As for someone like Deacon Qiong, it was impossible for him to remember a minor chef like Ding Huan.
Ding Huan dared not keep the Condensing Star Bamboo on him, but he was also unwilling to give it away for nothing.
"In that case, once we arrive at the sect, I’ll inquire at the Task Hall to see what the Condensing Star Bamboo can be exchanged for. How does that sound?"
Seeing Ding Huan’s reluctant demeanor, Deacon Qiong could only offer a noncommittal promise.
After all, if not for Ding Huan’s face, there was still the need to give face to Guan Pou. Since he was the chef for the wife of the Young Sect Master, even temporarily, some respect was due.
"Then thank you, Deacon Qiong," Ding Huan knew this was the best he could expect in his position.
Although Ding Huan did not qualify to enter the Yanyue Sect, his status had clearly risen.
After all, he had dined with Elder Gu and Deacon Qiong.
In the following days, whenever Ding Huan went out to gather ingredients while encamping, two guardian disciples from the Yanyue Sect would also make a point of greeting him.
Guan Pou was increasingly satisfied with Ding Huan.
The chef was a good choice, providing new ingredients daily.
His cooking methods also hardly repeated: steaming, boiling, frying, deep-frying, stir-frying—it seemed there was nothing Chef Ding couldn’t do.
Before setting out, both his family and friends said that the journey from the Mortal World to the sect was the most dangerous part.
Now, in Guan Pou’s view, it seemed no different from a leisurely tour.
When entering the vast gorge, Deacon Qiong would say how dangerous the road was. It seemed Deacon Qiong deliberately exaggerated to keep everyone alert.
This was the twelfth day entering the vast gorge, and the day was just about to end with setting up camp.
At that moment, five or six blood-covered, disheveled figures rushed towards the Yanyue Sect’s team from the front.
"Stop." Elder Gu halted the team immediately.
Soon, those people charged up to them.
Despite seeing Elder Gu and others, the leader crazily swung his weapon around.
With a cold shout, Elder Gu grabbed the incoming long sword.
Because of Elder Gu’s shout, the charging group seemed to come to their senses, halting in their tracks.
"Are you Elder Gu Youchang from the Yanyue Sect?"
The one who had attacked Elder Gu finally recognized him, his tone trembling with excitement.
Elder Gu nodded,
"Yes, I’m Gu Youchang. If I’m not wrong, you are from the Heavenly Artifact Sect, aren’t you? How did you end up like this?"
"Senior Gu, ahead, ahead..."
This guy was suddenly unable to articulate what he intended to say.
Ding Huan, on the other hand, was struck by a thought: The Heavenly Artifact Sect? Wasn’t that the sect related to Zhi Qi?
He had looked around the square in Daye City but hadn’t seen the Heavenly Artifact Sect; he thought they hadn’t participated in this sect disciple selection.
Unexpectedly, not only had they arrived, but they were also ahead of the Yanyue Sect.
"Don’t be agitated, calm down, and explain slowly," Deacon Qiong couldn’t help but interject.
Fortunately, the man finally calmed down, his tone filled with self-reproach:
"I am Han Weicheng from the Heavenly Artifact Sect, and I’m in charge of recruiting disciples from the Mortal World for our sect this time. Besides, Elder Zhen Feng from my sect and two Foundation Establishment disciples came along.
Including the sixteen disciples we recruited, there were twenty of us in total..."
Elder Gu frowned slightly,
"Han, with just four of you plus sixteen newly admitted disciples, your strength is indeed too weak to cross this great gorge."
This was not Elder Gu mocking them but a reflection of the fact that the Heavenly Artifact Sect wasn’t known for its combat prowess—it was merely an Artifact Refining Sect.
Thus, even with four from the Heavenly Artifact Sect, their combat strength was still lacking.
From Han Weicheng’s appearance, they must have encountered either a powerful Demon Beast or a Demon Beast Group.
Han Weicheng continued somberly:
"No, we knew that just relying on the Heavenly Artifact Sect’s strength was not enough to cross the gorge, so we teamed up with the Great Sword Sect."
Hearing that even with the support of the Great Sword Sect they ended up like this, Elder Gu’s expression turned solemn.
The Heavenly Artifact Sect might be negligible, but the Great Sword Sect was not.
The Great Sword Sect, being a Sword Dao sect, had most disciples capable of overpowering enemies beyond their level; their strength was not inferior to the Yanyue Sect, perhaps even stronger in combat.
"How many from the Great Sword Sect came?" Elder Gu asked gravely.
Han Weicheng, still unsettled, replied:
"The third elder of the Great Sword Sect, Guan Qiusheng, led the team, along with the steward Gu Zhu and four inner sect Foundation Establishment disciples."
Elder Gu’s expression darkened completely.
He might not know the others, but he was all too familiar with Guan Qiusheng—a man whose strength could only be stronger, not weaker, than his.
As for Gu Zhu, without question, his strength could instantly overpower Deacon Qiong from the Yanyue Sect who had come this time.
If even Guan Qiusheng, the third elder of the Great Sword Sect, was no match, how powerful was the Demon Beast?
"Where is Elder Guan?" Elder Gu asked slowly.
Han Weicheng shook his head:
"I don’t know, at that time, the black fog seemed to explode out of nowhere; then came the pitiful cries of the disciples."
