Liu Changqing thought about how Fu Qingjin had already made such a huge concession. If he still did not cooperate, it would be far too unreasonable.
He turned around and said to the people of the academy, "Do you have any objections?"
They all fell silent. They looked at one another.
If anyone raised any doubts at a time like this, they would probably really be under suspicion. This was related to the death of an elder of the Sword Collection palace. Who would be bold enough to be implicated?
"Fellow Fu, please go ahead and ask. I believe that there's no one in the academy who has anything to do with this. If there really is, I don't think we'll protect him. We'll definitely get him to give the Sword Collection palace an explanation. "
"Sir, you're very fair. I'm impressed." Fu Qingjin clasped his hands and made his way over to the semicircle where the people of the academy sat. He glanced around, and anyone he saw would feel their hearts tighten.
In the end, Fu Qingjin's gaze landed on Li Qingshan's face, and he smiled.
Li Qingshan became nervous. This bastard was full of nice things, but he never thought the first person he asked would be him. If he really did ask, he would give himself away regardless of whether he answered or not.
What should he do next? Admit that he had picked up the sumeru ring? However, that would be a lie. The xiezhi's horn would be able to tell, and Fu Qingjin would definitely get to the bottom of it.
Or he could just charge out. That would be even worse. If Fu Qingjin wanted to force him to stay, he would cast the Green Ruins Illusion. If he did not transform into his true form as a daemon, he would not be able to charge out at all. If he did, these Foundation Establishment cultivators would not just sit around and do nothing.
Fu Qingjin had silently cast down an inescapable net. Once it was drawn in, Li Qingshan would be in dire straits.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind. Fortunately, Li Qingshan was already quite well-trained as an actor. He frowned slightly. "Are you suspecting me, fellow Fu?"
"No …" Before Fu Qingjin had even finished, a roar of laughter rang out, as the xiezhi's horn in his hand had actually lit up.
"The xiezhi's horn really does live up to its name," Li Qingshan smiled.
The xiezhi divine beast was impartial. They only knew right and wrong, not distinguishing between friend and foe.
With a bitter smile, Fu Qingjin rubbed his nose and said in a clear voice, "I admire your courage and quick-wittedness, so I really don't want that person to be you. I want to ask you one last time."
The Xiezhi's horn remained motionless. This proved that his words were not false.
"Up to you." Li Qingshan said indifferently. He felt relieved in his heart. His feelings were a little complicated. When his identity was exposed, what would Fu Qingjin say — "I didn't expect it to be you"? How should he answer? "Sorry, I'm a police officer!"
Stop joking.
Although he had temporarily escaped this crisis, the crisis was far from over. It was only temporarily postponed. Li Qingshan thought intensely about what he could do. How could he deceive the Xiezhi's horn? The ox demon, tiger demon, and spirit turtle? None of them seemed to work.
Fu Qingjin took a few more steps and arrived in front of the slovenly Daoist, Zhou Tong. He bowed deeply and said, "Senior, please answer me!"
Fu Qingjin had asked Zhou Tong before, but Zhou Tong was the person closest to Golden Core in the Clear River prefecture. He was also someone who did whatever he wanted without any qualms, so why would he pay any attention to Fu Qingjin?
But with the current situation, Zhou Tong could not help but answer. He said seriously, "You're a fucking likable kid!"
The Xiezhi's horn shone brightly, and laughter rang out again. Zhou Tong said, "So it really is effective!"
Fu Qingjin said, "Please continue, senior!"
"I'm happy from the bottom of my heart when I see you!" The Xiezhi's horn lit up again.
"Fu Qingjin is wise and benevolent … Demon Slayer is just and honorable … Long live the Sword Collection palace …"
The Xiezhi's horn flickered constantly, so Zhou Tong just cursed in irony. The people of the academy laughed a few times, but seeing how the expressions of the people from the sects became uglier and uglier, the laughter gradually subsided.
Only Fu Qingjin's smile remained the same. "Senior, if you want to satisfy your cravings, I can make some time and listen to you talk for three days and three nights. However, don't forget that the army of daemons has already begun to gather underground. Before long, all the cities will be reduced to a bloody hell."
Zhou Tong's cursing came to a halt. No matter how much he did whatever he wanted, he was still a human in the end. Under the constraints of the greater good, he could not act willfully and recklessly. He glanced at Fu Qingjin deeply. "I've never seen some Soaring Dragon Elder, let alone some Soaring Dragon sword."
The light from the Xiezhi's horn finally dimmed. Fu Qingjin clasped his hands again. "Thank you, senior." Afterwards, he made his way towards the next suspect.
Li Qingshan also smiled faintly, but he was extremely nervous inside, I have to ruin this meeting before I can be questioned!
They're holding an alliance meeting? I'll go take a look! Deep underground, Li Qingshan's mirror clone told Ye Liusu what to do before unfurling his wings of wind and flying out of the ground. He rushed into the air and accelerated, breaking through a few white waves of air and flying towards the Clear River prefecture.
However, Fu Qingjin's subsequent questioning suddenly became much smoother. Even someone like Zhou Tong had to cooperate obediently, so there was even less of a reason for them to provoke the Sword Collection palace. Even if they were reluctant to tell him where and what they did that day, all they had to do was say they had never seen the Soaring Dragon sword, and they would basically pass.
