Chapter 279: Qi Mu's Injury (1)
Shen Jingbin felt that Qi Mu's name sounded really familiar from the very first moment she saw her name. Then, when Shen Jingbin saw her in person, she knew that her memory hadn't failed her; she really had seen her before! Furthermore, her being able to obtain Mascot was all thanks to Qi Mu.
Qi Mu was the person who'd bullied her in Xiling City when she'd first started out and forced her up Nameless Mountain to take on the Divine Beast, White Tiger. Qi Mu wasn't alone; she was accompanied by Gentle Kite and Inking A Message. Qi Mu was the first to speak when they arrived. "I've only recently become the Lead Disciple of the Dragonkins, so I hope you understand why I haven't revealed myself till now."
This was why she hadn't participated in the battle at Eight Trigrams Field.
"Don't worry; you're not too late. I'm the Lead Disciple of the Swordmaster Pavilion, Pure Crane," Pure Crane replied.
Qi Mu nodded at him before turning her gaze to Shen Jingbin, her expression turning a little conflicted in the process. "So you're the Lead Disciple of White Cloud Temple, Nutjob… I'm not sure if you remember… but we've met in the past…"
She probably knew that what she'd done in the past wasn't all that good, so her words came out haltingly.
Shen Jingbin nodded and 'Mmed' in acknowledgement. "Let's let bygones be bygones; we're allies now. If possible, I hope we can set aside our differences from the past and now work hand in hand."
This time around, Shen Jingbin noticed that Qi Mu was different from how she'd been in the past. Be it her gaze or her personality; everything was completely different from how she'd previously acted in Xiling City. If the Qi Mu of the past was an arrogant and unreasonable princess, then the Qi Mu of the present was like a refined lady who'd matured with time. She wasn't the only one who seemed different, even the ones behind her, Gentle Kite and Inking A Message, looked like they'd mellowed a great deal.
If she had to guess, the three of them had likely encountered something major in their lives, leading to such a drastic change in their personalities.
Which was precisely the reason why Shen Jingbin had said what she did. No matter what, Qi Mu and she were now in the same boat, and she hoped that they'd be able to work towards a common goal together instead of trying to undermine one another. Take Morning Glory Chime for instance; Shen Jingbin had actually heaved a sigh of relief when she'd lost her position as the Lead Disciple of the Nymphs.
Qi Mu visibly sighed with relief when she'd heard what Shen Jingbin had said. She gave Shen Jingbin a look filled with sincerity and said, "I was wet behind the ears in the past and treated you harshly. I'm very sorry for my past actions, and I'd now like to issue a formal apology to you. I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me."
"Mm, I forgive you."
Although Pure Crane didn't know what had happened in the past, he could tell that a rift existed between them. It looked like it was all water under the bridge now though, and Qi Mu's actions had given him a very favorable impression of her.
Qi Mu more or less knew their current situation; otherwise, she wouldn't have gone through the trouble of tapping on Gentle Kite's connection with Black Kite to join Bronze Tree. And, not only was she abreast of everything, she even provided them with a valuable piece of information.
"The sole reason I managed to become the Lead Disciple of the Dragonkins was because I had a part to play in protecting my Sect Leader."
Pure Crane and Shen Jingbin's attention was instantly drawn to Qi Mu.
"I haven't heard anything about the Dragonkin's Sect Leader being in trouble lately," Pure Crane said.
"That's probably because it's counted as my sect's internal matters, so it wasn't leaked out. The Shinra Sect has recently been planning to make a move against the Sect Leaders of the Six Great Sects, and the Dragonkin Tower was their very first target."
Different from the Nymphs, the Dragonkins, who were a Celestial sect, weren't as amicable towards the sects of the Demon race. They harbored hatred towards them and looked down on the Human sects as well. That being the case, they obviously abhorred revealing anything to outsiders. The Shinra Sect had probably decided to take advantage of this, and this had resulted in them choosing the Dragonkins as their first target.
"I was just doing some quests for the guild when I got lucky and was given the opportunity to receive instruction from the Sect Leader himself…"
In <
"Just as I was about to accept my reward, I received a notification informing me that I'd entered someone's attack radius. Before I had the chance to do anything else, three people who were clothed in black suddenly popped out of thin air and made a mad dash for the Sect Leader. The situation was dire, and my body moved without thinking. The next thing I knew, I was in front of my Sect Leader and protecting him from their attacks. I later lost consciousness because of my severe injuries. When I came to, the black-clothed assailants were nowhere to be seen. The Sect Leader then bestowed upon me the position of Lead Disciple for my efforts in protecting him."
"Do you know what happened while you were unconscious?" Shen Jingbin asked.
Qi Mu shook her head. "I don't, but I wasn't out for long; probably only for around ten minutes. I couldn't see or receive any information for those ten minutes though. While I don't know for sure what happened during that time, my Sect Leader appears to have been injured."
"No wonder there hasn't been much activity from the Shinra Sect; they were planning to strike at the NPCs instead. Once something happened to the NPCs, the Six Great Sects would definitely be thrown into chaos. When that happens, they'll take the chance to make their move. It's an ingenious plan," Pure Crane thoughtfully added.
"We should return to our respective sects and warn our Sect Leaders; preparedness averts peril," Shen Jingbin advised.
Pure Crane mirrored her opinion. Shen Jingbin turned to Qi Mu and said, "All we're missing is Quiet And Steadfast, and we'll have all the Lead Disciples that we know gathered. He's not around at the moment and will probably be on at night. We'll look for you when he comes on later; will you be busy today?"
Qi Mu shook her head. "Not really, I'm just grinding levels at the moment."
Shen Jingbin finally took notice of Qi Mu's level – she was only Level 80. Back then, their levels were almost the same. Even if Qi Mu leveled slowly, her level still shouldn't have been that low.