In the following days, Jiang Hao spent his time either escorting captives or inspecting around the mining area. Here, I hope readers remember our domain name.
Wei Lie had conducted an appraisal; though unappealing, he was not a traitor.
As long as one performed their duties, Wei Lie usually wouldn't notice them.
It's worth mentioning that the other party was surprisingly a True Disciple of Thunder Fire Peak, which explained his lofty demeanor.
Under normal circumstances, there wouldn’t be any conflict.
However, if conflict arose, it might lead to a fight right then and there.
As long as the injuries weren’t too severe, the Law Enforcement Hall wouldn't intervene.
While the Law Enforcement Hall was strict, it mainly concerned itself with matters of life and death.
Jiang Hao didn't want to expose his strength or get into trouble.
So, he did his best not to do anything unnecessary.
Of course, his biggest headache these days was the lack of bubbles.
He barely saw any, just a few around the mining area.
It was quite a dilemma.
“Should I go into the mine?” Jiang Hao hesitated. Helping in the mines could yield some results.
However, Liu Xingchen had specially warned him not to enter.
It could potentially be dangerous.
For the sake of a few bubbles, it wasn't worth taking the risk.
“Let's wait a while longer, maybe I won't have to stay here much longer,” Jiang Hao thought.
Once there were enough hands, he need not remain here.
However, he was uncertain when the Azure Sky Mountain campaign would conclude.
He still needed to find a way to gather bubbles.
“I should take some time to assess the strength of those around me, appraise those who seem dangerous, then decide whether to enter the mine.”
Jiang Hao made up his mind.
At that moment, Wei Lie approached and threw a booklet at him.
“What is this, Senior Brother?” Jiang Hao asked, puzzled.
The booklet contained names of those brought to the Lawless Heaven Tower.
It was part of Wei Lie’s responsibility as a personnel manager.
Why was it given to him?
“From now on, you're in charge of receiving people, but you're still under my supervision. You better do your part well, or don't blame me for being rude to you.” Wei Lie said with a note of irritation before continuing:
“Starting today, not only must you receive people, but you also have to take them into the mine to familiarize themselves.
If there's a lack of labor, the delay will be your fault.”
With that, Wei Lie turned and left.
Watching him leave, Jiang Hao was puzzled as to why he had taken over Wei Lie's job.
Moreover, he was required to enter the mine.
Upon reflection, he decided to appraise Wei Lie again.
[Wei Lie: Early Gold Core stage, True Disciple of Thunder Fire Peak, was suddenly assigned to patrol the surroundings, harbors discontent towards the people of Icy Moon Valley, looking for a chance to teach them a lesson.]
Icy Moon Valley?
Jiang Hao realized that taking over the job was probably arranged by someone intentionally.
His initial thought was that the people from Heavenly Joy Pavilion had regained their composure. Now it seemed more likely that a spy had targeted him.
Was it because he was cultivating the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower that he was marked?
“It seems going into the mine was also deliberate, though I don't know his cultivation level.”
While thinking, Jiang Hao received a task to go to Lawless Heaven Tower to receive people.
The original five-member team was now down to four.
Besides him, there were three other inner disciples at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
One was a fairy from Icy Moon Valley, Lü Meng, who was quite attractive but spoke little and worked meticulously.
The remaining two were from Misty Cloud Peak, both young men.
One was skinny and named Jing Lin, the other sturdy, called Mo Du.
Both had undesirable personalities, often joking but with a hint of gloom.
It seemed as if at any moment, they might stab one in the back.
For safety's sake, Jiang Hao had appraised them all before. Among the three, the skinny Jing Lin required the most caution as he had defected from the Wind Thunder Sect to join the Heavenly Sound Sect.
Unfortunately, some of the captives were from the Wind Thunder Sect.
Jiang Hao worried there might be acquaintances among them. If so, there could be complications, especially if they had bonds of friendship.
Before long.
The four of them arrived at the Lawless Heaven Tower's reception area, where four weak cultivators were being detained.
When Jiang Hao saw the four captives, his pupils shrank in unease.
He said nothing but proceeded to the person in charge of handing them over, explaining that he would now be responsible for receiving the captives and then led the four away.
They didn't ask many questions.
Couldn't it be easy for someone impersonating him to take captives for rescue?
Shaking his head, Jiang Hao didn’t dwell on it but instead told the four:
“Let's go, I advise you cooperate to avoid unnecessary suffering.”
These four gave off an unusual aura despite appearing to be at the fifth layer of the Qi Refining stage. In truth, each of them had the strength of an early or middle Gold Core stage cultivator.
Had they evaded the power absorption of the Lawless Heaven?
Or did they use some kind of artifact to substitute for their power being drained?
At this moment, appraisal was not an option.
He could only pretend ignorance.
These four were likely here on a rescue mission.
Let them rescue then—he couldn't stop them, and he hoped he wouldn’t get tangled up in the mess.
“Kindly state your sect names,” Jiang Hao said as he took out a booklet along the way.
When the four remained silent, he added:
“I suggest you cooperate. Perhaps in the future, your sects will ransom you. Without a name here, it’s as if you don’t exist.
No one would come to your aid until your death.”
“Wind Thunder Sect, Jing Ru.” One of the girls spoke up.
Hearing that, Jiang Hao began writing down the names.
He couldn't help but feel awkward, hoping it had nothing to do with Jing Lin.
He looked up at his three companions and asked:
“You're supposed to take them into the mine to get familiarized. Who's up for the task?”
The group remained silent, and Jiang Hao noticed Jing Lin's struggle before he decisively said:
“Junior Brother Jing, you take this on.”
Jiang Hao didn't know what they were planning, so he hoped they would sort it out among themselves.
Confronting four Gold Core cultivators, possibly mid-stage, was beyond him.
The priority should be to improve his cultivation level first and foremost.