Age of Heroes, 10-game winning streak

Long Jianquan said with a smile: "Do you hope that I will bear a grudge even more?"

Bai Yu denied: "I just find it strange why you agreed to be my bodyguard?"

"At first I thought you were a real problem, but after getting to know each other, I think... you're actually quite nice."

"But this is very strange. All your hostility is just on the surface, but in private you unexpectedly take care of us. Why is that?"

Long Jianquan said directly: "Because you are guests, how can the Dragon Clan not know how to entertain guests?"

"Bullshit." Bai Yu exposed him, "You don't care about hospitality at all. You haven't been kind to me and Tao Rusu since you walked in. On the contrary, you've been the nicest to Su Ruoli, even though she doesn't pay any attention to you."

Long Jianquan was silent.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time. I don't understand why Su Ruoli, who doesn't even know you, deserves your care. You agreed to let her and I deal with Ao Muxue together, and you agreed right away... You're even more anxious than I am." Bai Yu tapped his knee with his fingers. "After thinking it over, I can only come to a simple conclusion."

He stared at the other party and said, "Show your cards, Long Jianquan."

"We should talk about Ao Xuanyue's disappearance."

Chapter 406 The truth comes to light

The atmosphere under the eaves was not harmonious.

The two wounded sat in a room lit only by moonlight, Long Jianquan and Bai Yu stared at each other in silence.

Bai Yu's eyes were full of certainty.

He also knew that after he said the three words "Ao Xuanyue", there would be no room for maneuver in this conversation.

That's why he wanted to point it out clearly.

Because now is the most appropriate time.

Long Jianquan frowned and said calmly, "Did you get confused after sleeping? I have no idea about Ao Xuanyue's disappearance."

Bai Yu said, "You and I both know this clearly, so why bother beating around the bush?"

Long Jianquan denied: "I don't need to hide anything from you."

Bai Yu sighed: "Do you really have to pretend?"

"Well, I know what kind of person you are. You won't cry until you see the coffin."

"Well, let me just share my opinion about Ao Xuanyue's past."

Long Jianquan stared at Bai Yu calmly, waiting for his next words.

"You know, our original purpose in coming to Dragon Country was to find Ao Xuanyue. In order to learn the truth about the Thousand Dust Society's mass disappearance three years ago, we needed this sole survivor to provide us with useful information—but she also disappeared during the water-walking ceremony three years ago."

Bai Yu started from the beginning.

"Ao Xuanyue is not a direct descendant of the Dragon Emperor. Although her surname is Ao, she is from a side branch, so she is not qualified to perform the ceremony."

"But she was still able to answer some key points about the ceremony. The Elders Council passed a resolution to force the water-walking ceremony."

"From the elders' point of view, we can give it a try. It won't waste much time anyway."

"I personally believe that the water-walking ceremony held three years ago was a scam from the ground up."

Hearing this, Long Jianquan frowned and asked, "Do you have any evidence to prove this?"

Bai Yu said calmly, "I don't have direct evidence, but I have indirect witnesses."

"Who?"

"The dead Ao Shuang."

"The dead can't testify for you."

"No, dead people can." Bai Yu had already sorted out the chain of evidence and calmly refuted: "Ao Shuang is a high-level demon. Her target is the Ghost King. By devouring the Ghost King, she can be promoted to the Ancestral Demon. So she is naturally eager to participate in the water-walking ceremony, hoping that it can really awaken the Ghost King."

"In fact, Ao Shuang really participated in this water-walking ceremony. She probably also believed that this ceremony would be successful."

"But the result was that the water-walking ritual failed, Ao Xuanyue disappeared, and Ao Shuang found nothing, so he had to wait another three years."

"But whether it will succeed or not, Ao Xuanyue herself will definitely know it clearly. What's fake can't be real unless she deceives herself."

"Ao Xuanyue is very clear that she is a fake, so the question is, why did she do this?"

"Wait a minute," Long Jianquan interrupted. "Have you ever considered the possibility that Ao Xuanyue herself was deceived? If she was simply being instructed by someone, or if she was deceived by someone, she would have every reason to perform the water-walking ceremony."

