Chapter 123: 123
"WHERE IS HE?" Looking at the last trace of footprints before they disappeared, Cang Yue couldn't help but shout at the top of her lungs, but what she received in return was absolute silence.
Both Lin Yue and Xiao Ruolan were looking around, hoping to find any clue, but in the end, it was all for nought. It was as if he had suddenly disappeared out of thin air.
The three of them kept on searching for a good while, but in the end were still unable to find him.
"So..." Patting the dust off her hands, Lin Yue raised an eyebrow. "What are we going to do next?"
"Do you want to finish the mission first, or do you want to search for him?"
"Search for him, of course." Cang Yue replied without even batting an eye. What a joke, what kind of question was that? To her, the importance of Yang Ze was far beyond anything. She was even willing to sacrifice her position as a saintess as well as Grand Elder of the Sword Sect if needed for Yang Ze.
"....." Lin Yue didn't move but quietly looked at the woman in front of her with an expressionless face.
She wanted to say something, but was hesitating on whether to speak or not. But in the end, she couldn't hold it any longer.
"What is it about him that makes you act like this?" Her words stunned Cang Yue, who was still trying to find any traces of Yang Ze, but she didn't pay any attention to them. She just pretended not to hear the question and continued her search.
"I mean, I know he looks extraordinary. Hell, he is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. But I doubt the Saintess of the Duality Sect, who had seen all kinds of splendours and sights, would be head over heels for someone just because of their appearance."
"Tell me, Cang Yue..." Lin Yue's voice turned increasingly solemn. "Why are you so fixated on him?"
"I have seen you act around him and how nervous you get when it comes to his safety."
"And don't tell me that love at first sight crap."
"I am not naive enough to believe that someone like you would fall in love with someone like him just because of his appearance."
"....." Listening to her constant chattering, Cang Yue's body, which was looking around with her back facing Lin Yue, stiffened for a moment before she slowly turned around, speaking in a cold voice.
"Whether I love him or not, it is none of your damn concern. I don't need to answer to you."
"Either help me find him or get lost. No one needs you here."
Her words were blunt and direct. Till now, she had been tolerating this bitch because of the Heavenly oath, but now... Now with Yang Ze missing, she couldn't care less about this bitch's feelings.
"Then good luck." Were it before, Lin Yue would have gritted her teeth and endured it. After all, she needed her help to go against the Blue Faced tribe. But now...
Now that she had managed to reach the 5th Vein Expansion realm, whereas this bitch Cang Yue was still at the 4th Vein Expansion realm, she didn't need to bear it any longer. If she wanted, she could flatten this bitch in an instant. She could go and take care of the Blue Faced tribe on her own. After all, the leader of the Blue Faced tribe was someone in the 5th Vein Expansion as well.
For a while, she was even beginning to regret taking the heavenly oath. Otherwise, she would have taught this bitch a painful lesson.
"....." Looking at her departing back, Cang Yue simply raised an eyebrow before focusing back on her surroundings to find anything that she might have overlooked.
...
"Don't you think you acted a bit extreme?" Following Lin Yue, Xiao Ruolan couldn't help but complain. She didn't think Lin Yue would be this stupid to sour the relationship with the only person who could help them in this mission.
"Extreme?" Lin Yue almost laughed in anger. "I think I was rather polite."
"You..." Xiao Ruolan wanted to say something, but in the end, held back. She didn't know what this woman was thinking, but since she had already spoken, there was nothing she could do. Now she could only hope that they would somehow find Yang Ze. Otherwise...
Shaking her head, she rid her mind of those distracting thoughts before asking in the same emotionless, cold voice.
"Where are we going to look for him now?" With these words, her eyes darted around, hoping to find some traces of Yang Ze, but Lin Yue's next words surprised her.
"Find him for what?" Lin Yue just let out a sneer. "Wasn't he getting all chummy and friendly with that bitch? Let her search for him."
"Wait a second..." Xiao Ruolan's eyes widened in disbelief as she looked at Lin Yue's dissatisfied expression.
"You are jealous?"
"What... what the hell are you talking about?" Lin Yue almost jumped in anger. What was this bitch even thinking about? Getting jealous? Over what?
