A family of three sat around a table in their home. The atmosphere was heavy, and no one spoke; they ate in silence, looking depressed or lifeless. A young girl with brown eyes, long yellow hair, and a taller-than-average stature sat with her head down.
"Your grandfather is coming today, so tell him exactly what you told us. Don't add or omit anything. Do you understand?" said a rough-looking man with short green hair and round brown eyes to the girl beside him.
"Remember not to say anything other than what he asks of you, Chen Huan. You don't want him to get mad." cautioned a frail-looking woman with long silky yellow hair.
"Yes, Father, Mother, I understand." Chen Huan replied nonchalantly. She had been excited to hear that her grandfather wanted to see her and had sent someone to fetch her from the Ma tribe's residence where she was staying. However, she eventually learned that Chen Yan had disappeared and hadn't returned home for a few days.
'They lied. Grandfather didn't want to meet me; Mother just wanted to make sure I was okay. When I told Father where I last saw Chen Yan, he probably informed Grandfather. Did she disappear at the same time I last saw her? Even in her disappearance, she causes me trouble. Father didn't even care when I told him about the unmoving elder tree and what Chen Yan did. He even told me never to mention it to Grandfather.' she thought, her emotions fluctuating. She ended up not saying anything else to her parents.
The rest of the meal was spent in silence as the heavy atmosphere returned. Chen Huan was used to this by now, but she still felt uncomfortable every time she sat with her family like this. The atmosphere finally changed once more when they heard a voice.
"Chen Huan, my precious granddaughter, where are you?" The deep, clear voice was unmistakable to them.
"Greetings, Father/Grandfather." they said in unison to the old man with emerald eyes and short green hair. He was dressed in a silk green robe that signified his wealth and status in the tribe.
"Haha, be at ease. I'm here today to hear what little Huan has to say regarding her cousin's situation." the old man said dismissively, taking the main seat in the room.
"Yes, Grandfather. As Father mentioned, the last time I saw Chen Yan was five days ago on the border between us and the Ma tribe. She was in a peculiar situation. She and her team were fighting a green bat, and near them was an unmoving elder tree." Her father glared at her when he heard this, but she didn't elaborate further, making him sigh in relief.
"I guessed they were on a mission, but I don't think so anymore. They were probably trapped by the unmoving elder tree and couldn't escape, so they had to fight the green bat." her grandfather interrupted.
"Why do you think they weren't on a mission?" he asked.
"When I mentioned this to Father and how Chen Yan killed the green bat, he said if they were on a mission, Chen Yan would have used a different method to preserve the corpse of the beast." she said hesitantly.
'This dumb child, why do you have to mention me? Can't you take some credit and make your grandfather more interested in you again?' Chen Huan's father thought, cursing his daughter's perceived uselessness.
"Hmm... I see. Continue." her grandfather said.
"Yes, after I saw her, one of my team members and I went to help them. After ensuring they were okay, we left. That was the last time I saw Chen Yan, Grandfather." she finished.
"Hmm... five days ago? That's the last time we heard from her too. So, according to you, the last people who saw her were her team members?" he asked.
"Yes, Grandfather. We left them alone after that, so they should know something." Chen Huan replied.
"Then I will go and interrogate them personally. I don't trust anyone else to do it." he said, standing up and leaving immediately without another word. Chen Huan gritted her teeth in silence, sadness and anger enveloping her.
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Chen Ning thought to himself on his way to the Ma Tribe. 'She was speaking as if she and Chen Yan were the best of friends. I know she didn't tell me the full story. Chen Song must have told her not to mention anything that would make me angry, so she wouldn't say anything even if I pressured her.'
He continued to mull over the situation. 'But Chen Yan's team members should know something. According to Lin Lou, they waited two days and then reported that Chen Yan hadn't shown up for the past three days. Indeed, they hadn't taken any missions during that time, but what Chen Huan said contradicts this.'
His thoughts raced, and he quickened his pace, feeling increasingly anxious about his granddaughter's situation. Even though he didn't want to admit it, he knew deep down that the chances of her being alive were almost zero. Nonetheless, he was determined to do everything in his power to find out what had happened to his precious granddaughter.
