Lin Shuangye slapped the table, a suspicious expression on her face, and asked:
“Although what you said makes some sense, it’s still not quite right. Even if you knew about this secret, you could have reported it to the sect. That would be much better than acting alone, wouldn’t it?”
“But the fact is, you didn’t tell anyone. Instead, you were exchanging flirtatious glances with You Yuelan inside the sect. What’s going on? Explain yourself clearly.”
Lin Huanhuan swallowed her saliva and said ingratiatingly:
“This involves a bit of a privacy issue. Can I not say it?”
“Privacy my ass. You have no privacy with me. Tell me honestly, or I won’t be polite!”
‘I’d rather die socially than actually die.’ Lin Huanhuan closed her eyes and shouted:
“Fine, fine, I admit it. I was actually coveting You Yuelan’s beauty. I caught hold of her双重 weakness, so I kept threatening her to be with me. At the last moment, I couldn’t bear to see her die, so I helped out.”
Hearing this, Lin Shuangye and the other two suddenly understood why they had felt something was off earlier.
Lin Shuangye finally breathed a sigh of relief, but her face visibly darkened. Though she wanted to scold Lin Huanhuan, she had to consider the occasion and leave her sister some dignity, so she forced herself to hold back.
‘Oh no. Is Sister already secretly planning how to punish me? Maybe I should pretend to be sick for a while after we leave… But that would only delay things, not solve them. Whatever, I’ll leave it to future me.’
Lin Shuangye and the other two went to a corner to discuss quietly for a while, then said:
“Even though this is plausible, it’s still just your word. Even if You Yuelan testifies for you, that’s only a witness. So you need to prove it.”
“Prove what?” Lin Huanhuan asked.
“Simple. The Mountain and Sea Map can distinguish truth from lies. If we test you with it, everyone will be convinced. What do you think? Do you accept?”
Hearing this, Lin Huanhuan pursed her lips slightly and lowered her head, like a child who hadn’t done anything wrong but was blamed by their parents without evidence—pitiful and helpless.
After a long while, she looked up. A determined and stubborn light flickered in her eyes. She forced a smile and said:
“Fine, let’s do it. It’s just another way to prove my innocence. No problem.”
A trace of emotion flickered in Lin Shuangye’s eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.
‘This is necessary. No room for negotiation… At worst, I’ll discipline her a little less after we leave.’
‘It’s my failure. My sister turned out like this without me noticing. Being into women is one thing, but using force and threats…’
Lost in thought, she didn’t notice the barely detectable joy hidden in Lin Huanhuan’s complex expression, nor the slight upward twitch at the corner of her mouth—by just a pixel.
Lin Shuangye cleared her mind, stepped forward, took out the Mountain and Sea Map, and injected a wisp of spiritual energy.
The Mountain and Sea Map emitted a faint glow.
She said calmly:
“The Mountain and Sea Map has reached the Semi-Treasure level and possesses considerable spirituality. I’ve activated it with spiritual energy. If you tell a lie in front of it, it will emit a blinding light. If you tell the truth, it won’t react.”
“Also, keep in mind that even half-truths or nine falsehoods and one truth will be considered lies.”
“Let me demonstrate. Lin Shuangye has condensed divine power and stepped into the Golden Core position.”
As she finished speaking, the Mountain and Sea Map erupted with a dazzling white light.
Fortunately, everyone was prepared, so they weren’t blinded.
“See? Understand?”
Lin Huanhuan nodded lightly.
Lin Shuangye’s tone was calm and slow, her eyes fixed on Lin Huanhuan.
“I’ll start asking.”
“Are all your answers just now true? Was your real purpose in approaching You Yuelan truly her beauty?”
Lin Huanhuan was silent for a few seconds, then slowly nodded.
“Everything I said just now is true. I was indeed coveting her beauty.”
Tick. Tick. Tick.
Ten seconds passed.
Seeing no reaction from the Mountain and Sea Map, everyone’s faces showed joy.
It was a relief to confirm there was no problem.
Lin Huanhuan forced an indignant expression.
“I told you I was telling the truth. You didn’t believe me. See? Can we be done now?”
If she hadn’t done that, the corners of her mouth would have uncontrollably curled upward.
She had long known the Mountain and Sea Map could distinguish truth from lies.
After all, in the Original Work, Bai Lingfeng had been forced to undergo several Mountain and Sea Map tests due to being harassed. He passed every time.
So, when she learned their true intention for calling her over, Lin Huanhuan kept a calm exterior, but inside she was panicking and desperately searching for a solution.
She had to silently seek help from the Ten Thousand Soul Banner—that surface loli but actually old-timer.
After hearing her out, the Ten Thousand Soul Banner said nonchalantly:
“Is such a small thing worth worrying about? I’ll handle it for you!”
“A mere Semi-Treasure dares to show off in front of me?”
“I’ll make it go east; it won’t dare go west. I can even make it lie down and play dog.”
“You don’t know this, but the hierarchy among magical artifacts is extremely strict.”
“As a former top-tier artifact, even if I’ve fallen to this state, just releasing a faint wisp of my aura is enough to make this paltry Mountain and Sea Map too scared to act rashly.”
“If it had reached the true Magical Artifact level, it might dare to provoke me a little. But at this stage, it absolutely won’t dare to rebel!”
Though the Ten Thousand Soul Banner exaggerated out of eagerness to show off, it was essentially correct.
After hearing this, Lin Huanhuan suddenly understood and completely relaxed.
“See how useful I am? Remember to regularly offer me souls. Also, hurry up and get those Soul Path Resources you mentioned. The more I recover, the more I can help you.”
“I know, I know. Rest assured. Follow me, and you’ll eventually rise to greatness.”
After casually dangling a carrot in front of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, Lin Huanhuan felt completely at ease. She quietly watched Lin Shuangye and the Mountain and Sea Map, which was playing dead.
Inside, she was laughing her head off, but she had to forcibly restrain herself for fear of being found out.
“It seems we really did wrong you, but you still have your faults.”
Lin Shuangye said with a smile:
“Alright, no more issues. Go back to your cell. We’ll discuss a bit more and soon decide how to deal with you.”
In high spirits, Lin Huanhuan returned to her cell.