In an instant, Jiang Yun had already walked down Hidden Peak, but he stopped because he saw a half-grown boy in gray clothes constantly walking back and forth along the foot of the mountain, seemingly waiting for someone.
Jiang Yun frowned slightly; he knew this person.
This person was also a Utility Disciple of Hundred Beast Peak, named Liu Xin, fifteen years old, and had joined Wen Dao Sect three years ago. Although he was a bit timid, he was kind-hearted. Because his residence was next to Lu Xiaoyu's, he had a decent relationship with Lu Xiaoyu, and Jiang Yun had met him and spoken with him a few times.
Just then, Liu Xin looked up and saw Jiang Yun, his face immediately lit up with joy, and he hurried to meet him, bowing with cupped fists: "Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang."
Jiang Yun returned the bow: "Junior Brother Liu, there's no need to be so polite. Why are you here? Are you looking for me?"
"Yes!" At this moment, the joy on Liu Xin's face had faded, replaced by anxiety: "Senior Brother Jiang, something terrible has happened!"
This sentence made Jiang Yun's heart inexplicably "thump," and a bad premonition arose spontaneously.
Although Jiang Yun and Liu Xin had spoken a few times and were acquainted, their relationship wasn't good enough for Liu Xin to come to him with problems. The only possibility, then, was that the problem wasn't with Liu Xin, but with Lu Xiaoyu!
With thoughts rapidly turning, Jiang Yun asked in a deep voice: "Did something happen to Xiaoyu?"
"Yes!" Liu Xin nodded: "This morning, Junior Sister Lu suddenly received a task that required her to leave the Sect for a period of time."
"A task?" Jiang Yun frowned: "Only Outer Sect Disciples are qualified to accept tasks. As Utility Disciples, what kind of task would be assigned to us? Where is Xiaoyu?"
"She's already left!"
"What!" Jiang Yun's expression suddenly changed: "How long has she been gone? Where did she go? What exactly is the task?"
"I don't know!" Liu Xin shook his head repeatedly: "She came to tell me that as soon as she completes this task and returns, she'll immediately be promoted to an Outer Sect Disciple. She specifically told me that if you came looking for her, I should keep it a secret from you, saying she wanted to give you a surprise!"
"Nonsense!" Jiang Yun's tone suddenly became a few shades sterner: "Today is the re-assessment day. According to Sect rules, if one is not present for the re-assessment, they will be directly expelled from the Sect. Not to mention she isn't qualified to accept a task, even if there truly was a task, it should at least avoid today."
"Yes!" Seeing Jiang Yun angry, Liu Xin was also a bit fearful, but he still bravely said: "I didn't think much of it at first, but after she left, the more I thought about it, the more wrong it felt. That's why I hurried over to find Senior Brother Jiang, to see if you had any way to find her."
Jiang Yun shook his head. He didn't even know where Lu Xiaoyu had gone, so what could he do to find her?
After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Yun asked again: "Then who gave her the task?"
"I don't know either. If she hadn't come to bid me farewell, I wouldn't even have known she received a task."
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Yun forced himself to calm down. His mind quickly analyzed that there were now two possibilities: one, that Lu Xiaoyu truly received a task, which was the best possibility.
The second possibility was that Lu Xiaoyu was simply deceived.
The person who deceived her was the same person who framed her previously. As for the purpose, it was simple: to drive Lu Xiaoyu out of the Sect!
Furthermore, once Lu Xiaoyu left the Sect, she would no longer be under the Sect's protection. If someone wanted to harm her again, even kill her, no one would care anymore.
Jiang Yun speculated that the second possibility was highly likely, because he had never heard of a new Utility Disciple leaving the Sect to perform a task on the day of the re-assessment!
With a thought, a person suddenly came to Jiang Yun's mind, and he immediately made a decision.
Thus, Jiang Yun nodded to Liu Xin: "Junior Brother Liu, thank you for informing me. You don't need to worry about this matter; I will find a way."
Liu Xin said worriedly: "Senior Brother Jiang, why don't we report this to the Sect? They should be able to find Junior Sister Lu."
Jiang Yun shook his head. First, he couldn't yet determine which possibility it was. Even if Lu Xiaoyu was truly framed, without any evidence, reporting it to anyone would be useless.
Not to mention, he and the others were all Utility Disciples, with humble statuses and little influence. Even with evidence, the Sect probably wouldn't bother.
"Don't tell anyone about this. Don't worry, she's my Junior Sister; I will definitely find her!"
Although Jiang Yun and Lu Xiaoyu had only spent half a year together, when Lu Xiaoyu first blurted out the address "Yun Gege," Jiang Yun had already regarded her as his Junior Sister.
Now that Lu Xiaoyu had left the Sect on this re-assessment day, no matter the truth, Jiang Yun could not ignore it!
After sending Liu Xin away, Jiang Yun's gaze suddenly turned towards Hundred Beast Peak, two fierce lights gradually appearing in his eyes. He murmured to himself: "If it truly is the second possibility, and Xiaoyu is fine, then so be it. But if Xiaoyu truly suffers any mishap, no matter who you are, I will make you pay the price!"
As his voice fell, Jiang Yun, expressionless, hurried towards the re-assessment grounds.
The re-assessment grounds were still chosen to be the plaza within Wen Dao Sect's mountain gate. Along the way, countless figures could be seen; these included both newly-admitted Disciples and older Disciples, and even many Outer Sect Disciples. From this, it was not difficult to see the importance Wen Dao Sect placed on this re-assessment.
Jiang Yun ignored everyone, simply pushing his speed to the limit. Although he hadn't specifically Cultivated any speed-related techniques, he was naturally adept at speed, and with his Spiritual Qi now abundant, his walking speed was more than twice as fast as it was half a year ago.
In less than half an hour, he had already arrived at the plaza.
At this moment, hundreds of people were already standing in the plaza. Among them, Jiang Yun also saw a few familiar faces, such as Tang Yi, Huo Yuan, and the Black-Clothed Man whose body was always as straight as a pine, as well as the young woman with a double Dao Body.
They were at least Outer Sect Disciples. After joining Wen Dao Sect, they were taken away by people from the Five Peaks to focus on Cultivation, so Jiang Yun had not seen them at all in the past half year.
However, it was not hard to see that they must have gained a lot in the past half year; the Qi emanating from each of them was much stronger than before.
Only their personalities had not changed. Especially Huo Yuan, who was still chatting and laughing, occasionally teasing his fellow Disciples beside him, his tone naturally full of disdain, not even sparing Tang Yi, the burly man.
Compared to him, Tang Yi was much more honest. There was nothing he could do; the difference in status between an Inner Sect Disciple and an Outer Sect Disciple made him dare not contradict Huo Yuan as he once did.
Jiang Yun merely glanced at the people in the plaza, then immediately turned his gaze to the crowd of onlookers around the plaza, continuously scanning back and forth until he saw a short, stout man in gray clothes.
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"It's you!"
A cold light flashed in Jiang Yun's eyes. His body swayed, and he squeezed into the crowd, quickly reaching the side of the short, stout man.
The short, stout man was leering at several graceful female Disciples in the plaza when he suddenly felt a slight tightening around his neck. He turned his head to see a clear-featured man holding the back of his neck with one hand.
"It's you!" The short, stout man immediately cried out in surprise.
Jiang Yun stared at the other party expressionlessly, lowering his voice: "Very good, you still remember me. Then you should know what I'm looking for you for!"