Chapter 99: You Are Cheating

Upon hearing the bell, Jiang Fan also got ready to leave.

Unexpectedly, Liu Qingxian stealthily knocked on his door: "Jiang Fan, open up quickly!"

Jiang Fan, surprised, opened the door for her.

Before he could even ask, Liu Qingxian pulled him inside. She quickly scanned him from head to toe, and upon finding him unharmed, breathed a sigh of relief. "You're smart not to have courted disaster," she said.

She carefully took out a jade box and slipped it into Jiang Fan's arms. "Take it," she said.

Jiang Fan's gaze fixed on it, and he couldn't help but be astonished. "Wolf-head honey? Senior Sister, where did you get this?"

Liu Qingxian leaned against the door, giving him a playful eye-roll. "It fell from the sky, of course!"

Jiang Fan looked sheepish. He then remembered his two senior brothers mentioning that this item was very valuable and could fetch a high price at the night market. He realized how Liu Qingxian had obtained it.

"Then why are you giving it to me?" Jiang Fan asked, bewildered. He already had over ten catties of it in his basket.

Liu Qingxian looked at him strangely, as if wondering if he was an idiot. "Nonsense, it's obviously for you to turn in the task. Did you think it was for you to eat?"

For me to turn in? Jiang Fan suddenly felt the honey in his hand grow heavy. Besides Xu Youran and Chen Siling, Liu Qingxian was the third woman who showed concern for him.

"Thank you, Senior Sister," Jiang Fan said gratefully. Even though he didn't need it, he felt that this catty of honey was more precious than the ten catties in his basket.

Liu Qingxian said casually, "No choice. Who told you to be so unlucky? Right after you accepted the honey-gathering task, something unusual happened in the beehive. Even Fatso Chen, the most experienced honey gatherer, was stung so badly that he's still unconscious. I was worried you'd stubbornly go down there like an idiot. I'm relieved to see you're fine."

Jiang Fan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Not only had he gone down there, he had also brought back a considerable amount of honey.

"Alright, hurry up and turn in your task in front of the main hall. This is your first completed mission, and my father will be there watching. Later, you can take this honey and thoroughly prove him wrong for underestimating you, hmph!" With a soft hmph, she quietly slipped away.

Jiang Fan couldn't help but feel speechless. "I don't even have an issue with your father, but you do."

After a moment of thought, he left the honey Liu Qingxian had given him at home, intending to keep it as a cherished possession.

Carrying his basket, he arrived in front of the main hall.

"Tao Zhengjun, you gathered three spiritual ginsengs. That's far from the target of ten. Your score is: Fail."

Senior Brother Wang Chengjian was inspecting the disciples' tasks one by one. Noticing that Tao Zhengjun hadn't completed his task, he patted his shoulder comfortingly. "It's normal not to complete the task since it's your first time here and you're unfamiliar with how spiritual ginseng grows. I won't punish you this time. Work harder next time. Next."

Jiang Fan arrived just in time and placed his basket before him. The many disciples immediately perked up.

"The main show is about to begin."

"Wasn't his task to gather honey? Why is he carrying a basket?"

"Could it be that he went to dig for herbs instead?"

"If that's the case, Senior Brother will have an excuse."

Seeing it was Jiang Fan, Wang Chengjian's smile vanished, replaced by a stern expression. "Jiang Fan, you remember what your task is, don't you?"

Jiang Fan replied calmly, "No need for Senior Brother to remind me."

Three days had passed. And he was still such a troublemaker?

Wang Chengjian's eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "Then let me remind you, if you don't complete the task, all the latrines on Sovereign Peak will be yours to clean. You haven't forgotten that, have you?"

Jiang Fan frowned slightly. He hadn't treated Tao Zhengjun like that just now. Why the different attitude towards him? He said bluntly, "Didn't Junior Brother Tao also fail to complete his task? Why is Senior Brother so understanding and generous towards him, but I'm to be punished? Is this what you call favoritism?"

