Chapter 95: The Wolong Lantern Riddle Solved, the Prisoner Ox Arrives

Lingxiang felt extremely uncomfortable being pulled along by Long Qi. Although she did not care for pedantic etiquette, she could not adapt to Long Qi acting this way; yet, the moment she thought of the Prisoner Ox Ancient Zither from just before, she had no choice but to be patient and let him be.

Long Qi looked quite calm, but in truth, only he knew that his heart was already bursting with joy; even the road beneath his feet seemed much smoother at this moment.

It seems Xin Yi was right; when it comes to matters of love, it is easier to just speak plainly.

……

Just as a gong sounded, everyone knew someone was about to solve the riddle of the Wolong Lantern. In an instant, many people rushed toward the West Pavilion, only to see a youth in green robes standing on the platform, while the gold-threaded silk scroll for the riddle on the small table had vanished without a trace. Even the servant who had been beating the gong in the courtyard was nowhere to be found, leaving only the lamp-tending servant standing guard in the pavilion.

After about half an incense stick's time, the servant who had been beating the gong hurried back from afar, handed the scroll to the lamp-tending servant, and whispered something in his ear. Afterward, the lamp-tending servant hung the scroll on the other side of the Wolong Lantern.

At this moment, the sound of the gong rose again, and the gong-beating servant sang out in a loud voice:

"The Wolong Lantern riddle is solved, the prize is one Prisoner Ox Ancient Zither!"

Hearing this, the crowd outside the courtyard gasped in succession and vied to look into the pavilion. The lamp-tending servant hung up the scroll and stepped aside, revealing the gold-threaded silk scroll, which read: "Black dragon climbs the wall, body draped in ten thousand golden stars."

The antithesis was indeed well-matched, but the first line had not yet been solved, and the second line was another riddle; the gong-beating servant did not offer any explanation.

Lingxiang remained standing there blankly even after receiving the Prisoner Ox Ancient Zither, and only came back to her senses after Long Qi shook her twice.

"Return, oh soul! Return, oh spirit!" Long Qi mimicked the ancients with a straight face. "As the saying goes, one should not flaunt their wealth. Holding the zither like this, are you trying to show off to outsiders? Why not hurry and put it into your little cloth pouch? Are you waiting for someone to snatch it away?"

Hearing him say this, Lingxiang hurriedly pinched a hand seal to store the Prisoner Ox Ancient Zither into her Universe Bag. Yet, she remained puzzled in her heart: the Long Family had met with disaster, and Long Qi had been drifting through the streets since he was young, so how could he have such talent to be able to solve this lantern riddle?

Thinking this, she blurted out the question, but Long Qi wore a mysterious expression, simply walking forward with his hands behind his back without answering.

Naturally, Long Qi had not solved the lantern riddle himself. However, he was likely thinking that he would certainly have to pay his respects to the old man who sold the lantern at Banshan Temple; those twenty copper coins were well spent!

……

"Since that is the case, I will give you another good thing. Come closer." The old man selling lanterns beckoned, signaling that he had something to say.

Long Qi did not doubt him. After he leaned his ear in, he heard the old man say:

"There will be a grand prize at the lantern festival today. I imagine that young lady would be very interested. I will do you a favor and tell you what I heard. I heard the lantern riddle is a couplet; it seems elusive, but it is actually extremely common—it is just an everyday object. The first line written is 'White snake crosses the river, a red sun atop its head,' which actually refers to an oil lamp used by ordinary households. With that, you can use a scale to match it; write 'Black dragon climbs the wall, body draped in ten thousand golden stars' for the second line, and you will surely take first place."

"Since it can take first place, why don't you go, old man?" Long Qi asked, puzzled.

"Heh! ~ This old man is getting on in years, and I have no use for those trinkets for young ladies. Do you expect me to find some old crone to give it to? Don't underestimate those elderly hags; they have immense strength. They would surely rattle my old bones apart and even brand this old man with the name of a 'shameless old lecher.' This matter of ruining my late-life reputation—forget it, forget it!"

