Was it you that night?
Chapter 146 - 144: Soul Capturing Technique

Chapter 146: Chapter 144: Soul Capturing Technique

"Zhiyao is recovering from her injuries in Bixiao Tower, the severity of her condition unknown, only that she has yet to regain consciousness," Xiao Chen replied.

Nan Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.

She knew how domineering the Thousand Shadows Sword was. Even a Cultivator at the Emergence Stage could have their Golden Core injured by the sword, potentially rendering them disabled.

With Shen Zhiyao’s Cultivation Base at the Golden Core Stage, it was impossible for her to survive. As long as Shen Zhiyao died, there would be no one to testify that it was her doing.

Only the three of them had fled in panic after injuring Shen Zhiyao, afraid that the sword wound might reveal it was caused by the Thousand Shadows Sword.

Yet after waiting for so long, Shen Qinghe had not come to trouble her, which left her hanging in suspense, uncertain of Shen Qinghe’s intentions.

"Zhiyao hasn’t woken up from her injury. Qinghe must be very worried, right? Just don’t know who had a grudge against Zhiyao to commit such an act in broad daylight," Nan Sheng continued to probe subtly.

At the time, she was blinded by obsession, focused solely on killing Shen Zhiyao, without considering the consequences of carrying out the deed in broad daylight, wondering what she would do if someone happened upon the scene.

Most importantly, she had used the Thousand Shadows Sword to stab Shen Qinghe. One glance at Shen Zhiyao’s wound would confirm it was the work of the Thousand Shadows Sword.

Even if she really did kill Shen Zhiyao, destroying Shen Qinghe’s Dao Heart, she couldn’t escape responsibility.

Yet, after such a long time since the incident, Shen Qinghe still hadn’t confronted her, leaving her anxious and fearing that Shen Qinghe was plotting some toxic scheme to eliminate her.

She had no choice but to try and get a sense of the situation from Xiao Chen.

"Qinghe seems very disheartened, and Zhiyao’s situation doesn’t look optimistic either," Xiao Chen commented and then suddenly asked, "Have you seen Zhiyao today?"

Nan Sheng had already colluded with An Lu and Rong Yu on their alibis; of course, she wouldn’t admit that they were the ones who had injured Shen Zhiyao.

As long as Shen Zhiyao died, even if there were sword wounds on her body, it wouldn’t prove that they were inflicted by her Thousand Shadows Sword.

"I have not," Nan Sheng responded coolly.

Xiao Chen looked deeply at Nan Sheng, not persisting with more questions.

He thought that no matter how much Nan Sheng hated Shen Qinghe, it was unlikely she would be foolish enough to attempt to poison Shen Zhiyao in broad daylight. Moreover, if Shen Zhiyao had been stabbed by the Thousand Shadows Sword, there was no reason for Shen Qinghe to have remained silent until now.

If not Nan Sheng, then who injured Shen Zhiyao?

Inside Simple Residence Courtyard, Shen Qinghe was engrossed in cultivation when Shu Xiu suddenly dragged An Lu to her.

"Qinghe, when I came over just now, I saw her skulking around outside Simple Residence Courtyard, looking around suspiciously," Shu Xiu pushed An Lu in front of Shen Qinghe.

An Lu’s expression was still relatively normal, but inside she was already panicking.

She too wanted to find out whether Shen Zhiyao was dead or not. Although she wasn’t the one who directly dealt the blow, she was involved. If their actions were exposed, she feared being expelled from the sect.

In a moment of hot-headedness, she had joined Nan Sheng in attacking Shen Zhiyao, without considering the repercussions should Shen Zhiyao actually die.

If Shen Zhiyao awoke and accused them, it would be the end for all of them.

"Senior Sister An, what brings you to Simple Residence Courtyard?" Shen Qinghe’s gaze fell on An Lu’s face.

This woman, too, was a villainess in the book, who harbored intense hatred toward her because of Mr. Wuya, hence An Lu also had a motive to harm elder sister.

However, with An Lu’s level of cultivation, she couldn’t possibly defeat elder sister. If she was to say that An Lu had become Nan Sheng’s hired thug to help her against elder sister, that could be possible.

With this thought, she suddenly asked, "Could it be that Senior Sister An has come for elder sister?"

