"What else do you have?"
Jiang Hao continued recording names with the register in hand. He noted the domain name of the site in his mind.
"Bei Xue from the Falling Sunset Sect," a cold woman spoke.
Falling Sunset Sect? Without showing any emotion, Jiang Hao jotted it down and then glanced at Lü Meng:
"Lü Junior Sister, this one's yours."
"Alright," Lü Meng nodded.
"Situ Jian of the Profound Heaven Sect," said a youthful man with a pleasant smile.
Another man, less noticeable, added:
"Shangguan Wen, also from the Profound Heaven Sect."
Gazing at the two, Jiang Hao turned to Mo Du and said:
"Mo Junior Brother, take Shangguan Wen; I'll handle Situ Jian and lead him to the mine later."
In his intuition, Situ Jian and Shangguan Wen seemed to be the most dangerous individuals.
Shangguan Wen was too easily overlooked, and Jiang Hao feared that danger might strike suddenly.
For his own safety, he decided to separate them.
After Mo Du nodded, Jiang Hao reminded:
"Keep a close eye on that one, don’t be careless."
Mo Du nodded again, unconcerned, thinking Jiang Hao was being overly cautious.
As they proceeded, Jing Ru suddenly fell to the ground, both hands pressed against it.
Seeing this, Jing Lin was about to help her up, but Jiang Hao stopped him.
With such an obvious move, did she think he was blind?
If Wei Lie were here, he might have just slapped her.
Jiang Hao couldn’t simply ignore it. A visible error during his charge of overseeing tasks would worsen his situation in the future.
He drew his crescent moon blade, placing the sheath against Jing Ru’s hands:
"Should I chop off your hands, or will you hand it over yourself?"
The atmosphere instantly turned tense. Jiang Hao scrutinized Jing Ru. Her aura hadn’t changed, suggesting it might be a side effect rather than her holding back.
Even though she had cultivation, fully mobilizing it likely required time.
Jing Ru glared at Jiang Hao but finally handed over two small, transparent talismans.
Taking them, Jiang Hao examined them closely. Their material was special, and their level was not ordinary.
One was a Mountain Shifting Talisman, the other a Nine Heavens Thunder Talisman.
Both were high-grade talismans.
'Did she think she could accomplish anything with these? Or was she intentionally letting me discover them?'
Perplexed, Jiang Hao sternly ordered:
"Body search."
"How dare you?" Jing Ru coldly stared at Jing Lin, who was preparing to act.
"Anyone who resists will be killed on the spot," Jiang Hao declared coldly.
He was contemplating how to report these four individuals’ issues and push the trouble onto others.
Now, with these two talismans, he had an excuse.
"Don't be angry, we’ll cooperate," Situ Jian said, grinning.
Shangguan Wen and Bei Xue from Falling Sunset Sect raised their hands cooperatively.
Jing Ru bit her lip, saying nothing more.
As for male and female differences, Jiang Hao ignored them.
If he was too lenient with these people, they seemed to take liberties.
After a brief period, the search was completed.
Jiang Hao glanced over the four prisoners and instructed further:
"Conduct a cross-examination."
Jing Ru gritted her teeth, rage in her eyes, while Bei Xue showed no emotion.
Shangguan Wen and Situ Jian appeared casually at ease.
After confirming no issues, they escorted the individuals to the mine.
Watching others enter the mine, Jiang Hao also led Situ Jian inside, giving him a brief tour and assigning tasks.
"Are you a True Disciple from the Demonic Sect? Impressive," Situ Jian flattered along the way.
"You don’t seem particularly worried about being here," Jiang Hao commented.
Situ Jian replied without concern:
"I hold a decent position in the Profound Heaven Sect. As you mentioned, the sect should ransom me once notified."
"Then focus on mining," Jiang Hao said without expression.
He was now surveying his surroundings.
The outer area of the mine had few people; most were inside.
He had reviewed the structure briefly.
Many paths interconnected, making it easy to get lost, but also an ideal place for murder.
Jiang Hao was wary of someone targeting him quietly.
Not long after entering the mine, he noticed a purple bubble.
As he passed by, his status panel appeared with a notification.
[Divine Ability Fragment +1]
Indeed, only inside could he make discoveries.
Proceeding further, he noticed additional bubbles—white and green alike.
[Ordinary Spirit Gun +1]
[Mental Strength +1]
[Power +1]
[Stamina +1]
Feeling the long-awaited improvement, Jiang Hao relaxed a bit.
At least he had confirmed that mining could yield bubbles, though it was uncertain if they were immediate or appeared the next day.
Unfortunately, the mine posed risks, with both undercover operatives and captives from the mine.
These were all time bombs.
The arrival of Situ Jian and the others might not be the first nor the last wave.
For now, he needed to notify the mine’s management.
Shoving the problem aside.
—
Slap!
Wei Lie slammed the table and stood.
"If they’re making such small moves, why spare them? They should be killed on the spot, keeping them only invites disaster."
"And you didn’t personally conduct the body search? Didn’t you see them failing to uncover something this obvious? What can they discover from a search?
You were just put in charge, and already there are such errors?"
Inside the management building, Jiang Hao silently stood. He had handed over the talismans and explained the situation.
What followed was Wei Lie’s barrage of criticism.
Nonetheless, mistakes were mistakes, but being from the Broken Hearts Cliff meant they couldn’t punish him.
Especially since it couldn’t even be classified as negligence.
There were three administrators in the management building.
Naturally, the one seated in the middle was the powerful Wu Yuanwu. He merely listened silently, saying nothing.
On the left sat Wei Lie, while on the right was a woman, plainly dressed and unremarkable; Heavenly Sound Sect rarely saw such a fairy.
Yet, her cultivation had reached the mid-phase of the Golden Core.
"Junior Brother Wei is exaggerating; this is not significant. It might just be that woman trying to safeguard something valuable.
Moreover, it’s the Lawless Heaven Tower's responsibility for allowing such things to slip through.
If you’re really upset, you might as well send Junior Brother Jiang to me. I find him talented and I'm short-handed," the woman chuckled.
A fury-stricken Wei Lie agreed.
Jiang Hao sighed. If he had to switch roles, so be it.
At least he wouldn’t become familiar to the disciples attempting various schemes.
Possibly avoiding trouble for a while.
Eventually, the Senior Sister led him out of the management building. Just as they exited, she introduced herself:
"Junior Brother Jiang, let’s get acquainted. My name is Yan Hua."
Yan Hua?
Hearing the name, Jiang Hao’s heart skipped a beat.
Thanks to Tangyuan Dad for his support.
Extra chapters will be released upon hitting targets.
Almost there, almost there.