The next day, the disciples of Heavenly Peak sect noticed that their Senior Brother Feng wore an especially brilliant and beatific smile, his eyes sparkling with happiness. Everyone who saw him felt refreshed and joyful as well.
As Qinghe went about his tasks, all he could think about was last night and the promise Wei Xiang made early this morning. He was so eager to see his lover again that the lack of sleep didn't even bother him. He felt restless and jittery, his nerves jumping from excitement.
He suddenly remembered that the twins would be returning from Starry Mountain Peak tomorrow and he had promised them some of his handmade sweets. He had never cared enough to learn to make anything else except these and he was especially good at it. Maybe he should make some for Wei Xiang as well?
The smile on his face stretched wider as he tried to imagine how Wei Xiang would react. He'd probably be surprised that he could make anything at all.
Qinghe thought of all the ingredients he'd need. Hmm, he should get some cream and fresh mint, also flour and…what else? As he was busy planning it out, a commotion attracted his attention.
A junior disciple ran over to him, seemingly relieved to have found him quickly. "Senior Martial Brother Feng, there's trouble! The kidnappers are asking for you in exchange! They say no cultivators can find their hideout so they're being so unreasonable―!"
Qinghe interrupted the insensible tirade and spoke, "Wait, start from the beginning. What happened? What kidnappers? And why do they want me?"
Realizing he hadn't explained the situation properly, the disciple took a deep breath and started over again. "Senior Brother Chen was kidnapped when he was out completing a task. The kidnappers mistook him for Senior Brother Feng, it seems. They appear to have some sort of grudge and say they'll guarantee Senior Brother Chen's safety only if the Elders hand you over. The sect master and the others refused, but the kidnappers won't leave. The sect master is also reluctant to throw them out since Senior Brother Chen's life is in their hands. They can also not kill or capture the kidnappers since no one else knows where their base is. By the time they are made to confess, it might be too late. So they're now trying to negotiate Senior Brother Chen's release. But the kidnappers are insisting that no cultivator can breach their defenses, so they're being arrogant enough to argue with our Elders and the sect master. The sect master finally asked me to bring you over and let you decide what to do."
Qinghe frowned. This was a pickle. He remembered that before he and the others had left to take care of the wyvern, his master had clearly told him that he'd sent Chen Xiande out on an easier task. So he must have been kidnapped then.
As for the identity of these kidnappers who had a grudge against him… it was difficult to guess since he had made too many enemies during his life.
"I understand, thank you for telling me," Qinghe said before he made for the sect hall, the messenger disciple hurrying after him.
As they neared the sect hall, they found more and more disciples blocking their way, attracted over by the spectacle. But once they saw Qinghe, they immediately parted to make way for him.
Without a change in his usual pleasant expression, Qinghe walked into the sect hall. Ignoring the ragtag bunch of kidnappers standing defiantly at the center of the hall, Qinghe respectfully bowed and greeted his master and the others as usual.
"This disciple greets Master and the Elders."
The Elders were all looking angrily at the intruders, some of them even standing up, their fists shaking with fury. Only the sect master looked calm, at least from the outside. Qinghe knew him enough to detect the barely suppressed rage in his eyes.
The sect master called to him, "Qing-er, these troublemakers wish to exchange you for your senior brother's safety. What do you say?"
"If Master is willing to send me, then this disciple will naturally go," Qinghe replied calmly.
"And if I'm not willing to send you?" Zhen YiLan countered.
"Then I'll still go," Qinghe said, his tone unchanging.
Zhen YiLan sighed at how headstrong this disciple of his was. "Qing-er, though Xian-er is also an important part of the sect, you are more valuable. I know you realize this. Even without Xian-er, we will still have a competent successor in you, but without you… who else has the capability to raise Xian-er up to be a proper sect master? Qing-er, it is your Elders' and my wish to protect you."
"I humbly decline your protection," Qinghe didn't give him any face at all.
