However, if they could really poke this Scamming System where it hurt, they might as well just dismantle the damn thing entirely.
Although the Scamming System claimed there were no cultivators in this world, given its credibility with Su Mu, she still mentally placed a big question mark over whether cultivators truly existed or not.
After soothing the elderly woman, Ye Qinglian was just about to inquire about the specifics.
Several government officials burst through the door.
Upon seeing Ye Qinglian, the leader respectfully bowed.
“Imperial Princess Highness, this person in front of you is connected to a recent murder case. I must ask her to come with us to the yamen. Please also keep your distance from this dangerous element.”
“What? What murder? I didn’t do it! You’ve got the wrong person!”
The sudden accusation left the elderly woman flustered and at a complete loss.
Seeing the panicked elderly woman and the aggressive officials, Ye Qinglian’s brows furrowed slightly.
With the old woman’s frail build, how could she possibly be involved in a murder?
Moreover, it was far too coincidental that right when she sought her out for details on the case, she suddenly got implicated in a homicide. Anyone who claimed there were no ghosts at play wouldn’t be believed even by a three-year-old.
“Arresting a suspect requires evidence. You have nothing and yet you want to take her away? That’s too overbearing.”
Chen Qing had no such reservations and directly pushed back against the officials.
“We have an arrest warrant.”
The officials were clearly prepared, but Chen Qing promptly gave them a vivid lesson.
When they presented the warrant for her to inspect, Chen Qing snatched it right out of their hands.
“Now it’s gone.”
“You!”
The officials never expected Chen Qing to outright confiscate the arrest warrant.
They wanted to snatch it back, but their instincts told them they couldn’t beat her. Going back for reinforcements would take too long.
In the end, the officials could only glare at each other helplessly.
Watching the officials get stymied by Chen Qing, Su Mu felt an inexplicable sense of shared misery.
Still, she worried inwardly—wasn’t directly seizing the detention document breaking the law?
Wasn’t this giving the local authorities a pretext to act against them?
When Su Mu wasn’t being bullied by Chen Qing, her intelligence was still at a normal level.
However, after quietly voicing her concerns to Chen Qing, she got a flick on the forehead.
“They can pin a murder on someone without batting an eye. If the local authorities wanted to make a move on us, would they even need a special reason? Against enemies like this, you can’t play by the rules.”
“Oh.”
After Chen Qing’s explanation, Su Mu felt her earlier worry had been a bit silly. But getting flicked again left her feeling both aggrieved and defiant.
She even started plotting in her mind how to get revenge on this detestable villain.
Once Chen Qing’s rogue move left the officials helpless, Ye Qinglian and Wu Ran could finally get down to learning the details.
With nothing to do, Su Mu could only zone out and slack off in a daze.
As it turned out, the silly Su Mu wasn’t cut out to be a master detective.
By the time Chen Qing snapped out of it and asked questions, the inquiry was nearly over.
Unable to take the elderly woman away, the officials withdrew first.
Even after the officials left the elderly woman’s home, Su Mu’s little mind was still blank. Subconsciously, she turned her gaze to Chen Qing, hoping for a rundown.
Seeing the clear, innocent look in her silly Shizun’s eyes, Chen Qing knew the silly Shizun hadn’t listened to a word—she’d been spacing out the whole time.
But Su Mu’s performance was within Chen Qing’s expectations. If her Shizun wasn’t this dim, she wouldn’t be called silly Shizun.
Chen Qing took Su Mu’s hand and pulled her closer.
“Just follow me closely.”
Under Su Mu’s expectant gaze, Chen Qing said this.
The words instantly turned Su Mu’s expectant eyes defiant. What did this detestable villain mean by that?
Sure, she’d slacked off a bit this time, but next time she’d prove her potential as a brilliant detective.
Chen Qing and the others didn’t return to the City Lord’s Mansion. Instead, they booked two rooms at an inn outside.
Compared to the thoroughly infiltrated City Lord’s Mansion, the inn felt safer.
From the information gathered from the elderly woman, the White Lotus Cult’s sacrifice requirements this time were unmarried girls aged fourteen to around twenty, secluded at home awaiting marriage.
