Early in the morning, the light of dawn was faint and cool.
In a small, nameless village on the main path to the Xiyue River, three hurried figures arrived.
All three wore gray monk's robes and had shaven heads. At a glance, it was clear they were ordained monks.
Soon, they reached the edge of the village. Seeing the disarray, they stopped in their tracks.
One of the monks stopped before a pile of black ash. He scooped up a handful to examine it closely, also noticing a few scattered fragments of clothing on the ground.
"This is identical to the remains of the Harmony Saint Bodhisattva. The culprit is the same person."
"We were a step too late, after all. This direction... he must be heading to the Xiyue River."
"Should we still give chase? That's the domain of the Mother Divination True Master," one of them asked.
"The Xiyue River and our White Buddha Temple have always minded our own business. Rushing in would surely displease the Mother Divination True Master. However, the Co-Dining Feast is about to begin. We can pretend to be participants and operate in secret."
"Should we report this to the Abbot? If we enter the Xiyue River without his command and something goes wrong, we won't be able to bear the responsibility."
"It doesn't matter. The Saint Bodhisattva has been destroyed and the Holy Bone stolen. This matter concerns our White Buddha Temple's hundred-year plan. If we can't retrieve the Holy Bone, the Abbot won't let us off either.
But if we can bring back both the Holy Bone and the culprit, the matter of who this Holy Bone belongs to will surely allow the three of us to distinguish ourselves. Any one of us could have the chance to inherit it.
You two, are you in or out?"
"Then we'll do as Senior Brother Guang Du says. Let's go together!"
The other two hesitated for a moment but ultimately heeded the words of the monk named Guang Du.
The allure of the Holy Bone was simply too great for them; none of them wanted to give up.
Soon, the three departed from the nameless village and headed toward the Xiyue River.
...
Meanwhile, after leaving the nameless village, Yang An and the other two traveled through the night. By morning, they had covered most of the remaining distance. They estimated that if they picked up the pace, they would reach She Long Crossing on the banks of the Xiyue River not long after nightfall.
As they journeyed, the formation they walked in remained somewhat strange.
Yang An trailed silently behind the other two, his gaze wandering. It was as if he were admiring the scenery, yet also as if he had a guilty conscience and dared not speak.
Pan Yu walked at the very front, completely ignoring the two behind her.
Pan Shi, on the other hand, constantly hurried to Pan Yu's side, chattering nonstop about something.
"Junior Sister! You must calm down! You must control yourself!"
"Fellow Daoist Yang saved us. Without him, we might have already been killed by that Filthy Daoist. Compared to that, all he did was ask you to store something in your Small Sumeru Bag. Don't lose sight of the bigger picture over something so trivial."
"Besides, your Small Sumeru Bag is a high-grade Magical Artifact. Anything put inside is isolated on its own and won't affect anything else. You... just pretend it's nothing more than an ordinary stick."
"..."
Pan Yu, who had been briskly walking and completely ignoring him, stopped dead in her tracks at his words. She whirled around and glared furiously at Pan Shi.
"Mention the 'stick' again, and when we get back to the mountain, I'll tell Master all about you and Senior Sister Min!"
"Alright, alright! I won't mention it again, I won't mention it again! You're the boss."
"Hmph!"
Pan Yu snorted indignantly, then turned her head away and went back to ignoring Pan Shi.
Pan Shi immediately looked like a defeated rooster. He slowed his pace to walk alongside Yang An, a hint of embarrassment on his face.
He gave Yang An an awkward smile.
"Hahaha, Fellow Daoist Yang, don't mind her. You know... women. They love to say one thing and mean another. Don't take it to heart. As her senior brother, I still have a little bit of pull."
"Ahem... Fellow Daoist Pan is absolutely right, absolutely right!"
Yang An pretended he hadn't seen a thing.
The two couldn't help but exchange a knowing smile before quickly averting their gazes and looking elsewhere.
Time flew by, and soon it was night.
After rushing along, the trio finally arrived at She Long Crossing on the banks of the Xiyue River late at night.
According to Pan Shi, the only way to enter the Xiyue River was to first pass through She Long Crossing.
