A fateful arrangement
After the ruckus settled down, the Herculean dung beetles left the place. This was a time of hibernation for the Herculean dung beetles. That was also why the gu masters of the Central continent were able to steal the queens of the insect horde easily. Once the crisis had passed, the insects returned to their sluggish states and decided to return to their nests.
The insects were also able to detect Gu Guangzhi and his team hiding nearby on their way back but they detected a strong threat from Gu Guangzhi's side. Gu Guangzhi's Nether river wolf was standing guard at this time when the gu masters were recuperating their primeval essence reserves. A fully grown mutated beast was already as powerful as a thousand beast king and sometimes it could even rival a myriad beast king. So the queens decided not to attack them unprovoked.
Gu Guangzhi pulled out a shovel from his Flowerbud Gu and tossed it to Tie Yue Sen.
"Come on, let's get digging."
"Hey, why am I the only one getting a shovel?", asked Tie Yue Sen in confusion.
"We already contributed our share of work till now. It's time you do yours if you want any share in the spoils.", replied Gu Guangzhi.
"Oh, hell no! This is bull shit!", exclaimed Tie Yue Sen.
"Actually, this is beetle shit.", said Tie He Xi while chuckling.
"Wait till we get home. I'm going to complain to mother!", grumbled Tie Yue Sen while proceeding towards the scene.
Gu Guangzhi and his team reluctantly stepped into the mess left behind. Using some investigative methods, Tie Ruo Nan was able to identify the bodies of the gu masters. There were many gu insects that were damaged or destroyed during the battle but they were able to salvage many gu insects from the bodies left behind. Tie Yue Sen was also digging enthusiastically for his share of the loot. These gains were considered spoils of war, so according to the rules of Tie clan, they could do whatever they wanted with them.
"I can still sense some gu masters who are alive. Some of them have turned into zombies to avoid death by suffocation while some others have used some gu insects to go into deep hibernation. What do we do with them?", asked Tie Ruo Nan.
"We can use my Flying stone Gu to transport them. Let us get out of here first. We need to report this to the higher ups in case Immortal Crane Sect decides to send reinforcements.", replied Gu Guangzhi.
…
The gu masters of the Immortal Crane Sect who escaped the resource cave were currently kneeling in front of a sect elder in charge of discipline.
"Shameless. Each and every one of you. Not only did you try to covet someone else's resources like a thief but you also abandoned your fellow disciples to an insect horde and fled for your lives. Such acts are unworthy of the sect. Each and everyone of you deserves to be expelled.", shouted the sect elder.
He had received an official letter from the Tie Clan stating that they had apprehended several members of the Immortal Crane Sect who were trying to rob their resources. The Immortal Crane Sect was harshly rebuked for raising such disciples and now they wanted compensation for the damages.
"The least you could've done is ask for help immediately after returning. Instead, you thought that you could sweep this matter under the rug by laying low. If we had known earlier, we would've at least tried to rescue your fellow disciples.", lamented another elder called Yan Zemin. He was the uncle of one of the gu masters that hadn't returned.
The elder in charge of discipline wasn't pleased to hear these words. However, he knew that one of the captured gu masters was a nephew of this elder, so he decided to give some leeway.
"Elder Yan Zemin. You seem to be invested in this matter so I'll leave the matter of compensation to you. They are currently being held at Ruogang clan in the Southern border. Go and discuss the details with the elder from Tie clan who is currently residing there."
Elder Yan Zemin's face was also dark. This meant that he would have to fork out his own money to get the disciples back. He grit his teeth and vowed to squeeze the costs from the families of the captured disciples. He didn't have any Messenger Gu that were capable of crossing the regional wall so he went to Ruogang clan by himself to negotiate. Needless to say, he had to pay an extravagant amount to get his nephew released.
Yan Cai and the other disciples were trembling slightly thinking of the punishment they would receive. They were stripped of all their gu insects when they were captured. Even their enslaved beasts were taken away. They were happy that they could keep their lives but were now afraid what kind of life it would be.
"Uncle, I'm sorry about this. I've brought you shame.", said Yan Cai.
"Hmm. It's alright." Yan Zemin had a pleasant look on his face.
"Your crane beast king was also taken away when I was captured. I couldn't stop them.", said Yan Cai peeking at his uncle.
"It's not a big deal. Enslaved beasts can always be replaced."
Yan Cai was shocked at the answer. Gathering more courage he asked, "You don't seem very upset uncle. I thought you would be mad."
"What's there to be upset about? It's fate that you got captured. Now learn from this experience and grow stronger.", said Yan Zemin with a smile on his face.
Yan Cai couldn't believe his ears but he decided not to push his luck. All the disciples bowed and said, "We will work diligently to repay this kindness, sect elder."
Yan Zemin was still smiling ear to ear. He was saying to himself, "Lord Sky Crane, I've finally found a clue. The Kinship Bloodworm Gu that you've lent to me had finally shown some reaction while meeting an elder from Tie Clan named Gu Yue Chao. I will thoroughly investigate his background and find more information. After all these years, I am finally able to fulfill my mission. It is truly fate!"