Every day, Yaohua would use the pretext of watching the excitement to gather information everywhere, but on the surface, everything in the Ibis Clan was normal.
The Celestial Realm had once sent envoys, but they found nothing. The Ibis Clan only said that their previous words about exterminating the Phoenix Clan were just nonsense and pleaded for the Celestial Realm's forgiveness.
The envoys believed them, but Yaohua didn't.
Because every night, black demonic qi would rise from the swamp. And Qingqing would always take her away when night fell and forbid her from going out.
One day, some kids broke into the woods, smashing all the pots and bowls, and even urinated on them to humiliate them.
If a child's innocence is not properly regulated, it can easily turn into pure malice.
At night, the two of them huddled in a cave, shivering.
Yaohua stared outside, lost in thought.
Suddenly, Qingqing asked, "You're not a newly - transformed Sparrow Clan member, are you?"
"Oh?" Yaohua was slightly surprised.
"In the past few days, you've been constantly gathering information. A newly - born demon wouldn't know so much." Qingqing sniffled.
After getting along with her for some time, Yaohua knew that she had a simple heart, so she said frankly, "I'm the leader of the Phoenix Clan. I'm here to investigate the matter of the demonic qi."
Qingqing widened her eyes and found it funny. "Even if you're boasting, you don't have to—"
Her words stopped abruptly.
Yaohua ignited the True Fire of the Phoenix at her fingertips, drying their clothes completely.
Qingqing felt a terrifying pressure from the fire. She was simple - minded, but she knew that the person in front of her must be a powerful figure. Suddenly, she felt a bit timid.
Yaohua lowered her eyes and asked, "Will you inform on me?"
Qingqing hesitated for a moment and shook her head. "I don't want you to die."
The clan was strictly investigating spies. Given their style, if they caught Yaohua, they would surely torture her severely. She didn't want to betray her friend.
Suddenly, a raging fire blazed outside, and at the same time, a soft female voice sounded, "Search!"
Qingqing was shocked and frightened. "Is that Lady Le, the favorite concubine of the clan leader? Why is she here?"
A sense of foreboding welled up in both of their hearts. Soon, the people outside found them.
Two strong men dragged them out of the cave and threw them on the ground.
Lady Le said with a cold face, "Slut! What kind of seductive tricks did you use to make the clan leader protect you so much?"
Amid her scolding, the two of them, who were completely in the dark, finally understood that those kids today were all Lady Le's children.
When the leader of the Ibis Clan came, he happened to hear the kids boasting about how they had bullied the Green Sparrow. He immediately left with a cold look on his face and told everyone not to approach this swamp.
Lady Le was extremely angry and was convinced that Qingqing had seduced the clan leader.
This was really an unwarranted disaster.
Yaohua was very speechless, but Qingqing grabbed her and kowtowed with a terrified face. "Please spare my life, madam. I really didn't do anything!"
But Lady Le didn't buy it at all. She waved her hand and said, "Beat them hard!"
Two valiant attendants raised their clubs. Yaohua's expression changed drastically.
The clubs were actually studded with thorns.
Qingqing was just a little demon. She might not even survive ten blows.
The clubs whistled through the air.
Qingqing shed tears and trembled as she kept begging for mercy, but several other men held her hands and feet, preventing her from moving.
At the critical moment, a warm body covered hers.
Yaohua couldn't just sit back and watch, but she also didn't want to expose her identity, so she could only use her own body to protect Qingqing.
The clubs smashed down hard. The pain was excruciating, but she didn't use her spiritual power to heal herself.
Lady Le still didn't want to let them go. She said disgustedly, "So you two are really close, huh? Then one gets beaten with a club and the other slaps herself in the face!"
The crisp sound of slaps mixed with the thudding of the clubs.
I don't know how long it took before Lady Le left, feeling satisfied.
After making sure they were far away, Yaohua closed her eyes and activated her spiritual qi. Her body healed quickly.
She treated Qingqing's wounds and helped her back into the cave. A cold look appeared in her eyes.
It was not suitable to stay here any longer. She had to quickly find out the truth about the demonic qi and then rescue this little sparrow.
She walked outside, but a hand grabbed her.
Qingqing said weakly, "Don't go... Stay with me..."
Yaohua's heart softened slightly.
She decided to wait until she lulled this little girl to sleep before going out to investigate the truth.
Unexpectedly, Qingqing nestled in her arms and asked silently, "Are you going to search for the demonic qi?"
Yaohua nodded.
Qingqing struggled for a moment and said, "Actually, I have evidence that the Ibis Clan is colluding with the Heavenly Demons."
Yaohua was shocked. "What did you say?"
Qingqing whispered, "The swamp where you appeared is the temporary passage between the Ibis Clan and the Demon Clan. It opens once or twice every day. Every night, the clan leader and his men come here to practice. That's why I've always forbidden you to go out at night."
As she spoke, she took out a Memory Crystal Stone from her bosom. "I recorded their meeting, planning to use it to save my life at a critical moment. If you need it, I can give it to you."
Yaohua checked the Memory Crystal Stone and found that what she said was true. She couldn't help but be a little strange. "Aren't you afraid that I'm a bad person?"
"Just consider it as repaying you for saving my life just now." Qingqing's face was swollen like a pig's head, but she still managed to show a difficult smile. "But I hope you can spare the clan leader. When I first transformed, it was him who said that all things have spirits and deserve respect, so he didn't drive me away or kill me."
Yaohua put the evidence into her bosom and said seriously, "Okay."
The next day, she rushed to the Celestial Palace. Unexpectedly, as soon as she arrived at the Divine Lord's Hall, she ran into Chongming.
Maybe it was just an illusion, but he seemed to have lost a lot of weight in just a few days.
Seeing her appear, he strode towards her, but then remembered the harsh words he had said before, so he stopped in his tracks and asked indifferently, "Where have you been these days? Why do you seem to have demonic qi on you?"
Yaohua told him the truth.
Chongming wanted to say something but stopped. He also knew that he couldn't persuade her.
The atmosphere was awkward for a moment. Yaohua turned around and said, "If Master has nothing else to order, I'll leave first."
"Wait!" Chongming looked at her back, and his heart ached faintly.
He frowned in confusion, but quickly put this feeling aside and said in a deep voice, "Since you're doing this for the sake of the Three Realms, I'll give Rong Chu and Lu Ran to you. You'll have some company."
At least, they could send a message before suddenly disappearing or call for help in times of danger, so that he wouldn't worry day and night.
Yaohua turned her head, a bit surprised.
Was her cold - faced master trying to make peace with her?
She smiled and said, "Then thank you, Master!"
After entering the hall, she immediately sorted out what she had seen and heard in the past few days into a booklet and handed it to the Divine Lord.
The Divine Lord just glanced at it casually and then fixed his eyes on her. "You were able to find out the truth about the demonic qi so quickly. You're very impressive."
Yaohua bowed and said, "Thank you for the Divine Lord's praise."
The Divine Lord said indifferently, "You don't have to worry about this matter anymore."
Yaohua was slightly stunned.
Since she had presented the evidence, the authority to handle this matter should naturally be in her hands.
If she wasn't in charge of this matter, how could she help the system collect the demonic qi?
But there was a hint of scrutiny in the Divine Lord's eyes. "The contract mark on your forehead has been there for a long time. Haven't you removed it yet?"