Early the next morning, Zhao Yunxiao took care to light an incense before leaving his residence.
There was no material benefit to doing so, except for the fact that it gave him peace of mind.
It was a long way to East Stream Village, so it had been decided that they leave early in the morning to avoid any unnecessary complications.
After having a quick meal at the canteen, Zhao Yunxiao headed straight for the sect gate, where he was supposed to meet up with Mo Mian and the rest of the party.
Just like when he was going for Elder He Luoxuan’s work trip to the Origin Lake Sect, Zhao Yunxiao was once again the first to arrive.
That was because, just like back then, Zhao Yunxiao had arrived an hour earlier than the arranged meeting time.
It was just that the reason for doing so was slightly different now.
He had done so back then because it was a trip led by a sect elder, and he did so out of respect. The last thing he wanted was for the elder to arrive early and end up having to wait for him instead!
As for this time, it was because everyone else in the party already knew one another while he was going to be the only outsider, so he wanted to express his sincerity in any small way he could.
There were numerous pavilions located near the sect gate, probably constructed with the sole intention of providing disciples with a comfortable place to gather.
Most of the pavilions were empty at this early hour, so Zhao Yunxiao calmly sat down in the pavilion nearest to the sect gate to perform some light meditation while waiting.
But in the end, he was not able to get as much rest as he had wanted.
Apart from him, there were numerous other groups that were gathering to leave the sect grounds, many of whom involved outer disciples as well.
And as the outer disciple who held the greatest number of sect jobs, Zhao Yunxiao was naturally acquainted with quite a few of them.
Seeing that he was in a state of meditation, his acquaintances naturally did not come over to greet him as it could disturb his state of mind. Instead, it was Zhao Yunxiao himself who grew curious about the different groups that were going off on sect missions, and could not help but sneak peeks at everyone passing by.
After all, all sorts of information could become valuable when used at the right time!
Nearing their arranged meeting time, Mo Mian’s familiar face finally appeared.
A group of three immediately went over to greet Mo Mian and, under his lead, headed in Zhao Yunxiao’s direction.
It would appear that the other members of the party had arrived long ago, just that they were waiting for Mo Mian to arrive and introduce them to Zhao Yunxiao.
Zhao Yunxiao did not remain seated upon seeing that they were heading his way. He quickly got up and walked over to meet them in the middle.
“Seems like you arrived early, Junior Martial Brother Zhao,” Mo Mian said with a smile. “Let me introduce the members of the Mystic Cavalry. These are Junior Martial Brothers Chu Han, Gui Longcan, and Pu Feixiang.”
“I will be in your care, everyone,” Zhao Yunxiao clasped his fists towards them in greeting.
At the same time, he did a quick scan of the group as he recalled what Mo Mian had told him about each of them.
“We will be relying on your help this time, Junior Martial Brother Zhao,” Chu Han was the first to reply.
Chu Han – inner disciple.
As the only other inner disciple of the Mystic Cavalry apart from Mo Mian, he could be considered the vice leader of the party. Intelligent, analytical, and highly observant, he was a specialist in defensive techniques, as well as the array master of the party.
“Senior Martial Brother Chu is right. We are all here to help each other out,” Gui Longcan added.
Gui Longcan – outer disciple.
He was the support specialist of the party, an expert in casting support buffs as well as offensive buffs and curses. For that reason alone, he was probably the most important person for Zhao Yunxiao to synchronise with for this upcoming mission.
As for the last member, Pu Feixiang, the first thing he said already gave Zhao Yunxiao somewhat of a headache...
“Pleased to meet you too, Junior Martial Brother Zhao! Perhaps we can meet up more often in the future, and we can ask Junior Martial Sister Lu to join us too!” Pu Feixiang exclaimed excitedly.
“I told you to focus on the mission instead of thinking about stuff like that,” Chu Han glared at Pu Feixiang. “I definitely won’t let you off if that frivolousness of yours ends up jeopardising our mission. When that happens, let’s see who would want to meet up with you in the future!”
“I’m just trying to be friendly...” Pu Feixiang shrugged nonchalantly.
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a bitter smile.
Pu Feixiang – outer disciple.
He was honest, direct, and had an inclination to speak his mind without thinking at times. At the same time, he was also one of the main combatants in the party, specialising in dishing out heavy and powerful strikes.
And apart from what Mo Mian had said about him, it would appear that this Pu Feixiang was also one of Lu Zhiying’s many admirers.
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“All right then, now that we are done with the introductions, shall we get going?” Mo Mian suggested. “We have a long journey ahead, so there will be plenty of time to slowly get more acquainted with one another.”
And finally, Mo Mian – inner disciple.
Founder and leader of the Mystic Cavalry, he could be considered the strongest combatant of the party, specialising in overwhelming his opponents with sheer speed.
Separately, Zhao Yunxiao also discovered that Mo Mian was actually a descendant of Elder Mo Tianfeng!
It was just that cultivators usually lived rather long lives, especially those with a cultivation level as high as that of Mo Tianfeng. Sometimes, their family trees could expand to a point where it became almost impossible to keep track of, so cultivators could start to lose any semblance of concern for their descendants or relatives past a certain point.
As for how close the two actually were, Zhao Yunxiao had yet to find out for sure.
Of course, there was also Zheng Biru, who had been grounded by Elder He Luoxuan and was thus unable to join them this time.
That made the full five members of the Mystic Cavalry – a party that specialised in taking up demon and monster subduing missions.
Joined by Zhao Yunxiao, the Mystic Cavalry exited the sect grounds and started making their way down Purple Plum Mountain as they embarked on their latest mission.
