When Fang Shu and the others met up and mingled aboard the cloud ship, the temples and monasteries of the Five Sects of Mount Lu each had their own reactions as well, varied and numerous.
For instance, within the Five Viscera Temple.
After Deer Cart Earth Immortal had seen off Fang Shu's group and sealed the formation, he returned to the small Five Viscera Temple.
The moment he crossed the threshold, Ox Cart and Sheep Cart on the offering table spoke up. "They're all gone? Nothing went wrong?"
Deer Cart Earth Immortal nodded, but there was no relief on his face. After a moment of silence, he said, "They have already left the mountain, but if anything goes wrong, all we can do is see what their individual fortunes bring. We are guarding this temple. No matter how much we worry, it will be of no use."
When Ox Cart and Sheep Cart heard this, they too fell silent.
Clearly, in the eyes of the Three Capitals of the Five Viscera Temple, Fang Shu and the others' departure from the mountain was far from as simple as it appeared.
Only after a long while did Sheep Cart Earth Immortal's soft sigh sound within the little temple again. "If only we had more hands. If more people could go out—best of all, if one of the three of us could leave to look after them a little—then even if they encountered some mishap, they ought to be able to gain a foothold."
As soon as these words fell, a snort of laughter came from within the temple.
"Have you forgotten, Fellow Daoist? It is not that we do not wish to leave, but that we cannot—"
After that voice sounded, the small temple sank into silence. No one spoke again.
In