Xue Yang sees that the three men are walking to the larger group. The bald man and the newly joined man are walking in the front. Deng Jianhua, on the other hand, walked behind the two.
Xue Yang wanted to know what would happen to Deng Jianhua next.
'But I couldn't risk my life to only know about that.'
Xue Yang can sense that there are many people in their group. The chance for him to get found is higher with more people.
'Also, they said they are from the Sword of the Verdant Shadow.'
Xue Yang feels he has heard about this sect everywhere these last few weeks.
'What should I do now? Is it better to go away?'
Xue Yang decided to go away from this place. Deng Jianhua is a stranger to him. There is no reason for Xue Yang to meddle in.
*ping*
[Mandatory Quest (Active Quest)
Objective: Save Deng Jianhua from his death
Time limit: 3 hours
Reward: -
Punishment: You get teleported in front of the group from the Sword of the Verdant Shadow]
Hearing the system sound, Xue Yang's heart is beating fast. When he checked what was written, he wanted to curse. As soon as he decided not to care about the man, something like this comes.
'Also, what is with the reward? None?'
This is the second time Xue Yang got [Mandatory Quest]. But somehow, Xue Yang can understand something about [Mandatory Quest].
'The reward for this kind of quest is always low. The punishment, on the other hand, is too big of a price. I can't let myself be found by that group. Especially as they have a stage three Cultivator.'
Xue Yang keeps hiding. He formulates what he should do. He thinks about a possible way to save Deng Jianhua.
***
Inside the temporary base of Sword of the Verdant Shadow.
The temporary base for the group is located in a somewhat big clearing area. There is no big tree in this place, and tents are standing in an orderly manner.
Outside of a tent, many disciples are circling Cao Guanting. Those disciples are called by the group leader to assemble in this place.
Cao Guanting sits in a chair. She has only woken up for a few minutes.
Cao Guanting still looked pale. She lost a sizeable portion of blood in her body. But other than that, she didn't look any different. The injury on her stomach has also been closed, thanks to medicinal pills.
"Do you remember what happened last night?" asked the group leader, the bald man toward Cao Guanting
Cao Guanting shakes her head, "No…."
She then looked at Deng Jianhua, and her eyes started to moisten. The story that she heard from other disciples plays in her mind again. Remembering it, Cao Guanting can't help but feels sad.
She heard that she got stabbed in the stomach when she was asleep. Cao Guanting is still in the first stage of cultivation. She still needs to sleep every day.
Not only that, but she also heard that the sword that stabbed her was Deng Jianhua's. She didn't believe that Deng Jianhua was the one that stabbed her. After all, he is…
"Brother Hua…," said Cao Guanting. "Did- Did you-"
"Tingting, no… I didn't do it. Believe me," said Deng Jianhua. His voice is shaky.
Cao Guanting looked around. Many fellow disciples are looking at the two of them. Her eyes started to drop the tears that she held.
The people around didn't believe any word that Deng Jianhua said. They are all suspecting that he was the one that stabbed Cao Guanting.
A female disciple said, "Group leader. I think this incident was caused by him."
"That is right. There is no other thing that can prove otherwise," said another female disciple. She was the one that helped in healing Cao Guanting.
Group Leader Li raised his right hand. He signaled to other disciples to stop voicing their opinion.
He then asked Cao Guanting again, "Cao Guanting, you really didn't remember it?"
"Group leader Li… I- I don't remember it."
"Are you sure? What did you do before sleeping?"
Cao Guanting recalled something. She is embarrassed but feels that it is better to talk about it. She said, "I remember something. I was awake in the middle of the night to… To go to the bathroom."
"Then she was still alright before the day changed," a murmur can be heard from the crowd.
A female disciple that helped Cao Guanting said, "That is right, the injury was still fresh when I found Cao Guanting. She should have only been stabbed near the morning."
The bald group leader nodded his head. He then turned to Deng Jianhua.
"Deng Jianhua, what did you do last night?"
"I trained at the allocated places," replied Deng Jianhua.
Other than the tents, there are empty lands in the temporary base. A disciple can use that open land to train when the group is not moving.
Last night, Deng Jianhua trained all night until the sun rises from the east. He wanted to keep his body perfect for the task today.
"Is there anyone here who can testify his word?"
The crowd looked at each other. Last night, everyone was busy with their own thing. Many trained, others rested.
After a few seconds of quiet, a young man raised his hand. That man is Deng Jianhua's friend, Zhang Luoyang.
Zhang Luoyang said, "I noticed that Deng Jianhua trained last night. I was training at the nearby place."
Deng Jianhua and Zhang Luoyang are not far in the cultivation stages. It is not rare for them to get grouped. This is also why Zhang Luoyang was assigned a training place near Deng Jianhua's.
"But I didn't know if he trained until the morning comes," added Zhang Luoyang.
"Then, that didn't remove any suspicion toward Deng Jianhua," someone remarked.
"That is right! He can stop training before stabbing Cao Guanting in the morning."
"Just cripple him already. Is that not the sect rule?"
Group leader Li feels his head hurt. This is the first time he get into a situation like this. Based on the sect rules, Deng Jianhua should get his cultivation base crippled before getting removed from the sect.
But group leader Li can't help but feels something is weird.
"Deng Jianhua, did you train using your sword?" asked group leader Li.
Deng Jianhua shakes his head, "No, I trained my body last night."
"Then where did you store your sword?"
The group leader then keeps asking Deng Jianhua.
***
Xue Yang, on the other hand, is still waiting on the perimeter of the temporary base. Time is ticking, but there doesn't seem to be any movement from the camp.
'What should I do? I can't charge to their base alone.'