Unable to see this promising youngster wanting to willingly throw away his safety and risk his life for the sake of that unpromising head disciple, the black-haired Elder stood up and furiously shouted, "Feng Qinghe! This is for the good of the sect, why can't you understand this? No matter what you do or say, Chen Xiande can never be a suitable replacement for you, can't you see that? He can never be a proper sect master!"
"Then I will make him into a worthy sect master!" Qinghe raised his own voice. He was sick and tired of this!
As his declaration rang out loudly, the hall fell into a stunned silence.
Feng Qinghe was widely respected both among the disciples and the Elders of most sects. He was competent yet polite, with an elegant smile always perched on his lips. He was helpful and considerate of his junior brothers. He helped his master deal with a significant portion of his work, making all the Elders and other sect masters envious of Zhen YiLan. He had a good cultivation base and steadily rose up to be one of the more famous cultivators. He was a model disciple and a promising cultivator.
And he had never once raised his voice.
For the first time, the people of the sect felt the strong presence of this always smiling senior disciple. He might look amicable, but the sheer number of his achievements spoke of his unbending will and strength.
Qinghe's smile had turned sharp as he said in a much more normal tone, "Senior Brother has been given to my care, so I will handle this. The Elders and Sect Master need not worry. I will complete this task as I usually do. I will return with Senior Brother."
This time, the Elders and the sect master could not object. None of them doubted his capability or cunning, and faced with his stubborn insistence, they could only relent.
"Boy, you're casually talking about busting out your senior brother and escaping like we're not even here. Do you think it'll be easy, huh?" said the sleazy boss of the kidnappers who had been enjoying the sect drama from the sidelines till now.
Qinghe cast a disinterested glance at him but suddenly froze. He remembered that man beside the boss. Wasn't he that bald leader of the thugs who had chased him to the cliff edge when he had been having trouble with the restrictions? It was because of him and his group's actions that Qinghe had his first face-to-face meeting with Wei Xiang that day. Didn't Wei Xiang tie up the entire bunch into dumplings after that? What was the bald leader doing here out of prison?
Well, at least he understood why they had a grudge against him. It seemed like this kidnapper boss was the bald man's superior. They must be an influential gang to be able to get this far into the Heavenly Peak Sect's territory. He'd have to be wary of their backing then.
"Let's not waste time on chatter," Qinghe smiled as usual as if he wasn't giving himself up to a bunch of evildoers. "Since I've already assented to come with you in exchange for my senior brother's safety, let's make an oath and be on our way."
The kidnapper boss snorted. "Think you're all that, don't you? Ordering us around… But our chief told us to treat you nice if you don't make it hard, so I suppose we'll treat you nice." Turning to a subordinate, he instructed, "Bring out the binding scroll."
A seemingly ancient scroll was carefully handed to him.
"Sign this and we can be on our way," he said to Qinghe.
Qinghe gingerly took the dirty looking piece of paper and let a drop of his blood drip onto it, but only after thoroughly verifying the terms and the scroll's authenticity. The boss did the same, signing on behalf of his organization.
Zhen YiLan had on a distressed look the whole time, but he didn't dare stop his disciple. He finally chose to place his trust in him, or at least lay low in the face of his wrath.
"Ah, a couple more things, just to be safe," said the boss as he gestured again to his lackeys. They brought out a tiny vial of liquid and a couple sets of manacles.
"Take the medicine like a good boy and let us put these pretty bracelets and anklets on you, and we'll be ready to go." The kidnapper boss grinned, happy that after all the arguing with those old geezers, he was finally able to complete his task.
Zhen YiLan stood up and wanted to stop Qinghe, but finally restrained himself. His disciple knew what he was doing, he always did.
Not reacting to the barbs, Qinghe received the tiny bottle first. Opening its stopper in one smooth motion, he sniffed its contents before downing it in a single gulp.
It was a rare poison that would wear out after a day. Its effects were to render one's cultivation useless during that period. It seemed they had some way to handle him even after his cultivation returned after one day. Their confidence didn't bother Qinghe much since he pretty much knew what they were depending on, and the most it would mean was a delay in his and his senior brother's escape.
