Chapter 135
Mei Liangyu carried the remaining food box to find Zhongli Shan, calling for Xing Chun to come eat at Zhongli Shan's place on the way.
Opening the door, Xing Chun had indeed arrived before him.
Zhongli Shan lived alone. These children from prestigious families didn't really like living with others.
He didn't seem in a hurry to go out today, casually throwing on an outer robe and wearing it lazily, creating some contrast with his usually cold and calm demeanor.
Xing Chun patted the table and took the things from Mei Liangyu's hands to arrange them.
Zhongli Shan looked at the seated Mei Liangyu and asked: "About last night's events, do you have any suspects?"
Mei Liangyu said casually: "No."
After hearing this, Zhongli Shan showed a hint of confusion in his eyes: "Then what did you want to talk about?"
He had received Mei Liangyu's message early in the morning asking him to make time for a chat, so he hadn't rushed to leave the dormitory.
"How is your Heavenly Mechanism Art practice going?" Mei Liangyu looked up at him. "Is it useful against the School of Names' Asura Eye?"
"Can't say it's completely useless." Zhongli Shan said. "But I need to grasp the timing, and it needs more work."
Mei Liangyu nodded, his gaze fixed on the bowls and chopsticks Xing Chun was arranging: "Has Nian Qiuyan shown anything unusual lately?"
Zhongli Shan was slightly stunned upon hearing this, then raised an eyebrow: "You suspect him?"
"I did ask him, but he won't say." Mei Liangyu leaned against the chair back, his expression indifferent, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking. His words carried no pointed edge either. "It's worrying precisely because he won't talk."
Xing Chun, who had finished arranging the bowls and chopsticks, nodded: "Indeed, if he's keeping something to himself and won't say it, it must be something big."
"Related to Silver River Water?" Zhongli Shan thought. "I didn't even see him the day Silver River Water was stolen."
"I know." Xing Chun raised his hand. "He had dinner with me that evening."
Mei Liangyu said: "He had lunch with me during the day."
Zhongli Shan looked at both of them: "You were daytime, he was evening. What about after dinner?"
"Then I don't know." Xing Chun shook his head while holding a soup bowl. "He left after eating, didn't say where he was going or what he was doing, but he left with Kong Yiyi."
Zhongli Shan said: "Then it's best not to ask Kong Yiyi."
Mei Liangyu thought the same.
If they asked Kong Yiyi now, either she'd beat them up, or she'd go beat up Nian Qiuyan.
"But if we're talking about unusual things, I do remember something." Xing Chun tilted his head slightly, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as if recalling something. "Before Silver River Water was stolen, Nian Qiuyan was practicing trigrams quite diligently. For Nine Schools Arts involving astrology, he was also going to the Yin-Yang School quite frequently."
Zhongli Shan asked: "What's strange about that? He's not arrogant about cultivation matters. When he needs to work hard, he still works hard."
Mei Liangyu lifted his chin slightly: "Wait for him to finish."
Xing Chun said: "Doesn't he only calculate three trigrams a day? But these three trigrams could take him all day, and Technical Arts School trigram casting definitely requires Divine Wood Signs. Yet Nian Qiuyan, as a standard Technical Arts School disciple, came to the Yin-Yang School's Star Observatory."
Zhongli Shan found this a bit confusing and still couldn't detect what the problem was, glancing at Mei Liangyu.
Mei Liangyu explained: "Nian Qiuyan abandoned Technical Arts School trigram techniques and switched to Yin-Yang School astrology, which doesn't rely on Divine Wood Signs."
Zhongli Shan understood, nodding: "They're both divination arts. Yin-Yang School and Technical Arts School astrology do have some overlap. It's not strange that he knows it."
"I wasn't surprised at first either, just found what he was divining a bit odd." Xing Chun moved his neck and looked back at the two, saying slowly: "The most useful aspect of Yin-Yang School astrology is observing weather patterns. Whether it'll rain tomorrow, whether the rain will be heavy or light, whether the roads I've traveled will be flooded, whether the sun will be harsh, whether my fruits and vegetables will be affected by too much sun, whether the wind will be strong, whether it might blow down houses, and so on."
Zhongli Shan's expression became somewhat serious as he asked: "Then what was Nian Qiuyan divining?"
"Also weather patterns." Xing Chun scratched his head. "But honestly, I couldn't quite understand it. It was weather patterns, but weather patterns I'd never seen before. Wind, rain, thunder, and lightning all have their own standards. The star chart he divined was chaotic, like everything was thrown together."
Xing Chun took another sip of soup to moisten his throat and continued: "I directly asked him what this star chart was divining. I felt that with his abilities, it was impossible for him to create such a chaotic star chart."
Mei Liangyu thought: "What did he say?"
Xing Chun recalled the scene and still felt concerned: "He said it was a failed trigram, that he hadn't decided what to divine yet, so the star chart was chaotic. But I felt his star charts all had traceable patterns and clear objectives."
At the time, Nian Qiuyan didn't want to elaborate, and Xing Chun didn't pressure him, so the matter passed.
