"I mean, Dian Cang and Kongtong are actually all the same."
"...Yes."
"Sect Master Xu, how far has yours grown?"
"...It has formed a bud."
"One of our sect's has already bloomed."
"...Does it really turn completely blank?"
"Completely blank."
Both fell silent.
Lu Yuque lowered her head and walked farther inside, but her body could not help trembling.
"Sect Leader Lu sent word throughout the Jianghu, saying he had a way to curb it. Who knows whether it's true."
"Sect Leader Lu has a warm heart and the chivalrous spirit of old. Daring to step forward at a time like this is truly admirable. But whether his method actually works...I find it hard to hold out much hope." Gang Leader Cheng's voice was wooden. "Even Heavenly Mountain hasn't offered a solution, and all the major sects have fallen silent. Sect Leader Lu may have discovered something, but I imagine it can only delay things a little."
"Even a little delay would be good...A few more days would bring us to the first of June. Then, at the Jade Pool Assembly..."
Her throat tight, her lips pressed together, Lu Yuque moved her feet like a wooden puppet and climbed the stairs one step at a time.
Just then, hurried, panicked footsteps rushed in from outside, and someone slammed open the inn's door.
Sect Master Xu looked up, recognized his reckless disciple, and frowned slightly. "What's the panic-pay your respects to Gang Leader Cheng."
But the young man heard none of it. The matter seemed to have exhausted all his mental strength merely to keep it contained, and the instant he saw that familiar face, it burst from his mouth.
"Master, Master! I heard, I just heard...Jiandu Villa has been wiped out. More than a hundred people, everyone there. Sect Master