Not far away, Tian Buyi had been hiding there from the very beginning. He had heard every word of the conversation between He Dazhi and Song Daren. He sighed inwardly. This was something he should have done himself, but He Dazhi had done it instead—for his master, for his fellow disciples, and for Big Bamboo Peak. Tian Buyi felt deeply comforted, though more than anything, he was overcome with emotion.
He was comforted by the unity and affection between his disciples. He was moved by He Dazhi's foresight and cleverness.
A moment later, all that remained in Tian Buyi's heart was disappointment and frustration! Since when had Big Bamboo Peak's affairs reached the point where the disciples had to shoulder them?
By now, Tian Buyi had a fairly good idea of what He Dazhi intended to do, and He Dazhi had already begun. He didn't want to disrupt He Dazhi's plans. His resolve only grew stronger: no one was allowed to bully any of his disciples!
The righteous path could forget it! The demonic path even more so!
The next day, Zhang Xiaofan took Little Fatty out for a stroll, and they ran into quite a few familiar faces: Li Xun and Yan Hong of Incense Valley, as well as Stone of the Vajra Sect, whom they had met in Xiaochi Town.
When Stone saw Zhang Xiaofan and Luo Yunji, he was delighted. He said something to the gaunt old man beside him, then ran over excitedly.
"Brother Zhang! That's my master!"
Zhang Xiaofan led his Little Junior Brother over and bowed to the old man. The old man merely nodded, then spoke with Faxiang, who was standing nearby.
Seeing that the old man paid little attention to Zhang Xiaofan and the others, Faxiang gave them an apologetic smile. Zhang