It was her good luck that both Elders from the Jian Chu Sect currently weren’t on duty. Otherwise, it might have been an issue to speak to them. This way, it would only look like she was discussing her own role with her sect members or maybe specifics of what had happened when they went to the Jian Chu Sect, not like she was about to reveal some big secret or trying to sniff out a traitor. Well, maybe right now, the other sects wouldn’t care either. They had their own problems, after all.

When the Elders of the Jian Chu Sect saw Blue Butterfly approaching them, they also never would have thought why she was looking for them. They figured she might simply feel awkward after not having been out for so long and wanted to discuss more with them.

Elder Meng smiled faintly and got up to greet her. “Guardian.” He wanted to ask how things were in the Jian Chu Sect but finally thought better of it. She had gone there just now to ask for reinforcements. She probably hadn’t spoken to the others much and even if she did, it would have been about the upcoming fight. It was needless to say that everyone should be worried.

Long Shu Fen nodded and motioned for him to sit back down, also taking a seat. Just like him, she wasn’t sure where to begin. Asking about how they were doing in the border region seemed wrong considering the circumstances. Not to mention what she was about to say. Was any kind of small talk justified in this situation?

She took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled. This really wasn’t easy. She wasn’t the diplomatic type like Yan Jian Hong and Tong Chen. She was the type who asked directly and in this case, she knew even less how to bring this up in a delicate way.

Looking from one Elder to the other, she smiled wryly before her expression turned solemn again. She definitely didn’t want them to think she was joking. “Do you think there is a traitor in our sect?”

“What?” Elder Meng’s smile collapsed and he blinked his eyes, looking as if he was one step away from rubbing his ears to make sure he had heard her right.

Long Shu Fen took in his expression and also kept an eye on Elder Cai but he didn’t seem any less surprised. Well, if it wasn’t because either of them was the traitor and wondered how they had suddenly been exposed … it seemed they hadn’t thought of this possibility any more than she had.

She couldn’t tell if she should be relieved about that. It would be good if there was nothing but if there was … well. She lowered her gaze and took another deep breath before raising her head. “It occurred to me when we went to the four sects to ask for reinforcements: We need everyone’s help to win this battle but to do so, we have to expose our plan in detail to the Sect Masters and all Elders. What if there is another case like that Elder Feng from the Teng Yong Sect? What if the person is even more deeply hidden than him? What if they are in our sect?”

By now, she was almost sure that this was the case but she didn’t dare to say so outright. There was no proof, not even any circumstantial evidence she could point at. Zhi Guan’s intuition alone would count for nothing so she could only present this as a faint possibility even if that meant the Elders might not take her considerations seriously.

“If this were true … what should we do?” She asked this last question and then looked at the Elders again, waiting for them to think this through. She had already had time to come to terms with this idea. Now, they had to or it would be impossible to discuss this.

Elder Cai had already furrowed his brows as she explained her idea. With Long Shu Fen not speaking any longer, he used the opportunity to directly reject it. “There wouldn’t be anyone like that in our Jian Chu Sect.”

Elder Meng next to him also frowned but his stance was a lot more cautious. “I am sure the Teng Yong Sect thought the same back then.”

Long Shu Fen nodded. She probably hadn’t done a stellar job at explaining but this was her thought process as well. “He was exposed by accident from what I’ve heard and they’ve taken pains to investigate thoroughly and would have discovered any additional traitors because of that. But nobody likes to question themselves so I’m afraid the same doesn’t go for our sect or the Li Ren and Zhen Yan Sect.

“I’m not at liberty to bring it up to them but I can speak to the two of you and suggest this as a possibility. I am not saying there definitely are traitors in our sect but … the demonic faction has been planning this for a long time. They managed to sneak someone into one of the four great righteous sects and helped him become an Elder and accept generations of disciples with many reaching high levels and positions themselves.

“If they can do it once, who says they can’t do it a second time? And why wouldn’t they? This way, they’d know exactly what was going on in which sect or figure out if we’re onto them, when the right time to initiate their plan is, and who to look out for as a threat. I don’t mean to dramatize anything but they’d be stupid not to do it if they have the chance. And clearly, it has been there.”

Elder Cai still didn’t want to agree. “All our Elders are upstanding people. I don’t think it is alright to suspect them just because of such a theory.”

Elder Meng’s attitude had fully shifted to Blue Butterfly’s side though. “Even though it isn’t something we should do … it is still something we will have to do due to our circumstances. It pains me just as much as it pains you but there is no way around it. At this point, if we don’t think carefully, it’ll be the upstanding people of our sect who will suffer. Can we truly risk that just because we don’t want to show any suspicion?”