Records of the Dragon Follower - Chapter 54 - Sect
Chapter 54: Sect
“That thing that belongs to Junior Brother Yun was clearly brought away deliberately by ill-intentioned people.” Ning Yu went straight to the point and asked, “Just what in the world is that thing?”
Speaking of which, the number of mysterious and strange items that Ning Yu had located was many. Often, when people sought out Heavenly Secrets Sect for help, they would hide the facts and intentionally describe incredibly important items as if they were insignificant. Such people were calculating and precautionary, always afraid that their valuables would be robbed if others knew about them.
Ning Yu had seen how Junior Brother Yun’s item was described in the letter Spiritual Master Li’s wrote. Spiritual Master Li said that what Junior Brother Yun lost was his parents’ memento, and did not mention anything else. If it was just a memento that was insignificant to everyone else, why would there be people that would intentionally bring it away?
Mo Chen had thought about this as well.
He remembered the events of that night clearly. Right after saving Little Junior Brother, the two of them were not separated even once. On the second day, Returnflow Mountain’s Great Mountain Barrier Formation was activated, and even worms couldn’t leave even if they wanted to.
Before that, the only one that left the mountain was that demonic practitioner who impersonated Lin Yan and left behind a piece of human skin during his escape.
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Another person was Junior Brother Chen, Chen Jingzhi.
If it was someone that could bring the pendant away, then it could only possibly be one of them.
“It hasn’t even been a full year since Little Junior Brother first arrived on the mountain, and he carried that pendant with him at all times. I only know that it’s a memento from his parents. I have also yet to figure out why Little Junior Brother was attacked that night. If it was to obtain the tablet to enter the mountain gate, then they had colluded with those few outer sect disciples, so they were in no lack of tablets. If it was to obtain the secrets of the sect, Little Junior Brother had just entered the sect and had yet to completely grasp the elementary heart cultivation mantras – how could he possibly know any secrets? If it’s to take him as hostage… truthfully speaking, this was the best possibility.”
In a few large and famous sects, the number of disciples had to be counted by the thousands. Sect Masters in those sects would most likely have trouble recognizing every single one of the disciples. On the other hand, there were only a small number of people on Returnflow Mountain. Adding the cleaners and attendants, there were only a hundred or so people in total. Spiritual Master Li was also someone who valued relationships greatly. If someone were to threaten him with his disciple, the perpetrator might possibly succeed.
Now another conjecture had emerged.
The assailants might not have wanted to take Little Junior Brother as a hostage, but had instead aimed for that pendant.
Ning Yu asked, “Does Junior Brother Yun not know anything at all? Oh right, where is his home? Is there anyone who is still around at his house?”
“There’s no one else left in the Yun family. His uncle brought him out to roam the world, and they did not have a fixed residence. Right after bringing him up the mountain, his uncle passed away. I think even Little Junior Brother does not know what kind of intricacies that pendant might hold.”
Ning Yu had seen through this point too.
The people on Returnflow Mountain was completely unaware of this matter. Otherwise, Spiritual Master Li would have written about it in the letter. The relationship the two Spiritual Masters had was beyond the ordinary, and neither would play such silly tricks and hide facts.
Something that the owner himself did not know, was actually known by outsiders…
This feeling definitely left a very bad taste in the mouth.
“What about that Junior Brother Chen? Why did he leave at such a coincidental hour?”
Since they had a good relationship, Ning Yu was not afraid of offending Mo Chen. He simply asked whatever came to mind.
He was also a little suspicious of this matter.
Ning Yu had never seen Chen Jingzhi before. It hadn’t been long since Chen Jingzhi entered the sect. The last time Spiritual Master Hu visited Returnflow Mountain, he had not divined for Chen Jingzhi. Spiritual Master Hu liked to perform divinations for people, but the people he divined for had to be pleasing to his eyes at least.
Putting it another way, Spiritual Master Hu did not really like Chen Jingzhi, and thus did not divine for him.
