Better Safe Than Sorry

When did Old Four become so attentive?

He actually cared about whether his junior sister would lose her access token.

Wait, that wasn't right.

He squinted, and when he clearly saw the peace jade pendant hanging from Lin Mu's waist, he was startled again.

Wasn't that Old Four's most precious treasure?

In the past, he had bickered with Song Yao several times over this item. Even the Third Elder knew how important this jade was to Old Four.

This little girl was quite popular with the senior brother and sister of the main peak, wasn't she?

But it was only natural. The child was clever and beautiful, talented in cultivation, smart and well-behaved. It was hard not to like her.

It was just that he heard she couldn't study, falling asleep the moment she opened a book...

Maybe when they returned to the sect, he could trick her into learning artifact cultivation from him?

As he was thinking, Song Yao had already taken the access token and put it away. She spoke as if casually, “But those missing children from the Ming family still haven't been found. Did Fifth Senior Sister kidnap them too? Why would Fifth Senior Sister take so many children by herself?”

Without waiting for an answer, she added, “Also, Elder Huaisang and Family Head Wen died because they couldn't control Fifth Senior Sister and lost their lives. But what about the people in Wuzhou City who were attacked and afflicted with dark poison? Was that Fifth Senior Sister's doing as well?”

Faced with this barrage of questions, the Third Elder was momentarily dazed.

Xie Zhou reached out again to straighten her peace jade pendant slightly. “The one who attacked people in Wuzhou City was not Wen Tang.”

Song Yao asked, “How can you tell?”

Xie Zhou replied, “I fought him and saw his face. It was a man.”

He paused, then added, “And there was more than one.”

Song Yao realized. “I heard that Fifth Senior Sister has a special constitution. Not only can she cultivate dark poison, but she can also control Yin soldiers...”

As soon as she said this, she felt a pang of guilt.

There were many in this world who knew Wen Tang could cultivate dark poison.

But very few knew she could control Yin soldiers.

Meeting her Fourth Junior Brother's emotionless gaze, she quickly looked away and explained to the Third Elder, “Seventh Master told me.”

The Third Elder didn't think much of it, his brow furrowing deeply. “Do you mean Huaisang and the others actually wanted to use Wen Tang to control Yin soldiers?!”

Song Yao nodded. “Yes. Previously, Ye Chang'an and I encountered similar evil spirits outside Beiyao Sect. Back then, I found it strange that Elder Huaisang attacked them directly. Thinking about it now, those evil spirits must have been related to Fifth Senior Sister. They might have been Yin soldiers controlled by her.”

“If that's true...”

Zhu Zhao said, “As long as we spot anyone else using dark poison to attack, we can track them and find Wen Tang's location.”

As if thinking of something, Xie Zhou turned and left.

Seeing this, the Third Elder smiled and said to Song Yao, “Good, good, you really are a clever child. If we find your Fifth Senior Sister, we must have her thank you.”

Song Yao remained silent.

Although Fifth Junior Sister must have been controlled by someone to end up with blood on her hands,

the marriage alliance between Taiqing Pavilion and Beiyao Sect was just around the corner. Once the two major sects joined forces, if they decided to target Fifth Junior Sister, Nine Saints Hall would likely be forced into a war.

What should she do then?

Could she still peacefully buy a piece of land and farm?

A hand reached over and lightly flicked her forehead.

Caught off guard, she cried out in pain, clutching her head and looking forward with teary eyes.

Zhu Zhao had already walked past her, saying flatly, “Why the long face? Even if the sky falls, there are others to hold it up. Children should just focus on going back and studying hard.”

Stopping outside the Wen family's front hall, she paused and added, “Don't run around lately. You don't need to worry about Wen Tang's business.”

...

Since they had to bring the injured back, it was another two days before they returned to Nine Saints Hall.

Considering that many things had happened during this trip, the Teaching Elder showed great mercy and proactively granted her ten days of leave, exempting her from all classes.

Song Yao returned to the main peak in high spirits, but as she walked up to her courtyard, her heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Oh no.

She had left in such a rush this time that she forgot to entrust the chicks, ducklings, fish, and Lin Shui to Baicao Peak!

If she walked in and saw a ground full of corpses, would she be able to bear it?

Her heart instantly grew incredibly heavy, and her feet felt as if they were filled with lead.

She pushed the door open hesitantly, and a bark came from inside.

There was a survivor!

She immediately pushed the door open and went inside. Lin Shui excitedly pounced at her feet, his tail wagging like a propeller. In the corner pen, the chicks and ducklings had also grown much larger, huddling together and chirping endlessly.

They were all alive.

And they seemed to be living very well.

Every single one of them was plump.

“Ah, Junior Sister Lin, you're back so soon.”

He Yu emerged from behind, carrying a sack of millet on his shoulder. “Come back to Baicao Peak with me for dinner later. Master heard you were coming back and is already making dumplings.”

Song Yao agreed and humbly asked for advice, “Eldest Senior Brother, how did you feed them to make them so plump?”

Her livelihood for the rest of her life depended on this. Learning how to feed chickens and ducks was far more important than cultivation.

He Yu scratched his head. “I don't know. You can ask Second Senior Sister. She was the one feeding them before. When she went out later, she entrusted them to us to feed, and she even provided the feed.”

Song Yao was taken aback. “Zhu Zhao?”

He Yu said, “Yes. Second Senior Sister told us we absolutely must not forget. She said if they starved to death, you would throw a tantrum and might even cry.”

Song Yao: “...”

Something was wrong.

A sudden, ominous premonition welled up inside her.

Had she not behaved well and sensibly enough in front of Zhu Zhao?

Why would Zhu Zhao think she would throw a tantrum and cry?

Could Zhu Zhao... Surely she hadn't...

recognized her?

This premonition was inexplicably strong. Her spine stiffened slightly, and she unconsciously touched the heavy longevity lock around her neck.

After a while, He Yu finished feeding them and walked out. “What's wrong? Why do you look so pale?”

Song Yao: “...It's nothing.”

Suppressing her unease, she cleared her throat slightly. “Let's go. Let's head to Baicao Peak together.”

“Alright.”

...

It had actually only been a few days, but the Seventh Elder circled around her, inspecting her from head to toe, and sighed. “You barely had any meat on your bones to begin with, and now you've lost even more weight running around outside. I told you, since your soul is incomplete, you should just stay obediently in the sect. It won't be too late to do other things once your body is fully recovered.”

Song Yao held a bowl of dumplings, eating as she mumbled, “But isn't it impossible to fully recover anyway? It's fine, I won't die.”

The Seventh Elder tapped her head. “Phooey! How dare you speak such nonsense.”

Song Yao didn't take it to heart at all. She stuffed two more dumplings into her mouth and said with a grin, “What's going on? Why is everyone so superstitious? You can't even bear to hear these words?”

The Seventh Elder sighed. “It's better to be safe than sorry. Oh, wait a moment...”

He stood up and went into the Elixir Pavilion. Before long, he came out with a jade token and handed it to her. “I had some free time a few days ago, so I refined a few batches of pills for others. These are the spirit stones I received. Although your Fourth Senior Brother gave you a lot of money, don't you want to leave Nine Saints Hall in the future? It's not very good to keep using his spirit stones after all. Take these instead.”

Song Yao was startled and pushed it back to him. “But aren't you still in debt, Master? Pay off your debts first.”