Chapter 5: Lan Xing
"Ling Xue, Ling Xue? What happened?" Ning'er called out to Ling Xue who was looking at a corner of the street dazedly.
Limg Xue finally shifted her eyes to her and smiled.
"It's nothing. I just remembered that I had something to do. Continue having your meal, I will be back. Don't go anywhere and stay at the inn if I don't return early." She then got up and left the inn after saying her part without waiting for their reply. The siblings could only do as she said and continue eating.
Ling Xue looked around the busy streets, searching for something. Then a figure flashed into an alley that was narrow and also secluded. She followed that figure to the alley without rousing anyone's suspicion.
There was no one in sight other than the black figure standing with its back facing her.
Ling Xue looked at the figure calmly. Before she could say anything, the black figure turned around, showing the face of a girl of 14-15 years old that was stern and cold without any expression. She was wearing a black robe and pants for easy movement and a black cloak that was slightly different from Ling Xue's.
The girl then came towards Ling Xue with large strides and suddenly knelt down with one knee and her right fist on the ground. Her head bowed very low in respect and said in an apologetic voice.
"Master, I have failed you. I was late to find you and even let you get injured so severely. Please punish me."
Limg Xue looked at the girl kneeling in front of her and said calmly.
"It's not your fault. The assassins came with great preparation so it is just natural for you and others to be late after dealing with the assassins. And I am not dead. My wounds will heal completely in two days so it's no big deal. You may rise."
"Thank you, Master." The girl thanked her and got up but still kept a respectful posture to show how much she respected her.
"Let's not talk in here. It's not safe. Let's go to the inn I am staying for now and report me about the situation in the cult." Ling Xue said after looking around the narrow and empty alley.
"Yes." The girl bowed and followed her towards the inn.
....
The siblings were already done eating when they saw Ling Xue and an unfamiliar girl coming together.
"Ling Xue, you are finally back. Where did you go? Your food had already become cold. And who is the one behind you?" Asked Ah Mo.
The girl frowned slightly after hearing him call her master so impolitely and was about to grab her sword hung on her waist when she saw her master glance at her, telling her not to act rashly from her eyes.
Since her master already said so, she took back her hands from the sword and stood straight, looking out for anything odd as she stared at the siblings.
"This is Xing'er, my maid who was separated from me before and finally found her here. Xing'er, they are my saviours. If not for them, I might have died with severe blood loss." Ling Xue then introduced them to each other and Xing'er finally changed her attitude to good one after hearing that they were the ones who saved her master.
" Thank you very much for saving my mas- young miss. I will make sure to pay this debt on behalf of my young miss." Xing'er bowed deeply at the siblings which made them flustered and let her up quickly.
"No, you don't have to thank us. It is just that Ling Xue is very lucky to still be alive with such deep wounds. We didn't save her to get something in return so you don't have to repay us." Ah Heng said with a smile.
"...I will remember this debt." Xing'er then straightened her back.
" Okay, you guys must be tired from the walk so go to your room and rest. Xing'er will stay in my room." said Ling Xue.
The siblings agreed and went to their own rooms after telling Ling Xue to rest too. Ling Xue and Xing'er then went to her room.
....
In the room, Ling Xue sat on a wooden chair as she leaned her back on it. Xing'er or also Lan Xing, was standing beside her and serving her tea, not daring to talk before her master asked anything.
Ling Xue kept her silence till she took the tea cup and took a sip.
"There is a mole in the cult." She said it not as a guess but with full certainty. She didn't wait for Lan Xing to say anything before continuing.
"And that mole has a high position in the cult or is one of my trusted subordinate. The matter about the godly artifact is a top-grade secret of the cult that only the people who serve me closely know." Lan Xing looked at her calmly but she couldn't help but look at her in admiration.
" So...did you find the mole?" Ling Xue finally asked.
" Master, you are great! You could already guess to such extent. Just as you said, there was indeed a mole in the cult and he had been trying to form his own group of followers inside the cult for a long time but he didn't expect to find that the so called followers he gained were only acting to find out his true goal. But we didn't expect him to actually leak the information to other experts which lead to such a situation where you were in such danger." Lan Xing became angrier as she thought about how her master nearly died because of that traitor and wanted to cut him into pieces.
