CHAPTER 127: THE DEPRESSED YIN SHENGONG

"Mo Ganyun," Li Changkong called out.

"Here."

"Go to Fang Che's residence and tell his maidservant that he'll be staying in the academy to recuperate for the next few days."

Mo Ganyun hesitated momentarily, then asked, "Should I tell her the state that he's in?"

Li Changkong also hesitated momentarily, then replied, "It's yet to be seen whether Fang Che can wake up, and if he can, we don't know if he'll be able to make a full recovery. Tell her that if she asks about his condition."

"Alright, I will."

"But tell her to wait a few days, ideally until Fang Che wakes up before notifying his clan."

"Alright."

With that, Mo Ganyun departed.

"All of you can go back to class as well. I'll get Mo Ganyun to keep you all updated if there are any developments. Bing Shangxue, you go back with them as well. Fang Che isn't our only student! Bao Feiyu, Duan Zhongliu, and I will take turns looking after Fang Che. It's easier for us since we're all men."

"Alright."

With that, everyone promptly departed, leaving only Old Man Shen, Li Changkong, and the unconscious Fang Che in the room.

Li Changkong had a very grim look on his face, while Old Man Shen was looking far less concerned in the wake of everyone's departure.

"You seem very worried about him."

"How could I not be? Damage to the soul is no laughing matter."

"He'll be fine. Trust me," Old Man Shen declared in a confident manner.

"What makes you so sure?"

"Intuition!" Old Man Shen replied with a smile. "Don't go telling anyone, just keep pretending to be depressed."

Li Changkong: "......"

Where are you getting all of this confidence from? I'm not going to go around telling everyone else when I'm not even convinced myself!

***

Outside.

Yu Zhongge was with the old man from the Yu Clan, and he instructed, "Get me some soul-nourishing natural treasures as quickly as possible. Don't get anything of too high a caliber, just get stuff that's fit for consumption for Great Grandmasters and Generals."

"I'll get that arranged, Young Master. Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

Yu Zhongge was silent for a moment, then said, "We have to find out who made that report. If it was one of the people in the group, then they must be removed for everyone's sake."

"Alright, I'll report this matter to our clan leader."

"Good. Make sure to get those natural treasures here as soon as possible!"

"You can count on me, Young Master!"

Meanwhile, Mo Ganyun was already in contact with the Mo Clan while making his way to the Virtue Manor.

"Bring me all of our Great Grandmaster and General tier soul-nourishing natural treasures! I want as much as possible!"

Jing Shuanggao and Qiu Yunshang were also doing the same.

Ding Jieran didn't do anything. His clan didn't possess the resources, and he had been hanging his head in a brooding silence this entire time.

"Ding Jieran!"

Ding Jieran looked up to discover Xie Gongping jogging toward him.

"I've realized my mistake," Xie Gongping said with a sullen expression. "I... I shouldn't have said what I did, but I didn't mean any harm! I swear!"

Ding Jieran stared at him in silence for a moment, then said, "There's no point in telling me that."

"But the others won't listen! What do I do?" Xie Gongping asked in an agitated manner.

Ding Jieran was silent for a moment, then said, "You can cultivate on your own from now on. Don't come here anymore."

Xie Gongping was rooted to the spot.

"We're trying to assemble a team of people that we can entrust our lives to on the battlefield, not a ragtag bunch of sparring partners. Alternatively, perhaps you can go see Mo Ganyun."

With that, Ding Jieran turned and departed, leaving Xie Gongping rooted to the spot.

***

Upon arriving at the Virtue Manor, Mo Ganyun knocked on the door, and Ye Meng answered.

"Welcome, Young Master Mo. Our young master is still yet to return," Ye Meng said in a polite and respectful manner.

Mo Ganyun was silent for a moment, then said, "I've come to tell you that your young master won't be returning tonight."

"Why?"

"He's injured."

"Oh no! Is it serious?"

"I'm afraid so. He's sustained damage to his soul."

"How?" Ye Meng exclaimed in an alarmed voice.

Mo Ganyun gave her a recount of what had happened, then concluded, "At the very least, it'll have to be a few days before he can come back."

Ye Meng was completely blindsided by this news, and she remained standing in a daze even after Mo Ganyun's departure.

