Chapter 25 Twenty-Five Stabs "There can only be one murderer"...
Luo Mingshu felt she could no longer look Xie Changming in the eye, but after thinking it over, she realized that Xie Changming himself had a tail, so it wasn't surprising that he was interested in other creatures with tails.
"Sigh, maybe he's just not knowledgeable enough. A mermaid beauty like her isn't rare in the demon realm. It's just that other fish demons aren't as beautiful as her," Luo Mingshu thought to herself.
Xie Changming, of course, had no idea what Luo Mingshu was thinking. He walked forward until he stopped in front of the pavilion and looked back at Luo Mingshu.
Luo Mingshu tried her best to keep her gaze normal as she looked at him. She lowered her head, coughed lightly, and jogged over.
Now is not the time to think about these things like holding hands and being affectionate; she has more important tasks to do.
Xie Changming waited until Luo Mingshu walked to his side before stepping into the library.
As soon as Luo Mingshu pushed open the door of the library, she was blinded by the lights inside.
Shui Qingnian was holding a luminous pearl in one hand and a book in the other. When they approached, she was startled and almost dropped the luminous pearl.
They became characters in Yingtian Palace, and to a certain extent, they could not do anything beyond the scope of their roles—of course, they could do it, as long as they weren't seen by others.
Therefore, Luo Mingshu and Xie Changming's late-night intrusion into the Imperial Hospital is against the rules. If Shui Qingnian shouts for the guards to expose their identities, their reputation within Yingtian Palace will be greatly diminished.
Shui Qingnian closed the book in her hand, pointed at Xie Changming and Luo Mingshu, and said loudly, "You two actually broke into the Imperial Hospital at night, and both of you at that! You really don't take the rules of Yingtian Palace seriously!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xie Changming moved his fingers, and Shui Qingnian felt as if she had been struck hard between the eyebrows, falling backward.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye, and the luminous pearl in Shui Qingnian's hand rolled to the ground.
Luo Mingshu was stunned by what she saw, but Xie Changming walked over as if nothing had happened, bent down and picked up the luminous pearl that Shui Qingnian had been holding.
Then, Xie Changming handed the luminous pearl to Luo Mingshu, gesturing for her to take it.
This series of actions was swift and efficient, and Luo Mingshu couldn't help but begin to doubt whether she was really the villainous supporting character, because Xie Changming seemed much more vicious than her.
However, she thought the one in Shui Qingnian's hand was too small.
“She doesn’t want that one.” Luo Mingshu waved her hand and took out an even larger one from her spatial pouch, instantly illuminating the space inside the library, even the shadowy areas in the distance.
Xie Changming threw the luminous pearl that Shui Qingnian had mentioned on the ground, and then led Luo Mingshu into the library.
Luo Mingshu followed behind her, holding the huge luminous pearl in her hands. She felt that she needed to learn from this anonymous cultivator.
"How do I defeat her?" Luo Mingshu wondered. Even she herself would need to exchange a few blows to subdue Shui Qingnian.
Xie Changming said, "Just raise your hand."
If it weren't for the protection of the Misty Star Sea, Shui Qingnian would be dead by now.
Luo Mingshu felt a pang of jealousy. Suddenly, she remembered something and asked, "How old are you?"
She concluded that the anonymous cultivator was an ancient monster, otherwise there was no reason for him to be so much stronger than her.
"Three hundred years since I became conscious," Xie Changming replied.
"Damn it—" Luo Mingshu gritted her teeth and said, "You're not allowed to lie about your age. These days, pretending to be young isn't fashionable anymore."
“It’s three hundred years old,” Xie Changming emphasized.
Luo Mingshu was shocked and fell into deep self-doubt. This man, at three hundred years old, could kick a Nascent Soul cultivator and roam freely in the Water Mirror Realm without any rivals, while she, at three hundred years old, was challenged by him to the point of questioning her life and was still cast as a villainous supporting character.
“You…” Luo Mingshu clutched her chest, heartbroken. She didn’t want to be inferior to others in this respect.
"Me?" Xie Changming turned his head to look at Luo Mingshu. His tall figure blocked some of the light from the luminous pearl. His profile was deep and handsome, and his face was half-lit and half-shadowed, giving him a mysterious and alluring look.
He sensed the complex emotions in Luo Mingshu's "you," and he looked at her quietly, waiting for her answer.
“When I was 270 years old, I won the championship in the Yuling Sect’s travel mount racing competition for ten consecutive years—you didn’t win that, did you?” Luo Mingshu racked his brains and finally came up with a way that he was better than Xie Changming.
“No.” Xie Changming’s long eyelashes fluttered as he slowly said, “But even if you ride that magic weapon, I’m still faster than you.”
So Xie Changming, this demon, isn't very good at chatting. As soon as he finished speaking, Luo Mingshu fell into a melancholy mood.
