25: Chapter 25 Qianqiu Mountain Firmly Protects Li Yuan

She was somewhat dazed, one could even say she was dumbfounded.

Ruan Xingqiao had known about the plan last night.

Her maid, Cuihong, had invited Li Yuan to the hillside west of the city at the hour of Mao.

She did not like anyone imitating Meng Guidu, and Meng Guidu did not like anyone resembling him either.

The two had tacitly reached an agreement for Meng Guidu to take action.

In the morning, Cuihong had even left her a secret signal.

Confirming that the initial task was completed, she had invited Li Yuan to head to the mountainside west of the city.

However, why was Li Yuan still appearing here?

As long as he went to the mountainside west of the city, Li Yuan should not have appeared alive...

After a good while, Ruan Xingqiao's complexion finally recovered slightly.

Her gaze still fell on Li Yuan from time to time, wanting to find some clues from him.

Yet Li Yuan had no changes from usual; his state was normal, without a hint of strangeness.

Today was the final stage of the Autumn Grand Competition: the handover of resources.

For the people of Qianqiu Mountain, it could be considered going to lose face.

They represented Da Shun, lost forty percent of their cultivation resources, and let Lingshan Kingdom watch a joke.

Those who understood might say that it was because of the traitor Meng Guidu that Qianqiu Mountain suffered a loss.

Those who did not know the reason would just assume that the Martial Artists of Shun Kingdom were inferior, not as good as the Martial Artists of the Jin Kingdom.

After losing face here and returning to Da Shun, they would certainly be mocked by other Sects and reprimanded by the imperial court.

The Disciples of Qianqiu Mountain, as well as their attendants, were all very low-key today.

Their words and actions were very restrained, fearing that they would displease the Elders and be made a big fuss over, resulting in a harsh scolding.

After breakfast, an Elder of Qianqiu Mountain with seventh-grade strength led everyone to go to the competition venue from yesterday again.

Elder Xue Song, along with two other Elders of seventh-grade strength, had all hidden away.

Whether there were many people or few, it was still losing face, so why not have fewer people go to lose face?

The younger generation was, naturally, all called over.

As the saying goes, knowing shame leads to courage; Disciples like Ruan Xingqiao and Liu Weihe certainly could not escape.

On the way there, Ruan Xingqiao was heavy-hearted.

At her side, her Junior Sister, Zhu Yan, came to comfort her: "The result of the Grand Competition cannot be blamed on you alone, Senior Sister..."

Zhu Yan still thought that this Senior Sister was worried because of the Grand Competition result.

The truth was that she did not know what exactly had happened with Li Yuan.

Her maid Cuihong had not returned for a long time, and Meng Guidu—had he encountered any trouble...

Near the competition venue, Qianqiu Mountain had already brought over the carriages filled with cultivation resources.

Yet the people from the Jin Kingdom were surprisingly late in arriving.

"Heh, is this to make us hide here and lose face? Everyone, do you see? As the future of Qianqiu Mountain, are you not angry in your hearts!"

The Elder leading the team was full of hatred in his words.

He hated the other side's humiliation, and also hated his own juniors for not living up to expectations.

Another fifteen minutes passed, and the people from the Jin Kingdom side finally arrived.

The Jin Kingdom official leading them had a face full of panic, anxiety, agitation, and anger.

"Was it you who played tricks, was it you! Where is that child Guidu, what exactly is his situation!"

As this Jin Kingdom official spoke, he was about to rush over to the Qianqiu Mountain side.

Seeing the gloomy expressions on the other side, he restrained himself again and stopped.

Hearing these words, the others did not have much of a reaction.

Ruan Xingqiao, however, hurriedly stood out and asked: "What happened to him? Did something happen to him?"

"Guidu's Life Tablet suddenly shattered this morning; he has very likely already lost his life!"

The Jin Kingdom official's tone was fierce, as if he wanted to take revenge on the spot.