……

Rendong's injuries were not serious, but the Demon Poison still needed to be cleared urgently. Therefore, as soon as the sky brightened, Lingxiang and her group headed toward Qingwei Peak.

Although the journey was not far, Long Qi felt extremely happy. He laughed from time to time along the way, frightening Lingxiang into covering her face with her hand and unconsciously moving further away from him.

As soon as they arrived at Xianyun Abode, Lingxiang hurried into her room to write a letter, then shoved it to Long Qi, telling him to hurry to Qiuyun Peak to deliver it.

Rendong was helped back to his room by Xin Yi to rest. Lingxiang came over to check his pulse, and it seemed to be fine, but she could not clear the Demon Poison with her own cultivation, so she had to invite Fuyin Zhenren to come.

Fuyin Zhenren spent two full hours clearing all the Demon Poison from Rendong's body. Rendong felt as if he had been drained of all strength and lay there for two days before waking up; that is a story for later, and we shall not mention it for now.

Furthermore, after Fuyin Zhenren came out of Rendong's room, he went straight into Lingxiang's room. No one knew what was said, but he only came out after a long time.

Once Fuyin Zhenren left, Lingxiang sat on a stone bench in the courtyard with a grave expression, not knowing what she was thinking, until Xin Yi and Long Qi sat down beside her, and she spoke slowly.

"An Outer Disciple from Zhuyuan is dead."

Long Qi and Xin Yi were both startled upon hearing this. Although they did not interact much with others when they were still Outer Disciples, hearing of such a thing still made them feel a subtle emotion in their hearts.

But Lingxiang's next sentence shocked them even more.

"It was murder, a fatal blow with a blade, and..." Lingxiang paused, raising her eyes to look at Xin Yi, "and the wound was eroded by demonic energy; it was caused by a Demon Blade."

Xin Yi was horrified: "Who... is dead?"

Lingxiang lowered her eyes at this moment and did not answer him. After a long while, she finally said: "Tomorrow I will take you to Yucang Peak; the sect will be selecting weapons for the disciples there." After finishing, she stood up and left Xianyun Abode, leaving Long Qi and Xin Yi sitting there, lost in thought.

"Caused by a Demon Blade... could it be that the Bai Wuchang you mentioned has come again?" Long Qi said, frowning. He still remembered the Demon Race invasion during the last martial arts tournament vividly.

"No. Based on my understanding of Bai Wuchang, he never risks himself, and he does not use blade-type weapons. It cannot be him," Xin Yi said, his brows also locked in a frown.

"You mean..." Long Qi looked up at Xin Yi, "there are still his lackeys in the sect?"

Xin Yi lowered his head and pondered: "I fear it is not that simple..."

……

When Lingxiang hurried to Wuji Hall, Shangqing Zhenren and several Elders were all standing before the Hunyuan Platform, their expressions all stern.

"Someone meddled during the last martial arts tournament, and we have been investigating until now without a single clue. I thought it was just someone wanting to spy on the tournament questions; I did not expect it to be someone from the Demon Race."

Lingxiang had just stood at the end of the line when she heard Zhaoming Zhenren say this.

"How does Senior Brother know that these two matters were done by the same person?"

"I have inspected and reinforced the Dharma Arrays throughout the sect, and there are no loopholes. Looking at it this way, there must be an inside traitor."

Fuyin Zhenren spoke up at this time: "The Demon Blade was thrust in from the back, but the strange thing is that the wound was neither from top to bottom nor bottom to top, but thrust straight in from behind. It does not look like the technique of someone deliberately using a blade like a sword, but rather a matter of habit."

"Could it be... that the person was not ambushed at the time?" Lingxiang said, looking toward Shangqing Zhenren.

Yet, Shangqing Zhenren had been facing away from everyone from beginning to end, focusing only on the Hunyuan Instrument, but the Hunyuan Instrument showed not even half a sign of anything.