https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-421-A-Poor-Attempt-at-Defamation/12960232/
Chapter 422: Nightstalker and the Mastermind
Chapter 422: Nightstalker and the Mastermind
As Professor Liang summoned her companion beast, which she introduced as the "Time Sprite," capable of rewinding time within a certain range, the horse-faced boy panicked.
He was well aware that these scratches were not caused by Li Qian, and he was essentially slandering the other party.
However, upon further reflection, even if Professor Liang were to uncover the truth, it would only mean apologizing and admitting his mistake.
"Liu Zhi, you need to be clear about whether or not Li Qian damaged the ancient relics," Teacher Huang spoke up at this moment, subtly offering a word of caution.
He was annoyed with Li Qian and thought that Professor Liang was causing trouble by bringing down an inexperienced young man like him.
He even felt a bit resentful towards Professor Liang, and this resentment was partly due to jealousy—jealousy that he wasn't as capable as Professor Liang and that the team leader was a mere woman.
Despite his resentment, he did have some understanding of Professor Liang's character and his students' moral integrity.
If there were no witnesses, he could have stirred up trouble and embarrassed Professor Liang, but with solid evidence, it would be difficult to do so without making himself look bad.
After Teacher Huang's questioning, the horse-faced boy named Liu Zhi lost his confidence and spoke with less conviction, even sounding a bit hesitant, "Well, I can't be sure either. I only saw Li Qian inside, so I naturally assumed..."
"Professor Liang, look, Liu Zhi is also well-intentioned. He cares deeply about protecting the relics, and in a moment of panic, he started shouting without fully understanding the situation..." Teacher Huang began to speak on Liu Zhi's behalf.
There was no other way; if Liu Zhi had a problem, he, as his mentor, would also be held accountable.
Professor Liang turned to Teacher Huang, speaking with a serious tone, "Teacher Huang, we can't jump to conclusions about whether or not Li Qian did this. We must not wrong an innocent person, but we also can't let a guilty one go free."
Teacher Huang chuckled and softened his tone, quickly expressing his stance, "Since Li Qian is under Professor Liang's supervision, I will unconditionally trust his character."
Upon hearing this, Li Qian couldn't help but twitch his lips.
The sudden change in attitude was faster than flipping a book, and it was a bit shameless. The person who wanted to lock him up earlier was Teacher Huang, and now he was the one vouching for Li Qian.
If they wanted to play this game, Li Qian decided to go along with it to the end. With righteous indignation, he spoke up, "Professor Liang, this matter must be thoroughly investigated. Clearing my name is secondary, as the innocent will always be innocent and the guilty will always be guilty. But the person behind this is truly despicable. They have vandalized the stone engravings here. You should know that each pattern and stroke in these murals could potentially lead to valuable discoveries, and now they are ruined, which is indeed a pity!"
As Li Qian spoke, he put on a heartbroken expression, appearing more distressed than the archaeology students themselves.
Seeing Li Qian's heartbroken expression, Teacher Huang and Liu Zhi couldn't help but feel infuriated.
As a non-archaeology student, Li Qian couldn't possibly have such strong emotions about ancient relics. This guy was clearly putting on an act.
However, they couldn't expose his act, as they were all archaeology students or teachers. They couldn't very well say that they didn't care about ancient relics.
Professor Liang glanced at Li Qian, and a strange expression appeared on her face, as if she was saying that he was overdoing it.
"Then let's rewind time." Seeing no one stepping forward, Professor Liang shook her head in disappointment and turned to the Time Sprite, giving the command.
Upon receiving the command, the Time Sprite, resembling a snowball, suddenly glowed with a faint light.
Both Liu Zhi and Teacher Huang felt nervous upon seeing this, and the hidden figure in the shadows became even more anxious.
At this moment, he could only pray that Professor Liang's Time Sprite could only rewind time in this specific area, allowing him to continue hiding.
As the Time Sprite began to use its ability, a water ripple appeared in mid-air, about two meters above the ground, in front of the crowd.
The ripple dissipated, and a scene, like a surveillance video, unfolded before their eyes.
It was a fascinating sight, like watching a movie, and the scene inside was that of Chamber One.
Under the control of the Time Sprite, the scene began to rewind. Before Li Qian entered, the stone engravings were already vandalized.