Seeing Qinghe silently keeping his word despite the provocation, the boss's impression of this delicate-looking cultivator went up. It was a good thing that Sentinel from last time who was said to have thwarted his little brother before was not present. Look at how smoothly it was all going!
The boss eagerly gestured to the lackey holding the restraints to go and put them on Qinghe. He didn't trust this cultivator to not use any sneaky tricks while putting them on by himself. He might just close them loosely and wait for a chance to escape. Who knew? It was best to make someone he trusted do it instead.
Qinghe raised his hands without comment, letting the reed-thin and shifty looking fellow put the shackles around his wrists. The shackles were connected together by a long, thick and heavy chain that clinked and clanked with every tiny movement.
Bending down, the thin man had to remove Qinghe's boots to fit the other set of linked restraints onto Qinghe's ankles. As he was putting them on, the thin man's hand lightly brushed over the smooth white skin. His thoughts immediately turned dirty as he fastened the cuffs around the delicate looking ankles.
With these on, anything faster than a walk would be impossible.
Qinghe was trying his best to not show any reaction at being touched. He had gotten used to freely exchanging skinship with Wei Xiang and the twins so much that it made him feel a little spoiled.
Rubbing his hands, the boss said excitedly, "Alright, now we're ready. Say goodbye to the old men. You won't be seeing them ever again."
Qinghe ignored him and gave one last bow to the Elders and his master before turning and leaving.
When they reached outside the sect hall, the disciples who had crowded around the entrance were all startled and distressed at seeing Qinghe bound and barefoot as he followed behind the jolly kidnappers. They all showed expressions that were on the verge of crying. How could something like this happen to their strong, kind and dependable senior brother?
Shaking his head at their obvious thoughts, Qinghe instructed the disciples without turning to look at them. "Alright now, stop it. Your senior brother is not going to get his head chopped off. I will be back soon and when I return, I better see some improvements in your cultivation, alright?"
Thinking to reassure them, he smiled his usual gentle smile at them.
Moved, the disciples proclaimed as one, "Yes, Senior Martial Brother Feng!"
Satisfied, Qinghe nodded and walked gracefully as if the restraints were non-existent. Seeing his casual attitude, the disciples finally calmed down and were reassured. Their Senior Brother Feng would surely escape successfully with Senior Brother Chen. Those kidnappers wouldn't know what hit them!
Once the procession was outside the sect's view, Qinghe dropped his pleasant expression. His face was frozen into his natural coldness.
"Do you want to know why we mistook your senior brother for you?" the boss unexpectedly started conversing with him.
Qinghe remained silent.
Not discouraged, the boss continued, "We only knew that the one we were looking for was the successor of Heavenly Peak Sect's sect master. I naturally assumed it was the first disciple. Who knew the second disciple would be more talented and instead become the successor, eh?"
Not feeling the need to educate them on the intricacies of this matter or correct his erroneous information, Qinghe still made no comment.
"You know, my brother here was telling me you were some kind of a seductive fox demon or something. Too bad a lot of things he's been blubbering about make no sense," the boss said undeterred, hooking an arm around the bald man.
The last time when this man had cornered Qinghe near the cliffs, the scuffle had ripped Qinghe's appearance changing talisman, revealing his true face to them. But even then, to call him a fox demon… Qinghe felt he didn't understand which part of him made him look like a fox to this man.
Thinking of him, why hadn't the bald man spoken even a word since they met? As he covertly studied him, Qinghe didn't notice any scarring around his throat, so maybe he had an internal injury? Not finding an answer, he quickly put it out of his mind.
What Qinghe didn't know was that under Wei Xiang's 'special care' before he was broken out of prison, the bald man had suffered so horribly that his throat was permanently damaged due to his screams. Every word spoken by him now would be rough and bring the bald man extreme pain, so he obviously refrained from speech.
Not knowing this, Qinghe dismissed it from his thoughts. Ah well, whatever. He couldn't be bothered anymore.
Uncaring of his attitude, the boss kept chattering on and on.
And so the group of kidnappers and their prisoner walked on hidden pathways and secret routes to finally reach the hideaway within a few hours.