When he arrived at the Ma Tribe, he went straight to Ma Ru Da, the academy elder, and informed him of his findings. Ru Da then ordered someone to fetch Ma Xiao and Shui Chun. It took some time, as Shui Chun was in the farthest territory of the Shui Clan, but eventually, both of them were seated in a room with Chen Ning, alone.
"My name is Chen Ning; you should recognize it." he said, smiling at the two youths. "You must know why you are here, right?" he asked.
"Esteemed Elder, we said everything we kno—" Before Ma Xiao could finish speaking, Chen Ning slapped him across the face.
"Did I permit you to speak?" he said angrily, making Shui Chun feel even more nervous than she already was.
"I-I'm sorry, Esteemed Elder." Ma Xiao said, lowering his head.
"Listen to me carefully. I already know what you told the academy elders, and I don't want to hear that nonsense. You do know that Chen Huan is Chen Yan's cousin, don't you?" he said plainly, leaving the implication hanging.
Ma Xiao's thoughts raced. 'Damn it! What did she tell him? Is it something about us? But why would she even care? Chen Yan tried to kill her. Why would she want to help her? Or is she trying to take revenge on us for not helping her back then? What do I say?' He grew more nervous, while Shui Chun was in an even worse state, starting to sweat profusely.
"Your name is Shui Chun, right? Tell me what happened the last time you saw Chen Yan." Chen Ning asked, his timing precise.
"Ah... I-I'm so sorry, Esteemed Elder! Please spare my life. It was Ma Xiao's idea and... and I only did it to save my life. Please, Esteemed Elder, spare my life!" Shui Chun couldn't take it anymore and fell to the ground, begging for mercy, which left both Chen Ning and Ma Xiao with a bitter feeling.
'We're screwed. This bitch!' Ma Xiao cursed silently.
"What? My idea, you liar—" he began, but Chen Ning interrupted him.
"Silence! Calm down and explain yourself, child!" Chen Ning said firmly, making Shui Chun stop her whimpering and speak more coherently. Ma Xiao remained silent, his expression grim.
"Y-Yes, Esteemed Elder. It all started when Chen Yan told us she had information about the location of a certain Gu worm. She said it was rank two and that if we helped her get it, she would reward us handsomely. She claimed the Gu worm was with a certain type of bat beast. At first, I thought it was impossible to get, but she said the Gu worm wasn't inside the beast's body for some reason. I didn't understand why, but she had no reason to lie to us, so we agreed to help her." Shui Chun began to explain.
"We started searching for it among the rank one bat beasts whose locations we knew. When we didn't find it, Chen Yan finally revealed there was one more place we hadn't searched. When we went there, we found it—a metallic green wasp sitting alone. But disaster struck. The bat beast we stole from was a rank two, and it immediately returned when we took the Gu worm."
"We tried to escape, but we couldn't outrun the rank two beast. Chen Yan started acting strangely. Despite our earnest pleas, she refused to abandon the Gu worm to save our lives. Then..." She looked at Chen Ning hesitantly.
"Speak!!" Chen Ning shouted angrily, his expression grim.
"Then Ma Xiao and I chose to separate from her, as the beast wasn't after us but the Gu worm..." Shui Chun continued, trying to explain herself, but Chen Ning's mind went blank.
He stayed silent for a moment longer, then asked. "Where?"
"...At the border...of the Ma Tribe and the Desolate Desert..." Shui Chun didn't understand, but Ma Xiao answered instead.
"Where is the bat beast now?" Chen Ning asked.
"I don't know, but it should be close to the border too." Ma Xiao said after a pause. "It was a rank two wingless bat."
Chen Ning remained silent, showing no emotion as he closed his eyes and sank into thought. He was now almost certain about what had happened to his genius granddaughter, but he didn't dare say it out loud.
After a while, he informed Ru Da about what they had told him. He wasn't going to bother with punishing them; that was the job of the academy elders. Leaving it to them, he set off for the location Ma Xiao had described.