Huang Si's tone was not completely neutral so Cao Yun could deduce that this message wasn't a bad omen. Indeed, Cao Yun was still worried about Huang Cixi. Even now, he had not resolved the matter of her brothers directly with her. Honestly, he had absolutely no qualms about killing Huang Longwei. After all, he had tried to kill Cao Yun himself. But, thinking back on the matter, his killing of Huang Lixin was a bit more questionable. Although he had acted in order to protect Feng Yingyue, and although Huang Lixin had no problem killing an innocent girl, those were not the real reasons why Cao Yun had killed him. It would be an exaggeration to claim that he regretted his act, but that didn't mean that he was glad or happy about them either. Moreover, he knew that Huang Cixi had lost both her parents and her brother so he could empathize with her to a degree.
Despite Cao Yun's good relations with Huang Liyue, he wanted to deal with his past with Huang Cixi. Hopefully, they could solve it in a civilized manner. As the new matriarch, Huang Cixi could be a tremendous obstacle on Cao Yun's path. Considering his current status, she would probably have a hard time killing him. But she could impede him. And if she was able to expose his true identity, she could also side with Emperor Weide to kill him. Although it wasn't Cao Yun's main concern right now, it still was an issue he had to contend with.
"As you might have learned, Aunt Liyue was injured a few years ago. In truth, her injuries are mostly healed. But she stayed in Baziyun City so that she could guard Matriarch Huang Yufeng. I know that you're aware of the relationship between them, so it's only natural that Aunt Liyue would stay by her side. After all, if the Matriarch fails her breakthrough, she will most likely die. Aunt Liyue has however always been convinced that you had survived. As such, she gave me, and others, a message for you. She wants to meet with you as soon as possible."
Of course, Cao Yun did know that Huang Liyue was Matriarch Huang Yufeng's daughter. But the death of her brother Huang Lüfeng had tarnished their relationship for a very long time. Most young people probably didn't even know that Huang Liyue was the daughter of Matriarch Huang. Since the Matriarch was reaching the end of her natural lifespan, it was logical that she would attempt at least one last breakthrough. She had nothing much to lose. Thus, it was also natural that her daughter would want to remain at her side during this time.
"I have another message however, from Matriarch Huang Cixi. She too wants to see you. I won't talk much about the past that unites you. But I will say that you are safe. Despite everything that happened in the past, she bears no ill will toward you. In fact, she... No, it's hers to say. I understand that you want to go back to your Wubei Sect as soon as possible, but please, go see my Huang family in Baziyun City afterward."
"I understand, Miss Huang. Your Huang family has helped me tremendously. Without Huang Liyue's stealth arts, I would have died so many times already. So I will honor their requests. You can transmit my response to them. As soon as I've reported to my master and my Wubei Sect, I will go to Baziyun City. Besides, there are also things I need to ascertain in the city. By the way, how is the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall?"
Indeed, Cao Yun wanted to know about Fang Shaolong. When Cao Yun had left, he was the Hall Master of Baziyun City's Major Hall. This short and round man was not just a business partner of Cao Yun. He was his mother's brother who had escaped the massacre of the Shui family by Emperor Weide. Just like Yong Ke, Cao Yun didn't want to ask news about him directly. But it made sense for Cao Yun to ask about the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall.
"Well, the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall has been extremely helpful since the beginning of the war. Of course, they also benefited a lot. But without their network and their ability to distribute resources everywhere in the Hongchen Kingdom, we would have had a harder time dealing with the invaders from the Huogu, Kai and Rengui Provinces. When it comes to Baziyun City in particular, the Major Hall has grown more and more powerful and influential, thanks to our Huang family, in most part. Matriarch Huang Cixi relies on them a lot, while helping them as well."
"And is their leader still Fang Shaolong? I've had some dealings with him already."
