Bai Ci and Lin Yue also bowed slightly and offered their thanks.
Ning Fengzhi smiled and nodded, then turned sideways and made an inviting gesture before leading the way into the sect. Chen Xin and Gu Rong followed on either side of Xiao Chengu. Though they had stopped arguing, they still glared at each other from time to time, making Li Pu and the other two struggle not to laugh.
The group walked up the white marble steps. Pavilions and towers along the way were exquisitely carved and painted, with glazed bells hanging from the upturned eaves that chimed crisply whenever the wind blew. The roadside was filled with rare flowers and exotic plants, their fragrance heavy in the air. It was worlds apart from the darkness of Slaughter City, where the stench of blood lingered all year round.
Li Pu looked around as he walked, clicking his tongue in amazement. "Old Xiao, you used to live in a place like this every day, yet you were still willing to run off to Slaughter City and suffer? I really don't get you. If it were me, I'd stay home every day, eating pastries and drinking good tea. Who'd want to go to a hellhole like that?"
Xiao Chengu replied blandly, "A towering tree cannot grow in a greenhouse."
"That may be true, but there was no need to risk your life over it." Gu Rong immediately took up the conversation and shot Chen Xin another glare. "It's all this old bastard's fault. He insisted on sending him to Slaughter City for training, saying that only by standing on the brink of life and death could he break through. If anything happened to Xiao'er, I'd never let you off!"
"I did it for his own good!" Chen Xin retorted at once.