Chapter 237: Difficulty

Qin Caihe frowned.

Where there are people, there are social intricacies. It was the same in any sect. They had successfully escorted the spirit herbs, but during the delivery, it was difficult to guarantee that the recipients wouldn't create obstacles or demand favors.

If the delivery wasn't completed, the mission wouldn't be considered finished. Not only would they not receive the merit points from the mission, but it would also delay their ability to accept the next one. Long before this, many disciples of the Myriad Swords Sect had discussed this issue, and they all felt it was unavoidable. Previously, she hadn't worried about this because Lu Xinghe had a cousin in the Spirit Beast Sect who reportedly held a high position. If she intervened, the mission delivery would proceed very smoothly.

Now… Thinking of this, she smiled again, holding up the roasted rabbit, and said with a grin, "Senior Brother, I was just kidding. Why are you so serious? When it comes to the mission delivery, we'll still have to rely on you, Senior Brother." Her peripheral vision glanced at Jiang Fan, feeling that she could finally repay him a favor. But this subtle gaze was caught by Lu Xinghe.

He was instantly enraged! He slapped the roasted rabbit away, shouting, "What exactly did Jiang Fan give you to make you so devoted to him? You're actually begging me to help him?" He had never received such treatment himself. Why should Jiang Fan? He said viciously, "Jiang! Don't even think I'll use my connections to help you! I want to see how you make a fool of yourself!"

Jiang Fan waved his sleeve, fanning away the spittle that had flown towards him. Frowning, he said, "You don't need to worry about that. Who doesn't know a person or two from the Spirit Beast Sect?" Upon hearing that Jiang Fan had connections in the Spirit Beast Sect, Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng's eyes lit up. But then they immediately wondered if the person Jiang Fan referred to was Zhang Xuemou. But that person had already left. Lu Xinghe scoffed, "You, a person with no spiritual root, what level of disciple could you possibly know? The disciples responsible for deliveries are all elites of the Spirit Beast Sect. They aren't just anyone you can talk to." Jiang Fan smiled faintly. Was Gong Caiyi considered "just anyone"?

Several days later, Jiang Fan and the others, dusty from their journey, arrived at the Spirit Beast Sect. Within the sect, mist swirled, and pavilions appeared and disappeared. Occasionally, a female disciple in a flowing colorful robe would appear briefly in the mist. A sense of ethereal heavenly paradise permeated the air.

Chu Xingmeng's beautiful eyes sparkled. "I've long heard that the Spirit Beast Sect is an earthly wonderland. Now that I've seen it, it truly lives up to its reputation." Qin Caihe also showed envy, saying, "The Spirit Beast Sect's cultivation method involves taming demonic beasts and having them fight alongside their masters. Disciples themselves might not be exceptionally strong, but when combined with their demonic beasts, they can often dominate others of the same cultivation level. Among the Nine Sects, they are truly unique. I really wanted to join the Spirit Beast Sect back then, but unfortunately, I didn't have the talent for training demonic beasts, so I couldn't enter the mountain gate."

Listening to the two women's yearning, Lu Xinghe mercilessly dampened their spirits. "Still thinking about these irrelevant things. Let's first get past the mission delivery hurdle!" He sat on the back of a spirit beast, his hands tucked into his sleeves, adopting a posture of being unconcerned and absolutely unwilling to intervene. Jiang Fan calmly drove the carriage, entering the Spirit Beast Sect's mountain gate.

"Who goes there?" Outside the mountain gate, a group of considerably strong disciples guarded the entrance. Their cultivation levels ranged from Foundation Establishment sixth-layer to eighth-layer. Each one wore colorful robes, dressed elaborately. However, their expressions were not very friendly, especially when they noticed the group was escorting a cargo cart, presumably on a mission. Their faces hardened even more, looking difficult to deal with.

Jiang Fan cupped his hands and said, "We are on a mission to escort spirit herbs. We ask your esteemed sect to inspect the goods." Among the female disciples, one wearing a phoenix hairpin, with dignified features and an air of authority, stepped forward. She was approximately twenty years old, and her cultivation was the highest among them, reaching Foundation Establishment eighth-layer. "Spirit Beast Sect, Song Biyao, in charge of receiving mission teams from various sects. Please show your mission jade slips." Looking at her expression and those of the female disciples behind her, even the naive Chu Xingmeng realized that the delivery would not go smoothly.

