The Tracking Mark

"This will be enough." Rong Yuying turned, her round fan swaying gently. "You should hurry and enter the city."

Li Nanzhu was taken aback. "But didn't you say before..."

"That was for the Sword Heart Sect's benefit," Elder Hua chuckled, the begonia at her temple swaying in the wind. "If I truly took you back to the sect, it would make my Hehuan Sect seem quite heartless."

Feng Weilan's grip on his blade loosened slightly. "Aren't you afraid that we..."

"If the Five Elements Dao Sect truly conspired with evil cultivators, they could have just watched our disciples fall into danger." Elder Hua's gaze swept over the four, pausing for a moment on Suisui. "They certainly wouldn't have risked themselves to save Suxin and the others."

Rong Yuying suddenly leaned into Li Nanzhu's ear, her voice low. "Actually, I'm more curious..." Her fingertip lightly tapped Suisui's skull. "What kind of treasure is it that the Sword Heart Sect cares so much about?"

A chill ran down Li Nanzhu's spine, but the other woman suddenly pulled back with a cunning smile. "But that's a secret of your Five Elements Dao Sect. We of the Hehuan Sect understand boundaries. Besides, as allies, I can afford to give you this much trust."

Elder Hua also turned. "Yuying, it's time to go. We still need to clean up the mess at Blackwater Marsh."

"I know." Rong Yuying turned with a light laugh, then suddenly remembered something and tossed a package over.

Li Nanzhu caught it instinctively. It was an oil-paper bundle, still faintly warm.

"Doesn't Suisui like these?" she laughed. "Suxin and the others insisted I give this to you. They made these personally; they're quite delicious."

Elder Hua looked at them, pondering for a moment before finally speaking. "Give my regards to Daoist Master Feng Yi. As for the Sword Heart Sect..." She smiled meaningfully. "I will say that my Hehuan Sect has already 'thoroughly investigated' the matter."

The last scent of Hehuan flowers dissipated in the wind. Only then did the four realize their palms were soaked in cold sweat. In the distance, a thin mist rose from the marsh, completely swallowing the figures of the Hehuan Sect.

Feng Qingping finally let out a long breath. "This Hehuan Sect... is not at all like the rumors."

Feng Weilan suddenly frowned. "Something's wrong. Why did they let us go so easily? Even if they believe us, by normal logic they should have..."

"Because they are smarter than the Sword Heart Sect." Li Nanzhu stroked Suisui while looking at the northern sky. "What the Hehuan Sect truly cares about is the Northern Territory mentioned by the evil cultivators... and their soon-to-be-lost position among the Eight Sects."

Once the three from the Hehuan Sect were far away, Elder Hua flicked a begonia petal from her sleeve, which transformed into a soundproofing barrier in the air.

"Yuying, is this truly wise?" Elder Hua's brow furrowed slightly, her fingers unconsciously stroking the jade pendant at her waist. "Letting the Five Elements Dao Sect disciples go just like that... if Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao demands accountability..."

Rong Yuying snapped her round fan open, the embroidered Hehuan flowers on it shimmering with spiritual light. "Martial Aunt Hua, considering the Sword Heart Sect's behavior in recent years, even if my grandmother has some friendship with Immortal Venerable Ling Xiao... when faced with real interests, would they truly tolerate us continuing to hold a seat in the Eight Sects?"

The croaking of marsh frogs echoed from afar. Elder Hua remained silent for a moment, the gold bells in her sleeve chiming softly. "...If that incident a thousand years ago hadn't happened, and the Five Elements Dao Sect hadn't gone into seclusion..."

"But look at those disciples!" Rong Yuying suddenly turned, pointing her round fan in the direction Li Nanzhu and the others had left. "That Li Nanzhu is barely thirteen in bone age, yet she can control such a peculiar dao-protecting bone spirit. And that Feng Qingping—the technique she used to set up the array earlier makes her at least a tier 4 array master. Not to mention the disciple in red... he's likely a member of the Jiang family!"

Elder Hua's pupils shrank. "You mean..."

A marsh firefly landed on Elder Hua's shoulder, illuminating her tensed jawline, while Yu'er was already standing guard nearby.

"The Five Elements Dao Sect has never produced mediocrity." Rong Yuying lowered her voice. "I noticed the patterns on that red-clad disciple's storage bag... those are patterns only a direct descendant of the Jiang family can possess. Aunt, do you think these are all coincidences?"

Elder Hua suddenly performed a hand seal. Several streaks of sword light, attempting to approach from outside the barrier, flickered—it was the signature technique of the Sword Heart Sect.

She snorted coldly, and three gold bells flew from her sleeve, shattering the sword light.

"What if we lose the gamble?" Elder Hua suddenly asked.

Rong Yuying tapped her round fan against her palm, a brilliant smile suddenly blooming on her face. "At worst, we get kicked out of the Eight Sects. Isn't that something we've already prepared for? But think about it, if the Five Elements Dao Sect truly returns to the cultivation world..." She leaned in and whispered, "Who would be the first to panic?"

The night wind blew, and mist rose over the marsh.

Elder Hua gazed at the faint outline of Chishui City in the fog and suddenly laughed. "No wonder the Sect Master always says you're just like her in her youth."

"Does that mean you agree, Aunt?"

"Let's wait and see." Elder Hua took a begonia flower from her hair, the petals drifting toward the direction Li Nanzhu had gone. "That bone spirit in that girl's arms... I feel like I've seen it in an ancient text somewhere."

Rong Yuying suddenly remembered something. "By the way, Suxin and the others said..."

"Shh—" Elder Hua suddenly grabbed Rong Yuying's wrist. A shadow moved among the distant trees as a pitch-black mechanical bird took flight, its beak flickering with an unnatural red light.

The two exchanged a look and tacitly changed the subject.

"We must reward Suxin and the others well when we return." Elder Hua raised her voice intentionally, but her finger quickly traced the words 'Sword Heart Sect' in Rong Yuying's palm. "It's thanks to them holding out until the rescue arrived."

Rong Yuying caught on and giggled behind her fan. "Isn't it so? Once we're back at the sect, I'll let them pick anything they want from the treasury..."

Before she could finish, the mechanical bird suddenly exploded into a cloud of black mist, which was instantly dispersed by a begonia flower flicked by Elder Hua.

"Go!" A flying magic tool flew out of Elder Hua's sleeve. "We'll rendezvous first."

...

Li Nanzhu and the others didn't head for the teleportation array immediately. Instead, they chose a tea house and sat in a private room. After all, they still had matters to resolve.

For example... the Jiang family.

Meanwhile, Suisui was busy gorging itself on the oil-paper package. Inside were a dozen translucent spirit fruit preserves, each carved into the shape of a Hehuan flower.

"This craftsmanship..." Feng Qingping picked one up to examine it closely. "This takes at least ten years of practice to master."

Jiang Yifan suddenly reached out to stop the snack. "Wait!" He quickly pulled a magic tool from his storage bag, and it suddenly lit up!

"There's a tracking mark inside!"

Li Nanzhu's pupils shrank, only to see that Suisui had already swallowed a third preserve!

"Suisui, don't eat it!"

"Don't panic." Feng Weilan held back Jiang Yifan and Li Nanzhu. "Look."

Several golden silk threads suddenly emerged from Suisui's chest cavity—it was the tracking mark being forced out. The little skeleton tilted its head, and its bone claws snapped the golden threads with a pop. Its soul fire danced happily.

"The Hehuan Sect is..." Feng Qingping frowned. "Sending preserves while planting a tracking mark. What exactly do they mean by this?"