Liu Cheng and Hong Bao searched around until it became morning and then had another look before Hong Bao was finally sure that her village had disappeared.
"How could this have happened?" She really didn't understand. Hadn't she just left this morning to wait for that heavenly envoy? How could the whole village with all its people disappear in a few hours?
Liu Cheng sat down next to her and crossed his arms. He also didn't understand but in most cases, there was only one explanation: "This might have to do with the demons." Eradicating a whole village overnight? It was certainly something they might do!
Hong Bao looked at him with disbelief. "That can't be. My sister drove all of them off."
"Your sister?" Liu Cheng raised his brows. He had never seen her sister but if she was even a bit like Hong Bao, then there was no way she could banish any demons.
"Yes, my sister Hong Ai!"
"Ho— Hong Ai?!" Liu Cheng's eyes widened until it seemed as if they would pop out the very next moment. "You can't be talking about the Hong Ai from the Tian Yu Sect, right?!"
Hong Bao blinked. "Tian Yu Sect?" She tried to remember. It seemed the sect her sister had joined had been called something with heaven? "Could be. It was a Tian-something sect. But if it was Yu or something else … She had been gone for a few years already before she came back to drive those demons off. I can't remember."
Liu Cheng felt like his head was spinning. Who was Hong Ai? A peerless genius like the world hadn't seen it for a few hundred years already! And a genius that was shrouded in mystery because she had somehow somewhere vanished without any traces. If she really was Hong Bao's sister …
"Hong Bao." Liu Cheng tried to get his expression under control. "You really don't know where your sister went?"
Hong Bao shook her head. "No, she only said to meet with that person so that she could go to my brother-in-law."
"Alright. I understand." Liu Cheng took a deep breath and stood up. "Since your village has disappeared you'll have to go somewhere else. Considering that you also don't know where your sister is, I'd like to invite you to our Chun Feng Sect."
"Chun Feng Sect?" Hong Bao had never heard of that. But her thoughts started to race.
She looked at Liu Cheng's face. If she went with him, she could see him every day! Who knew if he wouldn't fall in love with her then? They might just become as happy as her sister and her brother-in-law and marry! Or maybe he was already in love with her and had invited her to follow him because he wanted her to fall in love with him, too?!
She definitely couldn't disappoint his expectations! And why should she stay in the village? Her sister had already moved in with her brother-in-law and their parents were dead. Well, the village had disappeared anyway, so even if she wanted to she wouldn't be able to return there.
Thus, Hong Bao smiled, stood up and gripped his sleeve again. "Alright. I'll follow you home."
Liu Cheng nodded. "Good. I'll bring you over right now." He stepped onto his sword, hugged Hong Bao and rose into the air. Soon, they sped away in the direction of the Chun Feng Sect.
Hong Bao happily clung to Liu Cheng and looked up at his face. She didn't even take the time to take note of her surroundings. Ah, he was really good-looking! And he seemed so mature! That was definitely the type of man she wanted to marry. She had to work hard for their future together!
Soon, they reached the grounds of the Chun Feng Sect. It was located at the side of a lake in the middle of a valley. All buildings were grouped around that lake and those who knew a bit about formations might notice that this arrangement didn't seem casual but instead had its own function.
Of course, Hong Bao wasn't one of these people. Until Liu Cheng landed, her gaze hadn't wavered from his face even once while her thoughts had run mile after mile. By now, she had already formulated the perfect plan to capture this handsome man's heart: She had to do something that would impress him. And not just a bit but a whole lot! And she actually had an idea what she could do to achieve that.
"Alright, we're here." Liu Cheng stepped down from his sword and let go of Hong Bao. "I'd like to take you to our Sect Master. He should know that you're here and why so that the Sect can take charge of the problem with your village. Don't worry, Hong Bao, we'll find out what happened."
"Mn. Alright." Hong Bao just smiled sweetly. Meeting the Sect Master or whatever, she didn't care about it at all. She just followed Liu Cheng deeper into the sect grounds when he started in the direction of the Sect Master's palace.
When they arrived she only listened half-heartedly to what the man said but she answered everything he asked. In the end, Hong Bao stayed in the Chun Feng Sect. In fact, she didn't just stay there but became part of it.
It was just as Shun Tao had thought: Whenever she fell in love Hong Bao would instantly become mightily motivated. Thus, when Qiu Ling and Jing Yi left the Yun Zou Sect after five years, Hong Bao had already become a demon hunter in the Chun Feng Sect. And even though she wasn't as talented as her sister Hong Ai, she could still be considered a talent. At least, her aptitude was better than Jing Yi's. One really had to wonder what would happen should those two ever meet.