"Unfortunately, he's been retired for a couple years. His wife fell ill and he couldn't deal with the pressure. When the war started, he was quickly overwhelmed. But he was able to push through. However, his wife's sickness was too much for him. Thankfully, she's still alive, but he hasn't left her side since then. A romance between a mere mortal and a cultivator is a nasty thing..."
Fang Shaolong was an early Mortal Warrior, so he could live for around half a millennium. On the other hand, his wife was a mere mortal with no cultivation whatsoever. Apparently, her constitution was simply too weak to cultivate. In fact, even pills would have been too dangerous for her to take. Still, she had to be younger than sixty, so she shouldn't be reaching the end of her lifespan. Maybe her constitution was just too weak... Hearing about Fang Shaolong, Cao Yun could deduce that it wasn't the war that had taken a toll on him. Fang Shaolong had found his nephew back, just to lose him again. Obviously, Cao Yun wanted to make him know that he was alive and well.
"General Yun, if you could please send my regards to Fang Shaolong and wish his wife well. We've worked together on some business and he was always a loyal partner."
"Of course. Just write your letters and I'll send them all. Don't worry about that, Young Sect Master Chen."
"Thank you. If you don't see any problem with it, I'd like to leave immediately. I'll go directly toward the Wubei Sect to report to my master."
"You already gave us so much intel... Let me just prepare some provisions for you and your mount."
"Thank you, General. Miss Huang."
Cao Yun bowed slightly toward the two of them and left the tent, Yun Ping following him.
"Brother Chen, I'd like to go with you, but I'm needed on the battlefield. I know you want to get to the Wubei Sect as soon as possible, but be very careful. Do not try to go through the Huogu Province or the Kai Province. Yes, the travel will be shorter, but it will be because you'll be devoured. Not only are there powerful demonic beasts there, there is also a great accumulation of Evil Qi. No one has had enough time to deal with it. It's even worse than what you remember of the Lunar Marsh. Blood and souls from the fallen demons and humans slaughtered by millions are still there. It's a literal hell... Please, Brother, don't be too rash!"
"Brother, thank you for your concern. Do not worry about me. I don't plan to risk my life now that I'm finally home."
Yun Ping didn't hear a straight answer from his brother, but he knew he couldn't get anything better out of him. On the other hand, Cao Yun wasn't deterred by Yun Ping's words. In fact, they had the opposite effect. Cao Yun was more curious than ever now. Evil Qi and any energy related to death were very important to him. After all, he had just recently learned about 'Living Death' and he wanted to improve himself. Besides, it was an extremely powerful part of his cultivation and had no connection to his asura cultivation. In other words, he could display it in full without risking exposing his bloodline.
The Dao of Death was obviously closely related to demonic cultivators. But nothing was considered demonic in itself, it was the way it was cultivated that was demonic or orthodox. Thus, Cao Yun's Black Heart Flame and 'Death Verses' would both be considered orthodox in the Hongchen Kingdom. Of course, some people might be a bit repulsed by such arts. However, they wouldn't make Cao Yun look like a depraved demonic cultivator, unless he actively slaughtered innocent people to improve his arts.
Before leaving, Cao Yun remembered one thing he had to do in the Subei Province. Even now, he could still hear sounds of battle in the distance. His sneaking around in the demon camps was most likely responsible for all that commotion. Many people might die or be severely injured or maimed because of that. As such, Cao Yun wanted to help them as much as he could.
Yun Ping accompanied Cao Yun to Hongyu. She had been left alone in a rather unoccupied portion of the camp with some food and water at her disposal. When Cao Yun and Yun Ping arrived, she was asleep and Cao Yun decided not to wake her up. She had eaten and drunk. After everything, she deserved her sleep. Besides, Cao Yun planned on a long and dangerous journey once again. He felt bad about relying on Hongyu so much. But she was faster than he was and would help him tremendously. Moreover, even if he tried to leave her behind, she wouldn't accept it.
"Brother Chen, I have to leave you. My father will have your provisions ready in the next hour. But I have to go back to the battlefield to deal with those demons. We can't let them win even an inch. Hopefully, your intel will help us push them back while minimizing our losses."
