Han Bingde

The journey continued with White and Nea chatting and sharing stories while the rest kept their brooding silence. Ruan Yanxi was especially mute. He kept to himself unless someone spoke to him directly, and even then he only hummed and in rare instances gave one-word replies. Nea had given up on trying to socialize with their new party member. It seemed that it was not only memories but also personality which was knocked out of the man's head. On the other hand, White easily climbed into her favorite people list. The cold and distant personality was slowly shedding off White's character as days went by. He often joked and shared weird and interesting stories.

'Liana will be jealous when she knows that she missed all of these tales,' Nea thought but then she remembered that her friend was no longer the same. She doubted that the Matriarch would care about this type of thing. Nea's mood immediately plummeted.

Thankfully, they finally arrived at their destination after a week of slow progress. They dropped off at another place in the wilderness. Brianna led the team in a random direction, at least to Nea. After walking about a mile or so they stopped. A minute went by without them doing anything. Nea was about to ask what they were waiting for when two cultivators appeared out of thin air. One man and one woman. Both of them wore similar outfits with a blue color palette and the unique garment style of Da Yue cultivators.

They both saluted in greeting and the woman said, "Greetings members of the Immortal Clan, we apologize for the wait."

Brianna said, "It is not a problem. As the representative of the clan, I offer an apology for asking to meet on such short notice."

"Then we shall tarry no longer." The man deployed a flying artifact in a form of a giant lotus. The team boarded the vehicle and took off.

"Why didn't we use one of these?" Nea asked. They would have arrived within a day.

"Too conspicuous," Brianna said. "Mortals may not be able to see it, but cultivators will easily perceive it. Our clan has kept our presence in the continent under warps except to a select few."

As they flew the environment around them shifted. The wilderness dispersed and showed the lofty mountains reaching into the sky. Disciples were soaring among the clouds. The green expanse of spiritual plantation spread on the earth.

They landed on the highest peak. They didn't go toward the massive building where many cultivators came and went. Instead, they climbed the endless stairs and reached a secluded clearing where a humble cottage stood surrounded by a garden of bamboos. A man was throwing fish food into a pond. When the group came near, the man turned to face them. His appearance was like a middle-aged mortal with a tidy beard and long dark hair left unbound. The man scanned the group and his eyes settled on Nea. He scrutinized her for a long while before he sighed and shook his head. "I should've expected it." The man dismissed their guides and said. "I had thought your Matriarch finally grew a sense of humor but a bad one."

Brianna gave a slight bow. "Our deepest apology but the situation has been dire and the Matriarch commanded that no time should be wasted."

"And she certainly gave the perfect bait to bring me out." The man looked at Nea. "I heard that your mother named you Nea."

"… Yes." Nea wanted to eject herself from this conversation. She knew who her father was. Her mother had never bothered to hide the situation and their relationship. Her mother and her father, Han Bingde, had met by chance when her mother was scouting the continent. Their relationship was never serious. When Nea's mother realized she had gotten pregnant, she didn't deem it a necessity to inform Han Bingde.

'A recluse like him will not want to have a child,' Nea's mother said. 'Even if he wants you, I won't give you up.'

Nea also never felt the need to have a father figure in her life. Her mother was enough. But it was impossible to deny that Nea was curious about her father. Still, she only wanted to know about him but not meet him like this.

Han Bingde cleared his throat as if by doing that he could sweep away the awkward atmosphere. "Anyway, I'm glad you're safe. I see that there's an extra member in your team."

"We found him unconscious on our way here. After finding out that there is a seal placed on his mind which suppresses his memory. We believe the seal is created by Seir thus we deem it necessary to bring him with us."

"Seir." Han Bingde sighed. "An ancient name and an ancient problem that I didn't expect I have to deal with. Come in then."

Only Brianna, White, Nea, and Ruan Yanxi followed Han Bingde inside. Han Bingde gestured to Ruan Yanxi to take a seat. Then he placed his hand on Ruan Yanxi's forehead and closed his eyes. It took seconds for Han Bingde to examine Ruan Yanxi. Han Bingde frowned and looked at White. "You're the one who held down the seal? How long can you last?"

White said, "As long as necessary. I'm not good with delicate work but I have plenty of raw power. So how long will it take to restore his memory?"

"A month in best case scenario. Worst case? He may never recover them. I can't do anything at the moment. He needs to heal his consciousness. I will provide him with the necessary medicine. A hefty amount of meditation will help."

White sighed. "How troublesome."

"So we have to stay here?" Nea asked.

"You three will stay here," Brianna said. "White needs to be close with Ruan Yanxi and you are meant to settle here."

"I have never heard of this!" Nea protested.

"You didn't ask. This is the Matriarch's order. You are too young to join the Scout. Especially now with the current crisis. Stay here, learn from the sect, and wait for the next instruction."

Nea growled.

White pat her head and said, "Calm down. It's not that bad. We can gather information easier here than being on our own. And you have me to accompany you."

"Fine." Nea crossed her arms and scowled.

Brianna ignored her and said, "I shall apologize ahead of time for all the troubles she will undoubtedly cause."

Han Bingde waved his hands. "Eh, that's fine. She is my kid anyway."