Early last night, when she set foot on Gu Qinghan’s peak, Qian Yu had noticed the servants on night duty at the foot of the mountain looking at her with strange expressions.
She knew it was likely Tang Qiurou’s doing, but she hadn’t expected the other woman to strike here — she actually intended to pin Xiao Ya’s death on her.
As an arrogant young lady, Nalan Yunyan had many flaws; she was impulsive, reckless, and unconcerned with consequences.
However, it was undeniable that she treated her subordinates well, especially Xiao Ya and Tang Qiurou, who had followed her since childhood and stayed by her side through every low point.
Xiao Ya’s sudden death had always been one of Nalan Yunyan’s biggest sore spots.
Basically, anyone involved with it was as good as dead.
The reason she hated Gu Qinghan so much — even going so far as to have Qian Yu attempt to disfigure her — was because of this.
When Xiao Ya died from a cultivation deviation, it was deduced to be the result of consuming certain drugs.
Coincidentally, Gu Qinghan, who usually disliked leaving the mountain, happened to purchase those exact items during that same period.
Nalan Yunyan had confronted her, but at the time, Gu Qinghan was focused solely on her cultivation.
To those baseless accusations, she believed that the innocent would remain clean and the foul would remain foul.
Seeing that explanations wouldn’t work, she simply gave up trying to explain.
Consequently, the enraged Nalan Yunyan had sought out Qian Yu, intending to teach Gu Qinghan a harsh lesson.
Originally, the matter should have ended there.
Qian Yu had failed the mission, and Nalan Yunyan, having calmed down, realized that as her most devoted follower, Xiao Ya was cautious and considerate.
Even if Gu Qinghan had bought those drugs, she would have had no way of feeding them to Xiao Ya.
Before her death, even the Elixirs Nalan Yunyan usually took were checked by a specialized alchemist.
It was virtually impossible for her to eat anything from Gu Qinghan.
Tang Qiurou, however, was now ruthlessly dredging up this buried incident to strike at Qian Yu.
She didn’t state things outright, but by only telling half the story and wearing a pitiable, heartbroken expression, she guided Nalan Yunyan to draw her own conclusions.
The effect was infinitely better than simply throwing accusations.
She believed Nalan Yunyan would figure it out — Xiao Ya wouldn’t eat Gu Qinghan’s things, but as someone who loved fluffy animals, she might accept food from Qian Yu.
Moreover, Qian Yu was on good terms with Gu Qinghan, even sneaking into her Cave Residence in the middle of the night.
Didn’t this mean Qian Yu and Gu Qinghan had conspired to murder Xiao Ya together?
‘How hateful of you, Qian Yu! Senior Sister Nalan trusted you so much, yet you did such a thing! You’re terrible!!! Qiurou disdains being in your company.’
Looking at Tang Qiurou’s expression — which seemed heartbroken but was actually radiating smugness — Qian Yu sighed inwardly.
‘This Little Green Tea, if she had sharpened her wits two days earlier and thrown this dirt then, it really would have been hard to explain.’
The girl had already woven a web of evidence and hidden it in her shack, waiting to be discovered.
Unfortunately, that would have only worked a few days ago. Now…
Qian Yu had already mentioned her conflict with Nalan Yunyan when she “confessed” everything to Gu Qinghan.
The root cause of this conflict was the two of them: one believed her innocence was self-evident and was too lazy to offer a single word of explanation, while the other was violent and impulsive, never giving others a chance to speak once she made up her mind.
Qian Yu had already been looking for an opportunity to clear up this misunderstanding.
Now that Tang Qiurou had jumped out on her own, it was the perfect time to solve everything at once.
She was inwardly thanking the young miss of the Tang family for the assist, but her silence looked like a sign of guilt in Tang Qiurou’s eyes.
“Qian Yu, what are you doing here at Senior Sister Gu’s?”
She spoke in a soft, gentle tone, acting as if she were concerned for her.
