Long Shu Fen nodded but the movement was somewhat stiff. Tong Chen knew it and she naturally understood it as well: A traitor among the Elders of the Jian Chu Sect was the most likely reason for Zhi Guan’s bad feeling. Even if Tong Chen did her the favor of not saying so out loud, the thought would naturally come up on its own.

Thinking of the few Elders she still knew and then of the disciples of her own generation who had survived and might have become Elders … she still couldn’t think of a single one who could do such a thing. And imagining that somebody who had heard about how fierce that war back then had been and how harsh the losses had been, someone who might have seen all those people vanish from their lives while they were growing up … imagining that someone like that would betray their sect and the righteous side … that was even more impossible. So she hoped with all her heart that even though this was true in all likelihood that they were wrong nonetheless. Maybe just this once, the most likely answer wasn’t the right one.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, slowly shifting her thoughts away. When she opened her eyes again, that tension left her body even though there was a faint air of defeat about her. That simply wasn’t her sect any longer. Now, she could not deny it any longer.

“Yes, we’ve … prevented worse. It’s a good thing. We should probably return to continue helping. Who knows how things have developed in the border region by now?”

Even though she could travel fast, with going to all four sects and rushing back and forth, having to give the same information over and over again and waiting for the Sect Masters to make their decisions and the Elders to be informed, it still took a long time to deal with everything. In such an amount of time, a lot could have happened in the border region. They had to be ready for anything.

Zhi Guan next to her inclined his head and got to his feet. “Then we will take our leave.” He nodded at the Black Warrior, even though the other person might be unable to perceive it, and then turned to Blue Butterfly, waiting for her to open the dreamscape again so they could leave.

Long Shu Fen continued sitting on the ground, her expression still somewhat lost. She was the one who had suggested leaving now but … admittedly, she was in an odd state right now. If possible, she would have liked to simply sit there and meditate for a while to regain her calm and truly understand what was in her heart right now. Of course, it also might have helped if the other two were also with them so they could talk their issues through just like in the old times. It was a pity that she didn’t have this chance.

Sighing to herself, she finally got up. “Well, I’ll see you after the battle. Or … I suppose I might come to pick up Ah Qiang later.”

Tong Chen gave a hum but didn’t say anything else. Whether it was picking up Shang Qiang or surviving the battle, it was tough to say what the future would bring even for him. This battle … too much could change and none of them had the ability to truly change the outcome.

He fleetingly thought of Mei Chao Bing who seemed to be the focal point of all of this. His constitution was what would allow the demonic faction to pursue their plan but there was little chance for him to actually decide as they had grabbed onto his one weakness that he couldn’t get around. Was this … truly it?

The Black Warrior sank into deliberation as Blue Butterfly and Zhi Guan left, feeling as if he had overlooked something. He knew through his ability that all of this was connected to Mei Chao Bing. It made sense with everything that had happened but … why did it seem so odd now that he thought about it? Was all of this truly only hinging on the bloodline of the ancient Lin family? Or had they indeed missed something vital?

He tightly furrowed his brows, unable to shake the feeling that it was the latter. Was this his own intuition or had the apparently close call with the Jian Chu Sect simply made him paranoid? But then … if their previous guess was right and there was a traitor in the Jian Chu Sect as well or — even worse — there wasn’t just a single person but several of them who were still lurking in other places, then … the already precarious future was even more dangerous to their people.

Unfortunately, even if he was somehow able to uncover any of it, it wouldn’t be of help any longer. For some things, it was too late when you discovered them right before the battle. After all, even a single traitor had shaken the trust between the four sects five years ago and at that time, they had thought themselves at peace, one which would last for many decades or even centuries to come. Now, with the situation as it was, if a new traitor appeared among their people or was uncovered by one of them, it would shake the very foundation of their trust and collaboration. At that point, they’d simply play into the hands of the demonic faction.

Tong Chen suppressed a sigh and smoothed out his brows, not wanting to scare the young disciples who were gathered around. None of them dared to speak, obviously feeling how worrisome the current situation was. From now on, he was responsible for them. Of course, that mostly meant protecting them from physical harm but in his eyes, there was much more that ought to be protected. With disciples this young, you had to pay a little more attention.

Hopefully, Yan Jian Hong would come soon. His friend was definitely much better suited for such a task than him.