Chapter 6
Jiang Hao had used that ability on many things. He had tried it on mountains, houses, flowers, trees…
But never had he used it on a person.
The situation confused him so appraising her wasn’t such a bad idea. The avatar activated and invisible symbols flashed before his eyes. The symbols reflected Senior Sister Yun Ruo in front of him.
In an instant, every information about her flashed in his mind.
‘It’s effective!’ Jiang Hao was delighted. However, what he saw in his mind made his blood run cold:
[ Yun Ruo: Early Foundation Establishment Stage, an inner sect disciple of the Sunset Sect, undercover in the Heavenly Note Sect, in order to find out the whereabouts of the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower. Because her identity is about to be exposed, she urgently needed a scapegoat. Seeing that you didn’t act like a typical Devil Sect disciple, she targeted you. You fit the role of a scapegoat perfectly. She has been using enchantments on you to influence your mind. Once you agreed, she would kill you in her place as a traitor.]
‘How vicious!’ thought Jiang Hao. ‘She acted so charming and resolute.’
The jade pendant was right in front of him. If he took it, she would use him as a scapegoat and have him killed. If he refused, maybe she would kill him anyway.
She had been in the Foundation Establishment Stage for many years now. He must tread carefully. Jiang Hao realized that it would be very difficult for him to win against her in direct combat.
Jiang Hao tried to think of a way. He extended his hand, pretending to take the jade pendant. Just before he touched it, he looked behind Senior Sister Yun Ruo in mock fear.
“M-master?” he stammered.
Fairy Yun Ruo snapped around to look behind her. A spirit sword appeared in her hands. A stream of aura locked onto Jiang Hao. She intended to use him as a shield to defend herself. The jade pendant was dropped on the floor. Now, whoever was left would look guilty.
She ran forwards shouting, “Jiang Hao is the traitor, he…”
Fairy Yun Ruo froze. He had intended to let Jiang Hao take the fall but realized that there was no one there. It was too late for her to turn around. A dagger flashed and stabbed her in the neck.
He had intended to kill her with one strike. He had no chance of winning in a direct confrontation against her. He didn’t mind sneaking from behind. He had no intention of harming anyone, ever. He had never targeted anyone in his life. He just wanted to live peacefully and get stronger.
But if others wanted to take advantage of his temperament and attack him, then he had the right to defend himself.
Bang!
The moment the dagger stabbed into her neck; Fairy Yun Ruo cast a spell to force Jiang Hao back.
“You…!”
Jiang Hao’s decisiveness shocked her. It shocked Jiang Hao himself as well.
She had observed him for many days now and knew Jiang Hao’s nature. He was always kind and calm. He was a naïve and ignorant newbie who would die sooner or later in the Heavenly Note Sect. She had not expected him to act this way.
Senior Sister Yun Ruo seemed astonished. Jiang Hao didn’t say anything. Instead, he took out his spirit sword and stabbed her, hoping this would be the last time. Her strength had reduced drastically but she was still alive.
Jiang Hao’s sword rose and fell on her. She raised her own to deflect him. Light Sword and Shadow Sword clashed, and sparks shot out in every direction.
Bang!
Yun Ruo was heavily injured and couldn’t match up to him. She was sent flying backwards into the courtyard. She fell to the ground and clutched at her wounded neck in horror as she watched Jiang Hao approach.
“Junior Brother,” she said raggedly. “You can’t kill me! The Master of the Heavenly Joy Pavilion thinks highly of me. He covets me. If you kill me, he will hold a grudge against you.”
Jiang Hao ignored her words and raised his sword again. “I am still a disciple of the Sunset Sect. The Senior Brother there is infatuated with me. If you kill me, they won’t let you go. You will be skinned and your bones—”
The sword fell one last time and everything went quiet. He stabbed her once more to make sure she was really dead. Jiang Hao felt distressed looking at her dead body. He wasn’t used to killing people so ruthlessly.
But he was in the Devil Sect, he will have to get used to it sooner or later. The cultivation world was brutal. It didn’t wait for you to get accustomed to things. He stared at her dead form for a long while. He finally left the place to look for the Cliff Master of the Cliff of Broken Hearts.
He was the one Jiang Hao had acknowledged as his master when he had entered the sect. Because Jiang Hao was still new and wasn’t familiar with things, he was only allowed to listen to his Master’s lectures when he held it with other disciples.
Jiang Hao mostly relied on himself for his cultivation. He debated against not reporting the incident. But he realized that the more he hid it, the more he would be susceptible to suspicion from others.
It would be worse if they assumed he was an accomplice just because he had hidden the incident. The consequences would be unthinkable.
Jiang found the Master and brought him to the courtyard of his house.
“You killed her?” A middle-aged man lowered his head and asked softly as he looked at dead Fairy Yun Ruo.
His expression was melancholy, and his eyes were cold. It seemed the Master had seen many things in his lifetime, and nothing surprised him anymore. He was the Cliff Master, Ku Wu Chang, of the Cliff of Broken Hearts, after all.
“She was my fellow disciple.” Jiang Hao lowered his head.
“Tell me what happened,” said Master Ku Wu Chang looking at Jiang Hao.
Jiang Hao blurted out everything that had come to pass. “I just wanted to injure her so she couldn’t attack me. But I didn’t expect her to go all out. So, I, too, attacked her…”
“When did you build your foundation?” asked Master Ku Wu Chang.
“Last month,” Jiang Hao answered nervously.
“So, you chose to launch a sneak attack?”
“Yes.”
“You don’t have to worry about this matter. If there are any problems in the future, the people from the Law Enforcement Hall will probably look for you. Remember to cooperate with them.” Master Ku Wu Chang then took Senior Sister Yun Rio’s body away.
Jiang Hao sighed with relief as he watched him leave with the body.
‘I wonder how the Heavenly Joy Pavilion will react. As for the Sunset Sect, I can avoid them as long as I don’t go out,’ Jiang Hao convinced himself. ‘I don’t care if it takes ten or a hundred years for them to forget about Senior Sister Yun Ruo. Even if they don’t, I will get stronger by then.’