Now, recalling this incident, Xing Chun still didn't understand what it meant, muttering: "Could he have been divining weather patterns in Inverted Moon Cave?"
"He wouldn't need to go through such trouble to enter Inverted Moon Cave." Zhongli Shan said. "He's already a member of Nine Capital Guards and has patrolled first-level forbidden areas like Inverted Moon Cave before. He knows more about conditions inside than ordinary disciples."
Xing Chun shrugged: "Maybe Silver River Water has nothing to do with him. Perhaps Mei Mei is overthinking."
Mei Liangyu pressed his temple, speaking unhurriedly: "Silver River Water can't be touched directly by hand. Its toxicity is too strong and would cause corrosion. Ordinary containers can't block its toxicity either. It was placed on xuanstone in Inverted Moon Cave. If someone wanted to take Silver River Water, they'd need to prepare something themselves."
"Mechanism School has a type of wood called Six Mysterious Wood. It's not suitable for mechanism devices but can be used to contain Silver River Water because it has very strong poison resistance. This way, even carrying Silver River Water wouldn't be dangerous."
Xing Chun was surprised: "There's such a good thing?"
"Few people know about it. I only learned by chance, but I remember that in the month before Silver River Water was stolen, he often came to Mechanism Island to find me." Mei Liangyu squinted slightly. "After I left Ancient Tower, he still went to Mechanism Island. When I asked him what he was doing there, he said he was buying mechanism scrolls."
Zhongli Shan took a bite of pan-fried dumpling: "There are indeed many coincidences, but what would he want Silver River Water for?"
"Maybe he doesn't want to take it himself, but someone asked him to take it." Mei Liangyu said. "Six Mysterious Wood grows in deep seas. That area has many whirlpools and changeable weather patterns, making it difficult to harvest..."
"Oh!" Xing Chun suddenly understood. "Deep sea whirlpools! Right, this fits perfectly with the chaotic signs in his star chart."
Zhongli Shan frowned: "He went to harvest Six Mysterious Wood?"
Mei Liangyu looked thoughtful: "If he wanted to, he could indeed use astrology to avoid harsh weather brought by deep sea whirlpools, reducing risks. He didn't use Divine Wood Signs for divination because Yin-Yang School astrology is most accurate for weather patterns, and it could also prevent his master Changsun Zi from noticing."
From Changsun Zi's attitude last night, she seemed to already suspect Nian Qiuyan.
This Saint indeed despised evil and was clear about rewards and punishments, more legalistic than the Legalist School itself. If her most valued disciple was involved in manufacturing Lan poison, she would probably sacrifice personal feelings for justice and act directly.
Technical Arts School people were used to relying on their own intuitive sense to judge others, but conversely, others could exploit this to deceive them.
Using appearances and intuition to deceive others was something Nian Qiuyan was very skilled at.
Even Saints sometimes fell victim to his methods.
Mei Liangyu didn't think taking Silver River Water was Nian Qiuyan's voluntary choice, but if he really did it, that would be troublesome.
This person was only good at reporting good news, not bad news. He could help you share pain and solve problems, but would never let you glimpse even a fraction of his own suffering.
Even if Mei Liangyu asked Nian Qiuyan directly, he would only get explanations and deceptions.
Mei Liangyu planned to go look at the underwater forest in the deep sea. Mechanism School people no longer went there to harvest wood, so any broken Six Mysterious Wood would be very obvious.
Xing Chun and Zhongli Shan were worried about him returning to Mechanism Island, afraid he'd be locked up in some corner of Mechanism Island again and come back injured, so they agreed to wait for Xing Chun to calculate the timing before going together.
……
That afternoon, Yu Sui took the initiative to find Gu Qian to ask about the fragment.
Gu Qian was quite happy she came to find him, but when he heard it was about the Floating Pagoda fragment, he restrained his emotions and said to Yu Sui: "You don't need to worry about these troublesome matters. I'll handle it."
"What if Father asks about it?" Yu Sui said worriedly. "He'll definitely blame me for not handling things properly. Will he make me return from Taiyi Academy?"
"I'm the one who lost the thing. Why would the Prince blame you? Don't let Qian Ying scare you." Gu Qian forced himself to be spirited to comfort her.
"Alright." Yu Sui nodded obediently. "Brother Gu, don't worry. I'll also find ways to help."
Gu Qian didn't expect Yu Sui to be of much help, but seeing her thoughtfulness, he felt comforted.
After Yu Sui finished her surface performance, she ignored him and returned to the dormitory to study the Heavenly Character Text on the fragment. She and Xue Mushi found many books from the academy's library about School of Names research on characters and symbols.
Taiyi Academy detected traces of Lan poison in Qiao Jun's blood and notified all academy disciples that evening to have their blood tested for Lan poison.
Nian Qiuyan was waiting for blood testing at Technical Arts School when Zhang Xiangyun found him.
In front were chattering and noisy Technical Arts School disciples. Zhang Xiangyun brought Nian Qiuyan to a secluded artificial hill and small pond at the back. Nian Qiuyan didn't want to go further, saying quietly: "Don't you think meeting and talking with me at the academy is too risky?"
