"Gu Zhenren, let me start by saying thank you for saving Bai Xunli tonight," Han Zhaofeng began once everyone had settled down. He saluted Gu Tianzhu, who immediately moved to intercept.
"Please, Han Shengzun, no need for this. Honestly, we had too many reasons not to get involved," Gu Tianzhu said, holding out one arm to block Han Zhaofeng's salute.
"One, Captain Bai had been a great help to us during the core extraction case five years ago. We had many new followers thanks to Captain Bai. Two, ICEB had been an excellent mediator for us cultivators, who sometimes are too energetic and get into fights without regard for our surroundings."
"And three, this is Lingxu. We, Ziyu, don't like Lingxu. We'd do pretty much anything to mess with them," Gu Tianzhu finished with a big grin.
"Well said, Shizun!" Li Ran gave him a thumbs-up.
Shen Qingyu covered the thumb, pulled it down, and glared at him. Li Ran looked at him, grinning, perfectly mirroring his Shizun.
"Gu Zhenren is too humble. Then let me extend my thanks to Ziyu Sect. ICEB does need help in handling Lingxu, and Ziyu's help would be very much appreciated." Han Zhaofeng gave a light salute.
"I will forward it to Mu Xuanyuan Shengzun," Gu Tianzhu returned the salute.
"Is that what you have been doing, Gu Zhenren?" Xuan Tian asked.
"Unfortunately, no, Shengzun," Gu Tianzhu turned to answer him.
"After we separated five years ago, we went back to Ziyu. We helped the new recruits settle in the sect."
"It wasn't an easy feat," Gu Tianzhu sighed."Many of them weren't ready to walk the rocky cultivation path. They were forced into it."
He shook his head. "To make things worse, some were already well into their mature years. Learning cultivation—which usually starts at a very young age—was very difficult for them."
He continued, "Then we had the younger age groups. They were younger than the mature victims, but still relatively older than the majority of Ziyu's disciples, especially in terms of appearance."
Gu Tianzhu sighed again. "Most of these people didn't know how to interact with the rest of Ziyu's disciples. It was brutal."
"Being one of Ziyu's Elders, and the one who brought them back, I had to handle it myself. The other Elders and disciples helped too, but they weren't as attached to the recruits as I was."
"So, I had my hands tied for a while," Gu Tianzhu continued. "But we heard news that the Crown Prince had suddenly fallen ill."
He turned to Han Zhaofeng. "Mu Shengzun tasked Elder Liu to investigate. Only then did we find out about ICEB's difficult position."
Gu Tianzhu gestured to his second disciple. "Chen Zhaoyun went with Elder Liu to investigate. Once they learned the truth about the Crown Prince, Elder Liu returned to the sect, while Zhaoyun stayed."
He gestured for Chen Zhaoyun to continue. Chen Zhaoyun nodded, "Yes, Shizun."
He saluted Xuan Tian and Han Zhaofeng. "Both Shengzun, after many difficulties, Elder Liu found out the Crown Prince wasn't ill—he was poisoned. Elder Liu then tried to meet with Han Shengzun to offer his help. Elder Liu is an expert in medicine and poisons. But we couldn't even enter the capital."
Xuan Tian listened carefully. Han Zhaofeng and the three Enforcers looked grim. They also remembered the poisoning incident.
Han Zhaofeng nodded. "I didn't even know that Elder Liu tried to meet with me. If I did, I would most definitely have accepted his help."
Chen Zhaoyun saluted again. "I apologize, Han Shengzun. I wasn't trying to accuse you of anything. I was merely stating the facts. And please do not worry. Elder Liu understood perfectly. It was because the Imperial Soldiers repeatedly turned us away."
He paused briefly. "We eventually managed to sneak into the capital, trying to find out more, but we found that the Imperial Soldiers were tightly patrolling the city. Those without entry tokens were driven out or sent to prison. We had initially thought of staying, but after much deliberation, Elder Liu decided against it. He believed the situation was not as simple as it seemed from the outside. And we certainly didn't want to make things even more difficult for ICEB."
"So Elder Liu returned to the sect to inform Mu Shengzun, and asked me to stay to monitor the situation and send updates regularly."
Chen Zhaoyun looked down, his lips pressed together. "Although I lingered outside the capital and managed to sneak in a few times, I unfortunately couldn't find any information worth sending to the sect."
He looked up, eyes filled with contempt. "To make matters worse, one day, a formation was suddenly erected, covering the entire capital. I couldn't even sneak in."
"It was then I returned to the sect and informed Mu Shengzun, Shizun, and the other Elders." Chen Zhaoyun ended his report.
Silence fell for a beat before Xuan Tian asked, "How did the Crown Prince recover back then?"
Han Zhaofeng answered, "ICEB managed to find the antidote. But everything about the situation was suspicious."
"The Crown Prince suddenly fell 'ill,' and only later was it found he was poisoned. When the Imperial Physician and ICEB's own doctor examined him to determine the antidote, they found that it was a type of poison they had never heard of."
Xuan Tian's brows drew tight. "Then how did you find the antidote?"
"It was His Majesty who gave it to us," Han Zhaofeng said grimly. "Only then did we suspect it was Lingxu's doing—and that they had already gotten to His Majesty."
His gaze darkened even more. "They were showing off their reach. And His Majesty was spooked, to say the least."
He shook his head. "But then… I was too blind to see what Lingxu was trying to do. I was too busy playing fair, I forgot that our enemy didn't. Once I heard about the antidote, I knew I was too late."
Author's Note:Just a quick heads-up: starting August, new chapters will drop on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Daily uploads are burning through my stash faster than I can write, and I'd rather slow down a bit than let quality suffer.
Thanks for sticking around and enjoying the chaos!