"That's also impossible." Bai Yu tried to shake his head, but his neck was tied, so the cat could only shake his head for him. "As for why it's impossible, I'll give you some proof later."

Long Jianquan pondered: "Then let's follow your hypothesis: Why did she do this?"

"There are three possibilities." Bai Yu asked the cat to raise its two front paws and tail.

"The first possibility is that it was a coincidence. Ao Xuanyue simply gave in to vanity, or perhaps some other reason, which led her to decide to perform the water-walking ceremony. But considering the importance the dragon clan places on this ceremony, I think this possibility is very low. She must have seriously prepared for it for a long time."

The cat lowered its left front paw.

"The second possibility is that it was caused by external forces. Someone forced Ao Xuanyue to perform the water-walking ceremony. For example... Ao Shuang caught her and threatened her with something like 'You don't want to...' - this possibility is not impossible, but I don't think it's very high."

"The Elders Council, not Ao Shuang, is the one most anxious to conduct the Water Walking Ceremony. She is smart enough to understand the benefits of lying low."

"Besides, the layout of Dragon Country was left by the Tyrant himself. Besides, did Ao Shuang really have the ability to devour a Ghost King three years ago?"

The cat lowered its right front paw.

"The third type is that she did it on her own initiative. No one forced her to do it, but she needed to do it."

"I think this is the most likely possibility. She needs to go through the water walking ceremony to complete a long-planned plot..."

"Missing."

The cat wagged its tail.

Bai Yu stared into Long Jianquan's eyes, his gaze as sharp as a knife: "Actually, you know best, don't you? As the one who was responsible for delivering the meals back then."

Long Jianquan ignored her and continued to deny, "That's just your speculation. Even if the water-walking ceremony is fake, Ao Xuanyue's disappearance isn't necessarily her own plan."

"Ultimately, your inference lacks a fundamental chain of evidence."

"Especially the most important point you can't solve."

"——How on earth did she disappear from Longyuan Palace?!"

Yes, if Ao Xuanyue really wanted to make himself disappear, he would have to hide it from Ao Shuang and Ao Qinglian, but the road leading to Longyuan Hall is a one-way exit, there is no other exit, and no other exit exists.

Even the Overlord came out the same way he came. This shows that even if he was a fifth-level Saint, he would not be able to pass through the outer wall of Longyuan and reach the deepest part unless he broke through the mountain wall directly.

"Ao Shuang is a demon. She definitely hopes that this water-walking ceremony will succeed, so she must be on the side of the Elders Council."

"It would be more reasonable if Ao Shuang killed Ao Xuanyue in a rage after seeing the ritual fail."

Long Jianquan deduced.

Bai Yu did not deny it: "Your inference is the same as mine at the beginning. After Ao Shuang's identity was revealed, I also thought so. She must be the culprit who killed Ao Xuanyue, but then I noticed something strange..."

"The abnormality lies with Ao Qinglian."

"Why did she kill Ao Xuanyue but let Ao Qinglian go? If she can control Ao Qinglian, why can't she control another Ao Xuanyue?"

"During my conversation with Ao Shuang, although she acted quite malicious, her murderous intent wasn't particularly strong. On the contrary, she kept trying to persuade me to accept the demon seed. She treated me the same way. There was really no reason for her to kill Ao Xuanyue, a fellow dragon."

"And after careful recollection, she never admitted to killing Ao Xuanyue."

"Perhaps, Ao Xuanyue's disappearance has nothing to do with her at all!"

"Ao Shuang, as a high-level demon, was too deceptive, so she took the blame for something she wasn't even aware of."

Long Jianquan still shook his head: "It's still pure speculation. Don't you have any substantial evidence?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the window was opened. The guardian cat was startled and jumped to the side of the bed, making threatening sounds of its fur standing up towards the window.

A dark shadow swooshed in, its black cloak spreading out.

Dijiexing exhaled a puff of white mist: "I came here directly after receiving the message."

