The sun was dipping low, casting its warm glow over the stone courtyard as Zhao Ming strode into Xie Zhaolin's yard.
"Junior Sister Xie, you haven't picked up this month's mission yet, have you?" Zhao Ming cut straight to the point, his voice carrying a weight that pressed down on her. "Perfect timing, there's a mission to exterminate a second-rank demon beast, and you'll go with the other disciples."
Xie Zhaolin's face tightened with reluctance. "Senior Brother Zhao, my master specifically said I shouldn't take such a dangerous mission…"
"Impudent!" Zhao Ming barked sharply. "Even an elder can't abuse their power!" He narrowed his eyes, surveying her timid, weak demeanor with growing satisfaction. "This is a sect mission, you don't get to pick and choose!"
She lowered her head, shoulders trembling slightly. "But Master…"
"Stop hiding behind Elder Mo!" Zhao Ming sneered, brandishing the mission token. "This is a formal order from the Law Enforcement Hall. Do you dare defy it?"
Xie Zhaolin stayed silent, her gaze flickering anxiously toward her storage pouch.
Seeing this, Zhao Ming worried she might contact Mo Xun, so he put on a seemingly kind tone. "Think carefully, Junior Sister Xie. This mission isn't ordinary—" he lowered his voice, "we're clearing out an early-stage second-rank Green-Eyed Demon Ape. The mission points are triple a normal assignment. Not to mention, you'll get demon beast materials…"
He paused deliberately, letting the words sink in before adding with an almost sly undertone, "Opportunities like this, a lot of people would kill to get."
Xie Zhaolin lowered her head, pretending to hesitate. "Which senior brothers and sisters will be accompanying this mission?"
"Don't worry," Zhao Ming replied casually. "The sect has arranged five Foundation rank disciples for protection." He paused, adding, "The exact roster won't be finalized until tomorrow."
A flicker of disappointment crossed her mind—Wei Qingwu wasn't going? She had hoped to take care of him this time. But she could work around that. Thinking this, she finally nodded reluctantly. "Understood… I'll comply."
As soon as Zhao Ming left, Xie Zhaolin sent a message to Liu Feng: "Check the mission roster, and find a way for me to sneak in."
The next morning, Liu Feng replied: "Master, it's arranged. The companions for this mission are Lu Xun, a named disciple of Elder Alchemy Peak; Xu Nanfeng, second disciple of Elder Qiu; Zhang Yuanzhi from Artifact Peak; Sun Yun from Talisman Peak; and myself."
A faint smile curved Xie Zhaolin's lips.
This lineup was intriguing—Alchemy Peak wanted her dead, Artifact Peak hoped to exploit the situation, Talisman Peak was here to stir trouble.
As for Liu Feng… Wei Qingwu probably didn't know that this conflicted Law Enforcement Hall disciple had long been on her side.
She walked slowly toward the courtyard gate, plastering on her usual fearful expression.
At the gate, Zhao Ming waited with a cold expression.
Seeing her timid approach, a flicker of contempt crossed his eyes. "What's the holdup? Move it!"
Xie Zhaolin lowered her head, carefully joining the end of the group. She could feel several probing gazes fixed on her—Lu Xun and Xu Nanfeng looked nothing but malicious, Zhang Yuanzhi calculating, and Sun Yun openly gleeful at her expense.
Liu Feng led the front of the group, his eyes sweeping the others with a hint of sympathy—these small players didn't understand the stakes of the sect's internal power games. He glanced secretly at Xie Zhaolin, noting how she kept her head down, fingers nervously twisting her sleeves like a frightened rabbit.
The performance… sent a shiver down his spine. A horrifying thought struck him: would his master kill him too just to cover her tracks?
Cold sweat seeped from his palms, and his grip on his sword wobbled. He remembered her eyes that day in the herb garden—icy, emotionless…
"Senior Brother Liu, you don't look so well," Sun Yun's voice came out of nowhere, curiosity laced in her words.
Snapping back, Liu Feng forced himself to stay composed. "Nothing, maybe I didn't sleep well last night."
Sun Yun smiled meaningfully. "Really? I thought you might be worried about Junior Sister Xie. I heard you two had some… history?" She lowered her voice.
Liu Feng's expression stiffened. "Law Enforcement Hall disciples separate personal and official matters."
Sun Yun pursed her lips, clearly skeptical, but didn't push further.
After a full day of travel, the group arrived at a village plagued by demon beasts, the sky already dark with dusk.
The villagers fell to their knees upon seeing the sect disciples, tears streaming as they recounted the beasts' atrocities.
"Immortal Masters, please, just some simple tea…" The old village chief's hands trembled as he held the clay bowl.
"Get lost!" Lu Xun's sleeve wind sent the bowl flying. Scalding tea splashed onto Xie Zhaolin's skirt and the old man's rough hands.
The old man trembled in shock but didn't dare wipe it, pressing his forehead to the ground in terror.
"Immortal Masters, please don't be angry… please…" he stammered.
"Still not showing the way?!" Xu Nanfeng kicked over a nearby bamboo stool in impatience. The villagers fell silent, hastily picking up lanterns to lead the disciples toward the forest behind the village.
After passing the last field, the villagers suddenly bolted, as if granted amnesty, not daring even a greeting.
"Hahaha, look at these lowlifes running faster than rabbits!" Lu Xun jeered. "They don't even give thanks. Serves them right if the beasts eat them all!"
Xu Nanfeng sneered, adding mockingly, "Don't be mad, Senior Brother Lu. Isn't there a big shot dragging behind, taking their sweet time?" He glanced back at Xie Zhaolin at the rear, his voice louder. "Junior Sister Xie, need a lift on my back?"
Zhang Yuanzhi snorted. "She's Elder Mo's favorite disciple. She wouldn't even glance at your pathetic cultivation." He emphasized 'favorite disciple', smirking. "Maybe she's waiting for her master to descend from the heavens!"
"Don't be like that," Sun Yun said, feigning concern, but forming an amplification talisman so every word reached Xie Zhaolin clearly. "I heard she barely held a sword last time. That wolf demon mission? She only survived by playing dead on the ground!"
A chorus of cruel laughter erupted, while Liu Feng trembled, secretly watching Xie Zhaolin. Then he saw it again—that familiar, deathly cold gaze.
Before the laughter could die down, a deafening roar echoed from deep in the forest, the ground trembling beneath their feet.
"Here it comes!" Liu Feng shouted, hand already on his sword hilt.
A Green-Eyed Demon Ape, towering over six feet, lunged out, fangs bared, its emerald eyes glowing faintly in the night.
"Form up!" Lu Xun barked. The five of them quickly spread out.
Xie Zhaolin panicked, retreating until her back pressed against an ancient tree. Her fingers twitched, releasing a wisp of colorless powder into the wind.
The demon ape roared and pounced. Lu Xun swung his sword first.
The blade only left a shallow scratch on its fur. The beast snarled, eyes blazing with ferocity.
"Damn it!" Xu Nanfeng tried to strike from the side but was swatted away, crashing heavily into the mud.
Amid the chaos, Zhang Yuanzhi's eyes gleamed with calculation. Pretending to be forced back, he staggered to Xie Zhaolin's side.
"Junior Sister, watch out!"
He shouted, but as the demon ape lunged again, he suddenly grabbed her shoulder and shoved her toward its gaping maw!