Chapter 61: Timing Hero
Harboring expectations of verifying the gains from this period tonight, Jiang Ce decided to handle the gatekeeper matter early, keep a low profile, and avoid unnecessary complications.
But as soon as he arrived at the branch, he clearly felt that something was off.
Previously, these people looked at him with at most disdain and scorn, but for some reason, after not returning for a while, when he saw them again, he could actually see reverence in their eyes.
This was wrong, very wrong.
Jiang Ce did not go to find Xiao Lin first; instead, he planned to find Lu Yun first.
But unfortunately, Lu Yun was still at work and not there, but fortunately Ling Xun was a homebody who stayed at the branch year-round with no work, so Jiang Ce easily found him.
After understanding the causes and effects, Jiang Ce finally realized what had happened.
It turned out that his strength had been exposed.
The day after Jiang Ce left Luocheng, the higher-ups issued a commendation for him. Although Xiao Lin deliberately concealed part of it, some details still revealed a terrifying fact.
Although they didn’t know how Jiang Ce had done it, he had emerged unscathed from under a Sixth Rank!
As soon as this news came out, it shocked the entire You Sha Branch from top to bottom.
Li Zhijun, the Sixth Rank Daoist Cultivator who had previously had a grudge with Jiang Ce and nearly dueled him, immediately became a laughingstock.
Because if his duel with Jiang Ce hadn’t been stopped, then by the timeline, it should have been after Jiang Ce uncovered the secrets of the corpse raising ground.
So even if the two really dueled, Jiang Ce aside from having a chance of winning, Li Zhijun definitely couldn’t do anything to him.
But a Sixth Rank fighting a Seventh Rank was already not a fair duel. For a Sixth Rank to be unable to handle a Seventh Rank was one thing, but to possibly lose—that wasn’t equivalent to being played like a fool by Jiang Ce?
Understanding this, the proud Li Zhijun nearly broke down in anger and immediately went to Xiao Lin to verify the truth of the matter.
And Xiao Lin was a fanatic who saw this as an excellent opportunity. Not only did he not tell Li Zhijun the real situation, he instead vigorously stirred the fire.
After Li Zhijun came out, he didn’t tell anyone the inside story, only said that Jiang Ce would be a powerful opponent of his, and then went into seclusion.
A certain Sitting-Forgetting Dao who learned the news from the person involved that very night exaggerated and embellished it, refined the story, and told it to everyone.
Li Zhijun in seclusion had no idea that overnight he had become a tragic hero character.
He was even less aware that he had apparently said things like “Why was Jiang Ce born in the same era as me,” “With Jiang Ce around, I can never rise again in this life,” “Cultivating Daoism can’t save cultivators; I must seclude myself to study Buddhist Dharma,” and the like.
One could only say that this mischief maker with the ID “speak cautiously and act prudently” had seized a great timing and become a timing hero this time.
“What about Lou Leshan?”
Ling Xun thought for a moment and uncertainly said: “Haven’t seen him for several days. I heard that because he fabricated that Li Zhijun abandoned Daoism for Buddhism, it enraged Xiao Gatekeeper, who put him in confinement. He should be in the little black room now.”
Jiang Ce couldn’t help laughing out loud. This Lou Leshan was really something—for the sake of fun, he disregarded even his own safety.
“So you can really handle a Sixth Rank?” Ling Xun probed Jiang Ce himself for the real intelligence.
“It’s not that exaggerated. Just a coincidence, all thanks to the Golden Bell Shield.”
Jiang Ce answered embarrassedly.
At his modesty, Ling Xun was somewhat surprised. Although he admired Jiang Ce’s attainment in Buddhist Dharma, to be fair, he didn’t think Jiang Ce was the modest type.
Sure enough, as he was about to speak, Jiang Ce added: “Without the Golden Bell Shield protecting him, I would’ve one-shot him long ago!”
“???”
So your Golden Bell Shield was shielding the enemy?
As Ling Xun was about to say something, Jiang Ce, having figured out the reason, ruthlessly waved his hand: “Xiao Gatekeeper has something for me. I’m off.”
“Uh, okay.”
In the past, Jiang Ce might have felt a bit embarrassed to put on such a strong front, but now at Sixth Rank, he really had the confidence to one-shot any Sixth Rank.
But there was no need to advertise it everywhere. Keeping a little mystery made it more convenient to pit people.
Otherwise, once everyone knew how awesome he was, who would jump out to be leeks?
Seeing Xiao Lin again, Jiang Ce felt that the other looked much more normal, without that gloomy feeling from before.
Xiao Lin put down the book in his hand and nodded to Jiang Ce: “Back? Any gains?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Ce nodded: “Was emperor of nightclubs in Yangcheng for a few days.”
“Emperor of nightclubs? What nonsense is that?” Xiao Lin looked puzzled, and Jiang Ce was too lazy to explain.
Should I tell you about drinking and chasing girls with the sect master’s own younger brother?
“Just a tiny bit of serendipity. Not worth mentioning.”
Xiao Lin sighed helplessly. He didn’t want to play word games with Jiang Ce, nor did he have any interest in Jiang Ce’s nightlife. Seeing Jiang Ce’s roguish look, he figured there weren’t any big gains, so he stopped asking and got to the main point.
“I called you here because we discovered an ancient tomb outside the city, but whether from feng shui or divination, it’s a place of great peril. I suspect it’s another corpse raising ground.”
Xiao Lin handed Jiang Ce a file recording the detailed situation and continued:
“So we need to send some people to scout the situation. The team will be led by Purple Talisman, plus some promising young people worth cultivating. It’s an attempt and also training.
Because you’ve had two experiences intruding into corpse raising grounds before, you need to go as an advisor.
Seize the opportunity well.”
Jiang Ce put down the file, somewhat puzzled: “Why let Purple Talisman lead the team?”
“Why?” Xiao Lin was a bit strange that Jiang Ce would ask this: “The first corpse raising ground you stumbled into had a Corpse King close to being a fierce ghost. You were just lucky not to encounter it. And the second nine-headed Corpse King you described could even fly, possibly already a fierce ghost. Having Purple Talisman lead is first for safety, second so that even if powerful ghosts and monsters are encountered, they can protect you all.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ce realized it was indeed the reason.
Used to going solo, he really hadn’t considered others. For ordinary people, such situations seemed truly unmanageable.
“Right, prepare well. This corpse raising ground is making a big commotion and might involve a gluttonous ghost—maybe even the one that ambushed you last time.” Xiao Lin reminded.
“Yeah, understood.”
Jiang Ce looked at the list on the file and planned to find the leader first, but suddenly remembered the subsidy matter and couldn’t help asking:
“One more thing, Xiao Gatekeeper. I heard at headquarters that some gatekeepers have subsidies. How come I’ve never heard of it?”
Xiao Lin gave him a strange look: “Don’t you have work? Why need a subsidy? Cultivation resources, methods, and sorcery should be enough for you. It’s not like you’re starving.”
Hearing this answer, Jiang Ce suddenly thought of many things. His mind too quick, he subconsciously blurted out incredulously:
“So the rule for gatekeepers to keep their original jobs is for this reason?!”