Many disciples exchanged glances. Wherever there are people, there are social dynamics and unspoken rules. Tao Zhengjun came from a wealthy family and had privately given Senior Brother many benefits, so it was natural for him to show favoritism. However, due to Senior Brother's authority, no one dared to speak up. Unexpectedly, Jiang Fan, that troublemaker, questioned him publicly.

Wang Chengjian's expression hardened. He cast a sidelong glance at the main hall behind him. Liu Wenchen was watching from inside the main hall! He quickly retorted defensively, "Junior Brother Tao is accustomed to a pampered life; I merely gave him a bit of leeway. I didn't expect you to be so petty. In that case, I'll be strictly impartial. Junior Brother Tao, it's not that I don't want to look out for you. As you can see, Jiang Fan won't tolerate it. So, you should also prepare to clean the latrines."

Upon hearing this, Tao Zhengjun's nostrils flared with anger, and he glared fiercely at Jiang Fan. Jiang Fan turned his head back coldly. He said, "What, do you have a problem with that?"

Only then did Tao Zhengjun recall Jiang Fan's swift and decisive methods, causing him to tremble involuntarily. He quickly said, "No problem, no problem."

Wang Chengjian's eyes showed disdain. What a waste! He had intended to stir up conflict between Tao Zhengjun and Jiang Fan, but he didn't realize Tao Zhengjun had already been thoroughly subdued.

Inside the main hall, Liu Qingxian said gleefully, "Father, do you see now? Jiang Fan has suppressed your beloved disciple so much that he wouldn't dare speak up, even if he were angry."

Liu Wenchen's cheek twitched. What the devil! Tao Zhengjun was a rare genius who cultivated both magic and physical arts. How could he be bullied to this extent by Jiang Fan, a fellow with no spiritual root?

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I heard there was an anomaly in the beehive this time, and even Chen Dongsheng, the master honey collector, failed and was badly stung. Jiang Fan is completely unharmed; it doesn't look like he ever went down into the beehive. He better not fail to produce even a single piece of honey later." Liu Wenchen glanced meaningfully at Liu Qingxian.

The latter's heart skipped a beat. She had a bad feeling. Could her father have found out about her secretly buying honey? But he had been in secluded cultivation for the past two days and hadn't descended the mountain.

At this moment, Wang Chengjian no longer wanted to waste words with Jiang Fan. "Is it fair now?" he asked.

Jiang Fan said, satisfied, "That's more like it." With that, he kicked the basket in front of him. "Senior Brother, inspect it yourself," he said.

Wang Chengjian, however, glanced at the basket, a playful glint in his eyes. "Before I inspect it, I need to remind you of something," he said. "For this kind of task, cheating is not allowed. Especially, you're not allowed to buy task items from elsewhere! If exposed, it's far more serious than merely failing."

Inside the main hall, Liu Qingxian immediately panicked. Wang Chengjian deliberately brought this up; he must have found something out. She couldn't help but feel secretly worried.

Liu Wenchen cast a half-smile glance at her. "What, are you flustered?" he asked.

Liu Qingxian's expression was unnatural as she stammered, "Who, who's flustered? Jiang Fan is highly capable. Isn't it perfectly normal for him to gather honey himself?"

Liu Wenchen took a meaningful sip of tea and said, "A disciple reported to me that yesterday at the night market, a disciple suspected to be from our Sovereign Peak secretly purchased a catty of honey. This person wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"

At this point, it was clear even to an idiot. It was highly likely her father knew about her secretly helping Jiang Fan. Liu Wenchen didn't spell it out completely, simply saying, "Have Jiang Fan admit failure for the task willingly. Consider it me saving him some face. Go now!"

Liu Qingxian bit her red lip slightly and walked out reluctantly. If he were exposed for cheating, Jiang Fan would be taken by the Hall of Rewards and Punishments, brought to the square, and publicly whipped a hundred times as a warning to others. In that case, he would be thoroughly humiliated before the entire sect.

Compared to that, cleaning latrines was preferable. Although it was still humiliating, it would only be humiliating within their own peak.