At daybreak, the sound of hooves could be heard as spirit horses galloped away from East Stream Village.
The party had set out at first light, choosing not to stop by the village hall to bid farewell.
In the end, their stay here had not exactly been the happiest one.
Since they had already done their part, they no longer wanted to have anything to do with the villagers whom, to a large extent, they deemed undeserving to have received their help.
All they wanted to do right now was return to Purple Plum Mountain. That would mark the true completion of this sect mission, allowing them to finally stop thinking about it altogether.
Still, with their completion of the mission, the party's mood was definitely lighter on the way back.
For one, they no longer had to practise battle formations and discuss battle plans at every opportunity they had.
On top of that, not only had they spent more time together, but they had also become comrades in arms now. This was a bond that one could not forge through mere conversations.
Now that they knew each other better and no longer had the pressure of an impending battle limiting their interactions, their conversations became more comfortable than before, with jokes constantly being thrown into the mix.
Without the need to spend extra time on practice, the journey back naturally became faster as well.
Soon, a familiar building came into sight as they neared the midpoint of a mountain path.
It was the same unimpressive looking inn that they had stopped by on their way to East Stream Village.
The moment they saw the inn, the party members could not help but recall the memories from a week ago.
Back then, they had borne witness to an altercation between a young noble's entourage and a group of bandits.
While the bandits had been overbearing at first, it was the young noble's entourage that came up on top, completely subduing the bandits by the end of the fight.
"The carriage is still there," Gui Longcan commented as they got near.
It was the same exquisite looking horse carriage that they had seen before, likely belonging to the young noble's entourage.
Now that about a week had passed, it was rather surprising that the horse carriage was still there.
This meant that the young noble Hui Shajing was likely to have stuck around instead of moving on with his journey.
That would make sense if this was a bustling town or if there were beautiful sights to be admired, but what could possibly be the reason for remaining here in the middle of nowhere?
The party could not help but have a bad feeling about this.
"Shall we enter?" Pu Feixiang asked.
"Let's do that," Mo Mian nodded solemnly.
After tying up their spirit horses, the group slowly headed for the entrance.
The interior of the inn was largely the same as what they had remembered.
It would appear that the damages resulting from the fight with the bandits had been repaired, albeit in a crude manner.
The walls and flooring had been wiped clean of bloodstains. On the other hand, the tables and chairs had merely been given temporary fixes with wooden planks, hammered in to join back the broken parts.
Blade marks could still be seen all around, but at least these temporary fixes seemed to hold together well enough to serve the customers who were currently in the inn.
The party members were no strangers to these customers either.
As they had guessed, the young noble's entourage had remained in the inn even though a week had already passed since their last encounter.
The young noble Hui Shajing, his close aides Uncle Hei and Uncle Bai, along with the soldiers that accompanied them.
There were no other customers around, but there was still one other person whom the party members recognised.
The same waiter from back then hurried over the moment they entered the inn.
"We are not open today, hurry up and get on your way instead," the waiter leaned in close and whispered to them, at the same time trying to use his body to hide them from sight.
"You are not open?" Pu Feixiang raised an eyebrow before glancing past the waiter at the young noble's entourage within.
"I am doing this for your sake. Please don't ask so many questions and just leave!" the waiter quickly added, though he was still making sure to suppress his voice.
"Are you all right?" Pu Feixiang asked.
The waiter's anxious emotions were so obvious right now that he might as well have written it on his face.
"What's wrong? Are you chasing your guests away simply because we are here?" Hui Shajing's voice came from behind the waiter at this moment. "How considerate of you, but please don't do that. We are generous people who like sharing, so do let them in."
The waiter jumped a little upon hearing his voice, but let out a sigh of resignation soon after.
"I tried to warn you, but it is too late now..." the waiter shook his head helplessly. "Come in then."
As he led the party members to an empty table, Hui Shajing and his entire entourage kept their eyes fixed on them throughout.
"How surprising to see you again," Hui Shajing said with a smile right after they sat down. "Bring them the best food and drinks you have – my treat."
"We appreciate the gesture, Young Noble Hui. However, there is no need for that. We prefer to pay for our own food instead," Mo Mian answered.
"This..." the waiter hesitated, not knowing what to do next.
"Wow, I sure didn't expect you to actually remember my name!" Hui Shajing revealed a look of surprise, ignoring the waiter's awkward response. "This only proves that there is fate between us, which is all the more reason for me to treat you to some refreshments! There is no need to be too uptight about it. After all, I did earn quite a fortune recently and can easily afford this much."
As he spoke, Hui Shajing raised a pendant from his table.
It held an elegant red ruby the size of a baby's hand – one that turned the light that fell upon it into beautiful crimson rays. The pendant was attached to a glittering gold chain, slim enough to make it light, yet still thick enough to be of significant value simply by virtue of its weight.
"What do you think? Pretty, isn't it?" Hui Shajing asked with a smile. "I took it from those dirty bandits whom you saw last time."
"It is a beautiful item that has finally landed itself in the hands of someone who actually deserves it," Uncle Hei added from beside him.
The waiter shuddered the moment the bandits were brought up, and Zhao Yunxiao did not let that get past him.
While it might be normal to be somewhat nervous around Hui Shajing's entourage because of their status and power, the waiter's reaction showed a little too much fear.
After all, the other party had never done anything to harm him.
Zhao Yunxiao slowly and carefully scanned the room.
