Jinyue was both a fun-loving person and a hard worker. She had wanted to stay and play in the Northern Snow Village for a few more days, but she didn’t expect Yanran to become suspicious so quickly. To keep Yanran patient, Jinyue had no choice but to make a promise. If she didn’t get down to business soon, Yanran might really file a complaint with the organization.
Thinking about this, Jinyue yawned out of boredom. She watched Chen Jianxin studying the compass for a long time without reaching any conclusion and thought to herself, -He’s really stupid. If it were that cunning guy Yino, he would have figured it out long ago. Oh no… He already took the Nine-Colored Deer, so he doesn’t even need to decipher it!-
“Chen Jianxin, give me that compass for a second.”
“I just discovered that when you inject spiritual energy into this compass, the eight trigrams symbols on it rotate in different directions…”
Seeing that Chen Jianxin was making no progress, Jinyue had no choice but to remind him again.
Jinyue felt exhausted. According to her original plan, Yunjin should have stayed with the team during this snow village investigation. If Yunjin were here, she would definitely understand these clues about the Nine-Colored Divine Deer’s magical tools.
At that time, with just a little word from Jinyue, Yunjin would have a bit of realization and follow the clues from various tribes to the back mountain of the Wuji Sect. That way, Jinyue wouldn’t need to rack her own brain, and Yunjin would lead Chen Jianxin to investigate the truth behind the snow village’s destruction. However…
This morning, Jinyue had waited at the hot spring base for a long time but couldn’t find where Yunjin and Yino had gone. Realizing that Yanran’s patience was limited and that she would be suspected if she kept slacking off, Jinyue had to put aside Yino and Yunjin for now and follow Chen Jianxin’s team to investigate alone.
Now, without Yunjin to help solve the puzzle, Jinyue had to study these clues by herself.
“Oh that’s true! Injecting spiritual energy can activate it!”
“And Senior, I found that no matter how you inject spiritual energy or twist the runes, the needle on this compass always points in a certain direction!”
“Could this be a compass?”
Chen Jianxin was still studying the Nine-Colored Compass, analyzing it for a long time before finally suggesting it was a compass.
“A compass?”
“Haha, little Chen, your brain is really… really imaginative!”
Jinyue held her forehead with one hand, smiling awkwardly but politely. She looked at Chen Jianxin as if he were a fool, feeling like staying here was torture.
She wasn’t from the snow village either. She only knew the general plot development because of her knowledge of the prophecy. But when it came to analyzing each clue in detail, Jinyue was no expert. Just like that night at the Mountain Temple, Jinyue didn’t know every mechanism and had to figure it out through trial and error.
But when solving puzzles with Yino, Jinyue felt very relaxed. After all, Yino was very smart. He would always discover the mechanisms first and remind Jinyue. Even when they encountered danger, Yino could step in and solo the boss…
Now that Jinyue was used to being carried, solving puzzles alone with Chen Jianxin made her deeply feel the torment of solo puzzle-solving.
-Yino… Where on earth did you run off to…-
-If all else fails, at least lend me Yunjin…-
Jinyue felt physically and mentally exhausted, squatting at the entrance of the ancestral hall and gazing into the distance with a sense of despair.
Suddenly, Jinyue’s eyes widened.
“Chen Jianxin, wait! I think I found someone who can really help us solve the puzzle!” Continue your saga on
Hard work pays off. After squatting at the entrance of the ancestral hall and looking for a long time, Jinyue finally saw a man and a woman who had just woken up at the bottom of the heavenly staircase on the summit.
-These two guys must have secretly set up a tent in the woods last night!-
-Who knows what they were doing, sleeping in until noon!-
Jinyue put her hands on her slender waist, gently biting her red lips, her enchanting eyes filled with a hint of unusual color.
Behind her, Chen Jianxin and the other Wuji Sect disciples also gathered to join in the excitement.
“Look! Young Master Yino is finally here!”
“And Senior Yunjin is here too. I heard that Senior Yunjin’s hometown is right here in the Northern Luo Snow Mountain. She must know some mythical stories about the snow village, right?”
“Definitely! Sister Yunjin’s hometown is right at the foot of this mountain!”
The crowd chattered, their previously gloomy expressions finally seeing a glimmer of hope.
Beside them, Chen Jianxin held the compass in his hands, his face already aching from trying to decipher it and now looking even more annoyed.
“Tsk, that suspicious guy is following us again.”
“What’s so great about him being here? He doesn’t know anything. He’s just basking in Senior Yunjin’s glory by monopolizing her…”
Due to last night’s experience and Jinyue’s repeated subtle guidance, Chen Jianxin had already developed serious suspicions and jealousy towards Yino.
He couldn’t understand why everyone trusted Yino so much. Even though Yino’s behavior last night was extremely suspicious, no one paid any attention to his questionable actions. They all just foolishly praised how amazing Young Master was.
