When Kong Shishuang and Se Se returned to the Third Altitude, A Shui and A Yue had already woken up and were looking for them everywhere.
When Shuang Er saw the two of them coming back together, the anxiety in her eyes lessened a bit.
"Se Se, you scared me to death," she said.
"Se Se, where did you and Miss Kong go?"
"You two, why do you look like this?"
Kong Shishuang had brought back a broken piece of whip she found at the Second Altitude. There was a character "Zhao" carved on the handle.
This was Zhao Shuning's whip. Didn't she cherish this weapon dearly? How could it be broken like this?
After seeing the whip, everyone's expressions turned solemn.
They knew that Zhao Shuning doted on her subordinates and didn't allow others to touch her things. Now that her weapon was broken like this, it meant that Zhao Shuning's situation couldn't be good either.
Shuang Er took the whip with a trembling hand.
There was uncertainty in her eyes.
Shuang Er's voice, with a hint of sobs, was extremely low. "Se Se, did you find Xiao Ning'er?"
Se Se shook her head, and so did Kong Shishuang.
"Then what about you two?"
Se Se said, "Shuang Er, we couldn't find the leader. We won't see her again in the future."
Shuang Er staggered and fell to the ground. She wished so much that Se Se was lying to her at this moment. She wished Se Se would say, "Silly girl, I'm just joking." But Shuang Er knew that Se Se wasn't a person who liked to joke, especially about the disappearance of Xiao Ning'er.
"Xiao Ning'er?"
"She's gone."
A Shui and A Yue were also stunned on the spot, their mouths half - open.
Memories of Zhao Shuning barging into the wood - shed, offending the Duanlong Sect for them, and then giving them precious medicinal herbs for their injuries flooded their minds.
Half a month ago, the leader who laughed and talked with them couldn't just be gone, could she?
They didn't believe it. Zhao Shuning was the representative of their new lives and the role model for everyone. How could she be gone?
"Se Se!"
"It was Zhang Tianyuan, the people from Tianyuan Que."
Kong Shishuang's voice was surprisingly calm.
"Tianyuan Que? We have no grudges against them."
"Because Li Can defected."
A Shui, A Yue, and Shuang Er thought for a moment and instantly understood what the two meant. Did Li Can use his defection as a condition to get Zhang Tianyuan to take action?
Kong Shishuang said, "Are you guys scared?"
A Shui and A Yue straightened their backs and said firmly, "We, the people of Shuiyunsheng, are not afraid."
If they were afraid of evil forces, they wouldn't have joined Shuiyunsheng in the first place.
"The people from Tianyuan Que are terrifying, and Zhang Tianyuan's strength is astonishing. If you're not afraid, then I, Kong Shishuang, even if it means sacrificing my future, will seek justice for Zhao Shuning."
"Miss Kong."
Everyone was stunned.
The Yanyu Tower was the power of the Wang family. Kong Ye, an alchemist, was highly regarded by the Wang family. But Zhang Tianyuan, at only fourteen years old, was already a third - rank spiritual pharmacist. In the eyes of the Wang family, he was a rising star. If properly cultivated in the future, he could be comparable to the inner - sect disciples of the Wang family.
If Kong Shishuang used the power of the Yanyu Tower to provoke Zhang Tianyuan, not only would it be difficult for Kong Ye, but the Wang family's support for the Yanyu Tower might also be greatly reduced.
"Don't worry. I won't implicate the Yanyu Tower or the families behind you. I'll only use my identity as the daughter of the Kong family. I'm used to being willful. Even if the Wang family knows about it, they'll just think it's because my brother didn't discipline me well. They won't blame it on the Yanyu Tower, and they definitely won't involve the families behind you."
"Our families? Miss Kong, if even you, an outsider to the sect, aren't afraid, what do we have to be afraid of?"
"That's right. If we give up what we truly want in our hearts just for cultivation, as the leader said, if we cultivate hard without self - awareness, in the end, we'll only become pawns in the hands of those big families. When the time comes, the pawns are always the ones to be sacrificed."
"Miss Kong, we're not afraid."
With Kong Shishuang's help, it would be much more convenient for them in the Yanyu Tower in the future.
"That's good. In the future, I'll use my identity to widely collect evidence of Zhang Tianyuan's crimes in the Yanyu Tower. Even if it means fighting him to the death, I won't let him off easily."
Zhao Shuning was implicated because she had offended Li Can for Kong Shishuang.
If she had known that such a tragic thing would happen, Kong Shishuang wouldn't have cared about her pride as a young lady. She would have stood up and even apologized to Li Can if it meant saving Zhao Shuning.
Li Can was a man who was ruthless with his words and didn't know how to control his strength. But Kong Shishuang knew that because she was Kong Ye's sister, even if Li Can had the intention, he didn't have the courage. At most, she would be verbally attacked and persuaded by Li Can. Li Can wouldn't dare to really kill her.
But Zhao Shuning was different. She had no background, and the Zhao family behind her was pitifully small.
She offended Li Can for Kong Shishuang. How could a villain like Li Can let her go?
"Miss Kong, have you thought it through?"
"I have."
This decision was the most determined one Kong Shishuang had ever made in her more than a decade of life.
Zhao Shuning, you gave me the courage to change my environment. Next, I'll grow up slowly like you taught me. One day, I'll stab the Qingyun Sword into Zhang Tianyuan's chest. I'll avenge you.
It had to be said that after this incident.
Zhao Shuning's team seemed to have grown up overnight.
A Shui and A Yue were constantly improving their physical fitness every day. They no longer avoided spiritual beasts. Instead, they specifically chose some aggressive spiritual beasts to fight against to train their actual combat abilities.
At first, they were always beaten badly by the spiritual beasts. It was only thanks to Xiao Li that they were saved.
But later, A Shui and A Yue's physiques became stronger and stronger, and their abilities became more and more outstanding. In a battle with a spiritual beast, the two brothers both broke through to the second rank.
Shuang Er was the same. She no longer acted coquettishly because she knew that now she had no one to rely on. She could only rely on herself. Every time Se Se and Kong Shishuang went on missions, she would seriously look for medicinal herbs and carefully distinguish their uses so that she could help when someone in the team was injured.
As for Se Se and Kong Shishuang, needless to say, they had already advanced to the second rank early on. After these days of training, Se Se and Kong Shishuang cooperated seamlessly. Kong Shishuang's abilities were becoming more and more powerful, and Se Se was like a strategic military advisor, planning routes and providing various information for everyone.
In short, because of the news of Zhao Shuning's death, everyone in the team began to become stronger.
Now they could hold their own in the Third Altitude.