The Scum Is Missing

"We were only waiting for you to accept Bai-er." Madame Feng said and sighed as she knocked on Feng Mo's forehead. It was morning and they were leaving.

Feng Mo's eyes went wide. Then, his face went dark. He turned to Wu Bai. "So, last night… you were lying to me?!" he asked and glared at Wu Bai.

Madam Feng frowned. "What's with that attitude?" she said and pinched Feng Mo's cheeks. "Do you know how sad he was when you left?" she asked. "He confessed to us he will wait for you to come back. Even when we introduced girls to him or gave him servants to serve him, he refused." She looked at Wu Bai and smiled. "That's how he is loyal to you. Like your dad to me – " she said and turned to her husband. She laid her head on his shoulder lovingly.

Feng Mo's father cleared his throat. He's embarrassed, but he's proud. Their love is really strong. "Mo er ah." He called Feng Mo. "Just forgive whatever Bai er have done. He only has you in his heart. Now that we approve of you two." He told his son.

Feng Mo's face is so red. "T-then – " he said and looked at Wu Bai who was smiling brightly. "When I – I'll come back, we… we'll have a w-wedding – " he said and lowered his head to hide his embarrassed face.

Wu Bai chuckled and kissed Feng Mo's forehead. "I'll wait for you to come back." He told him and kissed his lips.

Cheng Sheng, Li Tian, and Fei Yin have long since been used to the PDA of the couples around them. Then, they left and flew back to Xinfaxian. Feng Mo was beaming, he didn't have to be jealous of his da shixiong and Cheng-shidi, and Li-shixiong and Chen Han. The three others could only let him indulge in his happiness.

When they went back, they didn't expect to see Chen Han, Sun Yi, and Wu Yuan. Their face is grave as they talk to Fan Wen and Xie Lan. "Shifu. Founder." they greeted and bowed. "Chen-shixiong. Sun-shixiong. Wu-shixiong." they said.

Fan Wen and Xie Lan turned to them. Their faces looked worried. "Sect leader Wu is missing." Fan Wen said.

They were shocked. "What?!"

Fan Wen sighed and looked at Xie Lan. "The last time sect leader Wu was seen is here in Xinfaxian." He said. Then, he looked at the Youxiwang sect disciples.

They knew what this implies. They were suspected of hiding Wu Fan. "But, we don't suspect you." Sun Yi said. "The Xinfaxian Sect and the Youxiwang Sect are families." He said. "Actually… we are here to ask for your help." He looked at Fan Wen and Xie Lan. Then, he turned to Cheng Sheng and the others. "We want you to help us find our sect leader." He told them.

Wu Yuan stepped forward. "Please, I beg you to find my father." He said and bowed.

Fan Wen's face is filled with worry. Xie Lan's expression is grave while Cheng Sheng and the others are confused. "Right now, who is acting as the sect leader of the Youxiwang Sect?" Cheng Sheng asked.

"Ah Sheng." Chen Han called. "It's father." He answered.

Cheng Sheng looked at him, then Sun Yi and Wu Yuan. "Please rise, Wu-shixiong." He said. "As what Sun-shixiong said, we are all families." He told him.

Wu Yuan stood straight and nodded. "Many thanks." He said, his cold eyes filled with anxiety. After all, his father is missing. His mother died from giving birth to him, so he has no siblings. Also, Wu Fan is the sect leader of the Youxiwang Sect. If word of his disappearance comes out…

"We are at fault, too." Xie Lan said. "We should have ensured sect leader Wu's return to the Youxiwang Sect." he said, his brows knit. He blamed himself.

"Sect leader Xie is not at fault." Wu Yuan said. "My father left on his own without bidding goodbye. And – " he said and paused. "It was the Chen patriarch the last person he was with before he left." he added.

Chen Han lowered his head. If an outsider would hear this, they would think the Chen family is conspiring against Wu Fan. After all, if Wu Fan were gone, the Chen family would bag the whole of Youxiwang Sect. However, the Chen family is disinterested in the Youxiwang Sect and only supports them from the shadows. So, if Wu Fan disappears, the Chen family will be forced to take over the Youxiwang Sect temporarily, like now, which they find irritating since they clearly don't want to be the sect leader. Actually, it was only the interested members of the Chen Clan who participated to be the elders of the Youxiwang Sect. The rest became free cultivators businessmen, or artists. Whichever they see fit, they do. This is how the Chen Clan is. That is why, when Chen Sheng ran away, they let him go for him to find himself. This is also the reason they didn't bother him for 10 years, which is convenient for Cheng Sheng.

