Chapter 317: Living Bodhisattva

Qin Caihe nodded repeatedly. "Yes, junior brother, please speak."

Jiang Fan asked, "May I ask if your sect has a Grand Elder named Zhou Qidan?"

Qin Caihe replied solemnly, "Indeed, we do. Junior Brother Jiang, why do you ask?"

So, this person actually exists. It seems that old man wasn't entirely making things up.

Jiang Fan asked, "If I wish to visit this Grand Elder, would it be difficult?"

Qin Caihe was startled, then looked troubled. "I'm afraid you won't be able to see her."

"Even we rarely get the chance to meet her."

Jiang Fan wasn't too surprised. Even in the Qingyun Sect, he rarely got to see his own Grand Elders. How could a junior disciple like him simply visit a Grand Elder from another sect? Unless he himself was a Grand Elder of a sect, it would be almost impossible.

After a brief thought, Jiang Fan said, "Then, could you perhaps pass on a message?"

"Just say I wish to conduct a transaction with her regarding demonic beast materials."

Qin Caihe was still in a dilemma. Although Jiang Fan had indeed acquired many good things during their time together, "good" was relative to them as disciples. For a Grand Elder, such items were hardly worth mentioning.

However, this was the only way she could help Jiang Fan. So, she gritted her teeth and said, "Alright, I'll take you to see my master first."

"As a junior disciple, I don't have the authority to contact a Grand Elder."

In fact, Qin Caihe had no confidence at all that she could persuade her master to help. After all, for an elder to help a junior disciple from an outside sect contact their own sect's Grand Elder would seem beneath their dignity. She could only try her best.

Qin Caihe put down what she was doing and led Jiang Fan up Cloud Sword Peak. As they just reached the peak, they heard a woman's stern rebuke: "Do you two even have the nerve to come back?"

"Not a single one of the Level 1 missions you were assigned to on the Giant Sect front was completed; all of them failed!"

"All the disciples sent by other peaks succeeded!"

Jiang Fan paused. He swept his gaze across the peak. He saw a woman in a long dress, seemingly in her forties, scolding two female disciples kneeling on the ground. One was weeping profusely, tears streaming down her face. The other was biting her lip, her face filled with grievance and unwillingness.

"It seems we've come at an inopportune time," Jiang Fan murmured, glancing sideways. He then noticed Qin Caihe shrinking her neck and slowly backing down the stairs. Given this scene, how could she dare to approach and incur her master's wrath? Her master was usually very strict, often scolding disciples who made mistakes. What more now that she was angry?

However, the Cloud Sword Peak Master's ear twitched, sensing movement, and she barked, "Who's there?"

Qin Caihe's face turned pale. She could only brace herself, walk up the stairs, and reveal herself. With her head bowed, she said extremely cautiously, "Disciple Qin Caihe greets Master."

Upon seeing her, the Cloud Sword Peak Master became even more furious and snapped, "Why are you sneaking around?"

"You have no manners whatsoever!"

"You, too, come here and kneel properly!"

Qin Caihe's face was filled with bitterness. She knew she would incur wrath. She obediently walked over, shrinking her neck, and knelt in front of her two senior sisters. Before she could explain, the Cloud Sword Peak Master scolded her relentlessly: "Tell me the truth! Where have you been these past days?"

"You took half a month to complete a Level 3 mission!"

"If you hadn't returned, I was going to report to the sect that you had died outside!"

With her drawing the fire, her two senior sisters finally got a reprieve. They secretly glanced at Qin Caihe, a look of schadenfreude on their faces. It was excusable for them to fail a Level 1 mission. After all, the front lines were fraught with danger, and battle situations were unpredictable. Mission failure was common. But taking half a month for a Level 3 mission was truly outrageous. Who would believe she wasn't slacking off?

Qin Caihe hastily explained, "Master, I have been diligently carrying out my duties these past days."

"I haven't been slacking off."

"After completing the mission from the Grand Supreme Sect to the Spirit Beast Sect, I immediately undertook another mission from the Spirit Beast Sect to the Joyful Union Sect."

