The next morning soon came and it was time to see if Song Mu would actually make true on his promise.
Mei Chao Bing waited for everybody to get up and eat before turning to Yang Wu Hang who had forced himself in with the others. "Junior martial brother Yang, how is junior martial brother Di doing?"
Yang Wu Huang looked up and forced himself to give a smile as if he was thankful for Mei Chao Bing's question while he was inwardly scolding him. "Thank you for asking, senior martial brother Mei, junior martial brother Di is doing quite well already. It's all thanks to you letting us stay with you so he could rest up."
Mei Chao Bing nodded and then refrained from saying anything else. This would be the best time to bring up that they couldn't come along but he wanted to give Song Mu this one chance. If he took it and actually did what he had promised yesterday night, then maybe going forward, he would have an easier time trusting him as well. That would be good.
Song Mu did indeed speak up. "Is junior martial brother Di well enough to return to the town though?"
Both Mei Chao Bing and Yang Wu Huang gave him a doubtful look. Yang Wu Huang focused on the fact that Song Mu had mentioned returning to the town while Mei Chao Bing noticed that he had made the question sound doubtful which would give Yang Wu Huang an opportunity to say that he wasn't and would need to accompany them for longer. Overall, neither of them was satisfied but Song Mu didn't display that he realized that.
Yang Wu Huang's smile grew strained. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what senior martial brother Song means with that. Aren't we going to accompany you to the Zhen Yan Sect? Certainly, you wouldn't expect us to return to the town alone, would you?"
Mei Chao Bing's expression grew subtle. This was not quite as bad as he had expected but still not very good.
Song Mu didn't show any hurry though. "Well, but then who would inform the Elders of what happened?"
"Didn't you send a message?"
Song Mu nodded. "But of course. I saw how senior martial brother Mei sent one to the Elders yesterday. But … we're already quite a bit away from the town. Who can say for sure if the message won't be intercepted? A message can't fight back. So it might very well be that despite sending that message, the Elders won't receive the information they need."
The two junior martial brothers, Nian Tao and Ran Wu, were immediately convinced that this was something they should take into consideration. It wasn't that they were actually worried about the message getting lost but if Mei Chao Bing was the one who sent it, then maybe he hadn't actually sent it back to their Teng Yong Sect's Elders but to the other side instead. Who knew what he would do? Thus, they couldn't help but echo what Song Mu had said.
"Senior martial brother Yang, I think that senior martial brother Song is onto something there. We definitely have to make sure that the Elders get to know what happened."
Nian Tao added to his friend's words: "Ran Wu is right. And anyway, you could provide some more details than the message that senior martial brother Mei sent, right? I think it would really be for the best if you went back there."
Mei Chao Bing gave Song Mu a subtle look. Apparently, he had thought too much. This guy had really stayed true to his words. In fact, he was doing so in quite a good way. He just suggested the idea, then backed it up by some concerns, and after that, just let the others carry the conversation. He might not even need to say anything else. Nobody would suspect any bad intentions behind this, maybe not even Yang Wu Huang and the other two. And those who wanted … well, they had already had such thoughts in the first place.
Yang Wu Huang was tongue-tied when there were three people arguing against him. He reeled for a moment and then gave a short sigh. "I really understand what you're saying. It's not that I don't want to inform the Elders either. It's just that … we were just attacked. It's dangerous to go back now, isn't it?"
The two junior martial brothers weren't about to be discouraged by that though. "But didn't you say just now that junior martial brother Di was actually healed? Then how is it dangerous?"
Yang Wu Huang's gaze slightly cooled but with everybody looking at him, he still had to play nicely. "Well, be that as it may, we were attacked when we were ten people and barely got away. Now, we are only three. If there are actually demonic practitioners somewhere between this place and the town, then wouldn't we be in danger?"
Nian Tao and Ran Wu were at a loss for words. That was true. They hadn't thought of that. Naturally, they didn't want to put any of their martial brothers in danger. Wasn't that why they wanted them to go back and inform the Elders? But how could this be solved now? They really didn't know.
Song Mu gave them a moment to think it through in case they could think of something themselves. Otherwise, he would speak up after all. Before he needed to do so, Liu Bao Ru chipped in though. "There's no need to worry about that, is there? Anyway, we're at the edge of the border region. It isn't as dangerous here as it was at the place where you were attacked. Most likely, you wouldn't meet anyone."
Yang Wu Huang's expression didn't look good. "Well, if you're right, then that would naturally be great. But what if you aren't? As the leader of this group, I can't put Di Huan Bo and Ao Jing in such danger."
Liu Bao Ru couldn't argue with that. Yang Wu Huang was indeed in charge of these two and couldn't be lackadaisical with their safety. Still, she felt that it would be best if they did go back to inform the Elders. Then, there might still be a chance for the others to be saved.
She thought for a moment and then turned to look at Song Mu and Mei Chao Bing. "I know that I can't make any decision on this but maybe I have an idea on how to solve this problem."