"Oh my god!" Xiao Ruolan's cherry lips opened in the shape of an 'o' as her ruby-like red eyes gazed towards Lin Yue in disbelief.
"You really are jealous."
"..." For a moment, Lin Yue wanted to punch this bitch in the face. But thinking about how she was her childhood friend and the closest person still alive, she held back before letting out a cold snort.
"Hmph!"
Ignoring Xiao Ruolan's exaggerated reaction, she continued on her path towards the inner section of the forest.
"Wait a second, where are you going?" It was only now that Xiao Ruolan noticed that they had already walked into the territory of the Blue Faced tribe. She just couldn't understand what Lin Yue was trying to accomplish.
"Isn't it obvious?" Lin Yue replied while looking ahead of her. "I am going to take care of the Blue Faced tribe."
"Huh!?" Xiao Ruolan couldn't help but rub her ears, wondering if there was something wrong with them.
"What did you say?" She asked again, just to make sure.
"I said..." This time, Lin Yue directly faced Xiao Ruolan while gazing deeply into her eyes with a straight face.
"I AM GOING TO TAKE CARE OF THE BLUE FACED TRIBE."
The moment she finished speaking, she released the pressure of someone at the peak of the Vein Expansion realm, making Xiao Ruoaln's eyes wide with shock.
"Heh." Looking at the shock on Xiao Ruolan's face that was usually devoid of any emotion, Lin Yue couldn't help but let out a smug smile. She wasn't worried about revealing her strength to her. She had known her for all her life and could trust her with everything.
"This... You... How?" Xiao Ruolan kept stammering while trying to come up with proper words to speak. She looked shocked as to why her seemingly normal friend managed to go from the 2nd Vein Expansion to the 5th Vein Expansion realm in a matter of days.
"Like I said..." With a smile, Lin Yue gazed deeply in the direction of the Blue Faced tribe's location.
"I will take care of them."
Without waiting for her to reply, she calmly walked in the direction of the Blue Faced tribe.
Xiao Ruolan, on the other hand, quietly gazed at her back in silence for a while without any expression on her face. The earlier shock, awe, surprise and envy disappeared in the instant Lin Yue turned around, like they were never there.
Her narrowed eyes first looked in the direction of the Blue Faced tribe base and then in the direction where Cang Yue was still searching around for Yang Ze.
She then slowly raised her finger before gently tapping the air.
Her actions were so insignificant that one wouldn't even notice them unless one paid a great deal of attention.
Back at the place where Yang Ze's last traces disappeared, Cang Yue was still looking around in frustration. She was beginning to blame herself for leaving him behind. For a moment, she even wanted to slap herself for running her mouth.
If he didn't want to kill, she shouldn't have forced him to. As Xiao Ruolan said, there was no need to force him to do something against his will. If there were people who deserved death, then she would kill them. He doesn't need to know... He doesn't need to kill... After all, he wasn't like her or any other person she had ever seen in her life. He was pure of heart. Carrying with him goodness that had long since faded from this world.
"I won't force you to do something like this again. Just tell me where you are." She couldn't help but mutter to herself. And just when she was getting desperate, the bushes in front of her rustled before going still.
"Huh!?" For a moment, Cang Yue almost thought that she was seeing things. But how could a powerhouse in the 4th Vein Expansion realm have hallucination? She definitely saw the bush rustle.
Narrowing her eyes, she simply waved her hand, hitting the bush with her internal energy, completely crushing the leaves into powder.
And the moment the leaves from the bushes disappeared, she finally saw what she was looking for. On the ground were traces of Yang Ze's footsteps along with a small wooden token that had "Blue Faced" carved upon it.
It only took an instant for Cang Yue to realise what had happened as her expression turned terrifyingly calm. But anyone who knew her would understand just how angry she was. She didn't speak a word, but simply picked up the token and directly rushed in the direction of the Blude Headed tribe's base.
Though she didn't show any expression, one could clearly hear her anxious heartbeat.
She knew just what kind of crazies were in the Blue Faced Tribe. She didn't dare to imagine what they would do with Yang Ze if they saw his true appearance. In that case, death would be the least of his worries.
"Please be safe." Perhaps for the first time in her life, she was praying for the safety of another person.
