Iron Mountain Sect.
A young man was rushing across the field to reach a small hut near the river.
"Ha…"
"Ha…"
Right beside the river, there was a middle-aged man. His clothes were a bit loose, revealing his hairy chest. The bamboo hat on his head covered him from the intense sunlight.
While munching on a rice cracker, the middle-aged man lifted up his fishing rod, which caught two silver-colored fishes.
"Oh! I got lucky?" The middle-aged man laughed before the joy on his face disappeared when he noticed someone coming. "Hmm?"
Behind him sat a woman. She had long wavy hair and a solemn face. Despite meditating, the woman noticed that the man before her had turned around as though he was looking at her.
But when she opened her eyes, she realized that the guy looked at something beyond her and the hut.
"Someone is coming?" She muttered while taking a peek. "I'll take care of it, Master."
"Oh! You don't have to be so serious." The guy chuckled, but the woman had stood up and walked past the hut, stopping the young man.
"Who are you? This is the hut of Elder Ren."
The young man panted a few times while lifting up a letter in his hand. "I have a letter to Elder Ren. It's coming from Fengyun City's administrator."
"For what reason is an administrator sending a letter?" The woman frowned, thinking the administrator didn't have enough status to do it even if Elder Ren was only an outer elder.
"What's wrong, Yan'er?" Elder Ren turned around, wondering if there was a problem. "Just take whatever he is trying to give."
The woman was called Liu Yan. Even though she still didn't think it was appropriate, since her master looked rather free, she decided to grab the letter and hand it to her master. "This is the letter, Master."
The young man didn't have a chance to utter another word as Liu Yan had waved her hand, dismissing him. Ultimately, he could only leave with his head lowered.
"Let's see…" Elder Ren smiled as though he was enjoying every single thing. He realized that inside the envelope were two letters.
The moment he took them out, he could quickly find two people's names.
"Interesting." Elder Ren muttered while opening the letter. It took him only a minute to read the short letter, but only after five minutes did he laugh. "Hahaha. This is interesting…very interesting."
"What's wrong, Master? I don't think it's appropriate for you to read that letter, considering you are an elder."
"You are too stiff, Yan'er." Elder Ren chuckled while handing the letters to her. "Read it."
Liu Yan was perplexed by her master's request, but she still read it, only to find herself in shock.
The content was simple and clear.
"I am an Outer Disciple of the Iron Mountain Sect, Li Xue. I'd like to confess that I have killed fellow disciples as Senior Brother Xiao Jun, the disciple of Elder Biao, is trying to force himself on me. I would like to confess to the sect directly, but I'm afraid that I would die on the way."
"I am Wang Bo, an administrator in Fengyun City. I can guarantee that cultivator Li Xue hasn't harmed any mortals in the city. I believe that there is a misunderstanding and would like to request the matter to be handled properly."
Liu Yan frowned before asking her master. "What does this mean? Why would a mere administrator request Master to handle this matter?"
"You can't understand? This is why you should go out and get some experiences. This little girl, Li Xue, is actually better than you." Elder Ren chuckled before raising one finger. "To put it simply, there is a high chance that you will get a junior sister."
"Huh? A junior sister? Her?" Liu Yan was bewildered.
"You should know that I'm not fond of Elder Biao, right?"
"Yes. I'm not fond of him too, especially that Xiao Jun. If not for Master, I might have become his prey when I was weak." Liu Yan confirmed it without hesitation.
"That girl perfectly understood the relationship between me and Elder Biao and confessed everything. There is no way Elder Biao will let her go after she killed his student."
"He deserved it."
"…" Elder Ren paused for a moment before continuing, "My point is…by confessing to me, she had shown that she had done a good deed in my eyes, or you could say she is doing me a favor by eliminating him."
"But that's… just a coincidence, right?"
"No. It's clear in the message that by doing this favor, she is asking me to protect her from Elder Biao. And the only way to do it…" Elder Ren stopped as if telling her to answer it.
"By becoming your disciple."
"That's right. Though, I could only protect her inside the sect… Do you know this girl?"
"I'm afraid not."
"In that case, she is probably sure that she will be able to become important or strong enough before she is forced to go outside to get some experience. Instead of pure brute strength, this girl knows how to use the people around her. She might become an amazing figure in the future… if she has the talent to cultivate that is."
Liu Yan was surprised that Li Xue got so much praise from her master. She couldn't help but feel curious about this mysterious woman.
"This is perfect." Elder Ren pointed at Liu Yan. "You should go to Fengyun City and bring her back. Make sure you do it swiftly before Elder Biao realizes what has happened."
"I have to bring her?" Liu Yan looked annoyed as though it was messing with her cultivation.
"Yeah. I want you to check her cultivation, talent, and strength to see if she has the ability to become this elder's disciple or not." Elder Ren smirked. "As I said earlier, she has a high chance of becoming your junior sister, so I want you to observe her directly as a senior sister."
"Alright." Liu Yan sighed, resigning to her fate. "Do you have any other request?"
"Yeah. Even though I have praised her so much, I want you to look at the people around her. It's quite surprising that she has received a letter of recommendation from an administrator. She either threatened him or befriended that administrator… This way, you can judge her character."
"I understand." Liu Yan paused for a moment as though there was something unclear. "Master. Should I bring more people? Xiao Jun might be annoying, but he was a 9-Star Cultivator. There was no way Xiao Jun would leave the sect by himself, so the fact that this Li Xue killed Xiao Jun and other cultivators… I'm afraid I don't have the strength to handle her."
"That's the hidden assignment. I want you to do it alone. You have to learn how to investigate a person's character before approaching them. Unlike Xiao Jun and the rest, you don't come with hostility after all. Besides…" Elder Ren took out a token and tossed it to Liu Yan. "This will protect you."
"Thank you, Master. I'll be going now." Liu Yan nodded with a serious expression.
"Go." Elder Ren waved his hand while muttering with a smirk. "Li Xue, huh? Things start becoming more interesting."