A world without glitz

Xiao Xinshui suddenly felt someone approaching him, but strangely, he didn't hear any clear footsteps. Instead, he heard a gust of wind whistling past, accompanied by the harsh sound of iron chains colliding in the prison. This strange scene filled Xiao Xinshui with fear. He couldn't help but think of the prisons in the horror stories his aunt had told him. Usually, they were cold and silent, but tonight's prison was completely different.

There seemed to be an unusual commotion outside, as if a family was moving. The clamor carried through the thick walls. Xiao Xinshui huddled in a corner, her body trembling uncontrollably. The air was filled with an increasingly strong smell of burning, permeating almost every corner of the dark cell, making it feel suffocating.

Xiao Xinshui clutched the bodhi bracelet tightly in his hand, the faint fluorescent number and ranking on it becoming his only comfort. He stared at the numbers, trying to focus his mind on them, to forget about missing his father and mother. However, no matter how hard he tried, the image of his mother sewing meticulously before her departure lingered in his mind, unable to be shaken off.

"Hey! There's someone in the dark cell." Taixu, flying backwards through the air, collided with the demonic wind. After a brief pause in the dark cell, he found an ideal host. With all his magical artifacts, there was always a suitable place for him to stay.

Xiao Xinshui was clearly facing the wall, reflecting on his mistakes, but behind him, a gust of evil wind blew. The silver-adorned woman who had been there just a moment ago had long since vanished. The clamor seemed to have long since forgotten him in an obscure corner. Yet, he had clearly been a prominent figure since birth, ultimately thanks to his parents. His newly-invigorated enthusiasm was gradually eroded by the sudden drop in his ranking and the time spent in the dark cell.

However, after listening to the murder case in the tailor shop, he only understood one sentence: the suspect had no motive for committing the crime. He believed that reading was the most useful thing in the world. He had read a similar story in his aunt's storybook. There were two sisters in the Xia family who fell in love with the same man. The elder sister relied on her status as a legitimate daughter to bully the younger sister since she was a child. The younger sister thought that she could just endure it until the day she got married. But the abuser became more and more excessive, and the resentment accumulated over the years broke out in one day. In the end, the two sisters died on the day of their wedding. The legitimate daughter of the Shen family only knew her younger sister in Luoan Town, so there was only one person who had a motive for committing the crime. It was only because this person pretended to be determined to find the murderer that he deceived everyone. Moreover, she had observed that although Shen Qingzhu's clothes were gorgeous, it was obvious that the pair of pearl flower shoes were not her size. So this person stole her sister's clothes?

"Shen family? Jiangnan Shen family?" Xiao Xinshui muttered to himself. The name circled in his mind, and there seemed to be some vague memories related to it.

He recalled a time when his father, in an effort to please his mother, had crafted a mask called Huanyan. This mask possessed magical powers, capable of altering the wearer's appearance at will. However, when his mother saw the mask, she misunderstood his father's intentions, believing he disliked her age and fading beauty, and she became furious for a while.

Eventually, the mask was sold to the Jiangnan Shen family at a high price. As time passed, the mask unexpectedly became a family heirloom.

Xiao Xinshui's thoughts surged like the tide, and he suddenly realized that if it was Shen Qingzhu who changed his appearance and entered Linlin and put the silver needle into the collar, then everything could be reasonably explained.

"The real murderer is my concubine's sister - Shen Qingzhu!" Xiao Xinshui's voice echoed in the air, as if revealing a shocking secret.

At this moment, a crisp ding-dong sound interrupted his thoughts. He looked down at the Bodhi bracelet in his hand and found that the score displayed on it had undergone a shocking change as the real murderer was revealed.

The young man who had been sitting quietly in jail and abandoned by everyone in the town, unexpectedly became the leader of the Immortal Cultivation Conference!

A hero's origin is not judged, and the leader pretends to be cool in prison.

"Leave here with me and go back to Qingshui Palace together." Xiao Xinyin pulled the man back to her side from the darkness in the corner. She really didn't expect that her brother, who was equipped with magical weapons, would be locked up in a jail. His clever mouth at home, which would not stop once it started, had now met its match and could make him suffer in silence.

Xiao Xinshui saw his elder sister suddenly appear in this big prison. Her fair face had become dusty and dirty because of staying in this dark prison for a long time. She was too ashamed to raise her head in front of her elder sister. Even though her collar was grabbed, she still buried her face deep in her neck. "Sister, why are you here? I refused all your offers of help to try to get me a place in the Immortal Cultivation Conference. I advise you to go back soon, otherwise I will be labeled as a mama's boy before I can get rid of the label of "ma's boy". "He really didn't want to be associated with his family in this water mirror. Moreover, he had a high score now and was very confident.

