Qing He sighed, “Maybe it is better this way. If not, I would have had to trouble you to find me a place to stay.”

“Rest assured. With both of your abilities, as long as it is not our secret guards, no one will be able to hide their presence from you. Now that that is solved, how about we move on to our next course of action?” Ying Lan felt the night was still young and when these two heard that their mistress was still alive, they became too excited to fall asleep. With nothing left to do, they decided to use the time to think of their next move.

“Let’s finish up what we need to do. We are in no rush to reunite with Mistress.” Qing He hastily agreed.

Qing Rong’s mood took a turn for the better and she didn’t feel sad anymore. When she heard that Bai Lucohu was still alive, she almost jumped in joy. She straightened her back as she wondered what Ying Lan was about to tell her next.

“Mistress saw you somewhere and she made me look for you. She wanted to ask if you were doing well and if you knew the whereabouts of the other members of the Thousand Brilliance Temple.” Ying Lan looked expectantly at the siblings as soon as he finished.

The siblings exchanged a look before Qing He nodded, “We are not exactly sure where the other members are but we can confirm that the remaining members have been sent to various remote areas by someone. That person secretly protected us after Mistress’ death.”

Ying Lan became curious. No matter how flourishing the sect was before the battle, the circumstance of Thousand Brilliance Temple would not change just because these people loved and respected it. As it was considered an evil cult, after the Battle of Thousand Brilliance, everyone despised it even more and they couldn’t wait to step over their heads. Why would anyone still help us and secretly protect our disciples?

“We don’t know who did it, but he seemed to possess some sort of influence among the other sects. Otherwise, it will be impossible to protect so many of us. Occasionally, that mysterious person would also send us some stuff.” Qing Rong immediately explained as she saw the incredulous look on Ying Lan’s face.

Ying Lan understood that these two people must have lived in fear all these years and he didn’t try to press them for more information. Instead he consoled them, “Don’t worry about it anymore. After all, being alive is the best outcome and nothing else matters. I will report this matter back to Mistress and I believe that she will be able to gain a rough understanding of the situation. If we are able to obtain more information, I will let you know.”

Hearing this, Qing Rong immediately replied, “I definitely believe in the Holy Maiden. As for the remaining members, we will be sure to keep a lookout for them, however...why doesn’t the Holy Maiden want to recognize us? Is she afraid that we will embarrass her?”

Having thought about it, Qing Rong placed the blame on herself. She was angry at herself for being stuck at the same bottleneck since the Battle of Thousand Brilliance.

Ying Lan glanced at Qing He and realised that he had a similarly helpless look on his face. He quickly consoled them, “How can that be?! Mistress is not the kind to look down on the weak. She hates those people who despise the weak and look up to the powerful.”

“Then why doesn’t she come to see us? Doesn’t she know that I have waited for three full years for her to appear before me? There isn’t a single day that goes past without me thinking of her. Even my older brother thought that I went crazy! However I was sure that she wouldn't leave us behind!” Qing Rong was slightly agitated as if she was blaming Bai Luochu for not acknowledging them.

Ying Lan had no choice but to tell them the truth, “Mistress felt that she had let you down in her past life. She is too embarrassed to meet all of you again. Moreover, Mistress reincarnated into the body of another individual and her status makes it inconvenient for her to meet you all. When Mistress reincarnated, she did so in the body of a wastrel who had broken meridians. She wasn’t able to cultivate and even now, she can’t hold her own against the great powers and it is better for her to hide her powers. When the time is right, I will bring Mistress here to meet you.

Qing Rong calmed down after hearing Ying Lan’s explanation.

“Other than this, do you have any other questions?” Qing He asked. After all, it was not easy to meet and it was better for them to settle everything at once. At least Ying Lan wouldn’t have to make another trip to look for them.

Ying Lan fell silent for a while as he thought about the things he wanted to ask the siblings.

“Do you all know about the ruins in the Desolate region? Previously, when Mistress went to check out the area, she realised something strange. Do you know of any strange happenings in the Desolate Region?”

Qing He’s face immediately turned serious. After a while, he let out a long sigh, “Sigh, I know what you are talking about. I also went to check out that place a while back. However, there are too many traps in there. I only managed to get past a few before turning back. I hope nothing happened to the Holy Maiden. The traps in there are extremely complicated and sinister.”

Ying Lan immediately shook his head and lied to the siblings, “Mistress went in with other people and they protected Mistress very well.” What a joke, if he were to tell them what happened to Bai Luochu, Qing Rong would definitely make a move against him. She might even draw her sword and force him to bring her to Bai Luochu.

Not wanting to be exposed, Ying Lan bade farewell to them as he did not want to stay any longer, “If there is nothing else, I will be taking my leave. Even if you are looking for the remaining disciples, you must take care of your own safety. If there is anything else, I will come again.” Ying Lan turned and left as soon as he finished speaking.

After Ying Lan left, Qing Rong remained silent for a long time. Her voice trembled lightly as she asked, “Am I really not dreaming? The Holy Maiden is back, right…”

Qing He patted his sister’s shoulders and said to her, “You are not dreaming, our Holy Maiden is really back.”

Looking at Ying Lan’s back, Qing He’s thoughts started running wild. He had a premonition that the Thousand Brilliance Temple was about to rise again.

...

Even though Ying Lan wanted to immediately report to Bai Luochu, he decided against it as it was already deep into the night.