Disciples of the sect almost always followed the same official path when leaving the sect grounds, so they could not be more familiar with the route.
Still, Zhao Yunxiao carefully observed everyone on the way down.
How they moved individually.
How they moved as a group.
How fast they moved.
How they took care of each small obstacle in their way.
All of these were factors that hinted at how each of them would act in different situations, as well as the overall dynamics within the party.
As someone who was new to the group, that was how Zhao Yunxiao intended to make up for his lack of experience with the group – by analysing all the data that he could gather on them.
And he was not the only person doing so.
While Zhao Yunxiao was trying to grasp the group’s behaviours, Chu Han was doing the exact same thing in return, carefully observing Zhao Yunxiao’s manners and habits as he moved.
Just like Zhao Yunxiao who was trying to better understand the Mystic Cavalry, Chu Han was also trying to better understand him for a similar reason.
And this was not going to end with just the descent of Purple Plum Mountain either.
There were a long two days before they were slated to arrive at East Stream Village, and both of them were intending to keep this up until then.
That was going to require quite a bit of effort, but they were people who strongly believed that the results would be more than worth it!
It did not take long before the group arrived at a small inn at the foot of Purple Plum Mountain.
Black Tortoise Inn.
As the name suggested, the inn was operated by the Black Tortoise Sect as well.
There were a few reasons why it was located at the foot of Purple Plum Mountain instead of within the sect grounds itself.
Firstly, it was meant as a resting place for those visiting Purple Plum Mountain, be it those who were trying to seek an audience with the Black Tortoise Sect or those who were simply touring the area.
Depending on the reasons for their visit, these visitors might end up having to wait an extended period of time for any sort of response from the sect. While waiting, many of them would choose to stay at Black Tortoise Inn so that they could receive any news at the earliest possible time.
Secondly, it acted as a more convenient checkpoint for the disciples of the Black Tortoise Sect themselves, saving them the trouble of having to scale the mountain every time they needed something.
Zhao Yunxiao’s group was naturally here for the second reason.
Since they did not have their own means of transport, they were here to rent spirit horses for their journey to East Stream Village.
This was actually the most common reason why Black Tortoise Sect disciples visited the inn, and thus the innkeepers handled it in a smooth and well-practiced manner.
Within the span of just a few minutes, the group had already found themselves leaving the Black Tortoise Inn in satisfaction, each riding a spirit horse of their choice.
And now that they had acquired the spirit horses, they could finally pick up the pace for real.
Even then, riding on the spirit horses did not hinder their conversations whatsoever.
As cultivators, their senses were far better than those of ordinary mortals, and they could easily hear each other over the loud sound of hooves from the galloping spirit horses.
“So, why isn’t Senior Martial Brother Zheng able to join us again?” Pu Feixiang asked. “Does anybody know?”
“Weren’t you listening back then?” Gui Longcan asked. “He said that he was grounded for three months.”
“I know that at least! What I mean to ask is how he got grounded all of a sudden?” Pu Feixiang continued.
“I’m not sure either,” Mo Mian said. “He just suddenly told me that after returning from his recent work trip. In fact, he refused to tell me when I asked him too, insisting that it is nothing important. Would you happen to know anything, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?”
“How would Junior Martial Brother Zhao know anything when even we don’t?” Pu Feixiang asked.
“Don’t you know? Junior Martial Brother Zhao was part of Elder He’s latest entourage to the Origin Lake Sect as well,” Gui Longcan explained.
“Really?” Pu Feixiang seemed genuinely surprised as he turned towards Zhao Yunxiao. “Would you happen to know the reason then, Junior Martial Brother Zhao?”
The sudden question caught Zhao Yunxiao by surprise.
He naturally knew the reason why Zheng Biru had been grounded by He Luoxuan – it was thanks to him, or at least a large part of the reason was.
Back at the Origin Lake Sect, he was simply trying to curry favour with everyone while getting out of any potential punishment caused by that troublemaker Cha’s antics, but somehow it ended up causing the rest to get reprimanded by He Luoxuan.
Even though it had not been intentional, he could not deny that he was still the main reason why everyone got grounded by He Luoxuan.
Of course, there was no way that he would tell them all that, especially since even Zheng Biru was unwilling to talk about it.
“That, I’m not too sure either. Perhaps it would be best if you ask Senior Martial Brother Zheng about it instead?” Zhao Yunxiao scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
“No, it’s all right. If you aren’t aware of the matter either, then it’s probably nothing important,” Mo Mian shrugged it off.
On the other hand, Chu Han narrowed his eyes as he continued to observe Zhao Yunxiao’s expression.
Zhao Yunxiao noticed that as well, turning towards him while displaying the most natural smile he could muster.
As though he had been caught peeping, Chu Han seemed to be a little taken aback, and could only smile awkwardly in response.
“Let’s take a break here,” Mo Mian said a few hours later as they arrived by a stream. “The spirit horses probably need to rest for a bit.”
“While the spirit horses rest, why don’t we take the opportunity to practise the Terra Seal Formation?” Chu Han suggested.
“Good idea,” Mo Mian agreed. “Let’s do as you say then!”
Zhao Yunxiao lit up upon hearing that.
Finally, a group practice session!
He might have already heard about the traits of each member of the party from Mo Mian, but there was still a limit to what he could learn with just words alone, not to mention that such descriptions could be very subjective in nature.
Even though this was just going to be a practice session, it would still be a good chance for him to bridge that information gap by seeing everyone live in action!