Was it you that night?
Chapter 224 - 222: The Peculiar Yan Changsheng

Chapter 224: Chapter 222: The Peculiar Yan Changsheng

"What is Lord Meng Yun up to? Just say it already." Nan Sheng said impatiently.

This man was supposed to be her subordinate, yet Shen Qinghe had taken him under her wing, which infuriated her whenever she thought about it.

"Has Qinghe been taken away by you?" Meng Yun suddenly asked, intending to catch Nan Sheng off guard.

Caught by surprise, Nan Sheng replied, "Why would I take her away?"

Meng Yun observed Nan Sheng’s expression and saw that her astonishment seemed genuine, not as if she were lying.

Nan Sheng quickly caught on, "Do you mean Shen Qinghe has disappeared?"

Meng Yun remained silent, and Nan Sheng knew she had guessed correctly. She revealed a smug smile, "It seems she has made quite a number of enemies. Many would want her gone. Maybe she’s met with foul play?"

She didn’t bother hiding her dislike for Shen Qinghe.

Realizing he couldn’t get anything from her, Meng Yun took his leave.

Shen Zhiyao was waiting for news from Meng Yun. Seeing him return, she immediately approached and asked, "How did it go?"

Meng Yun recounted his conversation, "It shouldn’t be Nan Sheng. And with Qinghe’s cultivation base, it’s impossible for Nan Sheng to take her away without a trace."

Shen Zhiyao thought of Gong Xian, who had come to look for Qinghe. She wondered if Gong Xian could have taken Qinghe away.

But could she tell others about this? After all, it involved Mr. Wuya’s identity. How would she explain Gong Xian’s background when the time came?

If Qinghe really had been taken by Gong Xian, where would she even begin to look for him to demand her return?

"Let’s continue searching separately," Xiao Chen said, and then, recalling someone, he turned to Shen Zhiyao, "We should split up and be careful. The person Qinghe cares about most is you. You should ask Shu Xiu to accompany you. Make sure nothing happens to you."

Shen Zhiyao agreed without objection and promptly left.

Xiao Chen watched Shen Zhiyao leave, then headed towards Shaonian Tower.

As he approached Shaonian Tower, he noticed that a barrier had been erected outside it. It suddenly dawned on him that he hadn’t seen Yan Changsheng for some days.

Even on the day of Qinghe’s wedding, Yan Changsheng hadn’t appeared, which had actually surprised him. However, that day his focus was on whether Qinghe could get married, so he didn’t pay much attention to Yan Changsheng’s absence.

Now that he thought about it, the absence of Yan Changsheng on such a significant day was rather odd.

His current cultivation base was inferior to Yan Changsheng’s, so naturally, he couldn’t break into Shaonian Tower. He had no choice but to raise his voice, "Changsheng, take down the barrier. I need to ask you something!"

"Senior brother, you should go back. I’m in meditation and not seeing anyone," the voice of Yan Changsheng came from inside Shaonian Tower.

Xiao Chen frowned, feeling even more that something was amiss.

While it was common for cultivators to go into seclusion, he still found Yan Changsheng’s behavior suspicious.

"I’m here on urgent matters. Qinghe is missing, and I want to know if you have seen her today!" After Xiao Chen posed his question, there was no response from inside Shaonian Tower for a long time.

As he wondered what was going on, the barrier outside Shaonian Tower disappeared. He stepped inside and saw Yan Changsheng sitting in the hall, his expression grave.

He sized up Yan Changsheng and felt that Yan Changsheng’s complexion was not very good, "Have you seen Qinghe today?"

He thought with Qinghe’s temperament, she most likely would not seek out Yan Changsheng, but he still harbored a faint hope, wishing that Yan Changsheng knew of Qinghe’s whereabouts.

"No, I have not left this building recently, nor have I met with Qinghe," Yan Changsheng said, coughing twice.

Xiao Chen grew even more concerned about Yan Changsheng’s complexion, "What’s wrong with you?"

