While Luo Lin was speaking to the younger disciples, Zhi Guan continued to walk through the corridor, his gaze trained on the ground. Finally, he stopped in the middle and leaned down, picking up a sword that had fallen to the ground.

Holding the weapon in his hands, his brows furrowed. This was Chai Hong’s sword. It was a slender blade, made for striking quickly. At the end of the black hilt hung a sword tassel. It started off in a knot with a striking white pearl below while the color of the tassel faded from blue at the top to violet at the bottom. He had overheard Chai Hong tell one of the other disciples on a mission that this tassel had been made by her best friend and given to her as a gift after she reached foundation establishment. Since then, it had always been with her, just like the sword her Master chose for her.

Zhi Guan’s thoughts on the meaning of a sword to a cultivator were certainly on the more extreme side. He also knew this. Many others didn’t follow the same ideas and he never spoke about them unless asked. He couldn’t be sure what Chai Hong’s thoughts were but … this weapon and this tassel had clearly meant a lot to her while she was still alive. They should be with her now that she had passed. Since he recognized the blade, he ought to bring it back to her.

He quietly held the sword with both hands and strode back into the hall, glancing at his third junior martial brother who was trying to cheer up the younger disciples before finally stopping in front of Chai Hong’s body. He looked at her for another moment and then knelt down, putting the sword back into her hands.

He felt a bit better seeing her reunited with her weapon but he also understood that in the end, it didn’t matter. She had still left, as had the other four from their sect, and they would never return. Being able to be buried with her weapon was at most a small consolation.

He … still wasn’t strong enough. Even at the nascent soul stage, he couldn’t protect everyone. His little junior was now in that state, these five disciples had lost their lives, and he knew very well that more would follow.

Zhi Guan raised his head, not wanting to look at Chai Hong any longer. The next battle would be the one in which they wouldn’t have to fight for real. Running away and using a ploy to deal with the other side … he would usually not feel good about this but the demonic faction was doing the same kind of thing or even worse by using his little junior to force Mei Chao Bing’s hands to help them. It was despicable, so why shouldn’t they react in like? Not to mention that this could preserve more lives on their side. With the advantages all being on the other side, they had to make some decisions they ordinarily wouldn’t. This was simply one of them.

He took a deep breath and lowered his head, his gaze brushing over the bodies of the disciples around him. If they blew up the building, these bodies would not stay intact. Especially since they were lying in the hall they had prepared. There was still enough time to carry them over to the final battlefield but … would it matter? Over there, the battle would be even harder and more chaotic than the previous skirmish in the corridor. Chances were that they might be caught in the crossfire there as well.

Zhi Guan felt unwilling. These people — whether it was their own disciples or those of the other sects — had fought bravely to hold back the demonic practitioners, to protect the younger disciples on their own side, and to make the world a safer place. They deserved for their bodies to stay intact after death. They shouldn’t have to be caught in an explosion or be collateral damage in another battle. They ought to be put to rest somewhere safe so their souls would be comforted and could be reincarnated.

He got to his feet, his gaze brushing over the rows one by one. They didn’t have the time or the manpower to bring them out of here but … somebody else might. And from what he had seen so far, he was sure that she would be willing to do it.

Turning around, Zhi Guan’s gaze landed on his third junior martial brother who seemed to have finished talking with the younger disciples. At the very least, the first few had somewhat perked up and were now slowly getting back to their feet, walking off in the direction of the Zhen Yan Sect’s people.

The others still seemed reluctant to move but after a few moments of looking at the backs of the other disciples they had been with, they also got going, leaving Luo Lin alone who got to his feet again.

Zhi Guan walked over, taking another look at his third junior martial brother. He still looked tired but since he had already reminded him and Luo Lin hadn’t taken the chance to rest, he knew that he wouldn’t for the time being. Well, it also made sense. In this situation, who felt comfortable doing so?

Luo Lin looked up at him and faintly raised his brows. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

Zhi Guan nodded. “Yes. Say … do you know how to get to the Jian Chu Sect?”

Luo Lin tilted his head, surprised that he would suddenly ask him such a question. “I do. I’ve been there once or twice in the past.” Once after a competition when the winning disciples invited him to come along and have a look and then another time after one of the rare missions he went on during which they met a group of people from the Jian Chu Sect. “Why do you ask?”

Zhi Guan glanced at the bodies again. “Could you … go there with Shen Lei and ask Blue Butterfly if she could come and get the bodies? I don’t feel comfortable leaving them here.”