According to the elderly woman, her village had lost several such girls in the past month, and the official explanation was that wolves had taken them.
That was also why the elderly woman dared to come forward and plead her case—the officials’ story hadn’t even changed, which was too suspicious.
“This White Lotus Cult is hiding too deeply. The surface-level government offices have completely become their puppets.”
Wu Ran said indignantly. If this were near the capital, any government so corrupted would have been wiped clean long ago, leaving no chance for chaos.
“Since the White Lotus Cult keeps playing turtle, we’ll have to take the initiative.”
“Take the initiative? How?”
Su Mu looked at Chen Qing. With the White Lotus Cult hiding so well, even Chen Qing’s strength couldn’t locate them.
“Lure the snake out of its hole. After all, we all fit the White Lotus Cult’s sacrifice criteria.”
Chen Qing’s words stunned Su Mu, but she quickly reacted, shaking her head furiously in refusal.
“No, no way! I can’t beat the White Lotus Cult people. If they come for me, I’m done for!”
Seeing her silly Shizun’s cowardly look, black lines appeared on Chen Qing’s forehead.
“Two by two. I’ll pair with you.”
Chen Qing’s words not only stopped Su Mu’s head-shaking but also eased Wu Ran’s hesitation.
Letting Highness venture out alone was out of the question, but pairing up greatly increased safety.
Pairing up put Su Mu’s racing heart at ease for the moment.
However, on the grouping issue, Su Mu started scheming.
The villain was strong, but Wu Ran’s strength wasn’t weak either—enough to protect her life.
If she paired with Wu Ran, she could temporarily escape the detestable villain’s sight and buy time to prepare her counterattack plan.
The more she thought, the more Su Mu felt pairing with Wu Ran was a huge win.
Chen Qing could tell from the shifts in her silly Shizun’s eyes exactly what little schemes were brewing in that head.
With such vivid expressions, how could Chen Qing miss that her silly Shizun didn’t want to pair with her?
“Ahem, Sister Ye is too conspicuous. How about you pair with Sister Ye, and I pair with Sister Wu?”
To smoothly pair with Wu Ran, Su Mu started buttering up with “sisters.”
But her silly Shizun’s crisp “sisters” for others versus a plain “you” for Chen Qing made Chen Qing’s face darken like it could drip water.
———
However, the scheming Su Mu, eager to change groups, didn’t notice Chen Qing’s expression. Instead, she looked at Wu Ran expectantly.
For Highness’s safety, Wu Ran actually approved of Su Mu’s group swap suggestion.
With a top expert like Chen Qing by Highness’s side, her safety would be nearly guaranteed.
But seeing Chen Qing’s stormy face, Wu Ran wisely stayed silent and gave Su Mu a helpless look.
Catching Wu Ran’s glance, Su Mu sensed something amiss. Turning her head, she saw Chen Qing’s darkened face.
“I-I’ll stick with you then.”
Though Su Mu thought her suggestion reasonable—Ye Qinglian was an Imperial Princess, while she was just an ordinary person.
The White Lotus Cult would target Ye Qinglian primarily.
So, pairing the stronger Chen Qing with Ye Qinglian made more sense.
Su Mu had planned to use this logic to temporarily slip away from Chen Qing.
But seeing Chen Qing’s darkened face, Su Mu immediately chickened out.
Whatever the detestable villain said, went. She’d only suggested a group swap, and the villain got all stormy—too domineering.
The oblivious Su Mu never realized why Chen Qing’s face had darkened so much.
She just thought Chen Qing was being bossy, not letting her challenge the plan.
After Su Mu conceded, the four split into two groups, heading in different directions to cast their net.
Walking the streets, Su Mu curiously looked around.
Shuangguan City’s commerce wasn’t booming, but as a city, the streets were lively enough.
Su Mu patted her pocket—empty, not a single coin.
Glancing at Chen Qing ahead, Su Mu wanted to ask for some pocket money.
But since leaving the inn, Chen Qing had walked silently in front without a word to her.
“System, is this villain mad at me?”
【It looks that way.】
The System’s affirmative reply put a question mark over Su Mu’s head.
“Whenever I pissed off this villain before, she’d always draw her sword to intimidate me right away. Now she’s just not talking to me? Isn’t that a bit too mild?”
