Ashes Of Heaven Book 1 : Solar Calamity

"Guys, you two remember the script we've prepared, right? We can't afford to make a mistake, remember that. And boss, it's better if you don't say much. Let your underling do these miscellaneous jobs for you," Xuhan hissed to the two of them as they hurriedly rushed toward the mountain peak where the administration of missions was handled.

They had reached the sect just at daybreak, their boat stopping at a junction in the small tributary river near the sect's borders. After that surprisingly safe journey, their nerves were on tenterhooks. The three of them had run like the wind from there.

Han Xuhan had finally realized the real benefits of being a member of a sect. Cultivation resources and manuals that were usually glorified in typical xianxia stories were not the best things about a sect. It was the protection and the sense of united strength it offered that topped the rest of the benefits.

Where would he run to, screaming for help, if he did not have a badass sect to back him up?

Is this how those arrogant young masters feel when the protagonist chases them?

By the time they had reached the top of the mountain peak, the sky had become clear eastward, silhouettes of the endless plains and hilly terrain revealing themselves on the horizon, almost too unrealistically beautiful.

Looking at the eye-catching scene, Han Xuhan sighed. Who could guess that beneath that beautiful exterior, terrifying powers were running rampant?

The task administrators were active 24/7. So they easily found a senior disciple sitting inside the building where missions were assigned. He was either meditating serenely or dozing off on duty, it was hard to say.

After a few taps on the desk in front of him, he opened his eyes suddenly, looking a bit dazed.

"Hu-eh? Is my shift over? It still looks dark outside..."

"Senior brother, we are here to report about our mission," Han Xuhan said politely, interrupting his scattered musings.

"Mission details? You've finished your tasks?"

"...Sort of, yes."

"And you couldn't wait till sunrise to report it?" He asked with a sour expression.

"The task we were assigned to led to the discovery of a huge conspiracy, senior brother. The whole thing involves multiple powerhouses beyond the soul reformation realm, and I believe the authorities of the sect need to learn about the incident immediately. Or a calamity can happen anytime."

"..."

The room was silent for a long few moments as the senior disciple stared at the three of them in incomprehension. Then mumbling some unintelligible words, he stood up and gestured at the three of them to follow his lead.

Behind the building that dealt with the tasks and missions, there was a moderate-sized living quarter belonging to the elder in charge of administration. The senior disciple entered the lushly decorated house while the trio waited outside anxiously.

A few moments later, the senior disciple came out with a rather puzzled expression.

"The elder has ordered you to enter a few moments later so that he can compose himself. Give him the details as clearly as you can and don't hide anything...Or there will be consequences. "

But the three of them were running low on patience. Mu Ran pretty much forced his way in, and the senior disciple was still too sleepy to put up an effort to keep them outside.

The room that greeted their sight inside was not large, but it had all the equipments for comfort a cultivator could ask for. Thick rugs, cushions, a small hearthfire burning in a corner, a sturdy desk, a woman behind the curtains trying to sneak out through the window, beautiful paintings on the walls, a messy bed on which a familiar, handsome man sat with a dumbfounded expression on his face, his hands clutching a quilt over his lower half.

The elder must have been cultivating arduously...

What else can a man ask for?

Clearing his throat, Han Xuhan stepped forward, not giving him the time to recover from his shock.

"Elder Mu, good morning! I hope we haven't intruded at an inappropriate time!"

"...Nope!" Elder Mu said staunchly. "As you can see, I was sleeping hard on my bed, ALONE. You have intruded upon nothing!"

"I see," Han Xuhan said, his eyes locked onto the charming silhouette slipping outside the window in a manner that boasted of volumes of experience.

Would it be too inhumane if he exploited the elder over this little secret relationship?

Would it be feasible?

Would it be profitable?

An awkward cough from Yuen Zhou brought him back from a very dangerous line of thinking, and he quickly recounted their experiences to the elder smoothly, hiding what needed to be hidden.

When the elder heard the phrase 'purification process', which Xuhan had heard Qian Yun say under the control of Brother BB, his eyes narrowed into slits, his expression hardening. It was apparent that he had guessed what the process would result into.

Without batting an eyelid, Xuhan glossed over his own schemes and theories, crediting their escape to sheer luck and the power of friendship, making out Qian Yun to be a tragic hero who had struggled with the mind-controlling asshat Jin Tuyi to the bitter end, letting them take the chance to run away.

One could say that he had no reason to downplay his own contributions. But right now, Han Xuhan still hadn't let go of his suspicions that there might be a mole in the sect. Attracting useless attention right now was hardly a wise choice.

Besides, he felt pity for that puppetized guy. Declaring him to be an outright villain would leave a bad taste in his mouth. So Xuhan did his best to convince the elder that Qian Yun was mostly innocent.

Yuen Zhou and Mu Ran silently stood behind him, nodding and echoing his words from time to time. They had practiced their script half a dozen times. It went quite smoothly, and the elder's face looked extremely grave after hearing about the fate of Pine town and their guesses on the disappearance.

"I'll immediately inform all the elders and the sect master himself. Is there anything else I should know?"

