Chapter 236: Lost Status

He immediately stepped forward, but he didn't rashly search the body. Instead, he picked up Black Lotus's black scimitar. Keeping a cautious distance, he used the tip of the blade to carefully prod open Black Lotus's clothing. Just then, something sprang out.

*Hiss!*

A blood-red poisonous snake, about the length of an index finger, suddenly shot out and bit fiercely onto the scimitar. The potent venom it spat out corroded the mid-grade magic artifact, the black blade, causing it to smoke. Jiang Fan was quick-witted. With a shake of the black blade, he unleashed a powerful sword aura, slicing the small venomous snake in two!

Seeing the eerie corrosion on the black blade, everyone felt their scalps tingle. For a mid-grade magic artifact to be corroded to such an extent, the venom's potency was clearly immense! If they had rashly searched the body just now, the consequences...

Zhang Xuemou felt a chill down her spine. She then looked at Jiang Fan, utterly convinced by his prudence. Jiang Fan was younger than her, yet his rich experience made her feel ashamed. She now somewhat understood why her master admired Jiang Fan so much. Unable to resist, she imitated her master's manner, turning to instruct the junior disciples behind her: "Did you see that? Pay attention and learn! From now on, when you're out, always be extremely careful. Otherwise, you won't even know how you died!"

The junior disciples nodded repeatedly, their gazes filled with admiration for Jiang Fan. If it had been them, they would have certainly been tempted by the astonishing relics possibly hidden on Black Lotus's body, losing their guard and rashly proceeding with a search. But Jiang Fan, despite his formidable strength, remained cautious and prudent. This taught them a profound lesson that would benefit them for life.

Next, Jiang Fan made multiple attempts to thoroughly confirm there were no other hidden weapons on her body. Only then did he strip off all her belongings. Most were healing elixirs and rare natural treasures unique to the mountain range. Though valuable, they were of little practical use to him. Only one item caught his attention. It was a small wooden box wrapped in oiled paper.

Carefully opening it, Jiang Fan was surprised. Inside was a crystal card with a face value of one hundred thousand crystal stones! "Good heavens! How many people did she plunder over the years to accumulate so many crystal stones?" He unceremoniously took it out. Only then did he discover that beneath the crystal card lay a palm-sized piece of cloth. To the touch, it was cool and smooth. Its material resembled silk but had a metallic sheen. Moreover, it was completely blank. Jiang Fan looked thoughtful. If it were a useless piece of cloth, Black Lotus wouldn't have kept it with a one hundred thousand crystal stone card, would she? Having no time to study it for now, he simply put it away with the rest.

As for the rest, Jiang Fan looked at Zhang Xuemou, the other junior disciples, and Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng. "You can divide the remaining items among yourselves." Zhang Xuemou was startled: "Junior Brother, these elixirs and natural treasures are worth tens of thousands of crystal stones!" She had no idea that Jiang Fan had just pocketed a crystal card worth one hundred thousand. Besides, he had several more on him. He considered these items a burden to carry. "Go ahead and divide them, don't be shy."

Zhang Xuemou was overjoyed. She immediately divided them equally among everyone present. Even so, each person received items worth over a thousand crystal stones! "Thank you, Junior Brother Jiang! Thank you, Junior Brother Jiang!" Zhang Xuemou was so happy she couldn't stop smiling. Having just left the sect, she had unexpectedly gained a thousand crystal stones, which was even more than the reward for a Level 2 mission! She understood even better now why her master favored Jiang Fan. With a wave of his hand, he could bestow thousands of crystal stones upon you – who wouldn't like that?

Qin Caihe also beamed with joy, repeatedly cupping her hands and saying, "Thank you, Junior Brother Jiang." Her beautiful eyes gazed at Jiang Fan, sparkling with unusual brilliance. Not only was he handsome, but his strength was also formidable. And beyond his strength, he was incredibly generous. Compared to Lu Xinghe, whom she had admired for a long time, she suddenly felt that her limited experience was why she had considered Lu Xinghe excellent. "You're welcome!" Jiang Fan smiled. He then turned to Zhang Xuemou and said, "Senior Sister Zhang, we shall meet again." Zhang Xuemou cupped her hands: "Take care!" The two entourages departed, heading in opposite directions.

