The players gathered at Eight Trigrams Field dispersed several hours later, leaving only Shen Jingbinâs group and the rest of the members of Jade Sea Pavilion.
Morning Glory Chime had died, so they planned to wait where they were till she respawned to find out how she was doing.
However, they didnât see hide nor hair of her even after waiting there for a good long while.
"Hey, didnât she die in a really unique way just now? Maybe her method of respawning might be different as well," The Winds Of Ximen said as he thought back to how Morning Glory Chime had died by slowly fading away into nothingness.
Black Kite clapped her hands in agreement. "Ah, thatâs likely the case! Otherwise, she shouldnât be taking so long to respawn."
Delicate Flower shot a long and profound look at Black Kite before she said, "Sheâs taking a long time? I seem to remember you being stuck in Hell for quite a while too last time."
"The f*ck, youâre not supposed to mention my dark past!" Youâre even saying it in front of all the pros from Jade Sea Pavilion! Leave a bit of my dignity intact will you?! Black Kite leapt over to Delicate Flower in an instant and covered her mouth before she shot a timid glance at the members of Jade Sea Pavilion.
However, to her dismay, not a single person from Jade Sea Pavilion was paying attention to her.
Instead, they were huddled around Shen Jingbin and Quiet And Steadfast.
"Are the two of you going to keep waiting for her?" Next Week Is Unlikely asked.
Quiet And Steadfast nodded. "Weâve got something we need to ask, so we canât leave."
Slight Chill rolled her eyes. "Then I wonât accompany you guys. Iâll be leaving first; Iâve got something to take care of."
"You guys should also go if youâve got anything you need to do, you donât need to wait here with us. Just remember to look out for Shinra Sect members," Quiet And Steadfast said.
"Leader, Iâm bored, so I think Iâll hang around with you and wait," Iâm Not A Monster said.
"Same here," Iâm Really Not A Monster added.
"I donât think Iâve got anything on either. Might as well keep you guys company," Actually, I Am A Monster chimed in as well.
Iâm A Monster, Dare To Hit Me shot a glance at his companions who were buzzing around the Nymph beside Pure Crane before he ruthlessly exposed them. "Pui, you guys just want to hang around to look at girls. Stop coming up with excuses."
"Shut up!"
"..."
Shen Jingbin suddenly perked up. "Look at girls? Who? Is it Delicate Flower or Black Kite?"
"These beasts over here only like girls who are kind-hearted and cute!" Iâm A Monster, Dare To Hit Me declared.
Shen Jingbin rest her chin on her hand and wore a thoughtful look on her face. "Then, it has to be Black Kite."
"...Ah, I think Iâve still got some dailies that I havenât cleared."
"Eh, I think Iâve got some dailies I havenât cleared as well. Does anyone want to come along with me?"
"Mememe! I havenât done it as well. Take me along."
Iâm A Monster, Dare To Hit Me: ... Are you guys pigs?! You donât even know the right way to change the subject!
In the end, everyone else from Jade Sea Pavilion left, leaving behind Shen Jingbin, Quiet And Steadfast, and Shen Jingchen. Shen Jingchen, whoâd insisted on staying behind, rounded Pure Crane several times before he said regretfully, "Why didnât you get hit? That way I couldâve had a chance to become the Lead Disciple of the Swordmaster Pavilion."
Pure Crane smiled at him and said, "Probably because Iâm smarter than that."
Shen Jingchenâs face fell, and he let out a disgruntled snort.
After the Four Monstersâ tomfoolery, Shen Jingbin and company continued waiting for a little while more, but still had yet to see any sign of Morning Glory Chime. At this point, Shen Jingbin started to share the same suspicions as The Winds Of Ximen. Just then, a new wave of people suddenly poured in from the entrance of Eight Trigrams Field.
"Eh, whyâre there more people coming over again? Arenât they a little too late?" Black Kite muttered.
Quiet And Steadfast, and Shen Jingbin with her sharp eyes had long since spotted Neverending Journey, who was walking at the forefront of this new group of players; his face covered with a murderous expression.
"Pure Crane, your Leaderâs here," Quiet And Steadfast said.
"Mm?" Pure Crane stepped forward and squinted. It really was Neverending Journey.
Neverending Journey set a brisk pace, reaching them a short while later. He shot an unkind glance at the trio from Jade Sea Pavilion before he turned his gaze to Black Kiteâs group, who posed no threat at all. He completely ignored the random person he didnât know, The Winds Of Ximen. Then, finally, his gaze landed on Pure Crane.
"Pure Crane, I thought I made myself clear last time back at the Ice Extermination Cavern."
"What did you say?"
"Youâre the Vice-leader of Sovereignâs Descent! I forbade you from having dealings with players from Jade Sea Pavilion! I overlooked what happened last time, but donât you think you should be giving me an explanation this time around?"
Pure Crane suddenly asked a question of his own in return, "I donât recall promising you anything back at the Ice Extermination Cavern though?" When Neverending Journey heard his reply, his face instantly turned even more unsightly.
One of the players behind Neverending Journey shouted, "Vice-leader, are you abandoning us to join Jade Sea Pavilion?!"
Although Pure Crane was popular, that didnât mean everyone liked him. There were some people whoâd be envious of anyone who was stronger than them and had long since taken issue with him. One such person immediately continued, "Our Vice-leader has found a nice big backer to support him! Which makes sense since no matter how you look at it Jade Sea Pavilion is the number one guild in the game. Itâs got tons of pros within it and just oozes fame. A middling guild like ours definitely canât match up to it."
"Silence!" Neverending Journey chided. He then turned his attention to Pure Crane and said, "Pure Crane, Iâve never treated you coldly during all of the time weâve spent together as companions. Can you really live with yourself after what youâve done to me?"
A trace of ridicule suddenly appeared on Pure Craneâs face after Neverending Journey spoke.
Live with myself?
What kind of person was Neverending Journey?
The son of an affluent family in real life, who is of the belief that heâs infallible and considers everyone beneath him; all of these words fit him to a T. Companions? Haha, so it turns out that Neverending Journeyâs companions were for picking up after him.
Neverending Journey would often verbally abuse him in front of the entire guild. There were also times when heâd push the blame for his own strategic failures onto Pure Crane.
Pure Crane was truly pitiful for having a companion like him.