"I'm sorry, Brother Yun. This is most likely my fault..."
"Don't sweat it! They would have attacked at some point anyway. But we would never have had all this intel without you. In the long run, you probably saved more lives and you might even have reduced the length of this war. I can assure you, we'll win! No demon will subjugate our kingdom! No human will ever be enslaved by those monsters! I can barely imagine what you went through in this Desolate Sepulcher... Hopefully, we can talk some more after the war is over.
"I had a small favor to ask of you, Brother Chen. When you get to the Wubei Sect, could you give this letter to my sister? She should be training in the Ancient Ruins at the moment. I don't know if you'll be there when the training is done, so if you can't give it to her directly, just make sure she receives it."
Yun Ping gave Cao Yun a letter with his seal on it. Of course, Cao Yun took it and stored it in his spatial ring without looking at its content, even with spiritual senses.
"No problem, Brother. I'll make sure she gets it."
The Ancient Ruins was the name used to refer to the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Talking about the actual training was forbidden outside of the Wubei Sect, as it was an important secret of the sect. Just talking about it reminded Cao Yun of Chief Elder Suxian whose Soul Embryo was trapped in the Palace of Supreme Wisdom. Of course, Dian Mo also reacted within Cao Yun's sea of consciousness. Now that he was close to the young man, remembering what he had done to him and his friends in the Palace of Supreme Wisdom was a bit awkward. But, thankfully, Dian Mo had given up on taking over Cao Yun's body. With those memories, Cao Yun also remembered Mo Tian, or former Chief Elder Luoming Tian. His soul was still within the reformed body of Da Mo, crushed under the Devil's Jail.
Yun Ping left after thanking Cao Yun once more.
As Hongyu was sleeping, Cao Yun took out a brush and some paper. For almost the entire hour, he wrote letters to all his friends, brothers and sister. Although he trusted General Yun Po to an extent, he did hide most of his intent. In particular, he simply couldn't tell everything that had happened. When it came to his sister Cao Huiying, he simply couldn't tell much about. Even mentioning the Emperor's daughter would be somewhat strange in those letters. And he knew that they would be read. Indeed, they couldn't physically be given. That meant that they had to be read and rewritten by someone on the other side of the array formation. Thus, Cao Yun stayed evasive. He would have to see them in person to tell them everything he knew.
While he was writing, Cao Yun reminisced about his time in the Wubei Sect. Nostalgia overwhelmed him a little. Even with his mind cultivation, he felt excitement, trepidation, but also fear and uncertainty. He wanted to go back, but he was also afraid of what had changed. With such melancholia in him, Cao Yun began to write some poetry without even noticing. His letters turned into poems under his brush strokes. His style was very similar to Saint Dashan's. After all, it was Cao Yun's reference when it came to poetry.
Anyway, Cao Yun was lost in his thoughts and indulged in this moment of peace and quiet. It was bittersweet, but sweet nonetheless. Once again, Cao Yun was about to face very difficult times. Although he was now home, part of his home was hostile to him and he had to keep hiding his identity. In the end, he was still treading dangerous waters. But he had more allies, and he was much stronger. There was no doubt in the young man's mind. He was going to save his sister, no matter what! And he was going to save, or at least help save, his Hongchen Kingdom!
For now, he had not been able to tell General Yun about his ability to free most of the slaves at once. Indeed, it would have forced him to reveal much more. But he could tell that to his master and a select few. But the real threat he wasn't sure how to deal with was Da Mo himself, the Empyrean Asura.
Cao Yun was done so he decided to think about his future plans. That was when he received the provisions promised to him. In his spatial ring, he took enough food and water to last Hongyu and him for more than a year. By rationing, they might even be enough for an entire decade.
Now, he was ready and left the camp with a small tablet giving authorization to move around. But before going to the Wubei Sect, he went back toward the border.