One second, she was happily playing Celestial Jade, just one step away from a glorious Big Four Winds hand. The next second, the scene shifted, and she found herself in the Shackling Prison (Netherworld). Miss Qingque was currently experiencing this jarring transition firsthand.
Her thoughts on the matter?
A lovely change of scenery. Greetings from the Netherworld, much love.
If a certain someone were to appear before her right now, she would absolutely use her beloved Celestial Jade tiles to give him a hundred bumps on the head, yes, a hundred!
Qingque: @Jiang Qiao, anything you'd like to say to me?
Sent through the inconspicuous group chat, Miss Qingque's incredibly calm words seemed barely contained, laced with the sound of grinding teeth. Using my body to screw me over is one thing, but after you're done, I have to take the fall for you, is that it?!
Jiang Qiao: Uh... this could probably be considered... an accident?
Looking at the mahjong table before him, and the very familiar sight of his own body, he felt a bit awkward facing the furious Miss Qingque.
Qingque: I believe you like I believe a ghost! You rotten old scoundrel, you're terrible!
Jiang Qiao: Relax, it's not really anything important. This should just be routine questioning.
Actually, setting aside the Ten-Lords' designs on the Cloud Knights, it really wasn't a big deal.
Routine questioning?
Miss Qingque was half-convinced, looking suspiciously at the Ten-Lords judge before her. ...It probably isn't anything serious, right?
She thought carefully, recalling that aside from showing his face on the battleship and then handling business at the Divine Foresight, that guy Jiang Qiao hadn't really done anything else... hmm, probably?
"Miss Qingque, the Ten-Lords have reviewed the case files concerning this recent battle to some extent," the judge began sternly. "By order of the Ten-Lords, you are required to answer truthfully."
"Seriously..." Qingque muttered under her breath.
"Hmm?" The judge's sharp gaze fixed on her.
She waved her hands dismissively, forcing an awkward smile. "Ah, nothing, nothing... Go ahead and ask. I'll definitely cooperate!"
"First, regarding the initial stages of the battle between the Alliance and the Legion, concerning the infiltration of the Xianzhou by Lord Ravager Phantylia."
"Huh? Lord Ravager Phantylia?" Hearing the name, Qingque froze.
Working in the Divination Commission before, she hadn't known the name in great detail. But after her time in the Divine Foresight, it was impossible not to know Phantylia, a name ranked high on the Xianzhou's list of major enemies. ...She came to the Xianzhou?
"Is something strange? According to General Huaiyan's report, it was you who saw through Phantylia's disguise, lured her into the depths of the Shackling Prison, and tricked her into the Heliobus-trapping Delve using the presence of Hoolay."
"..." Qingque was dumbstruck after hearing all this. It wasn't me! I didn't do it! You've got the wrong person!
Recalling the situation earlier, she suddenly remembered that someone had mentioned 'catching a little thief'. Her naive self had actually believed him. So... the 'little thief' you caught was Phantylia, a Lord Ravager of the Legion, an Emanator under the Aeon of Destruction?! Is that it?!
Fine! You've got guts! That's one hell of a 'little thief' you caught there! Why didn't you just grab their boss, The Blemished One, while you were at it?!
As Qingque's resentment meter skyrocketed, the Ten-Lords judge asked, "How did you discover Phantylia's true identity?"
She desperately wanted to say, How should I know? Go ask HIM! But Miss Qingque had a feeling that if she actually answered like that, she might genuinely end up sampling the Netherworld's living conditions.
Fortunately, with assistance from the group chat, she wasn't completely clueless.
"Just... figured it out by looking, I guess?" she replied oddly, her lips twitching with a strange mix of emotions.
The judge's face turned slightly green, and he opened his mouth to say something.
But after glancing at the mirror beside him, he instantly gave up. The Mind-Inquiry Mirror was the Ten-Lords Commission's trump card, functioning much like a lie detector. Since the mirror gave such an answer, there probably wasn't an issue—though, naturally, he was unwilling to accept this.
If he could find a breakthrough concerning Phantylia, he wouldn't disappoint the Ten-Lords' expectations.
However, his subsequent painstaking questions, even attempts at leading her, proved utterly useless. No matter how hard the Ten-Lords judge tried to catch [Qingque] slipping up, all he got were innocent replies like "It was just like that, you know?" or "Abba abba."
Basically, she gave him zero openings, completely frustrating the judge! What kind of useless Mind-Inquiry Mirror is this? It must be fake!
Qingque, meanwhile, went from initial panic to gradual composure.
Although being unexpectedly thrown into the Netherworld and having to pay for someone else's actions caught her off guard and made her quite angry, once she adapted to the rhythm and figured out how to respond... she declared that she, Qingque, hadn't worked in the Divine Foresight and Divination Commission for nothing!
Her smooth talking, impressive enough to make even Jing Yuan take notice, wasn't exclusive to [Super Qingque. Little Qingque was also quite skilled—after all, if you weren't slick, how could you logically slack off?
