Sun Yun did not feel at all that Qin Zhao leaning on her shoulder was wrong; in fact, she rather enjoyed the feeling of being depended upon by Qin Zhao.
Growing up in the Sun family, everyone looked down on her and belittled her. Even now, as the only one who could be betrothed to Lou Changxing, many in her family still looked down on her.
But with Qin Zhao, she was the woman Qin Zhao indulged and cherished, the Miss Yun he truly cared for.
Thinking this, Sun Yun realized they had arrived at the inn.
She intended to let Qin Zhao go to rest by himself, but found that Qin Zhao had already fainted. She had no choice but to help him into a room.
“Qin Zhao? I’m going to see my second sister, alright?” Sun Yun called out softly. Seeing Qin Zhao didn't react, she frowned, but ultimately said nothing more, got up, and left.
She didn’t see that the moment her figure disappeared from the room, Qin Zhao’s eyes opened.
“A selfish woman. She claims gratitude for saving my life, yet she won’t even give me a single Rank Three Rejuvenation Pill.”
As he spoke, he got up from the bed, adjusted his clothes, and left the inn. After skirting several alleys, he entered a private room in a restaurant.
Inside the private room, Bai Murong was pouring tea for herself.
Upon seeing him arrive, Bai Murong said gently, "Prince Gong, are you injured?"
As she spoke, she put down her teacup, took out a Rank Three Rejuvenation Pill from her storage bag, and handed it to Qin Zhao.
“I don’t have anything else of value. This is useful for both internal and external injuries. Please accept it; I hope you won’t mind.”
“How could I? This is exactly what I need right now. I will accept it with gratitude.” Qin Zhao smiled warmly, reached out to take it, and swallowed it. Then he asked, "Miss Bai Er sent me a message today. Is there something important?"
“Prince Gong, just call me Murong.” Bai Murong lowered her head shyly, then softly said, "I apologize for disturbing you, Your Highness. There is indeed an important matter I need to inform you of."
Qin Zhao gazed at Bai Murong with a smile in his eyes, but in his heart, he was dismissive.
In his opinion, although Bai Murong liked him, she was of little use. Her coming to him now probably meant she wanted to seduce him now that Mingyu was dead. However, Bai Murong was indeed good-looking. If she could suppress Bai Shengyi and become the heir of the Duke of Rong’s mansion, then making her his princess wouldn’t be bad…
Various thoughts crossed Qin Zhao's mind, but he never expected that Bai Murong’s next sentence would almost make him jump.
"Prince Gong, Princess Mingyu might not be dead."
"What did you say!" Qin Zhao could barely control his expression. He calmed himself and said in a deep voice, "Murong, such a joke is not funny."
Bai Murong said with a bitter and wronged expression, "How could I possibly joke with Your Highness?"
"I only learned from Qing Bu Li this morning that the Qianlian City we entered earlier was an illusion. It perfectly replicated all the actions and words of the examinees, including their cultivation. The consumption of pills and injuries were real, but one thing is that death inside was fake."
"Your Highness, what should we do?" Bai Murong asked, weeping softly in a fragile and helpless manner.
Even at this moment, she was beautiful, with a gentle and harmless beauty, like a docile little rabbit with no aggression, evoking pity.
Qin Zhao instinctively said, "Don't be afraid, I'll think of a way."
The moment the words left his mouth, he wanted to take them back, but Bai Murong had already exclaimed with surprise, "That's great! With your help, Your Highness, I'm no longer worried."
"Your Highness, I've also secured the help of Sister Li and Qing Bu Li..."
Bai Murong spoke softly and tenderly, showing great dependence, which instantly put Qin Zhao at ease. He followed her words, saying, "I'll have Miss Yun help from my end as well..."
***
After Bai Shengyi finished talking with Sun Ling and saw that the other party's emotions were still very volatile, she left Sun Ling alone in the private room to calm down and went to the adjacent room to check on Chu Tianle's recovery from his injuries.
As she expected, there had been little to no recovery, and he hadn't even had his wounds bandaged properly.
"Are you a Gulu Beast? Instead of focusing on healing and recovering, what are you spacing out about?"
