Xue Lan woke up early in the morning the next day. The light from the window landed right on his closed eyes, making it so he could no longer sleep. Opening his eyes, he was meet with Huang Bingwen sound asleep. Xue Lan went to sleep before Huang Bingwen, so he didn't know when Huang Bingwen climbed in.

Huang Bingwen actually didn't immediately join Xue Lan. After he had eaten, he went upstairs to join the other disciples.

"Young Master! Where is Young Master Xue Lan?"

"He is asleep currently. I need to speak with you all. You have been gone from the sect for a bit now and I assume you don't know the current situation."

The table turned silent. Huang Yong was the first one that spoke, "Young Master, whats going on."

Huang Bingwen explained everything to the disciples. He watched as their faces slowly fell at the news of their precious sect leader dying. Huang Chao was like a father to all of them, taking them in when they were children and raising them. To hear of his death was quite the shock.

"Sect leader is dead. I can't believe it." Huang Yong seemed dead. While the other disciples had joined at a young age and were close to Huang Chao, Huang Yong was his nephew by blood. The news of losing his uncle hit him the hardest. But due to being the eldest of the little group, he stayed strong and didn't let a single tear leave his eyes.

Huang Bingwen knew how Huang Yong was like and tried to reassure him, "Me and Xue Lan are traveling to find the killer currently. Don't worry. We will avenge him." While saying this, his hand curled up in a fist.

Huang Bingwen was trying his hardest to stay calm. He was now the leader of the sect. He couldn't let his disciples see him be weak.

"Young master, let me go with you and Young Master Xue Lan!" Huang Bingwen was taken back at Huang Yong.

"A-Yong, you need to stay with the others. I don't want them to be without an older disciple. I also don't want to put you in any danger."

Huang Yong couldn't argue and let it go. Huang Bingwen realized the time and saw it would be best for everyone to go and rest. After seeing everyone in their rooms, Huang Bingwen when back downstairs to go to rest himself. In the room, Xue Lan was already fast asleep. Huang Bingwen put out the candles in the room and sat on the edge of the bed. Xue Lan's face was lit with moonlight coming in from the window. Huang Bingwen reach out his hand and caressed Xue Lan's cheek. Xue Lan's eyebrows twitched lightly when Huang Bingwen's hand touched his cheek, but quickly relaxed. Huang Bingwen stayed like this for what seemed like hours before laying down next to Xue Lan.

Xue Lan didn't know about this though. He decided to let Huang Bingwen sleep while he went to grab food and go upstairs to see if the young ones were awake yet. When he got up the stairs he was surprised. Instead of the loud and excitable disciples, he left last night, he came upon a group of depressed children.

"You all look dead in the eyes. What the hell happened?"

Huang Yong was the one to answer, "Young Master told us what happened last night."

Xue Lan didn't need him to explain anymore. He just sighed, "It'll be alright everyone. Me and Huang Bingwen will get the man who did this."

Xue Lan couldn't help but let his eyes linger on Huang Yong. In the original novel, Huang Yong, due to the shock and trauma from his uncle dying, had gone insane and was ultimately the reason "Xue Lan" died.

"Huang Yong. Come with me for a bit. I want to talk to you."

Huang Yong slowly followed Xue Lan to the corner of the room away from the others.

Xue Lan turned to Huang Yong and looked the boy over. He looked the complete opposite of yesterday. His eyes were swollen and red, most likely from crying. His posture was slouched, and he didn't dare make a sound. Even his hair was somewhat a mess, his hair ribbon knotted loosely. The young man Xue Lan saw yesterday turned into a grieving child.

Sighing, Xue Lan spoke, "Huang Yong, I know this is hard for you. Your uncle basically raised you. But I need you to listen. Don't let this affect your decision making. I need you to stay strong for the others. You're the leader, and they will follow you. If you are weak or afraid, they will be double the amount you are. When a strong leader falls, the army collapses."

Huang Yong looked up at Xue Lan, "I understand Young Master."

Xue Lan couldn't stand seeing Huang Yong looking like this. He was reminded of when his mother died, and couldn't help but see himself. Xue Lan reached out and brought Huang Yong into a hug. Huang Yong was shocked. Xue Lan had never hugged him before, or anyone now that he thought about it. He never liked showing affection. Huang Yong hesitated before he returned the hug. Hidden in Xue Lan's robes, Huang Yong allowed himself to cry but didn't dare let a sob out, only tears. They stayed like this for a bit before Xue Lan pulled back. He looked straight into Huang Yong's eyes.

"Huang Yong, know that I and Huang Bingwen are here for you if you need us, OK? Don't hold everything in. If you do, it'll come and bite you in the end."

With that, the two parted.

Just then, Huang Bingwen made his way upstairs to join the others. Xue Lan was still focused on Huang Yong, not noticing that Huang Bingwen joined them. Xue Lan couldn't help but sigh again. He would never wish the pain of losing a loved one on another. It was the greatest pain he felt in his life, and it ate away at him every day.

