Fortunately, Ye Qinglian’s body was relatively sturdy, and Su Mu hadn’t smashed too hard. It merely caused a large bump on Ye Qinglian’s head.
Once she regained her senses, Ye Qinglian also noticed the fake shop assistant lying on the ground.
“Girl, you really ran into danger, but it looks like you’ve already taken care of it.”
At that moment, both Ye Qinglian and Su Mu felt a bit awkward.
“Yes, I knocked her out with a flower vase.”
As soon as the topic of knocking someone out came up, Ye Qinglian’s gaze involuntarily drifted toward the wooden stool that had just been swung at her own head.
It seemed she had mistaken Ye Qinglian for this person’s accomplice. Fortunately, she hadn’t struck to kill, or Ye Qinglian might have already reported to the underworld by now.
Su Mu felt awkward too. From Ye Qinglian’s words, she could tell that Ye Qinglian must have thought she was in danger and rushed over to help.
In the end, Su Mu had misunderstood her and nearly sent her on her way. An awkward atmosphere hung between the two.
However, Chen Qing kicked the door open and burst in, shattering the awkwardness.
Chen Qing had gone out to search the area. As soon as she returned to the inn, she smelled blood coming from Silly Shizun’s room. Thinking Silly Shizun was in danger, she kicked open the bolted door.
But the scene inside left a massive question mark hovering over Chen Qing’s head.
Vase shards littered the floor, and a person dressed as a shop assistant lay bleeding on the ground.
The Imperial Princess who had come to her for help was being supported by Silly Shizun, and she looked injured.
Wu Ran, who followed right behind, walked in and saw the scene as well.
Spotting Ye Qinglian’s injury, she rushed over.
“Your Highness, are you alright? Is this the thief who attacked you?”
With a sharp shing, Wu Ran drew her sword, ready to finish off the assassin who had attacked Her Highness. Fortunately, Ye Qinglian stopped her in time.
Seeing Wu Ran’s intense reaction, Su Mu quietly shifted out of her attack range and hid behind Chen Qing.
After all, the “assassin” Wu Ran was referring to was probably Su Mu herself.
If Wu Ran got carried away in a moment and chopped her down, there’d be nowhere for Su Mu to cry.
Watching Silly Shizun’s sneaky little movements, Chen Qing immediately guessed that Ye Qinglian’s injury was connected to this guilty-looking Silly Shizun.
Ye Qinglian glanced at Su Mu, who was hiding behind Chen Qing. She didn’t mention how Su Mu had given her a bump on the head. Instead, she revised the story.
She claimed the injury on her head had come from fighting the thief on the ground.
Wu Ran naturally believed Ye Qinglian’s words completely.
Seeing the grateful look Silly Shizun shot at Ye Qinglian, Chen Qing knew for certain that the bump on Ye Qinglian’s head was this Silly Shizun’s handiwork.
Still, she didn’t dwell on it. Her attention turned to the fake shop assistant knocked out on the floor.
She had taken Wu Ran out specifically to use Ye Qinglian as bait to draw out the White Lotus Cult members. It seemed the plan had worked well—they had hooked a big fish.
What puzzled her, though, was if the White Lotus Cult was after Ye Qinglian, then this person should have shown up in Ye Qinglian’s room. So why was she here?
Unable to figure it out, Chen Qing dragged Su Mu out of the room.
After a little intimidation from Chen Qing, the timid Su Mu spilled the entire truth.
She even described in detail exactly how much force she had used when smashing that shop assistant.
After hearing Silly Shizun’s account, Chen Qing’s expression grew somewhat gloomy.
She had always assumed the White Lotus Cult was targeting Ye Qinglian, the Imperial Princess.
As for the earlier incident where a Corpse Puppet chased Silly Shizun, she figured it was because Silly Shizun had been right beside her when she destroyed one of their Corpse Puppets in the Deserted Village.
The Corpse Puppet’s master, unable to beat her, had settled for revenge on Silly Shizun.
But now, it was clear all three attacks had been blatantly aimed at this Silly Shizun.
In the eyes of those White Lotus Cultists, Silly Shizun’s value even surpassed that of the Imperial Princess Ye Qinglian.
Chen Qing stared at the clear-eyed Silly Shizun, unable to fathom what about her was worth the White Lotus Cult going to such great lengths.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
Chen Qing’s gaze made Su Mu feel uneasy. Was this damn Villain looking down on her?
“Nothing.”
Once the situation was clear, Chen Qing took Su Mu’s hand and returned to the room.
This incident served as a wake-up call. If the White Lotus Cult’s target wasn’t Ye Qinglian but this Silly Shizun of unknown value, then they couldn’t afford to leave Silly Shizun alone like they had in this inn.
“Senior, this person really is from the White Lotus Cult. I just didn’t expect them to be bold enough to attack us directly in such a busy inn.”
Wu Ran’s expression wasn’t good. Her Highness getting injured was already a failure on her part as a guard.
If things had escalated further and the White Lotus Cult succeeded, it would have been truly disastrous.
“Though there was a mishap along the way, the White Lotus Cult hiding in the shadows has finally revealed itself.”
Ye Qinglian picked up where Wu Ran left off. In truth, she hadn’t sacrificed anything this time—the only injury she had was courtesy of an ally.
The question of who had caused the bump on Ye Qinglian’s head was glossed over just like that.
The primary task now was to extract more information about the White Lotus Cult from the mouth of the unconscious White Lotus Cultist on the floor.
Wu Ran volunteered for the job of interrogating the White Lotus Cultist.
The thought of those brutal, bloody interrogation scenes from ancient costume dramas made Su Mu too scared to stay in the room, so she slipped out.
Su Mu was happily leaning on the second-floor railing of the inn, enjoying the view outside, when a buzzkill voice sounded.
“I’ve still got a packet of laxative here. Want it?”
“No, no!”
Seeing the medicine packet in Chen Qing’s hand, Su Mu shook her head vigorously.
If she said a word, this damn Villain would absolutely not let her off the hook.
Watching Silly Shizun shake her head like a rattle-drum, a flicker of amusement passed through Chen Qing’s eyes.
She tucked the laxative back into her pocket and leaned against the railing just like Su Mu.
A silence settled around them.
Unlike the earlier awkwardness between her and Ye Qinglian, this atmosphere felt strangely off to Su Mu.
Leaning on the railing, Su Mu sneaked a glance at Chen Qing.
What was this damn Villain up to? Why wasn’t she saying anything?
Had Su Mu messed up again somewhere?
Su Mu’s little brain whirred frantically until she hit on the one thing Chen Qing might have caught her on.
Chen Qing had found the Gu Worms Su Mu hid under the bed—she knew about the secret Gu refining!
Su Mu’s little heart pounded wildly.
Maybe she should confess preemptively and beg for mercy.
But what if Chen Qing hadn’t noticed and had just wanted to enjoy the view?
Torn with anxiety, Su Mu restlessly tapped her little feet against the railing.