Some time later, Lu Xinghe slowly regained consciousness. Finding himself alone, he jolted. "I'm alive? Where's Black Lotus?" It took him a while to compose himself before heading towards the Spirit Beast Sect. Regardless, the sect needed to know about the ambush on the convoy to avoid him being wrongly accused of embezzlement and stealing three carriages' worth of supplies. He hadn't walked far when he suddenly discovered a headless corpse. Recognizing it immediately by the clothing, he gasped, "Black Lotus... she was killed?" Recalling that Black Lotus had come to settle scores with the expert who had wiped out her subordinates, he instantly understood, exclaiming in surprise, "Who exactly is that expert? They actually managed to kill Black Lotus?" Having personally fought Black Lotus, he knew her true cultivation realm. She was a genuine Core Formation Realm cultivator! And she had been killed! At this thought, he shivered and hastened his steps toward the Spirit Beast Sect.

After traveling for less than half a day, he saw Jiang Fan's convoy setting up camp before nightfall. He was instantly overjoyed. "Junior Sister Qin, Junior Sister Chu, are you both alright?" He looked at the two women with astonishment, finding it hard to believe. How could they be completely unharmed after facing so many Black Lotus pirates? Then, seeing that Jiang Fan was also safe and sound, he felt disappointed: "You're fine too? Heh, you're really lucky." Chu Xingmeng sighed softly. She felt no joy at his return alive. She had no favorable impression of a leader who deserted them on the battlefield, leaving them to the bandits. Qin Caihe was also utterly disappointed in him. She said mercilessly, "Senior Brother Lu was even luckier to escape Black Lotus's pursuit. Remarkable, truly remarkable." Detecting the sarcasm in her words, Lu Xinghe looked awkward and tried to argue: "I... wasn't I luring Black Lotus away? Otherwise, no matter how powerful that senior was, he couldn't have faced Black Lotus and her subordinates simultaneously." Perhaps he himself felt his excuse was full of holes. He quickly changed the subject: "Where is that senior? Where is he? I want to thank him properly for saving both junior sisters."

Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng each rolled their eyes, too lazy to bother with him. Lu Xinghe was left feeling rebuffed. At this moment, his stomach rumbled. After a day of exhaustion and no food or water, his stomach was long empty. He saw Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng by the campfire, each roasting a freshly caught rabbit. The rabbits, golden brown and sizzling, emitted an enticing aroma. He swallowed, then said, "Junior Sisters, could you spare some for me?" Chu Xingmeng pretended not to hear, picked up her cooked rabbit, blew on it gently, and offered it to Jiang Fan's mouth. "Senior Brother Jiang, you worked the hardest; this is for you." Lu Xinghe then looked at Qin Caihe, smiling, "Junior Sister, share some with your senior brother, I'm starving." He thought Chu Xingmeng was clearly biased, having followed Jiang Fan's every word the whole way. It was understandable if she didn't give him any. But Junior Sister Qin had no good impression of Jiang Fan; surely she wouldn't give her rabbit to him too? To his surprise, as soon as he approached, Qin Caihe got up and sat next to Jiang Fan. With tender affection, she also offered her rabbit to Jiang Fan's mouth: "Junior Brother Jiang, I roasted this for you, try it." Lu Xinghe simply couldn't believe it. He had only been away for a day. How could Junior Sister Qin also show such favor towards Jiang Fan?

"Junior Sister, why are you siding with an outsider?" Lu Xinghe asked, displeased. Qin Caihe glanced at him, saying flatly, "Sorry, you're the outsider." With that, she tore off a piece of rabbit meat. She gently blew on it to cool it down, then offered it to Jiang Fan's mouth with a slightly playful tone: "Junior Brother Jiang, please do me a favor." Lu Xinghe couldn't believe that the gentle, coquettish female disciple before him was his own arrogant and snobbish junior sister! "Jiang Fan! What kind of spell have you cast on them?" Lu Xinghe shouted! Qin Caihe's eyebrows furrowed, and she drew her sword, declaring, "I won't allow you to speak to Junior Brother Jiang like that! If you don't like it, get out of the convoy! Without you, our journey will be much smoother!" Though Chu Xingmeng remained silent, she expressed the same attitude. If Lu Xinghe hadn't been so self-important, ignored Jiang Fan's advice, and insisted on entering the mountains, they wouldn't have encountered any danger in the first place. Now that he had miraculously survived, he wanted to act like the leader of the group again? Who would obey him?

Watching Junior Sister Qin draw her sword against him, Lu Xinghe was both frustrated and enraged. He pointed at Jiang Fan repeatedly: "Fine! Fine! You want to show off, you want to be the leader, right? Let's see how you'll explain yourself when you reach the Spirit Beast Sect! I'm telling you, the disciples of the Spirit Beast Sect aren't easy to deal with. Without my connections in the Spirit Beast Sect looking out for them, don't even dream of getting those three carriages of elixirs accepted smoothly!"