Xiao Zi, seeing Qing Yue stand up and walk directly towards them, felt an immense panic.
"I, I really didn't lay a hand on her…"
Qing Yue crouched down and gently picked up the little sable lying in a pool of blood.
"Master told us to look after it well…"
Xiao Zi's expression turned serious. The master he mentioned, was he the little creature's owner?
The little sable, with its eyes tightly shut, was so angry it almost jumped up to punch him.
She had worked so hard to put on an act, all to conceal her master's identity, and this guy was practically about to reveal it!
Meeting Xiao Zi's confused gaze, Qing Yue didn't hide anything. "We don't know Master's identity, only that Master is from the Nine Heavens."
"Although we are his disciples, we are still Lord's people. This will never change."
Xiao Zi's gaze shifted downwards, faintly seeing the little creature in Qing Yue's arms trembling with anger.
Xiao Zi's lips curved, a hint of schadenfreude in his tone as he continued to inquire, "Oh? You don't blame me for hurting her?"
Qing Yue stared at Xiao Zi, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "You hurt Qing Qing?"
"No," Xiao Zi immediately shook his head, almost falling into his own trap.
"Speaking of which, if she's not your contracted beast, why did you name her Qing Qing?"
Qing Yue looked at the little creature trembling with anger in his arms, thinking it was due to excessive blood loss and weakness. He then fed it a blood-coagulating pill.
"Qing Qing is a Xuan beast that Master found. Seeing her spiritual nature, he gifted her to us. We named her."
Xiao Zi nodded, continuously dissecting the information in his mind.
Based on the current information, the little sable still served the person from the Nine Heavens. Their purpose in accompanying them was likely to cover for that person.
For instance, to obscure his identity as much as possible and prevent others from knowing.
Qing Yue and Qing Feng, on the other hand, were loyal to the little devil and spoke frankly without any concealment.
What was the person from the Nine Heavens hiding behind the scenes plotting?
Jiang Ye and the others also noticed the commotion and gathered around, "What are you guys doing?"
Zhu Que looked at the dying little sable, surprise evident in her eyes. "What happened to her? Who beat her to this state?"
The little sable feigned weakness, shakily raising its paw and pointing at Xiao Zi.
Xiao Zi blinked in confusion. What? Even now, she's still trying to frame him? This little creature is truly cunning.
But to Xiao Zi's surprise, Zhu Que seemed to calm down upon seeing Xiao Zi's involvement. "That fox spirit did this? That doesn't make sense…"
"Although he's a bit unreliable, he would never act without reason."
Xiao Zi triumphantly raised an eyebrow at the little sable, seeing? Deliberate framing wouldn't work.
The little sable was so angry it almost choked. Its fierce gaze seemed to want to devour him alive.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the room was even more oppressive.
Bai Ran's face darkened as he withdrew his hand from taking Qing Feng's pulse. He vaguely saw a flash of murderous intent in her eyes.
"Lord? Why are you taking my pulse?" Qing Feng retracted her arm, looking at Bai Ran with confusion.
Bai Ran pursed his lips. Earlier, she had suspected that the person who had rapidly increased Qing Feng and the others' strength…
…might have used unorthodox methods, a cultivation technique that harmed the body.
Now, Qing Feng's pulse confirmed her suspicion.
Qing Feng and the others' rapid increase in strength was merely the result of cultivating a technique called "Hao Yuan Gong" (耗元功 - Essence Consumption Technique).
Cultivators typically absorbed spiritual energy from the air, stored it in their dantian, and gradually accumulated it for advancement.
However, those who cultivated Hao Yuan Gong burned the lifespan of their latter half of life.
In other words, Qing Feng and the others' immense power was exchanged for the remaining years of their lives…
While this cultivation technique was malevolent, there was a solution: "Fan Yang Gong" (返阳功 - Yang Return Technique).
Fan Yang Gong taught practices that were the opposite of Hao Yuan Gong. Hao Yuan Gong burned lifespan for rapid enhancement, while Fan Yang Gong dispersed spiritual energy to increase lifespan.
Bai Ran clenched his fists, his body trembling slightly. He feared that Fan Yang Gong was also in the hands of that person from the Nine Heavens…
"Lord? What's wrong?"
Qing Feng's voice brought Bai Ran back from his wandering thoughts. "Nothing, I was just curious about who your master truly is."
Qing Feng frowned, seeming to recall some past events. "Your subordinate remembers, Master once showed us four a scene."
"A scene?" Bai Ran's attention was piqued, listening as Qing Feng continued.
Qing Feng nodded. "The memory water curtain showed a scene of Lord with your father and mother, when Lord was still very young."
A memory water curtain was a divine artifact that reflected inner memories. If one had not personally experienced it, it was impossible to fake.
It was this scene that made Qing Feng and the others believe that Master was indeed someone familiar with Lord.
Young, with both parents present…
Bai Ran gritted his teeth, his dark eyes cold and sharp. "I think I know who your master is."
Possessing memories from childhood, understanding her past intimately, when her parents were still together…
Mo Ze… it could be no one else!
Before Qing Feng could ask, Bai Ran abruptly stood up and walked out of the room.
"Miss Bai?" Jing Feng and the others looked at Bai Ran as she approached, and immediately snatched the little sable from Qing Yue's hands.
"Where is Mo Ze."
The killing intent in her voice made the little sable's fur stand on end.
Qing Feng stared blankly at Bai Ran, and the others were somewhat bewildered. Only Xiao Zi, amidst the crowd, understood the meaning behind the little devil's words.
It seemed the little devil knew the identity of the person from the Nine Heavens. Mo Ze, was he her blood-related younger brother…?
"Still don't understand? Your master doesn't care about your life or death at all."
As Bai Ran's words fell, the little sable stiffly turned its head. What… did that mean…?
Bai Ran stared directly at the little sable in her hands, reaching out to touch its fur. After rubbing it for a moment, she removed a thumb-sized object.
"As expected, a communication artifact was hidden."
Hearing Bai Ran's words, a chill ran down the little sable's spine. Master… had actually hidden an artifact on her…?
Bai Ran gazed intently at the little sable. Mo Ze had given Qing Feng and the others all the blatant clues.
As long as Bai Ran was vigilant, she would surely see through Mo Ze's identity by following the clues.
If that were the case, why would he need the little sable to cover for him? What could it possibly be covering?
The only answer was that Mo Ze had already abandoned the little sable. Even if it was discovered, the little sable's death would be inconsequential to him.
As long as he could obtain information about Bai Ran, it would be enough.
Concealing Mo Ze's identity was a pretense; using the little sable's life to transmit information was the truth.
"Am I right? My dear brother…"