Jiang Fan calmly took out the mission jade slip and handed it over. Song Biyao took the four jade slips. After looking at their contents, she subtly pursed her lips. "Only a level three mission." Those who undertook lower-level missions were naturally disciples with lower cultivation levels, and they likely didn't have much wealth. But with the thought that "even a small gain is a gain," she nodded and said, "The jade slip indicates medicine for three thousand spirit beasts. Wen Jun, Xiang Yang, check the three carriages of spirit herbs for quantity and any damage."

Two capable female disciples immediately opened the carriage and rather roughly threw sack after sack of spirit herbs onto the ground. Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng were secretly anxious. Each portion of spirit herbs in the sacks was individually wrapped in paper. Tossing them so roughly onto the ground could easily tear the paper, causing damage or leakage. At that point, it would be impossible to tell if the damage was due to their poor escorting or the rough handling. Lu Xinghe watched leisurely, a look of mockery on his face. He wanted to see how Jiang Fan would handle this! He was sure Jiang Fan would humble himself, offer some pleasantries, and then Senior Sister Song Biyao would seize the opportunity to give him a hard time. Jiang Fan would then, like a wronged daughter-in-law, obediently offer some spirit stones and beg them to be lenient, right? Thinking of that scene, Lu Xinghe felt quite expectant.

What made him freeze was that Jiang Fan wasn't anxious at all, watching them roughly inspect the goods with complete composure. This made Song Biyao realize that something was unusual. Could it be that this leader was very familiar with someone in the sect? To avoid hitting a snag, she said in a businesslike tone, "Bring your identification tokens over as well, for registration." She wanted to confirm if there was someone powerful among the four. A female disciple stepped forward, collected their identification tokens, and handed them to Song Biyao for registration.

"Supreme Sect, Chu Xingmeng." She recited the name, expressionless. The Supreme Sect was indeed very famous, one of the top three powerful sects, but this was the Spirit Beast Sect's territory, and they wouldn't be swayed. "Myriad Swords Sect, Qin Caihe." She still showed no expression. The Myriad Swords Sect's reputation wasn't even as great as the Supreme Sect's. Until she recited the third name. "Myriad Swords Sect, Lu Xinghe, oh?"

Song Biyao showed a hint of surprise. "You're Senior Sister Yi Lianxing's cousin, aren't you? Aren't you a Foundation Establishment seventh-layer cultivator? Why are you also undertaking a level three mission?" Lu Xinghe smiled as he dismounted from the spirit beast, cupping his hands. "Senior Sister Song actually knows me?" Song Biyao, being on good terms with Yi Lianxing, showed a faint smile and said, "Your cousin often mentions you. She says you're a prodigy with a promising future." Lu Xinghe laughed, "My senior sister overpraises me, Senior Sister Song, please don't take it seriously."

Since he was a familiar person's cousin, Song Biyao stopped making things difficult for them, waving her hand at the two female disciples checking the goods: "They're our own people, no need to check so thoroughly. Just count the quantity." Hearing this, Qin Caihe and Chu Xingmeng breathed a sigh of relief. They had passed. In the end, it was still thanks to Lu Xinghe's influence.

"Thank you, Senior Sister, for your leniency." Lu Xinghe took out a bag of spirit stones, slipped it into her hand, and said, "The weather is hot; please buy some spirit tea for the senior sisters." Song Biyao showed a look of approval and said, "No wonder your senior sister always thinks of you. So, it's not just martial arts; you're also good at handling social etiquette." As she spoke, she couldn't help but frown and glance at Jiang Fan. "However, with you in the team, why is he the leader?" She had thought Jiang Fan's composure indicated some significant status. It turned out he was just relying on Lu Xinghe.

Lu Xinghe, who had just shown off in front of everyone, finally let out a sigh of suppressed frustration. He said sarcastically, "Him? Oh, he's very impressive. With just a few words, he completely charmed the two junior sisters in the team and got them to accept him as leader. He likes being the leader, so let him have it." Learning that Jiang Fan had pushed Lu Xinghe aside by charming girls, Song Biyao felt a strong dislike: "Is he from the Joyous Union Sect? Male disciples from the Joyous Union Sect are quite skilled at charming girls." Lu Xinghe chuckled, quite happy to expose Jiang Fan's background publicly: "He's even more formidable than a Joyous Union Sect disciple. Because he's the Sect Master's disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, named Jiang Fan!" He expected Song Biyao to immediately connect this to the rumor of him having no spiritual root. To his surprise, Song Biyao paused, then stammered: "Wait! What did you say his name was? Jiang Fan?"