"Me?"

Yu Ci didn't know what expression to wear.

However, He Qing did not look at him, still staring at the silhouette of the monk, which was barely visible in the misty rain. She swiftly sifted through the eight threads of information in her mouth, "According to Shi Zhen, the Ghost Beasts are mentally deranged and already dead, so we can disregard them for the time being; those demons and monsters are transparent in their intentions, which is meaningless; the two from Thousands Spirits Sect, Hu Ke and Xu Ji, are somehow connected to the Ghost Beasts, but so far, their actions have been far from commendable, the same goes for the Lifeless Sword Sect, so there's no need to mention them; the White Sun Mansion has been very active recently, and Tu Du even used the Shadow Demon Technique, which makes him highly suspicious, but Jin Huan is related to the Sunset Sect, and after the sect was exterminated, there's no need to bring that up again; as for Xuan Yin Sect, let's skip over them since they manipulated puppets with strings; as for the Pure Water Sect, we can consider them together with Lu Mingyue. As for you..."

Yu Ci was taken aback. During this period, he had been busy with Yu Zhou's Life-Prologing Treasure and paid little attention to the turmoil in Sky Rift Valley. But it was clear that He Qing, or rather the Lichen Sect, had never given up on investigating this upheaval.

What he didn't expect was that He Qing used the simplest method of elimination to unravel these clues, neatly separating them. Moreover, he noticed that the process of the female cultivator's analysis was precisely the order of suspicion. So, placing him at the end...

What did that mean?

"As for you..."

The female cultivator paused slightly and finally shifted her gaze to him. In her calm eyes, there was a chill, "From start to finish, from the upheaval in Sky Rift Valley to the extermination of the White Sun Mansion, from discovering Demons to killing Ghost Beasts, it seems that your shadow can be seen everywhere. If we talk about clarity of the line, you are the most prominent! Tell me, why is that?"

Stunned, Yu Ci suddenly realized, just as He Qing said, from the beginning to now, he had been intricately connected to this matter. At least on the surface, he was the most active one. He always thought he had caught the main culprit, but he overlooked that in the eyes of others, he was also a suspect!

Indeed, the most difficult thing in life is to know oneself!

In his sigh, he felt he should explain, but how to put it was a puzzle. But before he could speak, He Qing said again, "Your overall clues are very clear, but in your report to the Sect, there are many inconsistencies. Based on your description, I find it hard to reconstruct the situation at the time. How do you explain this?"

"Uh..."

"Don't know where to start? Then let me ask you: where did you first discover the Demons? How far were they from you? Was there a conflict? If there was a conflict, how did you escape? If there wasn't, how did you hide?"

""

"The steward of the White Sun Mansion, who was at the Nature-Connecting Middle Stage, and the mansion guards, couldn't catch you, who was only at the Nature-Connecting Initial Stage at that time. How many days did you tangle with them in Sky Rift Valley? How many people did you fight? Were you injured? What tactics did you use? What martial arts?"

"You said that after capturing the Fish-Dragon, you encountered a cold wave. Where did you capture the Fish-Dragon? Where were you the night before you captured the Fish-Dragon? How did you discover the tracks of the Fish-Dragon?"

Faced with He Qing's interrogation, Yu Ci could only remain silent, then silent again. At this moment, he was indeed at a loss for words. Everything that He Qing mentioned were the details he had initially submitted to the Sect, which he could not avoid mentioning, yet could not elaborate on. Now, He Qing had brought up all these points. Judging by her demeanor, it wouldn't be a problem for her to come up with a dozen more.

Indeed, the most fearsome thing in the world is "seriousness." Under He Qing's rigorous attitude, Yu Ci was completely unable to defend himself. In the end, he could only smile bitterly, "It's... fate, I guess."

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He vaguely remembered that he had said the same thing to Old Daoist Yu Zhou. At that time, the old Daoist had agreed, but now, even Yu Ci himself found the excuse absurd.

"Fate is a good reason."

He Qing surprisingly agreed, even revealing a faint smile, "You indeed are a person with fate. But this fate manifests in other aspects. Regarding the above questions, the word 'fate' alone still cannot fully explain."

Yu Ci felt choked up. He didn't know how long it had been since he was pressed so hard that he couldn't breathe. And he felt wronged. He believed that he had done his best to convey the information about the turmoil in the Sky Rift Valley. As for the details, it was indeed due to the difficult explanation of the function of the Divine Bronze Mirror. Of course, there were also some thoughts of self-preservation, which is only human nature. If because of this issue, He Qing classified him as one of the behind-the-scenes culprits, that would be a real injustice!

