The Scum Is A

SPLASH! A wave of water washed over the ground as it fell before the water returned to the spring. Everyone was gone like the wind that blown them all away to the spring. 

All that was left in the cave are Cheng Sheng and Yu Sheng. 

…

Chen Han, Li Tian, Feng Mo and Sun Yi all felt like they were floating in nothingness and the shock they received from Yu Sheng returning from being missing up until Yu Sheng stabbing Cheng Sheng and blowing them all away into the Spring of Life still hasn't recovered when they all gasped and coughed as they finally came out of the water. 

"Keh!" they coughed out water as they felt the ground on their back, and they were soaked from head to feet. 

"They're back." A familiar voice spoke. 

Li Tian came to and opened his eyes before widening them when he saw Fan Wen's face peering in on them. You Rou, Lei Ling and Lei Qing around him and also are peering at them. "Sh-shifu?!" he exclaimed in shock as he abruptly sat up from the ground. 

"Li-shixiong… who did you call?" Feng Mo asked as he rubbed his head and blinked. 

"Feng-shidi… shifu's here!" Li Tian beamed before he turned to Fan Wen. "Shifu, you came to Zhong… yang…?" his voice faded when he saw the familiar surroundings of their home – their sect. His eyes slowly widened in shock. "The Xinfaxian Sect…?" he muttered under his breath. 

"What did you say?!" Feng Mo finally reacted and he sharply turned with widened eyes. "Shifu! You-shimei, Lei-shijie… Lei-shidi!" he exclaimed and also saw their fellow disciples who didn't participate in the competition giving foods to the people. "They are…" he said when he saw the unfamiliar clothes of some other people. 

"The refugees from the West." Fan Wen answered as he looked at the people wearing lavish clothes. 

"The nobles in the Xiwang… why are they here?" Chen Han who had regained his consciousness asked. 

Sun Yi was as shocked as him. "'refugees'?" he asked as he looked at Fan Wen, waiting for his answer.

"… do you know how long have you been gone?" Fan Wen asked them instead. 

They all looked at each other. "Elder Fan, where're the Zunjingde Sect and the Shanliangde Sect?" Chen Han asked as his expression changed. He really had a bad feeling. 

Fan Wen shook his head. "The Zunjingde Sect went back to Zhongyang while the Shanliangde sect went back to Shanliang." He answered. "Qian Lin… he went back alone to Nanxu." He told them. He didn't wait for them to react as he spoke. "You've been gone for ten days." He told them. 

"What?!" 

Fan Wen closed his eyes. 

"Wait. We're supposed to be gone… wait…" Chen Han's voice slowed down as he realized. "We didn't have our Cleansing Stones anymore…" he muttered under his breath. 

The small Cleansing Stones given to the contestants that're supposed to transport them back to the Zhongyang were gone since they threw it themselves. 

"So, we were gone for ten days…?" Li Tian's face paled. 

"It felt like it was just for a few days…" Feng Mo added. 

"Elder Fan, if we were gone for ten days, when it's supposed to be just for seven days, then how did we…?" Sun Yi asked. 

"It was me." Pai Lie answered. 

"Elder Pai?!" 

Pai Lie nodded at them. "The situation was grim that day, so I followed elder Zheng's instruction to go to Xinfaxian, the last stronghold against the demonic cultivators." He explained. 

"'the last stronghold'?" 

"The Zhongyang was lost. The North and the South were also attacked at the same time as the Zhongyang. The only place the demonic cultivators can't enter is the East – here." Pai Lie said. "After some time the people in the Zhongyang realized that the Yunxiao Inn where Cheng Sheng stayed was safe, the people all scrambled inn. However, the Yunxiao Inn can't accommodate all, so I suggested to have each group of them be transported here in the East." He said and pointed a large group of people wearing another set of clothes. 

They were the citizens of Zhongyang. 

"Fortunately, once the first wave of attack of the demonic cultivators during the competition happened, Cheng Sheng connected with the Xinfaxian Sect. He also left an array in the inn which is connected to the Xinfaxian Sect. Thus, I activated it and had everyone transported here." Pai Lie explained. "The Zunjingde Sect, Qian Lin and the Shanliangde Sect all ran back to their respective sects to help save their people." He added. 

The information was too much they need some time to process it. 

"Elder Pai. How about the Youxiwang Sect?" Chen Han said after a while. 

Sun Yi started and he also realized it. He looked at Pai Lie before turning to Fan Wen who was silently sitting on the side. Both elders are avoiding mentioning the Youxiwang Sect. 

"The Youxiwang Sect…" Pai Lie said as his expression changed. He turned to Fan Wen whose expression looked gloomy and grave. 

"The Youxiwang Sect… no." Fan Wen shook his head as he turned to face Chen Han's and Sun Yi's anxious looks. "Ming-shixiong… he defected to the demonic cultivators' side." He said. "No – " he shook his head again as he looked at Chen Han's and Sun Yi's stunned expression. " – Ming-shixiong is the leader of the demonic cultivators." He told them. 

"NO WAY!" Chen Han and Sun Yi said as they both rose to their feet in agitation. 

"Shifu… shifu can't do that! He would never do it!" Chen Han said. He is Ming Ye's disciple. 

"Ming-shishu… no… no – " Sun Yi's face paled. "My shifu… how about my shifu?!" he asked when he remembered Luo Shi. 

"Luo-shixiong…" Fan Wen's eyes closed to hide his pain. 

"Elder Fan…? What happened to my shifu?!" Sun Yi asked. 

"He… Ming-shixiong stabbed him, but his life and death is unknown…" Fan Wen finally answered. 

Sun Yi's eyes widened as he covered his mouth in shock. His tears fell. After he ran away from Shanliang and went to Xiwang, Luo Shi has acted his father, even if Luo Shi was cold outside.