Chapter 220 Further Investigation:
Things didn't go as planned.
After Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi returned to Huanxue Manor, they did not rest for long before being summoned to the Mirror Palace to participate in the follow-up investigation of the flower demon's disturbance case. There, they met an old acquaintance—Elder Bai.
Elder Bai seemed to have improved a lot. After the flower demon was eliminated, he was no longer under the control of the nightmare magic. He recovered from his rapidly declining state, and a lot of muscle grew back in his hands, feet and body, so he could get out of bed and move normally again.
However, he was deeply affected by the blow, and even after half a month, he had not recovered much. He still looked tired and depressed, and did not react much to the outside world.
Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi greeted Elder Bai, but Elder Bai acted as if he didn't see them. It wasn't until they walked up to him and called him again that he reacted and looked at them blankly.
"Shen Bingsi? Rong Xie?" Elder Bai perked up a bit. "What are you doing here?"
"Elder Bai, congratulations on your recovery," Shen Bingsi said. "We, like you, came to participate in the Mirror Palace investigation."
"Oh..." Elder Bai smiled wryly, "Speaking of which, I haven't seen you all for a while. I haven't thanked you yet for your heroic deeds of eliminating the flower demon and saving the entire Xuantian Sect."
Shen Bingsi smiled. He did not accept the Xuantian Sect's thanks, but he could accept Elder Bai's personal thanks.
“Elder Bai, good deeds bring good results. If you hadn’t shown Bing Si the right path, she wouldn’t have made a move at that time,” Rong Xie said gently from the side.
"Alas..." Elder Bai sighed deeply, his whole body exuding an aura of dejection. "It's all retribution, all retribution... If it weren't for the evil deeds sown by the Heartless Dao Palace, how could such a wicked fruit as the Flower Demon have been borne?"
Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi remained silent.
"However, it is truly unexpected that Junior Nephew Rong is an extremely yang person, a rarity in the world!" Elder Bai examined Rong Xie, his eyes revealing admiration.
"What?" Rong Xie was stunned. When did he become an extremely yang person?
"Nephew Rong, there's no need for modesty. Now everyone knows that Ying Qi and Nephew Shen destroyed the flower demon's true form together, and you destroyed the last 'seed' left by the flower demon. Without you, Nephew Shen wouldn't have been able to escape the flower demon's nightmare. It was you who, with your uprightness and integrity, destroyed the flower demon's resentment that fed on dark energy," Elder Bai said.
These words sounded very complicated and a bit difficult to pronounce, but Elder Bai spoke them so fluently, which showed how many times he had heard them over the past two weeks.
"What?" Rong Xie turned to look at Shen Bingsi. The two looked at each other in bewilderment. How come this was different from the version they had discussed with Judge Jiang and the Registrar?
"Rong Xie, Shen Bingsi, you've arrived." Jiang Caijie's familiar voice came, and the two turned around to see Jiang Caijie and the recorder walking out.
Jiang Caijie nodded to Elder Bai and told him that Sect Master Feng and the elders involved in the investigation were already waiting in the main hall, and invited him to go in first.
Elder Bai left dejectedly, showing no sense of accomplishment whatsoever for becoming the master of the first person to ascend since the war between gods and demons.
"What exactly happened after we left that day?" Shen Bingsi asked impatiently. "Wasn't I supposed to be the one with extreme yang energy? How did I become Rong'er again?"
“Oh, we decided to change it to Rong Xie at the last minute,” Judge Jiang explained. “That makes more sense, since many people saw you being carried away from the Tianji Altar.”
"..." Shen Bingsi almost forgot about this.
"Who told you to leave so quickly? I couldn't find you to talk to." The registrar covered his mouth, a gloating expression on his face. "A lot of interesting things happened afterward, but unfortunately you didn't see them."
"What exciting thing happened?" Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi asked at the same time, both of them looking wary.
The registrar looked them over and couldn't help but exclaim, "They say couples become more and more alike when they're together, and it seems to be true! Your reactions are exactly the same!"
Who resembles him?
"Really? I've become more beautiful?"
The two of them spoke at the same time.
"Tsk, the reaction is different this time, so it's not a second chance." The registrar waved his hand.
"Stop joking around and get down to business," Judge Jiang said seriously. He turned to Shen Bingsi and said, "I know what you mean. You don't want Rong Xie to be exposed to the public. If people have to find a savior, you would prefer it to be you."
Shen Bingsi tacitly agreed. Precisely because he had been a savior, he knew how much expectation a savior should not have to bear, and how much resentment would result from those expectations being dashed. He did not want Rong Xie to suffer that.
“However, things are not as bad as you think, and the Xuantian Sect is not beyond saving,” said Judge Jiang. “I have already conveyed your opinion to Sect Master Feng and the Elder Council. They reacted quickly and immediately canceled the celebration. They also said that no celebration will be held until the cause and responsibility of the flower demon’s disturbance are investigated.”
"Oh?" Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi were both somewhat surprised. For a sect as large as Xuantian Sect, it would be quite difficult to delve into its own problems. They didn't expect them to actually start doing it. They just didn't know whether it was just going through the motions again or if they had really made a change.
"This thorough investigation was also proposed by the Xuantian Sect. They hope to use the power of the Heavenly Mirror to know the whole story. No matter what happened in between, they don't want to hide anything," said Judge Jiang. "The Heavenly Mirror has also agreed to their request. I think this is a very good start."
This made Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi look at them with new respect.