“If Xiao Ya’s death really is connected to you, it’s better to admit it early. Senior Sister Nalan is soft-hearted and will surely forgive you. I will also plead for mercy on your behalf.”
Nalan Yunyan remained silent, her eyes fixed on Qian Yu.
To be honest, she already knew about Qian Yu coming to find Gu Qinghan.
To be precise, Qian Yu had told her yesterday that she wanted to continue “lurking” by Gu Qinghan’s side and needed to find an opportunity to apologize.
The reason Nalan followed her today was mainly because she felt uneasy about Qian Yu visiting Gu Qinghan in the middle of the night and staying there for the whole night.
She hadn’t really intended to do anything — until Tang Qiurou brought up Xiao Ya.
It was a pain that would never leave her heart.
If Qian Yu really did kill Xiao Ya…
A chill flashed through Nalan Yunyan’s eyes.
Suddenly, the silent Qian Yu spoke, but not to Nalan Yunyan.
She looked toward Tang Qiurou and said, “Senior Sister Tang, next, were you going to suggest that Senior Sister Nalan check my shack to see if there’s any evidence?”
Tang Qiurou’s expression stiffened.
That was exactly what she had planned to do.
Since she intended to deal a lethal blow, she had to play the part to the end.
Tang Qiurou had long ago planted various pieces of carefully aged evidence in Qian Yu’s small hut.
As long as they went there, she could guide Nalan Yunyan to discover them through various “accidents” at any time.
But so what?
“Qian Yu, I indeed wanted to suggest the Senior Sister visit your residence, but that’s for your own good.” Tang Qiurou quickly regained her smile and said earnestly, “If no evidence is found, I’ll protect you even if you’re a suspect.”
“Senior Sister Tang, are you still refusing to admit it?”
Qian Yu didn’t buy into her act and smiled back.
“I can give you a chance. If you confess now, I promise not to reveal what you did.”
“Ha? What did I do?”
The sudden statement made Tang Qiurou panic instinctively, but she quickly regained her composure after thinking of something.
She shook her head and laughed.
“Junior Sister Qian Yu, if you think you can escape investigation by accusing me of being involved in Xiao Ya’s death, that’s just too ridiculous. Not only will this fail to reduce your suspicion, it will increase it.”
At this point, even Nalan Yunyan — who hadn’t truly believed Qian Yu would do such a thing — grew much more suspicious.
During the time of Xiao Ya’s sudden death, Tang Qiurou hadn’t even been in the Sect.
Qian Yu’s baseless accusation did indeed seem like the desperate act of a cornered person.
Facing two sets of skeptical eyes, Qian Yu, who was at a disadvantage in both cultivation and height, didn’t care at all.
Her eyes remained fixed on Tang Qiurou.
Her calm gaze continuously broke down the other woman’s mental defenses.
This Little Green Tea had troubled her several times.
Since she refused to be dignified, Qian Yu would help her be dignified.
“Senior Sister Tang, tell me — ”
Qian Yu suddenly took a half-step forward and looked Tang Qiurou directly in the eyes.
Her tone was soft, but every word was clear.
“If there truly was a murderer behind Xiao Ya’s death, yet many so-called pieces of evidence ‘happened’ to appear in my room… could that be interpreted as someone framing me?”
“And if this planted evidence contains details that only the true culprit could forge, then wouldn’t that person be related to Xiao Ya’s death?”
“Senior Sister Tang, why aren’t you speaking?”
The mountain wind swept through the treetops, and the surroundings suddenly became terrifyingly quiet.
The Little Half-Demon’s smile was pure.
Tang Qiurou’s smile finally froze, bit by bit, as her heart began to race.
Those who frame others know better than anyone that the other person is innocent.
Since she wanted to frame Qian Yu, she naturally had to know the details of Xiao Ya’s death better than anyone.
To be precise, she was the one who did it.
She was jealous that the other girl received more resources and more trust, so she had killed her with her own hands.
