Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The flashlight cast a halo of light in front of me, flooding the entire thicket in its bright beam.

A man was crouched in the bushes, both hands shielding his eyes. He snapped at me in a low voice, telling me to move the flashlight away.

“What kind of flashlight is that? It’s blinding.”

Song Feifei and the others heard the commotion and gathered around, surrounding the thicket.

Once she got a clear look at the man in front of her, Song Feifei was shocked.

“Song Tianming!”

The man froze. He cupped one hand beside his eyes, squinted at Song Feifei for a while, then said in astonishment, “Holy crap. Feifei?”

The siblings were thrilled to see each other at first, clasping hands and turning in a circle.

Then Song Feifei started cursing him out. She said the whole family had been thrown into chaos, that Song Tianming’s mother had nearly suffered a heart attack and was still lying in the hospital. Since he was fine, why hadn’t he sent word home?

Looking completely bewildered, Song Tianming took out his dead phone.

“Didn’t I explain everything before I came? I said I’d be here on a weeklong retreat. Why would anyone need to contact me?

“My phone ran out of battery and shut off ages ago. There’s nowhere to charge it here.”

Song Feifei looked like she was about to lose her mind.

“There were more than twenty of you, weren’t there? All your phones died? Where is everyone else? Did not one of you have a brain? Did not one person think to let your families know you were safe?”

Song Tianming explained that their pilgrimage this time was meant to be a period of quiet cultivation. Everyone had agreed not to use their phones, to temporarily disconnect from the fast-paced world and properly cultivate their minds so their hearts could find peace.

So none of them had brought power banks. As soon as they got off the bus, they turned off their phones. A few of them couldn’t resist at night and turned theirs back on to play around, only to discover there was no signal deep in the mountains, so they gave up.

“So you’re saying none of you were in any trouble. You all got off the bus yourselves?

“Then where have you been hiding these past few days? Why couldn’t the police find you?”

Song Tianming looked even more confused.

“What the hell are you talking about? We’ve been at the Land of Mahayana the whole time. The police came looking for us too? Song Feifei, look at the mess you’ve made. You haven’t contacted me in eight hundred years, and now you suddenly think of me out of nowhere and call the police? Are you insane?”

Song Tianming tore into Song Feifei, and Song Feifei was furious too, stiffening her neck as she shouted right back at him.

In the middle of their argument, Song Tianming suddenly froze. Then he clutched his stomach with both hands in an exaggerated gesture and burst out laughing.

“Oh my god, what? You’re saying these little girls you brought are some kind of masters? A Gu Clan Saintess?

“Hahahaha, you’re killing me. Song Feifei, have you been reading too many supernatural novels and fried your brain? You’re in your twenties. Can you not be so cringe?”