Once he recovered from his minor injuries, Wu Huang began to meditate. However, the sudden noise at the door made him let out a sigh.
"Can't I have even a moment of peace?" he asked himself.
He stood up and opened the door. An unfamiliar disciple was standing there, with a respectful yet firm expression.
"May I ask what you need?" Wu Huang inquired, maintaining a neutral tone, neither too humble nor too authoritative.
"Disciple Wu Huang," the young man said with a certain reverence. "A mission has been assigned directly to you."
As he spoke, he carefully extended a sealed scroll, holding it by the edges as if he feared breaking the wax seal. Wu Huang took the scroll and observed it closely, making sure there was no problem with it. Indeed, it was an authentic document from the sect.
However, there was something strange. Personal missions were always unusual, regardless of the disciple's rank. Only individuals like the Sect Saint or some high-ranking elite disciples periodically received direct assignments. For a mere servant disciple to receive such an order was almost unthinkable. Although he had already seen it once before, this situation still felt highly suspicious and baffling.
"I do not recognize the sender..." Wu Huang murmured, furrowing his brow as he read more attentively.
The name was written at the bottom of the scroll: Zhao Lingfeng. Normally, alongside the sender's name, their title, peak, or position within the sect would also appear, allowing one to clearly identify where the order originated. But this time, there was nothing else. Only the name.
Wu Huang let out a slight sigh. It was obvious that things would not be simple, but neither could he arbitrarily reject the mission without a good excuse.
That would be possible if I didn't already have a pending assignment... he thought.
Taking care of Hong Jiu'er, although it was a mission done "under the table," was still an official and direct assignment from a Sect Elder. Therefore, as long as the person from whom this new mission originated did not hold the same rank or higher, he could easily nullify it by order of hierarchy and importance.
"This disciple has already delivered the mission. I take my leave," the young man said, making a slight bow before walking away at a quick pace.
Wu Huang closed the door and stood for a few seconds, thinking about what to do first.
Contact the head of servants, explain the situation, and simultaneously investigate this Zhao Lingfeng, he thought as he mentally organized the steps to follow.
Once he had his plan clear, he went out and looked for the head of servants, which did not take him long.
"They sent you a personal mission?" he asked calmly, though with an evident trace of surprise upon hearing what was happening. He brought a hand to his chin as he reflected. "If it were someone I know, I could let it pass... but an order from a complete stranger is, to say the least, strange," he murmured aloud. "What is the mission about?"
"An outer mission in the back forest to collect a spirit herb," Wu Huang replied.
"That is even stranger," the head of servants deduced. "Although that kind of spirit herb is rare on the outside, in the sect's pavilions there is no shortage of people who can sell it at a good price. And seeing the juicy reward offered for the mission, it is even more suspicious."
These were the same doubts Wu Huang had already harbored, but hearing that another experienced person shared them confirmed his suspicions. Either someone was targeting him directly, preparing a trap... or it was simply a fool who did not understand how the sect's bureaucracy worked. The latter option, though possible, carried a probability too low to even consider seriously when dealing with cultivators.
Therefore, only the first option remained: a trap of some sort.
"An ambush? Perhaps disguised as a tragic accident involving magical beasts?" Wu Huang murmured, evaluating the possibilities.
"It could be," the head of servants agreed, "but the sect would easily uncover it through an investigation... unless..."
"Unless the beast actually kills me and devours the evidence," Wu Huang completed in a low voice, furrowing his brow.
"But considering the habitat of that spirit herb, the magical beast would have to be far out of its usual area of action, practically breaking the barrier that prevents them from descending the mountain," Wu Huang reasoned as he analyzed the situation.
Outside the sect and its surrounding mountains, there was a vast primordial forest filled with monsters and abundant ambient Qi, a place where various medicinal plants and magical beasts could grow and develop in the wild. The blood of a magical beast and its different parts served to create pills and elixirs, so it was quite useful for the sect to allow these creatures to live freely in their natural habitat.
Of course, to prevent them from posing a danger to low-ranking disciples, there was a massive restrictive formation around the territory that could stop attacks coming even from the powerful Divine Transformation Realm and nullify any attack below that level. Another of its functions was to coerce nearby magical beasts, preventing them from approaching the sect's perimeter.
Although some magical beasts reached levels of strength equivalent to the Golden Core Realm, those were only found in the deepest and most remote areas of the forest. Most of those roaming the vicinity remained between the Foundation Establishment Realm and the Qi Refining Realm. As long as they did not leave the range of the barrier's influence, the magical beasts would not approach at all, guaranteeing the safety of the disciples.
"But it is not necessary to make them approach; they only have to force me to leave the barrier's perimeter through deception," Wu Huang said, evaluating the possible strategies of his hidden enemies.
"That would leave many tracks and would be easy to trace," the head of servants explained, furrowing his brow as he turned the matter over in his mind.
Wu Huang and the head of servants continued to rack their brains, trying to comprehend the chess trap hidden behind that simple mission. However, no matter how much they searched or reasoned, they could not find the true common thread. Finally, both gave up, exhausted by the uncertainty.
"No matter," the head of servants finally said. "I will contact Elder Shen Tianzhu to suspend your departure until we have more intelligence on that sender."
He turned around, making it clear that he had no interest in continuing to expend mental energy on it for the moment. Wu Huang remained silent for a few seconds, then decided to return to his residence to avoid dwelling on the matter any further. He was completely unaware that this entire display was not a high-level conspiracy, but simply the orders of a jealous young master.