The waitresses entered and placed all the dishes on the table of the private room.
They exited the corridor chattering and blushing.
"Such good looking men."
"Maybe I used up all my love luck by seeing not only one but four of them."
Zhao YunRu beamed with happiness looking at the table with full bowls and plates.
Braised pork belly. Scallion pancakes. Suan La Tang. Egg Drop Soup with Tomatoes. Pan Fried Tofu with Garlic Sauce. Steamed Custard Buns.
He started tasting every dish and giving a thumbs up to the other three.
"Food ier s awsm (food here is awesome)."
Li Chao nodded sympathetically.
"I think you guys got a new mem-"
But when he looked at his two friends, he decided to not speak anymore.
Yun Chun and Feng Jia just ate half heartedly and were done quite quickly. No praising the food, no glint in their eyes, no babbling while eating. Anybody who saw them at that moment would say that they have good table manners but he had known them since they were in their twenty, he could make out the sadness with every bite and slurp.
He remembered how these two used to be hungry ghosts. He thought about the person who gave them this name. He thought about how he himself used to be a single man between two couples. But fate. He sighed. Cruel fate. These two fools' happiness was really short-lived.
He came out of his thoughts when he saw Feng Jia's grim face. He abruptly stood up and rushed out.
"This holligan still can't eat in peace."
Yun Chun sighed.
Zhao YunRu also glanced at him like a puppy with puffy cheeks.
"What happened to Young Master Feng?"
"He feels like throwing up after he eats."
"Since when?"
"Since five years ago."
Feng Jia came back.
"Oi, muddlehead, you're good now?"
Feng Jia nodded.
Zhao YunRu looked deep in thought and he spoke again,"Five years ago means...the same time as the opening of the Hell's Barrier at Hyacinth Mountain? The first wiping of Clans."
All of them looked at him.
Yun Chun asked him,"What do you mean the first wiping of Clans?"
"All of a sudden, a cultivator with so many merits, one of the protectors of Hell's barrier opens a barrier and kills his own family, wiping out his own Clan along with one another Clan. Did you find any survivors of the Earth and Metal Clan after that?"
Yun Chun thought for a while and shook his head.
Feng Jia said, "Lei Hong, he survived from the Metal Clan."
Li Chao told Feng Jia,"He disappeared and his body was found during the end of that month."
"Yes. Isn't that like the situation right now? No one from the two Clans survived."
The three of them looked at each other with wide eyes.
At that very moment, a green coloured bird flew in from the window and sat on Zhao YunRu's shoulder.
He raised his palm and the bird sat there obediently.
"You are back, Little Green. Let brother check what message you have brought from your elder brothers."
Little Green flapped his wings and a paper came out of it. He read it keenly.
"What is it, Lord Zhao?"
Zhao looked at Yun Chun and said,"My elder brothers have detected the place where the element energy comes from. They want us to enter the Sect in disguise."
"Element energy?"
"Yes, the real Clan members have all died. You guys are the only last surviving members of the Clan. But citizens who had been relying on them haven't noticed. Not even the cultivators. Didn't you guys also walk in thinking all your family members were there?"
All three of them nodded.
"That's because there indeed are people with the elemental beads inside the Clans."
The looks on all of their faces changed.
Yun Chun was the first to speak.
"That means, they took out the beads of the Clan's people after killing them?"
Zhao YunRu nodded.
Feng Jia banged his palm on the table.
"Outrageous. Such scums."
"Truly heartless. To think that killing everyone was not enough, they cut out everyone's heart to get the bead."
Yun Chun asked him again,"But how did this matter reach to heaven?"
"It was quite well planned and wouldn't have been noticed if a God hadn't reported that he sensed different element beads in a single person. Only after that, our father found out that actual Clans have been wiped out and instead of them were the people who had taken their beads. Then he assigned these tasks to us brothers."
Li Chao asked,"I heard you found and saved us. How did you find us?"
"That was purely coincidental, you could say. Your bead energy attracted us. No matter how much you try, what isn't yours won't fit with you perfectly. Maybe because you guys are the only people left with your own bead. Your energy was very attractive which helped us track you guys, see what was going on and save you guys."
"Thanks to Lord Zhao, once again."
"Please don't mention it, Young Master Yun. It will be easy to work together since it's yours' Clan. Now let's discuss disguise."
Feng Jia asked,"Let's disguise ourselves as scholars. No one will suspect nerdy people."
"Aaaa, ummmm, actually you guys can't disguise yourselves as men. I'm sorry."
"Why so?"
"We're going inside the same Clan whose people had captured you. They probably have already speculated about your disguise in every possible way. So your disguise needs to be real and what they couldn't ever expect."
"Bro Lord Zhou, just tell us what it is."
"Women."
"Okay, women- wait what? WOMEN?"
Feng Jia looked horrified.
His two friends looked at Zhao YunRu with a perplexed and afraid face too.
Zhao YunRu looked at them with sympathetical smile on his face.
Yun Chun asked,"But won't we get checked if we're real human or not?"
Zhao YunRu smirked and said, "Yes, but we have a talented individual who has the potential to make it real."
Feng Jia looked at himself and asked with a puzzled expression. He leaned towards Zhao YunRu and asked,"And that would be?"
Zhao YunRu looked at his left and smiled at Li Chao.
He said,"Water Illustration."