Palm Medicine Hall

"Not right..." Qin Ran walked out of Gu Yueming's cave and headed to the Main Peak Butler Hall, clutching the token of the Chief Alchemy Elder in his hand. His brain was running at full speed.

"The Sect Master said they have already investigated Jian Yuanjie's death from various sources. So, he may not know how Jian Yuanjie died, where he died, or who killed him. But he controls the Mountain Protection Array, so he should at least know when Jian Yuanjie left the sect... He should also know when I entered and left the sect... And Chasing the Wind has been looking for me within the sect. He has every reason to suspect me... And what just happened in his cave..."

"Not right!" Analyzing up to this point, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. "The Sect Master must already know that I killed Jian Yuanjie!"

A sense of crisis instantly invaded Qin Ran's heart, urging him to escape.

"Calm down... Stay calm!" But he quickly realized it and told himself to stay calm in his mind. He continued walking towards the Butler Hall as if nothing had happened. "The Sect Master knows that I killed Jian Yuanjie, but he didn't take action against me. Instead, he entrusted me with the position of Chief Alchemy Elder. The implication... the implication is that he doesn't intend to hold me responsible?!"

"Yes!" Realizing this, Qin Ran breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he was temporarily safe.

But he had doubts again, why?

Is it because I am the only alchemist in the Dao Sword Sect, or is it because...

"The Sect Master has actually already discovered this pawn called Jian Yuanjie!"

His eyes were deep, like the universe, with stars flickering inside. Grasping some details, he reconstructed the truth of the matter. "The Sect Master discovered Jian Yuanjie a long time ago, but he didn't make a move... The Sect Master was severely injured and went into seclusion... In fact, the Sect Master had planned all this. It's a case of feigning weakness, luring the enemy in deep, and inviting the intrusion of the Zhi Shen Valley?!"

"What a cunning old fox!"

Qin Ran sorted out the cause and effect clearly and suddenly realized that Jian Yuanjie was just a pawn in the power struggle between the two major sects. Killing Jian Yuanjie, the Sect Master probably wouldn't pursue it.

"Wait a minute..."

At this point, he suddenly realized something: If Jian Yuanjie was a pawn, then now that he had killed this pawn and been pushed into Jian Yuanjie's position by the Sect Master...

"I've become a pawn!"

He killed Jian Yuanjie, not without punishment, but now he had become Jian Yuanjie. He was now the pawn in the power struggle between the two sects!

"This isn't right..." Qin Ran looked at the alchemy furnace in his hand. "How did things turn out like this? How did I suddenly end up in the center of the whirlpool?"

He had just wanted to be a low-profile cultivator who survived by practicing immortality!

...However, since things had come to this point, he could only take it step by step. At worst, he could leave early. After all, the escape plan had always been in his contingency plan.

He finally arrived at the Butler Hall.

Qin Ran didn't actually know much about the Butler Hall. His understanding of the Butler Hall was similar to his understanding of the school administration office when he was in school in his previous life. He was familiar with it but didn't know the internal organizational structure.

He had to rely on asking for directions to finally find this so-called Chief Alchemy Hall.

Qin Ran pushed open the door and took a look inside. The space was immense, about the size of a football field, but there were not many people inside, only a dozen or so. Among them, there were only four individuals worth noting.

On the left side of the Medicinal Hall, rows of medicine cabinets filled the space. Medicine apprentices moved about, cleaning and organizing the herbs. On the right side, there were similar cabinets, but they contained files, documents, and medical books. There were also disciples performing various tasks among them.

In the center, right in front of the door, sat four people.

Facing the door was the main seat with a long table. Behind the table was a position that must belong to Jian Yuanjie. On each side, there were two desks for office work, with each desk accompanied by a person.

The four individuals, two on each side, a man on the left and a woman on the right, were all engrossed in their work, probably disciples in charge of various tasks.

Upon hearing the door being pushed, the female disciple on the right, closest to the door, raised her head and looked over. She was an elegant and intellectual woman. Seeing Qin Ran, she thought he was a disciple and asked in a gentle voice, "Who are you looking for?"

When it came to dealing with enemies, Qin Ran could put on an impressive performance, be ruthless and merciless, and appear cold-hearted. However, in reality, he wasn't particularly skilled at social interactions. This actually suited his delicate and refined appearance.

"Ahem!" He awkwardly cleared his throat and said softly, "I am the new Chief Alchemy Elder."

Perhaps she didn't hear clearly, or maybe Qin Ran's delicate appearance and youthful demeanor made it difficult to hear, but in any case, the beautiful female disciple asked again, "What?"

