Chapter 454 - 422: The Night Dog and the Mastermind
The horse-faced boy instantly panicked when he saw the Pet Beast Teacher Liang had summoned and heard her introduce it as the "Time Spirit," capable of rewinding time within a certain area.
He knew perfectly well that Li Qian hadn’t made those scratches at all; he was framing him.
’But then again,’ he thought, ’even if Teacher Liang finds out, the worst that can happen to me is I’ll have to apologize and say I made a mistake.’
"Liu Zhi, you need to think carefully. Did Li Qian really damage the historical artifact?" Teacher Huang spoke up at this moment, his tone carrying a hint of warning.
He didn’t like Li Qian. He felt that Liang Huaizhen was just messing around by bringing such a wet-behind-the-ears kid who knew nothing down here.
He even held a bit of a grudge against Liang Huaizhen because of it. Of course, jealousy was also a factor—jealousy that he wasn’t as good as her, and that the team leader was merely a woman.
But resentment and jealousy aside, he had some understanding of Liang Huaizhen’s character, as well as the character of his own student.
If there were no concrete evidence, he could still stir the pot and take the opportunity to embarrass Liang Huaizhen. But with irrefutable proof on the horizon, it was harder to maneuver. He might even end up looking like a fool himself.
Under Teacher Huang’s questioning, the horse-faced boy named Liu Zhi deflated, his voice losing all its conviction. He even became a little meek. "Well, I can’t be sure. I just saw Li Qian in there by himself, so I naturally assumed..."
"Teacher Liang, you see, Liu Zhi meant well. He was just anxious to protect the artifact. In his haste, he started shouting before he had a clear grasp of the situation..." Teacher Huang began to speak up for Liu Zhi.
He had no choice. If Liu Zhi was found to be in the wrong, he, as his mentor, couldn’t escape the blame.
Teacher Liang looked at Teacher Huang, her tone serious. "Teacher Huang, we can’t yet conclude whether Li Qian did this or not. We cannot wrong an innocent person, but neither can we let a guilty one go free."
Teacher Huang let out a dry laugh, his tone softening considerably as he quickly made his position clear. "Since Li Qian was brought here by you, Teacher Liang, I will of course unconditionally trust in his character."
Hearing this, the corner of Li Qian’s mouth couldn’t help but twitch.
’This guy changes his tune faster than you can flip a page. He’s so shameless. He was the one who looked like he wanted to lock me up just a moment ago, and now he’s the one saying he trusts my character. No wonder he’s a teacher,’ Li Qian thought.
’Since you all want to act, I’ll play along to the very end.’ With that thought, Li Qian spoke up, his voice filled with righteous indignation. "Teacher Liang, this matter must be thoroughly investigated! Clearing my name is secondary. After all, the innocent have nothing to fear. But for the person behind this to be so malicious as to destroy the stone murals here... Every pattern, every line on these murals could lead us to a precious discovery. For them to be ruined like this is truly a pity!"
As he said this, Li Qian put on a look of deep grief, appearing even more heartbroken than the actual archaeology students.
Seeing Li Qian’s grief-stricken appearance, it was now Teacher Huang and Liu Zhi who were thinking, ’What the fuck...’
’How could a non-archaeology student like Li Qian have such strong feelings for historical artifacts? The guy is just acting.’
But they couldn’t call him out on this "act." After all, they were the ones who were either studying or teaching archaeology. They couldn’t very well say they didn’t care about the artifacts, could they?
Teacher Liang glanced at Li Qian, a strange look on her face, as if to say, ’You’re overdoing it a little.’
"Let’s begin the rewind, then." Seeing that no one was stepping forward, Teacher Liang shook her head in disappointment. She looked at the Time Spirit and gave the command.
As the command was given, the snowball-like Time Spirit began to glow with a faint, fluorescent light.
Catching a glimpse of this, both Liu Zhi and Teacher Huang grew nervous. As for the shadowy figure hiding in the dark, they were even more terrified.
’Right now, all I can do is pray that Teacher Liang’s Time Spirit can only rewind time in this specific area,’ he thought. ’That way, I can stay hidden.’
As the Time Spirit began to use its Skills, watery ripples suddenly appeared in midair about two meters off the ground in front of everyone.
The ripples spread, and a scene appeared in their vision, like a feed from a security camera.
The scene was magical, just like watching a movie. The image showed the inside of Chamber No. 1.
Under the Time Spirit’s control, the scene began to rewind. It was clear that the stone mural had already been damaged before Li Qian entered.
At this point in the playback, Li Qian’s name was effectively cleared. But clearing his name was only part of the goal; more importantly, they needed to find the real culprit.
So, the image didn’t stop. It continued to rewind until, finally, they found a clue. A pitch-black, dog-like Pet Beast suddenly darted in from outside the stone chamber.
