Words Filled with Regret

A familiar royal blue figure stood atop the clouds, her robes fluttering gently in the morning breeze.

Feng Yi stood with his hands behind his back, the jade pendant at his waist shimmering with a warm luster under the sun. The pressure of a late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator subtly enveloped the area for a hundred miles.

Li Nanzhu's sword light paused slightly in mid-air. Although she knew her Master was shrouded in mystery and she had harbored doubts about him before—after everything she had experienced, seeing Feng Yi's familiar silhouette caused her strained nerves to relax instinctively.

"Master!" Feng Qingping cried out in pleasant surprise, her sword light accelerating forward.

Suisui hopped joyfully on Li Nanzhu's shoulder, its soul fire dancing high. The little skeleton pulled a candied fruit from the storage bag and held it up toward Feng Yi in a fawning gesture.

Jiang Yifan's flying sword remained at the tail of the group. The moment he saw Feng Yi, his tense brow finally smoothed out.

"You certainly caused quite a commotion," Feng Yi's voice was clear and gentle as his gaze swept across the four of them. "As your Master, I had to come and take a look."

Jiang Yifan immediately bowed his head in salute. "This disciple has caused trouble for—"

"Rise." Feng Yi flicked his sleeve, and a gentle wave of spiritual energy lifted everyone up. "The disciples of the Five Elements Dao Sect are not for outsiders to bully."

These words were like a warm current flowing into their hearts. Li Nanzhu noticed Jiang Yifan's stiff shoulders finally relax, and even Feng Weilan's usually stoic face broke into a slight smile.

Suisui leaped directly onto Li Nanzhu's head, its soul fire flickering happily.

"Let's go." Feng Yi turned, his cloud-like sleeves unfurling. "The second and seventh are still in closed-door cultivation. The sect has been quite lonely lately."

As they passed through the mountain-guarding array, Li Nanzhu clearly felt the familiar spiritual energy brush over her, like a pair of gentle hands brushing away the dust of their travels.

"We were only gone for half a month..." Li Nanzhu gently stroked Suisui's skull. "But it feels like it's been a long time."

Suisui clicked its jaw in agreement and stuffed a candied fruit into her mouth. The sweet flavor dissolved on her tongue, and Li Nanzhu suddenly felt her eyes grow warm.

Inside the mountain gates, the place was empty; the vast sect was home to only this handful of masters and disciples.

The blue stones of the sword-training square were polished bright by sword qi. In the corner sat the wooden training dummies they hadn't put away before leaving. The spirit plants in the medicine fields were lush and green, and a few newly planted moonlight grass stalks were already budding.

"How did Master know we were back?" Feng Qingping asked curiously.

Feng Yi chuckled and tapped the jade pendant at his waist. "The disciple tokens you carry were all hand-carved by me." He flicked his sleeve, and a thread of pale gold spiritual energy flowed through the air. "They contain a sliver of my divine sense, so I can naturally perceive your locations."

"So Master carved them himself!" Feng Qingping looked at her disciple token in surprise. Even Feng Weilan and Jiang Yifan couldn't help but examine theirs.

Li Nanzhu's heart, however, skipped a beat.

She subconsciously unfastened the disciple token at her waist—the very item that had triggered such an unusual reaction from Xiao Yan when he saw it.

Xiao Yan's complex gaze from that day flashed through her mind, along with those words full of regret he had spoken when he gave her the sparrow-head hairpin.

"If only I had learned more from him."

"Master's carving skills are indeed one of a kind." Feng Qingping leaned over, pointing at the cloud patterns on the edge of her token. "Look at these lines; even the most subtle turns are..."

Li Nanzhu's breathing quickened. She suddenly realized that the exquisite carving technique her teacher had used was clearly identical to Master's!

"Little Eight?" Feng Yi's voice pulled her back to reality. "What's wrong with your token?"

Li Nanzhu realized she was clutching her green jade token with a death grip.

She forced a smile. "No... nothing. I just remembered..." She swallowed her words. Xiao Yan had repeatedly warned her not to mention his existence to Master.

Feng Yi's gaze lingered on her hand for a moment. His eyes were so deep that Li Nanzhu's heart trembled.

But Master quickly looked away, turning to Suisui, who was sneakily eating candied fruit. "This little thing's soul fire has become increasingly solid."

Suisui immediately held up a honey-preserved plum like a precious treasure, its soul fire dancing cheerfully.

Feng Yi blinked and raised an eyebrow at Li Nanzhu. "Honey-preserved plums from the Hehuan Sect? You certainly know how to enjoy yourselves."

"That's right! Oh, Master! We also took a trip to the Northern Territory," Feng Qingping said.

"Mhm." Feng Yi merely nodded in response.

"Master, you knew...?" Jiang Yifan was also somewhat surprised.

Feng Yi chuckled. "The news of the restriction on the Jiang family's ancestral temple being triggered spread throughout the cultivation world three days ago." He gave the four of them a meaningful look. "The people from the Sword Heart Sect are still loitering around Chishui City."

Suisui tilted its head, its soul fire jumping happily, showing none of the wariness it had felt toward the third elder.

Inside the Sovereign Peak Great Hall, the familiar scent of agarwood lingered.

"Tell me about it." Feng Yi sat at the head of the hall and took the tea cup Feng Qingping handed him. "What exactly happened with the Jiang family?"

Jiang Yifan recounted the events in detail.

When he mentioned the memory stone, Feng Yi suddenly raised a hand. "Wait, you say the image only showed your backs?"

"Exactly," Feng Qingping took over. "And the background was blurred; you couldn't tell it was the ancestral temple at all."

Feng Yi rubbed the tea cup thoughtfully. "Interesting..."

"Did Master discover something?" Li Nanzhu couldn't help but ask.

"The restrictions on the Jiang family's ancestral temple were personally placed by their ancestor," Feng Yi said, taking a sip of tea. "If someone truly touched them, the memory stone should have recorded a front-facing image."

Jiang Yifan looked up sharply, shock flashing in his eyes. "How does Master know so much about the Jiang family's ancestral temple restrictions?" His voice was slightly strained. "Even as a direct descendant of the Jiang family, I was unaware of such secrets..."

Feng Yi's hand paused on the tea cup. The rising steam blurred his features. He gently set the cup down, his finger tracing a pattern on the table unconsciously, but he did not answer immediately.

Li Nanzhu noticed this subtle movement—whenever certain past events he didn't want to discuss were mentioned, Feng Yi would silently stroke the table like this.

It was just like the last time she asked about the sect's forbidden area; Master had traced the tabletop in the same way.

"Master, I want to know..." Jiang Yifan couldn't help but press further, his voice carrying a rare hint of anxiety.

Feng Yi sighed and took a sip of the now lukewarm tea, his gaze drifting to the distant mountains outside the hall. "Many years ago, an old friend once discussed the Jiang family's restrictions with me."

His voice suddenly became very soft, as if he were speaking to someone in his memories.

Suisui suddenly poked its head out from Li Nanzhu's arms and tentatively tugged at Feng Yi's robes.

"Stop that." Feng Yi suddenly returned to the present and gave Jiang Yifan a neutral look. "The Jiang family's affairs will be handled by their own clan leader. You all should focus on your cultivation these next few days and do not go out."

Li Nanzhu noticed that when Master said the words "clan leader," his gaze briefly and subtly swept over the jade pendant at Jiang Yifan's waist.

"Master." Jiang Yifan suddenly knelt. "This disciple wishes to..."