She had acted impulsively, but Gu Qinghan was a perfect scapegoat.
If she had framed anyone else, they wouldn’t have acted like Gu Qinghan with her “innocence is self-evident” attitude, which allowed the situation to spiral.
She, the true culprit, had been perfectly hidden, existing without any suspicion.
This secret should have remained hidden forever as time passed, but… Qian Yu’s words pulled Tang Qiurou back to reality.
If it were truly as the girl said — that she had clues about the cause of Xiao Ya’s death — then the person who planted the evidence really wouldn’t be able to escape involvement.
After all, besides the murderer, no one knew exactly how Xiao Ya died!
“Qian Yu, you do have a point. But your reasoning is based on the premise that Xiao Ya’s death actually has a culprit, and that it isn’t you.”
Tang Qiurou finally felt a bit panicky, but she forced herself to stay calm and smiled.
“On the contrary, I could say that if there is evidence, it proves you are the killer.”
Obviously, Tang Qiurou still believed no one had evidence of her killing Xiao Ya and intended to be stubborn until the end.
After all, she wasn’t in the Sect during that time.
But as mentioned, she had actually been quite sloppy.
If the person she had framed hadn’t been Gu Qinghan, it wouldn’t have worked so well.
Qian Yu shook her head helplessly and looked behind her.
“Senior Sister Gu, come out. You can’t just rely on your innocence this time. It’s time to give a proper explanation.”
“Mhm.”
As the word fell, Gu Qinghan’s figure appeared amidst the wind and snow.
She had followed as soon as Qian Yu was intercepted.
Now, she was willing to clear the misunderstanding with Nalan Yunyan according to the girl’s wishes.
However, she had clearly told the other girl not to call her “Senior Sister Gu.”
Qian Yu still called her that; she didn’t like it.
“I do not know exactly why Xiao Ya died.”
Putting that aside for now, Gu Qinghan flicked her sleeve.
Several specks of faint light flew out, hovering in mid-air.
They were several Shadow Recording Jade Slips and the projection of an old ledger.
“But I can prove that the items I purchased were absolutely not tools used by the killer, nor do they have anything to do with Qian Yu.”
The light expanded, revealing clear recorded images and text.
“3 mace of Blazing Sun Flower Pollen, used to draw the Cold Spring Soul-Sealing Array. Witnessed by Weapon Peak Deacon Wang Huan, recorded here. 5 drops of Heart-Eroding Grass Juice, all used to mix Beast-Calming Ointment. Witnessed by Senior Brother Li of Spirit Beast Peak, with three finished portions. The recording of the exchange is here.”
“Once these materials are mixed, they indeed have the effect of unsettling the mind and causing cultivation deviation. However, they are inherently precious, and every bit used was recorded by the Sect. They are all here now, without a single bit missing.”
“Therefore, if these things appear in Qian Yu’s room, I was not the one who used them. With her net worth at the time, she couldn’t have come into contact with these regulated items. They must have been planted by someone else.”
—
Following Gu Qinghan’s words, everyone arrived together at the small thatched shack where Qian Yu had lived for many years.
With their excellent senses, they found many spiritual residues and medicinal juices that seemed to have been left behind unintentionally.
Nalan Yunyan’s expression was grim.
If Gu Qinghan hadn’t stepped forward, she might have actually wrongly accused Qian Yu based on that carefully aged evidence.
But that wasn’t the most critical thing.
The most important part was that after Xiao Ya’s death, she actually had some faint suspicions.
Although her not-so-clever brain could not connect the dots, she had instinctively kept a card up her sleeve when announcing it to the public.
She hadn’t revealed the true formula for turning those spiritual items into poison, intentionally omitting several ingredients.
And now, in Qian Yu’s room, she found one of those missing ingredients.
If it was certain that Qian Yu was being framed, then it could only be due to the framer’s negligence.
She had only ever told the true formula to Tang Qiurou.
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