Yizhou, Among the Colorful Clouds.
The master and disciples were all gathered together, discussing their next course of action.
“Besides our Yizhou, the other fifteen prefectures have all experienced monster beast rampages. There are many places we could go to subdue them.”
Huang Doudou spread out a large, hand-drawn map. Based on the intelligence gathered, she marked the locations where monster beasts had appeared.
Yu Yi could clearly see that the entire Yizhou prefecture was marked as perfectly peaceful, while the other areas were dotted with numerous red marks.
Huang Doudou sighed with feeling.
“Back when the Demon Race Leader led their kind away from Great Yan, I thought there weren’t many demons or foreign beasts left in the world. I never imagined so many were still hidden away.”
Chi Ming looked at the marked points on the map, somewhat puzzled. “But, why is Yizhou the only place without a monster beast rampage? Could it be there are no monster beasts within Yizhou at all?”
Ye Qingluan denied this. “Little Junior Sister, you haven’t been to many places, so you wouldn’t know.
Actually, Yizhou has several mysterious mountain forests. Even I don’t dare to venture into them casually. There must be some powerful monster beasts hidden there.”
Yun Qianxue said thoughtfully, “Could it be… those monster beasts know Big Sister is in Yizhou, so they don’t dare to show themselves?”
While everyone was discussing this, one person hadn’t spoken a word from beginning to end.
Yu Yi looked at that person and spoke calmly, “Ling’er, what’s your view on this?”
Blue Ling’er, whose name was called, jolted and snapped back to attention, her face full of confusion. “Wha, what’s wrong?”
Just as I thought…
This state of hers simply wouldn’t do.
Ever since Yu Yi had agreed to dual cultivation with Blue Ling’er, Ling’er had been absent-minded, as if nothing else in the world interested her besides dual cultivation.
“Did you not hear a single word your junior sisters just said?”
A trace of displeasure appeared on Yu Yi’s face as she questioned Blue Ling’er. Although she had promised to give Ling’er her “treat,” when discipline was called for, Yu Yi naturally wouldn’t hold back.
Three parts grace, seven parts authority.
Yu Yi still remembered that principle well.
Even though Yu Yi was invincibly domineering to the outside world, and had been overthrown twice internally, made as weak and powerless as a little lamb in bed, her usual dignity and status as a master were still not to be disrespected.
“This disciple knows her fault! Please, Master, calm your anger!”
Blue Ling’er hastily left her seat and knelt right before Yu Yi to beg forgiveness.
Seeing this, the others quickly fell silent, afraid that saying one wrong word would make Yu Yi even angrier.
But in their hearts, they were all filled with the same doubts, and immediately opened their team voice chat:
Ye Qingluan: Did you all notice? Second Senior Sister’s state seems a bit off today?
Huang Doudou: A bit off? More than a bit! She’s completely off!
During every meeting, Second Senior Sister is always the most serious one. I’ve never seen her so absent-minded and distracted like she was just now!
Yun Qianxue: Yes, and just now, Big Sister wasn’t even that angry, yet Ling’er-jie directly knelt. That… feels a bit excessive, doesn’t it?
Ye Qingluan: Indeed… Second Senior Sister respects the master-disciple relationship the most, but she wouldn’t normally kneel directly like that. Little Junior Sister, you were with Second Senior Sister earlier. Was she acting strange then?
Chi Ming: No. When Second Senior Sister was with me, she was just like usual. Nothing strange.
Huang Doudou: Then it must be that after Second Senior Sister returned, Master said something to her, and that’s why she became like this.
The others had no way of knowing.
They watched Yu Yi cautiously, waiting for her next words.
Yu Yi also hadn’t expected Blue Ling’er’s reaction to be so intense. Seeing the atmosphere grow increasingly tense, she let out a long sigh. “It’s just a minor mistake. Why kneel for so long? Get up quickly.”
“Yes, Master…”
Only then did Blue Ling’er rise.
“Doudou,” Yu Yi called next.
“This disciple is here.”
“Repeat the conversation you all just had for your Second Senior Sister.”
“Yes.”
As a professional in investigation and sharing intelligence, Huang Doudou’s tongue was quite nimble. In just a few words, she explained the situation of the monster beast rampages and the others’ doubt to Blue Ling’er.
“Hmm… That is indeed strange.”
Blue Ling’er thought for a moment and said:
“Logically, monster beasts dwelling in the shadows wouldn’t know anything about the outside world. So, it’s impossible they chose not to appear because they knew Master was in Yizhou.
“And the reason for their rampage is most likely that mysterious Rot Qi. Perhaps because Master’s power influences Yizhou, the Rot Qi hasn’t appeared there. The monster beasts hidden in Yizhou haven’t been affected, so naturally, they haven’t appeared.”
“However… if that’s the case, there’s one more point that doesn’t add up.”
Blue Ling’er thought of something else and continued:
“Right now, Cangzhou’s long winter has ended precisely because of Master’s power’s influence. Yet, monster beast rampages have appeared there too. This means Yizhou’s peace isn’t because Master’s power suppressed the Rot Qi’s spread, but rather…”
“Could it be that the Rot Qi was released by someone on purpose?”
Yun Qianxue suddenly understood something and hurriedly said:
“Then that person can choose where to release the Rot Qi. At the same time, he knows Big Sister is in Yizhou and doesn’t want to provoke her, so he deliberately avoided Yizhou to wreak havoc elsewhere!”
Blue Ling’er nodded, adding, “That’s exactly what I was thinking.”
With Su Cheng away on her quest for vengeance, the role of the brains within Among the Colorful Clouds had fallen to Blue Ling’er.
And Blue Ling’er did not disappoint Yu Yi’s expectations, quickly analyzing the crux of the problem.
“But, how did that person manage to release Rot Qi in all the other prefectures simultaneously while excluding Yizhou?”
Yun Qianxue thought it over carefully, still puzzled.
“That person… may not be just one person.”
Yu Yi said calmly:
“If he could, by his own power alone, corrupt and incite rampages in monster beasts across the entire land, with such capability, why would he fear me, your master, so much?”
“No… that’s not it.”
Blue Ling’er suddenly thought of something, and a chill ran down her spine, a wave of dread washing over her.
“Ling’er, what else have you thought of?” Yu Yi asked.
The others all turned their gazes toward Blue Ling’er.
“From our perspective, perhaps someone fears Master, so they deliberately avoided Yizhou to wreak havoc elsewhere.”
Blue Ling’er swallowed and said solemnly:
“But in the eyes of the outside world, everywhere except Yizhou has had incidents. What would they think about that?”
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire room fell into a deep silence.
After a moment, Yun Qianxue spoke up timidly. “They would think… that someone in Yizhou is secretly behind it all. And when Yizhou is mentioned, the most suspicious person would be Big Sister…”
After all, no one would be so bored as to awaken rampaging monster beasts on their own doorstep. Doing that would be purely asking for trouble.
So, someone was taking an extreme approach, trying to use this method to frame Yu Yi, to make Among the Colorful Clouds the target of public criticism.
“Ah—”
Suddenly, Huang Doudou jolted, an electric current seeming to run through her body. This was the special reaction she had when the Mountain-Protecting Array was touched.
“Master! Someone is ‘knocking’ at the foot of the mountain!” Huang Doudou said urgently.
“Has someone come to demand answers so quickly?”
Yu Yi’s expression remained calm as she gracefully rose to her feet.
“Perfect. Let this master personally go down the mountain to take a look.”
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