Mystery
It was said that when it was originally founded, the Myriad-Arm Sect had been home to many more disciples and elders that it was today, but that was just what people told between themselves in an attempt to justify in their minds why the sect's main building was so overtly large that the majority of it was just completely empty and unoccupied.
And it certainly made sense to think that way, but unfortunately, it was simply that the sect's creator had seen too big, and had wanted to project an image of great power and wealth through this magnificent architecture, to lure in disciples and allies to an emergent sect that had yet to to prove anything.
Nowadays, the Myriad-Arm Sect was powerful, and the original building had been left as is as it was a culture heritage, the empty floors within certainly tainted that image however, especially in the eyes of Yi and Li.
The prosecutor and core disciple were entering one of these desolate floors, were only a few outer disciples would normally set foot to clean every once in a while, open up the window to let fresh air in and remove the dust as well as kindly evict the eight-legged squatters who had decided to take up residency.
Jingyi, although it had been pitch black in here at the time, was certain that this was the floor the unknown man she had encountered had taken her to, with the promise that he would be instead taking her to Li.
"It's weird" suddenly spoke up the core disciple, his arms crossed as he looked around with a complicated expression.
"What is?"
"I checked the registry, and no one that wasn't a member of the sect came in that day or before, and there shouldn't be any guests still left, so it would have to be a disciple, right?"
"The logic seems sound, but what is so weird about this?" the prosecutor felt like he knew where his rival in love was headed to.
"I mean, she said that this guy blocked her path, so he should have crossed path with me someway, and she even told him she was looking for someone in dark blue robes specifically, it should have been obvious that she had ties with a core disciple, so who would be willing to even touch a strand of her hair?"
It was indeed true that one's status and connection could often act as a most durable shield, just like one would fear a bear cub, for it implied the presence of its mother, a much more threatening and violent force.
People wouldn't want to harm someone who had the equivalent of a mother bear backing them in some way, all cultivators should be careful when introduced to someone they did not know when within a cultivation sect in particular.
Naturally, Yi was also well aware of all of this, for he too, had been a disciple of the Myriad-Arm Sect at one point, which was why he could even be inside of its walls so easily in the first place, he had left willingly to follow a life of law and justice, he was always welcome here.
"Can you tell where it is that you were attacked, exactly?" the prosecutor turned to Jingyi who looked tired and out of breath from just climbing up the stairs, this made the blond frown, he knew that she wasn't exactly tough or physically fit, but a few flights of stairs shouldn't leave her in such a state.
Seeing his gaze, she assumed a wry smile.
"It- It's just that I am still a little bit shaken is all"
"I see…" he did not quite believe that, but he didn't press on the matter and instead asked her again to show him where the event had occurred exactly, but apparently, her aggressor had just put his hand on her mouth as soon as they arrived near this floor, picked her off the ground with force and thus, when she hit the ground again, Jingyi had no real idea where she had ended up.
But it didn't sound like the attacker had moved much, so using the ability that had made him into a prosecutor even the crown wanted to hire, he scanned the surrounding area starting from the stairs, meanwhile Jingyi just find a place to sit down and rest, her head hanging low whilst Li looked around for more tangible clues, unfortunately, it seemed like cleaning had been done since then.
Both the outer and core disciple knew what Yi could do, Li and he had entered the sect at the same time, and would most certainly both be core disciples by now had the blond not decided to leave as an inner disciple.
As for Jingyi, the truth was that although having excellent inner energy levels and purity, she was just too frail to get anywhere and had stagnated as an outer disciple, only remaining within the sect because of Li making sure she did.
Yi's expression rapidly turned sour, but he didn't say anything, throwing glances at the other two as he began to move around, from the stairs and into the empty floor, walking to the left and across a corner, where a small room laid, it was empty and rather clean at the moment, but it was where the attack had occurred, and his expression just kept on worsening.
Appearing living for nearly five whole minutes even after his eyes had shown him everything that they could show him, Yi took some time to cool his mind and calm down, he was used to dealing with heinous crimes and perpetrators, but he almost lost his composure there.
He looked back at Jingyi, who just looked down as soon as their eyes met, she knew that he knew what she didn't want to say aloud.
The prosecutor opened his mouth, no words came out but his lips seemed to mean to say :
'It's alright'
"Li, come over here" he then said, the other young man not quite understanding what was going on, still left in the dark.
They both walked a distance away, the clear-eyed prosecutor not wanting Jingyi to hear.
"First of all, I am afraid that I won't be able to immediately tell you what the person we are both meaning to deal with looked like, my ability isn't perfect, as you know, and some people will be hazy or unrecognisable, mark that they can hide their intent and will…"
"Is that guy one of them?"
"...No, I can't even perceive a single thing about him… But I could perceive Jingyi just fine"
Yi made a pause and put up his hands on Li's shoulders, both of their blue eyes met and the core disciple was surprised to find an unusual intensity glaring back at him.
"I am going to tell you something, alright? But do not freak out, or express a reaction in any way, it's for Jingyi's sake, alright? Just clear your mind and take in the information"
"Alright…?"
Then, Yi leaned forward and said it in a hushed tone, Li did not say anything, but he definitely tensed up, struggling to hold back the need to punch through a wall, or better yet, the head of the foul beast who had dared to target Jingyi.
"Yi… We need to find him"
"We probably should support her instead"
"...Right"