Senior Brother!

Rong Yuying covered her lips with a light laugh, her eyes curving like crescent moons. "Who else could it be? That day in Qingyun City, her face..." She drew out her words playfully, "It turned green, then white, then green again..."

Jingyi’s stiff expression finally softened, and the corners of her mouth twitched upward uncontrollably.

Li Nanzhu’s ears flushed a deep red. Suisui tilted its skull on her shoulder, its soul fire curiously shifting into the shape of a question mark—it was the first time it had seen Li Nanzhu look so embarrassed.

Qinghe was already laughing so hard she had to lean against the cave wall for support. "Senior Sister, you should have said so earlier! If we’d known she was the one who made the Sword Heart Sect lose face, we wouldn't have..." She suddenly straightened her expression and gave Li Nanzhu a solemn, formal bow. "Junior Sister Li, please forgive our offense just now."

Jingyi also put away her jade ruyi, a rare smile appearing on her face. "I’ve long found those direct disciples of the Sword Heart Sect annoying. They try to snatch everything from us!" The way she looked at Li Nanzhu became significantly friendlier. "Anyone who can make them suffer is a friend of our Hehuan Sect!"

Li Nanzhu was caught off guard by this sudden wave of enthusiasm. Suisui cleverly jumped down to return the bow, but its movements were too frantic. Its skull detached with a sharp clack and went rolling across the floor, stopping right at Qinghe’s feet.

"Oh my!" Qinghe hurriedly picked it up and cradled it carefully back to Li Nanzhu. "Is... is it all right?"

Rong Yuying was laughing so hard her whole body trembled, causing the light from her glazed lamp to dance wildly against the rock walls. "Little Zhu, this bone spirit of yours... hahahaha!"

Li Nanzhu scrambled to reattach Suisui’s skull. The little skeleton hugged its own head piteously, its soul fire turning a bashful shade of pink.

"All right, that’s enough." Rong Yuying finally managed to stop laughing and wiped a tear from her eye. "Let's talk business." The glow of the glazed lamp cast soft shadows across her delicate features. "Little Zhu, tell us. How did you fall into this wretched place?"

Li Nanzhu pursed her lips, her fingers unconsciously stroking Suisui’s skull. "We... we received a distress signal from my fourth senior brother. We came looking for him, but shortly after entering the Blackwater Marsh, we encountered a giant octopus demonic beast in the swamp. During the fight, the ground suddenly collapsed..."

"An octopus?" Jingyi frowned in confusion. "We entered from the grotto entrance to the north. We didn't see any octopus."

Qinghe leaned in curiously. "What did it look like? Was it really huge?"

"Extremely large," Li Nanzhu gestured with her hands. "Its tentacles were covered in crimson..." She suddenly fell silent, remembering the fragment of the Red Flame Copper Mirror.

Rong Yuying nodded thoughtfully. "It seems this underground cave system has more than one entrance." She changed the subject. "However, after we came in, we did run into a giant python. It was pitch black with dark red patterns on its scales. We fought it three days ago. Yu'er was nearly dragged away by it..."

Li Nanzhu’s heart skipped a beat. "I was the one being chased by that python! It was only by luck that I fell down here..."

"That beast is indeed dangerous," Rong Yuying tapped her chin. "But it only stays in the eastern section of the caverns. The tunnels here are too narrow; it can't find us."

Suisui’s soul fire flickered slightly, as if recalling the terror of being hunted by the giant python.

"What happened then?" Yu'er asked softly. "Are you the only one who fell down?"

"No," Li Nanzhu shook her head, her voice dropping an octave. "My fifth senior sister and sixth senior brother also... but I can't contact them right now..."

Sensing her mood, Suisui used its bone claws to gently pat her cheek.

Bathed in the glow of Suisui’s soul fire, Li Nanzhu noticed out of the corner of her eye that Rong Yuying’s fingers were forming a truth-discerning spell within her sleeve—the sect’s top disciple appeared relaxed, but she was actually very cautious.