"Can't you go through the main gate?" Bai Yu rolled his eyes.

"Sorry, this is a professional habit."

"The things are here. I really don't know why you want this." Dijiexing took out a food box from behind: "I didn't wash it clean before, and it's still stained with coagulated blood."

"Just put it on the ground." Bai Yu turned his eyes to the other side: "This is the evidence you want."

Long Jianquan stared at the food box. He looked away, looking a little uncomfortable as he asked, "What kind of evidence is this?"

"You're not asking for a method of escape. I've already told you." Bai Yu said calmly, "This food box is the way to leave Longyuan."

Long Jianquan didn't say anything, but Dijiexing spoke first: "Although this box is not small, it can only hold one and a half heads at most."

"That's enough." Bai Yu said with a smile, "It's enough to take one person out."

Dijiexing laughed: "How can I take it out? Even if I take it out, I can only cut it into pieces and give it to you..."

The more he spoke, the slower his speech became, and his eyes became increasingly solemn and frightened, as if he had realized something.

Bai Yu said in a deep voice, "I don't think I ever said from the beginning... This person must get out alive, right?"

Dijiexing took a breath and said, "Dismemberment and loading?"

Even as a Black Demon Bow, he felt it was too perverted. His eyes twitched: "You can't be serious?"

Bai Yu said calmly, "Three days in total, three meals a day, nine times... that's enough to get a body out."

Long Jianquan's gaze suddenly became deep, like a bottomless well. He stared at the food box for a long moment, then came to his senses and asked, "This doesn't align with what you said. If Ao Xuanyue was seeking death, why would she go to such great lengths to stage her own disappearance?"

Bai Yu agreed with this statement: "Yes, as you said, if the intention was to die from the beginning, then there would be no need for her to disappear. So her disappearance was not for death, but to make people think she was dead."

Long Jianquan's breathing was so light that it was barely audible: "So?"

Bai Yu suddenly changed the subject: "So she's not missing."

Long Jianquan asked: "If she is not missing, where is she?"

"Right now, right now, right here."

Bai Yu's eyes fell on the young man sitting in the shadows, as if he could see through his disguise and into his soul: "Hello, Ao Xuanyue."

Chapter 407 The Seventh Bright Moon

"Hello, Ao Xuanyue."

A sentence echoed loudly.

Bai Yu spoke slowly, constantly observing the other person's expression.

To be honest, he was only 70% sure. It wasn't absolute.

Bai Yu is not a wise man who can predict the future. He was able to see through it this time just by a flash of inspiration. If he had not seen Dijiexing throw the head into the food box, he would not have guessed that there was such a method.

but……

If this is true, it is a great thing for him. The living Ao Xuanyue is exactly the purpose of his trip.

Soon, Long Jianquan, who was sitting on the hospital bed, moved.

He raised his hand, put two fingers into his mouth, pinched something between his index and middle fingers, and slowly took it out.

On the fingertip is a gem emitting a faint smoke, surrounded by a mirage-like illusion.

Then, the capable Long Jianquan disappeared, as if peeling off a layer of transparent cicada skin, and a woman appeared in the center of the sight. She had towering breasts and a slender waist, long hair over her shoulders, and looked similar to Long Jianquan, but her facial features were softer and more mature.

In the palm of her hand, the gem was spinning, and the faint white light illuminated her three-dimensional facial features. Her pair of dark golden eyes revealed a strange complexity.

"you are right."

"I am Ao Xuanyue."

The Black Demon Archer was shocked and confused when he saw this 'magic transformation'. He said, "The Sixth Haoyue is actually a woman."

Ao Xuanyue said: "Very surprised?"

"Everyone in the world has been deceived by you, how can we not be surprised? But how did you do it?"

"The rare item, the Mirage Pearl, is a secret treasure of the Dragon Clan. Few people know its use." Ao Xuanyue said, "This was also given to me by Jianquan."

Bai Yu got the answer he expected, but he didn't feel happy. Instead, he said, "So the real Dragon Sword Spring..."

"He died three years ago."

"..."