Chapter 192: Chapter 43 Sword Saint of the Tian Gang_3
Xi Wen patted Ah Dai’s shoulder, his voice deep and serious: "Kid, stop crying. Don’t worry. Owen certainly didn’t die for nothing. Our master has always been protective of us. He’d never let the Assassin’s Guild members roam free. You’ve had a tough journey. Take some rest before we think about other things. From now on, no calling us uncles. Call us Martial Uncles, understand? And the master should be called Grandmaster."
Ah Dai wiped his tears away and nodded: "Yes, eldest Martial Uncle."
Back in the sword sect, Ah Dai was assigned to a regular room. The adjacent rooms were assigned to the Yan Shi brothers and Xuan Yue. The Yan Shi brothers were already asleep. But Xuan Yue had been waiting for him.
"Ah Dai, what happened to you? Why are your eyes red? Did something happen?" Xuan Yue asked, concerned at his forlorn expression.
Ah Dai took Xuan Yue’s little hand and said, "Yue Yue, the Grandmaster wants to accept me as his disciple and make me the third generation of the Tian Gang Sword Sect. I’m not ill, just saddened by the thought of Owen."
Xuan Yue was taken aback. "Grandmaster? You mean the Sword Saint of Tian Gang. But if you join the Tian Gang Sword Sect, you won’t be able to travel the continent with me anymore. That’s not okay. You’re my follower and you’re supposed to accompany me."
Ah Dai lowered his head, "I, I don’t know, my mind is in chaos."
Seeing Ah Dai’s distress, Xuan Yue didn’t push him. In a gentle voice, she said, "You had a long journey tonight. Take a rest first, we’ll talk when you wake up." After pushing him onto the bed and tucking him in, she went to leave but Ah Dai held her hand: "Yue Yue, can you stay with me a little longer? I feel so lonely."
Xuan Yue nodded lightly, pulled up a chair and sat beside Ah Dai. She let him hold her hand, whispering: "Get some sleep. Everything will have passed once you wake up."
Clinging to Xuan Yue’s soft hand, Ah Dai’s agitated heart gradually calm down. He was indeed exhausted and soon fell into a deep sleep.
It wasn’t until evening that Ah Dai woke up from his sleep to find Xuan Yue gone, and the room empty. He lay in bed, gently caressing the Sword of Hades hanging from his chest, his thoughts drifting back to meeting the Sword Saint of the Tian Gang that morning. His heart was a turbulent sea. The aura of power and authority emanating from the Sword Saint and Xi Wen made him feel utterly insignificant. He knew very clearly that even using Nether Flash wouldn’t affect them at all. With his current abilities, revenge for Owen seemed impossible. He would have to focus on his cultivation.
Just then, the door suddenly opened and Xuan Yue slipped in, tiptoeing as though she thought Ah Dai was still asleep. When she saw Ah Dai’s eyes wide open, she was startled. "Hey, when did you wake up? You scared me, not speaking when I came in."
Ah Dai forced a smile and sat up. "I just woke up, Yue Yue. Didn’t you get some rest?"
Xuan Yue replied: "I did sleep for a while. Come on, the old fellas want us to join them for a meal. Yan Shi and Yan Li have already gone down."
Ah Dai frowned, "Yue Yue, don’t be disrespectful to the Martial Uncles. They are our elders, worthy of respect."
Xuan Yue stuck out her cute little tongue. "I know. Let’s go."
Ah Dai got up from the bed and tidied himself up. Under Xuan Yue’s lead, he arrived at the main hall of the Tian Gang Sword Sect again. There were more tables in the hall, with the senior disciples sitting at the top. The Yan Shi brothers were seated at the end of the table in a respectful manner. The table was spread with several dishes, and the tantalizing aroma made Ah Dai’s stomach rumble.
Xi Wen gave him a faint smile and said: "Ah Dai, come on, we have been waiting for you." Ah Dai and Xuan Yue took the seats beside Yan Shi and Yan Li.
Xi Wen spoke again: "Since it’s your first time here, we don’t have anything special to welcome you with. Just some local produce that we all eat at the sect. Though you were guests before, we won’t make exceptions."
All four of them were hungry. They didn’t fussy about the food and dug into the delicious dishes. Even Xuan Yue ate a lot. Contrarily, the seven martial uncles had eaten very little. Their moods had been somber since they had heard about Owen’s fate.
"Ah Dai, how did you meet Yan Shi and the others? I heard from Feng Ping that you were alone when he first saw you. How did you meet them so quickly? And this little girl from the Holy Church, who is your parent? How come the church let you roam around the continent? You’re under the age for the trials, aren’t you."
Ah Dai gave Xuan Yue a glance and began to talk about how he met her, how he accepted the mission to the Death Mountain Range, and what they encountered at the Pu Yan and the Elf Clan, leaving out the fact that Xuan Yue’s father was one of the Red Bishops of the Church.
After hearing his story, Lu Wen laughed. "You young people really have no fear. How dare you venture into the Death Mountain Range! Thankfully, the kind Elves had stopped you, otherwise, once you’d reached there, there might have been no return."
Xi Wen turned his gaze to Yan Shi, his tone gentle, "I never thought your wife would be murdered by Yan Ju. Sigh! Yan Ju was a good kid, but his lust for power led him to the devil’s path. It must be so hard for you! A man can be born again as a human, only to suffer again. Yan Shi, if you are willing to stay, I can accept you as a genuine Tian Gang Sword Sect disciple." He knew what sort of man Yan Shi was, and now as the sect leader of the Tian Gang Sword Sect, he had the authority to make such a commitment.
