With all the outsiders gone, the members of the five remaining sects exchanged looks. They were all in this together; not a single outsider remained.
Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang also bounded up onto the hilltop to watch them leave. Chu Jingtang immediately approached the two, asking in bewilderment, "Didn't you say we'd draw people from other sects here? How come, after all that, only our own people stayed? Nobody's answering our call."
Shi Chun watched the figures disappear into the distance. "What's the rush? The sects only just heard about this. They haven't had time to react. Don't they need to go back and meet their fellow disciples? Don't they need to discuss it in private?"
Put that way, the people from the various sects thought he had a point.
"All right, those of us left will wait here. We'll take turns standing watch." Shi Chun clapped his hands.
Dividing up the watch shifts was simple enough. Those off duty dug caves on the spot to shelter in...
Mulan Qingqing had only paced a few steps after returning to the central cavern when Wan Daoxuan and the others darted inside. They all hurried up to her, each looking as though he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to speak.
Mulan Qingqing spoke first. "Apart from the Jade Tide Sect, the other sects didn't react much, did they?"
Li Shanshan sighed. "It wasn't just the Jade Tide Sect. After you left, several other sects stayed too."
Wan Daoxuan looked grave. "What worries me is that this may not stop with those few sects. They were simply the ones who decided on the spot. Once the others return, there's no telling what ideas they might get."
"Ah..." All of them were sighing to some degree.
Mulan Qingqing studied their