"Sect Leader Brother, this matter seems quite thorny," the Second Elder stroked his chin’s beard, sighed, and said languidly.
"Isn’t it just! Twenty years ago, we watched him tumble down the cliff. Despite searching with all our personnel for over a month, we never found his body. We assumed he’d been eaten by wild beasts, but who would have thought he’d still be alive now. Alas! What irony! The good die young while calamities persist for a thousand years!" the Great Elder lamented as he smacked his thigh in frustration.
"Exactly! Wasn’t it enough for that bastard to have harmed Sect Leader Brother and Sister Xu twenty years ago? A perfect match torn apart by that scoundrel! If Sister Xu hadn’t taken that palm strike for the Sect Leader and with her dying breath beseeched him not to utterly annihilate that bastard, would our Medicine Sect have needed to live in seclusion for twenty years? Sigh!" The Third Elder banged the table hard, his face red with fury.
Sitting beside him, the Fourth Elder also had a face filled with unresolved resentment over the events of decades past.
However, among these people, the most composed turned out to be Ye Chenghong.
He seemed like an outsider from beginning to end, unnervingly calm. Except for a flash of sorrow in his eyes when the Third Elder mentioned Sister Xu, Ye Chenghong was like a statue devoid of emotion.
Yet, it was this very composure that made the four Elders even more worried.
"Brother, if you’re feeling troubled, just speak up. We have weathered great storms together; there is nothing we can’t endure. Your twenty-year pact with Sister Xu has ended, and now that person has reappeared, poisoning our fields. We must avenge this wrong!" the Great Brother said, his voice low and comforting.
Ye Chenghong nodded in response to the comforting words exchanged by his senior and junior brothers.
"My brothers, I understand what you mean. Twenty years ago, I swore in front of her that the Medicine Sect would live in seclusion for twenty years, never pursuing that man again. I have kept that promise. Now, he has reappeared and poisoned our Medicine Sect disciples; morally and rationally, I cannot tolerate this. But our enemy operates in the light while we are in the dark; we do not know where that person is now or what identity he holds. Our top priority must be to alert all Medicine Sect members to be on their guard against those with ulterior motives. Moreover, we must find a cure for the poison in Ming Yuan as soon as possible to understand what has really happened."
Ye Chenghong’s orderly remarks made the four Elders nod in agreement, and a weight seemed to lift from their hearts.
"Sect Leader Brother is right. We should resolve the situation with Ming Yuan first and strengthen our internal defenses," the Great Elder nodded, decisively stating, "However, Brother, shouldn’t you let Xiao Qing know about this? Although she is still quite young, her abilities are not minor; she’s fully capable of protecting herself."
Hearing the Great Elder’s words, Ye Chenghong pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"Let’s not tell Girl Qing for now. That person’s strength was already above mine twenty years ago, and who knows what crooked techniques he has cultivated since then. Girl Qing is now in the mid-level of the Innate Realm and is about to break through to the peak. At a time , too much pressure is not a good thing. Later, I’ll remind her to be cautious. Those past events, we can tell her about them later."
"That’s also good. She is still young; let her have a few years of peace. While we, the old folks, still have the strength, we can bear some of the burden on their behalf."
For a moment, only the ticking of the ancient clock could be heard in the quiet hall, as sunlight poured in, stirring up a whirl of dust.
An Yiqing, being in the healing room, was oblivious to the discussion between Ye Chenghong and the others, and even more ignorant of the grudges and grievances that had plagued the Medicine Sect for decades.