"Moreover, we encountered many dangers along the way, which caused the delay until now."

The Cloud Sword Peak Master's cold face showed a slight lift of her eyebrow: "You received a mission from the Spirit Beast Sect?"

The two senior sisters curled their lips. "She's lying through her teeth!" With Qin Caihe's strength, she could at most handle Level 3 missions. Such low-level missions were barely enough for the Spirit Beast Sect's own junior disciples; why would they assign one to an outsider?

Qin Caihe nodded, "This disciple would not dare to lie."

The Cloud Sword Peak Master looked puzzled: "Did Lu Xinghe help you?"

This made the two senior sisters pause, and then they scoffed. They had almost forgotten that Qin Caihe had ingratiated herself with a powerful cultivator in their sect, a Level 7 Foundation Establishment realm expert. That person was capable of taking a Level 2 mission from the Spirit Beast Sect. It was entirely possible that they had brought Qin Caihe along and given her a share of the credit.

However, what puzzled them was this: upon mentioning Lu Xinghe, Qin Caihe's face was filled with disdain: "Him?"

"It's good enough that he didn't get us killed; how could I expect him to help me?"

The thought of Lu Xinghe's arrogance leading them into the Black Lotus encirclement still filled her with anger.

Now, the Cloud Sword Peak Master was curious. "What mission did you carry out at the Spirit Beast Sect?"

Qin Caihe felt a little guilty and said, "It was a Level 1 mission." In that mission, she had merely been a passenger. It was completed entirely because Jiang Fan pushed through everything. Therefore, she spoke without any confidence.

Unexpectedly, the moment the words left her mouth, the Cloud Sword Peak Master's face turned icy cold, and her shoulders trembled with rage!

"You three! Are you trying to infuriate me to death?"

"The two who are capable of completing Level 1 missions have failed them all!"

"And the one who isn't capable is full of lies!"

"You three have completely disgraced my Cloud Sword Peak!"

She trembled with anger, her chest heaving violently. With a trembling finger, she pointed at the two older female disciples: "Chen Tingfang, Sun Huarong! You two, get back to your cultivation caves and meditate on your faults!"

"As for you, Qin Caihe! Slacking off and then lying and deceiving me—your crime is unforgivable!"

"Go to the Hall of Rewards and Punishments yourself and receive a hundred lashes!"

Qin Caihe panicked and said, "Master, I'm not lying."

"It was an outside junior brother who led me to complete the Level 1 mission."

But the more she explained, the angrier the Cloud Sword Peak Master became. "An outside junior brother? What 'living Bodhisattva' is so kind as to lead you to complete a Level 1 mission?"

"And a junior brother at that? What genius from which sect, at such a young age, can lead you to complete a Level 1 mission?"

"You lie without even preparing, are you trying to enrage me to death?"

"Get out! Go to the Hall of Rewards and Punishments immediately, and take another hundred lashes!"

Her lungs were about to burst with rage. If she had told a somewhat believable lie, she would have held her nose and accepted it. But such a transparent lie, trying to deceive her? Was she taking her for a fool?

At the bottom of the stairs, Jiang Fan, who had initially not wanted to incur wrath, could no longer hide. He removed his mask, revealing his true face. Then, he bravely walked up, cupped his hands, and said:

"Disciple Jiang Fan of Qingyun Peak greets the Cloud Sword Peak Master."

With an outside disciple suddenly arriving, the Cloud Sword Peak Master forcibly suppressed her anger, trying her best to appear calm. She didn't want to leave an impression of being ill-tempered to an outside sect.

"Have you come to this peak for a reason?" she asked, scrutinizing Jiang Fan. She vaguely felt the name sounded familiar.

Jiang Fan explained truthfully, "To answer the Peak Master, I am here to testify for Senior Sister Qin."

"Testify?" The Cloud Sword Peak Master was stunned. "Testify about what?"

Jiang Fan gave a wry smile and said, "To be honest with the Peak Master."

"I am the... 'living Bodhisattva' you mentioned."