"Serious trouble?"
Doubt showed in Xin Yuyue's eyes as she waited for the senior brother before her to answer.
"Yes." Zheng Nineteen gazed into the distance and said:
"Once those three meet, only one side should be able to return.
There would be nothing surprising about both people from the Heavenly Joy Pavilion returning. That would be only natural.
But if Jiang Hao alone comes back...
What do you think happened?"
"The Heavenly Joy Pavilion failed?" Xin Yuyue asked.
"It would be far more than a simple failure. Once those three meet, there's almost no chance of them coming back together.
If only Junior Brother Jiang returns under those circumstances, we wouldn't even need to think to know...
The two from the Heavenly Joy Pavilion were killed by their intended victim," Zheng Nineteen said solemnly.
"That's impossible. How could someone at the Foundation Establishment early stage kill someone at the late stage and someone at perfection when they came for him?" Xin Yuyue shook her head, unable to believe it.
"Exactly. If it did happen, wouldn't that mean serious trouble?
It would mean we knew Junior Brother Jiang could kill someone at perfection.
Do you think he might leave us here forever too, to keep that secret?
After all, one of us is at the Foundation Establishment early stage, and the other at the late stage. Killing us wouldn't be difficult," Zheng Nineteen said with a smile.
Yet barely had he finished speaking when Xin Yuyue looked to the side in terror. She nudged the senior brother beside her and said nervously:
"S-Senior Brother, look."
Zheng Nineteen turned to look, puzzled by the change in Xin Yuyue's tone.
The next instant, however, he saw a young man emerge from the woods.
His steps were steady, his aura calm. Neither joy nor anger showed on his face, and nothing about him seemed unusual.
But the instant Zheng Nineteen saw him, his pupils contracted and his heart pounded, as though he had encountered a tremendous threat.
"Senior Brother, what do we do?" Xin Yuyue asked quietly.
She would not have worried without hearing his analysis, but after hearing it and seeing the person approaching, she felt she could be attacked at any moment.
The person who emerged was none other than Jiang Hao, whose injuries had healed completely.
"Don't panic. Keep your distance. We can't linger in the Demon Grotto. The sooner we leave, the safer we'll be.
Also, don't stand too close to me. As long as one of us can escape, he won't risk attacking," Zheng Nineteen reminded her.
By then, Jiang Hao had drawn near. Zheng Nineteen shifted away from Xin Yuyue and smiled:
"Did you gain anything this time, Junior Brother Jiang?"
"The Demonfolk have more or less been cleared out," Jiang Hao replied.
Upon approaching, he noticed something was off about the two of them, as though they were guarding against something.
He soon understood the likely reason. He had returned, while the two from the Heavenly Joy Pavilion had not. A little thought was enough to smell something fishy.
But Jiang Hao did not care. There was no evidence, and no one knew what had happened.
As for killing the two before him to silence them...
That would only make him more suspicious once he went outside.
It would serve no real purpose.
Things were fine this way.
"Have the senior brother and senior sister from the Heavenly Joy Pavilion not returned yet?" Jiang Hao asked.
"They must have been delayed by something. It's nearly the time we agreed on.
There's no need for us to wait, then. Let's head out first," Zheng Nineteen said with a smile.
Under normal circumstances, he would have stayed another day or two to wait, but now he did not dare.
The longer they waited, the greater the danger.
His guess might have been wrong, but it was better to believe the danger existed than dismiss it.
"They aren't children. They'll head back on their own once they finish the mission," Xin Yuyue added.
Jiang Hao nodded in agreement.
He had spent over two months in the Demon Grotto and was rather worried about the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower.
A little while later, the three of them left the Demon Grotto.
The moment they emerged, Zheng Nineteen and Xin Yuyue both breathed sighs of relief.
Now, their deaths would trigger an investigation. No one would act rashly.
Still, they did not lower their guard.
It was hard to imagine that the one who ultimately put them under pressure would be the person they had taken least seriously.
After bidding the two farewell, Jiang Hao turned in his mission.
Someone would later inspect the Demon Grotto. Once the situation was roughly confirmed, the reward could be issued.
Jiang Hao estimated that he should receive a few hundred spirit stones.
That counted as a decent haul.
As for whether the bodies of the two from the Heavenly Joy Pavilion would be discovered...
He did not care, because they were already in the Demonfolk's stomachs.
Unless the people from the Law Enforcement Hall investigated, no one would have evidence to claim he had done it.
But he was not sure whether Liu Xingchen would go investigate on his own.
Over the past month, he had already destroyed the scene. In theory, nothing should turn up.
After leaving Law Enforcement Peak, Jiang Hao went to greet his master before returning to his residence.
His master was somewhat surprised that he had returned completely unscathed.
But he merely nodded and said nothing more.
After more than two months, Jiang Hao finally returned to his courtyard.
As soon as he entered, he saw two blue bubbles on the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower.
[Cultivation +1] [Vitality +1]
The snow lotus had no bubbles and looked somewhat droopy. The blue lotus was nearly withered, let alone producing any bubbles.
After tending to them, he watered the spirit herbs with stream water again.
"No one actually came in. It looks like no one dares touch the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower for now."
After checking everywhere, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He rested for a moment, then took out the Shadow Saber.
By now, the blade was covered in cracks.
Although the Shadow Saber had slain Qing Xue of the Heavenly Joy Pavilion during their battle, it had also reached its limit.
"The reward this time won't even cover this magical treasure."
Shaking his head, Jiang Hao planted the saber in a corner.
It could serve as a decoration.
Then he opened his panel to check his current status.
[Name: Jiang Hao] [Age: Twenty] [Cultivation: Foundation Establishment perfection] [Cultivation methods: Heavenly Sound, Hundred Turns; Primordial Chaos Heart Scripture] [Divine abilities: Nine-Turn Substitute Death (unique), Daily Appraisal, Clear Mind, Pure Heart] [Vitality: 9/100 (cannot cultivate)] [Cultivation: 11/100 (can cultivate)] [Divine ability: 1/3 (cannot obtain)]
"It's only been about nine months since I reached Foundation Establishment, and I'm already at perfection. For the first time, Golden Core feels right within reach."
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