I heard Elder Guan’s roar, then felt something choking my neck. Breathing became immensely difficult, and all I knew was to frantically escape…"
"Were they not demon beasts?" Elder Gu was even more shocked.
"I don’t know if it was a demon beast, I didn’t see anything. A black mass fell from the sky and exploded, then I felt my neck being choked, and a bone-chilling cold permeated my whole body, almost freezing me stiff."
The fear still lingered in Han Weicheng’s eyes as he answered.
"What about the rest of you?" Elder Gu looked towards the people behind Han Weicheng.
They were worse off than Han Weicheng; even after so much time, their faces were still pale, and they hadn’t come to their senses yet.
"Steward Qiong, what do you think?" Elder Gu felt this matter was slightly beyond his control.
Steward Qiong shook his head, himself unsure of what to do.
If they were to camp here, after all, it was too close to where the incidents at Heavenly Artifact Sect and Great Sword Sect occurred, the outcome would be hard to predict.
"How about we move back a bit and set up camp, and then go together when the other sects arrive?"
A guard disciple from the Yanyue Sect spoke up with some fear.
They came here only for a task, had they known the task would be this terrifying, they wouldn’t have come.
As Steward Qiong was about to speak, Ding Huan stepped forward and said:
"Steward Qiong, from childhood, my ’Sixth Sense’ has always been very accurate. I vaguely feel that camping here would be just right. If we retreat, it’s really difficult to say whether it could lead to trouble or not."
Everyone stared at Ding Huan in surprise.
It wasn’t a question of whether Ding Huan’s intuition was right, but Ding Huan had no right to speak at all.
What is this place? Sect elders and stewards were discussing matters.
It was excusable for a sect guard to chime in.
But Ding Huan, a chef, on what grounds does he interrupt and even offer such a crucial suggestion?
Perhaps because Ding Huan contributed a Condensing Star Bamboo, or possibly because Ding Huan was Guan Pou’s chef.
Although Steward Qiong slightly furrowed his brows at Ding Huan’s breach of protocol, he did not scold him. Instead, he turned his gaze to Elder Gu.
Elder Gu pondered for a moment and then said:
"Alright, we will set up camp here today, but we need to increase the number of people on guard around the perimeter."
Elder Gu accepted Ding Huan’s suggestion.
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"Steward Han, you and your people go rest inside, the outside matters will be handled by the Yanyue Sect," Elder Gu kindly reminded.
As a steward in charge of recruiting disciples, Han Weicheng naturally understood the intricacies of human interactions.
When Elder Gu asked him to have his people rest, he couldn’t take it seriously.
It was Yanyue Sect’s territory here, and during the night shift, he had to volunteer no matter what, otherwise, upsetting the Yanyue Sect might lead them to boot his group from the team.
"Elder Gu, having experienced this incident, I too will join the guard duty," Han Weicheng immediately stated.
Elder Gu pondered for a moment before nodding and saying:
"That’s fine, you and Steward Qiong each take responsibility for one side, and I’ll take the front. Remember, I will set up a defensive formation, and draw a protective line, everyone must not step beyond the protective line."
Suddenly, Ding Huan spoke:
"Elder Gu, as a chef, I haven’t had much to contribute, let me also join the guard duty tonight."
"You joining the guard duty?" Ding Huan’s words astonished everyone.
A chef standing guard?
"Mr. Ding, this is no joke, you are not a sect disciple, just a chef, this isn’t your concern…" Steward Qiong looked at Ding Huan speechlessly.
What he meant was, you, a chef, what strength do you have to stand guard? Don’t cause more trouble.
Ding Huan chuckled:
"Steward Qiong, I do have some strengths, it’s just that my spiritual roots are too poor, which is why the sect did not choose me."
Elder Gu, recalling some recent deeds of Ding Huan, nodded and said:
"Alright, then you stay on Steward Qiong’s side."
Ding Huan quickly spoke:
"Since Steward Qiong’s side has several Yanyue Sect guard disciples, why don’t I follow Steward Han instead?"
That was Ding Huan’s true aim; he wanted to make contact with Han Weicheng. As for standing guard, that was just incidental.
Zhi Qi had mentioned that he had friends in the Heavenly Artifact Sect, and Ding Huan had been thinking about how to get to the Heavenly Artifact Sect.
Now that he had finally met an official from the Heavenly Artifact Sect, how could he miss this opportunity to make connections?
As for danger, he had already calculated that he would be safe tonight. As for others, he, a chef, couldn’t manage them.
On the side, Guan Pou also helplessly watched Ding Huan. You, a chef making food, meddling in standing guard? Isn’t that meddling in others’ business?
She couldn’t say much about it, after all, Ding Huan was just a chef she had hired, not someone from her Jin Mansion. What he wanted to do was not something she had the right to intervene in.
Initially, she invited Ding Huan only to handle the meals for this month-long journey. Once they reached Yanyue Sect, there were specialized chefs at the Sect to cook for her.
After observing for some time, Guan Pou had planned to keep Ding Huan by her side for cooking in the long run.
However, she also faintly felt that Ding Huan was not just a simple chef.
For others, facing such an invitation would definitely be a boon, but Ding Huan might not necessarily see it that way.
(Request for monthly tickets to support, that’s all for today’s update, good night, friends!)