Chapter 4778 — Inexplicable

Without special permission, no one was allowed to go into the sea on their own. So, exactly as Wei Zhao had said, the prerequisite for harvesting a poisonous creature like the heart-piercing anemone was to be assigned to a sea-diving shift—and he clearly did not qualify.

"Second, even if I really could harvest heart-piercing anemones, and really did use them to poison everyone, why would I then turn around and save people with the antidote? Why would I go to the trouble of preparing over a hundred antidote pills in advance? Do I look like I've lost my mind?" Wei Zhao shot a glance at Ren Zhongyuan, who was rolling on the ground.

"Aaagh! You just want Junior Sister Yudie to think you're better than me! You despicable, shameless wretch!" Even now Ren Zhongyuan kept stubbornly talking tough. He knew full well that if he changed his story and begged for mercy at this point, he would be finished for good; better to grit his teeth and hold out, to treat the whole thing as a self-inflicted suffering ploy—that way he might actually win people's trust instead.

"Heh. If all I wanted was to prove I'm stronger than you, a single move would have sufficed. Would I need to go to all that trouble? Do you take me for a fool, or do you take everyone here for fools? You claim to come from the Eastern Continent Academy, yet you can't even tell a lie with any skill..." Wei Zhao laughed in spite of himself.

The others all shook their heads as well. Ren Zhongyuan's story was growing more absurd by the moment; no one with a bit of sense would think that way. Even his diehard lackeys were too embarrassed to keep echoing him now—it was mortifying just to say it aloud. What if people really did start mocking them as fools in the future?

"I believe by now no one has anything left to say about this matter. Wei Zhao is not only innocent of the poisoning—he is your savior. Does anyone still object?" Liu Ziqi promptly pressed her advantage.

Naturally, no one dared stick their neck out again. As for Ren Zhongyuan, still thrashing on the ground, he had half a mind to keep talking tough, but Liu Ziqi's aura bore down on him, and the five-element killing energy rampaging through his body hurt so much that he could not utter a word.

"In that case, someone carry him out. This incident ends here." Liu Ziqi glanced at Ren Zhongyuan, her tone laden with meaning. "A word of advice: stay in your room and rest up properly. Unless there is business, do not come out casually—and in particular, do not stir up any more trouble for me. I am the head of the Eastern Continent delegation; even without evidence, I can execute first and report later. You had best remember that clearly!"

Anyone with eyes could see what had really happened this time. The one genuinely suspected of poisoning was not Wei Zhao, but Ren Zhongyuan, who had been the first to bring up the heart-piercing anemone. Ten to one, this was the thief crying "stop thief"—harboring a grudge and wanting Wei Zhao dead.

Unfortunately, no solid evidence could be found. No matter how suspicious Ren Zhongyuan appeared, Liu Ziqi could not do anything to him for the moment; she could only use this pretext to put him under house arrest and keep him from stirring up any more waves.

Since Liu Ziqi had spoken, the matter was settled. Yi Xiaotian and the others were unwilling to accept it, but they had no choice but to carry Ren Zhongyuan back to his room as she had ordered. After all, that old woman's fearsome reputation in the Eastern Continent was no idle boast; if she were truly provoked to ruthlessness, none of them would come to a good end.

The Eastern Continent disciples dispersed one after another. Wei Zhao cupped his hands toward Liu Ziqi and said gratefully, "Thank you, Vice Principal Liu, for coming to my rescue. Otherwise I truly would have had no way to defend myself today."

That was the truth. Wei Zhao might have had a hundred ways to expose Ren Zhongyuan's slander, but he first needed the chance to use them. If Liu Ziqi had not been there to hold the situation steady, he would not even have had the opportunity to refine pills and cure everyone—still less would anyone have listened to him. With Ren Zhongyuan and Yi Xiaotian fanning the flames behind the scenes, he might well have been driven into a full-blown brawl.

"You have it backwards. I should be the one thanking you properly. Without you, I don't know how today's affair could have ended." Liu Ziqi shook her head with a hint of lingering fear. Thank goodness Wei Zhao had actually been able to refine so many antidote pills; otherwise the consequences would have been unthinkable.

"It's infuriating that Ren Zhongyuan got away with it this time. If we were on the Western Island, even without proof that he poisoned anyone, the charge of slander alone would be enough to throw him in prison!" Ning Xuefei said, fuming.

"Exactly. Anyone can see Ren Zhongyuan did this. Master, are we really just going to let him off?" Huo Yudie was just as unwilling to let it go. She had disliked Ren Zhongyuan from the start, and now he had caused such a huge uproar to frame Wei Zhao, which made her furious. She wished she could bring this scoundrel to justice on the spot.

"Without ironclad proof, we cannot touch him—especially not on this ship." Liu Ziqi sighed helplessly. It was not as though she wanted to indulge Ren Zhongyuan and his lot. But although she was the head of the Eastern Continent delegation, her status aboard this ancient warship was still merely that of a guest. The crew would defer to Ren Zhongyuan, but they would not defer to her, Liu Ziqi.

Seeing the indignant looks on Ning Xuefei's and Huo Yudie's faces, Wei Zhao could not help but be amused. "Heh, there's really no need. That fellow has already been punished. Look at him—he's in agony."

The two women brightened at once. The memory of Ren Zhongyuan rolling all over the ground just moments ago was deeply satisfying. Even Liu Ziqi covered her mouth and smiled. Evil was fated to be ground down by evil; this time Ren Zhongyuan had truly kicked a steel plate.

After Yi Xiaotian and the others carried him back to his room, Ren Zhongyuan still showed a bit of backbone. Howling in pain, he drove them all out. His current state was simply too wretched; if Yi Xiaotian and those lackeys kept looking at him like that, how would he ever hold his head high again?

"An antidote! There must be a way to neutralize it! Aaaagh!" Alone in his room, Ren Zhongyuan was hysterical. A stream of true qi was likewise coursing wildly through his body. He assumed instinctively that this was some strange poison like the heart-piercing anemone. He was both a physician and a pill refiner, and he carried high-grade antidote pills on him; no strange poison could stump him. It absolutely could not.

Without hesitation he swallowed an antidote pill, grinding his teeth against the intense pain as he circulated his cultivation method to help dissolve the true qi. One hour passed, then two, until he had tormented himself late into the night—and only then did Ren Zhongyuan finally collapse in despair, because none of it had had the slightest effect!

That ghostlike, uncanny true qi simply could not be dissolved. It was utterly baffling: not only was it faint and elusive like the poisonous vapor of the heart-piercing anemone, impossible to grasp—even when he did happen to catch hold of it, he could not dissolve it at all.

Generally speaking, once either poisonous vapor or true qi could be successfully locked onto, one's own cultivation method would always find a way to dissolve it bit by bit; the only question was how fast or slow the process would be!