A week had passed since the Silver Mist Incident.
The Gracious Sword Sect entourage finally arrived in the Gracious Sword Sect vicinity.
Ye Tian Yun was sitting outside with Fu Kai as the carriage entered the Southern Town of the Gracious Sword Sect.
Fu Kai couldn't help but let out a sigh at the sight of the huge gates of the town.
"Brother Kai, even though I knew this mission was going to be hard, I never imagined we would lose more than half of our people."
Ye Tian Yun lightly nodded his head, "The mission was a hard one. Gracious Sword Sect made a huge loss in this. Five Core Disciplines in Qi Stabilization Realm, and one Peak Elder…."
Fu Kai nodded, "I wonder what would be the relationship between Sect Leader Su and Crown Prince Xin after this incident?"
Ye Tian Yun thought for a moment and said, "Well, who cares? What we currently need to do is follow the report. Brother Fu, don't forget what we have discussed. Your report and our report must match. There's no need to hide anything, just don't mention anything about my… sister-in-law."
Fu Kai nodded, "I understand. You have saved my life, so I owe you one. And anyway, if I mention sister-in-law in the report, I am sure the Wu Kingdom people would definitely know about her within a day or two. That might bring endless troubles for you because she's the sole survivor of the Wu Royal Clan entourage."
Ye Tian Yun nodded, "Yes, and she survived thanks to you, Brother Fu. In the future, if you ever get into trouble or things go awry, just remember that you have a brother in the Gracious Sword Sect. You can come and find me, Kai Yang, anytime."
Fu Kai's lips curled into a smile, "The gesture is enough, Brother."
While Fu Kai was happy that he got a good friend after all this ordeal, what he didn't knew was that this new friend of his was about to disappear from the face of the earth.
'But I will still remember this guy.'
Ye Tian Yun then looked up as they passed through the gates.
Soon, the carriage stopped at one of the inns.
"This is it then." Jun Xie smiled and looked at Fu Kai.
Fu Kai nodded.
Everyone from the Gracious Sword Sect, including the princess-turned-maid, Wu Qingwu, got off the carriage.
They were about to head back to the Gracious Sword Sect to meet the Elders, and then everyone will resume their normal lives.
"Alright then, if you guys ever visit the Capital City, don't forget to come by the Fu Clan. My clan may not be the best and most powerful, but I assure you that none of you will ever be disappointed by our hospitality."
The disciples of the Gracious Sword Sect nodded, and with a final farewell, all of them headed back to the Gracious Sword Sect.
"Till, we need again, Sister-in-law." Fu Kai also gave a final farewell to Wu Qingwu and headed inside the tavern.
Wu Qingwu only gave a confused nod and followed behind Ye Tian Yun.
"Why does he keep on calling me Sister-in-law?" She asked.
Ye Tian Yun shrugged, "Don't mind him. He's a good fool."
"Alright, I won't ask about this anymore. But what about now? Will the Gracious Sword Sect let you take me in? I am not a disciple; I am a maid."
Ye Tian Yun shook his head, "No, they won't."
"They won't? Then why are you taking me to the Sect?" Wu Qingwu inquired.
Ye Tian Yun paused for a moment and said, "No one is taking you to the sect. In fact, I didn't even ask you to follow me. You can go wherever you want."
"What!? What do you mean!?" Wu Qingwu unknowingly raised her voice, attracting attention from the other disciples.
Ye Tian Yun only shrugged and moved forward.
Wu Qingwu, however, paused and asked, "Am I not your maid?"
Ye Tian Yun shook his head, "You're Jun Xie's maid. To me, you're only a burden. And I have no intentions to carry you around."
'In fact, I can't even bring you around. I will have to compromise my identity if I take her in, which would be a stupid move. I will be digging my own grave if I tell anyone who I really am.'
Wu Qingwu, however, didn't know the other side of the story.
To her, the person in front of her was just heartless and indifferent.
"Brother Kai, what's wrong?" Suddenly, Jun Xie quipped, "I thought we decided about this already."
Ye Tian Yun simply shrugged, "Yeah, we did. What happened?"
