Chapter 139 - 141: Su Luoluo’s Stratagem (Part 2)

Chapter 139: Chapter 141: Su Luoluo’s Stratagem (Part 2)

Su Nuannuan said suggestively between sobs, "The Holy Fire might have just been blown out by a sudden gust of wind. Luoluo’s house was struck by lightning last time, and she’s perfectly fine now, isn’t she?"

"A house being struck by lightning for no reason could also be seen as a punishment from the Heavenly God, yet nothing happened to Luoluo. In fact, she was even chosen by the Heavenly God to retrieve the Holy Fire."

As soon as she said this, everyone’s attitude shifted once more.

What Su Nuannuan said made sense. Sometimes, people did misunderstand the Heavenly God’s intentions.

Su Yang glanced at Su Luoluo. Seeing that she said nothing, he gestured with his hand and said, "Next."

And so, Su Nuannuan’s fate was left hanging in the balance.

Some suspected she was the one who had poisoned the salt, while others felt they might have misunderstood the Heavenly God’s intentions.

But when the next person went to make their vow before the Holy Fire, it flared back to life.

At this, the expressions of those present turned subtle again as their gazes shifted to Su Nuannuan.

Su Nuannuan, however, kept her back straight, looking as if she had a clear conscience, like true gold that fears no fire.

However, she wasn’t entirely without fear.

’She felt a flicker of panic, but she was also still suspicious of Su Luoluo.’

Each time someone walked up to the Holy Fire, she stared intently at Su Luoluo, watching to see if she was secretly manipulating the flame.

Yet, Su Luoluo acted perfectly normal, showing no reaction at all.

Su Luoluo was also a little surprised by Su Nuannuan’s composure.

’I didn’t expect her to be so patient,’ Su Luoluo thought. ’But I don’t believe for a second that she isn’t panicking inside.’

When it was the turn of the next few people, the Holy Fire dwindled for them as well.

Those Beastmen were also shocked. "Impossible! Why would I poison the salt? I didn’t do anything!"

Seeing three others share her fate put Su Nuannuan’s mind at ease.

She said nothing, but she maintained a wronged expression, as if everyone had just falsely accused her.

When the crowd saw the Holy Fire dwindle for others, their attitude toward Su Nuannuan immediately softened.

This must have nothing to do with Su Nuannuan after all.

Seeing this, Su Yang had no idea what Su Luoluo was up to. He shot her a look.

Su Luoluo looked at the four people singled out by the Holy Fire and said unhurriedly, "Perhaps the Heavenly God wants to give you a chance to realize your mistakes and repent. The four of you should think it over. You can speak to the Holy Fire again tomorrow."

With that, Su Luoluo turned and left. Seeing her go, Su Yang waved his hand. "Do as Luoluo says. Everyone is dismissed for now."

Fu Feng, Xiao Ye, Mo Xuan, Nantu, and Xi Yi had all thought Su Luoluo would have another way to continue the investigation, but they never expected her to just... stop.

The men followed Su Luoluo out, completely bewildered.

Nantu trailed Su Luoluo for a while before he finally couldn’t hold it in any longer. "Su Luoluo, you must have another plan, right?"

Su Luoluo smiled. "Guess."

Under the bright moonlight, her eyes held a cunning glint, like a fox in the wild.

Nantu’s heart hammered in his chest at the sight. ’Su Luoluo always managed to ensnare him so effortlessly.’

Xi Yi rubbed his chin and looked at Su Luoluo. "So what’s the next move? Let us in on it."

He was also dying to know what trick Su Luoluo had up her sleeve.

Su Luoluo needed their help anyway, so she didn’t hide her plan. After a quick glance to make sure they were alone, she leaned in and whispered a few words to them.

Mo Xuan’s eyes lit up with understanding, but he still sounded hesitant. "Are you sure they’ll fall for it?"

