Blooming Flowers, Silent Sorrow

Chapter 86

After several days of recuperation, Huai En was ready to set off. Although he had instructed the Beggar Sect to continue searching for the whereabouts of Da Li Yan, there was no immediate result. The first place he thought of was his old hideout.

There were many rare and exotic treasures within the Sect of Unity. Although he could not be certain, he had a seventy to eighty percent confidence that the Crimson Demon Flower would be there; moreover, even a ten percent chance was worth risking his life for.

The Jin Banner Mountain Range, located in the southern part of Jiangxi, was majestic and sprawling, covering thousands of miles. The scenery was bold and imposing, and the terrain was extremely treacherous. It was nearly impossible to find the Sect of Unity's location in Jin Banner Mountain without someone to lead the way.

Huai En had grown up in this area and was naturally familiar with it. However, the proper path up the mountain was no longer accessible to him; he had returned this time to steal, and if he were discovered by people from the Sect of Unity, it would inevitably lead to serious trouble.

Although Huai En was not confident that he could forcefully break through the layers of skilled fighters from the Sect of Unity, he did not believe anyone could stop him if he made a stealthy assault.

From central Guizhou to southern Jiangxi, Huai En traveled at a slow pace. Along the way, he was tracked by several groups of people but managed to shake them off every time. Sometimes he had to detour, taking more than a month to finally reach Jin Banner Mountain.

Although no one was following him now, if someone analyzed his travel route, it would be easy to guess where he was heading. Therefore, he had to act quickly. The people of the Sect of Unity were widespread and highly skilled, akin to having the ability to reach the heavens; news of his entry into Jiangxi would have undoubtedly reached the ears of Zong Zheng Yu Zhan. Yet, Huai En had no other choice but to visit the secret chamber of the Sect of Unity, no matter the risk.

He obtained news from the Beggar's Sect along the way that many years ago, the Tianyi Gate on Mount Huai had acquired a Red Demon Flower. It was uncertain whether it still existed; if he couldn't find it here, he would immediately detour to Mount Huai. The Tianyi Gate was renowned in the martial world for their unique lightness skill, but when it came to martial prowess, they were only considered second-rate. He was prepared to seize the flower by force if necessary.

That night, he wore a set of night clothes and climbed up the mountain from the cliff at the back, infiltrating the sect almost effortlessly. The number of guards he encountered along the way was the same as usual. If Zong Zheng Yu Zhan had truly intended to guard against him, it wouldn't have been so easy. Could it be... intentional?

Huai En observed the key area of the sect, which was only guarded by two men who were now lying on the ground.

This puzzled him greatly. It seemed apparent that Zong Zheng Yu Zhan was willingly handing over the item, whether out of guilt or as a favor carried downstream. He didn't care about the reason; achieving his goal was all that mattered. Yet now, even the guards had been knocked out—this was superfluous. They might as well not have stationed any guards at all.

There must be a trick to it, but whatever awaited him ahead, it wouldn’t stop him. He no longer concealed himself and strode directly inside.

As expected, the door to the secret chamber was open, merely ajar. He pushed the door without hesitation and sensed someone's presence inside.

Following the long staircase down to the bottom, Huai En furrowed his brows and stood under the wall torch, looking at the figure hidden in the corner.

A figure in pale yellow slowly emerged from the shadows, their youthful and beautiful voice ringing out like an oriole, resonating deeply in the spacious chamber.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time."

The figure before him was indeed Xiao Bao's beloved sister, Jin Xiaoyu, or perhaps she should be called Xue Lianqing.

The young girl had grown even more delicate and beautiful after not being seen for over half a year. Her pale yellow silk shirt made her small face appear pale and tender. However, the innocence and petulance that was evident when she was beside Xiao Bao was nearly impossible to trace now, replaced by a sheer indifference.

Huai En scanned the surroundings and asked, "Do you know why I am here?"

"Of course, I have always been paying attention to my brother’s affairs."

"Where is the Red Demon Flower?"

"Here with me. It's something that could save my brother's life. I hid it to prevent it from being stolen."

Huai En was not polite, "Give it to me."

A mocking smile appeared on the young girl's face, "Of course, I will give it to you." She tilted her head and chuckled, "Do you know how much I want to kill you? But for my brother’s sake, I have to cooperate with you, a beast, so you can take what I've been carefully protecting to my brother to claim credit."

Huai En fell silent for a moment, "If you want to kill me, you'll need the ability."

"I don't need to lift a finger to kill you, do you believe that?"

Huai En nodded, "There are many who want my life; you indeed aren't high on that list. Stop the nonsense and give me the item."

With a wave of her hand through the air, a large wooden box flew precisely into Huai En’s hands.

With a swift motion, Huai En sliced off the lock on the box, opened it, and indeed, inside lay a large dried flower, carefully wrapped in layers of rice paper and tied with a red silk knot. Upon unwrapping the rice paper, the fiery red color of the legendary Red Demon Flower, Daliyan, was revealed.

Xiaoyu watched Huai En with a cold laugh, "Although I think of leaving this wretched place every moment, I know you can't take me with you now. But one day you'll surely come back to take me away. Keep your life safe for the day my brother and I can reunite; you can't die too soon."

Huai En carefully sealed the box and wrapped it securely with a cloth strap on his back. Without giving Xiaoyu another glance, he turned and walked away.

Xiaoyu's gloomy voice rang out from behind him, "Zong Zheng Huai En, for what you have done to my Jin family, I will make sure you pay back double."

Extracting the flower from the sect had been unexpectedly smooth, and Huai En was delighted, clutching the flower as if it were a lifeline. After days of relentless travel and sleepless nights, he finally found some comfort. Eager to return to Dali to see Xiao Bao, he felt a twinge of fear and, after much hesitation, decided to first go to Tianyi Gate on Mount Huai to secure another plant, hoping to bring more joy to Xiao Bao.

Little did he know that this detour would lead to an unforeseen delay that would last several months.