“I saw it! I saw it!”
“I witnessed it with my own eyes. The senior sister was screaming terribly.”
“The teachers said it was a drug overdose. Her body couldn’t handle it, muscle dissolution.”
A group of girls immediately surrounded Lin Haochen, chattering away. From this grand display, they had clearly recognized Lin Haochen’s status and position. As long as they latched onto him, they could instantly cling and turn into a phoenix.
The most enthusiastic were naturally those female disciples who had originally come from Yangxin Primary Sect. They had already ingrained the concept of attaching themselves to male cultivators into their bones. Next were the ordinary girls, who were a bit shy.
The outermost were the disciples who had transitioned from boys to girls; they still couldn’t shake off that completely awkward mentality.
Only a few girls remained standing still, such as Shi Yuzhi and her double cultivation study partner, Lin Xiaofeng and a few of the top ten disciples, Ruo Xuan, Lei Mulan, and of course, Mu Yanxi.
Mu Yanxi just found it strange. Why would Lin Haochen come to ask them, the first-year disciples?
‘That senior sister who overdosed was clearly a second-year disciple. Wouldn’t it be faster to go ask them directly?’
‘Even more so, for that girl’s situation, just go ask her directly. Her physical condition and examination results must have been compiled into a report.’
‘If this Young Master Lin had the intention to investigate, he surely would have seen it already. What use is it to ask first-year disciples who only watched from dozens of meters away?’
‘I do have something I could tell him, and I have evidence in hand. But with so many teachers and students present, if I step forward to disclose the matter, I’ll be exposed immediately. I might even offend the teacher selling the drugs and be retaliated against.’
‘When it comes down to it, if Yangxin Hall truly wanted to investigate the truth, they shouldn’t have sent someone with the identity of a teacher or student to infiltrate the Spiritual Moon Sect.’
‘Going undercover to buy the drugs would be better than sending a young master over in such a grand manner. Then follow the thread to uncover the entire transaction chain of illegal drug sales.’
‘At the very least, Lin Haochen should have set up an anonymous mailbox for everyone to submit anonymous tip-offs through the Dao web, and then verify each clue himself. This is a new method of this world that I only recently learned about.’
‘So I can’t determine whether this Young Master Lin truly wants to get to the bottom of this incident. Maybe he’s just putting on a show. Come investigate for a while, go back and submit a report, and that counts as gaining some experience or completing a “sect task.”‘
‘I also don’t dare to use telepathy to speak to Lin Haochen in front of so many people. After all, there are so many big shots here. Even if I use telepathy, it could be forcibly intercepted by those with a strong enough spirit sense.’
So after lingering around the periphery for a bit, seeing that there seemed to be no opportunity to even hint at anything, Mu Yanxi decisively gave up. She stopped trying to contact Lin Haochen and would leave it to Shangguan Yun to handle.
Lin Haochen, on the other hand, listened very carefully to these girls’ statements and patiently questioned each one. Although most were just variations of the same story, one girl said:
“It seems… I heard that some body tempering injections from Yangxin Hall are circulating among the senior sisters.”
“Oh? Where did you hear this news?” Lin Haochen perked up at this interesting information and immediately asked.
The girl said timidly, “It’s just… I have some second-year senior sisters I know in the club, the gymnastics club. After one practice session, they asked me if I wanted cheap body tempering medicine.”
‘I didn’t expect that besides myself, there were other disciples in the class who had come into contact with these privately circulated body tempering medicines. But it makes sense.’
‘I’ve already encountered two transaction scenes myself. It wouldn’t be strange for other disciples to encounter them too. After all, those disciples selling the drugs would want to expand their customer base.’
“Can you tell me their names?” Lin Haochen asked with interest. Seeing the girl’s unease, he said gently, “I’m just going to find them to understand the situation. I won’t force anything out of them.”
At this point, the elder Qiongdann Laoren behind Lin Haochen said:
“Young Master Lin, Yangxin Hall’s pharmaceutical business occupies nearly half of the market share in the Qin Region. Body tempering injections are an essential supplementary medicine for disciples of the Great Sect. It’s not strange that some injections are circulating among the disciples.”
“Even so, body tempering injections usually have side effects. They need to be purchased and used under the guidance of professional physical cultivation coaches or teachers.”
“Private sales among disciples are inappropriate, and selling them cheaper is even stranger. Why circulate among disciples? Why not just buy them from the pharmacy?” Lin Haochen retorted.
“There are always some disciples who have connections with Yangxin Hall and can get the injections directly from the factory. They sell them much cheaper than the pharmacy.”
“Especially now that we are cooperating with the Spiritual Moon Palace on the living elixir project. Take that classmate Lin Xiaofeng, for example. She graduated from Yangxin Primary Sect.” Qiongdann Laoren said.
Upon being named, Lin Xiaofeng’s face paled. Seeing Lin Haochen’s gaze turn to her, she quickly knelt and bowed:
“Xiaofeng greets the clan brother! I came to the Spiritual Moon Sect only to become a disciple of Elder Qiongdann. I have absolutely never privately sold any medicine!”
“Lin Xiaofeng? Huh? Is that Xiaofeng? How did you become a girl?” Lin Haochen was slightly surprised, finally recognizing his clan sibling. Then he realized his question was inappropriate.
‘She already said she came to the Spiritual Moon Sect to become Qiongdann Laoren’s disciple. Since she wanted to join the Spiritual Moon Sect, of course she had to undergo the surgery.’
“Clan brother… uh, no, Xiaofeng, please rise. No need for such formality outside. Of course I believe you. I don’t mean to blame you at all. I was a bit rude just now.” Lin Haochen helped Lin Xiaofeng up.
‘So these two were originally clan brothers. No, now they should be clan siblings. Both are surnamed Lin, both graduated from Yangxin Primary Sect. They must know each other extremely well.’
‘No wonder earlier I saw Lin Xiaofeng hiding behind the crowd looking very embarrassed, not daring to approach Lin Haochen. It was because she was afraid of being recognized by her clan brother and suffering social death on the spot.’
As a result, with Lin Xiaofeng’s interruption, Lin Haochen couldn’t continue his questioning. He only asked the girl for the names of a few senior sisters in the gymnastics club and then ended the inquiry.
‘This definitely won’t uncover anything. The transaction chain for private drug sales is very secretive.’
‘The female disciples acting as distributors never reveal their true faces or identities, and the buyers likely won’t admit it either. Even if he continues investigating along this lead, I figure he’ll return empty-handed.’
“I’ve disturbed your sect. I think I’ve learned some things. After I report the situation to the company’s higher-ups, I’ll come back for further investigation.” Lin Haochen said.
“Wait a moment, Young Master Lin. Since you want to investigate this matter thoroughly, why rush to leave? Why not stay in the Spiritual Moon Sect for a few days and let us fulfill our duties as hosts?” The Dean of Teaching suddenly said.
Lin Haochen thought for a moment and didn’t refuse. He smiled and said:
“Then I’ll gladly accept your kind offer.”