Chapter 229: He’s Fine

“Junior Brother?” A deep voice came from the trees.

Yang turned toward the sound as a familiar figure stepped out from the shadows.

Yang took in the tall, broad form of this Senior Brother. He hadn’t had a chance to interact or spend much time with him, but he immediately recognized this Senior Brother of his.

Lu Feng.

His 4th Senior Brother. Ranked directly above Senior Brother Fan Xiao.

“Senior Brother.”

“Senior Brother.”

Multiple calls of Senior Brother erupted from every direction as Senior Brother Lu Feng approached them, his eyes sweeping over each of them in turn.

“Senior Brother,” Senior Brother Fan Xiao greeted with a slight bow of his head.

“Fan Xiao, you’re here,” Senior Brother Lu Feng said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “And you brought everyone back safely.”

Senior Brother Fan Xiao’s shoulders drooped, and his face darkened at the words as he glanced over his shoulder towards Senior Brother Weilong. “Not everyone. Weilong was struck by an unknown spell cast by a very strong cultivator.”

Senior Brother Lu Feng immediately followed his gaze and studied Senior Brother Weilong intently for a few seconds. “He looks safe enough for now.” He turned back to Senior Brother Fan Xiao, a knowing smile on his face. “Besides, I have a feeling this may have something to say about Weilong’s condition,” he said as he held a letter pinched between his index and middle fingers.

“Master?” Senior Brother Fan Xiao questioned.

“Master,” Senior Brother Lu Feng confirmed with a smirk.

Senior Brother Qing An and the others drew closer, and Yang followed, meeting Senior Brother Lu Feng’s gaze, who gave him a warm smile.

“Junior Brother Chen Yang. I hope you enjoyed this excursion despite its unexpectedly long duration.”

Yang returned the smile politely as he replied. “It was educational, Senior Brother. Though it wasn't as long for us as you might expect.”

Senior Brother Lu Feng cocked an eyebrow. “Oh.” He turned his gaze to the rest of them. “Time dilation? Interesting. It wasn’t mentioned in the cursory report on the connected realm.”

“It is the remnant of a higher world," Senior Brother Fan Xiao said, and for the first time, sounding exhausted.

Yang looked at him, a bit surprised at hearing him sound so spent, but as he gave it some thought, he realized how much pressure he must have been under, leading and protecting five junior brothers in a volatile place that turned out to be so much more perilous than any of them had anticipated. And he was finally able to offload the burden now that he had his own Senior Brother around to take charge.

“At least open and read the letter first before starting your report,” Senior Brother Yuan Shen called out.

“Yes, we should indeed find out what manner of creature Weilong would be oozing out of his eye sockets,” added Senior Brother Qing An with a teasing smile on his face.

Senior Brother Fan Xiao's face returned to its default blank expression as he grabbed the letter, ripped it open, and read it.

He stared at the letter for a few seconds before he let out a tired sigh, though he also looked relieved.

“Well? What does it say?” Senior Brother Zhen Hao pressed, since there seemed to be no answer forthcoming.

Instead of saying anything, Senior Brother Fan Xiao simply held the letter up to face them. Yang felt a twitch in his left eye as he read the sparse words written in the middle of the page and realized why his Senior Brother Xiao Zhan was so anal-retentive.

He’s fine.

“Could Master have been any more succinct?” Senior Brother Qing An said dryly with a shake of his head.

“Don’t say such things in front of Master.” Senior Brother Fan Xiao admonished.

“True. He will take it as a challenge,” Senior Brother Lu Feng said with a smile. “Come. Let us move to the main camp. Now that we know Weilong isn’t going to spontaneously combust, we can afford to talk in a more comfortable setting.”

Senior Brothers Fan Xiao and Lu Feng fell into step at the front of the group, leading them back towards the camp while they spoke, with Yang listening with keen interest to their discussion.

“How long have you been in camp?”

“As soon as the disciples here realized the rift was destroyed, news was sent back to the Sect.” Senior Brother Lu Feng looked haunted. “Senior Brother Xiao Zhan was wroth when he heard about it. With Senior Brother Yan Zheng in closed-door cultivation, it was either Senior Brother Luo Yun Xi or I who could have come here to act as Soaring Cloud Peaks' representative.”

“And you decided to come yourself?” Senior Brother Fan Xiao asked with a slight smile.

“Anywhere is better than being around Senior Brother Xiao Zhan when he gets in one of his moods.” Senior Brother Lu Feng admitted shamelessly.

“Forget about me. Half the Elders in the camp are only here because he wouldn’t stop pressuring them to send in rescue teams. It was due to his insistence that the other rift was found so quickly, but convincing the Elders to send an actual team through proved more difficult. The large number of rifts the reconnaissance team found on the other side didn't help.” He looked at them curiously. "I am actually surprised you managed to find the correct one."

"We had some help." Senior Brother Fan Xiao said wryly. Senior Brother Lu Feng raised an eyebrow but didn't push.

“So no one was sent in to explore after the reconnaissance team.” Senior Brother Fan Xiao noted before he added. “Not that I am complaining. It was the wisest decision.”

“Given Master’s complete lack of concern, it was the general consensus amongst the Elders that you would all come back alive eventually. But with Senior Brother Xiao Zhan’s constant urging, they had no choice but to seriously consider sending in someone to find you all.” Senior Brother Lu Feng said as he looked back at all of them trailing behind him, eyes resting on Senior Brother Zhen Hao, who looked particularly delighted.

“I really find it entertaining when it's others who are suffering under Senior Brother Xiao Zhan.” Senior Brother Zhen Hao said with a smirk.

“Then you would be disappointed to have missed his meetings with Senior Sect Brother Bu Yi,” Senior Brother Lu Feng said with a bark of a laugh.

“Really?” Senior Brother Yuan Shen let out a chuckle as he asked. “What did he do to him?”

“The Sect Master foisted all his meetings with Senior Brother Xiao Zhan onto Senior Sect Brother Bu Yi until our dear Senior Brother eventually drove him into closed-door cultivation just to escape him.”

Everyone let out a chuckle.

Seeing Yang’s confusion about the relationship, Senior Brother Weilong explained it to him. “Bu Yi is the Sect Master's disciple. Our future Sect Master.”

Yang nodded in thanks just as they walked out of the forest and into the open camp.

Hundreds of heads turned in their direction as they walked out and made their way deeper into the camp. Multiple nods were exchanged with acquaintances of all his Senior Brothers, and even Yang received a few nods of acknowledgement and smiles as he walked alongside his brothers.

They were led to the entrance of a small, modest tent, at which point Senior Brother Lu Feng turned to face them.

“There is enough room inside for all of us. Rest and recover, but do not leave the tent until I am back. You may be summoned to answer questions if the Elders desire,” he instructed firmly as he stared at them sternly.

He then turned to Senior Brothers Fan Xiao and Qing An. “You two, come with me. I rushed to the grove as soon as your names appeared in the exit records, but we still need to report to the Elders.”

Yang watched as the three of them turned and headed deeper into the camp. He stepped into the tent behind Senior Brother Yuan Shen and almost gasped as he came to find himself standing in a large sunlit area, with lush green gardens surrounding multiple courtyards.

Senior Brother Weilong came to stand next to him with a smile. “Senior Brother Fan Xiao is rather austere. The others, not so much.”

He pointed at a courtyard nestled amongst bamboos. “You can take that one.”

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