Chapter 121

Chapter 121: Three Questions

In the forbidden ground of the back mountain, a huge platform held a sword thrust into its center.

Beside the sword stood a statue of Xiezhi as tall as three people.

The Xiezhi was massive, eyes wide and fierce, with a sharp single horn on its brow.

“ See that horn?” Lin Qing Ling’s clear voice sounded: “On the Heart-Inquiry Platform, questions must be answered, and answers must be true. If anyone lies, the horn on Xiezhi’s brow will point at the liar. Then lightning will burst from the horn, and the liar will face heaven’s punishment.”

Lin Qing Ling was calm.

Lightning from the horn.

Heaven’s punishment.

Ye Zhao Zhao shivered.

When she looked again at the statue, there was fear in her eyes.

“ Junior Sister, do not worry. Only liars are punished. You only need to tell the truth,” Shen Yue said in a low voice.

Ye Zhao Zhao forced down her panic and said: “I… I just think we did not need to go this far.”

She still tried to struggle.

She did not want to step onto this Heart-Inquiry Platform no matter what.

“It is too late to back out,” Sheng Yuan said quietly: “The Sect Master is already opening the Heart-Inquiry Platform.”

He glanced at Ye Zhao Zhao, then asked suddenly: “Junior Sister, is the snowy mountain matter truly as you said?”

“Of course,” Ye Zhao Zhao blurted out.

“Then there is nothing to fear. Rest easy. The Divine Beast Xiezhi does not make mistakes,” Sheng Yuan said, nodding.

Ye Zhao Zhao pressed her lips tight. Her heart shook. She even thought about confessing. But for some reason she still clung to a bit of luck.

It was only a statue that looked ordinary. Did it really have the power from legend?

At this moment, Meng Yi Fei used the Sect Master’s Authority Ring to open the Heart-Inquiry Platform.

As it opened, the huge statue of the Divine Beast Xiezhi slowly opened its eyes.

The Xiezhi opened its mouth and spoke in a deep voice: “Humans, why have you come.”

“ Please, Divine Beast, judge right and wrong,” Meng Yi Fei said with a bow, then he took out several items and placed them into the Xiezhi’s mouth.

Whatever they were, the Xiezhi swallowed them all.

After eating many things, the Xiezhi showed a satisfied look and said: “Good.”

Meng Yi Fei’s lips moved as if he spoke to the Xiezhi in a whisper.

Then the Xiezhi’s gaze shifted, sharp light falling on Li Shuang and Ye Zhao Zhao.

Its eyes seemed able to pierce all concealment.

Li Shuang stood open and steady under its look.

Ye Zhao Zhao tried to stand straight, but her lips would not stop shaking.

Two beams of light shot from the Xiezhi’s left and right eyes, wrapping around Li Shuang and Ye Zhao Zhao.

Ye Zhao Zhao felt as if she had been seen through completely. Panic crashed over her, and she shouted: “I admit it, I—”

In that instant, her last line of defense snapped. Her voice turned sharp, and just to avoid stepping onto the Heart-Inquiry Platform, she almost told the truth.

But it was already too late.

The light flashed.

Li Shuang and Ye Zhao Zhao appeared on the Heart-Inquiry Platform out of thin air.

They stood on opposite sides of the statue.

A Phantom Stage of the Xiezhi rose above them, looking down with cold majesty.

“This payment is only enough to verify three questions. I will ask, and you will answer. On the Heart-Inquiry Platform, you must answer, and what you answer must be true. Otherwise, lightning will strike.”

Li Shuang nodded.

Under the Xiezhi’s stern gaze, Ye Zhao Zhao’s legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground.

Her reaction made her guilt almost too obvious.

Immortal Ling Xu’s face turned unpleasant. Were his little Disciple’s words really true? He had already begun to doubt.

But until the very last moment, Immortal Ling Xu, like Ye Zhao Zhao, refused to give up hope.

Maybe Zhao Zhao was not guilty. Maybe she was only scared by the scene.

Sheng Yuan and the others stared up at the Heart-Inquiry Platform.

Once it is opened, it will not close until the three questions are asked. Right and wrong would be decided today.

Under everyone’s gaze, the Xiezhi’s solemn voice rolled out.

“The first question: On the snowy mountain, who picked the Tianshan Snow Lotus? Responders: Li Shuang, Ye Zhao Zhao.”

As soon as it spoke, a strange force fell over Li Shuang and Ye Zhao Zhao.

Li Shuang answered with calm: “I picked it with my own hands.”

The statue’s left eye lit with a red glow, showing that Li Shuang told the truth.

Ye Zhao Zhao’s lips trembled. She hesitated and did not speak.

The next moment, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck her.

She screamed. Her skin split open, and she was badly hurt in an instant.

“ On the Heart-Inquiry Platform, you must answer, and the answer must be true,” the Xiezhi repeated coldly.

Ye Zhao Zhao lay there shaking, unable to move for a long time.

“ What Li Shuang said is true. Extract Li Shuang’s related memory and show it to all,” the Xiezhi declared.

Images appeared in the air.

In a world of wind and snow, everyone saw Li Shuang climbing step by step toward the peak. The wind was like knives and the snow bit to the bone, but she never stopped. At the top, a Snow Lotus swayed. She ignored how the wind tore her skin and fought the Snow Fiend guarding the flower. Only after barely surviving did she pick the Snow Lotus.

When she plucked the Snow Lotus, a flash of joy lit her face.

“ Master, I got the Snow Lotus,” she said, tucking it into her robe with careful hands, her expression full of treasure-like care.

The vision ended.

Below the platform, the crowd fell silent.

Everyone looked at Immortal Ling Xu.

Immortal Ling Xu seemed dazed.

The image had faded, but the blood on Li Shuang’s white robe still seemed to sway before his eyes.

He had seen it clearly. The Snow Lotus was not easy to obtain. Even for Li Shuang, it was a near-death struggle.

He turned on Ye Zhao Zhao in a sudden glare.

But Ye Zhao Zhao—hadn’t she said something very different?

She said Li Shuang hid early to slack off while she, Ye Zhao Zhao, braved hardship to pluck the Snow Lotus.

Now, Ye Zhao Zhao lowered her head, not daring to meet anyone’s eyes.

Immortal Ling Xu’s face twisted, then he forced it smooth so he would not look foolish.

Sheng Yuan and the others looked complicated.

In their hearts, they had doubted Ye Zhao Zhao before.

But only if Li Shuang had moral faults too could they feel bold enough to forgive themselves for what they did later.

If even the snowy mountain story was false, then what did their later actions count as?

Sheng Yuan and the others even started to panic.

“The Snow Lotus… the Snow Lotus might have been picked by Li Shuang. But she must have abandoned Zhao Zhao, that part must be true,” Chang Le An said, stumbling over his words.

“Right, right, right,” Sheng Yuan added quickly. “That much can’t be wrong.”

The Xiezhi opened its mouth again and asked the second question in a level voice: “The second question: On the snowy mountain, did Li Shuang abandon Ye Zhao Zhao to die? Responders: Li Shuang, Ye Zhao Zhao.”

Once more, the strange force descended on Li Shuang and Ye Zhao Zhao.