"Hm? Then why aren't you taking her in?" Jun Xie asked with a frown.
Ye Tian Yun rolled his eyes, "If I needed a maid, I wouldn't have sent her to you in the first place. Since you didn't accept her, I don't see any reason for us to keep her."
"So, are you simply going to let her go?" Jun Xie asked, "What if she dies or something unspeakable happens to her? She's just a normal girl after all."
Yes, Wu Qingwu's cultivation was deeply hidden, and thus, no one except Ye Tian Yun saw through her disguise. Even Jun Xie, with his high Spirit Sense, failed to see the truth.
Ye Tian Yun shrugged at Jun Xie's response, "Not my problem. She was supposed to die anyway."
Jun Xie glanced at Yuan Shuchun and asked, "Sister Yuan, will you be willing to take her in? I have heard there are lots of maids in the Heavenly League's main building? Maybe you can assign her somewhere there?"
Yuan Shuchun glanced at Kai Yang for a moment, but no spirit message came from the Crown Prince.
It was clear she had to make this decision on her own.
"I have enough maid, Brother Jun." Yuan Shuchun replied, "Why don't you take her in? Core Disciples are allowed to have servants anyway."
Jun Xie frowned, but after a long moment of silence, he finally agreed.
"Sigh, you guys… I will take her in."
Ye Tian Yun inwardly nodded his head and continued to move forward.
'Now that this is done, time to submit the report and explore the Emblem Of Time.'
'It has been a long time since I felt such eagerness, also, only a few months remaining for the Grand Spirit Hunt... I need to plan out my next steps very carefully.'
....
After completing a mission of any difficulty range, all disciples of the Gracious Sword Sect must report to the Mission Hall at the base of the Gracious Sword Sect.
This was the first thing to do after entering the sect. They were not even allowed to head back to their cultivation abode. However, if there was a medical emergency, then, of course, it was an exception to this rule.
In Ye Tian Yun's group, however, there was no such case, and so they headed straight to the Mission Hall.
The Mission Hall was one of the tallest buildings at the base of the First Peak. However, it was one of the most crowded ones.
This place boasted of accepting more than a thousand missions per day on average, always bustling with disciples.
Completing the missions allowed the disciples to gain extra resources for themselves. But for the Core Disciples, the main attraction here was the secret points that the Gracious Sword Sect gave to them.
These points were the basis of judgment for the Higher-ups of the Sect and would later play a major role in the disciples' career in the Gracious Sword Sect.
For the disciples who wanted to fight for the Sect Leader position in the future, these points were very important.
And the missions that Ye Tian Yun and the group had completed warranted a huge number of points for all of them.
"Let's hope the sect doesn't back away from their promise." Yuan Shuchun said.
To her, the Sect Leader position was of utmost importance. This was the mission given by her father.
And now, after this mission, she was going to be closer than ever to her goal.
But she was still afraid of one thing.
She was afraid that Sect Leader Su might play an underhanded trick and take away the points.
Hearing her worries, Jun Xie suddenly said, "Sister Yuan, I will make sure everyone gets the points. In fact, I was even planning to give all the credit to you."
"What?" His words confused Yuan Shuchun, "Why would you do that?"
Jun Xie shrugged, "I never had the goal of becoming the next Sect Leader. The thing I want isn't in the sect. In fact, if I somehow became the Sect Leader in the future, it will only be a burden for me. A chain that would bind me to this place, forever."
Ye Tian Yun gave him a side glance but didn't say anything.
He knew what Jun Xie was thinking.
'Well, let's see how long it takes for him to come to me.'
He was going to wait till Jun Xie came to him. After all, the closest and fastest way for him to douse the curiosity in his mind was by asking Fang Chen about everything.
As for Yuan Shuchun, Jun Xie's reply did shock her. However, she didn't feel complacent from this.
"Brother Jun, I would do anything to get my goal, but I won't take someone else's credit." She said.
Ye Tian Yun couldn't help but glance at her.
'Is she faking it, or is she really planning to change herself?'
It was hard to tell.