Chapter 103: You Have a Backer in the Central Province

She touched the bamboo leaf and put it into her pocket.

There was no more movement outside, so Ruan Xing bowed to the old man, "Then this disciple will not disturb the Elder further."

Elder Wen did not acknowledge her, waving his hand casually, and Ruan Xing left the courtyard on her own.

She had explored three suspected locations earlier; she had broken the protective formation of one and gone inside to take a look, and another had been confirmed as Elder Wen's residence, so the last one must be Elder Xu's room.

Ruan Xing used the same trick again, quickly searching after breaking the protective formation, and before she could be caught, she silently recited to end the simulation.

Recalling the memory of the search just now, Ruan Xing could not help but feel a bit disappointed; she had not found any place that could serve as a secret chamber or a place to hide items.

Perhaps it was because her cultivation was not yet sufficient to see through the methods a Golden Core True Person used to hide a secret chamber.

Since she was not destined for this treasure, despite her reluctance, she had no choice but to give up; Ruan Xing shook her head with a sigh and turned to head to the Palm Hall.

When she saw the Sect Master last time, she did not know why she felt from the bottom of her heart that the Sect Master was kind, but this time she understood why.

This Sect Master seemed to have no airs at all; every time Elder Xu appeared somewhere, he always held his head high with two disciples following to serve him, while the Sect Master not only walked and chatted with her outside the hall, but there was not even a single serving disciple inside this hall.

She just stood outside the hall and sent a message to the Sect Master, and after waiting for a little while, the Sect Master let her in.

"Back? Everything is handled, right?" The Sect Master looked at her with a kind smile, "If there are no problems, take your credentials this afternoon, and I will send you to the Teleportation Array."

Ruan Xing nodded, "I will follow the Sect Master's arrangements."

After a pause, she said again: "Sect Master, there is one more thing I don't know if I should ask... You say, could Elder Xu have absconded with the funds?"

Ruan Xing pretended to be ignorant and worried as she probed the Sect Master.

After all, they were two Golden Core stages... for the Sect, they should be relatively important strategic resources, right? To die just like that, is it really okay?

"It's only a few tens of thousands of Low-grade Spirit Stones, he wouldn't go that far." The Sect Master laughed, "Perhaps you think it's a lot now, but after you reach the Golden Core Stage, there are too many ways to earn Spirit Stones, and he is different from you; Elder Xu still has his family's support. If you say he fled out of fear of being held accountable by Xu Congshen, I would find that more credible."

"Oh, right, Xu Congshen is Elder Xu's cousin and an Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall in the Central Province. Xu Sixi was his only son born with a Spirit Bone, and he valued him highly. However, he is narrow-minded; his son died in Nanzhou, so I fear everyone associated with Nanzhou is a thorn in his side. You must be careful and keep a low profile, don't let him find a reason to drag you into the Law Enforcement Hall."

The Sect Master gave Ruan Xing a few words of advice, and Ruan Xing nodded repeatedly as she listened.

Elder Xu and Xu Sixi could both be said to have died because of her, so she definitely had to be extra careful about this Xu Congshen and noted it down in her little notebook.

Since a grudge had already been formed, to avoid future trouble, it would be best for her to finish him off before he discovered her.

It was just that she did not know what his cultivation was; being able to become an Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall in the Central Province, it was likely not low.

Ruan Xing did not dare to ask more, instead showing a worried expression, "If Elder Xu has run away, wouldn't all these crimes fall on your head, Sect Master? It was clearly Elder Xu's lack of supervision that caused the chaos in the Jin Tai Secret Realm..."

"He won't run. Leaving the Xuanbing Sect, leaving the Xu Family—he can't bear to." The Sect Master shook his head and said leisurely: "He at most only wanted to handle a matter inconvenient for me to know, so he left temporarily. If he is still alive, he will return sooner or later; if he does not return, then he must be dead."

Ruan Xing lowered her head, lost in thought; it seemed the Sect Master was already prepared for the fact that Elder Xu was dead.

"I will take you to see someone. Before, when you had just entered the Inner Sect, I recommended you to him, but unfortunately, you didn't catch his eye." The Sect Master said suddenly, with a teasing tone. See someone? Ruan Xing's heart skipped a beat.

This was different from the simulation... In the simulation, the Sect Master said a few polite words to her and then sent her to the Teleportation Array.

Could it be because she asked a few too many questions about Elder Xu?

She did not know if this change was good or bad, but for now, there should be no danger. Ruan Xing steadied herself and asked: "Sect Master, who are we going to see?"

"Actually, you should have met him; it is the other Elder Wen who is responsible for the Jin Tai Dao Discussion." As the Sect Master spoke, he grabbed Ruan Xing's arm with one hand and waved his right sleeve, and Ruan Xing only felt the scene in front of her like a rapidly retreating conveyor belt, the wind stirred up ruffling her hair.

In just a moment, the two had already appeared in front of Elder Wen's courtyard gate.

Ruan Xing could not help but exclaim, "What kind of Magic Art is this? So cool!"

The Sect Master laughed, "This is not a Magic Art, but a Formation, called an Instant Teleportation Array. It doesn't have much use, it can only quickly travel back and forth between two places that are close together and have had a Formation set up."

So it wasn't a Magic Art; what a pity, she had wanted to spend points to learn it.

This speed was faster than the Ghost Escape Technique of the Sword, but unfortunately, it required setting up a Formation in advance, and there were quite a few restrictions, so it didn't fit practical use.

The Sect Master had set up such a Formation in his own hall; he probably visited Elder Wen often, and the two of them likely had a pretty good relationship.

In the courtyard, Elder Wen was lying on a recliner fishing, his fishing rod dangling over a large vat, and the splashed water droplets rolled onto the heart of a bowl lotus leaf.

The Sect Master walked over with large strides and said with a smile: "In such a leisurely mood today? Have you caught any fish?"

Elder Wen stroked his beard and said lazily: "Hasn't one already taken the bait?"

The Sect Master was stunned for a moment before realizing he was talking about himself, and he laughed indignantly: "You!"

Elder Wen scratched his head silently, flipped his wrist, and a verdant bamboo leaf appeared in his palm, "Take it and play."

Was this the bamboo leaf from the simulation? Didn't he say it was very ordinary and useless? Why would the Sect Master bring her to get this bamboo leaf?

Ruan Xing suppressed the surprise in her heart, reached out to catch the flying bamboo leaf, put it away carefully, and cast a puzzled look at the Sect Master.

The old man continued to fish intently, while the Sect Master explained to her in a low voice: "I originally thought I would have to waste a few words, I didn't expect Junior Brother Wen to be so straightforward."

"This is Junior Brother Wen's Dharma Artifact, a leaf of the Green Spirit Bamboo. Compared to ordinary bamboo leaves, it has nothing special, at most it makes the aroma richer when used to brew tea. However, I asked him to give you this, not for brewing tea."

The Sect Master paused, looked up at the sky with his hands behind his back, "When you reach the Central Province, those who recognize this bamboo leaf will look after you."

So, although Elder Wen refused to take her as a disciple, he still helped her find a backer in the Central Province? This old man is actually quite nice.

She folded her hands solemnly and bowed to the old man, "Disciple Ruan Xing, thanks Elder Wen."

Writer's block, woo woo (End of chapter)