"You come back with me. It's better not to participate in this immortal cultivation conference. Your life will be in danger." Xiao Xinyin did not discuss the ranking with Xiao Xinshui too much. Life was the most important thing. The replacement talisman had been taken out of the brocade bag long ago. The talisman was flickering with fluorescent light in the dim candlelight, and a few words popped out of her mouth non-stop.

Xiao Xinshui struggled to free himself from the restraints of his collar, hastily interrupting his elder sister's spell. "Why should I leave, sister?" Xiao Xinshui's voice revealed a hint of reluctance and determination. "I'm a top contender, and I'm going to become famous in this fight!" He clenched his fists tightly, as if he had become a true disciple of the sect master.

However, Xiao Xinyin remained unmoved. The talisman in her hand was instantly ripped to shreds by Xiao Xinshui's snatch. "You're going to die!" Xiao Xinyin's face grew grim. "The fire of lust will consume this town in no time. You'll die if you stay." Xiao Xinshui, however, remained undeterred. He fixed his gaze on her with determination. "Sister, this is a test for me. I can't be a deserter!" His voice was filled with confidence and determination. "Sister, if this fire had happened in Qingshui Palace today, would you have run?" Xiao Xinshui suddenly asked.

Xiao Xinyin answered without hesitation, "Yes, my life is more important." A flicker of disappointment flashed across Xiao Xinshui's eyes, but it was quickly masked by his resolve. "Sister, lend me some talismans. I'll go catch the people, and you put out the fire. We're two volunteers from the Qingshui Palace, and our record is verifiable." His words carried a hint of pleading and expectation.

Xiao Xinshui was the only one moved and inspired by this conversation. He took the initiative to snatch a bunch of talismans from Xiao Xinyin's hands and disappeared. Xiao Xinshui thought he had teleported outside the dark prison, but the distance was too far. Once outside the barrier, he opened his talismans and found that there was not a single transposition or teleportation talisman. "Xiao Xinyin, give me back my first place. My lifelong reputation! My personal disciple! My love at first sight!"

On a dark, windy night, the demonic fire shone like a ghost, enchanting and eerie. Yet, within Luoan Town, a deathly silence fell, as if enveloped by an invisible fear. The townspeople had already fled in panic.

Amidst this chaotic situation, Shen Qingzhu did not join the others in seeking refuge in the West Mansion. Alone, she found a dead tree in the shimmering backyard. With twisted branches and peeling bark, it stood quietly in the darkness, like an old man who had experienced many hardships.

Shen Qingzhu gently stroked the trunk of the withered tree, an indescribable sadness welling up in her heart. She thought of her young mother, and wondered if she would ever see her again when she returned home. Sold as a foot-washing maid to the Shen family, she was gifted with a beauty everyone envied, which led to her being taken as a concubine and becoming a concubine. Her useless beauty had forged a tragic life, a legacy passed down through her bloodline to her daughter.

Shen Qingzhu decided to bury Shen Qingmei's body beneath the dead tree, so that her elder sister could rest in peace. She carefully placed Shen Qingmei's body in the dug pit and then covered it with soil, as if this was the last time she would see her elder sister. She always pretended well, and only she could see her anxiety.

Chen Ye watched all this and couldn't help but feel surprised by Shen Qingzhu's actions. She pointed at the lifeless dead tree and said, "Miss Shen, did you just leave your sister here? The tree is almost dead. How can you revive a corpse?"

Shen Qingzhu slowly raised her head and gazed at the dead tree, a flicker of determination in her eyes. She whispered, "Eldest Sister has a burial place; it's a good place for her." Then, she lit two incense sticks beneath the dead tree's dirt. The smoke curled, as if speaking to Shen Qingmei's spirit in heaven.

In this quiet night, filled with fragrant mist, Shen Qingzhu stood quietly in front of the dead tree, praying silently in her heart. She hoped that she and her mother could live a peaceful life.

"Miss Shen, you see the air is filled with ashes, but when I smell you carefully, I can smell the scent of roses, exactly the same as your elder sister's. How come you are wearing a dead person's clothes?" Chen Ye looked Shen Qingzhu up and down. He really didn't expect that the white lotus could cut into black so quickly.

