They all turned to look at Wu Fan when they heard what he said.
"What does former sect leader Wu mean?" Xiao Le asked, confused.
Chen Jing stared at Wu Fan for a long time before his face suddenly brightened, as if he realized something. "That's right!" he exclaimed before he turned to the similarly confused Xi Ming.
Meanwhile, Xi Xing's expression remained blank. He can't follow what they are saying!
"Kid. Answer Fan's question!" Chen Jing told Xi Ming.
"I… I didn't see sect leader was struggling." Xi Ming answered, looking baffled as he stared at Chen Jing and Wu Fan.
"So, it was voluntary…" Wu Fan muttered and looked at Chen Jing.
"It seems…" Chen Jing spoke, looking pensive.
"What's going on?" Xi Ming asked.
Chen Jing looked at him. "Mu Jun didn't lie to you." He said. Before any of them could react, he continued. "He really took teacher Fei to save him." he told them.
"Huh?" they muttered, confused.
"Look. The demonic cultivators appeared and attacked us all. And everyone knows Mu Jun is a demonic cultivator." Wu Fan spoke. "Everyone would think that teacher Fei is conspiring, or would conspire with the demonic cultivators, since Mu Jun is his lover!" he explained.
"Sect leader wouldn't do that!" Xi Ming said.
Wu Fan nodded. "We all know that. But, others would definitely feel uneasy and suspect teacher Fei." He said. "Mu Jun can't stay in the Huilong Continent if he doesn't want to implicate teacher Fei. But, he is also worried that teacher Fei might face criticisms, and worse, they would kill him. So, he took teacher Fei with him to hide teacher Fei." He explained.
Their eyes widened in shock, feeling enlightened. "So that's why…" Xi Xing muttered.
"It's love, indeed." Xiao Le sighed with emotion.
Chen Jing smiled and wrapped his arm around Wu Fan's shoulder.
"Right. What happened when you met Mu Jun in the Heilong Realm?" Xi Ming asked. "Did you see sect leader with him? How is he?" he added.
"This…" Chen Jing frowned again, as if he remembered something unpleasant.
"What is it?" Xi Ming's heart thudded in fear.
"We didn't see teacher Fei." Wu Fan answered. His expression looking complicated.
"Huh? Wasn't sect leader with Mu Jun?" Xi Xing asked.
"What exactly happened?" Xiao Le asked, noticing that there's something strange.
"It was Mu Jun who welcomed us." Chen Jing finally answered.
"Huh? 'welcomed'?" they were taken aback.
"Yes." Chen Jing nodded. "It seems that he holds a high position in the Heilong Realm." He told them.
"… so, he's really an enemy?!" Xi Ming exclaimed.
"We're not sure." Wu Fan honestly answered. "After all, he saved teacher Fei…" he said.
They all fell silent.
"He brought us to a city named Yao City." Chen Jing continued. "But, the other demonic cultivators found out that we're righteous cultivators. They chased us, and we got separated from Mu Jun." he explained.
"Oh." Xi Ming, Xi Xing and Xiao Le finally understood.
"We noticed that the demonic qi is most concentrated in the Yao City." Wu Fan spoke. "We escaped, barely alive. If not for Cheng Sheng's Cleansing Talismans, we would've been…" he grimaced.
They all sighed.
"Chen patriarch… former sect leader Wu… is there still something you want to tell us?" Xiao Le asked when he noticed that the two elders' expressions still looked complicated.
Xi Ming and Xi Xing looked at them. But, before they could answer, Shu Mu approached them. His eyes are still red, but his expression now looked calm.
"Chen patriarch. Former sect leader Wu. You really came from the Heilong Realm?" Shu Mu spoke. "Then, did you meet with Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan?" he asked them.
Xiao Le, Xi Ming and Xi Xing froze when they heard what he said. That's right! Why did they forget! Cheng Sheng also went to Heilong Realm!
Chen Jing and Wu Fan, however, were stunned when they heard what Shu Mu said. "What?!" they exclaimed. "They went to Heilong Realm?!" their voices rose.
Shu Mu took a step back when he felt the pressure of the two elders' aura. "Yes, they did. They followed you there to investigate the source of the demonic qi, and also to take you two back." He answered. "Oh, right. He also sealed the main Ni Lai Gate in the Sand Sea Mountain. And the remaining Ni Lai Gates were also sealed by the other sects." He added.
