Seeing this scene, Shen Lingxi was slightly stunned. Usually, these Elders were arrogant and high-handed, but now they were all bowing respectfully to her.
A complex expression flickered across Shen Lingxi’s face.
She knew that although she had accepted the Saintess Inheritance, she had not yet fully mastered it. If she were to truly compete with these Elders now, she would undoubtedly lose. Their respect for her was entirely because she had successfully received the inheritance.
‘But in time, once I have fully mastered it, I might not be unable to stand on equal ground with them.’
Shen Lingxi mimicked the Elders’ usual attitude and gave a soft “Mm” in response. Her gaze immediately swept over the scene, but the person she wanted to see was not there, causing the corners of her lips to dip slightly.
She was a bit unhappy, even a little angry, but a spark of hope remained in her heart.
‘Could he be tied up with something?’
‘For example, is he working on his parents, laying the groundwork to take me to meet them?’
Thinking of this, Shen Lingxi felt a bit vexed. ‘Did I push things too fast? Am I making it difficult for him?’
But these thoughts were ultimately just guesses. She needed to ask someone who might know.
Shen Lingxi glanced at the Great Elder and asked, “Great Elder, what has Gu Ming been doing lately?”
“Saintess,” the Great Elder’s eyes were filled with confusion. “Who is Gu Ming?”
“Eh?”
Shen Lingxi froze for a moment before saying, “The Gu family’s second son. The Alliance Leader’s younger brother.”
The Great Elder and the Law Enforcement Elder exchanged a look, both seeing the confusion in the other’s eyes.
The Great Elder hesitated and said, “Saintess, I have known the Alliance Leader for several years, and I have never heard of him having a brother. The Gu family only has one son—the Alliance Leader himself.”
“How is that possible!” Shen Lingxi couldn’t help but shout. “Then, who was the boy who came here with me that day?”
“Which day?” the Great Elder asked, confused.
“The day I entered the Saintess Secret Realm. Wasn’t there a boy accompanying me?” Shen Lingxi asked urgently.
“I remember that day… the Saintess arrived alone,” the Great Elder replied after a moment of thought.
Alone?
Shen Lingxi suspected she had misheard and confirmed once more, “You said I came alone?”
“That is correct.” The Great Elder nodded.
Shen Lingxi bit her lip, her expression betraying her agitation. “Then let me ask you: who was the boy who came to visit me almost every day over the past year?”
The Great Elder looked at her with a strange expression. “Saintess, are you perhaps exhausted? Why are you imagining a boy visiting you?”
Hearing this, Shen Lingxi felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Her delicate body involuntarily stumbled back a few steps.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Why doesn’t the Great Elder remember Gu Ming?’
Shen Lingxi’s pupils shrank. She almost began to doubt her own memory.
‘No.’
Shen Lingxi looked toward the courtyard where she lived and dashed toward it without another word, leaving the confused Elders behind.
—
It didn’t take long for Shen Lingxi to rush back to her courtyard. She searched frantically through her room, only to discover that everything Gu Ming had ever given her was gone.
She arrived at the courtyard entrance in a rage and questioned the guard, “While I was away, who entered this room?”
“No one at all,” the guard replied firmly.
“You’re lying! If no one entered, how could the things Gu Ming gave me be missing?” Shen Lingxi growled, her brows furrowed.
“Gu Ming?” The guard looked bewildered. “Pardon me, my Lady, but which Lord is Gu Ming?”
Hearing this, the strength seemed to drain from Shen Lingxi’s body, and she stood there in a daze.
But she soon pulled herself together and said, “He… he came here almost every day over the past year.”
“Over the past year…” The guard thought for a moment and replied, “It seems that besides the Elders, no one else has been here.”
“You’re lying!”
Shen Lingxi was truly angry. Her aura suddenly surged, and a Pure White Flame ignited in her pupils.
As those flames appeared, a change occurred in the guard’s body as well. Invisible smoke sizzled and rose from him. Once the smoke appeared, it condensed above his head, gradually forming a word—
[True]
Shen Lingxi was slightly stunned.
Perhaps because she had obtained the Saintess Inheritance, even though she was seeing this for the first time, she knew exactly what it meant.
The guard was not lying.
This was a special ability of the Saintess, capable of seeing through all disguises, facades, and illusory things—Truth.
Under this ability, no deception could hide.
‘He isn’t lying…’
Shen Lingxi bit her lip so hard she didn’t even notice when she drew blood. Red droplets trickled from the corner of her mouth.
However, she didn’t care about that. She had one more place to go—the Alliance Leader Mansion.
Shen Lingxi kicked off the ground and took to the sky, racing toward the Alliance Leader Mansion.
After accepting the inheritance, Shen Lingxi had mastered many skills without a teacher, such as Void Flight.
—
Following the route in her memory, Shen Lingxi soon arrived at the gates of the Alliance Leader Mansion.
As soon as she reached the entrance, the mansion’s butler greeted her.
“May I ask if you are Saintess Shen Lingxi from Saintess Mountain?” the butler asked, stepping forward.
Shen Lingxi was briefly stunned, and her furrowed brows smoothed out. She felt as if she could see a glimmer of hope.
She nodded. “Did Gu Ming send you?”
“Gu Ming?” The butler was extremely confused. “I do not know who the Saintess is referring to?”
Shen Lingxi’s mood instantly plummeted to the bottom. Even the butler didn’t recognize him?
Impossible!
She remembered that when Gu Ming brought her here, he had even asked the butler to prepare some pastries and tea.
How could he have forgotten?
‘There must be something strange going on!’
“Oh, the Alliance Leader is waiting for you in the main hall,” the butler added after a moment’s consideration. “The Alliance Leader said that once you come inside, he will let you know everything you wish to know.”
‘The Alliance Leader?’
Shen Lingxi pondered for a moment.
She had never actually met the Alliance Leader, yet he knew of her and knew she would come.
It seemed that everyone forgetting Gu Ming was, in all likelihood, related to him.
Thinking of this, Shen Lingxi nodded and said, “Lead the way.”
She then followed the butler into the Alliance Leader Mansion.
Regarding the Alliance Leader, Shen Lingxi knew very little. When Gu Ming brought her here last time, she had heard Gu Ming talk about him. He was a talent bordering on monstrous, having become the Leader of the Righteous Path Alliance at a young age. He was Gu Ming’s idol and the goal Gu Ming aspired to catch up to.
Before long, the butler led Shen Lingxi to the main hall and withdrew.
In the hall sat a handsome, heroic young man. His features were somewhat similar to Gu Ming’s.
This person was likely the Alliance Leader.
At that moment, the Alliance Leader was resting with his eyes closed. Hearing the movement, he slowly opened his eyes, and a smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“My stupid brother’s taste isn’t bad. I didn’t expect you to actually obtain the Saintess Inheritance and become the Saintess of Saintess Mountain.”
“Shen Lingxi.”