"I also often use this rose scented ointment." Shen Qingzhu distanced herself from Chen Ye, perhaps because she didn't want others to hear her panic.

"Miss Chen, since you've killed someone, run away. Did you see the score? You and I have dropped one place. It seems someone already guessed you're the murderer. Why are you still burying the body here? Why? To ease your conscience?" Chen Ye was really worried about the ranking and score on the Bodhi bracelet. He couldn't complete the mission, the main storyline was a mess, and his emotions were all over the place. The murderer's score was taken away by someone else first. "System, that person didn't even find the key clue, and he can still get extra points?"

"Host, you really opened my eyes! You just caused such a big disaster, and you still have the leisure to chat with me here? What on earth did you want to do by setting the fire? You should give me an explanation! I really regret it. I shouldn't have given you that fire starter! Now, both of us are unemployed!" The system looked at the health values of each major character suffering an unprecedented crisis, and it was so anxious in its heart that it felt like its eyes were going to go blind with pain.

"Of course I set the fire for a reason. I did it to advance the main storyline. How come you can't see it? If I don't do this, this quest line will take forever! And look, there is no one else in the Yue Lao Temple. Apart from the male protagonist, what else do you have to worry about? You know his strength." Chen Ye said as a matter of course.

"Host, don't you really know how powerful the fire of desire is? This is not an ordinary fire!" The system was almost furious at the host's ignorance.

"Alright, alright, forget about that for now. Is there any magical tool that can allow people to teleport?"

Shen Qingzhu had been following everyone around all day, treading on thin ice, her heart filled with fear and anxiety. After all, it was her eldest sister who had died! However, she felt that hiding herself wasn't quite right. After all, her eldest sister was gone, and if she remained absent, wouldn't she seem too cold and heartless?

Fortunately, the entire plan went incredibly smoothly and flawlessly, and no one noticed her inner uneasiness. At least, when she arrived at the Immortal Cultivation Conference, she truly wanted to cultivate. However, reality was cruel. Even though she had awakened her spiritual intelligence, without her parents' support and help, she didn't even possess a single talisman. The pouch around her waist and the clothes she wore were all picked up from that person.

The road to immortality is long. How far can she truly go? She can't help but feel confused and worried about her future. Even more worrying is whether her mother at home will ever have a hot meal on this long journey. Or if someone else's orders could destroy her, her life could be in jeopardy. Is the identity of a cultivator a blessing or a curse in this situation? Shen Qingzhu has long seen it clearly.

Shen Qingzhu had no idea that Chen Ye's words were actually a sign of concern for her. She subconsciously lifted her sleeves, revealing the dense scars. These scars were the result of Shen Qingmei venting her frustrations on her.

Shen Qingzhu suppressed the pain in her heart and looked at Chen Ye in a tender manner, trying to catch a trace of sympathy from his cold eyes.

"Isn't that what I did? Her sister did it." But Chen Ye's eyes were filled with disdain and indifference, so the dagger hidden in his sleeve flashed before Chen Ye's eyes with swift, accurate precision. Fortunately, the talisman that escaped from the brocade pouch neutralized the murderous aura on the dagger's tip. "Run away! You'll be the only daughter in the Chen Mansion. Let the rotten ones rot under the tree."

"Host, where does this virtuous heart of yours come from? She is the murderer! How can you let her go so easily?" The system shouted in disbelief.

"Will it affect the plot if I let her go? She's just an insignificant supporting character. What's the big deal if I let her go? Besides, her father doesn't love her and her mother doesn't care about her, so what's wrong with me loving her a little?" Shen Qingzhu retorted disapprovingly.

"Host, don't get excited..." The system seemed frightened by Shen Qingzhu's attitude.

"Am I excited?"

Shen Qingzhu stared at Chen Ye with wide eyes as he handed her a thick stack of talismans. She roughly counted them and realized there were at least dozens of them, each of which was worth a fortune, probably tens of thousands of taels.

"Why is this?" Shen Qingzhu asked in confusion.

"Just think of it as me doing something bad just now, and now I'm trying to accumulate some good karma." Chen Ye pointed to the northeast, and then pushed a sandalwood carriage in front of Shen Qingzhu. "This carriage is extremely fast, and it can easily travel a thousand miles a day."

Shen Qingzhu looked at the exquisite sandalwood sedan chair, her heart aching. However, she still explained somewhat unwillingly, "I was really forced to kill her. She actually threatened me with my mother's life, just to cultivate immortality..."

But now no one was listening to her explanation, and Chen Ye just wanted her to escape.