"Yes, yes, yes, Little Tengye is the most well-behaved." Bai Sheng Yi forced a smile, praising her, then compelled herself to steady her rippling emotions.
Luo Fei Hua couldn't hear Qing Meng Teng's voice, but she recognized the recording stone and exclaimed in surprise, "Sheng Yi, did you record what just happened?"
Seeing Bai Sheng Yi nod, she clapped her hands, "This method is great! How did I not think of it back then? This way, even if the academy can't find out what happened today later, we won't have trouble explaining."
"Right, no matter when, preserving evidence is important," Bai Sheng Yi smiled. "Bai Mu Rong has too many schemes. I worry this matter might still have twists and turns, so it's good to be prepared."
Little did Bai Sheng Yi know, her guess was accurate.
Right after they left, Bai Mu Rong was initially chased by Duke Ming Yu's two guards and fled everywhere. But then, for some reason, Qin Zhao actually intervened to help Bai Mu Rong.
"Your Highness Gong! Do you live up to the princess who was so devoted to you?" Ming Er took a palm strike from Qin Zhao head-on. Although not seriously injured, he was furious.
Back when the princess was still alive, Your Highness Gong had often relied on her affection, using the princess's cultivation resources, leveraging the power of the Eldest Princess's estate, and ordering them, the princess's guards, to help him pass trials.
But now, the princess had just died, her remains not yet cold, and Your Highness Gong turned to help the killer of the princess. Wasn't this trampling on the princess's sincere feelings for him?
Qin Zhao, unexpectedly lectured by a subordinate, had a terrifyingly dark expression.
But he retorted righteously, "It is precisely because this prince grieves for the princess that I can tolerate you servants deceiving and manipulating the truth. Clearly, Bai Sheng Yi killed Princess Ming Yu. What's the point of you bullying Miss Bai Er?"
"Fellow Daoist Li, wouldn't you agree?" Qin Zhao asked, his face grim, turning to Li Shi Qing who was standing idly by.
In Qin Zhao's mind, no matter what, the killer could only be Bai Sheng Yi!
Bai Sheng Yi had insulted and cursed him so much, deceived him so much. He was determined to make Bai Sheng Yi pay!
And once these two "witnesses" were dead, he would be the one to decide who the killer was!
At that time, he would definitely make the Eldest Princess's estate capture Bai Sheng Yi alive and grind her to dust!
Bai Mu Rong immediately understood Qin Zhao's intentions and felt incredibly excited. But when she turned around and saw Li Shi Qing standing unresponsive beside them, she instantly calmed down.
However, she soon had an idea.
"Ah!"
Under Ming Er's attack, Bai Mu Rong deliberately made a mistake with her hand, allowing Ming Er's sword to pierce her shoulder, letting out a cry of pain.
"Sister Li, please help Rongrong... Rongrong knows she was wrong." Bai Mu Rong's gentle and soft face was covered in tears, making her look pitiable and tragic.
Seeing Ming Er's sword being pulled out and about to stab her heart again...
"Sister Li, for the sake of Rongrong's life-saving grace back then, help Rongrong one last time!" Bai Mu Rong said quickly.
"Screech!"
Li Shi Qing drew her long sword, it flashed horizontally in front of Bai Mu Rong, precisely blocking Ming Er's attack!
"Miss Li?" Ming Er only had time to utter three confused words before being forced to retreat step by step by Li Shi Qing. In a short while, he fell to the ground, lifeless.
The other Qi Refining stage guard, seeing the dire situation, drew his sword to escape first. But Li Shi Qing's sword was faster. A flash of light, and he too fell to the ground.
After killing the two, Li Shi Qing remained silent.
"Sister Li..."
Bai Mu Rong looked at Li Shi Qing and said softly, "I'm sorry, I, I really didn't mean to. Princess Ming Yu was actually already badly injured by Sheng Yi. I released the Zi Jin Yong because the Bai family's old medical texts said that Zi Jin Yong could save Princess Ming Yu in that situation, but I didn't expect..."
Li Shi Qing's hands, which were tending to Bai Mu Rong's wound, paused slightly.
Qin Zhao chimed in, "Fellow Daoist Li, Miss Bai Er speaks the truth. And this prince believes in her character."