"Oh, don't be sad!" Qinghe suddenly grabbed her arm. "Since we’re all trapped here anyway, why don't we look for them together?"

Jingyi nodded in agreement, which was rare for her. "Qinghe is right. We came out this time to find our own missing junior sisters. More people means more strength."

Rong Yuying looked at them with a half-smile. "The three of you are certainly enthusiastic." She turned back to Li Nanzhu. "What do you say, Little Zhu? Will you join us 'pretty sisters'?"

Li Nanzhu blinked, clearly surprised by their warmth. Sensing their sincerity, she hesitated before asking, "Is that really okay?"

"Of course!" Qinghe said excitedly. "We in the Hehuan Sect can't stand seeing a young girl suffer. Besides, I’m telling you, Senior Sister Rong is the best at finding people..."

"Qinghe," Rong Yuying shook her head helplessly, "you're scaring Little Zhu." She looked at the wound on Li Nanzhu’s leg. "Let's treat that injury first."

Yu'er immediately pulled a pink porcelain bottle from her sleeve. "This is our sect's special hundred flowers jade dew ointment. it's very effective for external wounds."

Li Nanzhu thanked her and took it. Just as she was about to apply it, she remembered something. "Right, Senior Sister Rong, did you say you saw a pentagram mark further ahead?"

Rong Yuying nodded, directing the glazed lamp’s light toward the depths of the tunnel. "Right at the third fork. It was carved very neatly, and there are more further in."

"But I haven't been there yet..." Li Nanzhu’s voice tightened. "Could it be... left by my senior brother or sister?"

"It’s highly likely," Rong Yuying said, her playful demeanor vanishing. "But it’s just a plain pentagram mark with no other special symbols."

Upon hearing this, Li Nanzhu moved to go there immediately, but the wound on her leg made her stumble. Suisui quickly supported her, its soul fire flickering anxiously.

"Don't rush." Rong Yuying pressed a hand to her shoulder. "Since we have a direction, we’ll go look now." She turned to her three juniors. "Qinghe, go back and inform the second team. Jingyi, Yu'er, you two come with me."

Qinghe pouted. "Why is it always me?"

"Because you're the fastest on your feet," Rong Yuying said in an indisputable tone, then added, "and tell the second team to prepare some medicine and clean clothes."

Qinghe finally nodded reluctantly. Before leaving, she winked at Li Nanzhu. "Wait for me, I'll bring you some special snacks from the Hehuan Sect!"

Once Qinghe had left, Rong Yuying lifted the glazed lamp again. Her red sleeve traced a streak of light through the dim passage. "Come, I'll take you to see that mark."

After rounding two bends, Rong Yuying stopped. The light illuminated the pentagram mark carved into the rock wall.

"Look," she said, her fingertip tracing the edge of the carving. "The marks are fresh. The moss was just scraped away recently—at most an hour ago."

Li Nanzhu leaned in to look closely, her finger brushing over every line of the pentagram mark. Although it was a simple five-pointed star, the unique proportions and angles allowed her to confirm it instantly. "This is a mark from our Five Elements Dao Sect!"

Rong Yuying looked thoughtful. "There are several more like it further ahead." She led Li Nanzhu onward, and they found the same mark at the third fork.

However, this mark was visibly older, with tiny bits of moss already starting to grow back on the edges. Li Nanzhu realized this might have been left by her fourth senior brother. If she followed these marks, she might actually find him!

"Senior Sister Rong, are there more further in?"

"Yes." Rong Yuying pointed toward another dark tunnel. "They lead all the way in, and the markings get progressively older."

Before she could finish, a sudden surge of spiritual energy fluctuated from ahead. Rong Yuying’s expression changed instantly. A painted scroll flew from her sleeve, sweeping the four people and the skeleton into its protective space.

"Don't make a sound," she whispered, gathering spiritual energy at her fingertips.

Through the translucent canvas of the scroll, Li Nanzhu saw several black-robed men walking past, carrying an iron cage. Inside the cage was none other than the unconscious Feng Weilan!