"I encountered some obstacles while cultivating, but it’s nothing serious. When did Qinghe go missing? Were there any abnormalities before she disappeared? Right, with Nan Sheng’s evil intent, could she have used some venomous scheme on Qinghe?" Yan Changsheng asked continuously, his expression somewhat vacant.

"Lord Meng Yun has seen Nan Sheng, it shouldn’t be her. With Qinghe’s cultivation base, there are few in the Sky Pole Sect who can match her. To take her away, it wouldn’t be possible without any noise. Zhiyao said that when she turned around after her meditation practice, she discovered that Qinghe was gone, with no prior abnormalities," Xiao Chen said, not wishing to stay long, and stood up, "I will go look for her again."

"If elder brother manages to find her whereabouts, please do let me know," Yan Changsheng called out to Xiao Chen’s retreating figure.

Xiao Chen’s footsteps paused slightly, and he turned back to take another look at Yan Changsheng, feeling even more that something was off.

As a man, he understood Yan Changsheng’s thoughts the best. Once Yan Changsheng fell in love, it was with his whole heart.

Upon hearing that Qinghe was missing, how could Yan Changsheng sit still?

"I would actually like to go and help look, but I have disrupted my meridians during my recent cultivation and am not up to the task. Please do your utmost to find Qinghe quickly," Yan Changsheng said as if he knew the confusion in Xiao Chen’s mind, taking the initiative to explain.

Xiao Chen nodded slightly, said nothing more, and left Shaonian Tower.

No sooner had Xiao Chen left than Yan Changsheng could no longer support himself and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Knowing that Qinghe was missing, he was more anxious than anyone, but his current situation did not look promising.

The crimson in his eyes flickered, and he hurriedly seated himself to meditate and regulate his qi, finally managing to press down the surging blood and qi in his heart, returning to normal...

The news of Shen Qinghe’s disappearance quickly spread throughout the Sky Pole Sect, alarming Zuo An and several elders.

Everyone considered Shen Qinghe a shining star of the sect. She was self-reliant and never caused trouble for the sect, so how could such a big incident happen all of a sudden? A living person had vanished without a trace, which was incredibly strange.

Later, someone mentioned a male cultivator named Gong Xian had sought out Shen Qinghe, and others saw Gong Xian with Nan Sheng. In no time, conspiracy theories emerged suggesting that Nan Sheng had conspired with Gong Xian to abduct Shen Qinghe.

Given Nan Sheng’s past misconduct, and with her coming to the Sky Pole Sect this time under the pretense of an alliance through marriage, who knows if she intended to harm Shen Qinghe.

For the first time in her life, Nan Sheng experienced the bitterness of being unable to clear her name, no matter how much she tried to explain, everyone suspected that she was the one who took Shen Qinghe away.

"I did have a fight with Qinghe today, but I’m no match for her, and she even drove me out of Bixiao Tower. In this situation, how could I possibly harm her?" Nan Sheng explained.

Just before this, she had rejoiced in Shen Qinghe’s disappearance. Now the fire had quickly spread to herself.

"What kind of background does Gong Xian have? Why after your collusion with him, did your cultivation base improve so much overnight? Could it be that you seduced Gong Xian to help you harm Qinghe?" Shu Xiu interrogated.

"How would I know his background? Obviously, Qinghe’s disappearance has nothing to do with me. Gong Xian left early this morning. If I knew his background, how could I have let him leave so easily?" Looking at the surrounding Sky Pole Sect disciples, Nan Sheng sneered with a curl of her lips, "I am not a disciple of the Sky Pole Sect now, but a princess of the Demon Clan, you can’t expect to slander me!"

Shen Zhiyao also thought that although Nan Sheng was adept at seducing men, if Gong Xian was Shangxuan Yue, then Nan Sheng couldn’t possibly order Gong Xian around to do things for her.

However, seeing Nan Sheng struggling to defend herself, she felt secretly delighted, happy to watch Nan Sheng get condemned by everyone.