As the only ferry crossing for dozens of miles around, She Long Crossing belonged to Jinma County and was located in Qishan Village. However, the place was remote and rarely visited.
Local legend told of a Flood Dragon God hiding in the Xiyue River. Boats crossing from She Long Crossing were often capsized by a massive creature in the water, so fewer and fewer people dared to cross the river from there.
On top of that, these were chaotic years of war. Many common people were displaced, caught in the crossfire, and Jinma County was no exception—in fact, it had suffered greatly.
Even the county seat itself had become bleak and desolate, let alone a village this far from any bustling town.
Although people were prone to believing in ghosts and gods, and many stories were fabricated rumors, there had indeed once been a Flood Dragon Demon in the Xiyue River.
What they didn't know was that this Flood Dragon Demon had been slain by the Mother Divination True Master over a decade ago. It had long since turned to dust and bone; otherwise, there would have been no Co-Dining Feast.
"If we want to enter the true Xiyue River, we need to wait here for a moment. Someone will come to receive us," Pan Shi explained. He had clearly learned how to enter the Xiyue River from his fellow sect members.
Luckily, they had arrived before dawn. Otherwise, they would have had to wait another full day until nightfall.
Sure enough, after waiting for just a short while, a faint glimmer of light slowly appeared on the pitch-black surface of the river in the distance.
As the light drew closer, an ordinary wooden boat eventually came to a stop at the crossing.
The light came from nothing more than a lantern hanging on the boat, casting a dim, yellow glow.
Yang An looked over and was surprised to find that there wasn't a single person on the boat; it was completely empty.
But in the next moment, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Are you fellow Daoists here for the Co-Dining Feast? Please state your true identities before you may board this boat!
If you have any intention of falsifying your identity, please stay away. Otherwise, you are not welcome in the Xiyue River!"
Yang An was startled. He looked toward the source of the voice and realized it was coming from the lantern on the boat.
"I am Pan Shi, and this is my junior sister, Pan Yu. We are disciples of the Meat Tree True Master of Sansong Mountain, here to attend the Co-Dining Feast. As for this gentleman, Fellow Daoist Yang An..."
Pan Shi was the first to announce their origins, but he paused when he got to Yang An. Only then did he remember that Yang An had never mentioned his sect. Neither he nor Pan Yu knew which Hidden Sect Fellow Daoist Yang belonged to.
But since participating in the Co-Dining Feast required stating one's identity without falsehood, he would finally learn where Fellow Daoist Yang's Immortal Mountain was. Pan Shi looked at Yang An with anticipation, and Pan Yu's eyes were also filled with curiosity.
Sensing several gazes on him—especially from the lantern on the boat—Yang An felt as if someone was watching him, even though the boat was clearly empty.
'His sect?'
'What sect? He didn't have one!'
'I can't believe I have to announce my sect to join the Co-Dining Feast.' Yang An's mind raced with panic. Pan Shi had never mentioned this detail before. He'd assumed he could just tag along with the two of them and blend in.
In a split second, countless thoughts flashed through Yang An's mind.
'It looks like lying about a fake sect and identity won't be enough to get by.'
Suddenly, his eyes lit up as he thought of the only two special abilities he currently possessed.
'First, the Sacrificial Bone from the White Buddha Temple. But the White Buddha Temple isn't too far from the Xiyue River, nor is it very close. He didn't dare use the White Buddha Temple's name, fearing it would lead to complications.'
'But the Lighting Technique he knew came from a sect he'd never heard of—the Life Crane Sect!'
'He had used the Lighting Technique in front of Pan Shi and his sister multiple times, yet they never recognized the technique. This proved that the Life Crane Sect must be a small, obscure sect.'
'And since he had mastered the Lighting Technique, which came from Elder Life Crane of the Life Crane Sect, he could be considered half a disciple of the Life Crane Sect in a way.'
'In that case, it wouldn't be a lie, would it? After all, the Life Crane Sect was a real sect that actually existed.'
'That settles it. I'll use the name of the Life Crane Sect!'
With this thought, Yang An's confidence returned, and he followed Pan Shi's example.
"I am Yang An, a student of Elder Life Crane from the Life Crane Sect, also here for the Co-Dining Feast!"