A Life Tablet is a type of jade Magical Artifact; after being nourished by the owner's side for several years, it can share the same Qi.

If the Life Tablet shows cracks, it means the owner has suffered a significant injury.

If it shatters directly, most likely the owner has died.

Meng Guidu's Life Tablet had shattered; everyone present naturally knew what this meant upon hearing these words.

The Elder from Qianqiu Mountain already had a trace of joy rise on his face involuntarily.

Meng Guidu was a traitor to Qianqiu Mountain, and he had long hoped for his death.

"You failed to look after your own juniors, what does that have to do with us? If you think it was my Qianqiu Mountain that did it, please produce evidence."

The Qianqiu Mountain Elder replied calmly.

The few Elders had not made a move to do this, so it was highly likely that other forces had done it.

But to him, this did not matter.

It was better that Meng Guidu was dead; he had long disliked this traitor.

Upon hearing this, the Jin Kingdom official was still questioning.

Before he could speak, Ruan Xingqiao suddenly reached out and pointed at Li Yuan.

"It's him! Meng Guidu's accident must be related to him! Catch him and interrogate him!"

At this moment, Ruan Xingqiao was somewhat dazed and frantic.

The words "Meng Guidu has died" instantly stung her.

Although he had betrayed Qianqiu Mountain and worked wholeheartedly for the Jin Kingdom.

Yet in Ruan Xingqiao's heart, she had always been thinking of him and missing him.

She even harbored a sliver of fantasy about their future.

But now, news of his death had spread...

When the Jin Kingdom official heard Ruan Xingqiao's words, his gaze instantly turned to Li Yuan.

His eyes were sharp, as if he wanted to use this gaze to see right through Li Yuan.

At her side, the Qianqiu Mountain Elder stared at Ruan Xingqiao with a sullen face.

"Xingqiao, what hysteria have you caught, babbling nonsense here! You are a person of Qianqiu Mountain, get your identity straight!"

As the Senior Sister of Qianqiu Mountain, helping the Jin Kingdom side speak—how could he not be angry?

Moreover, her performance in this year's Autumn Grand Competition was extremely poor.

Being scolded by her own Elder, Ruan Xingqiao this time had no intention of listening to advice and continued to act willfully.

"Catch him and interrogate him; this matter must be related to him, there will be no mistake. Punish him severely with torture, and he will tell the truth!"

Ruan Xingqiao pointed at Li Yuan, still talking and making arrangements there.

The Elder of Qianqiu Mountain, seeing her like this, had his breathing become several times heavier from anger.

"Ruan Xingqiao, watch your status! Also, this young man is just an attendant of your Junior Brother Weihe. Do you think it makes sense that Meng Guidu died at his hands?"

When the Qianqiu Mountain Elder said this, it already carried very obvious scolding.

With so many eyes watching, was her performance proving that she was not from Shun Kingdom, but from Jin Kingdom?

But at this moment, Ruan Xingqiao was impervious to both soft and hard tactics.

Meng Guidu had died; she had no heart left to distinguish right from wrong.

"Of course he has no ability to injure Meng Guidu; even if Meng Guidu stood idly by for a hundred years for him to catch up, he wouldn't be able to. But this matter must be related to him!"

What she was thinking of now was simply to catch Li Yuan and interrogate him with heavy punishment.

Clearly, Meng Guidu was going to deal with him this morning.

But now, he had returned safe and sound, while Meng Guidu had died.

And Ruan Xingqiao's own maid was also nowhere to be found.

Two people related to Li Yuan had both met with accidents.

From Li Yuan, she would certainly be able to extract some information!

The Qianqiu Mountain Elder's face was gloomy; he no longer wanted to argue with Ruan Xingqiao.

"The cultivation resources have been delivered; we have no interest in accompanying you in this nonsense anymore. As for this young man, he is a Martial Artist of our Shun Kingdom. If you want to interrogate him, then come and test your martial strength to see if you can take him away."

This Qianqiu Mountain Elder was determined to protect Li Yuan.