The Scent of the Orchid in the Forest of Secrets (密林兰香)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Three more disciples turned up dead. A large crowd was huddled around the general area, but when Shu Haolin pushed her way through, she found everyone staying a safe distance away from the corpses, such that the circle in the center was largely empty. The three disciples were laying, splayed out on the ground, in a state that was all too familiar to her. Yu Jielan stood next to her, a grave expression on her face.

"How come the curse is still haunting our Sect?" Someone asked, her voice shaking.

"Are we being haunted by the ghosts of the Lin Sect?" Another asked, sounding terrified by the prospect.

"What do you mean, the Lin Sect?"

"It turns out they weren't demonic cultivators... then wouldn't they all have died very unjust deaths? Their resentful souls are coming back to haunt us... they're going to make us pay for our mistake!"

"Shut up!" Shu Haolin snapped sharply, and everyone was shocked into silence, but the words had already been spoken and deeply ingrained into the growing fears of the public.

Yu Jielan cast a dark glance at the scene, made eye contact with Shu Haolin. "The clan elders have called me to a meeting. Come once you're done at the scene." She said quietly. Shu Haolin nodded, and Yu Jielan left first. Shu Haolin investigated the bodies for wounds, and when finding nothing else, as expected, she called for someone to take the bodies away and notify their families for burial. She straightened, looking grave, and departed in the direction of the Sect Leader's meeting hall with long strides.

When she entered, she was met with several judgmental stares. Not expecting the room of people to all stare towards her in unison, she stumbled over her steps a little before reaching Yu Jielan's side.

"Xiao-Lan, what are you doing, bringing outsiders into a family meeting?" One of the clan elders asked, putting emphasis on the word "family".

Yu Jielan looked towards the clan elder coolly, and when she spoke, her tone carried a bite of frost. "Uncle, you are right. This is a family meeting. It is natural that I would like to bring my partner along to discuss important matters of the future of the Yu Sect," she answered, adding equal emphasis onto the word "partner".

Shu Haolin felt a little out of place. Last time, she had stood by Yu Jielan's side in a meeting full of Sect heads of other martial arts Sects in the jianghu. Due to the Yu Sect's strong reputation in the jianghu, people hadn't dared to say anything to Yu Jielan's face, and thus, Shu Haolin had grown a little complacent in her role next to Yu Jielan. She hadn't realized that in front of others, she really was an outsider. However, as if anticipating her thoughts, Yu Jielan had smoothly delivered that line, firmly shutting up anyone else from discussing the matter.

The room was silent for a while, before Shao Mingrong nervously broke out into forced laughter. "Xiao-Lan being able to find a cultivation partner is a blessing. Everyone, why don't we get to the main topic?"

Yu Jielan nodded politely to Shao Mingrong, but the slight smile on her lips did not reach her eyes. Then, she straightened her back, addressing the room from the head of the table. "Today, each of my seniors have called this junior here for a meeting. I was wondering if the three dead disciples were the topic of this meeting?"

The clan elders glanced at each other, looking quite uncomfortable, and they muttered amongst each other. Their gazes all turned towards one person, Yu Zifan. Although he was quite unremarkable in terms of his martial arts, he had a pair of lips that spouted speeches that made people want to follow him, and thus, in this group of middle-aged men and women, all relatives of the main line of the Yu clan, he had gained a couple of followers. The person sitting next to him even took the initiative to give him a little shove with his elbow. "Say it," he muttered, casting a quick glance at Yu Jielan.