A man who is deep in thought always seems to radiate a certain charm.
As Jiang Chen fell into contemplation, Xu Qingxuan — who had been observing him through glances and conversation — was surprisingly silent for once. Her large eyes rested on him, a pensive look on her face.
First impressions truly did matter. When it came to Alchemist Jilang, Xu Qingxuan had felt the man was far too flamboyant. That air of self-proclaimed supremacy — acting as if he were the greatest in the world — had made her thoroughly disgusted.
Yet this Shao Yuan before her spoke no elegant words, cut no dashing figure, and showed not the slightest hint of trying to curry favor in anything he did or said.
And yet, despite all of that, Xu Qingxuan could see that his attention was genuinely fixed on this Moon God Treasure Tree, rather than harboring some hidden agenda.
Of course, at the very beginning she too had suspected that this Young Master Shao Yuan's transmission of his message — asking her to stay — might conceal some ill intent. She had been on high guard the entire time, ready to erupt the moment he said something out of line.
But that anticipated scenario never materialized. The man had, in fact, given her something — but it wasn't meant for her at all. It was for her mother.
This left Xu Qingxuan mildly surprised, and it also piqued her curiosity.
Just as a tangle of thoughts churned in her mind, Jiang Chen suddenly nodded and spoke to Xu Qingxuan: "Go summon every disciple who tends to the Moon God Treasure Tree. Remember — all of them. Not a single one may be missing."
The commanding tone of his request pricked at Xu Qingxuan's pride. She was a Saintess, after all — her status in the Moon God Sect was second only to the three great Sect Masters. She was accustomed to giving orders, not being ordered about like a maidservant.
Her expression shifted slightly, a flicker of indignation rising, only for her to realize that the man wasn't even looking at her. His gaze remained on the Moon God Treasure Tree, lost in thought.
The retort on the tip of her tongue was forced back down, swallowed whole. Though she was somewhat displeased, Xu Qingxuan still went ahead and did as Jiang Chen requested.
When a Saintess issues an order, it is carried out swiftly.
Before long, every disciple who participated in the care of the Moon God Treasure Tree had been gathered.
Upon hearing that Jiang Chen had summoned all the disciples involved in tending the tree, the three great Sect Masters of the Moon God Sect — who had already left — returned one after another.
They were clearly worried. Worried that this Shao Yuan might cause trouble and pin the blame on these caretaker disciples.
According to the inspections conducted by various alchemists, the Moon God Treasure Tree showed absolutely no traces of artificial sabotage. If Alchemist Shao Yuan tried to shift responsibility onto the caretaker disciples, that would be a rather low-handed move — and the three Sect Masters would absolutely not allow such a thing to happen.
After all, handling this poorly could sow suspicion among the sect's own disciples and even spark internal strife throughout the entire organization.
When the three Sect Masters returned, Jiang Chen was mildly surprised. But he remained composed, making no effort to look at Xu Qingxuan in particular.
Inwardly, however, he was still worried that Xu Qingxuan might hand the Storage Ring he had given her over to her master.
Fortunately, Xu Qingxuan did nothing of the sort. She acted as though nothing had happened between them. She stepped forward and said to the several Sect Masters: "Young Master Shao asked Qingxuan to summon these caretaker disciples."
The Second Sect Master's delicate brows furrowed: "What exactly is he doing?"
They had only just left not long ago, so the Second Sect Master wasn't particularly worried that Jiang Chen had done something to her beloved disciple. Even if he had wanted to, there simply wasn't enough time.
So while she was somewhat unhappy, she refrained from asking Xu Qingxuan about any such matters.
Xu Qingxuan shook her head with an innocent look: "He didn't say what he intends to do, but he's the professional. When he speaks, all this disciple can do is cooperate."
The First Sect Master now walked toward Jiang Chen, her tone reasonably measured: "Young Master Shao, these caretaker disciples of ours cannot possibly be the problem. Many alchemists have inspected this Moon God Treasure Tree before, and all of them ruled out the possibility of any artificial sabotage."
Jiang Chen nodded but said nothing.
The caretaker disciples wore solemn expressions, clearly anxious. Not a single one of them had a guilty conscience, but in a situation like this, even the faintest suspicion was enough to leave them restless. The Moon God Treasure Tree was simply too important to the Moon God Sect — there was no room for the slightest mishap.
As a result, each of them harbored a measure of resentment toward Jiang Chen, feeling that this fellow was stirring up trouble where none existed, making sensational claims for no reason.
Jiang Chen's gaze swept slowly across the faces of the gathered caretaker disciples, one by one.
There were twelve in total — two on rotating shifts each day, one in the morning and one in the evening.
As his eyes passed over them, the caretaker disciples swallowed their anger, not daring to speak out. Every gaze directed at Jiang Chen carried a trace of bitterness.
Then Jiang Chen's eyes suddenly stopped on one particular caretaker disciple. His furrowed brows smoothed apart, and he clapped his hands: "That's it."
"That's what?" The First Sect Master was taken aback.
Everyone else stared at Jiang Chen in tense bewilderment.