The interior of the inn might look rather clean, but dried bloodstains remained on the clothes of the soldiers.
Of course, that was natural considering the fact that they did experience a fierce battle with the group of bandits.
But what made it especially strange was that just about everyone in the young noble's entourage started to smirk upon the mention of the bandits.
There was definitely something amiss about this atmosphere.
Perhaps something happened in their absence – something that made the waiter truly afraid of the young noble's entourage.
"I remember that five of the bandits fell in your hands after the fight last time," Mo Mian said. "May I ask where they are now?"
The waiter jumped again upon hearing this. He was starting to break into a cold sweat just by standing there and listening to their conversation.
"Beautiful pendant, isn't it?" Hui Shajing chose to focus his attention on the pendant in his hands instead. "If one is not aware, they might even mistake the red ruby for the crystallisation of blood. If they have seen what fresh blood looks like when flowing out in large amounts, that is."
"What are you trying to say?" Pu Feixiang cut in.
"Your attitude is not appreciated," Uncle Hei interjected as well. "The young noble is not someone whom you can speak to in that manner."
"And you believe that you are someone who can speak to me in this manner?" Pu Feixiang retorted.
"Haha, relax, gentlemen," Hui Shajing chuckled. "Don't worry, I allowed the bandits to return to their hideout. But if you wish to know what happened to them after that, I'm afraid you would have to head over there and find out for yourselves."
"And where would that be?" Gui Longcan asked.
"Ah, that I forgot," Hui Shajing revealed a look of shock before turning to Uncle Hei. "Where is it again? Do you remember?"
"I'm afraid I forgot as well, Young Noble," Uncle Hei shook his head.
"Tch! What good is there to keep you around if you can't even remember something as simple as this?" Hui Shajing revealed a look of irritation. "My apologies, we kind of forgot where it is. It is not our hideout, after all."
"Are you playing games with us?" Pu Feixiang furrowed his brows.
"It is nothing but the truth, but I guess I can understand why you would misunderstand," Hui Shajing sighed.
"Young Noble Hui promised to spare the lives of the remaining bandits and let them go after they reveal the location of their hideout," Mo Mian said. "I'm sure Young Noble Hui is a man of your words."
"I try to be," Hui Shajing shrugged nonchalantly. "However, I have to admit that I am only human. People do get on my nerves sometimes."
"Is your daughter all right?" Mo Mian suddenly asked the waiter.
"Y-Yes, she is doing well," the waiter nervously answered. "I just told her to stay at the back and not disturb the customers today."
"That's good to hear. Go prepare some light dishes and drinks, we will pay for ourselves," Mo Mian let out a sigh of relief before instructing the waiter, no longer able to bear seeing how uncomfortable he was.
"Y-Yes, sir," the waiter hurried into the kitchen upon receiving the instructions.
"How unappreciative of my kind gestures," Hui Shajing shook his head in disapproval. "And here I was, thinking that I would thank you for making things so much easier for me previously."
"It is a personal creed. I hope you understand," Mo Mian answered with a smile.
"I guess it can't be helped then. So be it," Hui Shajing chuckled before turning back to his food and drinks.
There were no further interactions between the two groups apart from the occasional exchange of glances.
In fact, there was not much interaction even among the members of the party.
The members silently had their food and drinks, leaving shortly after their arrival.
They did not say a word about the mission, the nervous looking waiter, or even the smug young noble and his entourage.
This was a far cry from the joyous atmosphere surrounding the party upon leaving East Stream Village, but it was not without reason either.
"Leaving already?" Hui Shajing remarked with a smile. "May we meet again if fate decrees."
"Farewell, Young Noble Hui," Mo Mian nodded in response before exiting the inn. "And I agree with you on this. We will meet again if fate decrees. Who knows? It might be sooner than we think."
Hui Shajing narrowed his eyes at this response, but did not probe further.
Upon leaving the inn, the party members simultaneously looked towards Mo Mian while fetching their spirit horses.
"I know, it is time for a little detour," Mo Mian nodded, as though able to read everyone's thoughts. "Let's look for this hideout that they speak of. If they have indeed made good of their words, so be it. But if they haven't, then perhaps some punishment is in order."
The party members finally revealed smirks of their own upon hearing this – an expression that was nigh identical to the ones that the young noble's entourage had shown while Hui Shajing was taunting them earlier.
It was then that Zhao Yunxiao suddenly broke away from the group.
Under their curious gazes, Zhao Yunxiao slowly walked over to the exquisite horse carriage parked outside the inn and skilfully plucked a hair from a horse's mane. His actions were swift to the point of being almost undetectable, not drawing any sort of response even from the horse itself.
With a smile on his face, he walked back to the group while holding up the long strand of hair.
"It's time to do some tracking then," Zhao Yunxiao said with a confident smile.
He did not know about the members of the Mystic Cavalry, but as someone who had been going on regular hunting trips, Zhao Yunxiao was rather confident in his ability to track down a target.
If they wanted to find out where the hideout was, the most straightforward method was to follow the traces of the carriage to find out where they had visited in the past.
After all, it was rather unlikely that the young noble would not want to personally see what lay in the hideout.
This would have been a difficult task if a long time had passed or if the target had deliberately hidden their traces, but neither was the case here.
Not to mention the fact that the altercation only happened a week ago, but they were also dealing with ordinary mortals.
As long as there were no unexpected complications, finding the hideout should not be a problem whatsoever!