How could this be? What are the higher-ups thinking? How is this beneficial to our future plans in any way?

She couldn't understand.

Before she had a chance to ponder the matter any further, it was time for her to deliver food to Mu Linyuan.

Mu Linyuan was still resting as usual, using his own cultivation base to whittle away Dong Changfeng's spear intent bit by bit, and he could even sense how much he was able to whittle away per day.

If the total sum of the spear intent were the size of a fist, then he was only able to expel half a fingernail's worth each day, but he was already very pleased with this progress.

This was a clear indication that Dong Changfeng still hadn't recovered from his old injuries. Otherwise, he would've been lucky to be able to whittle away a fingernail's worth a year!

Hence, he was in a very relaxed mood, and he opened his eyes as Ye Meng brought down some food and wine for him into the underground chamber.

"Why is it you today? Where's Fang Che?" Mu Linyuan asked in a surprised manner.

Tears began to well up in Ye Meng's eyes at the mention of Fang Che.

"Did something happen to him?" Mu Linyuan asked in an alarmed voice.

Ye Meng had already informed her higher-ups that Mu Linyuan was staying with Fang Che, yet they had displayed no intention of apprehending the former, which meant there was no need for her to hide what had happened to Fang Che from Mu Linyuan.

Thus, she relayed Mo Ganyun's story to Mu Linyuan.

"The young master was suspected of being a spy in the academy, so he underwent an interrogation and was put through something called a Path of Self-Inquisition. Right now, he's unconscious, and..."

She was abruptly interrupted as Mu Linyuan slammed a hand down onto the table with a furious look on his face.

"How did this happen?!"

"Apparently, he was reported by a student from a major clan. That's all I was told. What do we do, Master Mu? You have to save him!"

Mu Linyuan glowered down at the table with an enraged and frustrated expression.

How was he supposed to save Fang Che when he couldn't even save himself?

"Alright, I understand the situation now. You can leave the food and go," Mu Linyuan sighed.

Following Yin Shengong's departure, he immediately sent a message to Yin Shengong using his communication jade.

"I have bad news, Pope Yin. Night Demon has been put through the Path of Self-Inquisition and is currently unconscious."

***

Yin Shengong was so infuriated that he felt as if his head were about to explode!

He had already been notified by the mole even before receiving Mu Linyuan's message.

The message from the mole stated: "Night Demon was able to endure the Path of Self-Inquisition without exposure, but his soul has been severely damaged, and I fear that his chances of making a full recovery are going to be extremely slim."

"What the fuck these Protectionist bastards doing?! How could they just put someone through the Path of Self-Inquisition without any evidence? How are they different from the demonic churches?! Is this how the Protectionists treat all their prodigies?!"

Night Demon was on the verge of reaching the sixth-rank Great Grandmaster tier!

Yin Shengong had been ecstatic at this news, yet things had taken such a sudden and drastic turn that he was left feeling completely winded!

In his mind, Night Demon had clearly suffered spiritual damage as he had resisted the Path of Self-Inquisition for fear of exposure.

If he had turned on the One Heart Church instead, he wouldn't have sustained such severe spiritual injuries, but the Five Spirit Parasite in his body would've killed him on the spot.

Yin Shengong wanted to rush to Night Demon's side, but as the pope of the One Heart Church, he was powerless to do anything. He couldn't even deliver any medicine to Night Demon!

All he could do was wait, and this sense of powerlessness and helplessness made him want to tear his hair out.

If this is the end of Night Demon, then what do I do about the Parasite Ascension Project? How am I supposed to find a replacement for him in such a short time?

He was only further infuriated upon receiving Mu Linyuan's message, to the point that he smashed his desk to bits.

"Zhao Shanhe! I'm going to skin you alive!"

After screaming and ranting for some time, he sent a message to the mole in White Cloud Warrior Academy.

"Continue to monitor Night Demon's condition and keep me updated."

He then heaved a forlorn sigh as he set down his communication jade.

All of these Guardians are incompetent fools! How could they get rid of someone so useful to them without even batting an eyelid?! What am I going to do if Night Demon doesn't recover?

Yin Shengong was cast into a state of depression.

He felt as if he had sighed more on this day than his entire life combined.