Seeing the confusion on their face and the self-reproach of Chen Han, Sun Yi stepped forward. "The Chen patriarch already mobilized the Chen Clan to covertly find sect leader Wu." He said. "He also wanted to find sect leader Wu, but the Youxiwang Sect can't be left by the sect leader for long. Our shifu and shishu are helping the Chen patriarch to cover the disappearance of our sect leader." He explained.

Now they understood the situation. "But, sect leader Wu would definitely head straight back to the Youxiwang Sect." Li Tian spoke. "It would only take one and a half days for him, the maximum, to reach the Xiwang." He said.

Wu Yuan nodded, acknowledging his words. "It is." He said. "However, two days have passed and we can't see my father's shadow. Father would send us a message or signal if he detoured or was in danger. However, we received none from him." He explained.

Silence. "Have you tried tracing his qi?" Cheng Sheng asked after a while.

They all looked at him. "What? Tra…cing?" they asked, puzzled.

Cheng Sheng nodded. "Like looking for his footsteps or the tracks he left, you look for his qi." He answered.

"How do we look for qi?" Feng Mo asked.

Cheng Sheng looked at him, then the others. They've… never tried it? He thought, surprised. Fan Wen saw his confusion and he smiled. "Xiao Sheng." Fan Wen called. Cheng Sheng turned to him. "This is the first time someone in the Youxiwang Sect disappeared." He said. "And it is their sect leader. Even us, in Xinfaxian, no one had disappeared. Even if there is, we have devices to look for them." He explained. "However – " he said and turned to Xie Lan.

Xie Lan nodded and turned to Cheng Sheng. "The Youxiwang Sect, of course, tried their best to locate their sect leader and now mobilized their best forces." He said, then frowned. "But, sect leader Wu can't be found. We think someone must have deliberately taken him. Then, they interfered with our magic." He explained.

"That someone – " Fei Yin spoke. " – is founder suspecting that man?" he asked.

Xie Lan turned to him. "Xiao Yin. You really are smart." He grinned. "Even if that man is not our enemy, but that doesn't mean he is our ally either." He told Fei Yin. Then, his smile disappeared. "He tried to take away Xiao Sheng before. Have you forgotten that?" he asked.

Fei Yin lowered his gaze. "This disciple didn't forget." He answered and bowed.

There was silence. Sun Yi cleared his throat. "Sect leader Xie." He called, breaking the tension in the air. "I ask of sect leader Xie to permit our sect to search for our sect leader in the Xinfaxian." He said and respectfully bowed.

Wu Yuan and Chen Han also bowed. "We ask of sect leader Xie's permission." They said.

Xie Lan nodded. "There's no need for that. We are willing to help." He told them. "Our number is only small. Will your sect send your elders here, too?" he asked.

Wu Yuan nodded. "Yes." He answered. "They are waiting on our teleportation array. Waiting for the Xinfaxian Sect to respond." He explained.

Xie Lan nodded and turned to Fan Wen. Fan Wen nodded and looked at their four core disciples. "Xiao Tian. Gather our disciples and inform them of our activity. Don't let this disrupt their training. And pick some of them that could help the search. As for the remaining disciples, let them resume their training." He told Li Tian.

"Yes, shifu." Li Tian answered and bowed. Then, he left.

"Xiao Mo." Fan Wen called. "You will remain here with Xiao Tian to watch over the training of your fellow disciples." He told Feng Mo. Li Tian is in charge of the studies while Feng Mo is in charge of their martial arts.

"Yes, shifu!" Feng Mo answered and bowed. Then, he followed Li Tian.

"Xiao Yin. Xiao Sheng. You'll be coming with us to search for Wu-shixiong." Fan Wen said, referring to Wu Fan.

"Yes, shifu!" Fei Yin and Cheng Sheng answered and bowed.

"Lan." Fan Wen called and turned to Xie Lan.

Xie Lan nodded, satisfied with Fan Wen's arrangement. He then turned to the Youxiwang Sect's disciples. "Let's head to the teleportation array." He told them. "This matter does not permit delay." He said.

"Yes!" they answered and bowed.