Chapter 31: The More the Merrier, the Bigger the Scene

What could Ji Yao possibly say? In this world, there are always those who delight in suspecting others with malicious intent, and who revel in chaos without ever tiring of it.

Such occurrences are never in short supply; crowds of people abound wherever you look. All Ji Yao could do was accept the situation and attempt to save herself. If possible, she wouldn’t mind vexing them a little in return.

With a helpless expression, Ji Yao replied, “Disciple and Senior Sister Li were not arguing. Rather, Senior Sister Li happened to seize the beast skin from me, just outside the courtyard.”

“That beast skin was yours?”

“No, it belonged to Senior Sister Li—she left it behind in the main hall. I simply picked it up and went out to return it to her.”

“If that beast skin were placed in front of you now, could you recognize it?”

“I think so. The beast skin was quite decayed, covered with strange patterns and characters that made one dizzy to look at, so I didn’t examine it closely at the time.”

“Do you know where the beast skin went afterwards?”

Gu Qiu’s questions came one after another, giving Ji Yao no time to deliberate.

So Ji Yao answered crisply, “I saw Senior Sister Li put it into her storage pouch at the time. After that, I don’t know.”

Ji Yao had been prepared for another question, but Gu Qiu suddenly fell silent, not speaking for a long while.

Ji Yao blinked, unable to resist asking, “Is there anything else you wish to know?”

Gu Qiu glanced at her and shook his head. “No.”

It was then that the master Suwen, seated at the hall, spoke again.

“Are you aware that Li Fanghua accepted a beast hunting mission at Rainbow Gorge three days ago, and has not returned since?”

Though Suwen did not exert any particular pressure, her authority as the head of the disciplinary hall far surpassed Gu Qiu’s, and Ji Yao sobered at once.

“Master, I only know that Senior Sister Li was absent overnight three days ago. Afterwards, I went into seclusion to advance my cultivation, so I am unaware of what transpired.”

Suwen nodded and continued, “You were not at the outer gate during the day three days ago, correct?”

“Yes,” Ji Yao replied, sensing she must have overlooked something, or else the conversation wouldn’t keep circling back to her.

“Where did you go?”

“I accepted a task and went to Blazing Flame Peak.”

There shouldn’t be any problem here, since the temple stewards and the task token could attest to her whereabouts. Ji Yao felt confident this was not the issue.

But the conversation soon veered in the most unlikely direction.

“You were gone the whole day?”

“Yes, I didn’t leave Blazing Flame Peak until nearly dusk. Around the second quarter of dusk, I returned the task token at the temple, then went straight back to my courtyard and remained there until the disciplinary hall summoned me.”

Ji Yao answered in detail, her mind racing at the same time. Half of her responses were for her own benefit, as she tried to straighten out the entire sequence of events.

“Do you have any proof?”

“The outer gate temple has the task token as evidence, as well as Senior Brother Chen Shaohua, who issued the token, and the servant disciple at the Blazing Flame Peak’s medicinal fields.”

Wait, something was wrong. Ji Yao finally realized where the problem might lie.

“Did either of them mention when I accepted the task or what time I arrived at Blazing Flame Peak?”

She prayed it wasn’t as she feared.

At this point, Gu Qiu suddenly produced a high-grade messaging talisman, sending a few messages with a secret technique, then spoke again, answering Ji Yao’s question.

“Chen Shaohua says it was at mid-morning, and the servant disciple claims it was early afternoon.”

Suwen witnessed all this but did not interfere.

How could that be? She had left home at dawn and received the messaging talisman at the temple, accepted the task, and went straight to Blazing Flame Peak. Even with travel time, it couldn’t have taken more than an hour.

“They’re both lying!” Ji Yao, though furious, forced herself to remain calm as she explained, “I went to accept the task as soon as the temple opened at dawn.”

“Was anyone there to see you?” Suwen pressed further.

“No. That day, very few people were at Morning Sun Peak. When I arrived at the temple, only Senior Brother Chen was inside.”

“Are you aware that, except for the day each month when allocations are distributed, the temple at the outer gate opens for tasks at mid-morning, not dawn?”

Gu Qiu interjected, reminding Ji Yao.

She had no idea! She only ever went to Morning Sun Peak when benefits were being handed out. Ji Yao realized that they must know this fact.

As a temple steward, any disciple who reached the fifth level of Qi Refinement would have accepted tasks there; it would be easy to check.

Ji Yao was among them.

Except for those disciples from prominent families, who had resources from home to sustain their cultivation, ordinary outer gate disciples depended solely on the sect’s allocations—which were never enough.

Thus, ordinary outer gate disciples who reached the fifth level of Qi Refinement would typically go to the temple to accept tasks in exchange for cultivation resources.

Though the fifth level of Qi Refinement was insufficient for beast hunting at Rainbow Gorge, they could still accept internal tasks such as guarding or gathering herbs.

Tasks with low cultivation requirements, long hours, and meager rewards—like planting—were generally avoided by outer gate disciples. No one wanted to work where effort and reward were disproportionate.

For disciples with three spiritual roots at the outer gate, the time might be better spent meditating.

Such tasks were usually given to servant disciples, whose spiritual roots were often poor. As long as they could channel energy, they could remain in the sect, but the allocations they received were far from adequate for cultivation.

To continue cultivating, servant disciples had to supplement their work with additional tasks. They weren’t picky—so long as they could complete them, they would accept whatever was available.

Take the servant disciple at Blazing Flame Peak, for example: he was granted special permission to tend the medicinal fields because of his talent in growing spiritual herbs.

Ji Yao felt utterly foolish.

She had received some low-grade pills from Ling Ru and her father during their time in North Wilderness. The eight-hundred-year-old purple ginseng Ling Ru had taken was compensated by Ling Siyuan, who gave Ji Yao five thousand lower-grade spirit stones—half paid, half gifted. Altogether, Ji Yao had more than six thousand spirit stones.

Therefore, she had never worried about cultivation resources. Even without a special space, she could maintain her practice through the Qi Refinement stage for a long time.

Since arriving at Lingyun Sect, she hadn’t considered accepting tasks, so she had no idea about the regular times the temple issued tasks, assuming they coincided with allocation days.

How could she have listened to so many rumors and failed to notice such basic facts? Wasn’t this sheer stupidity?

No wonder Morning Sun Peak was almost deserted when she went that day. Even those who were present stayed out of sight, within the range of divine sense, but who would randomly scan with divine sense at the temple?

With an hour before tasks were issued, disciples accepting tasks would find it too early to arrive half an hour beforehand. It wasn’t like the dining hall, where being late meant missing a meal.

Ji Yao was frustrated—yet regret was useless now.

Composing herself, Ji Yao answered truthfully, “I had never accepted a task before, so I did not know.”

“Even so, nothing special happened that day. Why did you arrive at Morning Sun Peak at dawn?”

Ji Yao understood that Suwen was being considerate, not stating the question too bluntly.

“I received a messaging talisman from Senior Brother Chen, instructing me to go immediately.”

“Do you still have the talisman?”

“…No. After I read the message, the talisman burned itself away.”