Chapter 79: The Patriarch’s Belated Rebellion (6)
As for why she used poison?
Her sect specializes in the art of poison; every disciple learns how to wield it. If not poison, then what would she use in a fight? Pulling hair with Cheng Tinghan?
...
Ling Qiong had only meant to watch a spectacle, never expecting the flames to touch her. When Senior Brother Cheng asked Miss Die what happened afterward, Miss Die, with her slender jade-like hand, pointed in Ling Qiong's direction. “If you wish to know what happened to Cheng Tinghan later, why not ask this young lady?”
Ling Qiong paused her fan and looked innocently at Miss Die.
Miss Die smiled, “I did not wish to be entangled with Cheng Tinghan, so I tried to shake her off. But she pursued relentlessly, so I resorted to poison.”
The toxin was not lethal, but it induced hallucinations. Cheng Tinghan, unclear what she saw, fled in panic.
“I saw she was heading toward the forbidden grounds of the Tianqing Sect, and fearing for her safety, I followed.”
Miss Die explained she never intended to kill Cheng Tinghan, only to teach her a lesson—to stop pestering her without cause. Especially since this was Tianqing Sect; she wasn’t foolish enough to commit murder here.
“When I caught up, I found this young lady with her.”
“I thought, if someone else saw Cheng Tinghan, then my involvement ended, so I left.”
“What happened afterward, I do not know.”
Jiang He hurried to Chu Zhen’s side, lowering her voice, “Ancestor... Young Mistress, what’s going on?”
Hadn’t she said she was only wandering around, doing nothing? She claimed no one saw her near the forbidden grounds!
Why was she suddenly being implicated?
Ling Qiong waved her fan with an innocent expression, her voice soft, “I did encounter her.”
There’s a difference between seeing someone and being seen by others.
Jiang He: “...”
“But when I left, she was still alive,” Ling Qiong said, hiding her lower face behind her fan. “I have no idea what happened to her.”
Ling Qiong had heard a scream, followed the sound, and found Cheng Tinghan rolling desperately in the grass, crying out in misery as though something had latched onto her, threatening her life.
Ling Qiong observed from a distance for a long time, finding nothing unusual clinging to Cheng Tinghan. Once certain it was safe, she finally approached.
She called out twice; Cheng Tinghan regained a bit of clarity. Since they barely knew each other, Ling Qiong didn’t linger and quickly left.
“Can the Young Mistress confirm that when you departed, Miss Cheng was still well?” asked the Third Elder of Tianqing Sect.
“I can distinguish between the living and the dead,” Ling Qiong blinked. “She may not have been lively, but she could walk normally.”
Jiang He cupped her hands to the Third Elder and Senior Brother Cheng. “Third Elder, Young Master Cheng, our Young Mistress has no grievance with Miss Cheng; their meeting must have been coincidental. The Young Mistress had no reason to harm Miss Cheng. I can vouch for her on behalf of Yue Lu Manor’s reputation.”
Ling Qiong stood obediently, folding her fan and appearing as a gentle, harmless young lady.
Moreover, she seemed to possess little cultivation. Even if Cheng Tinghan was poisoned, it was unlikely she could not handle such a frail girl.
Now Jiang He even invoked the honor of Yue Lu Manor. Given the prestige the manor had built over the years, the Third Elder and Senior Brother Cheng, though still suspicious, found their doubts diminished.
...
The matter seemed to have untangled.
Miss Die and Cheng Tinghan had a conflict and fought. Cheng Tinghan was poisoned and fled. Cheng Tinghan encountered Ling Qiong. After that, no one knew what happened.
Ling Qiong had no witness; it was her own account. Yet she had no enmity with Cheng Tinghan and lacked a motive for murder. With Jiang He’s guarantee, her suspicion appeared even less.
Miss Die said, “I wasn’t the last to see Cheng Tinghan, so my suspicion should be cleared, shouldn’t it?”
Senior Brother Cheng, still inclined to suspect Miss Die due to her conflict with Cheng Tinghan, replied, “That’s not certain. Who’s to say you didn’t return afterward?”
Miss Die rolled her eyes, utterly unimpressed.
“We should first ascertain what caused Miss Cheng’s current state,” the Third Elder shifted the focus. “Once that’s clear, the culprit should be revealed.”
Though Senior Brother Cheng suspected Miss Die, he knew there was insufficient evidence. After some discussion, they asked Jiang He to carefully examine Cheng Tinghan’s corpse once again.
“These don’t look like human teeth,” Jiang He said, measuring the bite marks on her neck with her hand.
The spacing was odd.
The wounds’ size was also unusual.
Other than that, there were no further clues.
The situation was at an impasse.
“Could it be some demon?”
“If it were a demon, why is there no trace of demonic aura on Miss Cheng?”
“That’s true...”
“I don’t know what did this, but it makes my skin crawl.”
“Another life lost, just like that.”
...
With no clues and night approaching, the Third Elder instructed the disciples to escort everyone else to rest.
“Young Mistress, please stay,” he called out to Ling Qiong.
“Though your suspicion is temporarily cleared, I must ask that you don’t leave Tianqing Sect until the truth is found.”
...She had hoped to escape.
Ling Qiong’s lips curved into a polite smile as she replied obediently, “Very well.”
“There’s one more matter...”
“Please, go ahead,” Ling Qiong replied, so polite that Jiang He was startled—her ancestor had always been commanding and self-assured, yet now she was behaving with remarkable courtesy.
The Third Elder asked, “Forgive me for asking, but why did you venture near the forbidden grounds?”
Jiang He’s heart skipped a beat.
No one had brought that up earlier.
Who knew the elder hadn’t overlooked it at all?
Jiang He anxiously glanced at Ling Qiong, silently praying she wouldn’t say anything foolish.
Ling Qiong blinked, feigning confusion, “Forbidden grounds?”
None of their prior conversation had mentioned those words.
Cheng Tinghan had been found merely near the forbidden grounds.
Why start with an accusation that she’d gone there?
This old man was fishing for answers!
The Third Elder asked, “You were unaware, Young Mistress?”
Ling Qiong replied innocently, “Third Elder, this is my first day at Tianqing Sect. Isn’t it normal for me not to know? I was just wandering—there’s no sign saying not to go that way. How could I know it was forbidden?”
The Third Elder coughed lightly, “I meant nothing by it. It’s only because it pertains to the forbidden grounds that I asked. Since you entered by mistake, it was my misunderstanding. Please forgive my offense.”
Ling Qiong was, after all, younger. With the elder being so courteous, she couldn’t be petty. As a player, one must be magnanimous.
Jiang He: “...”
What right do you have to be offended? You were the one who trespassed!
Wasn’t it you?
Jiang He hurried to take her ancestor away.
The Third Elder watched them depart, his brows slowly furrowing.
The forbidden grounds were far from the main peaks.
Cheng Tinghan had been found not far from the forbidden grounds. She had been poisoned, hallucinating, and likely had no idea where she was running.
But for this girl, why was she there?
The newly recovered Young Mistress of Yue Lu Manor...
--- Little Theater ---
Ling Qiong: If I say I was truly just passing by, would you believe me?
The Little Fairy: If I say I genuinely wanted a ticket, would you believe me?