This martial sister was the youngest one among the three, with a round face and big eyes. The two junior martial brothers that were also in their group couldn't help but look over a few more times.
Yun Bei Fen also looked at her and then tilted his head. This martial sister seemed a little familiar. Could it be that he knew her? Unfortunately, he currently couldn't remember who she was. He had really been in closed-door cultivation for too long.
The young woman looked around and also nodded at them just like Yuan Lei. She looked a bit embarrassed though. As for why that was the case … it naturally had to do with what she was going to say. "I am Yi Ju. Actually, my cultivation realm isn't too high. I am only in the middle of Foundation Establishment. I don't think I know how to do anything special either."
She twisted her hands and then looked down at the ground. After Yun Bei Fen, her cultivation was the lowest and she actually didn't know how to do anything. How embarrassing was that? Most likely, everybody else would have something to offer to the group. So she would be the odd one out that just needed the others' protection and might even hinder them in accomplishing the mission.
Seeing her expression, the two martial brothers jumped out at once.
"Ah, junior martial sister Yi, don't take it to heart. We'll just protect you!"
"Yes! It's no problem at all. Just stay in the middle of the group and we'll make sure that no demonic practitioner can get close to you."
The girl slightly furrowed her brows. She understood that they were just trying to be nice but she felt even worse at their words. They were just empty consolations that did not help at all. She didn't want to be in the middle and be protected. She wanted to be a help. Even if she was young and even if she hadn't learned much, she still wanted to do at least this out.
That was why she had insisted to go on this mission. It was so she wouldn't have to be protected by her senior martial sister Zhang anymore. It was so she could make some progress and not be an embarrassment to her Master. It was so she could proudly say that she was also a disciple of the Teng Yong Sect in the future.
Originally, she had thought that she did a pretty good job. She looked around for clues and pointed out to her previous group's leader what she found. He always praised her! But with the question Mei Chao Bing had just posed, she suddenly realized that she had nothing to say. She was weak and inexperienced. She also didn't have any special talents.
Who knew if the things she had pointed out before were actually useful? Maybe that senior martial brother had praised her in the same way that these two seniors had just told her that it wasn't a problem for her to be weak. Just thinking about it made her feel down.
Mei Chao Bing looked at the two martial brothers before he turned to the girl. "It's indeed alright."
The two martial brothers furrowed their brows when they heard that. What was this guy trying to do? Wasn't he engaged to Elder Baili's disciple? He should keep his eyes off their martial sisters, then!
Mei Chao Bing didn't give them the chance to say anything though and just continued to speak. "You probably weren't on many missions before. This is expected. For the next few days, try to see what the others are doing. If you feel that there is something you could learn from them, then ask them about it and have them explain it to you in detail. Even if you can't learn everything in a short amount of time, it'll be more efficient and also reduce the stress on the other person if there is somebody taking up at least a part of their task."
The girl looked up at Mei Chao Bing, her eyes growing wide. Was this really the Mei Chao Bing everybody was talking so badly about? For a moment, she was too shocked to react but then she nodded eagerly, her lips curving into a cute smile and her eyes sparkling. "I'll do that!"
That was right. She hadn't learned much and might not have been a big help so far but who said that she couldn't change that? She just had to do as Mei Chao Bing had said, then she might be able to go back after the mission and say that she had learned at least something. Regardless of what it was, her Master would be proud and her senior martial sister Zhang would definitely praise her.
With that attitude in mind, she listened intently when the other people introduced themselves. Senior martial brother Mei had said that she should watch for a few days but she felt that it would be best to find out what the others could do first. That way, she might already be able to tell if there was something she might be good at. She certainly hoped so.
Unfortunately, things weren't that easy. The longer she listened, the more hesitant she became. There was nothing that jumped out at her. Would there really be something she could learn?
The two martial brothers that had tried to console her before had a decent cultivation and one of them had a bit of experience with missions but neither picked up any special talents so they were a lost cause.
The other martial sisters were a bit better. Even though the cultivation realm of the younger one was on the lower side as well, she was able to refine some pills and make some simple mixtures. Even though it would be difficult to use that while they were outside, she might be able to provide them with help if they got into a situation where they would need medical knowledge. She also knew some herbs so it was just a question of finding them.
The senior martial sister surprisingly had good martial arts just like Yuan Lei and was knowledgeable about some natural resources. In fact, she was able to make explosives and some other useful things that they could use against the demonic practitioners.
Both of these were valuable assets for the mission but, unfortunately, they would take a lot of time to learn. She seriously doubted that she would be able to be of much help even if she started to learn now.
The biggest surprise was probably the senior martial brother standing on the other side of Mei Chao Bing. Not only was his cultivation base rather high, but he also had a lot of experience. In their group, he was probably second only to Mei Chao Bing and maybe Yuan Lei. But the latter was something they would only be able to make sure of if he ever were to get up against him. He also knew about arrays and talismans so if they encountered those, he could help with that.
Needless to say, she couldn't compare to that kind of person and also wouldn't dare to ask them to teach her.
In the end, Yi Ju didn't find anything she could do and her only comfort was that Yun Bei Fen was just as hopeless as she was. Having him around comforted her at least a little. It didn't help much though. After all, the two of them were just the people who would drag down the others the most. She really hoped that she would be able to magically pick up a skill soon.