At that time, the group following Zhi Guan had already left the town and made their way over to the second array in the border region.
Zhi Guan was a person of few words. As such, he naturally wouldn't say anything that didn't need to be said. The task was clear he didn't bother to explain his thoughts. He just went in the general direction and expected Yang Wu Huang to tell them where exactly to go. This should be obvious after all, shouldn't it?
With him being like this, the others also didn't feel like talking much. Yuan Lei flew next to Mei Chao Bing and gave him a few looks, trying to see how he was doing. He had felt that Mei Chao Bing was able to get along with Zhi Guan quite well and even Song Mu with whom he seemed to have a bit of a strained relationship hadn't been making trouble when they traveled together before.
As for him and Liu Bao Ru, there also didn't seem to be much of a problem. Liu Bao Ru might not be talking much but she obviously didn't have any problem with him. The other three disciples accompanying them might not necessarily like him but also weren't disliking him. They could be said to be neutral.
But on the other hand, there were also Xi Ju Hai and Yang Wu Huang. He didn't know what exactly Xi Ju Hai's attitude toward Mei Chao Bing was but she likely wasn't happy with him. After all, he was her ex-fiance's junior martial brother. Mu Qing had betrayed their sect even before their Master did and even though nobody knew what exactly had happened between him and Xi Ju Hai, it was estimated that she should hate that man and his Master very much. Her hate might even extend to those martial brothers of his. Well, and even if she was able to stay impartial, there was still Yang Wu Huang. It needn't be said that he would be a problem.
After being glanced at for several minutes, Mei Chao Bing looked over and raised his brows. To be honest, he wasn't too worried about Yang Wu Huang or any of the other disciples. The others weren't worth mentioning because he figured they wouldn't go overboard. As for Yang Wu Huang, while he did expect him to try something, the chances of whatever it was succeeding weren't high.
In any case, Yang Wu Huang couldn't hurt him physically since their cultivation levels differed too much and he also didn't believe that he would be able to do much else. He could imagine that he wanted to still try and get between him and Yun Bei Fen and might want to utilize the time that he could spend in Zhi Guan's vicinity but considering what he knew about Yun Bei Fen's first senior martial brother, Mei Chao Bing really couldn't imagine that that would work. Well, he'd let Yang Wu Huang try. It would probably be quite funny to see how he wanted to strike up a conversation with Zhi Guan who wasn't a talkative person at all. Most likely, it would be pretty difficult if not downright impossible.
Mei Chao Bing wasn't wrong with that. Originally, Yang Wu Huang wanted to give it a try while they were on the way already. But Zhi Guan didn't say anything at all, just silently flying at the front. With this, there wasn't any chance for him to insert himself and strike up a conversation without seeming too deliberate. Thus, he could only grit his teeth and wait for another opportunity.
This opportunity finally presented itself when they were halfway to their destination. Since Zhi Guan didn't know where exactly the second array was, he had to turn to Yang Wu Huang so he could show them the way.
Yang Wu Huang's expression immediately lit up and he flew to the front, inclining his head toward Zhi Guan. "Let me lead the way, senior martial brother Zhi. It isn't that far away anymore."
Zhi Guan just nodded and didn't even bother to give a hum, waiting for him to fly forward.
Yang Wu Huang felt slightly awkward but there was nothing he could do. He turned around and the group continued, finally reaching the place where Yang Wu Huang's group had previously stopped as well.
The disciples immediately looked at the lines on the ground, the brows furring.
Zhi Guan only gave the array a short glance to make sure that it wasn't something that was obviously harmful to them and then looked around to see if there were any demonic practitioners around. "We seem to be alone. Check carefully if you can find something." He didn't say anything else and then just inspected the perimeters. He really wasn't well-versed in arrays so he wouldn't be of much help there. In that case, it was best for him to take a look around and see if he could find something out there.
In the same way, the others also focused on what they were good at. Yuan Lei started to search for traces that had been left on the ground but there were too many of them to really get any clues from them. There were both the traces of the disciples of their own sect, as well as from the demonic practitioners, and also traces of the fight. He furrowed his brows, feeling that there really wasn't anything much he could do.
Mei Chao Bing glanced at him and then motioned around. "Can you take a look where they came from?"
Yuan Lei looked up in surprise but then nodded and started to search around. Soon enough, he found the trace of the path that the demonic practitioners had taken and even discovered the place with a small array on the ground. He furrowed his brows and called out to the others. "Come and look over here."
The others went over, their brows also raising when they saw the lines on the ground. Neither of them said a word. Even those like Zhi Guan who were not too well-versed in arrays could recognize this one for what it was: a tool to hide one's traces. And what this kind of array so close to the other one meant after the disciples had been attacked was pretty clear.
Zhi Guan stared at it and then turned to Yang Wu Huang, silently waiting for an explanation.
Yang Wu Huang really wanted to play dumb at this moment. Originally, he had wanted to lure the demonic practitioners over so that they could get a chance to separate from the rest of the group and catch up with Mei Chao Bing and the others so that they could follow them. He had been surprised that the demonic practitioners would be there so soon but he never would have thought that they had actually been lying in ambush close by. To be presented with evidence for this now … Naturally, it wasn't a good feeling.
"How strange! I didn't know that there was something like this here. Is there any chance that it was added later on?" He turned to Yuan Lei as if he really imagined him to say yes.
Yuan Lei's expression took a turn for the worse but he still answered in a matter-of-fact voice. "No, senior martial brother Yang, that is more than unlikely." And deep down, they all knew what that meant.