Chen Wentian secretly watched until the women finished bathing and put on fresh clothes before sneaking away. He circled around and approached the river bank once again from the air, with his immortal aura on blast.Those in the Spirit Initiate Realm looked up in the sky in alarm, sensing a powerful approaching aura.
"Don"t worry, it"s our master." Song Wushuang explained to them.
Chen Wentian landed and saw the women had just started a few campfires to cook breakfast. Li Yuechan was out of medicine but she still had plenty of rice and dried foods in her spatial bag which she distributed to the hungry women. He ignored the curious gazes around him as he went directly towards his disciples.
"Master!" His five disciples bowed.
The Glacier Sect women watched silently as Chen Wentian quietly discussed the situation with the five sisters. Almost none in this group had attended the Immortal Sect Compet.i.tion and this was the first time seeing the infamous man that the sect master and the elders called the "disciple rapist". He was nothing like the rumors which described him as fat, strange, and extremely ugly.
In their eyes, he looked like a completely normal young man and even a little handsome. His hair was jet black and tied up in an elegant n.o.ble knot. His robes were a rich turquoise and extremely fitting for his manly physique. His voice was quiet but strong and he obvious treated his disciples extremely well. A few romantic maidens in the group even had flutters in their hearts as they couldn"t help but be attracted towards this young das.h.i.+ng immortal…
"You girls did well. You rescued so many Glacier Sect disciples from a horrible fate. I"m proud of you." Chen Wentian praised his disciples.
He then asked about where Murong Aiyin was but n.o.body had any idea. None of her disciples could fathom why she did not come to save them. He sighed and scratched his head in frustration. He was hoping she would be here by now to take these women off his hands but it looked it that wasn"t going to happen.
"I will accompany you back to Crystal Bamboo City so you"ll be safe from any further attacks from Divine Blazing Mountain." Chen Wentian finally decided.
"What about our other sisters?" Someone in the crowd shouted.
"Yeah!" A chorus of women cried out, "Save our sisters!"
"Quiet!" A stern voice sounded, bringing the hubbub to an end. A serious looking old woman approached him and bowed, "Sir immortal, my name is Zhang Qingmei. I am a managing elder and I apologize for their disrespect."
"Oh, it"s okay. I don"t mind." Chen Wentian a.s.sured her.
"Sir immortal, we are all very worried about the fate of the other two hundred sisters that were captured by Divine Blazing Mountain. To women of the Glacier Sect, this is simply worse than death. I sincerely beg you; would you please help us save them?" Zhang Qingmei kneeled to the ground and bowed again, "Please save them!"
The others kneeled down and begged him as well.
"Please!"
"Sir immortal!"
Chen Wentian was taken aback and unsure of what to do. He sensed this was a complicated issue and a ma.s.sive landmine waiting to blow up. He was fine with saving this group and getting a free nude show out of it but did he really want to get even more involved? He looked to his disciples for help. They probably wanted to save them as well but they looked uncertain upon seeing his hesitation.
To his surprise, it was Xu Lanyi who spoke up.
"Master, we cannot let those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds off. They"ll **** all of them." She said with a stony face, "Their laughs and jeers were so disgusting. Those sisters that fell into their hands, some were stripped naked and violated right in front of me."
She looked down and gritted her teeth in shame. She wanted to save them herself but she wasn"t strong enough. She didn"t want to ask her unreliable master for anything but she absolutely hated those men. She clutched her hands into fists as she shook from anger and indignation. "Master… please… Please help me save them."
Xu Lanyi"s demeanor cleared away the doubt in his mind. He grabbed her hand with his and gave her a comforting squeeze. "Lanyi? Hey, look at me."
She reluctantly raised her head.
He stared into her eyes. Her normal rebellious and defiant look was gone and it was replaced by a shocking helplessness. His heart softened. He pulled her in and hugged her. He didn"t care if others were watching.
"Lanyi, I"m your master so naturally I"m responsible for you and I"ll do anything for you. You never ever have to beg me like that. Of course, I"ll help."
"Thanks…" She whispered so only he could hear.
Her sisters and the Glacier Sect disciples all sighed with relief after hearing he would help.
"Thank you, master!"
"Thank you, sir immortal!"
"Fine, fine. Don"t need to thank me just yet. Wait until I rescue them." Chen Wentian said. He then pointed to Zhang Qingmei, "Are there any other elders here? Tell them to come."
Zhang Qingmei quickly gathered two more managing elders and returned. There were no actual elders left in the group as they had all escaped with Long Yifei. Managing elders were lower ranked than elders and not as powerful. All three of them were all over fifty or sixty years old.
"So, tell me, have you noticed anything strange with your master in the recent months?" Chen Wentian asked them. "How did she spend her time before the Immortal Sect Compet.i.tion and after it?"
The three looked at each other strangely.
"Please be completely honest with me, I need accurate information if I am to save the other Glacier Sect disciples. I promise I will not repeat whatever you tell me to anyone." He insisted.
"Yes, sir immortal."
The three of them told their stories one by one, some were conflicting but many were consistent. They described how Murong Aiyin had used a newly acquired Frozen Netherworld Jade to help Long Yifei and the most talented young disciples cultivate. They also heard rumors about her developing some persistent and painful health problems afterwards. Muron Aiyin was also incredibly enraged at Chen Wentian"s success during the first two events, which only exacerbated those health issues.
The managing elders saw less and less of their master after the start of the monster invasion. She would disappear for long periods of time. During this time, there were also a few disappearances of disciples during missions. A managing elder named w.a.n.g Wei argued that losing disciples during missions was not that uncommon. The other named Ma Lingting insisted that she studied the death reports and found many inconsistencies and omissions. She had brought up the issue with a couple elders but had been ordered to drop her investigation.
"Hmm, interesting." Chen Wentian muttered. "I think this clarifies some of my suspicions and gives me a lot to work with. Thanks, you can go."
"Thank you, sir immortal."
After the three of them left, he waved his disciples over, "I"m sure you overheard a bit of it. Don"t worry, I"ll take care of anything that happens."
"Thank you, master."
Chen Wentian transferred more food and spare clothes to their spatial bags and instructed Li Yuechan to keep using the Giant Mole Worm to safely travel underground. He apologized for the stomach acid and promised that it wouldn"t be a problem after the worm had finished satisfying its hunger after hibernation.
"Oh, the fatty is back." Chen Wentian said and right on cue, the ground rumbled slightly and the fat round head of the Giant Mole Worm popped out. "Yuechan, you know what to do."
"Yes, master. Leave it to me."
"Okay, time to save lives. Lanyi! Come on!" Chen Wentian hugged Xu Lanyi with one arm.
"Wait, why meeee... Ahhh!" Xu Lanyi screamed as they shot into the air, leaving the others behind.