Su Luoluo said with complete confidence, "Of course. People with a guilty conscience are the most terrified of divine punishment. They won’t be able to sleep tonight. They’ll have to come out for a walk."

"I need you five to keep a close watch and find this person for me."

The five men nodded and said in unison, "No problem."

Back in her own room, Su Nuannuan tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

Although Su Luoluo hadn’t exposed her, she felt deeply uneasy.

’I watched carefully,’ she thought. ’When the others faced the Holy Fire, the flame dwindled, but not like it did for me. For me, there were only sparks.’

’Another gust of wind and my spark would have been completely extinguished.’

’This might really be the Heavenly God making His will known.’

’Telling lies and doing evil deeds before the Heavenly God is a sure way to earn His wrath.’

She was terrified of being forsaken by the Heavenly God.

’The best thing to do now,’ she reasoned, ’is to repent to the Heavenly God. I’ll promise to turn over a new leaf and never do something like this again.’

’The Heavenly God is merciful. He’ll forgive a lie told out of desperation.’

’I swear, if I can just get through this, I will dedicate myself to doing good.’

’I can’t go to the Holy Fire House. What happened today was probably Su Luoluo’s doing. She might have people waiting for me there.’

’But you don’t have to be in a holy place to bow and pray to the Heavenly God for forgiveness.’

’I can just go outside and bow to the east.’

’That’s what they always did when facing danger in the wilderness.’

With that thought, she rose from her beast skin bedding, tiptoed out of the house, and headed into the wilderness.

She headed east until she was certain she was far from the tribe. Then, she knelt and confessed to the moon in the eastern sky.

"Heavenly God, it’s true I was the one who poisoned the salt. But I never meant to harm anyone! I just wanted to take back what was originally mine. Please, Heavenly God, help me. I will dedicate myself to doing good from now on, I promise..."

"Aha! So it really was you, Su Nuannuan!"

"And to think we trusted you!"

"I can’t believe how two-faced you are. We were almost completely fooled."

...

Before Su Nuannuan could finish, a large group of people suddenly emerged, pointing and shouting at her.

Her eyes scanned the crowd. In a corner, she saw Su Luoluo, along with Xiao Ye and Xi Yi. Fu Feng and Mo Xuan were there too, leading the others.

Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, her face deathly pale.

Su Yang never imagined the daughter he had raised could do something like this. He looked at her, his face filled with disappointment. "Nuannuan, how could you have become like this?"

Seeing that she was exposed, Su Nuannuan threw her head back, about to faint. Suddenly, a splash of water rained down, dousing her face.

Su Luoluo said with a smile, "A little water to help you stay awake. We wouldn’t want you to faint on us."

Her face soaked, Su Nuannuan couldn’t help but snap her eyes wide open.

The onlooking Beastmen were in disbelief. How could someone as kind as Su Nuannuan turn out like this?

Some of the Beastmen who admired her were about to speak up in her defense.

But then they noticed that Su Nuannuan’s fair face had turned sallow, and a closer look revealed it was covered in a dense, horrifying rash of tiny red bumps.

"Heavens! How did Su Nuannuan suddenly become so ugly!"

"Is her face ruined?"

"Look, her right cheek is covered in those little red bumps, too! It’s hideous!"

"How did this happen to her? She looks even uglier than Su Luoluo now."

...

In an instant, a tidal wave of chatter washed over her.

Su Nuannuan covered her face in terror and buried her head, trying to hide.

Su Yang sighed and pointed to two men beside him. "You two, help Nuannuan up. Lock her in the dark room for now."

Then, he glanced at the watching Beastmen. "It’s late. Everyone, disperse! We’ll deal with this tomorrow!"

Seeing Su Nuannuan caught red-handed, Su Luoluo was in high spirits. She swayed her hips as she walked back to her little wooden cabin.

Fu Feng’s eyes darkened as he watched the sway of her hips, and he followed her.

Xiao Ye licked his lips and vanished from the spot in a flash.