At this point, Li Qian's innocence could have been proven, but clearing his name was only one of the objectives. The more important task was to uncover the mastermind.
So, the scene continued to rewind, and eventually, at a certain point in time, a clue was found. A pitch-black canine companion beast suddenly rushed into the chamber from outside.
The black dog extended its sharp claws and scratched the murals on the wall vigorously before swiftly disappearing from the chamber.
Upon reaching this point, the truth should have been revealed... but instead, a Nightstalker appeared out of nowhere, waved its paws, and left. It was obvious to anyone that something fishy was going on.
"It's actually a Nightstalker!"
"Nightstalkers possess long-lasting invisibility at night, so sneaking in wouldn't be difficult!"
"This Nightstalker must have an owner."
"..."
Seeing that a Nightstalker had damaged the ruins, everyone started whispering.
Given today's events, the students had concluded that someone was intentionally framing Li Qian.
Moreover, they suspected Liu Zhi, but during the time rewind, no clear evidence was found.
Liu Zhi, Teacher Huang, and the hidden figure all sighed in relief at this revelation. By now, Teacher Huang could almost guess who was behind this incident! If that person were exposed, he would also lose face, feeling extremely embarrassed and awkward. He hoped it would end here.
"Ms. Liang, look, the Time Sprite's skill seems to only show the scene inside Chamber One, but at least it proves that Li Qian was indeed wronged..." Teacher Huang said, trying to ease the atmosphere, as he had just been ready to label Li Qian as a criminal without considering the full context.
Now, as Li Qian was exonerated, Teacher Huang was about to speak, but Ms. Liang interrupted, "No rush, Teacher Huang. No need to hurry. We haven't found the mastermind yet!"
She continued without pause, "Alright, this is the last chance. I hope the person behind this will come forward!"
Despite her final warning, the scene remained silent. The person in the shadows believed they wouldn't be exposed, and Ms. Liang wouldn't find any evidence.
Seeing this, Ms. Liang's face darkened. She directly gave the Time Sprite a second command, "Time Sprite, continue. Expand the rewind scope to cover the entire camp!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Zhi, Teacher Huang, and even the hidden figure were shocked.
They couldn't believe the Time Sprite could rewind such a large area. It was an incredible power.
Before they could recover from their shock, fear, and awe, ripples appeared in the air, and the scene reappeared. This time, the image wasn't limited to Chamber One; it covered the entire Underground Palace and even the camp.
Liu Zhi was so scared that he nearly wet himself. He froze in place like a statue, and after a moment, he fell to his knees with a loud thud. Then, he sobbed as he confessed to Ms. Liang, "Ms. Liang, Teacher Huang, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I was blinded by greed. I want to repent. I want to surrender. And... I want to report someone!"
Seeing that Ms. Liang's Time Sprite could cover the entire Underground Palace and camp, Liu Zhi lost all hope of escaping punishment. Knowing his exposure was only a matter of time, he decided to surrender.
He pointed at a slightly thin figure in the crowd and shouted, "It's Liu Qingyuan! He gave me money to slander Li Qian!"
As his words fell, everyone turned to look at the suspicious figure, who was trying to sneak away.
However, before he could take a few steps, Teacher Yang's figure appeared, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Young man, you can't leave until we sort this out," Teacher Yang said gently.
But at this moment, Liu Qingyuan heard this as a sinister whisper.
Knowing escape was impossible, Liu Qingyuan turned the accusation around, "No, no, you're slandering me, Liu Zhi. We have no past grudges, no recent quarrels. Why are you slandering me?"
"I don't have a bonded Nightstalker. This ruin was damaged by a Nightstalker!"
Li Qian, seeing Liu Zhi pointing at Liu Qingyuan, showed a "just as I thought" expression, and couldn't help but think, 'You little brat!'
At this moment, Li Qian remained silent, merely observing with cold eyes.
Neither of them was a good person, and neither could escape.
Simultaneously, as Liu Qingyuan turned the accusation back on Liu Zhi, Liu Zhi became agitated and exposed the truth, "Don't believe him. He's the mastermind behind all this. He doesn't have a bonded Nightstalker, but the Beast Ball is definitely still on him. Search him, and you'll find it!"
Liu Zhi's expression was agitated, almost shouting, and upon hearing this, Liu Qingyuan's face paled.
(End of Chapter)
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