"Damn it, he's faster than me! How dare he be faster than me!" Luo Mingshu muttered to herself.
Xie Changming took Luo Mingshu's wrist, the one that wasn't holding the luminous pearl, and spun her around, leading her into the narrow passageway of the library.
Luo Mingshu stood very close to him, but she had no romantic thoughts at all. She was thinking about what she had that Xie Changming was better at than her.
Xie Changming then searched through the numerous books, but there was still no clue as to the location of the Bright Blaze Pill, and he was in a hurry to complete this exploration scenario and earn money—
However, Xie Changming's hand, which was searching through books, paused, as if he had remembered something.
He couldn't detect other people's divine senses within the Misty Star Sea, so he couldn't find Luo Mingshu after leaving the Misty Star Sea.
And all he can do now is... try to extend the exploration time of the Misty Star Sea a little.
So why was he being so proactive? Xie Changming realized.
So, after realizing that taking it slow would allow him to spend more time with Luo Mingshu, the only hard-working person in the entire exploration scene started to slack off and do nothing.
Luo Mingshu, in high spirits, held the luminous pearl in one hand and examined it in different books: "Consort Gao, have you found any clues about the Bright Blaze Pill?"
Without making a sound, Xie Changming hid the book containing information about Minglie Dan. With a flick of his finger, he created a separate space and threw the books containing key clues into it.
"No," he said matter-of-factly.
“You still can’t do it.” Luo Mingshu said confidently. “I have to do it myself.”
She started searching on her own, and Xie Changming followed behind her, pretending to search together.
Of course, the book was hidden away in a separate space, so it wasn't destroyed and therefore wouldn't automatically recover.
Luo Mingshu was a Nascent Soul cultivator and read extremely fast. She spent most of the night reading through all the books in this section, but found no record of the Bright Blaze Pill.
"Exploring this secret realm is surprisingly difficult," Luo Mingshu said, stroking his chin. "The trail has now gone cold."
"Mm." Xie Changming echoed, standing slightly behind her, his tall figure looming over her.
Luo Mingshu yawned; she was a little sleepy. After thinking it over, she felt that this task was quite tiring, so she decided to hand it over to the anonymous cultivator.
"I think I should go back." Luo Mingshu was having second thoughts. "These clues are so hard to find, it seems this Misty Star Sea is no ordinary place."
Xie Changming didn't intend to continue searching, so he replied, "Okay."
Luo Mingshu always felt that he was fooling her, because Xie Changming's tone was exactly the same as when she was fooling Feng Du.
"You mean..." Luo Mingshu looked at him suspiciously, "You never intended to look for him at all?"
Xie Changming's eyes flickered slightly: "No."
Luo Mingshu leaned closer to look at him, meeting his beautiful peach blossom eyes: "You seem to be hiding something."
"Consort Gao, I never imagined you were such a scheming person." Luo Mingshu sighed, but then she thought, wasn't she also planning to betray him?
The two of them didn't get along to begin with, so now he's trying to trip her up.
Luo Mingshu understood. She straightened up and said to Xie Changming, "It's okay, I understand."
Xie Changming: "?" What do you know?
Luo Mingshu knew she and the anonymous cultivator couldn't be teammates, so she decided to spread rumors about him early and kick him out of the place.
"Consort Gao, I won't hold back." Luo Mingshu's tone was deep.
Xie Changming glanced at Luo Mingshu and felt that he shouldn't have had too high expectations of her in the first place.
"I'm leaving," he said to Luo Mingshu.
No matter what Luo Mingshu says, he will definitely continue to slack off.
After Xie Changming sent Luo Mingshu back to the palace, she felt that something was not quite right. This anonymous cultivator had really changed his ways and had even learned to pick her up and drop her off.
She stood outside her room window, looking at Xie Changming's handsome face, and thought to herself that she had to be careful of Fu Rui control.
As Xie Changming looked at her, a fluffy tail tip suddenly peeked out from under the trailing black hem of her dress. The tail tip was fluffy, like the tail of some kind of cute dog.
Xie Changming may not have realized it himself, but the tip of its tail did wag slightly at her before immediately retracting.
Luo Mingshu's eyes widened in shock, a feeling of disbelief welling up inside her.
Oh my god, this is so cute!!!
The one who controlled Fu Rui was actually herself?!
She swallowed hard and waved to Xie Changming, "Go back now, don't disturb the beauty's sleep anymore."
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Changming disappeared from the spot.
Luo Mingshu climbed back to her room, thinking that something seemed a little off.
Is Xie Changming a demon? But he doesn't seem to be from the demon realm.
What could he possibly be? Luo Mingshu was completely baffled.
She fell asleep with questions in her mind, and was woken up by her maid the next day.
