Chapter 68: The Time Is Not Right

Xia Yi retreated a few steps, panting, and plopped down onto the ground. Folding her arms across her chest with a deeply furrowed brow, she asked anxiously, "What should we do then?"

Seeing her adorable expression, Lin Fei felt the heavy burden in his heart lift slightly. He smiled faintly and comforted her, "There will always be a way."

Xia Yi pondered for a moment, then nodded firmly and said, "You're right!"

In the time that followed, Xia Yi sat to one side and rattled on about various trivial matters.

For instance, the spirit fox Xiaobai had struck up a sworn brotherhood with the large yellow dog at the foot of East Ming Mountain, chasing and frolicking together up and down the mountain all day long.

Or how Qin Qianqian had become close friends with her, the two of them frequently following behind the Senior Brother to read their books.

And then there was the golden carp in the small stream, which had grown increasingly robust over time.

The young girl chattered endlessly about many things, yet from beginning to end, she never once mentioned the Lin family estate.

Because in her heart, that matter had nothing whatsoever to do with her.

Lin Fei listened quietly to her accounts until she finished, then signaled that it was getting late and told her to head down the mountain.

"I'll come see you again tomorrow!"

With a playful tone, Xia Yi patted the dust from her clothes and skipped merrily down the mountain, her figure gradually disappearing into the night.

A moment later, a faint groaning sound rose from the ground.

"Ouch, what... what just happened?"

Lü Bo rubbed the back of his head with his right hand, struggled to sit up, and looked at Lin Fei with a dazed expression.

Lin Fei cast his gaze toward the upper side of the peak and said calmly, "A loose brick fell down."

"Huh?"

Lü Bo looked around and indeed found a brick lying quietly on the ground. He muttered in confusion, "How bizarre, why am I so unlucky?"

...

It seemed that wherever Lin Fei was, lively company was never in short supply.

Lü Bo had never imagined that such a desolate place would receive so many visitors.

Di Yuan and Zhao Xiuyuan from North Wandering Mountain, Lu Shuili from South Mi Mountain, and even Fang Zhenghua, the highly regarded talented disciple from West Ridge Mountain, had all visited this place.

What piqued Lü Bo's curiosity the most, however, was Lu Shuili's seemingly youthful junior grand-uncle.

He arrived punctually every day and left punctually, staying the entire day as if he never grew tired of it.

Yet every time he saw her smile at him, Lü Bo felt a chill run down his spine, though he could not quite explain why.

Once again, as morning broke and he watched the young girl's figure recede into the distance below the peak, Lü Bo involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.

He turned his head, casting a complex gaze at the figure sitting cross-legged on the ground, a swirl of emotion welling up in his heart—feelings of sentiment, regret, and a trace of indescribable admiration.

Over these past days, an endless stream of people had come and gone, their words invariably revealing deep concern, or rather severity, regarding the impending plight Lin Fei faced.

Yet Lin Fei always maintained an air of utter nonchalance. Within this narrow forbidden zone, he would either chat idly with visitors or cultivate in solitude, acting as though he cared not a whit about his own fate.

What kind of experiences must one have endured to possess such unruffled composure?

Lü Bo asked himself inwardly, realizing this was the first time in his life he felt genuine respect for someone.

Although they were close at hand, and Lin Fei had never shown any sign of contempt or condescension when speaking with him, Lü Bo always felt an unbridgeable chasm lay between them—one ten times wider than the distance from his hometown to the Sword Sect.

"What are you actually thinking?" Lü Bo asked earnestly. "If the Sword Sect's rules are enforced, this time you might be expelled from the sect, or even worse, have your cultivation crippled and be forbidden from ever touching a sword again."

Lin Fei remained silent for a long time before simply shaking his head. "I have nothing to think about."

"You really are a freak!" Lü Bo rolled his eyes, then suddenly remembering something, he added with a hint of disdain, "By the way, people from the other three peaks have all come, so how come not a single shadow from East Ming Mountain has shown up? Could it be they're afraid of being implicated by you? Tsk tsk tsk."

In recent days, even Fang Zhenghua from West Ridge Mountain had openly come to visit despite the suspicions of his peers, whereas East Ming Mountain had remained entirely unattended.

This abnormal situation had even sparked rumors from the outside world, with some claiming that East Ming Mountain had received a hint from the Sect Master and had already decided to abandon this sinful disciple.

Lin Fei's expression remained tranquil. After pondering for a long time, he slowly said, "Perhaps it's because this matter isn't over yet."

...

On East Ming Mountain.

No matter how the winds and clouds shifted in the outside world, tranquility always reigned here, as if time had frozen, remaining eternal and unchanged.

Qin Qianqian was watering the flowers amidst the blossoms, but her thoughts seemed to have drifted far away, leaving her somewhat absent-minded.

"You've given the flowers enough water," Yan Qiu's gentle voice sounded beside her ear.

Only then did Qin Qianqian snap out of her reverie, hurriedly pulling back the watering can and smiling apologetically.

Yan Qiu asked softly, "Something on your mind?"

Hesitating for a moment, Qin Qianqian finally spoke in a small voice, "Senior Brother, why won't you let me go to West Ridge Mountain to visit Senior Brother Lin Fei?"

Over these past few days, gossip and rumors from the outside world had more or less reached her ears, inevitably stirring anxiety in her heart.

"The time is not yet right." Yan Qiu smiled and shook his head.

Gathering her courage with a trace of grievance, Qin Qianqian said, "But people outside are saying that we don't want Senior Brother Lin Fei anymore... What if Senior Brother Lin Fei misunderstands as well?"

Yan Qiu gently patted her head with his right hand, a hint of a smile in his voice. "Don't underestimate your Senior Brother Lin`.

Patiently, he explained, "Right now, he is like a piece on a chessboard, while we are merely bystanders. We must first discern the opponent's intentions; stepping in rashly would only make us far too passive."

Though Qin Qianqian only half-understood, she knew her Senior Brother always had his reasons.

Yan Qiu suddenly asked, "Do you believe what those outsiders say about your Junior Brother?"

Qin Qianqian shook her head firmly. "I don't believe it!"

Yan Qiu asked again, "What if Junior Brother really did those things?"

Qin Qianqian's gaze turned resolute, her tone carrying a trace of stubbornness. "Then I still believe that he must have had a very important reason for being forced to do so!"

"That is enough." Yan Qiu nodded with a smile, then turned and walked away from the sea of flowers.

Qin Qianqian pulled her thoughts back and continued her flower-watering task, yet an indescribable sense of emptiness lingered in her heart.

Involuntarily, she turned her head to look.

The cliff terrace was entirely empty.

There should have been a black-clad figure lying on a lounge chair right there.

...

The turmoil within the Sword Sect had been intensifying day by day, but the matter was far from reaching a settled conclusion.

Because with the return of Qingyi Peak's Peak Master, Ning Baitao, three days later, the Sword Sect suddenly burst forth with an even more astonishing piece of news.

This news acted like pouring oil on fire, propelling the name Lin Fei to the absolute forefront of public opinion and completely igniting the entire Sword Sect.