Liu Xingchen entered his house and Jiang Hao offered him a seat.
When Jiang Hao followed Liu Xingchen in, he didn't see him observing the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower. This made him puzzled. Maybe he was pretending so as to not be noticed.
"Do you know why I came looking for you this time?" Liu Xingchen sat down.
"Ah… it must be because of the matter with the Heavenly Joy Pavilion. I have almost reached the amount of compensation that I owe them," said Jiang Hao.
Of course, Jiang Hao knew Liu Xingchen was here because of the matter with Miao Qian. Jiang Hao handed Liu Xingchen a cup of tea.
"Yes, but it's not just because of that," said Liu Xingchen, sipping at his tea. "Junior Brother, do you know Miao Qian of the Heavenly Joy Pavilion?"
"I do. Yesterday, he bought some talismans from me and said that he didn't have enough spirit stones. So, he is paying me today," said Jiang Hao, truthfully.
"Do you plan to get those spirit stones today?" asked Liu Xingchen, putting down his teacup and staring at Jiang Hao.
Jiang Hao shook his head sadly. "He did that on purpose, I think. I don't think he will be paying me. He never intended to. If I go to the market today, I am sure he will take more of my talismans and never pay me back. He either tells me to wait or to follow him to the Heavenly Joy Pavilion."
"He is dead," said Liu Xingchen.
Jiang Hao pretended to be surprised. He was silent for a while. Liu Xingchen didn't speak further.
After a while, Jiang Hao broke the silence. "And you are here because they think I did it?" he asked.
"Yes," nodded Liu Xingchen. "I went to the market and heard about your little scuffle. He had a grudge against you. But with your strength, you couldn't have fought him especially since lots of things were left behind. Logically speaking, I don't think you are so extravagant."
"What were left behind?" asked Jiang Hao.
"A bunch of spirit swords, but the technique is somewhat similar to Junior Brother's. There was a stab wound to the neck." Liu Xingchen looked casual but in fact, he had been observing Jiang Hao's reaction closely.
However, he didn't see anything for the time being. After another period of long silence, Jiang Hao spoke again. "Did someone try to frame me?"
"It's hard to say, but without evidence, the Heavenly Joy Pavilion can't do anything to you. Of course, this also means another thing." Liu Xingchen's expression became serious. He raised his eyebrows and stared at Jiang Hao. "Without evidence, Junior Brother's death would be in vain."
Hearing this, Jiang Hao broke out in a cold sweat. If he could kill others, then others could kill him too. Jiang Hao just realized the danger of staying here.
"Don't worry too much," said Liu Xingchen. "Although we are called the Devil Sect, the management is not lax. Killing fellow disciples is not allowed and rarely happens in a manner that did last night. The Law Enforcement Hall had yet to come across a murderer they can't catch."
Jiang Hao heaved a sigh of relief. He was glad that his cultivation level was covered by the purple lifeblood mist. If not for that, he wouldn't have dared to do something like this.
"I heard that the punishment for killing a fellow disciple is very severe," Jiang Hao said.
Liu Xingchen nodded. "The punishment is for the person to enter the Lawless Tower. It is the sect's cruelest punishment. After entering it, your cultivation will be absorbed by the tower, and those some barely make it out alive unless you have reached a higher realm of cultivation. If you dare, you can kill others. It might be difficult to understand but think of it this way. If someone of a Golden Core Realm entered the tower, they would come out weaker than you. At that point, would that be any better than death? His position will be lower, he will be abused and might be killed if he leaves the sect."
"What if it's someone from Lifeblood Refinement Realm," asked Jiang Hao.
"Then they will be confiscated of everything and thrown into the mine. Whether they live or die would be up to them," explained Liu Xingchen.
"Are the mine managers killing each other?"
"I don't care."
Jiang Hao nodded. He had heard some things, but he didn't know the specifics. From the looks of it, it was still safer in the sect. If he went out, he would truly die. Here, he needed to be on high alert if anybody wanted to make a move against him.
"Junior Brother, as long as you're careful, there won't be too much danger to your life in the sect," said Liu Xingchen. "You're a suspect. Your name has been placed with the list of people I'm paying attention to. The Law Enforcement Hall will dig out the truth at all costs. No matter who did this, they will be punished for it. This is affecting our sect's Law Enforcement Hall. After all." Liu Xingchen raised his teacup and took another sip.
"Thank you, Senior Brother," Jiang Hao said gratefully.
"Junior Brother is too polite. If it weren't for the greater impact of Yun Ruo's death, Junior Brother wouldn't have been in danger at all. Speaking of which, the deadline is almost up. How is it going?" saked Liu Xingchen.
"It shouldn't be a problem," Jiang Hao said hurriedly.
"That's good. If you trust me, you can come directly to the Law Enforcement Hall and hand the compensation to me. I will pass it on to the Heavenly Joy Pavilion, said Liu Xingchen with a smile.
After chatting for a while, Jiang Hao realized that he hadn't been put in an overly difficult position during this period because the Cliff of Broken Hearts had given him quite a bit of face. The Heavenly Joy Pavilion was angry with him, but he didn't want a fall out with the Cliff of Broken Hearts.
He could only wait for an opportunity to strike.
As Jiang Hao led Liu Xingchen to the door to see him off, he asked something that he was curious about for a long time.
"If someone makes a move against me and is found to be a rare genius, will the punishment still be the same?"
Geniuses usually had immunity. Liu Xingchen smiled.
"That depends on whether Junior Brother is dead or not. If you are killed, he will have to talk about our Pavilion Master. It is said that this kind of thing has happened before. The Pavilion Master, at that time, said, "No matter how talented the victim was, can you have a genius like this?" It shook the Law Enforcement Hall's foundation."
Liu Xingchen left. Jiang Hao sighed. The Pavilion Master was really arrogant. He was worried that he would be caught for the killing.
…
Hundred Flowers Lake.
Hong Yuye frowned. Beside her, Baizhi was terrified to even breathe.
"Tell me about your recent developments," Hong Yuye said expressionlessly.