My Pretty Campus Queen

Chapter 1195: Chapter 1195: The Missing Elixirs

"Yes, mine, Cheng Qianjin’s, and two other trial takers’ have all disappeared. We all placed them in the prepared boxes and didn’t take them with us when we went out to eat. Earlier, we were protecting Chen Tianlong. When we returned after, we found them missing."

Master Mie Wo was so anxious that she was nearly in tears. These pills were gained through great hardship.

"What? Stealing the pills from four people? This thief is incredibly brazen. This is outrageous." Pure Yang Daoist was furious upon hearing this.

At this moment, Chen Tianlong also walked over. Seeing the Sect Leader so angry, he stepped forward and asked, "Sect Leader, what has happened to make you so angry?"

"Chen Tianlong, you came at the right time. Cheng Qianjin, Master Mie Wo, and the other two martial arts fellows had their pills stolen. Please help investigate and find out who it was."

Pure Yang Daoist didn’t say, but he believed it must be someone among the trial takers because, during these days at the Celestial Pill Sect and the inn, apart from the higher-ups, the rest were trial takers.

"As you command." Even if the Pure Yang Daoist didn’t say anything, Chen Tianlong would have intervened, as those who were stolen from were acquaintances of his, even friends.

Saying this, Chen Tianlong walked up to Cheng Qianjin and said, "Elder Cheng, could you describe the specifics?"

Cheng Qianjin nodded slightly; he was far from smiling now. "Today, after placing the pills in a small bag on the bed, we went to the hall for a meal. Then, Miss Qiukui got poisoned. We were protecting you, while you were inside saving Miss Qiukui. When we returned to the room, we noticed something odd about the window and rushed to check on the pills, only to find they had indeed been stolen."

"Oh? So, someone stole them while you were dining? Or perhaps while you were protecting me." Chen Tianlong quickly narrowed down the possibilities.

Upon hearing this, Pure Yang Daoist immediately instructed Fatty Xu, "Call the dining hall managers here."

"Yes, Sect Leader." After respectfully clasping his fists, Fatty Xu rushed to inform them.

After a few minutes, a group of dining hall uncles and aunts came over. Pure Yang Daoist respectfully went to welcome them and said, "Apologies, everyone! There has been a theft, and we need your assistance."

"Haha, Sect Leader, no need for formalities. Feel free to ask. We’re all under your command, and we will speak honestly." Obviously, it was the highest-ranking dining hall manager who spoke.

"Oh, then I won’t hold back." Pure Yang Daoist took two steps forward and asked, "Could you look back and see who didn’t come to the dining hall for lunch today?"

Pure Yang Daoist turned around and pointed to all the trial takers opposite him.

Then, the dining hall employees went over one by one, checked carefully, and the dining hall manager reported, "To the Sect Leader, there were 41 servings at lunch today. According to that, it should be 36 trial takers and five of us."

Hearing the dining hall manager’s words, Pure Yang Daoist let out a deep sigh of relief. It seems it wasn’t stolen during the meal, so he looked towards Chen Tianlong.

Chen Tianlong understood what the Sect Leader meant and quickly came over, "Sect Leader, if that’s the case, there’s only one scenario left: While everyone was protecting me, someone seized the opportunity to slip in and steal."

"Then it’s simple. Ask everyone to recall who stood next to them." Chen Tianlong pondered for a moment, realizing this approach was flawed, knowing that someone might deliberately collude, rendering it ineffective.

So Chen Tianlong thought for a moment and said, "How about this, one by one, come over to the Sect Leader and whisper it quietly, there’s no need for a loud commotion."

Pure Yang Daoist nodded, appreciating Chen Tianlong’s meticulous approach. He hadn’t thought of this; if not for Chen Tianlong’s reminder, he would have directly asked.

So all the trial takers went one by one to Pure Yang Daoist, whispered the person’s name they suspected, and stood on the other side. During this process, Chen Tianlong observed everyone’s expressions and movements, trying to gather more information.

Unfortunately, after one round, except for Hao Shuai giving him a glance, no one else looked at Chen Tianlong, they went directly to whisper to the Sect Leader.

Shortly after, the Sect Leader Pure Yang Daoist waved his hand, and everyone returned to their places.

"After this round of reports, I’ve noted down everyone that’s been mentioned. Turns out, they’re all present!" Pure Yang Daoist looked a bit frustrated as he turned to Chen Tianlong, "Chen Tianlong, what do you think?"

Just as Chen Tianlong was about to speak, Xu Fei chimed in, "Sect Leader, in my opinion, you’ve overlooked someone."

The Sect Leader turned to look at Xu Fei. He was someone from the Wu Family, whom he didn’t like at all, always feeling he was arrogant. But seeing him say this, Pure Yang Daoist was a bit curious.

"Hey, Brother Xu Fei, what insights do you have?" Pure Yang Daoist asked.

"All the trial takers are indeed present, but there’s one person who isn’t. We thought he was, but we don’t actually know if he’s really here." Xu Fei spoke cryptically.

"Oh? Just say what you mean, don’t speak in riddles." Pure Yang Daoist was growing more and more irritated with Xu Fei, feeling he was stirring up trouble.

"Hehe, Sect Leader is so smart, I bet you know it too. Where was Chen Tianlong at the time? We don’t know. While we were all protecting him, are you certain he was inside?" Xu Fei sneered as he spoke.

"Wow!" The crowd erupted in shock, beginning to chatter among themselves.

"Xu Fei, don’t falsely accuse Brother Chen Tianlong without evidence. Brother Chen Tianlong has been a great benefactor to our Celestial Pill Sect these past few days." Pure Yang Daoist hurriedly defended Chen Tianlong.

"Sect Leader, you shouldn’t shield the guilty. What if it really is him? Criminals are often those shielded by us, the ones we least suspect, thus anyone could have done it. So why should Chen Tianlong be an exception?" Xu Fei retorted to everyone.

"Yes, yes, Sect Leader, please investigate thoroughly." Under Xu Fei’s incitement, the crowd started to clamor.

At this time, Pure Yang Daoist was at a loss and could only look at Chen Tianlong. Lin Wushuang, anxious at the unfolding situation, pulled Chen Tianlong and whispered, "Chen Tianlong, that scoundrel Xu Fei is trying to frame you again, what should we do?" fɾēewebnσveℓ.com

"Hehe, don’t worry, Lin Wushuang, I have a plan."

Chen Tianlong recognized Xu Fei’s ploy. Initially not wanting to suspect him, seeing their eagerness to frame him made him suspect Xu Fei and Hao Shuai of causing trouble.

Chen Tianlong stood up, smiled slightly and said, "What Xu Fei said makes sense. Each of us here could have done it, so Brother Xu Fei, you could have done it too, right?"

"You... How could it be me? I’ve been here the entire time, so how could I have stolen anything?" Xu Fei had witnesses, so he spoke with confidence.

"Oh? I didn’t say it was you for sure, so why are you in such a hurry to clear yourself?" Chen Tianlong watched Xu Fei’s anxious expression, increasingly suspecting something was amiss.