Chapter 206 – Ping’an’s Talent, The Deputy Temple Master of the Holy Tree Temple Arrives in Secret - Part 2
Li Yuan’s faction trained in the Martial Lodge, while the Blood Blade Sect was eager for support from the Sacred Fire Palace. When trouble came knocking from the outside, they deferred to the Blood Blade Patriarch. But if they could connect to the Sacred Fire Palace, Yu Chaojin saw no reason to waver in his loyalties.
Some things could only be done, not spoken of.
So, Yu Chaojin added, “Chengbao, some things can’t be accomplished by one person alone. Your brother married the daughter of a Sacred Fire Palace elder. We have to rely on him.”
Lowering his head, Fang Chengbao sighed. “I just don’t want to get my hopes up again.”
Yu Chaojin smiled faintly. “There’s plenty more disappointment to come.”
After a pause, he said, “I heard you sent some people into various merchant guilds, some even joined the Purejade Merchant Association... all to look for your brother on the outside. Any news at all?”
Fang Chengbao shook his head. “He disappeared on his wedding day. From the looks of things, the Red Lotus Cult probably took him...”
With that, he fell silent, and Yu Chaojin didn’t press further.
Once upon a time, Yu Chaojin had been desperate to seize the position of sect master. Now that he had it, he found it less satisfying than he’d imagined. He started envying Tie Sha, who had left Gemhill behind. Even though Tie Sha’s whereabouts remained unknown, Yu Chaojin had a feeling that someone as determined as Tie Sha would eventually reach the place he himself had always longed to go.
At the same time, Yu Chaojin’s longing to reconnect with the Sacred Fire Palace grew stronger every day.
As for Li Yuan...well, at the end of the day, he was merely sixth rank. If Yu Chaojin could advance to sixth rank himself, they’d stand on equal footing. Any fleeting respect or awe he’d once felt was eroding under the pressures of an unstable era, nearby dangers, and his own thirst for power.
Though he remained genteel in appearance, dark and twisted thoughts began bubbling up from within.