Chapter 289: Random Elders Know How To Play It Safe? Unbelievable!

Convinced by Senior Brother Lin’s ominous analysis of the situation, Han Xuhan decided to return to the sect.

Of course, he didn’t intend to return alone. That would be too dangerous. What if there really was an alarmed, ill-intentioned expert somewhere in this city, intending to hunt him down?

Since his current ’bodyguards’ had their own mission, they couldn’t accompany him back to the sect. So, left without a choice, Han Xuhan pulled out a small, crystalline blue Artifact from his pocket, and triggered the mechanism inside with his qi.

It was an emergency contact amulet capable of moving even the most senior Elders of the sect. Anyone within the signal’s reach was duty-bound to appear and help!

Staring at the glowing Artifact in his hand, Senior Brother Lin couldn’t help but ask, "Er... Junior Brother Xuhan, how many times have you used that signal since you became a disciple of our sect? The fuel for the signal inside it seems dangerously low!"

Han Xuhan awkwardly scratched his head for a moment before starting to count the instances on his fingers. He had used it inside the Holy Land of Laws, several times in fact, only to later realize that being inside an isolated world fragment meant that the signal wouldn’t reach the sect.

When the count exceeded five... Senior Brother Lin wisely chose to disengage from the conversation, his heart filled with bitterness.

Ordinary outer court disciples wouldn’t even dare trigger this signal unless they were facing imminent mortal danger. Not only would they face harsh admonishment from the responding Elders, but they’d also have to purchase a new Artifact with their own money once the free one’s fuel ran out.

What’s the cost, you ask?

999 Spirit Stones.

Why so costly, you ask?

It was to discourage the disciples from treating the Elders of the Sect like some hired laborer. After all, the Elders were usually busy with their own matters. And one cannot temper their character through hardships and danger if they always have powerful backers rushing over to help them over minor issues.

But for special disciples like Han Xuhan, such unspoken rules didn’t exist at all!

Which Elder would dare to admonish a disciple cherished by the Sect Master like his own grandson? Anyone who knew a thing or two about the magnificent public duel held a few days ago would understand the situation.

As for the unusual cost of the Artifact... heh.

Senior Brother Lin was certain that if he asked Han Xuhan’s opinion on it, the response would be a dao-heart-shattering, common-sense-violating, outrageous set of words.

’Just 999 spirit stones? Isn’t that awfully cheap for hiring an expert at the peak of the Soul Reformation realm for protection?’

Senior Brother Lin could easily imagine this troublesome Junior Brother saying such a thing. His pockets were as deep as the Poison Ocean.

For the time being, none of the disciples dared to stay outside, fearing sudden ambush. So, the wait for a powerful Elder to arrive in Green Curtain City became somewhat torturous.

Sitting among them inside the inn, Han Xuhan kept replaying every piece of memory his native self had of this place. He even used his foundation tower, bringing alive many scenes from the past inside the chamber produced by the False Remembrance Illusion Art.

None of the older memories really stood out, but a very recent film of memory caught his eye. While rewatching his unsettling encounter with that creepy man from last night, Han Xuhan discovered a grim detail.

"Wait, that madman... Wasn’t he practically admitting that he recognized me? He just couldn’t say, or couldn’t remember how..."

As a child who had lived in the orphanage, the memories related to his existence had been wiped out from everyone’s mind. Yet that guy had actively spoken to him and provided such a critical message in a bizarre manner!

What was his intention? Could he be the expert who had erased the orphanage out of existence?

But wouldn’t that mean he’d want to do the same with Han Xuhan? Why did he let him retreat to safety last night?

Or was he trying to warn Han Xuhan about what had happened to the orphanage?

Han Xuhan’s thoughts became a tangled mess as time passed slowly. Every possibility seemed close to the truth, yet choosing one felt like stepping into a trap.

Suddenly, two senior disciples sitting next to him jumped to their feet, their countenances changing drastically.

"Someone’s laying a formation outside! We’re being isolated!" One of them hissed.

"Wood and Earth elements are being subjugated as we speak. It’s a powerful second grade composite formation!" The other said after closing his eyes for a second.

A female disciple took off a ring from her fingers and pulled it open, revealing a small transparent orb inside. As all eyes gathered on the orb, a streak of bright red ink appeared within its body, slowly growing in size until it turned the entire orb red.

Han Xuhan felt nothing but confusion, but the senior disciples collectively breathed in relief.

"The elemental signature belongs to our Sect. An Elder has arrived!"

Sure enough, the inn’s door opened at that very moment to let in a stern-faced man. He wasn’t one of the senior Elders who taught classes in the outer court, but they all knew him.

Elder Zuo, one of the heads leading the Detention Pavilion, perfectly capable of handling wayward cultivators and tricky situations.

"What’s going on here? How did you run into a problem here when your mission was to break into the forbidden-" The Elder paused at the most critical part of his question, his gaze locking in on Han Xuhan.

"You? Why are you here?"

His tone didn’t sound quite friendly. But Han Xuhan could understand his sentiments. Chen Yan was, after all, a member of the disciplinary committee working under the authority of this Elder.

"The sect master advised me to visit... a place of importance," Han Xuhan responded with vague words. "But we ran into a situation here that we’re not qualified to deal with, Elder."

Elder Zuo looked at Senior Brother Lin, the leader of the group, for confirmation, and he was quick enough to match his account with Han Xuhan’s description. Han Xuhan shot him a grateful look for that.

There was no point in honestly informing this Elder about the orphanage and what it meant to him. As it was tied to his origin, he felt that the information might be a bit sensitive, not to mention, the sect’s way of handling the Pine town situation hadn’t seemed particularly encouraging.

Months had passed since that town had disappeared, but the mystery hadn’t been cracked at all. What was the use of giving away something even more disturbing when it could implicate himself?

It wasn’t as if the Elders in the sect all had good intentions towards Han Xuhan either. During the duel with Chen Yan, many of them had proven themselves quite biased against him for reasons unknown...

With that thought in mind, Han Xuhan and Senior Brother Lin gave the Elder a combined account of his encounter with the creepy cultivator from last night, as well as the erasure of the orphanage, framing the latter as an accidental discovery.

The Elder’s face turned grave by the end. He thought for a long time before making decisions.

"If we begin investigating right now, I alone may not be able to handle the situation. Disciple Lin, hide your auras and sneak your group out of this area as quickly as possible.

"Your mission can’t be delayed, let alone getting entangled in an issue this dangerous. I will accompany disciple Xuhan back to the sect and then inform the Sect Master about this matter."

Han Xuhan felt a pang of disappointment, fearing that by the time more experts arrived from the sect, the trail of the mystery might not be traceable anymore.

But there was no denying the fact that this was the safest course of action at the moment.