While the people of the Liu He Alliance were still biding their time, the first sects were arriving at the sect grounds of the Yun Zou Sect.
Yuchi Bing Xia gave a wry smile and rose from his chair, lamenting that Yu Jin had gone into closed-door cultivation. Looking at the red-clothed Elder in front of him, he felt that the task of greeting this person and suffering through those pleasantries would be much better with his disciple around.
Even though Yu Jin had gotten warmer toward him in the last few years, he still kept up the same ice-cold facade in front of everybody else. With that, wouldn't he be able to infuriate this person to death? That would really be something he'd like to see!
Unfortunately, his disciple had gained sudden inspiration after he went with Grandmaster Zhangsun and saw him create that realm. Well, it was also good. If Yu Jin could reach the next level, then it would benefit the whole sect and, of course, he would also be happy to see his disciple get stronger. Especially if these vultures continued to cause trouble.
Yuchi Bing Xia forced himself to curve his lips up a little further. "Elder Gongxi, I am greatly appreciating the thoughtfulness of the Yang Huo Sect."
Elder Gongxi smiled back but it didn't look any more sincere than Yuchi Bing Xia's strained smile. "But that's a given. Our sect noticed that something had happened in the Yun Zou Sect so, naturally, we had to hurry over."
Yuchi Bing Xia also nodded and motioned at his desk. "Why don't we sit down and have a chat?" He turned around and his smile collapsed. He hadn't forgotten that this was the person that had gotten into trouble with Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple back at that Gathering of Practitioners several years ago shortly before the boy had proposed to the child from the outer sect.
Knowing Elder Gongxi, he should still be holding a grudge because of that. If the Yang Huo Sect was really sincere in wanting to help some, they wouldn't have sent this person. No, they were obviously just looking if they could find a way to get some benefits out of this or at least make sure that the Yun Zou Sect wouldn't benefit from what had happened. But weren't they being a little too obvious? He could see through the matter with one glance. It's as if they were taking him for an idiot.
When he turned around to sit down, he had managed to restore his smile but it still didn't reach the bottom of his eyes. Once again, he motioned at the seat opposite him but he didn't say anything more, waiting for the Elder to take the next step. He'd really like to see just how far that shamelessness could reach.
Elder Gongxi continued to smile and then looked around. "I wouldn't have thought that Sect Master Yuchi would be alone. What about your disciple? He wouldn't have been hurt in that terrible accident the last time, would he?"
Yuchi Bing Xia's gaze chilled further. Obviously, this person was talking about Yu Jin. And it wasn't really news that Yu Jin had vanished after that accident in the Leyuan region. At the very least, nobody had seen him since then so everybody had assumed that he had died. Bringing this matter up … Wasn't it obvious that Elder Gongxi was trying to upset him?
Yuchi Bing Xia lowered his gaze and then turned to the side, picking up the teapot standing there. "Oh? You mean Wu Min Huan? The child has already managed to reach the peak of the fourth stage. I really can't expect him to accompany me all the time. Elder Gongxi surely understands."
The Elder's brows twitched. This guy! Was he trying to mock his disciple? Whose fault was it that he hadn't managed to get to the next level yet? Wasn't it all because of Grandmaster Zhangsun's disciple? If not for the way he had dealt with Zhou Wu back then, then he certainly wouldn't have become so despondent, not being able to pick himself up even after several years. The Elder clenched his fists but still forced himself to continue to smile. "Ah, I remember Wu Min Huan. He was always very diligent. But I was thinking about your other disciple. What was his name again? The one that became a disciple after Wu Min Huan lost your favor."
Yuchi Bing Xia's eyes narrowed. What lost his favor? Was he hoping that Wu Min Huan was somewhere around to hear him? Tch. This guy was delusional! Wasn't the relationship between Wu Min Huan and Yu Jin very good? Just some careless remarks wouldn't be able to drive a wedge between them.
Seeing that the Sect Master wasn't answering, Elder Gongxi felt even more sure that he had struck a nerve with that. "I believe he was called … Yu Ji? Yu Jin? It has to be something like that."
Yuchi Bing Xia tried to remind himself that this guy wasn't worth it to start a war between two sects of the righteous faction and just carefully poured a cup of tea. "Elder Gongxi hasn't seen him in a while but still remembers him so well. My Yu Jin must have made a very big impression on you. Now that I'm seeing this, I'm feeling really sorry that I can't call him over. Unfortunately, when the good luck returned to our Yun Zou Sect, it really came in spades. My Yu Jin suddenly had some inspiration and went into closed-door cultivation. I think he'll soon reach the fifth stage."
Elder Gongxi tensed. The fifth stage? In many sects, that was already enough to be transferred the status of an Elder. And this brat … hadn't he only been taken in several years ago? How could the Yun Zou Sect have this much luck?!
He really wondered just what had happened here that something like this was actually possible. Well, he would stay a few days to find out. He'd really like to see how Yuchi Bing Xia wanted to drive him off and keep him from doing so.