"If I had a choice, I wouldn't want to take this risk either." Zhang Xiangyun turned around, smiling without warmth. "But we're both Technical Arts School disciples. What's wrong with chatting privately?"
Nian Qiuyan flicked off a fallen leaf from his shoulder casually: "What do you want to say?"
"About last night's events, don't you have anything to tell me?" Zhang Xiangyun stared at him, the coldness in his tone very obvious. "You're really not afraid at all."
"It wasn't me." Nian Qiuyan looked directly at Zhang Xiangyun. "Whether you believe it or not, I have no need to do such things."
"Is that so? But you suffered no losses. Is anyone suspecting you now?" Zhang Xiangyun pressed relentlessly. "Our losses were huge."
But Nian Qiuyan smiled: "I haven't left the organization yet, but you're already listing me separately."
Hearing him say this, Zhang Xiangyun squinted slightly, and his confrontational attitude softened somewhat.
"You'd better not know anything." Zhang Xiangyun laughed coldly in a low voice. "In this situation, won't you hand over the thing?"
Nian Qiuyan didn't answer, only glanced at him briefly before turning to leave.
Zhang Xiangyun pondered his behavior, sneering inwardly as he followed.
What happened at Taiyi Academy, through various efforts, had successfully spread to the outside world.
People in various locations across the Six Kingdoms all knew what had occurred at Taiyi Academy.
In Qingyang Imperial Capital, the bright red colors of sunset spread across most of the capital city. Carved railings on towers stood motionless against the brilliant light. White dress hems swept across ground shadows, and passing breezes stirred the azalea potted plants placed at corners.
A Xuan Kui member waiting ahead saw the Little Medical Saint emerge from around the corner, bowed respectfully, and presented the letter in his hands.
Chu Jin's expression remained composed and gentle as she took the letter and read the news. Her brows furrowed slightly, her gentle eyes turned slightly cold, and her five fingers crumpled the letter into a ball that burst into flames and scattered as ash.
"Silver River Water wasn't found, but Lan poison was discovered by Taiyi Academy, and we lost the Divine Mechanism False Beast." Chu Jin spoke at an unhurried pace, still soft and gentle, yet making listeners feel bone-deep cold.
Two Xuan Kui members knelt with tense faces, explaining the Taiyi Academy situation in detail again.
Mister Zhou stood to the side, looking down at the flower and tree forest path without saying a word.
Chu Jin rested one hand on the railing, tapping lightly, seemingly thinking for a moment before smiling: "Is Nian Qiuyan really not afraid of anything?"
Xuan Kui member Wu Fu knelt and said gravely: "He seems unwilling to let Mei Liangyu and others know his identity, but if exposed now, it would also be disadvantageous to us."
"Mei Liangyu, this troublesome name has been mentioned several times." Chu Jin sighed. "Time after time, if you don't resolve this, are you waiting for me to personally go to Taiyi Academy to handle it?"
Though the woman spoke gently, Wu Fu broke out in cold sweat: "This person is difficult to deal with. He's not only the Ghost Way Saint's disciple but also quite capable himself."
"The Ghost Way Saint's disciple." Chu Jin thought of someone, her expression pausing slightly. "Tell me again about what happened in the Outer City. What happened to the person who tried to extort money from Pearl House?"
Wu Fu answered: "Led by Sky Crane Gang, they threatened Pearl House at Ethereal Hall about cheating. The black manager called Little Princess Nangong. After Little Princess Nangong arrived, she revealed other gangs' secrets, destroyed their alliance, and severely injured Sky Crane Gang's leader before leaving."
Chu Jin laughed upon hearing this, raising her hand to smooth her hair: "It seems this trip to Taiyi Academy has brought quite a harvest for my ordinary arts sister. I didn't know Ghost Way School had such abilities before, enabling ordinary arts people to cultivate again."
"This Senior Brother Mei Liangyu takes quite good care of her. In such a short time, he's helped this first-realm practitioner obtain Heavenly Mechanism Arts."
"Such fellow disciple affection is enviable."
Chu Jin didn't care about this sister, even feeling that paying attention to her was a waste of time and energy. She already had many things to busy herself with and had no time to focus on someone she had no feelings for.
Blood relations didn't mean anything. Without time spent together and no emotional foundation, they meant nothing.
Moreover, Nangong Sui was too stupid and weak. Chu Jin found her somewhat distasteful.
She had known since childhood that Nangong Royal Manor's future couldn't be entrusted to a stupid, foolish person with ordinary arts.
But now this fool's development was somewhat surprising.
Chu Jin considered the relationship between Nangong Sui and Mei Liangyu, an idea forming. She said to Wu Fu: "Go back and tell Zhang Xiangyun to have Nangong Sui take Qiao Jun's position."
Mister Zhou turned his head, but only saw the woman's gentle face: "Since Nangong Sui wants to shine, let her do some real work. Let my father see whether this youngest daughter chooses the Nangong family or chooses her Senior Brother."