Ning Yu and Chen Jingzhi had never met, but Ning Yu did not have a favourable impression of Chen Jingzhi. As someone who had been apprenticed and entered a sect, his gratitude to his master should be larger than the heavens, a form of gratitude that should be of equal importance to gratitude to his parents for raising him. Betraying the sect was a crime worthy of the death penalty. Spiritual Master Li gave Chen Jingzhi a place to stay when he had nowhere else to go, and had even taken Chen Jingzhi as his disciple, teaching and guiding him with utmost care. No matter what reason Chen Jingzhi had to leave without a saying a word, Ning Yu undoubtedly saw this act as betrayal to the sect. Furthermore, his departure was at such a coincidental timing, exactly when the sect was in trouble. No one would believe that he was unrelated to this incident. Colluding with outsiders to harm his sect was truly an unforgivable crime.
“Is there even a need to talk about compassion for someone like that? Spiritual Master Li is truly too lenient and soft. He should announce to the world and openly declare that person’s excommunication from the sect, and then punish him for the crime of betrayal.” Ning Yu continued, “You guys value relationships, but this isn’t a small matter. You guys don’t even know why he left. What if he were to spread evil and cause havoc outside? The outsiders do not know of his departure and would definitely remember it as a debt for Returnflow Mountain to pay. If that time ever comes, even if given a legitimate answer, Returnflow Mountain will not be seen as innocent.”
Mo Chen nodded. “How can I possibly not understand your words? However, Master has rushed down the mountain because of the invasion of the demonic practitioners. He doesn’t have the time to care about this matter.”
“Don’t forget that this isn’t a small issue. The longer this drags on, the longer things will get harder to manage. If it’s inconvenient for you, I can report it to Master and have him help inform everyone. That way, it will prevent a certain someone from causing evil under the Returnflow Mountain flag.”
“Fine, then I will have to trouble you.”
Ning Yu shook his head with a bitter smile and said, “There’s no need for such courtesies with me. Junior Brother Yun’s matter isn’t that easy to settle either… I was extremely confident when I came over, thinking that it was nothing more than a small matter, something that can be handled with just a puff of air. Yet there I went, showing such a weak side in front of Junior Brother Yun. He might have engraved in his mind that our Heavenly Secrets Mountain is built upon falsehoods.”
“Don’t worry. Little Junior Brother will definitely not think that way.” Mo Chen laughed. “And don’t think it’s embarrassing making such a mess, it’s not like we will spread the news around. Your reputation as the Little Diviner won’t be damaged.”
“That won’t do, I must solve this case no matter what. Tell me in detail just what that pendant looks like. Does it really not have anything strange on it?”
If it wasn’t this particular pendant that was lost, Mo Chen would most likely not mind such a small object in the slightest. Who would go all the way to care about something like this?
“Little Junior Brother has never met his parents. It’s said that the pendant was something his parents left behind, and so he wore it for a very long time.”
When Little Junior Brother was sick, Mo Chen took care of him. Mo Chen helped wiped away his sweat, fed him water, and even changed his clothes, so Mo Chen had seen that pendant several times. It was tied with a string, and the pendant itself was the size of a fingernail. It was oval-shaped and seemed to be carved from wood. Its surface was extremely smooth and shiny. Usually, Little Junior Brother would place it underneath his clothes, and it was impossible for any regular person to see it.
Mo Chen was stunned.
That’s right. Little Junior Brother would usually wear it on him, not letting outsiders see it easily. Putting aside outsiders, even Master might not have seen that pendant before. Little Junior Brother was wasn’t close with those outer sect disciples and attendants either, so most likely he had never spoken of it before. Lin Yan and the rest of them had only stopped by for a short while, and Little Junior Brother had even been wearing thick layers of clothes due to it being winter…
The people who had seen Little Junior Brother’s pendant were not many.
Most likely, only his senior siblings had seen it.
Chen Jingzhi should have seen it before as well.
Was it really him?
Mo Chen picked up a paper and pen, and drew the shape and size of the pendant for Ning Yu.
His memory was excellent. People and things that he had seen would all be deeply engraved in his mind. There was practically no difference between Xiaodong’s actual pendant and the one he drew on the paper.
