As the sect's founding ceremony drew closer, Chen Hao and the others grew busier than ever.
Under Long Guangsheng's leadership, construction on Heavenly Gate Island was proceeding at full speed.
Qin Yumo devoted herself to helping Chen Hao manage Heavenly Gate Island's internal affairs.
Long Xiaotian and Long'er arrived early with people from Ancient Dragon to help Chen Hao handle Heavenly Gate's internal and external affairs.
With his help, Qin Yumo's workload eased considerably. Long Xiaotian passed on a great deal of experience to her, greatly accelerating the drafting and implementation of Heavenly Gate Island's sect rules.
Standing on a mountain peak, Chen Hao had thought the cool sea breeze at sunset would sweep away many of his worries. Yet the look on his face only grew graver.
He watched Qin Yumo bustling about below and thought of the Book of Life and Death again.
Qin Yumo's death was scheduled for the very day of Heavenly Gate's founding ceremony. Could her death really have something to do with me?
Chen Hao was deeply torn. If he didn't keep Qin Yumo with him, he feared she might encounter danger on her own. If he did, he feared he might be the one who got her killed.
For the past few days, he had been completely trapped in this endless loop of indecision.
While he was brooding, Qin Yumo suddenly called him. "Chen Hao, come down here for a moment. I think there's something wrong with these statues."
Hearing that, Chen Hao immediately descended from the mountain peak.
When she saw him arrive, Qin Yumo pointed at one of the stone statues in front of the Heavenly Gate Palace. "Chen Hao, take a look. This statue was perfectly fine a couple of days ago. Why does it suddenly have so many cracks?"