"But you've been staying at Huanxue Manor all this time?" Judge Jiang asked, puzzled. "Didn't you hear a single word? Sect Master Xue of the Lingjing Sect and the elders of the various peaks didn't say anything to you?"
“No, Huanxue Manor has a barrier. Ever since last time… cough cough, anyway, we raised the barrier's access level. Only people inside Huanxue Manor can enter. No one else can, including Sect Master Xue and the elders of each peak,” Shen Bingsi explained.
Rong Xie looked puzzled: "Why go out? It's so comfortable staying in the villa."
"This..." Judge Jiang really didn't expect the two to give such an answer. It was one thing for Rong Xie to do it, but it was hard to imagine that someone as restless as Shen Bing Si could actually stay obediently in Huanxue Manor.
“Oh right,” Rong Xie suddenly remembered, “Brother Jiang, your Soul Locking Orb is still with me. I’ve already moved Xiaozhi to the new Soul Locking Array, so I don’t need the Soul Locking Orb anymore. Here you go.”
As he spoke, Rong Xie nudged Shen Bingsi, who then took out a silver glass ball from the gold-patterned fish bag and returned it to Judge Jiang.
Judge Jiang retrieved the Soul-Locking Orb: "How is Xiaozhi now?"
Speaking of this, Rong Xie smiled and said, "Xiao Zhi is doing very well now. We put him in the yard, where he can bask in the sun during the day and enjoy the moonlight at night. There is also a lush weeping plum tree in Longyou for him. He likes to jump to the treetop and stop there to enjoy the scenery. When we eat, we sit at the stone table under that tree, and he will come down to listen to us talk and watch what we eat."
“Yes, life has been so comfortable, and now we’ve grown so big!” Shen Bingsi gestured with her hand, indicating a size the size of a bowl.
“That’s fast indeed,” Judge Jiang said. “It will be fully formed in another two months.”
"Take shape? What do you mean? Turn into a person?" Shen Bingsi asked.
Rong Xie had consulted books on this subject and explained, "Becoming a human requires three souls and seven spirits, which takes time. 'Take shape' means that it will initially have a form and begin to have intelligence."
"Oh? Like a Nascent Soul cultivator?"
"More or less."
Shen Bingsi rubbed her hands together, about to say something, but then put them down.
"What are you doing?" Rong Xie rarely saw him so hesitant and awkward.
“I was thinking, don’t you hate children? Why don’t you just send them away?” Shen Bingsi looked at Judge Jiang. “Brother Jiang, would you like to adopt a child? You’ve never had one in your life anyway.”
Judge Jiang: "..." I've never been so speechless in my life.
“No, how can we send her away? We finally managed to save Xiaozhi’s spirit; it’s safest to keep her at the manor.” Rong Xie said, then suddenly realized, “You’re saying this because you hate children, right?”
Big brother, don't laugh at second brother. At first, they both disliked children.
“I don’t dislike them,” Shen Bingsi said a little embarrassedly, scratching the back of her neck. “If it’s a child who’s with you… I like them very much.”
Shen Bingsi mumbled something under his breath, but the three cultivators around him couldn't understand what he was saying.
"What are you saying!" Rong Xie looked at Shen Bingsi in surprise. "That's Xiaozhi, not your son."
"..." Shen Bingsi immediately deflated, the warm atmosphere she had just created vanished in an instant.
The registrar looked at Shen Bingsi and smiled without saying anything, clearly not intending to say anything nice.
“Moreover, a spirit taking shape doesn’t necessarily become an infant; it depends on its own will,” Rong Xie continued.
"Oh..." Shen Bingsi was disheartened; her last bit of hope was gone.
After explaining the key points of the investigation to Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi at the gate, Jiang Caijie led them into the hall. Sect Master Feng, the elders of Xuantian Sect, and others had been waiting in the hall for a long time. Upon seeing them arrive, they immediately came to greet them.
"Sword Saint Shen!" "Beside Sword Saint Shen are...people of extreme Yang!" "They've finally shown themselves!"
The high-ranking members of the Xuantian Sect were all excited and wanted to come up and talk to them to express their gratitude. Such a scene was rare. Usually, the sect leader and elders were so high and mighty that ordinary disciples would find it difficult to even see them. Now, however, they were eager to talk to them but could not find an opportunity. The expressions on their old faces were almost fawning.
"I'm sorry, they can't talk to you right now." Judge Jiang raised his hand to stop everyone. "No communication is allowed before the investigation is over. Please wait a bit."
After Jiang Caijie said this, the Xuantian Sect's higher-ups were slightly disappointed, but they had no choice but to abide by the Mirror Palace's rules. They could only express their best goodwill through facial expressions.
Led by the registrar, Shen Bingsi and Rong Xie passed through the crowd and entered through a small door on the side of the main hall. Even after entering, Rong Xie could still feel intense gazes fixed on him from behind, a strange feeling...
He had always thought that being ignored was uncomfortable, but it seemed that being inexplicably noticed was also uncomfortable.
Three days later, Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi's investigation came to an end. With the assistance of Tianjing, the efficiency of restoring the original appearance of things was very high. However, Tianjing also learned about some things in the dream that were originally embarrassing to say.
"We will not disclose anything that is unrelated to the investigation results."
Jiang Caijie noticed their discomfort and made a promise to them.
When Rong Xie and Shen Bingsi left, the Xuantian Sect's higher-ups began a formal investigation. Under the arrangement of Judge Jiang, the two sides successfully missed each other. It wasn't until two months later, when the entire investigation was completed, that the Xuantian Sect's higher-ups came out of the Mirror Palace and learned that Rong Xie and the others had long since left.
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