"Calm down!" Jiang Chan's voice seemed to be squeezed out from between her teeth, icy and chilling, freezing Li Xiaohou's steps as he was about to rush out. She forced herself to tear her gaze away from the destroyed mother plants, her chest heaving violently as she forcefully suppressed the rage that threatened to destroy everything.

We must not panic!

The assessment is about to begin!

What the enemy wants is for you to lose your composure!

"Listen to me, it's alright!" Jiang Chan's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear, carrying an undeniable force. "Brother Wang, Aunt Zhao, harvest immediately! Gather all the undamaged, usable ears of grain! Little Li!"

"Yes!" Li Xiaohou wiped his red eyes and answered stiffly.

"Go to the Enforcement Hall! Find Senior Brother Qin Chuan! Tell him our medicinal herb field has been robbed, and important spiritual plants for our mission have been maliciously destroyed! Ask him to come here immediately! Quickly!"

Jiang Chan quickly gave the order. Qin Chuan was one of the few relatively fair law enforcement disciples that Li Xiaohou had previously inquired about.

"Alright!" Without saying a word, Li Xiaohou shot off like an arrow.

“Bai… Bai girl, these… these destroyed…” Aunt Zhao pointed to the remains of the mother plants on the ground, her voice trembling.

"Collect it!" Jiang Chan said decisively. "The roots, the leaves, and the broken ears of grain—collect them all, bit by bit! This is all evidence!"

She crouched down and carefully picked up the inconspicuous, light blue piece of clothing with a distinctive cloud pattern from the ground, her eyes as cold as ice. "And this, keep it safe."

Soon, at the Lingyao Peak Grand Plaza.

The place was bustling with noise.

Each designated area displayed the harvest from its respective medicinal field. The inner disciples' field was the most dazzling; their Dew-Gathering Grass, nourished by magic, was lush and green, with thick, glossy leaves and plump, round dewdrops at the tips, radiating a faint aura of spiritual energy. Neatly arranged on jade plates, it was a feast for the eyes.

Lin Wanqing stood before her harvested medicinal herb field, her chin slightly raised, a smug smile playing on her lips. Her yield was considered above average among the inner disciples, more than enough to satisfy her requirements.

The outer disciples' area is second best; the dew-collecting grass grows quite well there, but the spiritual energy is far inferior to that of the inner disciples.

The atmosphere was much more somber on the side of the menial disciples. The harvest from most of the medicinal fields was meager; the dew-collecting herbs were thin and small, and the dewdrops were pitifully few.

The foreman, Zhou Bapi, walked around the servants' area with his hands behind his back and a stern face, scolding them with a disdainful tone.

It's area C73's turn.

Jiang Chan, along with Wang Laoqi and Aunt Zhao, carried up several baskets. The amount of Dew-Gathering Grass in the baskets wasn't much, far less than what the inner sect members would receive. But once everyone's eyes fell on the Dew-Gathering Grass, they couldn't look away.

strong!

He's so strong!

Although there were clearly fewer plants left in the basket, the remaining Dewdrop Grass had stems as thick as little fingers and leaves as thick as if coated with oil!

The dewdrops condensing on it were all round and heavy, like tiny crystal beads crowded together, and there were an astonishing number of them! Even without the spiritual aura of the inner sect, anyone could see that heavy vitality and full texture!

The square fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even louder discussions.

"Hiss... He's so good-looking?"

"Handy work fields? Impossible!"

"It's number 73, number C! That useless, crippled Tian!"

"My goodness, these ears of grain are so big? And there are so many dewdrops?"

"It must be fake! It must have used some kind of evil magic!"

Lin Wanqing's smug expression froze instantly. She stared intently at the abnormally robust Dew-Gathering Grass in Jiang Chan's basket, her eyes blazing with jealousy. She strode forward, pointing a finger at Jiang Chan's nose, her voice shrill and piercing, echoing throughout the room:

"Manager Zhou! Fellow senior brothers and sisters! This is impossible! Look at this! How could a useless servant girl with congenitally severed meridians possibly grow something like this? And with such a high yield? There's definitely something wrong! She must have stolen the inner sect's spiritual fertilizer! Or used some evil magic from the demonic path! We must investigate thoroughly! Search her body! Search her hut! Find out what forbidden drugs she used!"

As soon as she shouted, several inner disciples who were on good terms with her joined in the commotion.

"Yes! Investigate thoroughly!"

"How can someone who's useless and has a few abandoned plots of land cultivate better than us?"

"They must have used some underhanded methods!"

Zhou Bapi immediately straightened his face, his triangular eyes gleaming with cunning. "Bai Lin! Senior Sister Lin is right! Your harvest is too suspicious! Speak! What methods did you use? If you don't confess honestly, you will be punished according to the sect rules!"

Qin Chuan, a senior brother from the Enforcement Hall, arrived just then with Li Xiaohou. Upon seeing the scene, he frowned.

Jiang Chan stood at the center of the accusations and suspicions, her face expressionless. She waited until Lin Wanqing and Zhou Bapi finished yelling before calmly taking a step forward and looking at Qin Chuan, her senior brother from the Enforcement Hall.

"Senior Brother Qin, Steward Zhou, fellow senior brothers and sisters." Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly to everyone's ears. "Senior Sister Lin said I used evil magic to steal the spirit fertilizer. So, please tell me, what's the evidence?"

Lin Wanqing paused for a moment, then retorted forcefully, "Evidence? Your harvest is the evidence! How could a crippled cripple possibly do this by human power?"

"Can't be done by human power?" Jiang Chan's lips curled into a faint sneer. "Has Senior Sister Lin forgotten what my field looked like more than three months ago? Cracked yellow sand and withered grass?"

Her gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling on Qin Chuan. "Senior Brother Qin, this disciple knows no magic, only some clumsy methods passed down from our ancestors, following the laws of nature and tending to the earth. This disciple is willing to demonstrate the items used in public, and ask Senior Brother to check whether they involve any forbidden or evil medicines!"

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