An Lu quickly replied, "I heard that Zhiyao was injured, and I’m concerned about her safety. I came especially to ask about her condition."

"Elder sister is still in Bixiao Tower. According to Mr. Wuya, she will wake up soon." As she spoke of this, Shen Qinghe clearly saw a change in An Lu’s expression.

Now this was interesting. Could it be that An Lu was the true culprit behind elder sister’s injury?

Afterward, An Lu was distracted. She hastily made an excuse and left the Simple Residence Courtyard.

Shu Xiu had also come because of Shen Zhiyao’s injury. She asked the same question, but although Shen Qinghe trusted her, she did not reveal too much information.

After Shu Xiu left, Shen Qinghe could no longer focus on her cultivation.

By late afternoon, she simply made her way to Bixiao Tower.

"You suspect An Lu is the culprit?" Dongfang Wuya was somewhat surprised.

"If she were not the culprit, why would she panic? As soon as I said elder sister would wake up soon, she immediately became flustered." Shen Qinghe suddenly looked earnestly at Dongfang Wuya, "Uncle Master, other than the Soul Searching Technique, is there any other method to extract someone’s memories?"

Without evidence in her hands, she couldn’t casually perform Soul Searching on someone’s soul. Most importantly, elder sister had no wounds on her body. Under such circumstances, how could she easily perform Soul Searching on others?

If she were to ask the sect leader to perform Soul Searching on someone based merely on suspicion, it wouldn’t be realistic either.

"There is another method, the Soul Capturing Technique. It has a hypnotic effect and can make the subject tell the truth. However, I have never learned this Soul Capturing Technique," Dongfang Wuya said as he looked at Xiao Bai, "Go get the Secret Manual."

Shen Qinghe’s eyes lit up: "May I learn it?"

"Why not? However, learning such side-door techniques instead of focusing on your cultivation, with your Cultivation Base being so weak, anyone can easily kill you," Dongfang Wuya bluntly stated.

Shen Qinghe replied helplessly with a smile, "I’ve only been cultivating for a little over two years. To have reached Core Formation so quickly, my cultivation speed is faster than most cultivators."

Before long, Xiao Bai brought a Secret Manual and handed it to Shen Qinghe.

"The Soul Capturing Technique can only be used by cultivators with higher Cultivation Base on those with a lower one, and your Cultivation Base is higher than An Lu’s, so it should be sufficient to use this technique on her. This technique is not hard to learn; you can master it in a few days. Even if An Lu has been subjected to the Sky Pole Sect’s ban, you could still use Soul Capturing on her. Shen Qinghe, you can learn such side-door techniques if you like, but they must not affect your cultivation nor your Dao Heart," Dongfang Wuya said earnestly.

"I won’t delay my cultivation; I’ll just learn it in my spare time. Uncle Master, you are too kind. Thank you!" Shen Qinghe was genuinely grateful to Dongfang Wuya from the bottom of her heart.

"Enough, lingering around a man’s residence at night is not decent. Go back early to avoid any idle chatter," Dongfang Wuya said without looking at Shen Qinghe, urging her to leave quickly.

It wasn’t that he minded her presence, but the recent rumors were disadvantageous to her. If people saw her frequently entering and leaving Bixiao Tower, it might only cause more trouble for her.

"With my father and elder sister in Uncle Master’s care, I shall take my leave," said Shen Qinghe as she prepared to leave.

As Dongfang Wuya watched her retreating figure, he couldn’t help but worry and reminded her again, "Don’t think that having a magical treasure for protection means you can let down your guard. Be careful yourself."

"I will be careful," Shen Qinghe responded seriously.

As Mr. Wuya had said, human nature wasn’t as simple as she thought.

This time, during her short absence, Shen Zhiyao had been injured at the Simple Residence Courtyard, and the attack had taken place in broad daylight.

That night, Shen Qinghe didn’t sleep at all. She spent half the time cultivating and the other half studying the Soul Capturing Technique.

The next day was Dongfang Wuya’s lecture, and Shen Qinghe arrived at the Sword Practice Field early in the morning.

When she arrived, the place was already crowded. Everyone who saw her came to inquire about Shen Zhiyao’s condition.