Inside Fairy Qing's cave dwelling, she fell silent for a long while after hearing Xiao Yan recount the past few years, as well as the matters involving the Flower Sect and the Heavenly Underworld Sect.
Xiao Yan sipped a flower tea unique to the Flower Sect to soothe his throat.
"I never expected things to turn out this way. So you've come to the Flower Sect to ask me to see your teacher?"
Unlike Xuan Yi when she had seen Yao Chen back then, Fairy Qing showed no loss of composure. She remained the aloof, unruffled fairy she had always been. Xiao Yan could not quite read this mistress of his, but he smiled and said,
"How could I trouble you with a trip, Aunt Qing? My teacher still needs to consolidate his cultivation and can't come in person, so he sent me instead. As it happens, I also have a fiancée who wishes to join the Flower Sect to cultivate, so I made the journey.
"Once my teacher has fully consolidated his cultivation, he'll certainly come to see you himself.
"In fact, after he entered Danta, my teacher wanted me to bring you news of him. But he hadn't fully revived yet and feared Soul Hall might discover him, so he put it off for quite some time.
"You may not know this, Aunt Qing, but the reason my teacher escaped with his life was that Soul Hall's master had personally ordered his capture for the Soul Clan's use. His subordinates couldn't bring themselves to kill him, so they only destroyed his body. His soul fell into a slumber from the severe injuries. Otherwise..."
Xiao Yan left the rest unsaid, but Fairy Qing understood. If Soul Hall had not considered Yao Chen useful, it would likely have shattered his