The explosive conflict among the junior disciples came to a strange and anticlimactic end, leaving many people feeling bewildered and without closure.
This confrontation had far-reaching implications. The Law Enforcement Hall had dispatched over a hundred disciples in a single operation, all to corner Su Yan — which, by its very scale, served as testament to her strength.
As for the other protagonist of the incident, Yang Kai, he too had become known to a great many disciples. Some reviled him, some envied him, and opinions varied wildly.
At this moment, Yang Kai was deep in sleep.
After leaving the Forest Prison, he had collapsed straight into unconsciousness. The beating he'd taken from five Law Enforcement Hall disciples, while not life-threatening, had been quite severe. If not for a stubborn will refusing to let him give in, he would have fallen long before.
Once the matter was resolved and the worry lifted from his mind, his body simply could no longer hold on.
When he woke, Yang Kai found himself lying in an unfamiliar bed, his entire body aching. He rolled his eyes around to take in his surroundings and discovered the room to be simple yet refined, with very little furniture — a place of utmost tranquility.
It reminded him of Su Yan's small dwelling in the Black Wind Market.
He struggled to sit up. Perhaps the noise attracted attention from outside, because before long Su Mu pushed open the door, his face brimming with emotion.
Li Yuntian and the others were all there, filing in behind Su Mu, looking at Yang Kai with visible relief.
"Senior Brother Yang, how are you feeling?" Su Mu came forward and helped him up.
"I'm fine." Yang Kai circulated a bit of Yuan Qi and found that there was nothing seriously wrong — he simply needed a few days of rest.
"Senior Brother saved me once again. Su Mu, thank you." Su Mu expressed his gratitude with somewhat clumsy earnestness.
"Don't worry about it." Yang Kai waved it off.
"Oh right, these are pills my old man gave you. Some are for healing, and some are for cultivation." Su Mu produced over a dozen small bottles and lined them up on the bedside.
"The Second Elder?" Yang Kai was taken aback. "That's too many, isn't it?"
"Not at all. You suffered serious injuries this time. You deserve proper recovery."
"Then please thank the Second Elder on my behalf."
"Don't thank him." Su Mu waved his hand, a flash of anger crossing his face.
Su Xuanwu did feel he owed Yang Kai this time, which was why he had bestowed so many pills. After all, if Manager Meng hadn't arrived at the last moment with the Sect Leader's instructions, Yang Kai might very well have been sacrificed. Su Mu was frustrated with the way his father had handled the matter, and he had deliberately requested a large quantity of pills to bring to Yang Kai.
"Where's Senior Sister Su Yan?" Yang Kai turned his head and looked around.
Su Mu's expression turned peculiar. He had long since heard from Li Yuntian and the others about Yang Kai's extraordinary feat, and his feelings were a jumbled mix of lingering fear and admiration. Growing up, Su Yan had never felt like a sister to him — more like a mother. In Su Yan's presence, Su Mu had never dared so much as breathe too loudly.
But look at this Senior Brother Yang — what incredible audacity! To take his sister's hand in front of over a hundred people and declare such bold words!
And afterward, not only had he not been killed by his sister, but she had actually arranged for him to recuperate in her own chambers! The whole thing was utterly inconceivable!
During the two days Yang Kai had been unconscious, Su Mu had racked his brains endlessly, yet he simply could not decipher the mystery of it all.
Why? How could this possibly be?
"Sigh! Senior Brother Yang!" Su Mu let out a heavy sigh, patted Yang Kai on the shoulder, weighed his words carefully, and after a long pause finally said: "My condolences! Since ancient times, there have been countless tales of falling petals carried by flowing waters. You should try to let it go, Senior Brother."
Yang Kai blinked, then couldn't help but laugh ruefully. He realized Su Mu had misunderstood the whole situation, but saw no need to explain. Instead, he simply asked: "Where did she go?"
It was really thanks to her that he'd been rescued at that critical moment. Otherwise, Yang Kai might have been forced to use Yang Liquid to kill those Law Enforcement Hall disciples — though he wasn't confident he could have managed it against all of them, which was why he hadn't taken the risk. But regardless, once things reached that point, there would have been no turning back.
"After she settled you here, she went to the Black Wind Market," Su Mu replied.
"Did Senior Sister say anything before she left?" Yang Kai asked, somewhat puzzled. He had assumed Su Yan would surely have words for him, given that his actions had been rather reckless.
"No." Su Mu shook his head slowly.
Inwardly, Yang Kai felt a surge of admiration.
This senior sister truly had a free and easy temperament. Regarding something that touched upon her own reputation, she hadn't bothered to explain the ins and outs to anyone — the pure would remain pure without explanation!
Yang Kai chatted with Su Mu a while longer before the younger boy finally took his leave.
Lying in bed, Yang Kai didn't dwell on things. The situation was what it was, and overthinking wouldn't change anything. Su Mu had brought plenty of pills, so it was the perfect time to test whether his conjecture from the other day held true.
Half the pills were for healing, and half were for cultivation. Altogether, they were worth a small fortune.
Yang Kai first swallowed a few healing pills, then silently circulated the True Yang Technique to help the medicinal potency spread through his body, carefully observing the changes within.
Sure enough, the healing pills were remarkably effective. Their medicinal energy flowed through his meridians and, in a very short time, began nourishing and repairing his injured areas, bringing a sharp reduction in pain.
However, Yang Kai keenly noticed that a portion of the medicinal energy made a detour through his meridians and flowed directly into his bones.
At this realization, Yang Kai's brow shot upward, and he grew even more certain of his earlier hypothesis.
To verify whether this guess was correct, Yang Kai spent the entire day continuously consuming every variety of pill.