Chapter 354: The thousand dao city 24.

Then Su Yubing stopped.

"Yuxin."

"Hmm?"

"Are you worried about the Battle Maiden Sect because of your mothers?"

Mo Yuxin did not answer immediately.

She thought about it.

"Maybe partly."

"And the rest?"

"I do not like seeing them treated unfairly."

Su Yubing smiled.

"You have always been like that."

Mo Yuxin looked at her.

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you."

Mo Yuxin smiled.

She reached over and held her wife’s hand.

"Then you know me better than anyone."

"Of course."

They continued walking.

A few streets later, Mo Yuxin noticed someone standing across the road.

A woman in dark robes.

She was watching them.

Mo Yuxin’s divine sense touched her.

The woman disappeared.

Mo Yuxin did not pursue.

Su Yubing noticed.

"Someone?"

"Yes."

"Threat?"

"I do not think so."

"Then?"

"Someone observing us."

Su Yubing squeezed her hand.

"Let them watch."

Mo Yuxin smiled.

"That was exactly what I was thinking."

They returned to the inn.

Inside their room, Mo Yuxin removed her outer robe and placed it beside the bed.

Su Yubing sat near the window.

For a few minutes they said nothing.

Then Su Yubing asked, "Do you think the Battle Maiden Sect can survive this?"

Mo Yuxin sat beside her.

"Yes."

"Even if several sects are involved?"

"Yes."

"Even if there is a traitor?"

"Yes."

Su Yubing smiled.

"You sound very confident."

Mo Yuxin took her hand.

"Because they have people willing to stand together."

She thought about Ruyan and Su Lian.

About Ye Qinglan.

About the wounded disciples.

About Ning Shuyue and Luo Qinghe.

About everyone who had chosen to help instead of turning away.

"A sect is not its resources."

Su Yubing nodded.

"True."

Mo Yuxin leaned against her.

"But we still need to find who is behind it."

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow."

Su Yubing gently kissed her forehead.

"Tonight you are mine. No politics."

Mo Yuxin smiled immediately.

"Good."

She hugged Su Yubing tightly.

"Very good."

Before the next formal session, however, the Battle Maiden Sect had one more unexpected visitor.

It was Fang Zhen from the Heavenly Sword Sect.

He came alone.

Ye Qinglan met him in a small side hall of the Battle Maiden branch, with Mu Qingru standing nearby and Ji Ruyan waiting at the door. Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing had been invited because Ye Qinglan no longer wanted to make important decisions without at least hearing their opinion.

Fang Zhen bowed.

"Sect Master Ye. First Elder Mu."

Mu Qingru did not return the greeting.

"Why are you here?"

Fang Zhen looked uncomfortable.

"I wanted to apologize."

Mu Qingru raised an eyebrow.

"For what?"

"For the words spoken during the assembly."

Ye Qinglan studied him.

"You were not the elder who made the proposal."

"I know. But I was present. I should have spoken."

Ji Ruyan’s expression softened slightly.

"Why did you not?"

Fang Zhen hesitated.

"Because the elder who spoke is one of the most senior people in my sect."

Mu Qingru replied sharply, "That is not an excuse."

"I know."

The young man looked down.

"But I also want to make something clear. Not everyone in the Heavenly Sword Sect agrees with what is happening."

Mo Yuxin spoke for the first time.

"How many?"

Fang Zhen looked at her.

"I do not know."

"That matters."

"Yes."

"Who controls the elders who are pushing these proposals?"

Fang Zhen was silent.

Then he said, "Elder Han Wuyou."

Mo Yuxin remembered the name.

He was the elder who had repeatedly argued that the Battle Maiden Sect had already received enough privileges.

"What is his position?"

"Third Elder of our sect."

"And his allies?"

Fang Zhen looked toward the table.

"There are several. Some within the sect. Some outside it."

Su Yubing asked, "Golden Mountain?"

Fang Zhen nodded slightly.

"Possibly."

"Azure Cloud?"

"I do not know."

"Cangming Palace?"

"I doubt it. Their priorities are different."

Mo Yuxin considered him.

Fang Zhen seemed sincere.

That did not mean he was telling the truth about everything, but Mo Yuxin found no obvious sign that he was deliberately misleading them.

Ye Qinglan asked, "Why tell us this?"

Fang Zhen answered, "Because I don’t want my sect’s name used for something dishonorable."

Mu Qingru’s eyes remained sharp.

"Then find out what your elders are doing."

Fang Zhen nodded.

"I will."

He turned to leave.

Mo Yuxin stopped him.

"Fang Zhen."

He turned.

"Yes?"

"Be careful."

The young man gave her a serious nod.

"I will."

He left.

Ji Ruyan watched the door close.

"Do you trust him?"

Mo Yuxin shook her head.

"Not completely."

"But?"

"I think he believes what he said."

Su Lian, who had been checking the nearby formation plates, looked up.

"That could still be useful."

Su Yubing nodded.

"Sometimes the best information comes from people who are not powerful enough to know the whole truth."

Mu Qingru looked at her.

"That is a surprisingly practical statement."

Su Yubing smiled.

"I listen when my wife talks."

Mo Yuxin immediately looked pleased.

Ruyan laughed.

"You really cannot go five minutes without talking about her."

Mo Yuxin looked completely serious.

"Why would I?"

That earned another round of laughter.

The tension finally eased.

Later that afternoon, Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing visited the Nine Heavens Academy.

Luo Qinghe had arranged a temporary guest pass for them, and the two women were curious about the academy after hearing about its huge library.

The academy was even larger than they had imagined.

There were mountains of buildings connected by floating bridges. Students moved through the courtyards in groups, some discussing sword techniques and others arguing over alchemy formulas. There were examination halls, training grounds, beast care centers, lecture towers, and a huge central library with at least nine floors visible from the outside.

Mo Yuxin stopped in front of it.

Su Yubing laughed.

"You look happy."

"I am."

"More than when you saw the eastern gate?"

"Much more."

"Then go."

Mo Yuxin looked at her.

"Come with me."

"Of course."

They spent three hours in the library.

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TO BE CONTINUED.