At that moment, the entire study fell silent.
No one spoke again.
Half an hour later, a streak of light flew in from outside.
Deacon Fang reached out and caught it, seemingly checking its contents. A moment later, his expression changed.
"Heh heh! You brat really did manage to befriend the young prodigies of the Yu and Fu Families!"
After a while, Deacon Fang finally looked at Li Yunjing with an amused expression.
He didn't know what had happened, but with his shrewdness, he could naturally guess some of the truth.
If Li Yunjing had no backing, he would definitely do Wei Henian a favor and deal with Li Yunjing.
But now, it turned out this brat really had connections.
So it wasn't worth offending the prodigies of the Yu and Fu Families over such a small favor!
After all, Yu Yunyi and Fu Chao had a good chance of becoming Golden Core Realm ancestors in the future. He didn't want them holding a grudge against him over such a trivial matter.
Exactly!
In Deacon Fang's eyes, so what if four Outer Disciples had died?
Every year, didn't a hundred or so cultivators die in Red Sun Valley when accidents happened?
With a Spirit Vein involved, how could mining ever go smoothly?
There were people spying from outside, people stealing inside, and toxic fumes, miasma, and demonic beasts that had accumulated in the mine over the years...
Deacon Fang had seen plenty of people die.
To him, the matter before him was child's play. He couldn't care less.
"Ahem!"
Deacon Fang straightened his expression and said sternly, "Miscellaneous disciple Li Yunjing, hear my command!"
"Present!"
Li Yunjing quickly answered.
At that moment, Li Yunjing was incredibly nervous. The old man clearly wasn't kind-hearted, and his fate was in Deacon Fang's hands. He was afraid the old bastard would deal him a brutal blow.
Li Yunjing was about to face the judgment of fate!
"Miscellaneous disciple Li Yunjing has transported provisions to Red Sun Valley, a total of ten Hundred Treasure Pouches. They have been inspected and confirmed correct. As a reward for completing the mission, he is hereby granted 70 contribution points, 35 Low-grade Spirit Stones, and 9 Qi Refining Pills."
But contrary to Li Yunjing's expectations, Deacon Fang didn't mention the deaths at all.
Instead, he confirmed that Li Yunjing had completed the sect mission!
"Hm?"
Li Yunjing froze. Was that it? Was the matter over just like that?
Then he put his worries aside and wondered why the mission rewards were so plentiful.
"This..."
Li Yunjing looked puzzled.
"Heh heh! Weren't there five of you in the group? The other four died, but their rewards still have to be issued. As for what you do with them—whether you give them to their families or friends, or hand them over to Wei Henian—that has nothing to do with me."
Deacon Fang smiled darkly, somewhat gloating. He wanted to see which side would come out on top.
"Uh... Thank you, Deacon Fang!"
After Deacon Fang had handled the Identity Token and tossed Li Yunjing a Storage Bag, Li Yunjing naturally accepted it with a smile.
Give it back to Wei Henian? Was he out of his mind?
If Li Yunjing appeared in front of Wei Henian, he figured the furious Wei Henian could slap him to death in one blow!
"As for your case, people from the Law Enforcement Hall will investigate it."
Seeing Li Yunjing's concern, Deacon Fang smiled again. "When you return to the sect, will you report it in person, or should I trouble myself to write up a report and submit it?"
"Heh heh! There's no need to trouble you, Deacon Fang. I'll go straight to Fu Chao and have him report it to the Law Enforcement Hall!"
Li Yunjing quickly declined Deacon Fang's offer.
Having a Foundation Establishment Realm big shot write a report would clearly make the Law Enforcement Hall take the matter more seriously.
That wasn't what Li Yunjing wanted.
For Li Yunjing, the old man's way of handling things was actually a good thing!
At least for a short while, the sect wouldn't hear about what had happened here.
If Li Yunjing reported it himself, he could first consult Yu Yunyi and Fu Chao, then let them calmly make arrangements and cultivate connections in the Law Enforcement Hall.
When the time came, the people from the Law Enforcement Hall would naturally turn a blind eye and wouldn't investigate him.
With Yu Yunyi and Fu Chao's connections, they should have no problem influencing a minor matter like this.
And during that time, he could temporarily avoid Wei Henian's attempts to target him!
He had to plan carefully over these fifteen days. He couldn't return to the sect early.
In an instant, Li Yunjing sorted through the situation and worked out the best course of action.
"Alright! You can go now, brat! Whether you leave or stay here for a while is up to you."
After he'd had his fill of the show, Deacon Fang waved his hand and began ushering them out.
"Yes! This disciple takes his leave!"
Li Yunjing didn't dare say much. The old man was terrifying, and he felt uneasy staying here anyway. It was all the better that he was being sent away!
The farther he got from Deacon Fang, the farther he'd be from danger!
Seeing this, the two Inner Disciples once again led Li Yunjing and Chen Zongfu out of the study.
This time, the two Inner Disciples' expressions had softened somewhat.
As for getting close to Li Yunjing?
That was impossible!
If this brat wanted to rise up, he first had to get past True Disciple Wei Henian!
Neither of them dared to place their bets at a time like this.
Even the two Inner Disciples, so far from the sect, knew Wei Henian's reputation all too well.
Even a powerful figure like Deacon Fang was unwilling to offend someone like him.
How could two little cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm dare provoke him?
They absolutely couldn't take sides!
"Junior Brother Li, how did it go? What are your plans? Why not stay here for a day and rest?"
Once they were out of the cave and the Inner Disciples were no longer beside them, Chen Zongfu relaxed considerably and asked with a smile.
Li Yunjing thought it over, then nodded. "Then I'll trouble you, Senior Brother Chen. By the way, what are those places? Are they all miners' quarters?"
As he spoke, Li Yunjing pointed at the rows of houses he had seen on the way there.
"Right! There are a full twenty thousand miners in the entire mine. Most of them are ordinary people."
Chen Zongfu nodded with a smile and explained.
"Oh? So you mean there are cultivators mining in there as well?"
Li Yunjing picked up on the implication in his words.
"Of course! The mines are complicated, and there are places ordinary people can't handle. That's why cultivators have to go ahead and open up new mining areas."
Chen Zongfu said, "Come on, Junior Brother Li. I'll show you around!"
Unlike the Inner Disciples, he had no status to put on airs.
At this moment, he was exceptionally warm toward Li Yunjing.
He was already thinking about how to cultivate a relationship with Li Yunjing.
If Li Yunjing really made something of himself in the future, Chen Zongfu wanted to get close and bask in his reflected glory.
"Oh? Then let's go take a look. By the way, what kind of treatment do cultivators get for mining?"
Li Yunjing was curious. He hadn't expected cultivators to do this kind of lowly work.
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