Chapter 138: Animated books.

Chapter 138: Animated books.The fatty in the Azuremist sect always felt off to Lee. The guy seemed natural and all, but his thin face ... was not. Fat people have fat cheeks. Both – lower and upper. But since the guy’s face was slim, he was fake. Now Lee was sure of it.

He didn’t know what the whole thing was about, but if the fatty was fake, the girl was as well. After all, the fat guy was the one who asked for her message addressed to a non-existent Elder Mu.

The characters they played may have been fake, but it didn’t mean the people behind the masks, the actors, were. And judging by how good they were, they couldn’t be random nobodies.

Lee paused and put the drawing aside. He closed his eyes again, and slowly, piece by piece took off the girl’s make-up, then long hair, changed into different clothing.

’This is fun!’ Lee thought to himself, and went back to drawing. He hadn’t been this excited in a long time.

One after another different pictures appeared, but the confusion on the faces of the three spectators grew. They were quickly loosing patience, but Lee’s calm attitude prevented them from interrupting him.

Besides, the way the kid drew was nothing they had seen in their lives. Obviously they had seen artists at work, but Lee didn’t intend to make an art. He was copying pictures he saw in front of him. And he was doing it at incredible speed.

"So this is why the Hall of Knowledge wanted to poach him." Shen Rouya mumbled.

"Maybe this will lead somewhere ..." The man said, but Chi Yanzhen’s eyes grew wide.



He stepped forward, and asked, "What does Senior Sister Zhao have to do with this?"

Chi Yanzhen had hard time hiding his displeasure, but Lee didn’t notice it and gathered all the drawings in one stack, and then rearranged them. Then he held the stack by one edge, like a book, and flicked through the pages with his thumb.

The other three people in the room were at least at the elemental master’s level, but even to them it was kind of magic how the kid flipped pages past in a blur, making the drawings come to life, forming an illusion of motion.

The girl in the pictures changed, the style and length of hair and types of clothing, but there were minute nuances that always remained the same.

Lee couldn’t put his finger on it, but the other three recognized this person. And they realized what Lee was trying to do.

"Huh ... interesting ..." The man said in a low voice, "Junior Elder Zhao Qingxue ... Yanzhen, tell one of my boys ... no, call one over, quickly!"

Chi Yanzhen darted away, but Lee went back to drawing. After a while he finished another neat stack of pictures, except this time there was a young man in them.

"You probably want this guy as well. He’s from the Azuremist sect, but from what I understand we’re friendly with them ..." Lee said, but it was clear the man already knew his intentions.

But this was as much as Lee could help. Realizing that, he stood up, and took a step aside, patiently waiting for what was about to come.

"I guess it’s time for proper introductions." The man said, and sat on the chair Lee just vacated, while Shen Rouya took a seat on the other one. Chi Yanzhen remained standing, but he didn’t seem to mind.

"My name is Luo Yanlong." The man said, "I’m the elder leading the Hall of Justice. You remember Junior Elder Shen Rouya, but what you don’t know she’s the right hand of elder Wang, the one who leads the Hall of Ascension. With Yanzhen, from what I understand, you’re familiar."

"Hello, I’m Lee!" Lee politely cupped his fist and bowed, "If I may ask, what exactly did I get myself into? I understand I’m not out of the water yet, but if you tell me what’s this about, I might help more, hopefully ..."

There was a brief pause. It seemed Elder Luo was contemplating what he should do, but in the end said, "The sect master was poisoned."

"How is that possible?!" Lee blurted out.

From what he understood the guy was incredibly strong and experienced, and even if he was poisoned, couldn’t he expel the poison? Even Lee could, at least in some capacity.

"It was a peculiar poison that corroded his spark, and the old man drunk a whole bottle of it – the bottle that you two brought from the Azuremist sect." Elder Luo said.

"Our visit did seem off there, but we received the package in the Task Pavilion." Lee pondered out loud, "Someone had to know what the package was, and then switch, or something?"

"Our sect masters are old friends and often exchange their wine. It’s a kind of game to them." Shen Rouya said, "The problem was that someone had targeted Xiao Lian as a scapegoat from the start."

"So you knew we were innocent?" Lee kind of felt upset.

"We knew Xiao Lian was innocent." Elder Luo corrected, and Lee understood the implications.

"He probably tried to persuade you for days that it was him who picked both missions and that he was the one who had to save me from bandits." He said.

"It might’ve worked if not for the sect master falling into coma a couple of days ago." Elder Luo said, and after a pause, added, "... because he meditated while burning the incense you brought from the Blackwater Sect."

Lee could only facepalm. His alarms were going off left and right, but he still brought the executioner’s axe home. On the other hand, if at some point he discarded the package, they would’ve never have made it back.

"Right, there had to be someone making sure we didn’t get in trouble on the way." Lee voiced his earlier thoughts, "The trip was way too smooth."



"We’ll look into that." Elder Luo said.

Lee realized what was about to come. He said, "Now you want to figure out what to do with me?"

"Well, you are a thief." Elder Luo sad.

"Not in the Nethermoon Sect." Lee grinned, but then got serious, and said, "I understand. But no matter what you decide, could you at least lock me up for a bit? The chick ... I mean the junior elder that was behind the conspiracy might somehow get back to me. For Xiao Lian it might also be more safe if he returned home for a few months."

"She’s not behind it! It stretches further than you can imagine." The elder said, "And since you are ready to voluntarily go to prison, I have a free cell ..."

"I might have a better idea." Shen Rouya said, "But we should move him during the night, just in case."

Lee had to go back to his cell, but this was certainly happy turn of events. Clearly he had underestimated the elder of the Hall of Justice. The guy knew almost all the answers before entering his cell, and Lee was easily played.

Lee could only shake his head while laughing at himself. The common knowledge was that elemental lords could live for a few millennia, and if it was so, it was hard to judge how old exactly Elder Luo was. To think that a punk like himself could outsmart an old fox was simply delusional.

His talent turned out to be surprisingly useful, though. If the sect’s law enforcers could get the true conspirators because of him ... Lee wasn’t sure he would be happy or sad about it. Cultivation world was deadly and it was inevitable to make some enemies on the way. But for now he was weak and the idea to force a hand of someone powerful didn’t seem too thrilling.

There was another thing that Lee didn’t like. Elder Luo disclosed the fact that the sect master was in coma. If it was really so, it was highly unlikely anyone would spread the information. Now that Lee knew about it, he didn’t dare to step outside to not become a suspect the moment someone leaked it.