At the same time, the other three disciples also looked over.

The four pairs of eyes put immense pressure on Qin Ran. It felt as if he was facing Jian Yuanjie himself. But he took a deep breath, straightened his chest, took out the token of the alchemy furnace, raised his voice, and said, "Senior Brother Jian had an accident, and for now, I am temporarily assuming the position of Chief Alchemy Elder."

This time they heard clearly, but the four individuals still had doubts. They stood up and bowed to Qin Ran, saying, "Greetings, Elder."

"Um..." Qin Ran felt a bit overwhelmed by the situation and quickly said, "Uh, my name is Qin Ran, the Chief of Dan Peak. You may continue with your tasks."

"Elder Qin!" The four individuals bowed once again before resuming their seats.

Once they were seated, Qin Ran went to the main seat and sat down.

On the main seat, there were neatly arranged books and documents. He picked up a document and flipped through it. It recorded the distribution of elixirs for the current month. He read it carefully. Afterward, he picked up another book, a book that detailed the properties of medicinal herbs. It was a rather ordinary book that he had read before, so he only flipped through a few pages before setting it aside.

After going through all the documents and books, Qin Ran couldn't find any reference to the purchase of medicinal herbs.

He glanced at the four individuals below, who were still focused on their own tasks but had their attention on him.

Qin Ran looked down, casually flipping through a book. After a moment of contemplation, he suddenly stood up, walked over to the desk of the male disciple on the left, and smiled as he asked, "What's your name?"

"Disciple Shi Yuan." He put down his pen and respectfully replied.

"What are you doing?" Qin Ran asked.

"I'm in charge of purchasing spiritual medicines for the disciples within the sect and handling deliveries," came the reply.

"Is it related to the sect's missions?"

"Yes, any tasks that involve spiritual medicines usually go through me."

"Well done, impressive," Qin Ran praised.

After exchanging a few words with Shi Yuan, Qin Ran approached the desk of a female steward to his right and asked with a smile, "May I know your name?"

"Disciple Ke Yue," she replied respectfully, setting down her pen.

"What are your responsibilities?"

"I am in charge of distributing elixirs to the disciples every month. Generally, all the elixirs needed by the disciples within the sect pass through my hands," Ke Yue answered.

"Oh..." Qin Ran glanced at this sweet-looking female steward and nodded. "It must be quite demanding for you, with so many disciples in the Dao Sword Sect."

"No, I'm only responsible for keeping records," Ke Yue replied modestly.

After a brief conversation with Ke Yue, Qin Ran moved on to the desk of a male steward to his left. With a smile, he asked, "And how should I address you?"

"Just call me Yan Yi, the Chief Steward," he replied.

When he heard Yan Yi addressing himself as the Chief Steward, Qin Ran asked, "Do you recognize me?"

"I am from the same generation of disciples. During the examination at the Dao Gate, I was defeated on the questioning platform presided over by the Chief Steward," Yan Yi joked.

"Oh! So you had bad luck and ran into me," Qin Ran also joked.

"No, not at all..." Qin Ran's face and demeanor were not aggressive, but rather approachable. Seeing this, Yan Yi relaxed and smiled. "Actually, I'm a big fan of Senior Sister Li Shiyin. She's truly amazing."

"Haha..." Qin Ran chuckled twice and said, "If there's a chance, I'll take you to Dan Peak to meet your Senior Sister Li."

Saying that, he also asked Yan Yi, "What are your responsibilities?"

"I'm in charge of everything related to alchemy within the sect. Any external disciple who wants to practice alchemy usually goes through me," Yan Yi replied.

Upon hearing that Yan Yi had such a job, Qin Ran smiled and said, "Well, your job seems quite leisurely."

In fact, there were no alchemists within the Dao Sword Sect, so it seemed that Yan Yi was the exemplary slacker of the sect.

Yan Yi awkwardly scratched the back of his head and replied, "Actually, there are disciples who want to practice alchemy..."

After chatting with Yan Yi for a while, Qin Ran went to the desk of another female steward to his right, the knowledgeable and intelligent-looking one. Smiling, he asked, "May I know your name?"

"Feng Feiyan."

"What a beautiful name," Qin Ran said, his eyes narrowing as he smiled at this elegant and intelligent female steward. "What are your responsibilities?"

"I am responsible for procuring elixirs and spiritual medicines," Feng Feiyan replied.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ran's smiling eyes slowly narrowed.

7017k