The Mind-Inquiry Mirror was useless against Qingque—even more directly than being ignored by [Qingque]'s sheer power. I wasn't the one who did those things, so how can you catch me slipping up? Go catch that guy if you want someone!
Of course, while handling the Ten-Lords Commission's interrogation seemed effortless and easy with someone else's support, in reality... Miss Qingque felt colder and colder inside the more she learned!
Jiang! Qiao!
What on earth did you do with my body while I wasn't around?!
Catching a "little thief" who turned out to be Phantylia, the enemy's mini-boss. Then using Hoolay to round up all the Borisin infiltrators inside the Luofu Xianzhou...
And that wasn't all! While dealing with Phantylia, he also dealt with the Preceptors? She thought he'd just be minding the store at the Divine Foresight and couldn't possibly stir up trouble, right? But nope... he started commanding the front lines!
Looking at the list of 'good deeds' she had supposedly done, Qingque felt dizzy.
Moreover, the information from the Ten-Lords Commission wasn't even the full picture.
Due to the escalating conflict between the Cloud Knights and the Ten-Lords, the two sides were already showing signs of direct confrontation. Hua and the Arbiter-Generals she represented wouldn't just stand there and take hits foolishly.
They simply didn't want to fight those old fossils, not that they didn't dare or couldn't!
Since constantly yielding for the sake of the Alliance's stability only resulted in the Ten-Lords becoming increasingly aggressive, Hua naturally wouldn't be polite anymore.
For instance, regarding [Qingque]'s role in the battle reports, a significant portion had actually been deliberately concealed by Hua, Huaiyan, and the others.
This deprived the Ten-Lords of their most potent evidence to attack [Qingque]. They could only resort to constantly trying to find fault, attempting to trick Qingque into giving them an excuse, just like now.
And the most crucial part... it remained hidden like a drawn arrow. While sharp when revealed, it couldn't compare to the danger of an 'unseen arrow'.
The judge from the Ten-Lords finally seemed to realize how difficult this young woman was. So, he tried changing tactics.
Recruitment wasn't out of the question.
For the Ten-Lords, as long as they could control the Luofu, the lead Xianzhou ship, some compromise was acceptable. If they could persuade Qingque to turn against her current side... perhaps they could even further erode the power of the Arbiter-Generals.
The judge dropped his previous sternness, his voice becoming gentle and soft: "As long as you are willing to obey the Ten-Lords' decree, whatever you received from Jing Yuan, the Ten-Lords will give you even more."
"...Specifically?" Qingque looked interested.
This made the judge chuckle inwardly. So easy to deal with. She was just a young girl, after all.
"High positions, generous salaries, anything you desire! As long as you behave, the next General of the Xianzhou will be you!" It was undoubtedly a completely empty promise, but the judge, leveraging the Ten-Lords' prestigious name, intended to trick Qingque completely.
However, he never anticipated that upon hearing the words 'high positions, generous salaries', Miss Qingque's eyes would widen dramatically.
That scoundrel Jiang Qiao has already screwed me over badly enough! I still haven't figured out how to regain my freedom, and now you guys are starting?!
Got it! The Ten-Lords are just as bad as Jiang Qiao!
She unhesitatingly equated the man before her with the certain Mr. Jiang. Want me to submit? Dream on!
This change caught the judge completely off guard. Realizing what had happened, he became angry out of embarrassment. "You'd better think carefully!"
"I don't know how you managed to fool the Mind-Inquiry Mirror, but if you defy the Ten-Lords' decree, not even Jing Yuan can protect you!"
"Confess honestly now, and it's not too late. If you persist in your obstinacy... hmph, I reviewed your file before coming here."
"You struggled at the bottom ranks of the Divination Commission for a long time after joining. That must have been unpleasant, right?"
"You finally got a chance to rise through Master Diviner Fu Xuan, gained Jing Yuan's appreciation, and desperately clawed your way into the Divine Foresight... Making an enemy of the Ten-Lords will only make you lose everything! You'll go back to being that minor diviner... No, heheh, offend the Ten-Lords, stand on that sinking ship, and be careful you don't even get the chance to go back to being a diviner!" he snorted, his words dripping with contempt and disdain.
The young woman's stunned expression and flushed cheeks pleased him greatly. Hmph, scared stiff now, aren't you? You refused the easy way, so now you get the hard way. You had to force me, the Ten-Lords' envoy, to drop the pretenses before you understood fear!
"Is what you said true?"
"?"
While the judge was still stupefied/distracted, Miss Qingque became incredibly excited, unable to hide her joy:
"This is fantastic!"
The fact that simply standing firmly on the General's side could lead to her long-dreamed-of life of happy slacking made Miss Qingque, who previously thought her life was utterly 'ruined', feel as if she saw a brand new, beautiful future.
Since that's the case, then for the sake of a wonderful life...
At this moment, the expression on Miss Qingque's face was incredibly resolute, as if etched with two large words:
LOYALTY!