Chapter 12: Zhao Yuanjiao

Within a huge valley of Taiqing Island were row after row of tombstones.

The corpses that had been brought back from far across the sea were already interred. Standing before the gravestones were a large swathe of Taiqing disciples, grief and sorrow evident on their faces.

A light drizzle wet their clothes, but no one seemed to mind. As they commemorated the dead, they looked toward a man with tattered, bloodstained clothes.

The man was handsome, but his eyes seemed to harbor some deadly killing intent. He stood at the forefront of the crowd, giving off an imposing aura. Waving at the gathered disciples, he called out, "Let's disperse. We've buried our juniors, and we'll come back to pay respects to them another day."

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

The disciples left in a pack, leaving just four disciples behind. Once everyone was out of earshot, the four of them turned back to him.

"Senior Brother, how did you end up suffering such losses?" one asked.

The senior disciple's face turned grim. "The demonic sect has infiltrated our ranks. They had experts in an ambush along our intended route."

"What? Demonic spies?!"

"We suffered significant losses, but so did the disciples of the demonic sect. We caught one of their leaders and interrogated them, only to find out that they've had spies here for years. No one knows who they are—and even more have been infiltrating recently. Apparently, there are even spies among the newest batch of recruits." The senior disciple grimaced as he tightly clenched his fist. "I, Zhao Yuanjiao, will uproot these spies even if I have to dig three feet underground!"

"Senior Brother, what should we do next?"

"We'll head to the Hall of Immortal Recruitment." His hand on his blade, Zhao Yuanjiao and his posse swept out of the graveyard and straight toward one of the halls of the Taiqing sect.

The five of them arrived by the entrance to a humongous hall, the Hall of Immortal Recruitment.

Several of the nominal disciples, seeing the five senior disciples' arrival, revealed expressions of surprise. They immediately bowed. "We greet the Ascended Senior Brother!"

Zhao Yuanjiao ignored them. He strode into the center of the hall, causing the nominal disciples gathered around to drop what they were doing. "Senior Brother Zhao, is there anything we can help you with here?"

"Retrieve the reports on each prospective disciple for this recruitment period!" Zhao Yuanjiao commanded.

The nominal disciple obeyed at once, not even stopping to question the nature of his request. The senior disciple who had been in charge of Xiao Nanfeng's ship was also present, and he bowed as he strode up to Zhao Yuanjiao.

"Senior Brother Zhao, I was the boatswain responsible for the prospective disciples on this voyage," he reported.

Zhao Yuanjiao peered at the reports. "I suspect that there are prospective disciples with fraudulent identities. Have someone verify the details of each prospective disciple and determine which among them are suspicious!"

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

Although the other disciples didn't know what was going on, they couldn't disobey a direct order from Senior Brother Zhao. They immediately prepared to carry out the command.

There were a thousand prospective disciples, and it would be difficult to screen them all. In addition to ascertaining their names and cultivations, they also had to ensure that their background and identity matched what they had claimed.

The work took the entire night. None of the disciples could sleep, even Zhao Yuanjiao, who supervised the screening process the entire time.

Before dawn, an annotated report found its way into Zhao Yuanjiao's hands.

Among the suspicious prospectives, one stood out.

"Nanfeng? Sixteen years old, at the fifth stage of Acquisition? Who managed to obtain a boarding token via... his connections?" Zhao Yuanjiao narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, that's all that was recorded—with no information about his identity or background. He said that he had gotten on board with connections, so the disciples responsible for screening the prospectives didn't ask him too many questions. However, while on the voyage, I checked him out and found that he had no such connections—we don't know how he got his boarding token," the boatswain answered.

Zhao Yuanjiao glanced at the boatswain with displeasure. "Are you so lax with incoming disciples that a prospective can get on board just by reporting that he has connections?"

"We, we..." The boatswain bowed, his forehead beading with sweat.

If nominal disciples like them were to forbid access to those who really did get in via connections, they might rouse the ire of someone they couldn't afford to offend.

"Do you realize how important proper recruitment is to the sect? If a spy or infiltrator gets in through this manner, the consequences would be unthinkable! Have you thought about your actions at all?!" Zhao Yuanjiao shouted.

The nominal disciples in the hall all fell silent.

Zhao Yuanjiao glared at the boatswain. "It's time to reorganize the ranks of the nominal disciples, I think."

