“After Palace Lord Kong perished,” Xu Qing said, “I continued my investigation. After all, I didn’t think some measly bit of daybreak light could explain how the governor would fall victim to a lightmost fatehavoc pill. The governor was half a step into the Smoldering God level, so poisoning him wouldn’t be an easy task.”

Quite a few people frowned in response to Xu Qing speaking. It was almost as if he hadn’t been paying attention to what the lieutenant governor just said. Had he not seen that black energy? He had just continued speaking as if he hadn’t even been interrupted earlier.

“I started thinking how it might be possible to poison the governor without him realizing. I myself am skilled in the dao of medicine, but not even I could think of an explanation. But then I remembered that wish box, and how it contained the lingering smell of osmanthus flowers.

“Twenty-three days ago, after returning from Forbidden by the Immortal, I noticed the same fragrance in a pallid bolus.”

The moment the words pallid bolus left Xu Qing’s lips, the lieutenant governor’s pupils dilated imperceptibly. “I’ve never claimed that the pallid bolus was some sort of benevolent achievement,” he said calmly. “But that doesn’t mean you can use it this way in such an insulting manner, Xu Qing. It’s like a slap to the face!”

Along with his words, the lieutenant governor released a burst of Void Returning power, aimed right at Xu Qing.

The deputy palace lord’s face fell, and threw himself forward to block the power. However, given the lieutenant governor’s strength, and the fact that he was blessed with destiny aura, the deputy palace lord was shoved backward. That was when the cloud cover split open and a sound erupted that could pierce metal and stone.

“CAW!”

The moment the sound echoed out, a three-headed bird appeared. It moved with shocking speed to arrive right in front of Xu Qing. Its right-side head bent down so Xu Qing could step onto it. Then it lifted him up. After, all three heads loomed over the lieutenant governor. The bird’s feathers all stood on end like spikes, and it pulsed with a deadly will as it released another ear-piercing caw.

The soundwave swept out, causing the entire county capital to shake violently.

All of the mortals in the city gasped, and the hundreds of thousands of cultivators looked on with shock. Seventh Prince’s expression tightened, and the lieutenant governor frowned.

As of that moment, all eyes were fixed on the great bird Qingqin. Only his caw could shake the clouds in heaven. Only someone that Qingqin viewed as a dear friend and equal could stand there. And right now, the figure standing there wore a white swordsage uniform!

He had four umbrellas glittering over his head, a bluegreen dragon swirling around him exhaling daybreak light, a projection of the Ghost Emperor mountain, and behind him it was just possible to see a faint image of a flowing river of time.

Secretary-General Xu, the representative of Palace Lord Kong, was finally back!

All of the nonhumans who were watching were shaken to the core, as they remembered this person!

Xu Qing’s voice then rang out again. “Over the years, countless mortals in the county capital have consumed pallid boluses. Thinking about that, I realized how the governor was poisoned. The killer didn’t directly administer the poison. He crushed the lightmost havoc pill into powder and carefully blended it into batch after batch of pallid boluses. And those boluses were consumed by all the humans in the county capital.”

His words smashed into the hearts of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators like lightning bolts, and slammed into the ears of countless mortals. Gasps and cries rose up. The crowd stirred chaotically. The chaos that had begun to foment because of Qingqin’s arrival was now building.

“Countless common citizens were used to administer the poison. It changed the destiny aura of the county as a whole. The commoners themselves became the agents to carry the poison. It was no longer destiny aura, it was poison aura! And it slowly entered the governor, unbeknownst to him, full of the lightmost fatehavoc poison.”

As Xu Qing continued to speak, the county capital was thrown into chaos. Hundreds of thousands of people beneath the altar were all crying out, shaking heaven and earth.

“The pallid boluses are poisonous?”

“Pallid boluses? How is that even possible?”

“But it makes sense! All the pieces fit.”

“Pallid boluses were created by the lieutenant governor. They’re a commodity unique to the county capital. All the medicine shops here get them from the lieutenant governor!”

“Is this even real? Or is it a lie?”

“What… what is really going on?”

Xu Qing’s words were shocking to the extreme, and it caused wild emotions to grip everyone in the crowd. Kong Xianglong gasped. All the other swordsages were trembling. The deputy palace lord’s face fell.

The lieutenant governor was simply looking at Xu Qing. From the moment Xu Qing mentioned pallid boluses, it revealed that he knew the truth. It caused the lieutenant governor to sigh inwardly.

Xu Qing stood atop Qingqin’s head, looking out at the county capital.

“Everyone in the county capital has been poisoned. I have no idea what will happen later on…. If the poison flares up, it could cause catastrophe. I, Xu Qing, who the Grand Emperor blessed with a 30,000-meter pillar of light, will take full responsibility for every word I have spoken today. Exalted Lieutenant Governor, I’ve finished with my report. Please, point out any errors I’ve made!” 𝘪.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Xu Qing’s voice spread out through the square. And everyone, whether they believed Xu Qing or not, was now looking in the direction of the lieutenant governor. It wasn’t just them. Furious mortals throughout the city were all looking in the same direction. After all, this matter related to the safety of everyone! Whenever a matter relates to a person personally, no matter how small it is, it becomes something major. At the moment, few people were thinking about how the situation would affect others. They just wanted to know what was really going on!

Were the pallid boluses we ate throughout the years actually poisonous?

At the moment, Xu Qing was clearly on the side of the commoners! At first, Xu Qing tapped into the might of the governor and the palace lord took away some of the public approval from the lieutenant governor. That earned him the right to speak.

