The Courtyard

Alex cocked his head in confusion towards the last sentence that the Second Elder had just said. "One… of us? I don't understand, elder," he said. 

"Sigh… After the beast invasion in the capital, when it was time to return, everyone was fine, except you. So, they spent a day searching for you before Sect Leader Wen asked the rest of the group to return back to Scarlet city with haste."

"During that time, we found information, through a letter left behind that Wan Li had decided to go find the bandits that killed his parents. So, he is now gone from the sect as well."

"He did not leave behind any information whatsoever as which direction he went to, or when he left. He might have even changed his face, so we don't really know where he is gone too. A few elders are gone… but it's hard to track down an alchemist when he really wants to stay hidden," the second elder said.