If only Lin Jian had a bit more patience, waited until he completely surpassed Lu Xiaoyun and achieved a higher status than her before confessing, perhaps things wouldn't have turned out so badly.
By then, there would still be many objections, but at least it wouldn't have ended in such a disastrous way.
Alas, young people are always impulsive and impatient!
Meng Fan felt a bit down as he left the Scripture Pavilion.
He had promised to help Lin Jian find out about Lu Xiaoyun, but the news he discovered was completely unexpected.
If Lin Jian knew this news, it would undoubtedly be a huge blow.
After all, to be fair, it was indeed his fault that Lu Xiaoyun got implicated!
If it weren't for his reckless actions, Lu Xiaoyun wouldn't have been imprisoned at the bottom of Ice Moon Lake, suffering torment.
"Sigh…" Meng Fan let out a soft sigh.
Although this matter had nothing to do with him, his mood was still somewhat affected.
***
Meng Fan returned to the Sword Pavilion, adjusted his emotions, and continued his cultivation.
The Essence of the Sword within him was exhausted, so he went to the first floor of the Sword Pavilion to start wiping the swords and absorb the Essence of the Sword.
Not only did Meng Fan need the Essence of the Sword, but Hong Qi and the Hong Qi Sword also needed it.
Therefore, Meng Fan regularly absorbed the Essence of the Sword.
In fact, for Meng Fan, absorbing the Essence of the Sword only required drawing the sword; there was no need to wipe it.
But Meng Fan had already developed this habit, a small ritual of sorts.
After wiping more than a dozen Ordinary Swords, Meng Fan felt that the absorption of the Essence of the Sword was too rapid, and he instinctively began to look for a Spiritual Sword.
[Sword Name: Wind and Thunder!]
When Meng Fan touched this Spiritual Sword, a Sword Wraith surged towards him, instantly refined into Sword Wraith Memory by the Sword Dao Transcendence.
As Meng Fan grew stronger, the ability of Sword Dao Transcendence to refine Sword Wraiths seemed to have also strengthened, becoming increasingly effortless.
***
In a flash of thought, Meng Fan found himself in a secluded valley.
Two young girls and a young boy were laughing and playing in the valley, chasing each other.
"Brother Jinghong, don't run so fast, I can't catch up."
"Brother Jinghong, stop, I can't run anymore!"
The two girls panted as they called out to the boy.
The boy, however, was full of smugness, saying proudly, "You two are so slow. I'm not even using my full strength, and you still can't catch up. Next time, I won't play with you; I'll go find Sister Qianyu!"
"Hmph, I'll tell Sister Jinghong that you're bullying us when we get back," one of the girls said.
The boy retorted, "It's clearly because you two are too weak. I'm not even using my strength, and you can't catch up. How can you say I'm bullying you!"
Meng Fan watched this scene with a slight smile on his face.
This boy was a typical straight man, destined to be single from a young age!
But… Brother Jinghong?
Hearing the name Jinghong, Meng Fan's mind instinctively conjured the image of Sect Master Lin Jinghong.
Could this boy be the Sect Master in his youth?
It's possible, but not certain.
Because the name Jinghong is not uncommon, many people could be named Jinghong in this world!
Meng Fan wasn't sure if this boy named Jinghong was related to the Sect Master, but he had a strange feeling that this boy Jinghong seemed to be connected to Senior Disciple Jin.
Because this boy Jinghong bore a striking resemblance to Senior Disciple Jin!
This was very strange.
Could it be that Senior Disciple Jin's name is also Jinghong, Jin Jinghong?
To be honest, Meng Fan didn't know Senior Disciple Jin's real name.
Senior Disciple Jin had never mentioned his name, and Meng Fan had never inquired about it, because in the Shu Mountain Sword Sect, everyone addressed each other as senior or junior brothers, and names weren't that important.
"Just based on this boy's straight-man attitude, he does have a bit of Senior Disciple Jin's vibe. I need to ask Senior Disciple Jin what his name is when I get back."
Meng Fan muttered to himself.
In this memory, he was an outsider, or rather, viewing from another dimension.
So no matter what he said or did, it wouldn't affect the people in the memory.
Just like watching TV, nothing you do will affect the people on the screen.
The same principle!
In the memory, the boy and girls were tired from playing and were about to head back.
Suddenly, a dark figure appeared out of nowhere, abducting the two girls, and the boy named "Jinghong" was struck by the dark figure, flying several meters away and lying on the ground, motionless.
Dead?
This turn of events was beyond Meng Fan's expectations.
At this moment, Meng Fan didn't know whose memory this Wind and Thunder Sword belonged to.
It could be any of the two girls or the boy.
It was just that the boy's name, Jinghong, caught his attention.
The memory remained fixed in the valley, not moving despite the departure of the two girls.
It was clear that the memory centered around the boy.
It seemed the boy wasn't dead!
Moments later, a young woman in her late teens appeared in the valley. When she saw the boy Jinghong, her face was filled with shock.
She then took the boy away, using various methods and consuming numerous spiritual medicines, finally saving the boy.
"Sister Qianyu, Sister Yunjie and Sister Yunbing were taken. Please save them!" The boy was anxious, and as soon as he regained consciousness, blood suddenly trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Sister Qianyu gently rubbed the boy's head and said softly, "You focus on recovering. Leave the rest to me. Don't worry!"
***
Time flew by, and five years passed in the blink of an eye. The boy had grown into a young man.
And Meng Fan also learned the boy's surname.
It wasn't Jin, but Lin!
Lin Jinghong.
The same name as the Sect Master of Shu Mountain. Whether they were the same person was unknown.
Because although Meng Fan had seen Sect Master Lin Jinghong once before, it was from a distance, and the Sect Master was extremely old at that time, with white hair and beard, making it hard to discern his youthful features.
"But it shouldn't be the Sect Master, just someone with the same name."
This boy named Lin Jinghong and the woman named Zhao Qianyu were both from the demonic sect, Fengyun Demon Sect.
How could someone from the demonic path become the Sect Master of the Shu Mountain Sword Sect?
That would be a colossal joke!
In the five years of memory, Lin Jinghong had been searching for the dark figure who abducted his two sisters but found no clues.
In fact, when Lin Jinghong was unconscious five years ago, Zhao Qianyu had already discovered the culprit.
It was an elder of their Fengyun Demon Sect, Gu Qingteng.
This person practiced a demonic art that frequently required young girls with pure yin energy as cultivation cauldrons. Usually, he wouldn't harm those close to him and would seek victims elsewhere.
Five years ago, Gu Qingteng's cultivation went awry, nearly causing him to go mad. In desperation, he abducted the two girls.
Zhao Qianyu feared that Lin Jinghong, in his youthful impulsiveness, would do something reckless, so she didn't tell him the truth.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan