Chapter 18: The Note
Late at night, Trinity Gate.

The room located on the northwest side of the atrium is brightly lit. Even after many years, it is still dust-free, as if someone comes to clean it regularly.

Jiang Mo, dressed in white, with his long hair tied up, sat cross-legged on a cushion.

After meditating for a long time, he slightly opened his eyes.

The hesitant and indecisive mood was transmitted into the house through the wall, and the blurry figure stood outside the door, at a loss.

"Who is it? Come in."

With Jiang Mo's permission, a young man with a crew cut, black hair and handsome features walked over the threshold.

He looked sad, with a crumpled piece of paper in his hand, and his thin body was shaking uncontrollably.

"Uncle Master, this is the message I received. Please take a look."

Zhuge Yu had tears in his eyes and he handed it over tremblingly.

The withered yellow paper, stained with dust, the smell of gunpowder and dark red blood, was like a thorn in the flesh that could not be wiped off.

"The brothers and elders who went to the battlefield to protect their country will never come back, wuwuwu!!!"

Zhuge Yu knelt on the ground and burst into tears.

Jiang Mo took the note and slowly spread it out. Row after row of familiar names came into view. He felt heavy-hearted and uncomfortable.

Many of these disciples were his old acquaintances, and most of them were disciples that Zuo Rutong accepted in his early years.

His cultivation was acceptable, even if it had reached the second level, but it was still too insignificant in the vast and cruel battlefield full of bullets and gunfire.

They were simply unable to resist the crushing blows of the war machine, and faced with continuous explosions, raids, and air strikes, they eventually died of exhaustion.

Looking at the 12 names on the note, Jiang Mo felt heavy-hearted and sighed slightly:
"How should I call you?"

"Disciple..Zhuge Yu..."

The young man sobbed sadly. Among the dead were several senior brothers who had taught him how to practice and learn from him over the years.

Whenever he thought of it, tears flowed uncontrollably. Faced with the tragic changes brought about by the overwhelming hatred between his family and his country, he almost collapsed.

"The death of a young Zhuge may be as light as a feather or as heavy as Mount Tai."

"Look at it more positively. Your senior brothers all died tragically and meaningfully."

"They shed blood on the land and died because of it, but there are widows left."

Jiang Mo's expression was moved, and he told his junior, "Well, go contact their families."

"Take part of the sect's savings as compensation."

"At least let those orphans and widows have a place to stay in these troubled times."

Zhuge Yu wiped the tears from his eyes and sobbed, "Disciple understands, please rest assured, uncle-master!"

"Well, I'll leave it to you."

Jiang Mo looked relieved. He rubbed the junior's head and comforted him softly: "Don't cry, cheer up."

"These are troubled times. Thank you for taking the trouble to come here."

Having said that, Jiang Mo also helped him wipe away his tears.

This kind gesture and gentle voice are exactly the same as Master's.

“Wuwuwu, Uncle Master!!”

Touching the soft spot in his heart, Zhuge Yu knelt in front of his uncle, covered his face with his hands, and burst into tears again.

The night is long
After Jiang Mo watched the disciple leave, another slender figure slowly walked out from the darkness.

He was Chang Qing. He had not slept for a day and a night and had gone through several twists and turns. His face was haggard and tired.

As soon as I entered the house, I clasped my fists and greeted respectfully:
"Uncle Master, please forgive me for disturbing you so late at night."

"No problem, sit down."

Jiang Mo pointed at the futon beside him and asked, "Brother and Cheng Zhen, how are you recovering?"

"He is no longer in danger of death. His wounds have been cleaned and covered with medicine. He is still unconscious but should wake up soon."

"It is now being looked after by Shuiyun and Xiaolu."

Chang Qing gave a brief report and then got into the topic: "Disciple came here late at night to report something." He slowly stretched out his left hand from behind his back and handed the nine family letters to Jiang Mo.

"These are letters from my fellow apprentices who are still in the sect. Their parents are very worried and are urging them to return."

"I am unsure of Uncle Master's decision on Quan Xing, so I dare not make a decision rashly."

Jiang Mo took the stack of family letters and did not open them. He just looked at the covers one by one:

"Changqing, what do you want me to do?"

"Tell the truth."

Chang Qing looked embarrassed. He had clearly prepared his words before coming here, but when asked by his uncle, he didn't know where to start.

Jiang Mo didn't rush him. He only slowly closed the book and put it down after he finished reading the letter.

"I dare not speculate on my uncle's intentions, but from the bottom of my heart, I also hope that these fellow disciples can leave in time."

Chang Qing lowered his head, struggling internally, and clenched his fists and said:

"If you want to fight Quan Xing to the death, I will follow you till death without any complaints."

"I was adopted by my master when I was young and grew up in the sect."

"This is my home. But other junior brothers are not like me."

"I am worried that the fight between me and Quan Xing will affect the families of my fellow disciples, so I want to persuade them to temporarily leave the mountain and avoid this disaster."

"After all, Quan Xing is a group of mad dogs who can do anything. We need to be prepared in advance."

Hearing this, Jiang Mo showed a touch of approval, and suddenly sighed: "Not bad, Changqing, I haven't seen you for many years, but you have learned to be more careful with your words and thoughts."

"What you think coincides with what I think."

Jiang Mo lowered his eyes and looked at the letter in his hand, feeling a little worried:

"The Quanxing disciples are spread all over the country and have great influence. After nearly a thousand years of suppression and encirclement by all the righteous sects, they are still like locusts and weeds, and are difficult to eliminate."

"Once the relatives of the disciples are implicated, it will be an unprovoked disaster."

"What will happen to the disciples in the sect then?"

“No matter how many scum of the whole nature you kill, your dead relatives will not be resurrected.”

"I don't want to see those disciples trapped in hatred and guilt for the rest of their lives."

Looking at his uncle's slightly frowned brow, Chang Qing understood and finally breathed a sigh of relief, saying:

"Okay, disciple understands what Uncle Master means."

"I will talk to them tomorrow morning and send these fellow apprentices down the mountain."

"Well, please."

The lights reflected on the wall, the room was clean and tidy, and Jiang Mo raised a faint smile.

"Changqing, let me ask you something."

"Uncle Master, what's the matter?"

Changqing took the letters from home and was a little surprised.

"I've been away for many years, but the hygiene here has always been kept clean. Who usually takes care of these trivial matters?"

Hearing this, Chang Qing was stunned. He pondered for a while before saying uncertainly;
"Your dormitory, I vaguely remember it was cleaned by Uncle Chong."

"And Master Chengzhen comes occasionally too."

"During the days when you were away, they all missed you. I wanted to clean up this place just to remind them of you, right?"

Jiang Mo seemed to have expected this answer, but he still felt warm in his heart and smiled:

"Okay, thank you for telling me this."

"It's late at night. If you have nothing else to do, go and rest."

"Then disciple, please leave first."

Chang Qing noticed that his uncle was in a subtle mood and didn't want to say more, so he hurriedly got up, closed the door and left.

(End of this chapter)