Ji Rong turned away, no longer looking at Gu Baiyi, and followed Jiang Fei into the main hall of the central compound.
Upon entering, they saw a treasured bronze cauldron placed in the center, inscribed with the characters Bodhi Sect. To the north stood a large incense burner for offering to the Buddha.
They passed through a corridor and continued inward until they reached the Great Hall. At the front stood a pair of flagpoles, each topped with a delicate pagoda. The gilt bronze matched with deep-colored rosewood made the whole setting appear solemn and dignified.
There was still half an hour before the scripture debate began, so only about half the attendees had arrived.
Ji Rong glanced at the unfamiliar faces. Though she had never met them, she recognized most from the illustrated compendium.
Her gaze drifted to the Buddha statue inside the hall, but her hands were already unwrapping a piece of silk cloth to reveal some steamed water chestnut cakes. She picked up two pieces, one for herself and one for Jiang Fei.
The cakes were sweet and fragrant, with a smooth and pleasant texture that lingered on the palate.
Jiang Fei had a fondness for sweets, especially those from Liuxiang Pavilion. After giving her thanks, she took the piece without hesitation and ate it.
Ji Rong was munching absentmindedly, not particularly savoring the taste. Her mind was still on the Bodhi Sect storyline from the game.
Although Bai Yushuang had stolen the Chixiao Sword in the original plot, now that the heroine had come to Kongshan, it was highly likely she was here for the sword.
So this storyline must've been revised, the Chixiao Sword was probably still in Kongshan.
In the original plot, Mei He had handed the sword to Kongji, who then sealed it inside a board game called Mountains and Rivers.
That game board was said to be an ancient divine artifact, later picked up by Yue Qianqiu and used to store various magical items.
Ji Rong only knew that once she entered the Quietude Pavilion of the Bodhi Sect, the main storyline would automatically be triggered. But where exactly Kongji had hidden the Mountains and Rivers board, she had no idea.
As Ji Rong was deep in thought, a mechanical chime rang out:
[Ding! Congratulations, Player. Jiang Fei's affection +40.]
Ji Rong: "..."
She had to admit, Senior Sister Jiang's affection was way too easy to raise.
Before she could even finish her inner complaint, the mechanical voice sounded again:
[Detected: Jiang Fei's affection level > 80. Unlocking hidden side quest: 'The Glowing Pearl'.]
Ji Rong: "???"
What kind of bizarre plotline was this?
She didn't remember any such quest in the original game. Clearly, this world wasn't running on a fixed script. As long as she made different choices, entirely new storylines could emerge.
Meanwhile, after finishing her chestnut cake, Jiang Fei looked over at Ji Rong. The more she looked at her junior sister, the more pleasing she found her.
Since the scripture debate hadn't started yet, her thoughts turned to the unresolved case from the Prince of Chu's residence. She figured she might as well talk it through with someone.
After a brief silence, Jiang Fei asked, "Junior Sister, have you heard about the case involving the Prince of Chu's concubine, Lady Xu?"
Ji Rong nodded. "I've heard some rumors. Supposedly, the case involved the Wanjian Sect. Some even say it was the work of a Heavenly Demon Seed."
Truthfully, Ji Rong hadn't expected this hidden side quest to be related to the Prince of Chu. She had always thought the attack on Lady Xu was part of the fixed plotline. But now, it seemed like there was much more to it.
Of course, she was also very sure that Gu Baiyi couldn't possibly have done it. But in the original storyline, the heroine had indeed been framed for it.
Jiang Fei shook her head. "It's true the Wanjian Sect was involved, but it wasn't the work of a Heavenly Demon Seed."
Ji Rong already knew Gu Baiyi wasn't responsible, so she simply stayed silent and waited for Jiang Fei to continue.
Jiang Fei paused before speaking slowly. "At the time, I was traveling through Changdu. I heard a junior sister had answered 231 exam scrolls, and I was curious to see who she was. But I heard she had gone to the Tianshui Secret Realm. And Tianshui also happened to have a famous brand of osmanthus cake that's quite delicious, so I left Changdu for Tianshui."
Ji Rong hadn't expected that her one extraordinary performance on the exam would end up indirectly altering Jiang Fei's path.
Unaware of Ji Rong's internal shock, Jiang Fei continued, "I arrived in Tianshui on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month. After meeting with the sect master, I learned that the junior sister had gone out to sightsee. I asked about her name and what she was wearing, then headed down the mountain to look for her."
She seemed to recall something amusing then, and a faint smile crossed her lips. "While wandering through the market, I saw a ritual exorcism dance. It was quite mysterious, and on a whim, I joined in, pretending to be one of the performers."
A mental image flashed through Ji Rong's mind: a young man in green robes, moving clumsily but earnestly through the ritual steps. That awkward exorcism dance, somehow exuding upright and dignified energy, was all Jiang Fei's doing.
She couldn't help but marvel—Senior Sister Jiang's range of talents was really something else.
Jiang Fei looked at her and smiled. "At the time, I only wanted to experience the local custom. I didn't expect to spot you in the crowd, Junior Sister."
Ji Rong thought, Then why didn't you come say hello, Senior Sister? You might've changed the plot right there!
As if reading her thoughts, Jiang Fei let out a soft sigh. "Unfortunately, your escort led you away before I could speak with you. I didn't get the chance to ask any questions."
Ji Rong paused, then realized Jiang Fei must be referring to Gu Baiyi as her "escort."
So... Jiang Fei had already seen Gu Baiyi before?