So, while chatting with Jinyue on the way up to the Divine Shrine this morning, Chen Jianxin couldn’t help but quietly voice his deep-seated doubts.
He thought that only Jinyue was willing to investigate with him now, and only Jinyue patiently analyzed the clues with him…
If it was the clever Senior Jinyue, she should at least be able to see some of the suspicious points about Yino!
However, after Chen Jianxin finished his long-winded explanation, Jinyue actually looked puzzled and even asked Chen Jianxin, “Is it because Senior Yuyan won’t teach you swordsmanship, so you’ve been jealous of Yino all along?”
These words instantly hit Chen Jianxin’s sore spot, causing him to break down on the spot, his face turning red with embarrassment.
He wanted to lose his temper, but seeing the innocent look on the young girl’s face, Chen Jianxin felt that her way of thinking was the same as the other Wuji Sect disciples, which was very normal and not her fault.
After all… Yino was really good at creating coincidences.
First, he used the blizzard to abandon Jinyue halfway up the mountain. Then, he left Yunjin alone at the hot spring base and disappeared. Later, when Yino returned, not only had his cultivation soared, but his demeanor was strange. During the battle with the evil cult members, he frequently engaged in dialogue with them, as if they had known each other for a long time!
If Chen Jianxin had to guess, Yino might be a mole from the Full Moon Sect! Last night, those cult members were let up the mountain by him. During the time Yino disappeared after ditching Yunjin and Jinyue, he tipped off the Full Moon Sect members, leading them into the village for a massacre…
And all of this was just an act put on by Yino to gain trust!
Thinking of this, Chen Jianxin secretly swallowed and felt an unspeakable sense of mission.
-Damn it, am I the only one who sees through this? Is everyone else foolishly kept in the dark?-
“What’s wrong?”
At some point, Jinyue turned her head, her beautiful eyes that reflected the blood-colored curse mark were thought-provoking.
Knowing that he was the only sober one among the drunken crowd, and having experienced several setbacks before, Chen Jianxin no longer wanted to share his conspiracy theories with Jinyue.
Even if he told her, she wouldn’t believe him. Instead, he might be mocked…
-Although Senior Jinyue is cute and beautiful, her mouth is really venomous. She could always easily say things that instantly broke my defenses with an innocent face!-
“It’s nothing. If you want to wait for Yino, you can wait by yourself.”
“I’m going back to study the clues in this shrine!”
Chen Jianxin looked serios and snorted coldly, intending to stay away from these ignorant people.
But before he could take two steps, Jinyue called out to him again:
“Chen Jianxin!”
“Wh-What?”
Although Chen Jianxin sounded defiant, his heart still beat a little faster when he turned his head to look at the foxgirl.
He thought Jinyue would ask him to stay, but the next second, the ponytailed girl put her hands on her hips and said with some dissatisfaction:
“It’s fine if you leave, but give me back that compass!”
“Compass?”
Chen Jianxin was stunned.
He just remembered that it was Jinyue who had found this old compass in the ruins, so the compass should be returned to her.
“Yeah, you can’t understand the runes on this compass anyway. Maybe Young Master Yino can figure it out?”
When it came to Yino, Jinyue had a foolishly worshipful expression on her face, but there was a bit of playfulness deep in her eyes.
She deliberately didn’t mention Yunjin and emphasized Yino instead.
As expected, this sentence instantly made Chen Jianxin, who already harbored conspiracy theories, even more resentful.
“Tsk…”
-Everyone believes in him like religious followers… as if he’s an almighty immortal and believing in him will grant eternal life…-
Chen Jianxin secretly mocked.
Thinking of the unpleasant memory of being instantly defeated by Jinyue’s words before, this time Chen Jianxin only silently complained. On the surface, he didn’t dare say much. He stepped forward and cleanly returned the compass to the young girl. Before leaving, he laughed coldly at Jinyue:
“If Yino can figure it out, I’ll jump off this peak right away!”
“Heh!? For real!?…”
Jinyue stopped in her tracks, her voice stuttering in surprise.
“You don’t need to persuade me. I, Chen Jianxin, always keep my word, and what I say is based on evidence!”
Chen Jianxin snorted coldly, still looking solemn as if he were the only sober one among the drunken crowd.
But as his words fell, Jinyue slightly curled her lips and teased mischievously: “You said it yourself. What if Yino really can figure out the secrets of this Nine-Colored Compass?”
“Ha, you sure know how to ‘what if.'”
Having been lowered several times, Chen Jianxin felt embarrassed and his face turned red under Jinyue’s playful gaze.
He snorted coldly, feeling disdainful as he waved his hand:
“Yino grew up in Luo City since he was a child, a young master who has never done any manual labor. He probably doesn’t even know where the Northern Falling Snow Village is on the map!”
“If someone like him can easily understand the ancient magical tools of this remote mountain village, that would be even more suspicious! It would prove that my previous guesses were true!”