Now Qirong was too afraid to go out to buy cakes. The extent of the public opinion’s fermentation was as he had described: it was impossible to navigate through.

The shift in the public sentiment was triggered by an old man.

He claimed to have been an elder of a once-prominent family from Yingzhou, which was annihilated during the Beast Tide War a century ago.

The old man cried and railed in front of the Gathering Tower, accusing the Qin family.

He blamed the Qin family’s negligence during the war for the failure of the defense lines, which allowed the beast army to breach Yingzhou.

He said that his entire family, over a hundred people, had died at the jaws of the beasts, and the family’s high-ranking members fought desperately until the last moment.

In the end, the old man placed all the blame for the war on the Qin family, claiming that if it weren’t for the Qin family, he wouldn’t have lost his home and family.

He asserted that the thousands of lives lost in the Yingzhou battle should also be attributed to the Qin family.

The Qin family was an undeniable criminal family.

Now, after just a little over a hundred years, they had rebranded and started anew, with their descendants even achieving the top spot on the Golden List and receiving adoration from the Eastern Region and even the Four Regions.

It was truly laughable.

His words were filled with grief and were highly inflammatory, stirring up the crowd around him.

However, despite the discussions, not everyone took his words at face value—mainly because the Gathering Tower was a stronghold for Ruqing Immortal’s fans.

They could not tolerate this old man slandering Fairy Ruqing and defaming the Qin family, so they argued with him.

The situation escalated to the point where the old man was reportedly “pushed down,” ending up lying on the ground, shouting about being bullied.

“A child of a criminal family still has supporters, ganging up to bully an old resident of Yingzhou…”

He lay on the ground, shouting and appearing mad, until finally, the staff from the Gathering Tower intervened and removed him.

The Gathering Tower could not allow such a scene at their doorstep.

Despite this, the incident’s impact continued to grow.

More and more “old residents of Yingzhou” appeared, all claiming to be survivors of the Beast Tide War, unable to tolerate the criminal family’s resurgence, and demanding an explanation.

As the volume of the old residents’ voices increased, the Fang family finally made a move.

They allied with many old Yingzhou families and jointly petitioned the Eastern Region Celestial Bureau to disqualify the Qin family’s three criminal descendants from the competition.

This action united the forces against the Qin family but also triggered a minor backlash.

Up to now, many people in the city were still observing or supporting Ruqing Immortal.

They were waiting for the second episode of the interview for further clarification.

So, while they rebuffed the old residents’ claims, they did not engage in endless arguments.

They were waiting for Ruqing Immortal’s response. They only believed in Ruqing Immortal!

These old folks were really getting out of hand.

They even sent a joint petition to revoke the participation rights of the Qin family in the grand event.

What now?

Things aren’t settled yet, so you flip the table just because you can’t win?

Even if the Qin family of Yingzhou made mistakes in the past, didn’t they already face punishment?

Back then, the punishment for the Qin family was personally handed down by the East Region’s Celestial Bureau.

They were demoted.

The Silver Rank Qin family was demoted to Bronze Rank.

Not long after, the Qin family voluntarily stepped down and moved their entire clan.

Whether the mistake was truly made by the Qin family is still up for debate, but they did face the punishment and bore all the consequences.

After being demoted, the Qin family of Yingzhou essentially ceased to exist.

They started anew in Nanling, developed properly, and participated in the Hundred Clans Competition according to the rules.

Which part of this process violated the regulations of the Celestial Bureau?

Is there any explicit rule that says a family that made a mistake can’t have its descendants participate in the Hundred Clans Competition?

If not, then why the joint petition?

Public opinion rebounded a bit, with people saying that regardless of any past mistakes, you can’t erase their legitimate achievements.

In the end, even the Celestial Bureau had to speak out.

The idea of canceling the participation rights of the three Qin family members was indeed ridiculous.

Not to mention that the current Qin family is from Nanling, representing the South Region, even if they were still the Yingzhou Qin family, there would be no grounds to cancel their participation.

Therefore, the East Region’s Celestial Bureau naturally rejected the petition.

They stated that the achievements and participation rights of the three Qin family members were entirely legitimate, with no grounds for cancellation.

Public opinion peaked when the second part of Fairy Ruqing’s interview was released by the Huicui Tower.

— Finally, you have spoken up!

The four siblings from the Shangzhou family rushed to the Huicui Tower to buy the jade slip as soon as possible.

If they were a day late, they felt like their lives would be at risk.

The outside air was unbearable; every extra second felt suffocating.

Initially, the four of them would argue with others, but as the momentum of the old folks grew, even the younger siblings, who were quite combative, had to quiet down.

Eventually, the four of them could only stay home with their ears plugged, desperately waiting for the second part of Qin Ruqing’s interview to save them.

“Hurry, hurry, let’s watch!” the younger sister urged, but then realized that squeezing their heads together to watch was quite uncomfortable and was affecting her ability to see clearly.

She couldn’t help but complain, “Why didn’t we buy more copies?”