The black dog extended its sharp claws, swiped viciously at the mural on the wall twice, and then vanished from the chamber in a flash.
At this point, the truth was revealed... yeah, right. A Night Dog inexplicably appeared, took a couple of swipes, and then left. Even an idiot could see there was something fishy about this.
"It’s a Night Dog!"
"Night Dogs have long-lasting Invisibility at night, so it wouldn’t have been hard for it to sneak in!"
"That Night Dog must have an owner."
"..."
Seeing that a Night Dog was the one that damaged the ruin, the crowd burst into discussion.
Connecting this with the day’s events, the students had already basically concluded that someone was deliberately framing Li Qian.
Furthermore, it was ten-to-one that Liu Zhi was involved, but the time rewind hadn’t revealed any clear evidence of it.
Liu Zhi, Teacher Huang, and the hidden figure all let out a long sigh of relief at this scene. By now, Teacher Huang could already guess who the mastermind behind this was!
If that person were to be exposed, he too would lose face and be put in a very awkward and embarrassing position. So, he hoped it would end here.
"Teacher Liang, look, it seems the Skills used by the Time Spirit can only show the scene within this stone chamber. But at least it proves that Li Qian was indeed framed..." Teacher Huang said with a smile.
He was trying to ease the tension in the atmosphere. His goal was obvious, seeing as he had just been ready to brand Li Qian a criminal without a second thought.
Now that Li Qian’s name was cleared, he naturally had to make a show of it. But before he could finish his sentence, he was cut off by Teacher Liang. "Don’t be in such a hurry, Teacher Huang. There’s no need to rush. We haven’t found the mastermind yet!"
Without pausing, she continued, "Alright, this is the last chance. I hope the person behind this will step forward themselves!"
But in the face of her final warning, there was still no reaction from the crowd. The culprit seemed certain that they couldn’t be exposed, that Teacher Liang couldn’t possibly find any evidence.
Seeing this, Teacher Liang’s expression darkened. She issued a second command directly to her Time Spirit, "Time Spirit, continue. Expand the rewind range to the entire encampment!"
Hearing Teacher Liang’s words, Liu Zhi, Teacher Huang, and even the hidden figure all felt their hearts skip a beat.
They couldn’t believe it. The Time Spirit could actually rewind such a large area. What incredible power was this!
Before they could even recover from their shock, fear, and horror, the watery ripples appeared in midair once again.
Immediately after, the image reappeared. This time, it was no longer limited to Chamber No. 1, but covered the entire Earth Palace, and even the encampment area.
When Liu Zhi saw this, he was so scared he nearly pissed himself. He stood frozen on the spot like a wooden block. A moment later, he dropped to his knees with a THUD. Then, weeping, he confessed to Teacher Liang, "Teacher Liang, Teacher Huang, I’m sorry, I’m so sorry! I was blinded by greed! I confess, I’ll turn myself in, and... I want to report someone!"
Seeing that Teacher Liang’s Time Spirit could cover the entire Earth Palace and encampment, Liu Zhi lost all hope of getting away with it. Realizing his exposure was only a matter of time, he decided to just confess.
Perhaps he could even get a lenient sentence.
So he focused his gaze on a figure in the crowd and shouted loud and clear, "It was Liuqing Garden! He gave me money to frame Li Qian!"
As his words fell, everyone turned in unison to look at a somewhat skinny, furtive figure in the crowd who was just about to slip away.
But before he could take more than a few steps back, Teacher Yang’s figure had appeared beside him at some point.
"Young man, you’re not going anywhere until this is all cleared up!" Teacher Yang said in a gentle voice.
But to Liuqing Garden’s ears at that moment, it sounded like the whisper of a Demon.
Knowing he couldn’t escape, Liuqing Garden immediately bit back. "No, no, you’re slandering me! Liu Zhi, we have no grudge against each other, old or new. Why would you frame me like this?"
"I don’t have a contracted Night Dog! The Night Dog is the one that damaged the ruin!"
When Li Qian saw Liu Zhi point out Liuqing Garden, an "I knew it" expression appeared on his face. He couldn’t help but curse internally, ’So it was you, you little bastard!’
Now, watching the two of them tear into each other, Li Qian said nothing, merely observing with a cold gaze.
’Neither of them is a good person,’ he thought. ’And neither of them is getting away.’
Meanwhile, seeing Liuqing Garden actually dare to bite back at him, Liu Zhi was furious. He exposed him directly, "Don’t believe him! This was all his plan! He’s the mastermind! He might not have a contract with that Night Dog, but the Beast Taming Ball is definitely still on him. You’ll know if you just search him!"
Liu Zhi’s expression was frantic; he practically screamed the words. Hearing this, Liuqing Garden’s face instantly turned deathly pale.