Bai Shengyi frowned, squatted down, and examined the wound on his right arm. Seeing that even his meridians were severed, she became somewhat angry.
Chu Tianle, however, seemed to have lost his soul. He grabbed Bai Shengyi's sleeve and asked, "Shengyi, you know we knew each other before, right?"
"Yes."
"Then the Xingjin within you, did Bai Murong put it there?" he asked again.
Bai Shengyi nodded in surprise, "Yes."
"That's right, then it all makes sense..." Chu Tianle muttered to himself.
Bai Shengyi didn't understand what he was muttering about. She took out a Rank Three Rejuvenation Pill from her storage bag and put it into Chu Tianle's mouth. Then, she used her mental power to reconnect the meridians in his arm.
The injury on his leg was not as serious. After a simple bandage, she patted her clothes and stood up, "Let's go, back to rest."
Chu Tianle, however, said, "Don't you want to know what memory you lost?"
Initially, Chu Tianle only thought Bai Shengyi's amnesia was a coincidence. It wasn't until he heard about the "life-saving grace" between Bai Murong and Li Shiqing, heard that Bai Murong also knew Xingjin could cause amnesia, and then confirmed from Bai Shengyi that it was Bai Murong who administered Xingjin to her, that he understood everything.
The adventure in the Dongyue Jungle back then was probably more than just exciting and vigorous as he had thought. He might have been used as a tool for calculations, ruining the eyes of an innocent girl.
"No, I don't. When it's time to remember, I will," Bai Shengyi said, trying to pull Chu Tianle up. "Alright, don't overthink it. I know what I'm doing, so you don't need to worry about it."
For her, whether she had those memories or not was unimportant. In any case, she and Bai Murong and Qin Zhao were already mortal enemies.
Chu Tianle, however, felt guilty and refused to get up, saying, "But if your eyes were because of me..."
"You also said 'if.' Why think so much about something that didn't happen?" Bai Shengyi interrupted. "Chu Tianle, when did you become so sensitive and emotional?"
Chu Tianle lowered his head, looking like a pathetic big puppy who had done something wrong.
Bai Shengyi thought that if he had fluffy fur, she might not be able to resist him.
However, she was still soft-hearted.
Although she didn't know what Chu Tianle was brooding about, she still squatted down and explained seriously, "I'll tell you the truth. I don't know if it's because the Xingjin has reduced or because my strength has grown, but I sometimes recall small fragments of that time."
"You and Li Shiqing were considered my saviors back then. How could you possibly harm me intentionally? Instead of overthinking, you should keep an eye on Bai Murong for me in the future. I'm still worried she might try to cause trouble through Li Shiqing."
Perhaps the last sentence finally made Chu Tianle clear his head.
He stood up with Bai Shengyi's help and said to her, "Shengyi, Li Jie and I will definitely get justice for you."
It was he who had brought Bai Murong and the others to Bai Shengyi that year, and it was Sister Li who had allowed Bai Murong and the others to take Bai Shengyi away. If Bai Shengyi's blindness was a meticulous scheme by Bai Murong, then he was also one of the executioners.
He could not find peace in his heart.
Bai Shengyi frowned slightly. She felt that Chu Tianle had misunderstood. Bai Murong was the one who did wrong, what did it have to do with him!
Moreover, given the relationship between her and Bai Murong at the time, it would have been impossible to guard against Bai Murong wanting to harm her. After all, Bai Murong had always been a good sister who cared for her younger sibling back then.
However, Bai Shengyi simply couldn't persuade Chu Tianle, so she let him have his way.
She glanced at the recommendation post and found that the second arena match had already been determined. The time was quite tight, it was tonight.
She had originally planned to check on the other four people, but now she couldn't.
It was getting late, so Bai Shengyi went to say goodbye to Sun Ling, planning to return to the inn to rest and conserve her energy.
Bai Shengyi, with Chu Tianle in tow, came out of the private room and just reached the entrance of the stairs when she saw Sun Yun storming up from downstairs.
"Bai Shengyi!" Sun Yun snorted lightly, lifting her chin. "Where is my second sister?"