Chapter 27
A wave of murmurs rippled across the plaza, voices overlapping as confusion spread through the crowd.
“So many people fell—won’t they be hurt?”
“Tsk… what terrible luck.”
“Did anyone even see what happened?”
The noise tangled and rose, threatening to spiral—
“Silence.”
The single word cut through everything like a blade.
A stern-faced elder had appeared before the crowd without anyone noticing when. His gaze swept across the plaza—cold, precise—and the chatter died instantly, as if someone had pressed it flat.
Si Nidie leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. “That’s one of the elders overseeing the Spirit Testing Conference—Elder Xu.”
Lou Yuqing nodded, her attention already returning to the unfolding scene.
Elder Xu wasted no time. His fingers moved in quick succession, forming seals as streams of spiritual energy flowed into the array plate in his hand. Almost immediately, a burst of white light flared across the sky.
On the Heavenly Ladder, the candidates who had been tumbling uncontrollably were abruptly halted mid-descent, as though an invisible hand had seized them.
Their fall broke in an instant. One by one, they scrambled upright again, faces pale, breaths uneven, fear still clinging to their expressions.
Lou Yuqing exhaled quietly.
That light… it came from the mountain-protecting array.
Before the tension could settle, another figure appeared above the staircase. This elder’s presence was even harsher, his expression sharp enough to make the air feel heavy.
“Explain,” he said coldly. “What just happened?”
The group exchanged uncertain glances, hesitation flickering between them—until one voice broke through.
“I was dragged down!” someone shouted, indignant. “Senior, please allow me to continue climbing!”
The moment he spoke, others followed, voices overlapping again as they insisted they had only been caught in the fall—collateral, nothing more.
Only one person remained silent.
A young woman in pink stood slightly apart, head lowered, fingers twisting nervously at her sleeves as if she hadn’t even heard the question.
“If someone pulled you down,” the elder said, voice calm and cold, “then the culprit could only be the one standing above the rest.”
With a flick of his sleeve—
The world shifted.
The fallen candidates were returned to the exact positions where they had slipped, as though time itself had been rewound and reset.
This time, nothing was hidden.
At the highest point of that moment stood three figures—two who had never fallen, and one who did not belong among them.
The woman in pink.
Lou Yuqing’s gaze drifted upward, landing on the white-clad figure beside them.
Now that he had stopped moving, she could finally see him clearly.
Sharp features. High brows. Deep-set eyes. A face that looked less born than carved—clean, striking, almost unreal.
If there was ever a perfect description—Model-like.
Dressed in plain white, he stood there with effortless composure, as if the chaos around him had nothing to do with him at all.
Across from him, the man in black had already found his voice.
“It was him!” he shouted, his tone sharp with accusation. “He pushed everyone down—I saw it!”
The white-clad youth looked at him, and—smiled.
Not defensive. Not angry.
Almost amused.
“What are you laughing at?!” the black-clad man snapped, like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on. “You couldn’t stand seeing others succeed!”
The youth’s voice remained calm, unhurried. “Whether I did anything or not… Senior will judge.”
A brief pause, then his gaze sharpened slightly.
“And I suggest you watch your words.”
The black-clad man faltered. His face paled as his eyes flicked instinctively toward the elder, suddenly aware of how far he might have overstepped.
“Senior, I really saw it—”
The elder’s gaze cut across him like frost. “When they began falling, he had already reached this step.”
Silence fell like a weight.
“Think carefully before you speak.”
The black-clad man froze, mouth opening… then closing again, unable to produce a single word.
The elder’s attention shifted between him and the woman in pink.
“Step forward,” he said, voice cold and final. “Who did it?”
A beat passed.
“Confess now… or both of you leave.”
The pressure in the air tightened, heavy enough to suffocate.
Beside him, the woman in pink trembled, her fingers clenching in her sleeves until her knuckles turned pale.
She lifted her head, forcing herself to meet his gaze despite the fear flickering in her eyes.
“It was me.”
The elder raised a brow. “Why?”
Her voice wavered, shame threading through every word. “I… couldn’t keep going. I was exhausted. I knew I wouldn’t reach the end… and I couldn’t accept that others would.”
Her grip tightened.
“So I pushed them.”
A pause.
“…and pretended to fall with them.”
Silence followed.
The black-clad man exhaled quietly, relief flashing across his face—only for it to freeze in the next instant.
