Several disciples nearby, including the Grand Elder, were checking on the situation at ABC Novel Network. Perhaps our disappearance had them worried.
"S... Sect Master... It's the Sect Master!" A disciple pointed at me, his face filled with a strange, complicated expression—and he wasn't the only one. Many people had seen us: men and women alike, including Yan Zhen, who was frowning as she watched Song Ruo and me embracing.
Song Ruo let out an "Ah!" and jumped up, while my face turned awkward as well. At a time like this, there was no way to explain anything, so I could only look at Song Ruo first and transmit my voice to her. "Stay calm. It looks like there are disciples and elders from other sects here too. Look at the runes on the floor. They've already returned to their positions, and quite a few people have stepped on them. So if anyone asks, don't ever say that we went to the medicine field. Just say that we used an illusion technique, and that its failure led to this."
"Ah? What did you say? What about my reputation..." Song Ruo cried out in alarm, though she still chose to transmit her voice to me. She was afraid that someone might really say something about her.
"Is your reputation more important, or are the sect's interests and secrets more important? Don't forget that you took quite a lot of things and received plenty of benefits. If you refuse to sacrifice anything at all, why don't you just ascend to heaven?" I threatened her with a dark look.
Song Ruo was naturally tangled up inside, but now that a large group of people was waiting, what other choice did she have besides my proposal? Her survival instinct was still very strong, though.