Jiang Fei went on, "But because of that, I sensed a ripple of spiritual energy nearby. The fluctuation started in Tianshui and ended… in the capital."
"Following the energy trail, I found the ashes of a teleportation talisman. After restoring it, I discovered it was crafted from the Wanjian Sect's paper, something only a skilled talisman user could create."
Ji Rong connected the dots in her mind, and was completely floored.
She never expected Jiang Fei would actually trace the talisman back to the Wanjian Sect.
All this time, she thought the plot was spiraling out of control because of the heroine's rebirth. But now, it seemed that most of the changes had actually been triggered by... her own actions.
In the game's storyline, the reason everyone suspected Wanjian Sect of harboring the Heavenly Demon Seed came down to two points:
First, Consort Xu of the Prince of Chu died at the hands of a high-level sword technique. Second, Mei Lixue's divination predicted that the Heavenly Demon Seed would manifest in the southeast.
And as everyone knew, in the entire Tianshui Commandery, there was only one sect, Tianyin Division, which had never produced a skilled swordsman or talisman expert.
Since only Heaven-grade teleportation talismans could leave behind lingering spiritual fluctuations, the Prince of Chu's residence narrowed the suspects to Wanjian Sect, which had recently stayed in Tianshui.
In other words, if Jiang Fei hadn't investigated the case, that trace of spiritual fluctuation might never have been discovered.
After all, there were many sects in the southeast, and Mei Lixue might not have noticed that the Heavenly Demon Seed was hiding within Wanjian Sect.
But Jiang Fei didn't pass through Tianshui by chance or investigate on behalf of the common people. She had come for one reason: to find Ji Rong and solve a problem.
At its core, everything stemmed from Ji Rong winning first place in the written exam. That alone had indirectly altered the course of the plot.
Ji Rong was stunned.
Unknowingly, she had actually messed things up for the heroine. A single minor plot node had caused a chain of events that ended up correcting the original storyline.
From Jiang Fei's perspective, Ji Rong had been silent the whole time, clearly lost in thought.
So Jiang Fei continued, "At first, I also thought this was the work of the Heavenly Demon Seed. But on the day of Consort Xu's funeral, a masked man snuck into the Prince of Chu's residence and tried to assassinate him."
"I happened to be present at the time, and I struck at the assailant. That's why his blade deviated by a few inches and failed to hit the mark."
Jiang Fei sighed. "But what I didn't expect was that after I seriously injured him, he used a Heaven-grade teleportation talisman to escape. It was only then that I realized I'd been terribly mistaken. The person who tried to assassinate the Prince of Chu and the one who killed Consort Xu must be the same person, not the Heavenly Demon Seed."
Ji Rong was quiet for a long moment before saying slowly, "Senior Sister Jiang, if I remember correctly, at that time Wanjian Sect only sent two male disciples into the Tianshui Secret Realm."
Jiang Fei nodded. "I checked the list. Of those two male disciples, one was surnamed Ye and wasn't very strong. The other, surnamed Xie, was only at the Spiritual Communication Realm. Even with a Heaven-grade teleportation talisman, his cultivation level wouldn't be high enough to handle the energy drain."
Ji Rong suddenly recalled what Xie Bai had said to her on Tianji Peak:
"Senior Sister, I forgot to tell you, Xie has lived here for decades and reached the peak of Riding the Wind long ago. If not for playing along with you all, why would I suppress my cultivation for so many years?"
So Ji Rong told Jiang Fei, "What if he was deliberately suppressing his cultivation?"
Jiang Fei was stunned, then nodded slowly. "That could be possible. When I was investigating, I found a luminous pearl in the Prince of Chu's bedchamber. It has a memory function, it can display everything that's happened in the room over the past ten days."
Ji Rong thought to herself, Isn't that basically surveillance?
But she still asked, "What did you see, Senior Sister Jiang?"
Jiang Fei was silent for a long time before answering, "The night before the assassination attempt, the masked man had already entered the Prince's bedroom. And… he even spoke with him."
Ji Rong was startled.
She had already suspected that the assassin was most likely Xie Bai. But if he intended to kill the prince, why would he go talk to him the night before?
What's more, if the Prince of Chu knew Xie Bai was planning to assassinate him, why didn't he increase his security? Why did he allow it to happen?
Just as Ji Rong was about to voice her doubts, the sound of a bell suddenly rang outside the hall.
A little monk struck the bell three times with a wooden mallet.
The bell's deep, solemn chime echoed far and wide.
After the third chime, Kongji entered the hall, draped in a bright red kasaya, a string of Bodhi beads between his fingers.
The disciples and monks inside the hall all pressed their palms together in greeting.
Ji Rong followed suit, placing her hands together in respect.
As she raised her hands, she caught a glimpse of a very familiar figure behind Kongji.
The man wore azure robes with a white inner layer. His features were refined, and his expression bore a trace of weary indifference.
Ji Rong stared at him unblinking. The man seemed to sense her gaze, lifted his head slightly, and looked her way.
At that moment, both of them saw shock in each other's eyes.
Wei Zongqiu had been standing behind Kongji in utter boredom, his eyes practically glazed over, when he suddenly spotted Ji Rong in the crowd.
Then it made sense.
Since Master Kongji was holding a scripture debate, Wanjian Sect would inevitably send a core disciple to attend, whether out of courtesy or for other reasons.
Ji Rong, on the other hand, was shocked because she thought her golden goose had already exited the stage. She didn't expect this money-making machine to reappear out of nowhere.
Wow. Now this... this is true money power.
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