After that, the lieutenant governor negated his advantage.

But now, everyone sensed that they could be in danger, and thus, their attitude changed. Now, their hostilities were aimed at the lieutenant governor.

Xu Qing hadn’t devised this strategy out of thin air. He had learned a lot in the county capital, especially from Seventh Prince, and especially when it came to winning public support. And then Master Seventh opened a door of knowledge to him in Forbidden by the Immortal, which was when he realized he needed to stand at a higher vantage point to be able to take in the bigger picture. In the past seven years, he had gone from being a scavenger in the slums to this current point. Over that time, his personality, which had started out like rough, unpolished jade, had slowly been transformed into something magnificent and gleaming.

Back in the slums, the scholar teachers had taught him how to read. That was when his schooling began.

Sergeant Thunder taught him manners. He transformed the lone wolf who didn’t trust anyone into someone who felt like he had a warm home to go back to.

Grandmaster Bai taught him about plants and vegetation. People were like plants, in that they came in all varieties. That taught Xu Qing to behave with integrity.

Master Seventh taught him how to strategize, how to behave properly, and how to broaden his horizons.

The Captain’s crazy antics helped him understand how to fight for anything and everything, and the manner in which to defy heaven.

Seventh Prince taught him the usefulness of being backed by the people. With that backing, right could be wrong, and wrong could be right. Ambition didn’t allow for regrets.

Palace Lord Kong taught him how to do the right thing. He taught him about the swordsage oath, and how sometimes dying was the only way to reach a goal. He also taught him that some ideals were worth defending until your dying breath.

The lieutenant governor taught him how useful it could be to scheme and plot. He taught that all things can transform because of their environment, and that you could affect great change with little effort.

Over the years, many people had been Xu Qing’s teachers, whether they knew it or not. And he had grown. It all led down to this day!

All of a sudden, the unfinished crown of five tassels above the lieutenant governor’s head shivered. Destiny aura spilled out of it, and though most people couldn’t hear it, was accompanied by cheering as it swept toward Xu Qing. As it gathered above Xu Qing, the crown there grew increasingly visible.

Soon, people could see it. As Xu Qing stood on Qingqin’s right head, he glowed from head to toe, a crown of destiny aura hovered above the umbrellas atop his head.

It was just barely possible to see a boy in that crown, jumping for joy. It was as if the boy was telling everyone who could see him that this was the way things were supposed to be! This was where Sea-Sealing County’s destiny aura was supposed to converge. This was a true citizen of Sea-Sealing County!

Destiny aura surged, countless citizens’ hearts were changed. Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth. Winds screamed. And as if the leader of it all, Xu Qing looked at the lieutenant governor.

The lieutenant governor didn’t say anything in response.

Seventh Prince’s eyes glittered as he looked at Xu Qing. Similar to the lieutenant governor, it was as if he was only just now coming to realize who Xu Qing was.

This kid isn’t some random chump!

As Seventh Prince considered that, and as the lieutenant governor opened his mouth to speak, Xu Qing suddenly clasped hands and bowed deeply.

“I bow to you, exalted Lieutenant Governor, to thank you for the kindness of teaching class. After this bow, I can rest at ease, and can finally speak my mind.

“I know you’re from Torchlight, Exalted Lieutenant Governor. And Torchlight cultivators disdain lying. They value rationality. That, sir, is why you explained your entire plan in your lecture. You spelled out everything. Considering you did that, and then carried out your plan so meticulously, it only makes sense that you would eventually be exposed.

“And now, please point out any errors I’ve made, Lieutenant Governor.”

Xu Qing looked calmly at the lieutenant governor. In response to his words, Seventh Prince’s eyes grew sharper. Before, the lieutenant governor had executed a death sentence on Xu Qing’s 30,000-meter pillar of light. But now, Xu Qing had executed a similar death sentence on the lieutenant governor.

Seventh Prince had indeed noticed that, during the time in which they worked together, the lieutenant governor hated lies. And he always acted rationally. When asked a question, he answered. As of now, if he admitted to the accusations, there would be no way for him to escape a guilty verdict. But if he denied the accusations, and thus violated his own principles, he wouldn’t have a clean heart, and his will could be affected negatively.

The lieutenant governor once again maintained silence for a time. He looked deeply at Xu Qing. Then he sighed. He suddenly seemed to get much older and much more exhausted. Taking out a pallid bolus, and transforming himself into a huge projected image so that everyone could see him, he consumed the pill.

“Pallid boluses are not poisonous.”

The crowd was shaken.

“Xu Qing, I’m not sure why you’re so dead set on slandering me. However, considering your accomplishments in the war, I can’t bear to kill you. Instead, I’ll imprison you in the Swordsage Palace. Later on, we’ll get answers via interrogation. We’ve reached my bottom line. Li Yunshan, you handle the arrest and interrogation. Men!”

Calls of affirmation rose up as numerous figures flew up into the sky and surrounded Xu Qing. One of them was the lieutenant governor’s servant that Xu Qing had encountered previously. Looking regretfully at Xu Qing, he erupted with the fluctuations of second-stage Void Returning.

The lieutenant governor waved his hand, causing a vortex to appear. Out stepped a puppet in black armor, with a face of mangled red flesh. An aura of death spread everywhere as it looked around coldly, pulsing with the fluctuations of fourth-stage Void Returning.

“So, you aren’t the Crown Prince of Violet and Cyan,” Xu Qing whispered.

Face completely expressionless, the lieutenant governor calmly said, “Arrest him.”

𝑖𝘦.𝑐𝘰𝘮