The ability of the Xiezhi's horn to detect lies made the questioning as easy as it could be.
The mirror clone had only flown halfway, and he had already questioned most of the suspects. There were only three suspects left. All it took was a few words.
Li Qingshan clenched his fist. Suddenly, a slender hand grabbed his fist. It was smooth and warm. It was Ru Xin's hand.
Due to the cover of the table, his subconscious action was hidden from the eyes of others, but he could not hide it from Ru Xin beside him.
Li Qingshan shivered inside and looked over. Ru Xin behaved like nothing had happened, paying attention to the outcome of Fu Qingjin's questioning just like everyone else. However, she cast a sliver of concern at him from the corner of her eye.
A series of buildings appeared on the horizon. The Clear River prefecture was in sight. Li Qingshan's mirror clone stared at the city and instead slowed down. He concealed his aura and approached silently.
It was already too late …
Fu Qingjin had questioned the second-to-last suspect, so only Li Qingshan remained.
The suspicion on Li Qingshan increased greatly. A hundred scorching gazes gathered on him.
Hwa Seung-zan was slightly nervous, Han Tieyi frowned, and Liu Chuanfeng was even more dumbfounded. Over the years, the people Li Qingshan made friends with and got to know in the Hundred Schools of Thought all cast him worried and concerned gazes, as well as doubts that could not be dispelled.
Disrupting the meeting at a time like this was no different from giving himself away. Li Qingshan had already prepared for the worst. The mirror clone was for support, just to create a chance for him to kill his way out.
"I hope my judgement is wrong." Fu Qingjin stared at Li Qingshan. His slightly greenish eyes were as clear as water.
The Xiezhi's horn lit up with a weak light. Li Qingshan smiled. "That's not entirely true. What do you want to ask? Ask away!"
He behaved calmly, but this was not a trial he could pass through with acting. The battle began.
Fu Qingjin clenched his left hand. The extended and curved Xiezhi's horn stood between the two of them.
In a daze, the single-horned Xiezhi divine beast crouched between the two of them like a dignified judge, ready to make the final decision. Friend or foe, success or failure, even life or death, all lay in a single word.
Fu Qingjin's right hand pressed down on the Green Ruins sword without any disguise at all.
Li Qingshan seemed extremely relaxed. He did not even stand up. He raised his hand and made a gesture of 'please'.
Finally, Fu Qingjin asked the question he had asked countless times. That day, that moment, where were you? What did you do?
Li Qingshan smiled. His lips parted, but the moment he spoke, his mind suddenly became a mess.
"I forgot!"
Fu Qingjin was taken aback. The cultivators were in disbelief. Without a doubt, no one was satisfied with this answer.
Although every cultivator did not possess photographic memory after reaching Foundation Establishment and splitting open their sea of consciousness, their thoughts and memories were much clearer than ordinary people. They could still recall whatever they wanted to recall.
Moreover, even mortals would not be unable to recall something in such a short amount of time. They would at least have some impression of it, yet he actually said he had forgotten it so calmly.
If it were any other news, it would basically be enough to confirm that Li Qingshan was a suspect. However, when Fu Qingjin looked at the Xiezhi's horn in his hand, it remained silent. It did not give off any warnings. This meant that Li Qingshan was not making up an excuse when he said he had forgotten. He had truly forgotten.
Li Qingshan laid out his hands. "It was a few months ago. Who would still remember? He was probably cultivating!"
How could Fu Qingjin just let the matter go like this? His gaze was as sharp as a sword as he stared into Li Qingshan's eyes. He asked, "Then what about the Soaring Dragon sword? Have you seen the Soaring Dragon sword? Don't be vague. Just answer me with 'yes or no'. "
He had seen it!
Li Qingshan was instinctively sure. Not only had he seen the Soaring Dragon sword, but he also clearly knew its shape and size.
Then, when he recalled his memories, a trace of confusion suddenly flashed through his eyes. That shining golden Soaring Dragon sword turned into a ball of light mist and dissipated.
What his memories told him was the opposite answer. Not only had he never seen the Soaring Dragon sword, but it was also the first time he had heard of the three words "Soaring Dragon sword". Fu Qingjin had clearly asked other cultivators many times Just now.
Li Qingshan could only answer as such, "I've never seen it."
The Xiezhi's horn did not light up. That Xiezhi divine beast seemed to have already judged Li Qingshan's innocence, proving that he had nothing to do with the Soaring Dragon Elder.
The expression on Fu Qingjin's face was indescribably one of disappointment or relief.
Don't tell me I'm wrong? The person who obtained the sumeru ring isn't a Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Clear River prefecture. Instead, it comes from somewhere else, or perhaps it's a night roamer. But why would a night roamer purposefully come to the surface to activate the sumeru ring?
However, everything in the world had always been possible.
The trail was cut short! Even Fu Qingjin could not help but admit that before the ever-changing world, the intelligence of humans was puny and powerless. Only when he possessed the arts of divination like the Divining Elder could he grasp a sliver of the trajectory of fate.
Liu Changqing let out a sigh of relief and smiled. "Fellow Fu, are you satisfied?"
Fu Qingjin sighed gently and nodded at Li Qingshan. "Looks like I was wrong."
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