His mind began to race, trying to find a way to at least smooth things over for now. However, what he was thinking was all seen through by He Qing:

"You don't need to skirt around the issue or argue. Even if you don't say it, others can see it: all the places where you are vague involve one issue: whether facing the White Sun Mansion or the Demons, you can't explain how you could avoid the perception of Cultivators or Demons stronger than you, and you often describe from a close perspective. Before this, you did not show any particularly amazing means of stealth. In this way, if you are not close and well-hidden, then you are far away, but able to see their movements."

Yu Ci was dumbfounded and speechless. Seeing his appearance, He Qing gave a faint smile:

"Did I hit the nail on the head? This is where you are most ridiculous: there are not a few methods in the world that can achieve this, such as the Round Light Spell, Water Mirror Method, Shadow Retention, Palm Observation of Heaven and Earth, and so on. There are at least dozens of methods and nearly a hundred magical instruments. Which one did you use?"

Yu Ci was completely stunned. At such a moment, indeed, there was no point in any sophistry. He held the Treasure Mirror in his sleeve, and after a long thought, he could only say in a hoarse voice: "Immortal He has clear insight."

"Far from clear insight."

He Qing's smile faded as she shook her head, "Yu Zhou may be sentimental, but he's not foolish. Junior Brother Jie may appear simple-minded, but he's perceptive. Do you really think your words can deceive them? They merely tolerate you because they find you agreeable. And your refined sword aura, surpassing even the Sect's Transforming Dust Sword Technique, is truly remarkable. Have they ever questioned you about it?"

"That's because..."

"That's nothing. They merely care for you and do not wish to force you into doing things you're reluctant to. They turn a blind eye. As for me, I didn't mention this earlier because I thought you, the younger generation, were narrow-minded and self-righteous. Even after joining the Sect, you show no ambition. I didn't feel like wasting words on you."

A loud bang resounded in his mind, as if all his blood had rushed to his head. Yu Ci's face flushed, his fists clenched, yet he was at a loss for words, feeling a suffocating discomfort in his chest. Being told to his face that he was "worthless" was a humiliation he had never experienced since escaping the Twin Immortal Sect. Had it not been for the current situation, he would have drawn his sword already. But now, his last shred of rationality was like a thread of ice and snow, encircling his heart:

"This woman is telling the truth!"

The truth, yes, but...

"But Immortal He probably never considered my background..."

Yu Ci wanted to say he was from a heretical sect, like walking on thin ice; he wanted to say he was a wanderer, living a precarious life; he wanted to say he was new to the Sect, unaware of its foundations. But halfway through, he realized that any response now would be a sign of weakness. As a man, if he made a mistake, it was his own fault, and he deserved to be looked down upon. Why should he explain anything to anyone?

With this thought, he swallowed his words. But now his face was flushed with a mix of emotions, which he couldn't hide. He Qing, with her keen perception, continued in her light and breezy tone, "I know your background isn't good, and you carry the heavy air of the jianghu. But that's the reality. If I look down on you, so be it. What can you do about it?"

Yu Ci almost gritted his teeth to pieces, but he managed to hold back. A question arose in his mind: if you look down on me, why did you teach me the Method of Returning to Void and Combining, the Great Dream Yin-Yang Method, and other superior methods? What's the logic behind that?

Upon thinking this, his mind suddenly cleared. He lifted his head to meet He Qing's eyes for the first time since his secret was exposed, and voiced his question directly, "If Immortal Elder looks down on me, why do you bother telling me all this?"

He Qing replied indifferently, "Perhaps you're not beyond salvation yet. What you did today at the Treasure Exchange Banquet, whether it was meaningful or not, at least showed some semblance of a Sect disciple. With that, I finally have a reason to recommend you."

"Recommend?"

"That's not something you need to worry about now."

He Qing glanced at him, "Have you forgotten? Compared to your narrow-mindedness, your suspicion is the most fatal. Now there are only two or three leads left. I'm confident that the cause of the disturbance in Sky Rift Valley lies within them. Whether it's you or them, it's still uncertain."

Yu Ci remained silent, his mind fully clear at this moment.

*********

I hesitated a bit while writing this chapter, but I still wrote it. It was difficult, and the word count is a little less, please don't mind. Sigh...

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