Chen Jing and Wu Fan's faces paled.
"What's wrong?" Shu Mu's brows knotted when they saw the strange expression on their faces.
"… Mu Jun is the Heilong emperor." Chen Jing spoke. "When we found it out, he had the demonic cultivators chase us all around." he said.
"WHAT?!" they exclaimed. "So, he's really our enemy?!" they asked.
Seeing their shock, Chen Jing's and Wu Fan's expressions turned even stranger. "It's just… they don't seem to want to kill us." They said.
"… huh?" they looked at them, confused of what they are trying to say.
"The demonic cultivators Mu Jun sent to chase us… looked like they were trying to lead us." Wu Fan spoke.
"Lead you? Why?" they asked.
Chen Jing's face seemed to become clearer. "Maybe… to lead us to xiao Sheng, xiao Yuan and xiao Yin." He answered.
Hearing this, they were all stunned. Chen Jing and Wu Fan also couldn't believe it. All along while they escaped, they thought that Mu Jun is playing them around, looking down on them. Now that they found out that Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan actually have followed them, they finally realized Mu Jun's intention.
He is actually helping them. Yet, it was them who failed him since when they saw the Ni Lai Gate, they escaped.
"If he isn't our enemy, then why didn't he tell us?" Xiao Le asked.
This, Chen Jing and Wu Fan also wanted to know. There have been many chances for Mu Jun to tell them the truth. Yet, he didn't. So, what is his real intention? What does he want to do?
"If this is it… then, Mu Jun definitely won't tell Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan." Shu Mu spoke.
Their expressions immediately changed.
"… he won't kill them, will he?" Xiao Le asked in a small voice.
Chen Jing's and Wu Fan's expressions turned ugly. "We're going back to Heilong Realm!" Wu Fan said.
"Wait!" Xi Ming called.
"What?" Chen Jing turned.
Xi Ming suddenly pointed to the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a talisman flying. Chen Jing immediately reacted and pulled the talisman down using his qi.
"There's a Concealment Spell placed on this." Chen Jing spoke as he inspected the talisman. "Only the people that the sender wanted to see this can see this." he explained.
"A spell?" Xiao Le spoke. "It must be Li-shixiong!" he said, referring to Li Tian.
Shu Mu, Xi Ming and Xi Xing nodded. They saw that the talisman came from south.
"What? Why is Li Tian in the south?" Wu Fan asked.
"The Xinfaxian Sect, Shanliangde Sect, Zunjingde Sect and Qianxu Sect are going to the Southmost Region to face against Wu Ran." Xi Ming answered.
Chen Jing and Wu Fan are calm. They already expected this.
"The war started when you left…" Xi Ming was about to start narrating to them about what happened when they were gone when he suddenly realized something.
Xiao Le and Xi Xing also started. They looked at each other, then turned to look at Chen Jing and Wu Fan. Their expressions changed. There… seems to be something amiss... they thought.
"What's wrong?" Shu Mu asked when he noticed the atmosphere suddenly changed.
"… Chen patriarch… former sect leader Wu…" Xi Ming spoke. His face looked calm, but his voice shaking exposed that he really isn't calm. He looked at Chen Jing and Wu Fan. "How did you know that Ming Ye is Wu Ran?" he asked when he recalled their conversation and finally noticed this.
Xiao Le's and Xi Xing's expressions changed, finally realizing what's wrong. Shu Mu, noticing that Xiao Le, Xi Ming and Xi Xing suddenly turned vigilant, also took a step back from Chen Jing and Wu Fan.
Seeing their guarded look, Chen Jing and Wu Fan think it's funny.
"No need to be vigilant." Wu Fan spoke. "It's actually teacher Fei who told us to leave for South." He said.
Shu Mu, Xiao Le, Xi Ming and Xi Xing didn't speak nor react and just warily looked at them.
Wu Fan sighed. "What do we do?" he turned to Chen Jing. "They won't believe us." He shook his head.
"Fan. This is good, though?" Chen Jing spoke and smiled. "They now know not to easily trust." He laughed.
"Oh. You're right." Wu Fan muttered.
Seeing the two's relaxed expressions, Shu Mu, Xiao Le, Xi Ming and Xi Xing were puzzled. Are they… really Chen Jing and Wu Fan? They thought and looked at each other, their gazes speaking.