【Starter Pack opened.】
【Obtained: Shadow-Tracing Talisman.】
【Obtained: Broken Command.】
【Obtained: Temporary Guard Summoning Order.】
Three lines of text surfaced in her sea of consciousness and quickly faded away.
She could feel three extremely faint auras appearing deep within the broken jade. One of them lit up first, unfurling against her palm like a thin, cold sheet of paper.
She finally breathed a sigh of relief. Her cheat had finally arrived.
He Lansong asked, “You say you can prove it. How?”
Yun Heng raised her hand.
A pale gold talisman paper appeared between her fingers.
Several elders on the high platform looked over at the same time. The patterns on the talisman paper were very fine, and its glow was not strong.
He Lansong's brow twitched slightly. “A Shadow-Tracing Talisman?”
An elder beside him said, “This talisman is rare. It requires an old item as a guide to project a past shadow from a short time ago. If the runes are intact, it can indeed verify the item.”
She did not rush to speak, merely holding the talisman paper in her palm. “Since the Elder recognizes this talisman, please let the Heart-Interrogation Platform verify it.”
He Lansong looked at her. “Which segment of the past do you wish to project?”
“Starting from when I entered the mountain gate of the Xuanxiao Sect.” Yun Heng turned her head to look at Su Mingyuan. “Up until after Miss Su lost her jade.”
Su Mingyuan's eyes visibly darted away, a detail keenly caught by Yun Heng.
Let's see how you squirm out of this now.
Once these words were spoken, the murmuring below the platform quieted down significantly.
If the Shadow-Tracing Talisman could show that this broken jade had been hanging on Yun Heng's person since she entered the mountain gate, the accusation of theft would fall flat. Even if it couldn't prove the broken jade's earlier origin, it would at least prove it wasn't taken from Su Mingyuan today.
Su Mingyuan spoke unhurriedly, “Miss Yun, although a Shadow-Tracing Talisman can project past shadows, you were the one who produced the talisman paper. Who can guarantee that what it projects is real?”
“If the projected shadow is fake, the array runes of the Heart-Interrogation Platform will naturally reject it. Since Miss Su asked the Elder to uphold justice, you surely trust the Heart-Interrogation Platform.”
Yun Heng stared at her, leaving Su Mingyuan no room to dodge.
He Lansong raised his hand, and array runes extended from beneath his sleeve, landing on the Shadow-Tracing Talisman.
“Activate the talisman.”
Yun Heng pressed the talisman paper against the broken jade.
The talisman paper ignited without fire, and a pale gold light rose from her palm, projecting above the Heart-Interrogation Platform. After a moment, the light and shadow gradually solidified, revealing the scene in front of the Xuanxiao Sect's mountain gate.
In the past shadow, Yun Heng stood at the end of the long steps, her gray linen dress identical to what she wore now. As she entered the mountain gate with the crowd, the greenish-white broken jade at her waist was clearly hanging by her side.
The projection flowed forward in time.
In front of the Spirit-Testing Platform, a crowd had gathered. The Yun Heng in the past shadow stood near the back of the crowd. Before it was her turn, Su Mingyuan had already been invited onto the Spirit-Testing Platform. The moment the Spirit-Testing Stone lit up, spiritual light flared brilliantly all around, and a Xuanxiao Sect disciple hurried forward to report.
At that time, Yun Heng was still standing in her original spot, and the broken jade at her waist had never left her person.
Su Mingyuan also appeared in the shadow. She was accompanied by several female disciples who had come with her, one of whom wore a green dress and stood very close to her. Su Mingyuan was bowing her head to adjust her sleeves at the time, and there was indeed a jade pendant at her waist. It was whiter than Yun Heng's and had a more complete shape.
Yun Heng watched the projection, her gaze pausing on the woman in the green dress.
In the original owner's memories, this person was named Qin Zhi. She had come with Su Mingyuan from Nanling City and had been following Su Mingyuan ever since.
The past shadow continued to progress.
After the spiritual light of the Spirit-Testing Platform dispersed, Su Mingyuan was led aside by a Xuanxiao Sect disciple. As Qin Zhi helped her smooth her skirt, her wrist briefly covered Su Mingyuan's waist. That moment was too fast; the past shadow did not show whether the jade pendant was taken, but it could be seen that when Su Mingyuan turned around, her waist was already bare.
The murmuring in front of the Heart-Interrogation Platform stopped abruptly. No one expected this to be the case.
Qin Zhi's face paled. Standing at the front of the crowd, she had originally been speaking up for Su Mingyuan. When the past shadow reached this point, she instinctively took a half-step back.