“Hmph.”
The elder’s sneer sliced through the stillness.
“You dare lie to me?”
The woman in pink stiffened, horror flooding her expression.
“You think I didn’t see who pushed you?”
Her heart dropped.
Of course he saw.
They were within the Wendao Sect’s formation—nothing here went unnoticed.
“I gave you a chance,” the elder continued, his voice turning colder with each word. “You chose to throw it away.”
His aura surged, heavy and oppressive.
“In that case… accept the consequences.”
The black-clad man’s composure shattered instantly. “Senior—wait! It was a misunderstanding!”
He stepped forward in a rush, panic spilling into his voice. “She distracted me—I lost focus and accidentally pushed her! That’s how the others fell. Please, Senior, show mercy!”
The woman in pink went still.
Her lips parted slightly… then closed again.
Elder Qi didn’t even look at him twice. “Save your excuses for the Enforcement Hall.”
With a sweep of his sleeve, both figures vanished from the staircase—and reappeared in the plaza below.
This time, the crowd did not stay silent.
Contempt filled every gaze directed at the man in black.
Dragging others down, then pushing the blame away—there was nothing more disgusting than that.
Even he couldn’t withstand it.
His expression faltered, humiliation creeping in.
Beside him, the woman in pink spoke softly, her voice gentle despite everything. “Feng Lang… don’t worry. I’ll take responsibility. I won’t let this implicate you.”
Lou Yuqing blinked.
…Wait.
What?
Before she could even process that—the man in black spoke again, irritation plain in his tone.
“This is your fault in the first place. If you hadn’t insisted on arguing with me over Xiaoting, would we be standing here like this, being humiliated in public?”
Lou Yuqing: …
There were no words.
None.
Si Nidie’s face twisted. “What kind of people are these? The man’s sick, and the woman’s worse. When is Captain Wei coming? I want to see a proper trial already.”
And yet—it only got worse.
The black-clad man continued speaking, confident in the fact that she would never contradict him.
And she didn’t.
Instead, guilt filled her expression.
“It’s my fault…” she murmured. “Someone told me you and Xiaoting were close. I believed them…”
He scoffed. “You say you trust me, yet you question me? Is that trust?”
“But I saw you,” she said, her voice trembling. “You were kissing her.”
The entire plaza seemed to freeze.
“…?”
The man didn’t hesitate for even a second. “I’ve already explained that! She wasn’t feeling well—she couldn’t breathe. I was helping her. That was CPR!”
Lou Yuqing stared at him.
…Right.
What a dedicated lifesaver.
The woman hesitated. “Really? But Xiaoting implied… that you liked her. And she showed me the bracelet you gave her…”
The one she had been waiting for.
The one that never came.
Instead—it had appeared on someone else’s wrist.
He waved it off impatiently. “She bought it herself. Women like that lie all the time. Stay away from her.”
And then—
A voice.
Not spoken.
Yet heard clearly by all.
[Oh? ‘Women like that’? Funny—you didn’t sound like that when you were calling her ‘baby.’]
The woman in pink froze, her head snapping up.
Who said that?
No one.
And yet—
[And Xiaona. Xiaoqin. Xiaohui… you’ve kissed all of them too. ‘Pure friendship’? Who are you trying to fool?]
Her expression went rigid.
She recognized every name.
Every single one.
The ground beneath her feet seemed to tilt.
Around the plaza, the noise had vanished. More than one person had heard it—and they all knew it.
Gu Buqi’s gaze swept across the crowd, narrowing slightly.
So it wasn’t just her.
Si Nidie turned sharply toward Si Nanren, anger flashing in her eyes. “You heard that too, didn’t you? That scum—!”
Si Nanren exhaled slowly. “Calm down. People like him won’t enter the sect. The Enforcement Hall will deal with it.”
She clenched her teeth—but held back.
Meanwhile, the man in black leaned closer, lowering his voice. “Xiuxiu, if anyone asks later, just say I did it. Don’t be stupid enough to step forward, understand?”
A perfect retreat to advance.
As expected, she shook her head.
“No. We said we’d face things together. I won’t abandon you.”
And just like that, the illusion held—at least on the surface.
Until a thought suddenly cut through the silence, sharp and cold.
[A thousand points well spent.]
[What a vicious piece of trash… he even wants her dead.]
Shi Xiuxiu froze.
This time, she didn’t move at all—not even her breathing.