Chapter 220

As expected of Elder Tian Xianzi, in order to solve the Luan City case and protect his disciples, he even destroyed his own image! What a great spirit of sacrifice and dedication! What an incomparable high IQ!

The people praised him with love and applauded with their hearts. Under the leadership of the storyteller, they used all their imagination to try their best to whitewash Tian Xianzi.

Calling it whitewashing is an understatement; it was like forcefully painting his head with white paint, transforming him overnight from the number one beheader of the Immortal Sect into one of the top ten most inspirational figures in Luan City, bearing humiliation for the greater good.

“Speaking of this, we must mention our greatest hero—Ning Ning.”

The storyteller seemed to be cursed that “every time he tells gossip, the subject of his gossip will hear it” and continued spinning his tale under Ning Ning’s complicated gaze:

“This young lady is extraordinary! Not only did she solve the mystery in the secret realm, but she also deduced that Luo Yuanming was the mastermind behind the disappearance cases. It’s said that she was exceptionally bright from birth, writing at one, painting at two, and composing poetry at three—a child prodigy that is known far and wide, with a brain one and a half times the size of others’!”

Zheng Weiqi choked on a mouthful of tea and almost couldn’t breathe.

Jiang Si, stunned, meticulously examined everyone present, still managing his expressions, and furrowed his brows, “Is this true?”

“False.”

Ning Ning was so angry that she saw stars. She ate a piece of pastry with a blank expression, “The story he’s telling might be called ‘Xuanxu Sect: Parallel Universe.’ It’s not the same as ours; just think of it as people with the same names.”

The storyteller continued logically, spinning more tales such as “In order to gather intelligence, He Zhizhou did not hesitate to dress up as a woman and sneak into a brothel. His dedication is touching!” and “Zheng Weiqi transformed into a shadowless spy and disappeared in the city for a whole day, just to secretly monitor Luo Yuanming’s every move.”

This has little to do with what actually happened, if it’s not completely different.

A group of drunkards who used to cause trouble under Tian Xianzi’s tutelage were inexplicably forced to be speechless and endure humiliation. The young cultivators were not wrong, but the ones who were wrong were these shortsighted fools.

Zheng Weiqi was amazed, Lin Xun was so embarrassed that he buried his face in his arms, and He Zhizhou was extremely satisfied with his role and kept grinning.

Ning Ning thought about when to visit Pei Ji and glanced at the sky, noting it was already noon. She had an appointment she couldn’t miss.

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At noon in summer, the intense heat settled with the sunlight, the cicadas’ leisurely chirping stretching infinitely, connecting the clear blue sky with the shimmering water.

On the Longyin River, the scent of lotus flowers lingered, the swaying shadows of trees casting dancing spots of light, mist intertwining with the heat, silently surrounding a small boat.

A young woman in white sat quietly on the boat’s edge, gazing at the flowing water. Noticing someone approaching, she looked up with her tea cup in hand.

It was Luan Niang, or rather, Meng Tingzhou.

Previously adorned in elaborate red attire, she now wore a simple white dress without any embellishments, which, under the sunlight, made her skin appear fairer than snow; her face looked as beautiful as the autumn water. Though still with a charming face, there was now a heroic spirit to her demeanor, like a sword unsheathed.

Meng Tingzhou, who had always guided them to uncover the truth, had never been alone with any disciple of Elder Tian Xianzi. Even her departure by boat at noon today was a secret shared only with Ning Ning while in the well.

Now meeting, Meng Tingzhou lazily raised her eyebrow, a fox-like smile playing on her lips.

“Miss Meng.”

Ning Ning greeted her simply, “What are you looking at?”

“Shadows.”

She lowered her gaze to the green water below.

Following her gaze, Ning Ning saw the faint reflection of the sky and clouds, the shadow of the boat blending with the white clouds.

Meng Tingzhou seemed lost in thought, a faint smile appearing in her eyes, “Look, the reflection of the clouds in the water blends with the shadow of the boat—turns out the boat in the water can touch the distant clouds in the sky.”

Ning Ning understood her meaning and was momentarily stunned.

“Do you have a question for me?”

“I have a question for you.”

Their voices overlapped, and Meng Tingzhou nodded, indicating the girl on the shore should speak first.

A long-standing question troubled Ning Ning.

Though not crucial, it felt like a thorn in her heart, something unresolved.

“When I visited that shop, the owner told me Song Xianning asked about the soul-swapping technique.”

Ning Ning took a light breath, meeting her gaze seriously, “Luo Yuanming was using girls’ souls for cultivation, but why would she ask about soul-swapping? How does it relate to this?”

The soul-swapping technique, lost for years, existed only in fragmented mentions in forbidden texts, a method for swapping souls or resurrection.

Song Xianning, after discovering Luo Yuanming’s secret, moved to a separate courtyard in anger. According to the shopkeeper, after asking about the technique, she fell seriously ill.

This timing coincided with two major turning points in Song Xianning’s life. If she sought soul-swapping, the only reason would be—

“Instead of pursuing this, don’t you want to know other things?”

Meng Tingzhou leaned against the boat’s canopy, letting the sunlight filter through the trees, falling like butterflies on her flawless face and nose.

She was beautiful, now even more so under the sunlight, like a surreal painting. After a long silence, she laughed softly.

“For instance, who drugged you in Jiuzhou Spring Return? Who sent your senior brother Meng Jue to the painting seller’s door? Who was the old woman Young Master He met by the river?”

She swirled the cup in her hand, her tone like a soft enchantment, “And…who filled my cup with this tea?”

Ning Ning was startled.

Meng Tingzhou had no relatives in Luan City, and her position as the city lord’s wife was extremely sensitive. If she hired strangers for the entire plan, they could betray her, alerting Luo Yuanming prematurely.

Given his character, with all evidence against him, Ning Ning and her friends would have discovered the truth too late, and Meng Tingzhou might have met a tragic end.

Besides this, the most puzzling question was why Song Xianning asked about the soul-swapping technique.