Su Mingyuan also saw that scene. She looked at Qin Zhi in shock; there was no such segment in the original book. It only said her own jade pendant was stolen by Yun Heng, so where did this Qin Zhi come from?
He Lansong said, “Stop.”
The projection paused at the moment after Su Mingyuan turned around.
The Yun Heng in the past shadow was still several yards away, without even a chance to get close to Su Mingyuan. The broken jade at her waist was also clearly visible the entire time.
“Su Mingyuan, you said earlier that you only discovered the jade was missing after the spirit-testing?”
Su Mingyuan whispered, “Yes.”
“In the past shadow, Yun Heng already had this jade on her person before the spirit-testing.”
Su Mingyuan's face turned a bit pale, but her voice remained steady. “Elder, I did not see her take the jade with my own eyes. It was just that the two pieces of jade were too similar, and I mistook it for a moment.”
Yun Heng looked at her. “Is a simple mistake enough, Miss Su?”
Su Mingyuan raised her eyes, which were already welling with tears. “Miss Yun, I lost my mother's relic today and was in a panic, which is why I made a mistake. If this has caused you any grievance, I am willing to apologize to you.”
He Lansong glanced at Yun Heng, then turned back to Su Mingyuan. “This matter was indeed due to your failure to investigate clearly before bringing it to the Heart-Interrogation Platform for judgment.”
Su Mingyuan bowed her head. “Mingyuan knows her mistake.”
“Since we have the shadow-tracing as proof, the matter of the stolen jade shall not be discussed further. As for your lost jade, the Discipline Hall will investigate it separately later.”
Hearing the words 'Discipline Hall,' the color drained further from Qin Zhi's face.
Yun Heng couldn't care less about how Su Mingyuan's jade was lost. The light of the Shadow-Tracing Talisman in her hand gradually faded away.
He Lansong said, “Yun Heng, since the misunderstanding has been cleared, this matter ends here.”
But Yun Heng refused to let it go. “I was brought to the Heart-Interrogation Platform in public and accused of theft. Now that the evidence has shown I didn't take the jade, is it considered settled with just a mention of a misunderstanding?”
He Lansong's expression darkened slightly.
Today was the Xuanxiao Sect's Grand Selection, and Su Mingyuan had just been tested to have a Heaven-grade Spiritual Root. If Yun Heng continued to press the issue, things would get ugly.
However, the residual glow of the Shadow-Tracing Talisman had not yet fully dispersed, and the Heart-Interrogation Platform had just verified its authenticity. Silencing Yun Heng at this moment would also go against the rules.
Su Mingyuan raised her head. “What does Miss Yun want?”
Yun Heng said, “Apologize to me.”
Su Mingyuan froze.
She had just said she was willing to make amends, but that was addressed to He Lansong—a polite gesture to smooth things over as a misunderstanding. Yun Heng demanding a public apology changed the nature of the matter entirely.
Zhou Chen immediately spoke up, “Junior Sister Su has already admitted her mistake. Why must you be so aggressive?”
Yun Heng glanced at him. “If the past shadow hadn't revealed the truth today, how would I have been dealt with?”
“Expelled from the selection, or sent to the Discipline Hall?”
Su Mingyuan gripped her handkerchief tightly. After a brief pause, she bowed slightly to Yun Heng.
“Today was my mistake, causing Miss Yun to undergo judgment on the Heart-Interrogation Platform. Mingyuan apologizes to you.”
Yun Heng looked at her, offering no words of forgiveness.
He Lansong said, “Yun Heng, Su Mingyuan has apologized in public. The matter ends here, and the Xuanxiao Sect will investigate the lost jade separately.”
Yun Heng remained silent, taking it as a tacit agreement.
Su Mingyuan retreated to her original spot. She kept her eyes lowered, hiding her expression from others.
The remaining light of the talisman on Yun Heng's fingertips vanished completely. Just as she was about to withdraw her hand, another line of text surfaced in her sea of consciousness.
【Risk not cleared.】
【Current focus has shifted.】
Yun Heng's heart sank slightly.
Almost at the exact same moment, Su Mingyuan raised her head again.
“Elder.”
“Is there anything else?”
Su Mingyuan hesitated for a moment, her gaze falling on the hand Yun Heng had used to activate the talisman.
“Mingyuan knows she mistook the broken jade and is willing to accept punishment. However, the Shadow-Tracing Talisman Miss Yun used just now is of no low grade. She has not yet entered the sect and has no master, yet she was able to produce such an item before the Heart-Interrogation Platform.”
She paused, her voice growing even softer.
“This may have nothing to do with the stolen jade, but in today's selection, items of unknown origin have appeared one after another. Shouldn't the Elder also clear this up?”
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