Since Cheng Sheng had regrouped with Chen Han, Sun Yi, Li Tian and Feng Mo, he no longer had to travel far from East to the Central Region. Thus, when he went back to the East, he used his array he left on the Yunxiao Inn. His face is very dark that no one dared to approach him, not even Fei Yin.
"Aia." Yu Sheng muttered as they watched Cheng Sheng's figure disappeared in the array after he went back to Xinfaxian again. "Poor little brother. He's very busy." He shook his head, pitying Cheng Sheng.
"We can't do anything about it. He's the only one who knows arrays." Fei Yin helplessly sighed. "Fortunately, Li-shidi also knows so he can be of help to Cheng Sheng. But…" he looked at the array when it glowed again and Cheng Sheng reappeared. He looked very weary just after two days since they arrived in Zhongyang.
Two days earlier, Cheng Sheng went to check on Zheng Yi's condition. Not long after Cheng Sheng exposed Qi Ling's real skill, You Rou arrived and called for Cheng Sheng and Xie Lan. Something happened to Lei Ling in Xinfaxian.
Everyone immediately panicked. Xinfaxian is the only place left safe for them. What would they do, where would they go if the Xinfaxian also encountered problem? However, their worries are unfounded since it was only Lei Ling who encountered a problem.
Since Xie Lan can't leave Zhongyang because Jing Rui is still recuperating, and Fei Yin, Yu Sheng, Feng Mo, Chen Han and Sun Yi are sword cultivators, so they would be of great help to their forces in Zhongyang, only Cheng Sheng and Li Tian who went back to Xinfaxian to check on Lei Ling.
Cheng Sheng was dumbfounded when he found out the same thing happened to Lei Ling. His only question was, when did Lei Ling encounter Qi Ling for Qi Ling to steal a part of Lei Ling's soul? But, everybody weren't as calm as him when they heard his diagnosis. Fan Wen almost fainted and Lei Qing collapsed. You Rou cried loudly as if Lei Ling was dying.
Li Tian, a sensible child, appeased each one of them since he's afraid Cheng Sheng would make the matter worse if he was the one appeasing them. Also, he doesn't want to bother Cheng Sheng as Cheng Sheng already had his hands full.
Fortunately, Li Tian was smart to not ask Cheng Sheng to comfort Fan Wen, Lei Qing and You Rou. Or else, they would've collapsed after Cheng Sheng asked them if Lei Ling and Qi Ling were seeing each other secretly. It was implying Qi Ling had taken an interest on Lei Ling.
But, that didn't happen since Cheng Sheng was deeply contemplating. He only asked, "Was there a time the three of you left by yourselves?" the question is for Lei Qing and You Rou. Fan Wen was still blaming himself for not accompanying them before to Zhongyang.
After Cheng Sheng had gotten his answer from Lei Qing and You Rou, he went back to Zhongyang through the array and immediately went to look for Jing Bai. He found Jing Bai inside Zheng Yi's room, wiping Zheng Yi's body with a towel soaked in hot water.
"You've always been staring at Zheng Yi. Was there a time you missed to watch over him?" Cheng Sheng immediately asked.
"Yes." Jing Bai nodded. "The times I am in a competition." He answered.
"…" okay. I didn't think of that. Cheng Sheng thought and immediately left before he could embarrass himself. Because he was antsy about Lei Ling's condition, he couldn't think straight. "Oh." He muttered when he reached the door. He turned to Jing Bai. "Zheng Yi kidnapped Lei Ling during those times. Then, he presented Lei Ling to Qi Ling, and Qi Ling then also took a portion of Lei Ling's soul." He told him before he left in a hurry to look for Zheng Fu Gong.
"Disciple Cheng – " Zheng Fu Gong called and was about to stand when Cheng Sheng pressed on his shoulder and pushed him down.
"No need for pleasantries. I have something to ask." Cheng Sheng said. "Do you keep a treasure in the Righteous Alliance that could record everything happening inside the Alliance?" he asked.
Everyone's jaw dropped after they heard Cheng Sheng's question. How can he ask that just like that?! One, the treasures are the Righteous Alliance's private properties. Two, if Cheng Sheng would really ask to borrow it, that would be invading the Alliance's privacy!
