"This...this small boat doesn't seem to be able to accommodate so many people. I wonder...how should we distribute them?"
A middle-aged elder spoke first, followed by a group of young disciples. The leaders of several nearby minor sects followed him, showing complete deference to him. Lu Zhaozhao guessed that he must have come from some mid-level sect.
At this moment, he asked Yunxian in a flattering manner, but Yunxian ignored him and instead looked at one of Qinghui's disciples and said to him, "The decision on the personnel to advance will be left to you."
The disciple was flattered and immediately agreed.
Lu Zhaozhao recognized the disciple; he was the personal disciple of the elder of the Discipline Hall and the official leader of Emperor Huizong's mission. However, she was not familiar with him and had only met him a few times, and they had never even exchanged a few words.
The disciple immediately began to organize things enthusiastically, negotiating with the leaders of the surrounding sects.
Lu Zhaozhao glanced at Bai Yuanshi, who was standing beside her with his arms crossed and a cold expression, and asked, "Senior Brother Bai, aren't you going to join the discussion?"
"Why should I go?" Bai Yuanshi glanced at her, and Lu Zhaozhao replied, "Doesn't Senior Brother Bai want Wenyuan Academy to have more places?"
"These are more than enough for Yue Cong to handle."
Bai Yuanshi spoke casually, seemingly unconcerned, then turned to Lu Zhaozhao and said, "Fairy Yaotong also went to negotiate, why didn't you go with her, Junior Sister?"
Lu Zhaozhao looked at the circle in the center of the negotiation. A group of Qinghui disciples surrounded her, and Yun Xian was also standing not far away. She probably went there because she felt that she hadn't been exposed fast enough.
"Senior Sister Yaotong can handle these matters, so I won't cause any trouble."
Lu Zhaozhao replied to him with a forced smile, saying exactly what he had said. The two of them stood at the edge of the line, which seemed rather quiet compared to the bustling activity in the center.
Those who could serve as team leaders were all outstanding disciples from various sects, some even being sect elders or sect leaders. Therefore, even though the initial arguments were heated, the plan was quickly finalized.
"Master Yunxian has used his spiritual sense to investigate. The spiritual energy fluctuations inside are quite strong. If anyone below the Nascent Soul stage goes in, they might encounter danger. In addition, there are limited seats on the ship, and each sect can only send three people on board. We will send someone back to bring those outside in after we have investigated the situation inside."
A disciple from Yaotong Sect returned with a message. She looked towards Lu Zhaozhao from afar, and Lu Zhaozhao immediately understood her meaning. She turned around and happily bid farewell to Master Bai Yuan: "Senior Brother, you heard it too. Each sect sends three people. I'm going to find Senior Sister. Senior Brother, you should also hurry back to Wenyuan Academy!"
After saying that, he walked briskly towards Yaotong.
Master Bai Yuan stared at her departing figure and instructed the disciple Wen Yuan who had come to find him: "Tell Nephew Yue to try to arrange for him to travel with the Tianyin Sect."
"Huh?" The junior disciple didn't quite catch his train of thought. He paused for a moment before replying, "Ah, yes."
"Junior Uncle, even if you have your own reasons, you should at least tell me a little bit. You went to the Tianyin Sect's group and asked me to arrange to be on the same boat as the Tianyin Sect. Anyone who didn't know better would think that you, Hongluan, have fallen for some fairy."
Yue Cong rubbed his temples and said helplessly to Bai Yuanshi.
After considering his words for a moment, Bai Yuanshi tentatively asked, "How much do you know about the Tianyin Sect?"
"You should ask Grandmaster Bu Lu Zhenren about this. I've heard he had some entanglements with Tianyin Sect Leader Xian Ji," Yue Cong said expressionlessly. He was getting really annoyed by all the questions that suddenly popped up around him, and to make matters worse, his usually composed junior uncle was doing something strange at this time.
"I think the woman next to Yaotong is a bit strange. I feel like I've seen her somewhere before." Bai Yuanshi didn't hide his doubts and directly expressed his question.
"No way, Uncle-Master, you've been cultivating for years and are also the academy supervisor. It's been so long since you left the sect. This trip to East Lake is the first time you've left the sect in over ten years, right? I haven't met that junior sister, but she looks to be only a teenager. You're not thinking of saying she was your childhood sweetheart before you joined the academy, are you? That's such an old-fashioned tactic. The young disciples of the academy don't use that anymore."
Yue Cong sharply criticized Bai Yuanshi and resolved to ignore him completely.
Bai Yuanshi also frowned. There weren't many young female disciples in the academy, and most of his impressions of them were of them deliberately making mistakes so that he would correct them. He went through all the female cultivators he remembered in his mind, but he couldn't find anyone related to Fusang.
Bai Yuanshi, who was in a dead end, began to doubt himself. Yue Cong seized the opportunity to add, "I think that junior sister just now didn't seem to want to talk to you. Uncle, in the future, when you go out, don't always recite the precepts with a stern face, and you won't be disliked like this."
"Wait, let me out!" Bai Yuanshi grabbed Yue Cong's shoulder. Yue Cong, confused, asked, "Yeah, what's wrong? Uncle-Master, why are you so jumpy today?"
Master Bai frowned, his eyes showing thoughtfulness, and said, "I suddenly remembered that a few years ago, I went out of the sect with my master, but our whereabouts were kept secret that time, so you didn't know."
"So, who did you and your grandmaster meet outside the academy?" Yue Cong realized that things were not simple and immediately became serious.
"I've met many people, just a multitude of people, and it's hard to leave an impression on anyone, but there is one exception."
"who?"
"The second disciple of Master Yunxian, the head of the Qing Dynasty's Huizong Sect..."
"Lu Zhaozhao!"
They both said the last sentence in unison.
"Impossible!" Yue Cong reacted and immediately rejected the answer. He lowered his voice and said, "Sect Leader Yunxian is right here. If it really is Junior Sister Lu, why would she infiltrate Tianyin Sect? Besides, Sect Leader Yunxian is her master. How could he not recognize her after so many days?"
"What if she wasn't here before?" Bai Yuanshi's gaze gradually darkened, revealing a firm resolve.
"What do you mean by that?" Yue Cong asked, puzzled.
“The Tianyin Sect and Wenyuan Academy are not far from each other by the lake. Most of the disciples know each other when they talk. But this Fusang suddenly appeared yesterday. Zhao means the sun; Fusang is also the rising sun. Lu Zhaozhao and Fusang may be the same person.”
Bai Yuanshi's analysis left Yue Cong somewhat bewildered, but he still raised his own question: "Then why didn't she go with Qinghui? That doesn't make sense. Your guess is too arbitrary."
Bai Yuanshi couldn't give a clear answer to this question, but he had a gut feeling that Fusang's identity was not simple.
That year, he traveled privately with his master because he had encountered a bottleneck in his cultivation. His master said that his overly rigid adherence to rules was actually detrimental to his cultivation.
To be honest, he didn't think there was anything wrong with following the law, but he still set off with his master.
In the vast ocean, he encountered Lu Zhaozhao. She alone with her sword unleashed deadly moves across the heavens and earth, with thousands of swords flying about, unrestrained and free, which was extremely shocking.
The battle at the Minghai Sea might have been just an ordinary event for Lu Zhaozhao, but it held a deeper significance for Bai Yuanshi.
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