Appraising Liu Xingchen Once Again

In the Hundred Flowers Lake, the sun was warm, and the breeze was gentle. Petals fell on the still lake surface causing it to ripple a little.

Hong Yuye, dressed in red, sat upright in the pavilion. She reached out her hand and pulled at her hair, waiting for Baizhi's answer.

Baizhi was scared and dared not defy the Sect Master. "The Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower has already taken root and sprouted. During this period, Jiang Hao of the Cliff of Broken Hearts didn't do anything unusual. Some people did approach him but only for ordinary reasons. No one has targeted the flower yet."

"So, there has been no harvest yet?" asked Hong Yuye calmly.

"Not yet. I didn't do my job well. The traitors haven't revealed themselves yet." Baizhi knelt down fearfully.

Hong Yuye looked at the calm lake. "Don't just focus on one place. Look at other places too. Sometimes, the ones affected are the farthest."

"Does the Sect Master mean that they are waiting for an inside person to cooperate to make their move? Or… are they waiting for reinforcements? Then this Jiang Hao is still under suspicion." Baizhi came to a realization.

She wanted to follow whatever the Sect Master ordered which clouded her own perspective. She was the only one who knew about the Sect Master coming out of her seclusion. It put too much pressure on her. Especially since the Sect Master had released the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower which meant something big must have happened or was waiting to happen. It made her even more anxious.

If she continued to make mistakes like this, she would be in great danger.

"That's your job to find out. But he should be certainly rewarded for his contributions." Hong Yuye stretched out her hand and a silvery-white transparent box with an armor floating in it appeared in front of Baizhi.

"Go." Hong Yuye ordered her to leave.

Baizhi stood up and took her leave. She checked the armor. It was used mostly for Foundation Establishment.

Although she still wasn't sure whether he was involved with the traitors, it was still a meritorious deed to cultivate the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower. She just worried whether she should mention the Sect Master or not.

…

That night, in the safety of his house, Jiang Hao looked at the soft, body-hugging armor he was wearing under his clothes. It felt light and comfortable. This was the reward he was given at the White Moon Lake today.

Elder Baizhi had said that it was a gift for his contribution in raising the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower well. Someone had given it to him personally.

'Someone?' thought Jiang Hao. 'Elder Baizhi is the acting Sect Master. Which means there is someone else. The previous Sect Master who ruled all!'

If that was true, everything made sense. If the real Sect Master had given him the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower, everything fell into place.

'But… if that woman takes it away, the Sect Master will be offended,' thought Jiang Hao. He shook his head. Maybe Elder Baizhi just wanted him to think that. Maybe he was still being tested.

Anyhow, he couldn't afford to offend anyone at all. All he could do was stall for time for now. He couldn't slow down the growth of the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower as he pleased.

He had appraised the armor. The result surprised him! This was by far the best magic treasure he had encountered in his life. It couldn't be compared to any other magical treasure!

[One of the Nine Heavenly Battle Armors: it has a strong defensive power. It can independently defend against most attacks even from the Golden Core Realm.]

This was still a set armor. It definitely made him feel safe.

…

The next few days, Jiang Hao focused on making talismans. Everything was going well.

Killing Miao Qian had been a close call. Liu Xingchen had warned him not to have any contact with people from the Heavenly Joy Pavilion. If another one died, he would be an automatic suspect. They won't even look for evidence before convicting him.

Jiang Hao took the warning to heart and was very careful while selling his talismans in the market.

Seven days later, he headed to the Law Enforcement Hall and asked for Liu Xingchen. He wanted to pay the compensation as soon as possible and avoid any more problems. To make him feel at ease, Liu Xingchen did the registration in front of him and put his name and the amount in the record. He wanted to avoid any misunderstandings.

However, Liu Xingchen didn't hand over the spirit stones to the Heavenly Joy Pavilion immediately. Instead, he handed them over on the last day.

It was on the last day that he handed over the slip from Heavenly Joy Pavilion saying that they received the compensation and Jiang Hao was off the hook. After this, he didn't have to worry about the Heavenly Joy Pavilion making things difficult for him.

At least on the surface, it looked like that.

Jiang Hao heaved a sigh of relief. He could feel that Liu Xingchen was planning something that would definitely put Jiang Hao in trouble in the future. But he really needed Liu Xingchen's help. At least to make sure if he was still a suspect under their radar.

He activated his Daily Appraisal to appraise Liu Xingchen to see if he had any ulterior motives.

[Liu Xingchen: a True Disciple of the Heavenly Faction. Born with the aura of a dragon and a cultivation base at the Peak of the Golden Core Realm. Nothing better to do than to spy on the Heavenly Note Sect's Law Enforcement Hall. The reason he is on good terms with you is because he wants to get close to the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower to watch it carefully. Also wants to find out if you killed Miao Qian.]

'Peak of the Golden Core Realm?' This surprised Jiang Hao. When he had appraised Liu Xingchen last time, he was at the late stage of the Golden Core Realm. 'How did he advance so fast?'

However, considering the result, Liu Xingchen did not really seem very dangerous. He was alright. Even if he was a spy of the heavenly Jo, it was better to tread carefully.

"Oh right, just to remind you. The assignment of inner sect disciples is beginning soon. There might be a Junior Brother this time, so it's best to be careful. Also, your name is still on the suspect list, so you aren't allowed to leave the sect, as you already know. In other words, if the mission isn't assigned to you, then you will have to rely on yourself to pass. There are still a few months left, though. Junior Brother, you have a lot of time to prepare," said Liu Xingchen.

Jiang Hao thanked him and left. He sighed. The first thing he wanted to do was to have a look at his interface to see any changes.