Chapter Thirty-Two: What Corpse?
Chapter Three Released in the Afternoon
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At the outer entrance of the Blackwater Mountains, more than five hundred inner and outer disciples from the surrounding peaks had gathered at the command of their masters. Most were intermediate fire mages, with even several dozen advanced fire mages among them, all clad in combat attire reserved for battle situations, stationed every five steps along the mountain's perimeter. The atmosphere was extraordinarily tense.
All the registered disciples who had originally intended to enter the Blackwater Mountains were stopped at the entrance, forbidden from setting foot inside.
“What on earth is going on?”
Some latecomers, startled by the solemn and imposing scene before them, shrank back into the crowd and whispered their questions.
“It seems to be a beast tide! Why else would so many be mobilized? Look, even the Elders are here!”
Someone nearby retorted, “Beast tide? If it were, how could things be so quiet? They’re all here because of a distress flare—it’s probably the disciple of some important family figure inside.”
“I heard that too. Last time, Elder Ding’s grandson nearly lost his life... It caused quite a stir. Tsk, how lucky some people are; the slightest trouble and so many are dispatched.”
Speculations and rumors from the registered disciples left many inner disciples feeling frustrated. Even if the clan leader’s daughter were in trouble, such a show of force would be unnecessary. Wouldn’t it be enough to send a few five-star fire mages?
“Were the new batch of disciples all fools?”
“Who knows? The entrance is clearly marked, yet they still managed to miss it. Honestly, they could not be more clueless… The Hortonklin family mobilized so many people, set up obvious sentry posts, sealed off the mountain ahead of time—yet people are still wildly guessing.”
“Well, no one is more foolish than those from the Seventh Medicine Peak.”
Among the inner disciples, several openly sneered, “First, there was that overconfident Ding Yushan—six dead; now another dozen have teamed up and gone into the Blackwater Mountains... If I were Elder Xu, no matter how talented they are at fire magic, I’d have expelled them!”
“Taking in such disciples is simply asking for trouble.”
“Forget it, what’s the point of speculating? Once you enter the Blackwater Mountains, can you still come out? Even if Elder Xu wanted to take them in, all he could do now is mourn over their corpses.”
A burst of unrestrained laughter drifted to the ears of Michelle and her two companions waiting at the entrance.
Senior Li’s brows knitted in anger, ready to lash out.
“Now is not the time to stoop to their level,” Michelle said, her eyes never leaving the crystal chessboard in her hands, as if she hadn’t heard a word.
“But they’re too much!”
“If anything truly happened to the ones inside, then what they say is only the truth. Compared to that, knowing so many survived, we should be grateful.” Michelle’s gaze followed the eleven red dots on the crystal chessboard gradually approaching the entrance. Some color had returned to her pale face.
Of the thirteen, the whereabouts of every member were now accounted for. Ten had already met up with the rescue team, and the remaining three had safely escaped the three-star magical beasts’ territory from another direction.
A catastrophe of unprecedented scale had been averted—what was there left to argue about?
Senior Sister Wang stood up with a smile.
“Let’s go! Let’s welcome them. To escape from the forbidden zone of three-star magical beasts is truly remarkable.”
“Mm.” Hearing this, Senior Li’s anger dissipated, and he nodded, following the other two outside.
They had barely emerged when ten registered disciples from the Seventh Medicine Peak and Sang Long appeared, making their way out of the Blackwater Mountains.
“Michelle, Senior Sister!” Shiya, leading the group, flew into Michelle’s embrace like a fledgling returning to the nest, unable to hold back her sobs any longer.
“It’s all right, it’s all right now,” Michelle said, full of affection as she gently patted Shiya’s shoulder.
The other nine, who had been holding back their grief, now burst into tears as well upon seeing Senior Li, Michelle, and the others.
“Senior Brother Li!”
“Senior Sister Jin and Senior Brother Xie are dead…”
“And Senior Brother Xu…”
Had they heard this before looking at the crystal chessboard, the three would certainly have believed it. But now, they smiled gently, saying, “They’re fine, don’t worry.”
“They made it out too.”
“Really?!”
The registered disciples were stunned, their faces a mix of disbelief and hope—even Shiya stopped crying, looking up at Michelle in surprise and joy.
“Is it really true?”
The three turned at the sound of another voice—it was Sang Long, who had escorted the ten back and learned the whole story from them.
Stepping forward, Sang Long pressed, “They escaped from the Icefire Wolf?”
Senior Li answered without hesitation, “Of course it’s true—wait, what did you say? Icefire Wolf? A three-star, intermediate, dual-element beast? That’s what you encountered?!”
The name of the beast drained the color from the trio’s faces. They knew all too well the Icefire Wolf’s prowess—not even three intermediate two-star fire mages could hope to escape, let alone defeat it…
Yet the crystal chessboard showed three red dots racing back from the mountain’s edge.
The three exchanged perplexed, uneasy glances—something was off.
Sang Long, observing their faces, seemed to understand: “The captain knew how dangerous the Icefire Wolf was, and realizing those four had no chance, had me escort everyone else out to prevent a surprise attack…”
“Wait! You said there were four?”
Michelle interrupted.
“How many escaped?”
Sang Long paused, then suddenly realized something, his tone tightening, as if grasping at a crucial detail.
The trio tensed.
“…Three! Only three red dots on the chessboard!”
“Besides your original group—Jin Yu, Xiang Nan, and Xie Zhan—did you pick up anyone else?”
“It was Senior Brother Xu!” The reply crashed through Michelle’s mind like thunder, leaving her dazed and her vision swimming.
“We ran into him on the way.”
“If that’s the case, three making it out makes sense. Maybe it was thanks to Junior Brother Xu—he should be at the seventh level of two-star now, and with his elemental vortex, he could have given them a chance to escape. But perhaps he…” Sang Long’s words left the group in heavy silence.
Senior Li and Senior Sister Wang were so shaken by the news that they couldn’t speak, feeling as though they’d tumbled from heaven back into hell. When they’d seen the chessboard, they’d thought the crisis was over, never imagining that Master’s most promising disciple, Xu, would be the one to fall.
In the dead silence, time seemed to grind to a halt.
Sang Long glanced at Michelle and the others, their faces void of life, and sighed. “Junior Brother Xu did the right thing. To save thirteen registered disciples at the cost of his own life—he's a hero. I believe the clan will add him to the Hortonklin family’s Hall of Heroes and the ancestral records…”
The heads of all the registered disciples drooped even lower, especially Shiya, whose tears silently fell once more.
“Why all the weeping?”
“Sang Long, what’s happened?”
Suddenly, a familiar voice rang out among the crowd.
Sang Long looked up, momentarily stunned.
“Captain?”
The other five members of the rescue team had arrived, riding their magical beast mounts, only to find the entrance blocked by a crowd of grieving people.
“You’re back so soon? Where’s Junior Brother Xu’s body? Did you not even bring his remains?” Sang Long frowned—if nothing else, such a hero’s body ought to be recovered, even if it were only for a cenotaph.
“What body?”
From behind one of the rescue team members, Xu Wen poked out half his head, curiously watching Sang Long’s suddenly petrified face. His gaze shifted, meeting the tear-streaked, stunned faces of those standing behind Sang Long.
A few of the registered disciples forgot even to wipe the tears from their cheeks, staring at Xu Wen in utter disbelief…