The group gathered in front of Elder Baili's courtyard the next morning so they wouldn't have a run-in with anybody else. Seeing that everybody was there, Mei Chao Bing gave a nod and then motioned for them to move out.
At that time, the sun hadn't even risen and most of the disciples were still asleep. Yun Bei Fen was also just clinging to Mei Chao Bing, not quite awake yet. He tried to rub his eyes to wake himself up but it didn't help much. In the end, he just burrowed into Mei Chao Bing's arms while they flew out of the town and toward the other sects.
Mei Chao Bing kept quiet for the first part of the journey, his gaze scanning their surroundings while he spread out his spiritual sense to make sure he missed anything that couldn't be seen by the naked eye.
While he hadn't said anything again, he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was more behind this than they were able to see right now. Things were just too coincidental for that not to be the case. He firmly believed by now that they were being calculated and likely by none other than his own Master.
The hints had been there for them to discover them. And most likely, the demonic practitioners were counting on them to leave the town and go and inform the other sects.
He wasn't quite sure why. Maybe it was that they wanted to lure some disciples away and kill those off. Maybe it was that they wanted to weaken the people in the town and then attack there. Maybe it was also that they wanted to spread the message to the four major righteous sects.
He hadn't been able to find out yet. And he was afraid that when he did, it would already be too late. But for now, there was nothing else he could do other than moving forward and staying vigilant. Maybe there would be some hint along the way. He could only hope for that.
They had long left the town behind when Song Mu finally spoke up. "Senior martial brother Mei, maybe we should take a break soon. Since it's just one of us flying, I'm afraid we'll be exhausted if we continue like this."
Mei Chao Bing glanced over his shoulder and saw that the other disciples indeed weren't doing too well. He glanced up at the sky, seeing that the sun was already close to reaching its zenith.
Mei Chao Bing didn't feel tired at all despite Yun Bei Fen nestling in his arms. But then again, he was of a higher cultivation level than all of the others and hadn't even needed to fly at full speed. We could hardly compare that with them. Thus, he nodded and then looked around for a place to stop.
Since they weren't actually in the territory of the demonic practitioners but about a li or two away from the border, there were at least some sickly looking shrubs and bleak trees to the side. He motioned over and then slowed down. "Let's stop there."
The others heaved a sigh of relief and then, the group flew over, collapsing on the ground.
Seeing how tired they were, Mei Chao Bing couldn't help but chastise himself inwardly. He should've thought of that. Thankfully, Song Mu had reminded him or he might not have noticed at all. He definitely had to take that into consideration in the future.
After letting the others catch their breath for a moment, he cleared his throat. "I know you're all exhausted. We can take a break for a while but we'll have to continue for the rest of the day afterward. Starting from tomorrow, we can take some more breaks. But for now, we have to make sure that we cover as much distance as we can. I'm sure that all of you still remember the matter with the array before, right?"
The others exchanged some confused looks but finally nodded.
Mei Chao Bing gave a nod as well, satisfied that they were at least answering him. "Well, while the Elders have concluded that this was not the work of a traitor but instead a plot of the demonic practitioners to make us distrust each other, it also means that they have a good grasp on what we are currently doing.
"They likely know already that we are on the way to inform the other sects. Thus, they might once again try to do something that would either put us or the others in danger.
"As a small group, it will be easier for us to make sure that we can stay out of harm's way. Especially since we suspect them doing something already. But for the others, they might be unprepared. Thus, I feel that we should make sure that we aren't too close to the town when the demonic practitioners will inevitably try something. I hope that you can all agree with me on that."
Once again, the others at least gave him a nod. While the two junior martial brothers didn't look too happy, they didn't dare to say anything considering that Mei Chao Bing had said that it was for the benefit of the other disciples. If they said that they didn't care about that, what kind of martial brothers would they be then? They also didn't want that. Thus they could only stew in their resentment and hope that whatever the demonic practitioners had planned would involve Mei Chao Bing but not them.
Mei Chao Bing glanced at them for a moment longer and then retracted his gaze, turning around to Yun Bei Fen. Anyway, since they were taking a break, while he still needed to pay attention to all of them, it was alright to put his attention on Yun Bei Fen for at least a few moments. "How are you holding up, Fen'er?"
Yun Bei Fen gave him a brilliant smile in response. By now, he had completely woken up so he felt actually quite rested. "Don't worry, Mei Chao Bing. I'm sure I can still go for a few hours more!"
Mei Chao Bing laughed, reached out, and ruffled his hair. "Sure you can. You were really working hard today." His eyes glittered when he said so, making everybody but those two junior martial brothers feel that they really were a cute couple.
People could say what they wanted about Mei Chao Bing and his behavior but at the very least, it was obvious that he was very much in love with his fiance. It instantly made them feel better about him.