" Was it..... Lan Xu? " Ling Xue asked calmly.
" Master, you already knew??" Lan Xing asked in surprise.
" He was suspicious from the start. The incident in which he saved me from the pursuers so easily when I was 10 was very suspicious. The cultivators that pursued me at that time were at least in 5th stage of qi gathering. Although their cultivation wasn't high nor was Lan Xu's. They must have thought that they could decieve me because of my young age but they were wrong from the start." She continued.
"So I ignored the other's objections when I declared Lan Xu as the commander of Blood Knights. While it looked like I trusted him very much but I was secretly keeping an eye on him through the blood knights. All the members of my cult are those who pledged their utmost loyalty to me with blood seal so I know that they won't betray me no matter what. And for those who didn't do that, I had already sent some people to look out for them." Ling Xue played with the cup lid and drank the tea.
" I didn't know that master had already made a plan. I was wrong to go against your order at that time. Please forgive me and the brothers."Lan Xing knelt down and apologised with regret and reverence in her voice.
" Get up. You don't have to apologise. You going against it means you truly think of me as the master so there is no need for this." Ling Xue said with a smile.
" Thank you master. I will follow you till the end of the world. Even if it means I have to give up my life for you." Lan Xing pledged with utmost sincerity and loyalty which made Ling Xue smile.
" I will make sure that those who follow me won't have to suffer." Ling Xue then drank the remaining tea and put the tea cup on the table with a 'clink'.
" What is the situation in the cult?" She asked.
"Reporting, Lan Xu had been detained in the underground prison for further investigation. He had tried to commit suicide by eating poison but he didn't succeed. He called out the names of some other moles from other cults and didn't speak any fruther no matter how much we tortured him. The moles whose names were called out committed suicide before being caught so we couldn't get any information. Please punish us." Lan Xing reported.
" Were there any casualties during the fight?" Ling Xue asked after hearing the report. Her expression still calm.
" Yes, there were more than 100 assassins to hold us back while the 7 guardians were held back by 50 assassins. The remaining 30 assassins then chased after you with the captain of the group. More than 20 brothers died and 15 were injured severely but because of the medicines you left, they managed to survive. No assassins escaped, those captured committing suicide without hesitation." said Ling Xue.
"The organisations behind it really planned it well. To actually send their best experts to deal with me, I'm flattered by their great importance in me. A pity, the godly artifact cannot be obtained by anyone even if they try to kill me since it chooses its owner by itself. Those who try to forcefully make a contract will die with their spirit destroyed completely into ashes. They are very reckless." Ling Xue smiled mockingly and said.
" Master, what do you plan to do? Should we get back to the base? The brothers still don't know our whereabouts after I left immediately without informing them to search for you. You are also injured severely. It will be dangerous for you to stay here with no protection. We can also search for the required medicinal herbs after getting back to the base." Lan Xing asked in concern.
" No, we will be staying here for some days. Let my wounds heal up and we will go to other cities after passing this town. Let the organisations think that I am already dead and that XueLing cult is now a headless body. With this news, they will definitely do something to hit us when we are down. For the time being, we will lay low. Then we can deal with them later. Like the saying goes, revenge is best served cold. " Ling Xue smiled coldly and said.
" Give me a paper and brush. I will write the letter myself." Ling Xue then commanded.
" Yes." Lan Xing went out of the room and came in with a brush, paper and ink stone after a while.
" Master." Lan Xing handed the items over to her and helped in making the ink. Ling Xue took the brush and paper and started writing her letter. Her calligraphy was full of vigour and each stroke contained strength as well as elegance.
She finished writing the letter after a few minutes and let the ink to dry before pouring out the 'None' drug which made the contents inside the letter vanish within seconds. She then rolled the paper and tied it with a thread and handed it to Lan Xing.
"Here." Said Ling Xue.
"Yes." Lan Xing took the letter with both her hands and bowed slightly. She then went out and whistled. After a few seconds, a pure white carrier pigeon came flying towards her and sat on her arm. She then tied the letter on its leg and let it go. The carrier pigeon flew far away in no time.
Heading towards the direction of the current base of XueLing cult.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone