Is It Reasonable for Me to Start a Sect at 12?

Jiang Youfu finished eating a fruit and tossed a handful of roasted beans into his mouth. "Could it be that Jianghe went to deliver the goods first?"

Lin Xiao considered the suggestion but shook his head. "Fang Er mentioned that the distance to Quhuai Prefecture is only about five hundred miles. If Jianghe went to deliver the goods, he should have reached the prefecture before dawn after traveling through the night. Now that it's afternoon, he would likely be on his way back and should have reached this area by now."

Fang Manliang asked, "Then, could he have already returned?"

Lin Xiao replied, "From what you've said, Jianghe is determined to settle the score with those bandits. He wouldn't just return without dealing with them. But on the way here, I didn't sense any trace of bloodshed."

In other words, they hadn't encountered anyone who had recently engaged in a fight.

For a moment, the group fell into a stalemate.

Lin Xiao surveyed the surroundings and suggested, "Let's keep moving forward. The bandits might be hiding deep within the mountains, beyond the range of my senses."

With that, he led the way deeper into the forest.

Meanwhile, about fifty miles away, Qin Jianghe was carefully making his way through dense undergrowth along a mountain cliff.

Just as Lin Xiao had speculated, Qin Jianghe had arrived at Quhuai Prefecture early in the morning, delivered the goods, and immediately returned to the area where the bandits were known to frequent.

He had searched extensively but found little useful evidence.

As he tracked the bandits' trail deeper into the forest, the signs gradually disappeared.

It made sense why the government soldiers had failed in their attempts to eliminate the bandits previously. After an unsuccessful raid, the authorities had become lax and stopped sending troops to pursue them after each subsequent robbery.

Qin Jianghe continued his pursuit, reaching a rock face that seemed suspicious.

Having spent years roaming the mountains with Lin Xiao and the others, he quickly sensed that something was off. He reached out to touch the stone wall and, sure enough, discovered that someone had set up a concealment array here.

He immediately concluded that this must be the bandits' hideout.

No wonder the government troops had been unable to find the bandits—an array had hidden them all along.

Qin Jianghe adjusted his clothes and activated the Concealment Technique. With stealth and caution, he slipped through the hidden entrance.

Inside, he found a large tunnel winding deep into the mountain. Faint light flickered from ahead.

He moved forward cautiously until he reached the entrance of a small valley.

After searching the forest for over half an hour, Lin Xiao suddenly caught a whiff of blood in the air. Following the scent, they arrived at the valley just as the battle had ended.

The valley was littered with the corpses of bandits.

Jiang Youfu shivered, goosebumps rising on his skin at the sight of so many dead bodies.

Fang Manliang noticed Qin Jianghe's usual weapon, a large saber, lying on the ground, its edge dulled.

At that moment, Qin Jianghe emerged from the bandits' stronghold, holding a bloodied peachwood sword. He was pressing the blade into the body of a middle-aged man he had taken hostage.

Looking up, he saw Lin Xiao and the others standing at the valley entrance.

Qin Jianghe was slightly surprised. "Brother Xiao? What are you all doing here?"

Lin Xiao observed Qin Jianghe, his body covered in blood, and noted that he had reached the fourth level of Qi Refining. It seemed that even though he had been traveling and couldn't access the rich spiritual energy of the sect, Jianghe had still made progress in his cultivation.

Ignoring the pervasive scent of blood, Lin Xiao felt a pang of melancholy, but he quickly brushed it aside and approached Qin Jianghe. "Are you okay?"

The others hurried forward as well.

Qin Jianghe shook his head, assuring them he was fine. Then, he roughly tossed the man he had captured in front of Gu Yuxiao.

"Yuxiao, this is the man who killed your father. Do with him as you will."

The man was covered in wounds and had no strength left to resist. When Qin Jianghe threw him down, he collapsed at Gu Yuxiao's feet, barely alive.

Qin Jianghe tossed her a dagger and said, "We'll wait for you outside."

With that, he turned to Lin Xiao and said, "Brother Xiao, let's talk outside."

Lin Xiao nodded and followed Qin Jianghe out of the valley, with Jiang Youfu and Fang Manliang trailing behind.

They left the valley to Gu Yuxiao.

Once outside, Lin Xiao sighed and said to Qin Jianghe, "Jianghe, you've worked hard."

He knew that for someone like them, who had grown up in rural villages and whose only experience with bloodshed had been the annual pig slaughter during the New Year, killing so many people at once—even if they were murderous bandits—was far from a good experience. It was more likely to leave deep psychological scars.

Qin Jianghe smiled and shook his head. "Brother Xiao, don't say such distant words. The world isn't as peaceful as our little corner of it. If our sect is to grow, someone has to get their hands dirty. I think I'm suited for that role."

He understood that the world wasn't a pure place. As long as he could protect the part of it that mattered to him, it didn't matter if the rest was hell.

Lin Xiao smiled, dropping the topic. He glanced back into the valley and asked, "What's the deal with that man? A Qi Refining Stage Three cultivator hiding in the wilderness as a bandit leader?"

Qin Jianghe explained, "I questioned him earlier. He's from the Yunyin Sect. He reached middle age and was still stuck at the third level of Qi Refining, so he knew he'd never advance further. He decided to leave the sect and enjoy what remained of his life among mortals.

"However, it's easy to join a sect but hard to leave. He told me about a fellow disciple who applied to leave the sect, was denied, and then tried to live in his hometown, relying on his cultivation to dominate. But the sect soon dragged him back, and he was never heard from again.

"So this man knew he couldn't openly return home without being captured by the sect. Instead, he hid in the mountains, gathering vagrants and outlaws to become a bandit leader."

Given the man's injuries, it was clear Qin Jianghe hadn't been gentle in his interrogation.

Had the other man not been so brazen after returning home, the Yunyin Sect likely wouldn't have bothered with him. After all, he was just a low-level cultivator.

The fact that this man had lived as a bandit for months without the sect intervening showed how little they cared about lower-level Qi Refining disciples.

The others nodded in understanding.

Lin Xiao then asked, "And what about the concealment array?"

Qin Jianghe explained, "He stole the array plate from the sect's Formation Hall. It had been gathering dust there for years, and since he worked in the hall, he eventually took it."

After hearing this, the group fell silent.

It was surprising to think that even cultivators—whom they once thought of as lofty, untouchable figures—could fall so low, becoming bandits, murderers, and thieves.