However, Zheng Fu Gong was calm as he nodded. "Yes." He answered. If it's for his grandson, then he can bring out the Ground Mirror.
"May I ask if I could borrow it?" Cheng Sheng asked.
Everyone. "…" he really asked it! So bold!
"May I know if it could help Zheng Yi?" Zheng Fu Gong asked.
"Yes." Cheng Sheng nodded.
"In what way?" Zheng Fu Gong asked.
"If it had captured Qi Ling's process of removing a part of one's soul, I will study it." Cheng Sheng honestly answered.
Everyone's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "That's dangerous!" they finally can't help but say.
"Then, should I leave them out cold?" Cheng Sheng asked. "If I have the skills, and only I have the skills, then should I save my life, or just watch them with cold eyes as they lose their life?" he asked again.
Everyone shut up. Naturally, it's the latter.
Cheng Sheng didn't bother with them anymore and turned to Zheng Fu Gong who took out a small mirror that's only the size of the palm. "This is so small. Can this really record everyone's actions?" he asked.
"It's because it's small that no one would notice it." Zheng Fu Gong answered. "It's called the Ground Mirror. Although that's its name, but it isn't planted to the ground. Instead, its name is because it has to be grounded to an object where it will be hidden, so no one would notice it. Also, where it was attached to, anything connected to it can it record." He explained.
Cheng Sheng nodded as he thoughtfully looked at the Ground Mirror on his hand. It's explicable. Because the Ground Mirror is deeply hidden, Qi Ling wouldn't know his actions were already recorded by the Ground Mirror that acted like a CCTV.
He thanked Zheng Fu Gong before he left to study the Ground Mirror and look for Qi Ling's traces. It didn't take a long time before Cheng Sheng came out of his room and looked for Fei Yin. Now, what could be Fei Yin helping Cheng Sheng with?
Fei Yin's head lowered as he remembered what he and Cheng Sheng talked about that day.
"You suspect it is a system?" he was shocked.
Cheng Sheng nodded. "Yes. Look." He said and showed the Ground Mirror to Fei Yin where it showed Qi Ling, Zheng Yi and Lei Ling.
Zheng Yi stood on the side with vacant eyes while Qi Ling extracted Lei Ling's soul. However, it wasn't exactly Qi Ling who's doing the deed, since Qi Ling just watched on the side while Lei Ling lied on the ground and had a part of his soul extracted out of his head by something.
"A system." Fei Yin said. It's not that he didn't believe Cheng Sheng's words, but that he is surprised. A malicious system… "This must be Xi Tong's doing." He said after they watched Lei Ling passed out while Qi Ling was grinning widely.
Cheng Sheng's fists clenched, his heart pained as he watched Zheng Yi carried Lei Ling out. "They'll pay for this!" he said as his eyes reddened.
"Sheng…" Fei Yin hugged Cheng Sheng. "Let me deal with Xi Tong. You deal with Qi Ling." He told him.
"Yes." Cheng Sheng agreed.
"Fei Yin? Fei Yin!" Zuo Zhe called when they saw Fei Yin was dazing off.
"Hm?" Fei Yin blinked and raised his head.
"What are you thinking? Are you already missing Cheng-shidi?" Sun Yi teased.
Fei Yin immediately blushed, but he didn't deny it. "We have to deal with Qi Ling's forces first." He said. "Qi Ling's forces are one thing, but they are acting differently from the demonic cultivators in Xiwang."
Their smile instantly disappeared. "We know." Chen Han said. "That's why we didn't dare try rushing in again to Xiwang and now waited for Ah Sheng so we could have more forces with us." He explained.
"If we dealt with Qi Ling before the ones in Xiwang make their move, then we can have the Zunjingde Sect's and the Alliance's support with us since they only have to deal with the aftermath after dealing with Qi Ling and his forces." Fei Yin said.
"That's true." They agreed.
"As for the Zunjingde Sect…" Fei Yin said and looked at the empty table not far from them. It was occupied by the Zunjingde Sect, but they always eat fast and leaves before anyone could finish their meal.
It seems that Jing Rui's injuries are pretty serious this time.