"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The cruel imperial physician has been attacked in the Imperial Medical Academy's library. People have been organized within Yingtian Palace and are rushing there to find the culprit!"
Luo Mingshu thought of what Xie Changming had done last night, and she covered her head: "If you ask, it was Gao Fei who did it. Don't bother me, I want to go back to sleep."
“Right now, all the suspicion is pointing to Consort Gao or Consort Mei, because everyone except the victim has a reasonable alibi.” The maid stood in front of Luo Mingshu’s bed and made a gesture of pushing up her glasses. “But there is only one truth, and the more innocent a person is, the more likely they are to commit the crime, so we need to investigate further.”
Luo Mingshu: "!!!" But it really was Consort Gao who knocked down the cool imperial physician with one punch! Why don't you wait until she wakes up and ask her about this?
Seemingly sensing Luo Mingshu's doubts, the maid said with an air of self-importance, "Yes, after the Imperial Physician Ku woke up, he identified you and Consort Gao, but—this could also be a trap to frame you, because the trajectory of the luminous pearl rolling on the ground is very suspicious."
Luo Mingshu rolled around on the bed speechlessly: "It really was me and Gao Fei who did it together. I threw away the luminous pearl because I thought it was too small."
"No, Your Highness, please don't give up on yourself. Get up now, dress up, and go to the Imperial Hospital to be investigated together." The maid pulled her up.
Luo Mingshu truly hadn't anticipated things would develop this way. She wouldn't deny what she had done; Shui Qingnian was hit by Consort Gao, and she casually tossed the luminous pearl along with it. The truth of the matter was that simple.
However, when she arrived at the Imperial Hospital, she witnessed an incredibly chaotic scene. (Pianozl)
"I...I knew it was no good that you came to me in the middle of the night saying you were short one player for Dou Dizhu!" Lu Yaoyao said, her voice trembling with tears. "So you wanted to use me as an alibi so you could sneak over and attack my poor, ruthless doctor and clear yourselves of suspicion."
Guard Bao and Consort Neng both broke down in despair: "We really are one short! Besides, Consort Neng, weren't you very happy when you won the spirit stones?"
"You used money to corrupt my heart and make me lower my guard!" Lu Yaoyao accused.
"As for you, you've long been at odds with the cruel imperial physician. Don't think we can't see it!" Guard Bao said loudly. "Maybe you seized this opportunity to sneak away to the Imperial Hospital to attack the cruel imperial physician, and then used us to vouch for you!"
Luo Mingshu saw the three of them arguing, while the culprit, Xie Changming, sat quietly drinking tea to the side, looking completely unconcerned, as if the commotion had nothing to do with him.
Shui Qingnian, who was lying on the couch to the side, was so angry when she saw Luo Mingshu walk in that she jumped up from the bed: "It was them, Consort Gao and Consort Mei, who knocked me unconscious in the Imperial Hospital in the middle of the night!"
Before Luo Mingshu could speak, a female official who had entered with her stepped forward—presumably a key figure in this trial scenario—and said, “Your Highnesses and Lords, please stop arguing. Given the special nature of this matter, we must investigate to find out the truth. Here’s what we’ll do: since no one has touched the library yet, you can go inside and search for evidence to find the real culprit who injured the cruel imperial physician. If you can guide the palace staff to vote and successfully find the culprit, we will reward you Your Highnesses and Lords. If the culprit escapes, the reward will be his; let’s applaud his superb acting skills.”
"The reward, of course, is the location of the entrance to the treasure vault of our Yingtian Palace, which contains countless pills and treasures." The female official emphasized the word "pills" in her enunciation.
Because Xie Changming exploited a bug last night, he hid the only clue in the library pointing to the location of the Minglie Pill. Even the Misty Star Sea itself couldn't break through the independent space he created to release the library. So the exploration scene automatically adjusted, making good use of the current events to modify the plot and release the location of the Minglie Pill as an event reward ahead of time.
As the instigator, Xie Changming naturally saw through Misty Star Sea's intentions, and he felt that he had wasted his time touching the fish last night.
Luo Mingshu was also in high spirits, rubbing her hands together excitedly, and said, "I will definitely find the real culprit for you!"
Only Shui Qingsi frantically pounded on the wall: "Do we even need to look for this?! I am the victim, and the murderer is Gao Fei!"
"We can't rule out the possibility that the opponent used disguise magic," the female official reminded with a smile. "Also, victory is achieved on a team basis."
Luo Mingshu was surprised that the Misty Star Sea would go to such lengths to exonerate her and the anonymous cultivator in order to ensure fair competition, and for a moment, she was somewhat moved.
Moreover, she realized that she and the anonymous cultivator were now in the same boat; to get the next clue and obtain the Bright Blaze Pill, she had to protect him.
Luo Mingshu looked up at Xie Changming, who had a calm expression, and had no choice but to accept the fact.
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