The moment Cang Yue rushed towards the Blue Faced tribe, Xiao Ruolan exhaled a mouthful of air before leisurely following Lin Yue, who similarly was making her way towards the tribe.
---------------
While the three women were rushing towards the Blue Faced tribe, the situation in the tribe was rather calm.
Years of living like this had made them lax.
They could steal the tributes for the Heavenly Sword Sect, they could kidnap and skin as many men as they wanted, they could do anything here, and they don't have to be worried about a thing.
When they first robbed the tribute to the Heavenly Sword Sect, they were expecting retaliation, but to their surprise, the Sword Sect didn't pay any attention to them.
This made them feel humiliated, but at the same time, it also brought them a sense of relief.
Right now, they were at the very edge of the Yan Kingdom... which comes under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Sword Sect.
They specially chose this location to run away in case the Sword Sect decided to take action against them. But after years... this fear has faded as well.
Now, the only troubles they would occasionally face came from the Demonic beasts and some loose cultivators who overestimated themselves.
These events made them so lax that the guards who were initially assigned to look out for intruders would just sleep and play around.
Occasionally, the guards would roam around just for formality.
Today wasn't any different... The two guards roamed around the forest before heading back to the base. But who would have thought that one of the guards would come across a man...
It was rare for even loose cultivators to come to this place, much less a man...
For a moment, the guard herself wanted to play with him, but thinking about the fate of the previous guard who took some bribe and hid some loose cultivators... her body shivered in fright.
It was much better to just hand him over to the tribe leader. If the tribe leader liked him, then she would be rewarded, and if she didn't... then this man would be her possession.
With these thoughts in mind, the guard hurriedly made her way towards her destination.
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Although the Blue Faced tribe was situated in the midst of a forest, they weren't savages living in tents and caves.
On the contrary, they had constructed a small city surrounded by large wooden walls.
In fact, other than looking a bit desolate, there wasn't much difference between it and some small towns.
"Huh!?"
"Who's that?"
"A man?"
Looking at the guard carrying Yang Ze towards the main building, the surrounding members of the Blue faced tribe raised an eyebrow. Some of them were even filled with jealousy. If they came across a man, they would first play with him to their heart's content before bringing him here.
But the stupid guard seemed to have given up this golden opportunity.
After reporting her name and purpose, the guard was finally brought inside the exquisite building, where the only person in her sight was a woman clad in violet with her exquisite body hidden under the robe and her face under the veil.
"Tribe leader..." Placing unconscious Yang Ze on the ground, the Guard first kneeled to the woman in front of her before reporting in a serious tone.
"During my daily inspection, I found this man wandering around."
After narrating everything that happened, she quietly kept her head down, waiting for the tribe leader to make a decision.
"....."
"....."
"Mmmm..." After a long time, the Blue Faced tribe leader hummed in response before speaking in a rather lazy voice.
"Go and collect your rewards." She just waved her hand, dismissing the guard from the room.
It wasn't until a few moments had passed after the guard's departure that she gazed at the man lying in front of her before muttering to herself.
"Interesting..."
With a gentle wave, a ball of water hit Yang Ze on his head, drenching him completely as well as waking him up.
"HUUUH!?" Yang Ze hurriedly opened his eyes in a daze while looking around in confusion. It took a while for him to remember the last thing before he realised that he had been kidnapped by the Blue faced tribe.
Cold sweat trickled down his back as he looked around with nervousness.
He had heard about what these lunatics love to do. For a moment, he was even thinking about using his teleport to get out of this place.
And it was at this moment that he finally noticed the figure sitting in front of him.
It was a woman whose body was covered by a thick violet colored robe while her face was covered by a veil.
The only thing visible was her phoenix-like eyes and her glossy black hair, tied behind her head with the help of a jade hairpin.
Yang Ze didn't need someone to tell him that this was the so-called tribe leader.
*Gulp
Swallowing a mouthful of saliva, he took a step back before looking at her personal panel.
It was fine if he didn't do that, but the moment he saw her personal panel, Yang Ze's breathing almost stopped, and his heart almost jumped out of his throat.
[Name: Lin Meilin]
[Age: ????]
[Cultivation Realm: ????]
[Physique: ????]
[Talent: ????]
[Evaluation: ?????]
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