Like a Ray in My Night (Part 4)

714 A Wild Goose Chase

Elder Xing pursed his lips and shook his head. "They won't tell us anything. Unless we find Zhi Guan and the others by ourselves, we'll be left wondering."

Baili Chao nodded, also being aware. "I didn't have much hope. I just thought it couldn't hurt to try. But yes, next time, let's not bother. In fact, since they were here and our disciples clearly aren't, they might not even know in the first place."

Elder Xing gave a hum and then motioned to the disciples behind them. The other groups had already arrived in the short amount of time it took them to kill those demonic practitioners, meaning that they were ready to move on. "Spread out and check the whole cave system for traces that could tell us where they went. Anything might be important so pay close attention. Make sure to protect yourself though. We don't know if any of the demonic practitioners will come back halfway through so be on high alert at all times."

"Yes!" The disciples who had already been sorted into groups ahead of time didn't need time to organize themselves and immediately headed out.

Meanwhile, the Elders exchanged a glance and then followed one in each of the directions, making sure that one of them would always be close if a fight erupted anywhere. They might have lost those three disciples even if they still had hope. They certainly couldn't allow for anything to happen to the ones currently with them.

The group checked the whole cave system one part after another but when they all reconvened, the clues they actually found were sparse.

"We found the body of a demonic practitioner at the side of one of the caves. He was clearly injured multiple times before he received the final hit so the fight might have been drawn out."

"His body was moved out of the way though as if his people were trying to keep him out of harm's way after he died. This should suggest that not everyone arrived at the same time or at least that senior martial brother Zhi and the others must have been able to get away during the fight. Otherwise, we should have found ... well, them as well."

The disciple didn't even dare to say it directly but everyone understood what they meant: The demonic practitioners would take the time to move their own person out of harm's way but they wouldn't do the same for someone from the righteous side. Thus, since there were no bodies, Zhi Guan and the others must have escaped. Chances were that they had even escaped early, at least fast enough that the demonic practitioners didn't race after them immediately but instead took the time to move a body. This did suggest that the situation of Zhi Guan and the others might be less dire than they had originally expected.

Baili Chao heaved a sigh of relief when he heard this. Even though they still didn't know where his eldest disciple and the other two had gone, at least it seemed more likely to find them alive now. As to what they should do now ... "If there are no clues, we can only investigate further. Let's split into two groups and check one after another."

Elder Xing looked at the disciples and hesitated. Of course, investigating further was a must but he wasn't sure about splitting up. Sure, they had more people but the difference in numbers would be drawn closer if they didn't stay together."

Baili Chao saw his hesitant look and sighed. "I know but there are too many arrays to check them one by one. We can't forget that this is just a small part of our enemies. The majority of their forces are still at their headquarters, waiting for their final plan to start. We have to be done with this by the time that happens or we won't be able to do anything at all."

Fa Ai Jun nodded. "I agree. Apart from that, if we only split our people into two groups, we'll still have an advantage and if we always check at the same time, we'll realize if something is off immediately."

Elder Xing raised his brows in doubt.

Ximen Chang was on board though. "Yes, if we pick two arrays that are next to each other and check the surroundings quickly for any sort of clues before returning, then if the other group doesn't send anyone back to report that they found something, they're in trouble. Then, the second group can directly follow and we'll be together again for the fight. In fact, while checking, one disciple should probably stay directly in the array so they can rush to inform the others."

Baili Chao hummed in response. "Yes, just like that. I believe this is the safest option while guaranteeing some efficiency. We'd be faster if we split into four but I believe with two of us leading each group, the safety of the disciples will be much higher and I don't want to risk losing any others."

Of course, they couldn't guarantee that nobody would be injured or die but ... he wanted to minimize the risks. He knew how much alone the idea of losing Zhi Guan hurt. He didn't want to have to inform any of the other Elders that he had lost their disciples while being right there with them. Not if he could help it.

Elder Xing finally agreed and the small groups merged into two big ones again, choosing the two nearest arrays to check what was on the other side first and whether any clues could be found as to where Zhi Guan and the others were.

Unfortunately for them, Zhi Guan and the other two had led the demonic practitioners on a wild goose chase so, in fact, every array led to some kind of clue. After all, the demonic practitioners had been there. Thus, their investigation didn't yield any results for a long time.