring to Fei Huang.

"What happened to our sect leader?" Ming Ye asked, his brows knit as he checked Wu Fan's condition.

"An acquaintance of ours saw sect leader Wu got sneak attacked by the demonic cultivators." Fei Lin answered. "Fortunately, our acquaintance reacted fast. He saved sect leader Wu." He explained.

"Why is our sect leader unconscious, then?" Ming Ye asked.

"He has a heart demon." Xi Ling answered.

Ming Ye's eyes went wide, shocked. "What?!" he said and looked at the unconscious Wu Fan. Then, he remembered what happened the last time they saw him. Wu Fan and Chen Jing got a confrontation. Then, Wu Fan left, his mind and heart in chaos. It was actually should not be a surprise Wu Fan would develop a heart demon.

"What were you doing in the Dongfang Town?" Xie Lan asked. Ming Ye got a start and looked at Fei Lin and Xi Ling.

Fei Lin and Xi Ling looked at each other, their eyes talking. Ming Ye's kind face became serious and he looked at Xie Lan. It's as Sheng-er had said! He told Xie Lan through his gaze. "Anyway – " Ming Ye decided to break the silence. " – we would like your help to cure the Chen patriarch." He told the two.

Fei Lin and Xi Ling looked at him. "I've seen the Chen patriarch is in a bad condition." Fei Lin said. "What happened?" he asked.

"We cannot find our sect leader. We used every means and at last, we resorted to use the Recollection Bell." Ming Ye explained.

Their eyes went wide. "The Recollection Bell… that's dangerous!" Xi Ling said as he looked at them in horror.

Xie Lan nodded. "We've got no other choice." He said. "Wu-shixiong was abducted. We cannot find him." He casually remarked.

A deafening silence fell upon them. Xie Lan's words are like knife piercing them, the Shanliangde Sect. "Do we have a misunderstanding here?" Xi Ling asked.

"We will have if you tell us what is your acquaintance doing at the Dongfang Town." Xie Lan said.

Xi Ling pursed his lips tight. "The Shanliangde Sect would never plot against – " he said.

Xie Lan cut him off. "Right." He said. "But, the sects' relationships have always been bad in reality." he smiled.

Xi Ling froze. Then, he raised his head and looked at Xie Lan. "What happened before has got nothing to do with the sect – " Xi Ling said.

Xie Lan sighed. "I don't care." He said. "I have always been petty." He looked at Xi Ling.

"… brother – " Xi Ling called, his tears fell.

"I'm not your oldest brother." Xie Lan said. "I am surnamed Xie now. I have long broken my relationship with the Xi. I am happily married with Wen now." He said, his voice ice-cold, sending chills into your bones.

Xi Ling's eyes widened. "Fan Wen…" he said. "Wen-gege – " he muttered.

"You don't have the right to call him 'gege'." Xie Lan glared at Xi Ling. "You have no relationship with him. Not until you betrayed him and let him be almost be killed." He told Xi Ling. He looked at Xi Ling's ashen face. "I don't want to see your face anymore. If not for Wu-shixiong, I won't be coming here. You disgust me." He said and left.

A deafening silence fell after the door close with a loud bang. Xi Ling turned his back on them as he silently cried, his shoulders shaking. Fei Lin's eyes narrowed, mad at Xie Lan. However, he can't do anything about it. It was a family matter.

Ming Ye decided to break the silence. "I have to ask Junior Fei if the Shanliangde Sect has knowledge on how to cure a person that was affected by the Recollection Bell." He said. Wu Fan is now in a coma. Chen Jing is under the Recollection Bell's spell. If the two would continue to be in this condition, the Youxiwang Sect will fall apart. Wu Yuan will face more hardships in the future.

Fei Lin turned to Ming Ye. "I apologize, Senior Ming." He said. "Even the Forbidden Section in the library has no records on how to cure the Recollection Bell. Only the effects were written." He answered.

Ming Ye doesn't doubt him. Fei Lin is the heir of the Fei Clan. Naturally, he can access the Forbidden Section of the Shanliangde Sect's library. Also, he knows Fei Lin is a man of justice. At the least, he and his uncle Fei Huang are the few people that can be trusted in the sect. "I understand." Ming Ye said.

"Senior Ming." Fei Lin called. "Our acquaintance has no intentions of harming sect leader Wu." He said. "He only wanted to save him." He told him. "He noticed sect leader Wu's heart demon is about to act up and he will lose if he'd fight against the attackers. Thus, he immediately acted before the fight could begin and took sect leader Wu away with him." He explained.

Ming Ye nodded. "I understand now." He said. "I am sure Xie-shidi didn't mean it earlier. He just – " he said and glanced at Xi Ling. He sighed. He turned to Fei Lin. "After we rest, we will take our sect leader with us back to Xiwang." He told him. They will use the teleportation array to travel back to Xiwang.

Hearing this, Fei Lin froze. "Senior Ming." He said. "You can't use the teleportation array." He told him.

Ming Ye's brows knit. "Why?" he asked.

Fei Lin looked at Ming Ye. "The Shanliangde Sect… they don't know sect leader Wu is here." He answered. "That is why we didn't send letter to you, informing of sect leader Wu's presence here." He said. "And… I know senior Ming already knows. Our sect does not permit releasing private messages outside." He explained.

Ming Ye shut up. "Why didn't you inform your sect that our sect leader is here?" he asked.

Fei Lin calmly looked at him. "Because our sect is currently under attack." He answered. "The elders suspect someone is plotting against us. If word comes out that sect leader Wu is here…" he said, didn't continue.

Ming Ye's face became serious. He understood clearly, since their side is the same. They suspect each other that the other is plotting against them.