The older brother looked at her and said, “The second part was limited to only a thousand copies initially. We’re lucky to have even gotten one. Besides, where would you get the money for another one?”

This single copy was bought with the siblings pooling their monthly stipends, and since the younger ones had very small stipends, their contributions were negligible.

The younger sister was speechless, then annoyed, and said, “Fine, let’s just watch!”

So they started watching.

The interview was set at the same stage as before, but it seemed that Qing Fairy’s outfit was different this time…

---

She changed her outfit.

In the last interview, she wore red, but this time she wore white.

The younger sister, who cares a lot about appearances, commented, “Oh, I thought she looked best in red, but she looks great in white too.”

In the picture, Qin Ruqing had completely changed from her usual glamorous style.

She wore a plain white flowing gown, with minimal decoration.

It outlined her delicate figure, with a slender red ribbon at the waist. The gown fell gracefully, like a cascade of tiny, twinkling stars.

This outfit made her look simple, ethereal, cool, and somewhat weary.

The older sister, always observant, frowned and said, “It looks like Fairy Ruqing’s complexion isn’t very good today. The outfit is too plain, as if she didn’t care about dressing up.”

The younger sister noticed it too after being reminded, “She used to wear elaborate clothes, mostly in bright red and gold, and liked wearing many jingling accessories. Today, she’s not wearing anything at all. Her lips are so pale, she hasn’t even applied lip color!”

The younger brother, looking serious, clenched his fists and said, “It must be that Fairy Ruqing heard the rumors in town recently, and it’s affecting her!”

Indeed, the interviewers at the Huicui Building also noticed something was off with Qin Ruqing and asked:

“Fairy Ruqing, why does your face look so pale today? Did you not rest well?”

Qin Ruqing slightly curved her lips into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes.

She said briefly, “I rested fine. Maybe I’m just nervous about today’s interview.”

But could someone as composed as Fairy Ruqing, who remains calm even in the presence of vengeful spirits, really be nervous about an interview?

The younger sister exclaimed, “Ahhh, she’s definitely in a bad mood! She must be hurt by the town’s rumors!”

The older brother sighed, “It looks like the two interviews were held at different times, not consecutively. She must have heard the town’s gossip about her being from a criminal family.”

The Huicui Building reporters kept up with current events and asked:

“There’s a rumor circulating in the Eastern Region’s Three Continents that the Qin family of Yingzhou was a criminal family. Does Fairy Ruqing have anything to say about that?”

Qin Ruqing, in her simple white dress, fixed her gaze and became serious, sternly denying:

“This is blatant slander! There has never been any negligence on the Qin family’s part that led to the beast tide’s breach!”

The Huicui Building reporters responded, “Oh, this seems different from what the public believes. Could you explain further?”

Qin Ruqing pressed her lips together, seemingly adjusting her anger over the Qin family’s defamation.

After a while, she appeared calm and spoke softly:

“Anyone who has experienced or been involved in the beast tide battles knows that each defense line requires a certain amount of combat strength and can withstand only a specific number of beasts.”

“The strength of the defense lines was managed by the Celestial Bureau. At that time, the Qin family was responsible for the western line of Yingzhou, and the high-level combat forces mobilized by the Qin family met the tactical requirements of the Celestial Bureau.”

“If the number of beasts attacking the western line of Yingzhou had matched the previous estimates, the Qin family would have been fully capable of repelling them.

But the reality was that the number of beasts the Qin family faced far exceeded the estimates, even surpassing them by more than double!”

The four siblings watching the jade slip all covered their mouths in shock.

The older sister said gravely, “If it was only a slight increase, it could be explained, as every defense line has some margin for error.

But an increase of more than double means that the line was under more than twice the pressure, and the collapse of the defense line would be inevitable!”

The older brother nodded, “The key issue is that in the beast tide battle a hundred years ago, except for Yingzhou, other places had relatively stable battles, meaning the estimates for the number of beasts were accurate.

The only exception was the western line of Yingzhou defended by the Qin family, where the number of beasts increased exponentially.”

The younger siblings, being younger, didn’t fully understand.

The younger sister even wanted to comment that Fairy Ruqing, dressed in white and showing signs of anger, had her eyelashes quivering and her nose and cheeks flushed with a delicate red, giving her a resolute yet fragile beauty.

She wanted to compliment her appearance but hesitated due to her older siblings’ serious expressions.

The Huicui Building interviewers were also clearly surprised, “With the number of beasts on the defense line doubling, the collapse of the defense line was inevitable. But where did so many beasts come from?”

Qin Ruqing, in her simple white dress, rarely showed a cold smile and said:

“The Qin family defended the western part of Yingzhou, while the Fang family defended the eastern part. Even though the combat forces on both lines were the same, the Qin family struggled, while the Fang family managed with ease, even finishing their battle early and moving south to offer aid!”

Though Qin Ruqing didn’t state it outright, her meaning was clear.

The interviewer asked in astonishment, “Is Fairy Ruqing suggesting that the Fang family led the beasts from their defense line to the western part of Yingzhou, thereby doubling the pressure on the Qin family’s defense line?”