"Please, Senior Brother!" the disciple begged.

"No connections whatsoever are to be permitted in the future. If anyone attempts the like, they'll answer to me, and I'll speak to their division leader myself!" Zhao Yuanjiao proclaimed.

The disciples bowed their heads and remained silent.

"Senior Brother, do you believe that this Nanfeng is the spy you're looking for?" one junior disciple finally ventured.

Zhao Yuanjiao considered the question. "I don't know, but there's surely something wrong with this prospective. Those spies intending to sneak into the Taiqing sect likely will have immaculate backgrounds, so this list only represents the obvious suspects. If a spy exists, that spy is likely among those disciples with an established background, so you must all continue to remain vigilant. Now, guide me to these suspects," Zhao Yuanjiao commanded.

"Yes, Senior Brother!" the boatswain answered.

He accompanied Zhao Yuanjiao to the harbor, who observed the sights from afar.

The harbor was extremely crowded. The prospective disciples were disembarking and taking in the sights, while other Taiqing disciples were looking out for the talented or connected among them.

Not long after, Xiao Nanfeng left the ship with his belongings in tow, following the crowd.

"Senior Brother Zhao, that's Nanfeng! During the voyage, he managed to fish up a golden spirit eel. I thought he was merely lucky, but it looks like he really might be problematic," the disciple stated.

Zhao Yuanjiao narrowed his eyes and stared at Xiao Nanfeng.

Xiao Nanfeng looked all around him as he disembarked. He looked innocent and helpless, but Zhao Yuanjiao had just fought his way out of a terrible battle that left many of his juniors dead. He harbored no compassion for anyone.

"Shall we arrest and interrogate him, Senior Brother?" one disciple asked.

Zhao Yuanjiao shook his head. "There's no rush. We can't be certain whether he's truly a spy. If he is, he'll surely have associates. If we wait and catch him in the act, we might be able to fish out even larger prey. Keep an eye on the other suspects—I'll tail Nanfeng myself."

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

Zhao Yuanjiao stared unblinkingly at Xiao Nanfeng, hoping to see someone interact with him.

However, even after long moments, no such person showed up.

Zhao Yuanjiao's face turned grim. "A little sly, isn't he? I'll speak to him myself. If even that proves ineffective, I'll arrest and interrogate him then."

He sucked in a deep breath and walked up to Xiao Nanfeng from afar.

He was well known within the sect, but not to the prospective disciples.

Just as he stepped up to Xiao Nanfeng and was about to speak, Xiao Nanfeng whirled around and caught sight of him.

Zhao Yuanjiao frowned. Had he been discovered?

Xiao Nanfeng stared at Zhao Yuanjiao until the latter grew wary. Had his surveillance been discovered? Could Xiao Nanfeng already know that he was among one of a few suspicious disciples under surveillance?

Was the demonic sect's information network so complete? It seemed that he would have to check on the backgrounds of the nominal disciples of the Hall of Immortal Recruitment, too...

Zhao Yuanjiao's gaze turned cold. He was right about to arrest Xiao Nanfeng when Xiao Nanfeng made his move.

He offered Zhao Yuanjiao a gold ingot.

"Hmm?"

Zhao Yuanjiao hesitated. What was the meaning of this? This gold ingot seemed to be worth about four taels of gold.

"Senior Brother, you look very much like a friend of mine. It's my first time on Taiqing Island, and I'm interested in making acquaintances and allies. Please accept this as a meeting gift." Xiao Nanfeng smiled.

Zhao Yuanjiao: ...

Meeting gift? Making a friend? Is this a bribe...? And you expect to hoodwink me with just four taels of gold? A single meal costs me a hundred taels—do you think I would care for this? Don't you know who I am?

"Please, take it! Go buy yourself a few sets of clothes, Senior." Xiao Nanfeng stepped forward and stuffed the ingot into Zhao Yuanjiao's hands.

"???" Zhao Yuanjiao lowered his head and looked at the tattered clothes and cloak he was wearing. He had just returned from his travels yesterday, and hadn't yet had time to change his clothes. Although the bloodstains had been washed clean by rain, he did look somewhat haggard and beggarly. He looked up again at Xiao Nanfeng. Did... did Xiao Nanfeng think him a beggar?!