"Xue Lan."

Xue Lan was forced out of his thoughts and turn over to the stairs. Huang Bingwen was just standing there, looking at Xue Lan. Xue Lan couldn't help but smile at him.

"Huang Bingwen, you're awake. Did you sleep well?"

"Mn. It was nice sleeping in an actual bed instead of the mat."

Xue Lan's face fell at the memory of how unconformable the mat was, "Couldn't agree more."

Xue Lan grabbed Huang Bingwen's sleeve and pulled him over to a table, "Come, let us eat."

Xue Lan ordered a table full of dishes yet again, a good mixture of spicy and sweet. Xue Lan could help but think, "Old habits die hard."

Huang Bingwen didn't protest, letting Xue Lan get whatever he wanted. For himself, he went for more mild plates of food, not like the bold flavors of the dishes Xue Lan enjoyed. The table was littered with colorful food, ranging in sizes. While eating, Xue Lan called over the others to join them and tried to cheer them all up. Slowly throughout the meal, they all began to lighten up. They all chatted about the day before, with Xue Lan and Huang Bingwen jumping in to give advice to them, so they wouldn't end up in a similar situation.

After eating they all parted ways. Xue Lan was reluctant to leave Huang Yong without him or Huang Bingwen, but let it. Xue Lan and Huang Bingwen made their way into town, wanting to explore and see if they could find anything on the killer. The town was a small one, but it was busy in the market place. Everyone was full of energy and we're working hard.

Xue Lan came up to a vendor on the street, "Good sir, why does everyone seem so energetic today?"

"Humble cultivator, today another important sect figure has come. No one knows who it is, but everyone can't help being excited knowing someone important has come to visit."

"I see, thank you."

Xue Lan went back over to Huang Bingwen's side, "Huang Bingwen, there seems to be another sect here in town. No one seems to know exactly who it is, but it might be who we are looking for. I think we need to split up and see if we can find them."

"Mn."

With that, they split up.

Xue Lan headed towards the center of town, thinking that the sect figure would want to stay in the best inns. He hoped that he would just happen to run into the man, but with his luck, it didn't happen. Xue Lan circled around, asking close to a dozen people if they knew where the man was staying, but he always got the same answers,

"No, no one knows!"

"Why the hell would I know? Leave if you aren't buying anything!"

"Maybe at the bigger inn around the corner."

None were of help. Xue Lan felt hopeless, not knowing how to proceed from here. There wasn't much he could do after this. He checked every inn in town, every restaurant, every store, big and small. He was starting to doubt whether or not there was even a person like this in town. Xue Lan walked over to a little alleyway to rest and think.

There was the possibility that someone made up a rumor to get everyone excited for nothing, but Xue Lan didn't think that was the case. The other possibility was that the cultivator didn't want to be found. In that case, he was most likely in one of the inns Xue Lan already checked. Xue Lan couldn't help but sigh for the thousandth time that day. He would have to go back through the inns and go from room to room and see if he could find him. He hoped that maybe Huang Bingwen was having more luck than him.

In reality, Huang Bingwen had worse luck than Xue Lan. Huang Bingwen checked the entire outside of the town and found not a single clue. Most people didn't even bother giving him the time of day, let alone answer any of his questions. The ones that did answer his questions didn't have any good answers for them, for no one knew exactly who this person was, not even knowing the sect they came from. Huang Bingwen didn't even know where to go from here, just standing on the side in a daze. He decided the best course of action was to go back to Xue Lan and pray he had better luck than him.

Xue Lan was walking down the path, looking for Huang Bingwen, when two men in dark robes approached him.

"Are you the one that has been asking for the cultivator in town."

Xue Lan could help but be excited to have someone come to him with information and without thinking said, "Yes, I am! Do you know where he is staying?"

The two men looked at each other and then grabbed Xue Lan from each side. Xue Lan was shocked! Why were they grabbing him?

"What the fuck, let go of me!"

Xue Lan struggled and kicked, thrashing around, trying to get out of the men's grip. But they were both much stronger than Xue Lan. Though Xue Lan's cultivation was high, he was physically very weak. As he tried to send out a blast of spiritual power, the man on the right wrapped his wrist with a cord of some kind. Xue Lan's spiritual power immediately dissipated. It was soul binding rope! It was able to block the flow of spiritual power in anyone it was wrapped around.

"Shit this is bad. I can't get out of this."

As the men pulled and tugged Xue Lan, Xue Lan's hair tie came out falling on the ground, his hair covering his face. He couldn't use his hands to move it out of the way and could only try to see through the gaps.

Meanwhile, Huang Bingwen returned to the center of town looking for Xue Lan, when he noticed his hair tie on the ground. His heart pounded as he walked over and delicately picked it up. He held the red and gold ribbon in his hand and could only think of the worse as he rushed towards he believed Xue Lan went.