"Lord Chief, Alchemist Nangong and Alchemist Xue..." An alchemist's face was covered with dust, panting heavily, unable to catch their breath.

"What happened to Qing Lin?"

Chief Chou picked up the alchemist by the collar, the latter's stuttering getting worse out of sheer fright at seeing Chief Chou's ferocious expression.

"Alchemist Nangong was killed in an explosion, and Alchemist Xue was severely injured; their pill furnace exploded."

Upon hearing this, Chief Chou's body jolted, and he staggered a few steps backward, his complexion turning pale as if all the blood had drained from his face.

Dead. Nangong Qinglin was dead from the explosion.

Behind him, Vice Chief Meng, upon hearing of the alchemy room explosion, also felt a sudden twitch in his eyelids and instantly understood the implication of Nangong Qinglin purchasing Black Medicine Powder a few days earlier.

Those two vile master and disciple had used such a sinister method as Black Medicine Powder, all for selfish gains.

While Chief Chou was dumbfounded, he couldn't help but suspect without a doubt that it must have been Ye Lingyue who had switched out Nangong Qinglin's pill furnace.

"Lord Chief, what's done is done; please, take heart and inform the people from Nangong Residence first," Vice Chief Meng said, concernedly supporting Chief Chou.

"Inform them... No, this incident was certainly no accident; I must find out who was responsible for the death of my disciple," bellowed Chief Chou, especially when he saw Ye Lingyue and Alchemist Mei emerge from the crowd, unscathed.

The one who deserved to die survived, while the one who should not have died was gone.

Surely, something unknown to him had transpired here.

This matter would not be left unsettled just like that.

The fire was fierce and lasted for a good half hour.

Although the explosion was loud, fortunately, not many were injured. Aside from those critically injured, and the deceased Nangong Qinglin, most other alchemists in the public alchemy room had only suffered smoke inhalation or minor burns.

"My son, my Qing Lin..."

A deafening wail.

Relatives from General Nangong's Mansion had received the news and had already arrived at the Imperial Hospital.

Lady Nangong rushed in, supported by several maids.

Beside her stood a broad-shouldered man with tears in his eyes, towering at seven feet tall—General of the Army, Nangong Jian of Daxia.

"General Nangong, Qing Lin... alas," Chief Chou, upon seeing the grief-stricken General Nangong and Lady Nangong, wore a face filled with guilt.

He waved his hand and ordered the body of Nangong Qinglin to be brought out.

Nangong Qinglin had been closest to the pill furnace; when it exploded, the intense fire had blasted her away, and fragments of the shattered furnace had disfigured her face beyond recognition, her body also largely burnt.

Gazing upon his daughter, who had looked as lovely as a flower, now turned into a charred shadow of her former self in just one morning.

Lady Nangong let out a wail and then fainted; the maids beside her also cried out and collapsed to the ground.

"Qing Lin." General Nangong, a man of towering stature, also could not help but shed tears.

Yet he was, after all, a fierce general of the battlefield. After a moment of sorrow, he looked around sharply and demanded.

"Why did my daughter's pill furnace explode without cause?" Nangong Jian only had one daughter, Nangong Qinglin, whom he indulged in all her whims and caprices.

Never had he imagined that this time, her petulance would cost her life.

Now that his daughter was dead, he would certainly not let the perpetrator off lightly.

"General Nangong, about this matter, I was just about to discuss it with you. We have found the pill furnace," said Chief Chou, instructing his men to gather all the fragments of the furnace and deliver them to Nangong Jian.

Chief Chou understood as soon as he saw the wreckage of the pill furnace that someone had switched out the furnaces of Alchemist Mei and Alchemist Xue.

As for who tampered with it, only the person who switched them would know.

Chief Chou glanced at Ye Lingyue in the crowd, who was also looking at him.

Unaware of imminent death, Chief Chou sneered to himself.

Nangong Jian focused his gaze on the pill furnace, only to find it had already cracked into pieces.

However, if one were to touch it with their hand and smell it, they would detect a pungent scent coming from the pill furnace.

Black Medicine Powder!

After General Nangong identified the scent of the Black Medicine Powder, the fragments of the pill furnace in his hand shattered into dust with a loud 'bang.'

"Someone has sprinkled Black Medicine Powder in the pill furnace. This morning, did anyone tamper with this pill furnace?" General Nangong's gaze swept over the crowd and paused on an alchemist who sneakily glanced at Chief Chou.

"General, this morning, I saw Alchemist Ye walking out from the communal alchemy room."

The alchemist pointed at Ye Lingyue.

In a moment, everyone's gaze sharply focused on Ye Lingyue.

Ye Lingyue raised her eyebrows.

She did not recall encountering that alchemist this morning.

It seems Chief Chou and the others still have tricks up their sleeve. Despite Nangong Qinglin's death, they are not giving up and are attempting to bite back.

"Alchemist Ye, you are Princess Ye, aren't you? I've heard that you have clashed with my daughter on numerous occasions," Nangong Jian glared at Ye Lingyue with venom, as if wishing to tear her in half.

Intuition told Nangong Jian that his daughter's death must be related to Ye Lingyue.

"General Nangong, are you suspecting that I sprinkled Black Medicine Powder in the Nangong alchemist's pill furnace? Heh, why would I do that? I have just recently moved into an independent alchemy room with Alchemist Mei, my prospects are bright. There is no need for me to scheme against a Nangong alchemist who is still using a communal alchemy room," Ye Lingyue said calmly.

Upon hearing Ye Lingyue's words, the other alchemists also felt that what she said made sense.

If it really was about jealousy leading to the sprinkling of Black Medicine Powder, then it was more likely that Nangong Qinglin had framed Ye Lingyue.

"Whether it was you or not, we will find out after an investigation in the Military Department's prison. Bring Alchemist Ye in!" General Nangong had long harbored the intention of capturing Ye Lingyue.

As soon as his words fell, four or five soldiers, carrying shackles, moved to apprehend Ye Lingyue.

"Hold on, how can you arrest someone without cause and even use shackles?" Alchemist Mei was also anxious.

The Military Department's prison was a place for interrogating spies from other countries; the methods used there were incredibly brutal. For a woman like Ye Lingyue, if she were to be detained in such a place, could she still come out alive?

She stood in front of Ye Lingyue, determined to protect her.

"Alchemist Ye was with me all morning. I can swear on my life and family that she has absolutely not tampered with the Nangong alchemist's pill furnace."

Alchemist Mei's outcry was utterly useless in front of these soldiers who only obeyed military orders.

They pushed Alchemist Mei aside and proceeded to fasten the shackles onto Ye Lingyue's hands and feet.

Seeing this, Ye Lingyue sneered in her heart, "To accuse someone of a crime, any excuse will do," but framing her would not be so easy.

However, before the shackles could be locked on, suddenly four flashes of dagger light streaked past.

With several "ding" sounds, blades flashed out like sudden rain, slicing into the Xuantie shackles—shackles that were extremely tough broke into several pieces upon coming into contact with the Xuan-grade top quality "Star Saliva."

With the emergence of Star Saliva, the imposing force shone like a bright arc across the sky. Six daggers positioned themselves protectively beside Ye Lingyue.

For a moment, several soldiers at the Postnatal Peak were unable to approach Ye Lingyue.

~At the end of the month and the weekend, move your fingers, check your personal center for any tickets that may have slipped through the net~