Elder Gongxi stared at Qiu Ling in a daze. All the sects? That was indeed very daring! He wouldn't have thought that he would be willing to go that far. It seemed he had really underestimated this person. Well, there was nothing he could do now besides hope that the other sects would raise a fuss about this. Then, there might be a way to get out of this agreement and still find a way to search around the Yun Zou Sect's premises. If he couldn't, then this mission would end as an utter failure.
Qiu Ling turned to Jing Yi and patted his back reassuringly before you looked at Nian Hong Fang. "Junior martial brother Nian, why don't you bring Elder Gongxi and his disciples to a place where we could hold such an event? Jing Yi and I will go with Hong Bao and see what the other sects think. Then as soon as everybody's gathered, we can start with the duel."
Nian Hong Fang nodded. "That's a great idea, senior martial brother Qiu. We'll do it that way then." He nodded and then turned to Elder Gongxi, cupping his fists and bowing. "Elder Gongxi, if you and your disciples would like to follow me."
Elder Gongxi looked at his disciples and nodded. There was no way for him to get out of this now. "Of course. Lead the way then." Everybody took out their swords and hopped onto them, following Nian Hong Fang away.
Qiu Ling turned to Hong Bao. "Alright, let's go to that senior martial brother Liu of yours then. He shouldn't have any problem with taking part if you are here to help us."
Hong Bao pursed her lips. "Are you sure he won't mind? Actually, he told us to get comfortable in the courtyard that we were shown. I don't think he wanted me to go out and he might think I'm causing trouble if you tell him that I asked to take part in a duel."
Jing Yi gave her a reassuring smile before Qiu Ling could answer. "Don't worry about it! We can just not say that it was your idea. Or, well, we could tell him that it was an idea you suggested to help us since you saw that we wanted to have the duel. I'm sure he wouldn't mind as long as it is something that can be used to help the Yun Zou Sect out."
Hong Bao nodded and heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good then. You know senior martial brother Liu still hasn't asked me if I want to marry him. I don't understand though. Do you think he doesn't like me?"
Jing Yi could only smile awkwardly. "Well, I've never met him …"
Hong Bao's eyes sparkled at that. "Ah! That's true! Then I'll definitely have to introduce you to him when you see him later! I'm sure you also like him."
Qiu Ling took out his sword and then pulled Jing Yi onto it. "Let's stop talking about that. Where is that senior martial brother Liu of yours right now?"
"Well, he went with that Wu Min Huan before. I think they wanted to go to meet the Sect Master?"
Qiu Ling nodded, grabbed his beloved tighter and then sped off.
Hong Bao stared at their receding figures and called out. "Hey! What about me?!" She took out her own flying sword again, jumped onto it and then rushed after them. She didn't know where the Sect Master lived so she could only follow the two of them as fast as she could.
A moment later, the three of them landed in front of the Sect Master's palace. Qiu Ling kept his sword and walked right in, not caring whether he would disturb the Sect Master and his guest or not. Anyway, he felt that the Sect Master should be happy that he was showing so much initiative in throwing out these other sects. Since he was doing him a favor the Sect Master shouldn't complain.
At that moment, Liu Cheng had just finished telling the Sect Master about his other reason for coming to the Yun Zou Sect. Although he would've preferred to first go and check up on Hong Bao and make sure that the other sects left before he brought it up, now that he was caught up in a conversation was Yuchi Bing Xia anyway, he felt that he might as well tell him about the person he had seen.
"So something like that actually happened …" Yuchi Bing Xia furrowed his brows and wondered what that mysterious veiled person's journey could be about.
He didn't see any reason why somebody would impersonate one of the disciples and go to the Liu He Alliance but he couldn't exclude the possibility either. After all, what if it was true and something bad happened? Maybe the sect's reputation would be damaged this way. Schemes like that wouldn't be below some of the first- or second-tier sects. And with how the Yun Zou Sect had just had a stroke of luck, some competitor might feel the need to make trouble for them. Although … Antagonizing the Liu He Alliance wouldn't be a good idea. If the plan was found out, they would get themselves into trouble.
Well, it might also be that he was overthinking. "If I remember it right, then Grandmaster Zhangsun has some relationship with the Liu He Alliance. I don't know whether he sent somebody over but it might very well be. I'll go and ask him later on. Anyway, thank you for informing us. Regardless of what the reason was, it is still better to know about it before something happens."
Liu Cheng nodded. "The relationship between our sects is very good. An ally should be assisted in times of need and warned of possible danger. The Yun Zou Sect would do the very same if somebody was trying to impersonate a disciple of our Chun Feng Sect."
Yuchi Bing Xia nodded. Before he could say something, steps sounded from outside though and three people rushed into his study.