Hua Min looked at Nian Hong Fang in a daze when he had finished. "That's …" He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to sort his thoughts. Only then did he look up again and spoke up to make sure he had understood everything right. "Your lover has the blood of the demon beast tribe running in his veins and was captured by the disciples of a demon-hunting sect?"
Zhangsun Xun Yi looked at him with some interest and then couldn't help but chime in. "As for the other two disciples, I do think that one of them might have some relations with the dragon race. That golden hair color is … quite distinctive. It isn't something that would appear in humans. So it is not much of a wonder that a demon-hunting sect would mistake him for a demon." Anyway, he wasn't too sure if it was true but considering where his own disciple came from and that person in the secret realm, it was logical to assume that there would be others from their race around.
Nian Hong Fang nodded. "That is indeed right. Xiao Dong's appearance is … Well, let's just say that compared to Ma Zhi Wu, I'm not really surprised he was suspected. I don't know for sure which race he is related to though. We're not that close even though we've met a few times."
The more he heard, the more bewildered Hua Min felt. He turned to Zhangsun Xun Yi and raised his brows. "This … Did the Jian Yi Sect not contact you?"
"The Jian Yi Sect?" He didn't know what they had to do with this but it seemed that there was something that Hua Min knew that was not yet known to them.
Hua Min hesitated for a moment. The Liu He Alliance had been part of the conversations between the Jian Yi Sect and the other high-ranking sects and families had. So he was privy to the details of what had happened.
From what he knew, all the other sects whose disciples had been captured had received an anonymous letter telling them where their disciples were and just what had happened to them. The Jian Yi Sect had also been given a list with all the names of the disciples and their sects but he hadn't seen that one so he wasn't sure if the Yun Zou Sect had been included in that one.
Anyway, why wasn't the Yun Zou Sect the same? He couldn't imagine that this was a decision made by the Jian Yi Sect and rather suspected that whoever had tipped off everyone else had decided on excluding them, maybe not even mentioning them in the list. But why the Yun Zou Sect alone? That matter was actually quite worrying.
Hua Min furrowed his brows but he couldn't think of any reason on the spot. If he wanted to find out, then it would be best to talk it over with the people from the Yun Zou Sect that were involved in this and then ask the Jian Yi Sect for their opinion.
Hua Min turned back to Zhangsun Xun Yi, his expression still grave. "The sect who did this is very likely the Chun Feng Sect. In fact, the Jian Yi Sect received information a while ago that they had abducted several disciples from other righteous sects on the grounds of suspecting them to be demons. They never notified any of the sects and kept quiet about the matter.
"Most of … or, no, I should say all of the sects that were involved received a letter telling them about it. I'm quite surprised that you didn't. Anyway, the Jian Yi Sect has been discussing with several of the high-ranking sects and cultivation families so they should come to a conclusion on how to deal with it soon. I don't know if you would like to wait until then and let them sort this out. Either way, the Chun Feng Sect will definitely be confronted about this sooner or later and the disciples will likely be freed and probably tested to see if they are indeed demons or just have some non-human blood."
Zhangsun Xun Yi's expression turned subtle. The Chun Feng Sect? They had been on good terms with them for so many years. They had helped each other out as if they had an actual cooperation even though nothing had been written down. It was just a feeling of being able to mutually trust each other.
But now, this was the sect that had taken three of their disciples prisoner and not even announced that to them? What more, they had wanted to take more of their disciples. After all, they had tried to go after Qiu Ling and that person the last time. This really put matters in a completely new light.
"I guess there's no doubt that it's them in this case. And yes, I think it would be best to talk things over with the Jian Yi Sect. But since we weren't involved by them previously, it would be difficult to reach out to them. Would you mind …?"
Hua Min shook his head. "That isn't a problem, of course. I'll write a letter right now and send it over. I and my disciples can also stay here until things have been sorted out. That is, if you don't mind."
Zhangsun Xun Yi once again smiled. "That is a generous offer on your part. It would be us who are being ungrateful if we rejected it." He turned to Wu Min Huan, raising his brows.
The disciple straightened up and nodded in Hua Min's direction. "Alliance Head Hua doesn't need to worry. I will tell somebody to prepare lodgings for you. If there's anything else you need …"
Hua Min waved. "Just a place to stay will be enough." He didn't say anything more and instead turned back to Zhangsun Xun Yi. "Let me borrow a brush and paper from you then."
Zhangsun Xun Yi nodded and pushed the things over, watching his friend write down the message. Inwardly, he couldn't help but wonder just what was going on. All the things that happened …
The last few years had been much more filled with surprises — both of the good and the bad kind — than all the years before. When had that started? And was it a good or bad thing for the Yun Zou Sect? He didn't know and he didn't dare to assume either. This matter … He could only wait and see how it played out.