Qin Ruqing closed her eyes, nodded heavily, “My poor Qin family’s front-line forces included two Nascent Realm experts, four Golden Core experts, six Foundation Building experts, and countless Qi Refining cultivators. Only one survived, while the rest all perished on the battlefield.”

“And this sole survivor, after the battle ended, could not endure the family’s disgrace and chose to self-destruct.”

In the scene, Qin Ruqing, dressed in plain white, spoke with every word heavy with grief.

As she finished speaking, her eyes were red, and tears were shimmering at the corners.

Her tearful eyes were moving, and it tugged at people’s hearts.

They feared she might cry but strangely wanted to see the fairy’s tears.

It was because of pride; that single tear did not fall.

As the interview went on, Qin Ruqing only slightly turned her face away when her emotions were most intense.

When she turned back, her gaze had already returned to calmness.

She took a deep breath and said softly, “I know that what I say today might sound unsubstantiated to everyone. But that’s okay, whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter. I only believe that justice will prevail in people’s hearts!”

“The Fang family has already thrown so much mud at the Qin family. At this point, I have no intention of slandering the Fang family. I only have three questions that I hope the Fang family will respond to.”

“These questions are not just for the Qin family’s sake but also for the people of Yingzhou and the Eastern Region who were deceived!”

“First question: Both the Fang family’s ancestor and my Qin family’s Ancestor Kongyun entered the high-level secret realm of Yingzhou. Why did my Qin family’s ancestor die there while the Fang family’s ancestor emerged unscathed?”

“Can the Fang family disclose what happened in the secret realm? Can they explain where the divine elixir manual, which was originally in the hands of my Qin family’s ancestor, ended up?”

“Second question: The Fang family was originally a sword-cultivation family. Why, after the beast tide battle, did they shift their focus to alchemy? Alchemy manuals require centuries of accumulation by the family. Can the Fang family explain the origin of the high-level pills sold in their shop that are unique to them?”

“Third question: During the beast tide battle, the situation in Yingxi was dire, and the Qin family sent out a distress signal. Why did the Fang family, who were closest to the Yingxi defense line, not come to our aid but instead moved to the relatively safer southern region?”

After asking the three questions, Qin Ruqing looked straight ahead, her dark eyes calm yet sharp.

“Once the Fang family can provide satisfactory answers to these three questions for the people of Yingzhou, we can then discuss whether the Qin family is truly a criminal clan.”

With that, a faint, mocking smile appeared on her delicate face.

Before anyone could decipher the meaning of this expression, the jade slip went dark, signaling the end of the interview.

The four siblings gathered around the screen were left speechless for a long time.

They could see the same shock in each other’s expressions, but exactly what they were shocked about remained unknown.

My younger brother, who loves dramatic flair, excitedly exclaimed, “That last smile, that look of disdain! Perfect! This is exactly the effect we wanted! Mockery, give me more mockery!”

My younger sister jumped up, holding her heart, “Is it just me who cares about Fairy Ruqing’s tearful expression? I know her topic was serious, and I want her to be happy every day, but she really looked so heartbroken…”

“I admit, I want her to cry!” my younger sister said loudly.

“Let her cry! You all don’t understand!”

My older sister shakily raised her hand, “I understand…”

In the Huicui Building, the Third Elder waved his hand, “Have the two segments of interview footage been prepared? One with tearful eyes and one with a mocking smile. Zoom in and enlarge them, make sure the lighting effects are just right…”

The manager replied, “Elder, everything is ready. We have three thousand copies of the mocking smile and five thousand of the tearful eyes, a total of eight thousand copies, waiting for your orders to start selling.”

The Third Elder nodded with satisfaction, as if seeing countless spirit stones beckoning to him.

“Elder, why are there more copies of the tearful eyes jade slips than the mocking ones?” the manager asked.

The Third Elder stroked his belly and sighed, “From my commercial intuition, I believe the tearful ones will sell better.”

The manager didn’t quite understand, as he was experienced in producing fairy jade slips and thought both looked good.

But that wasn’t his concern. He asked, “So, Elder, what will our pricing be?”

The Third Elder pondered for a moment and said lightly:

“Normally, fairy jade slips are priced between fifty to a hundred spirit stones. This time, we’ll make it cheaper, let’s set it at two hundred spirit stones each!”

The manager was stunned. Elder, are you sure this is cheaper?

The Third Elder was pleased with his pricing and instructed, “Keep an eye on public opinion in the city. If the stock runs out, we’ll quickly make a second edition.”

As the Third Elder left, the manager followed anxiously, “Elder, if we make so many, what if they don’t sell…”

The Third Elder firmly waved his hand, “Don’t worry, there’s no such thing as not selling out, only not enough stock.”

Not to mention the explosive three questions aimed at the Fang family, just Fairy Ruqing’s various expressions make today a must-watch event.

She’s going to cry!

Fairy crying—who can understand that!