Chapter 78

Le Gong looked at Kun Tu, then at Yuan Ming, his face full of hesitation, but his mouth only slightly opened, and in the end, he did not dare to speak up for Yuan Ming again.

"Senior Brother Kun Tu, I registered a mission with the Enforcement Hall when I came here. It would be quite difficult to do something without anyone knowing, wouldn't it?" Yuan Ming stopped walking, turned to look at Kun Tu, and smiled, revealing his white teeth.

"I suspect someone has ill intentions and is coveting the spirit beasts in the hall. I need to thoroughly investigate all suspicious individuals. You cannot leave until then." Kun Tu narrowed his eyes, a murderous intent flashing in them.

"By the way, the mission I accepted is to take care of the fire marten for the Third Cave Master." Yuan Ming smiled and said, emphasizing the words "Third Cave Master."

Le Gong, unaware of the background, seeing Yuan Ming's behavior, thought to himself, "Too rash, too rash..."

Kun Tu was taken aback by this.

He was very clear that the Third Cave Master bringing Yuan Ming into the mountain was most likely because of that fire marten, so he had to consider whether Yuan Ming's arrival was also at the Third Cave Master's behest.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but hesitate.

In fact, he wasn't stupid enough to commit any murder or cover-up within the sect. He had originally intended to humiliate Yuan Ming and then drive him away, but now, out of fear of the Third Cave Master, he changed his mind.

At least, before the situation was clear, he couldn't act so openly.

He didn't want to offend a major figure within the sect just because of an insignificant person, which would be a loss for him, especially since he had just entered the Inner Sect and hadn't yet established himself.

"Hmph, I have important matters today and don't have the time to argue with you. Moru, remember this person well. If he dares to come to our Beast Taming Hall's territory in the future, drive him out. If anything happens to him on our territory and it involves me, I will hold you responsible." Kun Tu looked at Moru, gave him instructions, and then turned to leave with Wulu and the others.

"Yes, yes, Senior Brother Kun Tu, rest assured, I will handle it. Walk well, Senior Brother!" Moru bowed and flattered Kun Tu.

Throughout the process, Le Gong clearly saw that Kun Tu and Yuan Ming were at odds, so he kept his head down, standing beside Moru without a word.

Yuan Ming watched the scene coldly, not surprised by it.

After this period, he had a better understanding of the Bila Cave and was no longer as ignorant as before.

In the entire sect, the most prestigious were the three Cave Masters, followed by the chief elders of each hall, such as the well-known Elder Mengshan.

Apart from them, there were also some Inner Sect elders who, though not in charge of any affairs, held high status due to their considerable strength, usually promoted from Inner Sect disciples.

These elders were at least at the initial Foundation Establishment stage, and their numbers were not many. More common were ordinary enforcers like Moru, who held a slightly higher status than registered disciples, usually promoted from registered disciples.

They were responsible for various miscellaneous tasks within the sect, occasionally exploiting registered disciples, and dared not act rashly in front of Inner Sect disciples and elders. The so-called "Fire Summoning Elder" mentioned earlier was one of them.

"You brat, why aren't you leaving quickly? You're such a bad omen!" Once Kun Tu was far away, Moru straightened up, stroked his mustache, and scolded Yuan Ming, giving Le Gong a glare.

Yuan Ming turned and looked at them deeply, then sneered and left the hall.

He walked down the mountain, planning to go to the Guicang Pavilion, as Lan Ke had mentioned, to see if he could get away with the Enforcement Hall's mission.

However, not long after he left the Beast Taming Hall's territory, a gray bear came galloping up behind him.

He frowned, placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, and turned to look back.

He saw Le Gong riding the gray bear, waving at him from a distance.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming's expression relaxed slightly, but he did not release his grip on the sword.

Le Gong caught up, jumped off the gray bear, and looked at Yuan Ming awkwardly, saying, "I'm really sorry. Kun Tu is now a favorite of Elder Mengshan, and I can't afford to provoke him."

"Senior Brother, you've already helped me a lot. I'm very grateful." Yuan Ming finally released the hilt of his sword and said.

"Ah, in the Bila Cave, especially in our Beast Taming Hall, the strong are respected, and the weak have no say. I came to apologize, but also to tell you that if you want to learn about taming and raising spirit beasts, you don't necessarily have to come to the Beast Taming Hall. The Guicang Pavilion also has such books, and you can borrow them there." Le Gong waved his hand and said.

"I've heard that too and was planning to go there. Thank you for the reminder." Yuan Ming nodded and said.

"Going to the Guicang Pavilion will require a lot of effort to sort and select the books, but it's the only option for you now. I won't say more. I've repaid the favor you did for me before. In the future, we can pretend not to know each other, or I'll have a hard time in the Beast Taming Hall." Le Gong smiled bitterly.

"I understand. Take care, Senior Brother." Yuan Ming bowed and said.

Before leaving, Le Gong lowered his voice and warned, "Kun Tu has a strong desire for revenge. Be careful."

After saying that, he rode his gray bear spirit beast back to the Beast Taming Hall.

