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"Young Master Xuan Yi?" The middle-aged man called out, gripping Xuan Yi's shoulder tightly.

Xuan Yi immediately recognized the man. He was Master Hai Du, a teacher in the Xuan Clan's sect.

"Master Hai Du!" Xuan Yi exclaimed, his elation and joy beyond comprehension at finding someone he knew in this unfamiliar place.

He had expected, at the very least, to encounter someone vaguely familiar with his clan when he descended to the villages on the other side. But here, even before ascending much of these ranges, he stumbled upon a teacher from his clan's sect.

"Young Master, you are too willful," Master Hai Du lamented, his voice carrying a mix of relief, as if a burden had been lifted from his shoulders and his worries had been resolved.

"Master Hai Du, what brings you here?" Xuan Yi asked, brushing off Hai Du's comment. He knew he was willful, and there was no need to argue about it.

"Well, the Clan Master sent us to look for you," Hai Du explained. "We have been searching for weeks. He sensed something and feared for your safety and presumed you might be dead. We were instructed to bring back your corpse if we couldn't find you alive, or else never return."

"That old man said that?" Xuan Yi was taken aback that his clan would launch such an extensive search for him.

"It's fortunate that he knew where to look, otherwise our dwindling finances wouldn't have allowed us to send out many scouts," Hai Du replied with a mixture of relief and regret.

"Ah, absence truly makes the heart grow fonder. Only when something is gone do we truly realize its importance," Xuan Yi mused, hinting that the clan had suddenly realized his own significance.

"Young Master remains as willful and cocky as ever," Master Hai Du said, shaking his head.

"Are these new disciples?" he asked, noticing that they couldn't recognize him, and he couldn't recognize them either.

"These are scouts I recruited from the Longsword Clan in the Qingyunxia village at the other end of the Wailing Mountain ranges. They have been of considerable help. This is Jingyi Yuen, one of the inner court disciples," he explained, pointing to the young man who had attacked Xuan Yi.

By the standards of Xuan Yi's own sect, Jingyi Yuen was relatively weak, but the Longsword Clan was much smaller in comparison. Xuan Yi didn't judge him, considering himself an average disciple within his own clan. He himself was not skilled enough to be comparable to the elite disciples of the inner court, and his advantage only lay in being a young master of the Xuan family.

"Is the person practicing nearby their young miss from the Longsword Clan?" Xuan Yi inquired.

"We decided to take a rest after searching for days, and he is meditating, hoping for a breakthrough," Hai Du explained.

"Oh," Xuan Yi replied, taking note of the situation.

"This is my friend, Tian Wei. Without him, I would have long been dead," Xuan Yi introduced, expressing his gratitude.

Tian Wei respectfully cupped his hands and bowed slightly. He had remained silent, observing the reunion unfold. It had become evident to him that the Xuan Clan was not a simple clan, despite Xuan Yi sometimes presenting himself as such. At times, Xuan Yi would boast about having a powerful clan behind him, as he did when speaking to Zhou Baisheng.

"The Xuan Clan will compensate you appropriately, young Mister Tian Wei," Hai Du stated with a smile, nodding at Tian Wei.

Tian Wei, of course, had his own reasons for initially getting involved with Xuan Yi. However, he had come to consider him a close friend and a family he never had. The only compensation he truly sought was the Xuan Clan's offer of shelter and support. He simply nodded in acknowledgement to Hai Du's words.

"He doesn't speak much," Xuan Yi explained, referring to Tian Wei's quiet demeanor.

"Since our mission has come to an end, we must return and not linger any longer. Young Miss Lin Li will soon be concluding her meditation," Hai Du stated, acknowledging the need to depart.

Having a master like Hai Du made things significantly easier for Tian Wei. He no longer needed to constantly watch his back. Even if the young gentleman from the Yang Clan were to return, it was unlikely that he would pose any threat.

"Master Hai Du, you are a soothing presence in troubled times. The relentless pursuit by the Yang Clan has been difficult, but now we have you," Xuan Yi whispered gratefully.

Those words struck Hai Yu like a harsh slap. Lin Yi on the other hand wondered how it is that they even survived the pursuit of the Yang and apparently without injury.

But Hai Yu's worries were different. In the midst of the crisis that the Xuan Clan faced, why would Xuan Yi go and offend another clan, especially the Yang Clan?

Anger instantly surged within Hai Yu, and his energy erupted.

An invisible force struck Xuan Yi forcefully in the face, propelling him backwards while eliciting spitting, groaning sounds. Xuan Yi had no time to react. It appeared that the courtesy extended to him as a long-lost but found child had its limits.

**

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