【Her sword is still in her hand.】
The System’s pointed reminder drew Su Mu’s eyes to the long sword in Chen Qing’s hand.
If she suddenly drew it and slashed, Su Mu would be reporting to the afterlife in no time.
Frightened, Su Mu instinctively backed up a few steps, out of Chen Qing’s sword range.
But this widened the gap between them.
A passerby accidentally bumped into Su Mu. She glanced at the person, then turned back—Chen Qing was gone.
“P-People?!”
Staring at the flowing crowd, Su Mu was dumbfounded.
She frantically scanned for Chen Qing, but the moving throng soon made her eyes blur.
She couldn’t spot Chen Qing anywhere.
And right now, she was the bait to lure out the White Lotus Cult. Separated from Chen Qing…
Without much fighting ability, wasn’t she just turning from bait into chum?
Panicking a little, Su Mu quickened her pace, trying to catch up and see if Chen Qing had ditched her.
But the bustling environment and unfamiliar streets only made her more frantic and disoriented. After wandering half the day, she ended up dazed in front of a small stall.
She’d been searching for Chen Qing and gotten herself lost instead.
Depressed, Su Mu retraced her steps by memory along the way they’d come.
Since she couldn’t find Chen Qing, she’d head back to the inn first. Hiding there was safer than wandering aimlessly.
As Su Mu walked, she eyed the street stalls curiously.
Stalls selling authentic candied hawthorns, sugar figurines, and all sorts of fun trinkets.
The glistening sugar figurines tempted her mouthwatering Su Mu—she really wanted to pull out some coppers and buy one.
But after patting around, all she felt was cool air.
Spotting Su Mu’s longing gaze, the sugar figurine vendor called out proactively.
“Authentic sugar figurines—delicious and cheap!”
Though tempted, the broke Su Mu could only reluctantly leave the stall.
Unexpectedly, the vendor chased after her.
“Customer, you stared for so long without buying. Is my sugar figurine not sweet enough?”
Facing the vendor’s honest smile, Su Mu felt too embarrassed to admit she was broke and couldn’t even afford one.
“Ahem, it looks delicious. I-I just suddenly don’t feel like sweets.”
“If you think it’s good, take one to try. Us common folk all have tough times.”
The vendor’s last words nearly moved Su Mu to tears.
In this world, besides detestable perverts like Chen Qing, there were kind-hearted folks like this vendor.
Touched, Su Mu took the sugar figurine, bit into it—sweet and tasty.
Su Mu was just about to offer a couple of compliments and encourage the boss when she suddenly felt the world spin before her eyes. The boss in front of her split into several overlapping images.
“Customer, how is it? Tasty?”
She looked at the boss’s honest face, which carried a smug smile of triumph.
Su Mu’s dizzy mind finally caught on—this boss was from the White Lotus Cult. To think she had actually mistaken her for a kind-hearted person.
Propping up her increasingly unsteady body, Su Mu desperately ran toward the crowded area.
But she had only taken two steps when she collided with someone.
This impact made Su Mu’s heart sink.
These White Lotus Cult members wouldn’t be working as a group, would they?
It was over. She was going to become a sacrifice for their evil ritual.
Imagining the tragic fate that might await her, tears welled up in Su Mu’s eyes.
However, Chen Qing’s slightly reproachful voice instantly put Su Mu’s racing heart at ease.
“Running around everywhere—you got lost, didn’t you?”
Su Mu looked up and met Chen Qing’s intensely oppressive crimson eyes.
This was the happiest time Su Mu had ever been to see those eyes.
Now fully relaxed, Su Mu fainted straight into Chen Qing’s arms.
Gazing at her fainted Silly Shizun, Chen Qing’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
In truth, she and this Silly Shizun had never been separated from start to finish.
She had simply hidden herself on purpose, quietly trailing behind her Silly Shizun the whole time.
She had two reasons for doing this. First, to let her Silly Shizun witness the dangers of this world and see if she would still reject her so vehemently.
Second, to swoop in like a hero to save the beauty at the critical moment. Judging from Silly Shizun’s eyes just now, she had clearly achieved her goal.