Yuan Ming headed straight for the Guicang Pavilion.

...

The Guicang Pavilion was located in the central area of the sect, in a cluster of circular buildings on a two-story terrace.

By the time Yuan Ming found the Guicang Pavilion, it was already getting dark.

He immediately walked toward the hall, but as he was about to step over the threshold, someone collided with him.

Their eyes met, and they both stopped, then their eyes widened in surprise.

"Hey, Yuan Ming..."

"Senior Brother Zhao Tong."

The person who came out of the door was none other than Zhao Tong, who often did business in Toad Valley.

Yuan Ming looked Zhao Tong up and down, seeing that he was holding several scrolls, apparently just borrowed from the Guicang Pavilion.

"Why are you here?" Zhao Tong looked at Yuan Ming's attire, surprised and puzzled.

"This is a long story..." Yuan Ming didn't know where to start.

"No rush. Let's find a place, and you can tell me all about it." Zhao Tong's curiosity was piqued.

"But I have something to do. I want to borrow some books from the Guicang Pavilion." Yuan Ming said hesitantly.

"Borrowing books, do you have enough contribution points?" Zhao Tong asked.

"I just joined the sect, and I won't receive contribution points until the beginning of next month. However, I have a mission from the Enforcement Hall and need to look up some information. I was going to ask if they could make an exception." Yuan Ming explained.

"That's settled then. Without contribution points, you can't even enter the Guicang Pavilion. Who would make an exception for you? Let's satisfy my curiosity first. I'll help you think of a way." With that, Zhao Tong pulled Yuan Ming to a nearby peculiarly shaped round pavilion and sat down.

Yuan Ming had no choice but to recount his recent experiences, picking out the parts he could share.

"You really had a stroke of luck. To go from a fur-covered beast slave to a registered disciple, I haven't seen anyone else do that since I joined the sect." Zhao Tong looked at Yuan Ming in disbelief.

"Maybe it's a blessing in disguise." Yuan Ming smiled bitterly.

As he spoke, he noticed the words on Zhao Tong's chest and his eyes showed a strange expression.

In the past, Zhao Tong always wore ordinary clothes in Toad Valley, and Yuan Ming had never seen him in Bila Cave disciple attire. Today, he saw that Zhao Tong was wearing the attire of a registered disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you're a disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall?" Yuan Ming asked.

Zhao Tong looked down at his chest and asked, "What's so strange about that?"

"Why would a disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall go to Toad Valley to do business?" Yuan Ming asked curiously.

"Cough, don't get the wrong idea. I'm doing a mission from the Enforcement Hall, nothing strange about it." Zhao Tong looked a bit embarrassed, coughed, and said dismissively.

Yuan Ming stared at him, saying nothing, but his face clearly said, "Do you think I'm a fool?"

"Alright, usually, disciples of the Law Enforcement Hall don't take low-paying, thankless missions. I just didn't want to stay in the Law Enforcement Hall, so I went to Toad Valley to avoid the hustle and bustle. There, I can read books without being disturbed." Zhao Tong waved the book in his hand.

Yuan Ming looked at the book Zhao Tong was holding.

He saw that the cover of the outermost book was written in Central Plains script, with the title "The Golden Book of Desire," which didn't seem like a serious book at all.

"Since you don't want to stay in the Law Enforcement Hall, why did you join it in the first place?" Yuan Ming asked, looking away.

"Very few people have excellent spiritual roots. Most are wandering cultivators. Being able to join a sect is already a blessing from heaven, so you just stay in whatever hall you're assigned to." Zhao Tong rolled his eyes and said.

Yuan Ming nodded, accepting this explanation.

"By the way, what books are you here to borrow?" Zhao Tong changed the subject.

"Books about raising spirit beasts." Yuan Ming said.

"You, a disciple of the Fire Refining Hall, should be focusing on forging, not studying spirit beast raising. You're even less focused than I am." Zhao Tong frowned.

"I plan to take on a mission to take care of a spirit beast and want to learn some basics." Yuan Ming explained.

"The Third Cave Master's fire marten?" Zhao Tong, who had heard Yuan Ming's story of joining the sect, asked.

"Yes, this fire marten seems to have a connection with me..." Yuan Ming recounted his encounter with the fire marten at the volcano.

Hearing this, Zhao Tong looked amazed and envious.

"The Third Cave Master's fire marten is not an ordinary spirit beast. It's still in its juvenile stage, so it doesn't show much yet, but when it grows up, tsk tsk... It's a great blessing for it to be close to you."

"So I need to learn more about raising spirit beasts." Yuan Ming nodded.

"To enter the Guicang Pavilion, you need contribution points. One point is deducted when you register at the entrance, and then you can borrow various books. There are bookshelves inside where you can take books to read, but you generally can't take them out. You can only read them in the reading area and return them to their original place. Of course, if you're willing to pay, you can make copies." Zhao Tong explained, subconsciously touching "The Golden Book of Desire."

"Oh, can you borrow any book?" Yuan Ming's interest was piqued.

(All fellow cultivators, the book will officially go on sale in early January. ^^)