His gaze bore into Xuhan's skull, making him suspect that the elder might have guessed that he was hiding some information. Swallowing hard, Han Xuhan tentatively threw out a hook he had been preparing for a while.

"Elder Mu, I'm not sure how to say this...but can you guarantee that I will not be penalized in any way if it's proven that I am an innocent person who got caught up in the other party's scheme and ended up in a compromising position?"

The elder's eyebrows shot upward as he crawled backwards on his bed, keeping a good hold on his quilt. Subtle qi fluctuations appeared around him.

"What have you done? " He asked gravely.

Han Xuhan nervously exchanged a glance with Yuen Zhou and Mu Ran.

"Elder Mu, while we were trying to advance past the circle of laws within that world fragment, my dao base was infiltrated by a strange influence that apparently works like a seal. It makes me permanent disciple of the Holy Land of Laws. I'm just afraid that it might affect my mind somehow and make me a threat to the sect."

From their discussions on the boat, Han Xuhan had understood that these types of infiltration were incredibly tough to remove. The texts had already become a part of his dao tower, forming an invisible, vaguely existent seal that even he could not detect.

Han Xuhan wanted these things gone, this infestation cut off from its roots. But when he had asked his martial siblings, both of them said that they weren't in a hurry to remove the seals on their own dao towers with the help of others. Although they hadn't stated anything explicitly, Han Xuhan read between the lines; these two secretive siblings of his did not want others snooping around their dao towers, not unless they fell into dire straits.

And this had provided him with the prime opportunity to farm some trust points. He had boldly volunteered to be the guinea pig, saying that he would ask the sect for help in removing the seal on his dao tower. If it turned out to be successful and safe, Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou could try it as well!

His plan to sacrifice himself had left his martial siblings looking quite touched, not that Han Xuhan thought of it as a sacrifice. Unlike his martial siblings, he had no huge secret to hide inside his body, mind, or soul. He didn't care about outsiders snooping around his dao tower so long as they managed to accomplish what he had asked from them.

It was a win-win situation for him either way. How could he not take the opportunity?

This was why he hid the fact that Mu Ran and Yuen Zhou's dao tower too had been inflitrated by the alphabets of the language of law.

Hearing his confession, the elder sighed with relief.

"Ah, even if it isn't something that I excel in, our sect master can probably fix it. Come, accompany me to the sect master's quarters. He can examine you."

Finally standing up from his previous awkward sitting posture, the elder removed the quilt from his lower body, revealing loosely worn trousers.

The three of them followed him as he rushed out of the room. While jogging down the mountain, the elder lightly coughed and turned to look at them.

"About what you saw in my room..."

"Don't worry elder Mu. We are all old enough to understand what was happening. You don't have to explain. In fact, if you ever need advice on how to have sneaky relationships, feel free to come chat with me. I can be considered somewhat of an expert on this," Mu Ran answered with an understanding smile.

"...Boss, I don't think Elder Mu was trying to say that," Han Xuhan whispered.

"What?" Mu Ran asked in puzzlement.

Han Xuhan sighed and returned the knowing look to Elder Mu who looked like he was about to explode.

"Elder, we definitely saw nothing inside your room. You were sleeping hard on your bed, ALONE. We did not see any woman slipping through the window, neither did we see you trying to hide your bone-"

"YES, THANK YOU!"

Nearly bursting out in fury, Elder Mu harrumphed and turned around, stomping his way to the sect master's residence.

The sect master, Xuan Zi, was thankfully awake and alone when they reached the mountain he lived on. It was one of the smallest mountains in the sect, nearly inconspicuous if one missed how meticulously the entire mountain had been given an artificial design. Every inch of the soil on it looked like it had been accounted for and placed there by someone with mild Obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Upon hearing that there might be a mysterious, powerful cultivator who had wiped everyone's memories of Pine town, along with the town itself, Xuan Zi's expression flickered for a moment. But it soon went back to its normal placid state, a perfect poker face.

"Children, you do not need to worry about any such threats reaching you as long as you reside within our sect. Our sect is not something any random powerful expert can steamroll over. Rest assured, even if they dare to show up with ill intentions, they will have to pass through me first."

Sect master Xuan Zi looked as tall as a mountain and as majestic as a titan as he spoke those words in an elegant fashion. Behind him, the rising crimson sun on the sky seemed to burn with the spirit of a red goliath in all of its glory. It was such a picturesque scene that it looked edited.

Sect master is so cool!

"Of course, if the enemy is more powerful than me, which is a valid possibility considering your descriptions, then we'll all end up being very, very, dead. So make sure to write down your wills and whatnot. I did mine decades ago," sect master Xuan Zi suddenly added as an afterthought, a very realistic remark that made Han Xuhan remember that this unnecessarily realistic cultivation world had a tendency to go the opposite way of the typical tropes halfway.

The sun behind Xuan Zi now looked more like a bloody flag signaling tragedy. His titanic aura was instantly reduced, becoming as fake as the mountain he lived on.

Han Xuhan's deep feeling of admiration was shredded brutally at that moment.