Li Shi Qing was silent for a moment before saying, "If that's the case, then I hope that after leaving the illusion, Your Highness Qin and Mu Rong will report truthfully to the Eldest Princess's estate."
After speaking, she stood up and walked forward.
"Sister Li, where are you going?"
Bai Mu Rong watched Li Shi Qing's retreating figure, suddenly having a bad premonition.
The joy she had felt earlier when Li Shi Qing came looking for her, and the luck she had when Li Shi Qing saved her just now, instantly shattered into pieces.
Li Shi Qing did not look back, only saying, "Rongrong, this assessment is a solo assessment. I've wasted too much time, so I won't be with you all. You should be careful on your own."
Bai Mu Rong stared at Li Shi Qing's departure, gritting her teeth.
She stoically treated her own wounds, then bowed to Qin Zhao, saying gently, "Thank you, Your Highness, for your trust and strong support today. In the future, if Your Highness gives any command, Mu Rong will surely go through fire and water without hesitation."
"Miss Bai Er is too kind. It's just that this prince never expected Bai Sheng Yi to have learned to lie now. Alas, in the end, this prince spoiled her too much in the past, making her unaware of her own limitations." Qin Zhao shook his head.
Bai Mu Rong said, "Indeed. After I return, Mu Rong will report everything that happened in the illusion truthfully to my grandfather and the Eldest Princess."
As Bai Mu Rong spoke, the two exchanged a look and a gentle smile, reaching a consensus.
"Achoo!"
Bai Sheng Yi sneezed loudly.
"Master, master, are you sick? Little Tengye said it, the sun is too big, you need a leaf hat to shade you."
Qing Meng Teng said this, quickly conjured a leaf hat, and before Bai Sheng Yi could refuse, quickly placed it on Bai Sheng Yi's head.
Bai Sheng Yi's vision was immediately obscured by more than half, forcing her to reach out and brush away the lush green leaves.
"Be quiet for a while. The big sun has nothing to do with sneezing. It's possible someone is plotting against me," Bai Sheng Yi muttered to herself. "According to that demonic cultivator just now, we should be able to get out soon..."
As she spoke, her vision suddenly became hazy and ethereal, and then, she returned to the illusionary realm within Qian Lian City.
However, Luo Fei Hua and the others who were with her had vanished, not a single figure could be seen.
Having gone through five years of college entrance examinations in the 23rd century and endured thirteen years of compulsory education and various exams in the Federation, Bai Sheng Yi had always believed that as long as there was an assessment, there were patterns.
Therefore, after getting separated from Luo Fei Hua again, Bai Sheng Yi successively broke through three more illusions and defeated three demonic cultivators. Now, she had finally figured out the pattern of this assessment.
Simply put, on the surface, these demonic cultivators seemed to have unfathomable whereabouts, and whether one encountered them was purely a matter of luck. But in reality, everything was traceable.
Wherever there were demonic cultivators, unusual incidents would occur in the city, such as murder, treasure-snatching, or brawls. Once an assessor got involved, they would enter different illusionary assessments, and after passing the assessment, they would obtain key weapons to subdue the demonic cultivators, such as spiritual artifacts, elixirs, and so on.
"Master, do you want to rest for a bit?" Qing Meng Teng saw Bai Sheng Yi walking towards the Chong Ya Inn.
Bai Sheng Yi shook her head and grinned, "Rest? I'm going to rack up points."
She bypassed the Chong Ya Inn and walked all the way to a corner of the large square outside the City Lord's Mansion. She said to the young man squatting on the ground, "Friend, I want to take on a mission from the City Lord's Mansion. Please give me a copy of the City Lord's Mansion's recent mission list."
In a city full of cultivators like this, there was a City Lord's Mansion that managed the city.
To maintain effective order and maximize the City Lord's Mansion's interests, the City Lord's Mansion would release some matters that did not affect its rule as missions.
The young man, who had been expressionless just moments ago, suddenly jumped up with joy and handed Bai Sheng Yi a scroll, "Oh! Thank you so much! These are all of them!"
Bai Sheng Yi opened it and saw that the murder case at the Chong Ya Inn and the cat-stealing case she had just dealt with were all recorded on the mission list, marked as completed.
And on the paper, there were countless uncompleted missions, such as the wine-stealing case at Wu Shuang Restaurant, the missing child case in the city...
Bai Sheng Yi's mood immediately lifted, and she curved her lips.