Chapter 99

Elder Sang, hiding his hand in his sleeve, silently absorbed all the invisible flames in the room.

“Xiao Shou, where are the enemies?” Elder Qiao spoke first.

Enemies?

A question flashed through Xiao Shou’s mind. How did enemies appear again? What’s going on?

Ye Xiaotian floated in the air, level with everyone else. He glared at Elder Qiao, clearly thinking that Xiao Shou should speak first at this moment.

If the information he has matches what the rest of us have, there’s no problem. If it doesn’t match, then it’s a different story.

Initiating the conversation would just be helping him out of a bind, right?

Elder Qiao glared back, not willing to back down.

His meaning was clear: with so many big shots watching, who could handle it?

Xiao Shou is still a child!

Seeing Elder Qiao speak, Zhao Xidong couldn’t hold back either: “Didn’t we exchange a secret code just now? Wasn’t there a kidnapper?”

Secret code?

Xiao Shou was momentarily confused. Which one are you referring to?

When did I ever exchange a secret code with you?

Xiao Shou wasn’t stupid. He could deduce a lot of useful information from these two sentences and was willing to follow the clues they provided to shift the blame. But would it really work?

His gaze flicked back and forth between Elder Qiao and Zhao Xidong, but his “perception” clearly saw the reactions of all five people.

Xiao Qiqi, though stern on the surface, was actually quite familiar. With Elder Qiao around, it was easy to talk.

Elder Sang was his master, silent but on his side.

Only the white-haired Daoist Ye Xiaotian, whom he had only met once, left an impression of being taciturn.

But Xiao Shou could see through this guy’s shrewdness. Being the head of the Inner Courtyard, he was definitely not an ordinary person.

Moreover, they weren’t familiar, so he couldn’t act rashly.

Xiao Shou was a rational person, good at reading people’s expressions and generally didn’t act recklessly.

Although he had caused a small explosion in the Spirit Treasury, there wasn’t much damage—just a hundred bookshelves and many tables and chairs were destroyed...

Well, they looked quite valuable.

Admitting fault would only result in financial loss. If he tried to shift the blame, it might reflect poorly on his character.

“There are no enemies, and no kidnapper,” Xiao Shou said calmly.

“Suspected, passive value, +5.”

Xiao Shou was taken aback.

What’s going on? I’m being serious!

I’m not lying!

“Are you joking?” Zhao Xidong couldn’t hold back, voicing everyone’s thoughts. “If there’s no one else, did you cause the explosion?”

“Yeah.” Xiao Shou nodded.

“Suspected, passive value, +4.”

Huh?

4?

Xiao Shou keenly noticed a slight smile at the corner of Elder Sang’s mouth, as if he knew something, but he kept his straw hat low and remained silent.

That’s right.

The method of compressing the fire seed was given by him, and he was probably the only one who believed what Xiao Shou said...

“Nonsense!”

Elder Qiao slapped Xiao Shou’s shoulder. “Xiao Shou, don’t be afraid. The top combatants of Tian Sang Ling Palace are right here. If someone is threatening you, just say it. Don’t worry so much.”

This...

Xiao Shou vaguely felt this scene was familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before. He instinctively looked at Xiao Qiqi.

Xiao Qiqi gave an encouraging look. “The net is vast and wide, but it has no gaps. Speak up!”

“Encouraged, passive value, +1.”

Xiao Shou was stunned. What a vast and wide net... He remembered why this scene felt familiar.

The last time he drew “Sword Mastery,” these two kept forcing him to reveal the location of a non-existent person.

He was about to cry. If it were any other time, he might have pointed in a random direction to get out of it, but with Ye Xiaotian here, he didn’t dare act rashly. “There really isn’t...”

Before he could finish, Elder Sang interrupted him.

“From the force of the explosion, the third floor of the Spirit Treasury was affected, but the damage was minimal. I’ve checked the spirit techniques; none are missing or damaged. Only some miscellaneous items are missing.”

“Preliminary estimates suggest the intruder might be at the Master level, with fire attributes, but it’s also possible they suppressed their cultivation to confuse us. Let’s consider them at the Throne level.”

Ye Xiaotian frowned. The situation wasn’t yet clear, yet Elder Sang had already made a conclusion, which was unusual.

But he didn’t argue, as the old man had just regrown his arm for him.

Xiao Shou was somewhat taken aback.

Intruder?

Throne?

He quickly realized that Elder Sang was giving him a way out.

Sure enough, the old man with the straw hat asked seriously, “Where did they go?”

Xiao Shou trembled and pointed in a random direction...

Why?

Why do people always force me to lie?

Elder Sang decisively ordered, “Zhao Xidong, gather people and search everywhere; Qiao Qian and Xiao Qiqi, start tracking immediately; Ye Xiaotian...”

He glanced at the white-haired Daoist, who also looked suspiciously at him.

“You go with Xiao Qiqi’s team!” Elder Sang made a quick decision, his face showing no emotion. “It might be a follow-up move by the ‘Holy Slave.’ Don’t be complacent!”

Hearing “Holy Slave,” Ye Xiaotian’s concerns were dispelled, and his expression became serious.

“Don’t rule out a diversion. I will stay at the Ling Palace, and you search outward. Act immediately!” Elder Sang’s command was decisive, leaving no room for doubt.

“Yes!”

The group responded and dispersed.

Xiao Shou stared at the old man with the straw hat, amazed.

Impressive!

A few words to define the situation, leaving no room for argument.

Strong!

He gave a flattering and admiring look.

Elder Sang took a deep breath, his face darkening as he stared at him. “I was only gone for a moment. I told you to focus on alchemy. What have you done?”

Sure enough, the old man had seen through everything...

Xiao Shou awkwardly scratched his head, unable to respond.

I’m helpless too!

I wanted to focus on alchemy, but how did so many accidents happen?

Elder Sang glared at him, but it was okay since there was no major damage, and no spirit techniques were lost. Otherwise, the consequences would have been severe.

“I’ve sent them away, but if you don’t give an explanation for today’s incident, well...”

Xiao Shou’s hair stood on end, feeling like he was being watched by a predator, shivering with fear.

He forced a smile, knowing that flattery wouldn’t help at this moment.

“I have an explanation, but I’m not sure if I should say it...”

Elder Sang grabbed him and they moved to the third floor.

The array formation activated, blocking everything from the outside. The old man lifted his straw hat, but the sight before him almost made him spit blood.

The large bathtub was flying to the side, as if hit by a heavy blow, leaving a dent in the wall.

The neatly arranged bottles and jars were now scattered everywhere, some broken, the pills inside looking like helpless, naked girls curled on the ground.

The windows on both sides were gone, and a gentle breeze blew through, feeling quite refreshing!

Did I take on a disciple?

This is more like bringing home a destructive beast!

Elder Sang’s face turned red with anger, his sparse eyebrows and eyes fixed on Xiao Shou, like a death stare. If it were anyone else, they would already be a corpse.

Xiao Shou’s body trembled, his voice barely audible. “I was just putting out the fire, and I haven’t had time to clean up yet...”

“Clean up my ass, what’s your explanation!” Elder Sang roared. “Spit it out!”