Chen Ye smiled warmly, helping Gao Ming brush off the dirty snow on his clothes.
Gao Ming felt flattered and smiled apologetically, "Taoist Friend Chen, I can do it myself."
The next moment,
Chen Ye caught a glimpse of the black-haired girl quietly retracting her head out of the corner of his eye,
his smile turned cold as he grabbed Gao Ming’s blood-soaked hand:
"Kong Hongxuan, why did he send you to find me?"
The bones in his hand creaked, blood dampening the cuffs.
Gao Ming was in such pain that cold sweat poured down, and he screamed:
"Taoist Friend Chen, let go! I’ll talk! Before, you killed Zhang Hong in front of Hall Master Hee Qi, disregarding Hall Master Kong’s face, which displeased him. Just by chance, I passed by and saw Taoist Friend Chen."
As Chen Ye suspected,
Kong Hongxuan had his eyes on him.
When Gao Ming confessed, instead of feeling uneasy, Chen Ye felt a sense of certainty.
He was more worried about the unknown than foreseeable danger.
Chen Ye stared at Gao Ming, "Is it such a coincidence? You just happened to pass by and see me?"
Gao Ming nodded desperately, and without Chen Ye pressing further, he spilled everything:
"I was carrying out another task within the association, specifically here to monitor the Stone Mirror Association cultivators on Shunshui Street, and also to find Taoist Friend Chen."
Seeing Gao Ming so cooperative, Chen Ye released his hand, "Scram!"
"Thank you, Taoist Friend, for sparing me. I was merely following the Hall Master’s orders..."
Gao Ming scrambled away, not forgetting to defend himself before leaving.
Chen Ye couldn’t help but laugh.
Ridiculous.
Does following someone else’s orders, intending to harm me,
mean I shouldn’t blame Gao Ming?
If not for Yunxi District’s prohibition on killing, he wouldn’t have let Gao Ming go.
...
"What happened? It was very noisy outside just now. I asked Zhiwei to go out and have a look. Did Senior Chen have a conflict with someone?"
Arriving at the neighbor’s house, Lin Qiongyu looked at Chen Ye with concern.
Chen Ye frowned slightly, "It’s nothing. But I want to ask Taoist Friend Lin, why is my apprentice at your house?"
Lin Qiongyu’s heart skipped a beat.
She got close to Chen Ye by currying favor with his apprentices.
But it seemed to have backfired, displeasing the man in front of her.
She smiled, "Ah, Miu just ran to Senior’s house, Qing Jun chased after Miu...and then, Zhiwei was worried about Qing Jun and wanted to bring her back. So, they’re all at my house."
The two little girls, knowing they’d caused trouble, hung their heads like quails.
Chen Ye sighed; he couldn’t blame Qing Jun for being playful.
After all, Qing Jun was just a little girl at a lively age, yet now, she stayed cooped up at home all day.
So much time had passed, and this was her first time leaving home without permission.
Commonly, which big girl doesn’t go out playing with her parents?
Chen Ye politely said, "Sorry for troubling Taoist Friend with looking after my apprentice. Qing Jun, Zhiwei, let’s go home with Master!"
The two apprentices lowered their heads, silently following behind Chen Ye.
Chen Ye walked ahead without uttering a word.
Seeing Master silent,
Qing Jun’s heart thumped wildly, imagining how angry Master must be!
In the little girl’s anxious anticipation, they eventually returned home.
"Qing Jun..."
Master suddenly spoke.
Qing Jun’s calves trembled, "Qing Jun knows she’s wrong!"
The white-furred ball on the floor quivered, looking up at the tall Master.
Its eyes were misty, almost on the verge of tears.
"Why so nervous?"
Chen Ye chuckled, squatting down to pat Qing Jun’s head,
"This time, you really scared Master. Master thought some bad person had taken you away."
"Huh?"
The anticipated scolding didn’t come, leaving Qing Jun dumbfounded.
But hearing Master’s tone full of lingering fear,
the little girl fiddled with her fingers: "Actually...Qing Jun wasn’t running around, just wanted to see where Miu went, but was taken in by the sister next door."
Chen Ye was slightly startled, originally thinking it was Qing Jun herself running around.
But it turned out Lin Qiongyu acted on her own accord.
He genuinely disliked Lin Qiongyu for using his apprentice as a pawn.
"Don’t trust her in the future, okay? Besides Master, trust no one!" Chen Ye advised.
Qing Jun frowned in frustration.
But can she trust Master?
After Master left,
Qing Jun patted her chest in fear: "Scared Qing Jun to death, thought Master would get angry, but...Master didn’t seem to blame us. Sister?"
It was then the little girl belatedly realized,
the sister had been silent since a while ago, lost in thought.
Zhiwei snapped back to reality, "Hmm, Sister already knew Master wouldn’t blame us..."
Even now,
the black-furred ball’s eyes still showed Master’s fierce expression.
She used to find such a Chen Ye extremely frightening.
But today...
Chen Ye appeared this fierce, all for their sake.
...
Jade Lizard Association.
"Those despicable scum from the Stone Mirror Association have gone to East Valley again under the cover of night to steal Spiritual Medicine! It’s baffling; they must have realized East Valley is full of sicklings, why persist?"
In the main hall, a brawny man sitting on the left spoke angrily.
Seated high above, an elder around sixty or seventy stroked his beard thoughtfully.
On his neck, a green lizard scuttled and slinked.
The elder was Luo Heng, a Ninth-Layer Qi Cultivator and president of the Jade Lizard Association.
Beneath him were four late-stage Qi Cultivators, the hall masters of Jade Lizard Association.
Among them, a middle-aged cultivator with a cold face frowned deeply:
"East Valley is a demon cultivator’s hideout. All the Spiritual Medicine there are tainted by demonic techniques, otherwise, it wouldn’t be our turn to intervene. But why does Stone Mirror Association insist on it, unless... they have a master aiding them?"
As soon as he said this, everyone started discussing.
"It must be so! These days, we haven’t seen Stone Mirror Association sell sickly spirits cheaply. If they didn’t have a master to heal, would they let these spirits die in vain?"
"If that’s the case... Perhaps the Six-leaf Mysterious Ginseng in the president’s hand can be saved?"
"Not necessarily; Six-leaf Mysterious Ginseng is a Tier One Upper Grade Spiritual Medicine, a rare find by demon cultivators. Healing low-grade ones doesn’t mean Six-leaf Mysterious Ginseng can be cured. I think we should wait for Lingyin Sect’s Spirit Plant Master to act."
"But we don’t know when Lingyin Sect’s people will come to Yunxi District..."
The Six-leaf Mysterious Ginseng is one of the main materials for crafting Foundation Establishment Pill.
Its importance to Loose Cultivators is imaginable.
Luo Heng couldn’t afford not to care.
Luo Heng continued stroking his beard, eyes gleaming with brilliance:
"Hongxuan, I’m tasking you to keep an eye on Stone Mirror Association, observe their movements, have you found anything?"
Kong Hongxuan, who had been silent, cupped his hands, "I’ve ordered the brothers of Nifeng Hall to monitor the Stone Mirror Association cultivators everywhere, and soon we’ll have results."
Luo Heng nodded, "Remember, if you find this Spirit Plant Master, treat them with respect, do not slight them! This concerns my path, do you understand?"
His cold gaze swept past Kong Hongxuan, causing chills despite Kong Hongxuan’s Frost Scale Armor.
This elder may seem kind, but in reality, he was ruthless!
Sweat formed on Kong Hongxuan’s temples, and he urgently said, "I will not disappoint the president’s trust!"