The candlelight burned quietly within the inner hall, casting a soft glow over the jade scrolls under the walls inlaid with luminous pearls. A slender figure was peering through the hall doors—it was Bai Shuo. She stealthily pushed open a corner of the door, quickly slipping inside and heading directly toward the jade scrolls.
After glancing around and ensuring the quiet of the night, she reached for the jade scroll. But the moment her fingers brushed it, a beam of spiritual light shot out from the scroll, striking her and summoning an ethereal net from above, trapping her mid-air. Bai Shuo had barely realized what had happened when the hall was suddenly flooded with light, the doors swung open, and Er Yun entered with a group of inner disciples. Swords drawn, the disciples pointed their weapons directly at Bai Shuo.
Bai Shuo’s pupils constricted. "Oh no, have I been discovered? Wait… didn't Zhe Sang say he would remove the guards?"
"Bai Shuo? What are you doing here?" Er Yun looked stunned, clearly not expecting to find Bai Shuo here after waiting in ambush all night.
"It's… it’s a misunderstanding, Senior Sister Er Yun! I came to clean the hall."
"Cleaning the hall? At this hour?" Er Yun looked suspicious.
"I, uh…" Bai Shuo stammered, scrambling for an excuse, when suddenly another voice rang out.
"Junior Sister, don’t be fooled by her." Zhe Sang stepped forward from among the disciples, his tone flat. "An herbalist from the outer island sneaking into the forbidden room of the inner hall in the dead of night—does that sound like she’s here to clean? It’s obvious she intended to steal the Zhenshan Jade Scroll."
Seeing Zhe Sang appear, and noting the disciples' expectant expressions, Bai Shuo’s heart sank. She realized that she had been set up. Zhe Sang had lured her into stealing the Zhenshan Jade Scroll on purpose! But why would he do this? Wasn’t his goal to study the techniques within the scroll? If he wanted to accuse her, all he had to do was reveal Mu Mu’s identity to the head of the sect—just hiding a demon would be enough to get her expelled from Miao Miao Island.
"Bai Shuo, why would you steal the jade scroll?" Er Yun’s gaze darkened.
"I… I…" Bai Shuo felt a rush of anxiety as sweat started forming on her forehead. She still couldn’t make sense of Zhe Sang’s motives for framing her.
"She’s merely a half-immortal; the jade scroll would be of no use to her. It’s clear that she’s acting under someone else’s orders." Zhe Sang narrowed his eyes as he spoke.
Bai Shuo blinked in surprise. Did he just implicate himself before she could even accuse him?
"Under someone else’s orders? Who do you mean, Senior Brother?" Er Yun asked, still cautious.
"Junior Sister, the Zhenshan Jade Scroll is imbued with the spiritual power of our predecessors in the sect. If someone were to absorb its essence, they could achieve the equivalent of several centuries of cultivation. It would be useless to her, but for Junior Brother Chong Zhao, it’s a different story."
The statement landed like a thunderbolt. Bai Shuo’s eyes widened as she finally understood Zhe Sang’s intentions—he was framing Chong Zhao! Mu Mu, for now, was just a simple-minded little demon. Even if the sect leader found out that Bai Shuo was hiding a demon, the worst punishment she’d face would be expulsion, particularly since she and Chong Zhao were not thought to be especially close. But stealing the Zhenshan Jade Scroll was a much more serious offense. Being merely a half-immortal, Bai Shuo couldn’t even activate the scroll, much less benefit from it. Unless, of course, she was acting on behalf of someone else… Given her connection to Chong Zhao as an old friend from the mortal realm, and given that there was no one else who could wield influence over her, who else could she be acting for? With this frame-up, not even a hundred explanations could save her now.
Zhe Sang was truly insidious and devious beyond measure. And to think, Bai Shuo had once believed herself clever enough to contend with his schemes.
Just then, Er Yun spoke up, breaking her train of thought.
"Senior Brother, be careful with your accusations. Junior Brother Chong Zhao and Bai Shuo may have known each other from the mortal realm, but since joining the sect, he has diligently devoted himself to his cultivation and rarely associates with her. With his talents, he wouldn’t need to rely on the jade scroll to progress quickly."
Finally, a voice of reason! Bai Shuo’s spirits lifted, and she quickly agreed, "Exactly, Senior Sister is right!"
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