Not only did the others have such doubts, even the elders had the same doubts.
Zhou Zhengqing asked, “In the past, it’s not that no one has trespassed into the forbidden area without permission. The president only needs to give orders. There’s no need to gather everyone together.”
He Qingyuan’s expression was slightly cold, and his tone seemed to be mixed with ice. “Trespassing into the forbidden area is just a small matter. I just didn’t expect him to actually touch that restriction.”
Trespassing into the forbidden area and touching the restriction were two completely different things. Hearing this, the expressions of some of the elders instantly changed, including Zhou Zhengqing. It was obvious that they knew what was going on with the restriction.
However, most of them still did not understand. After all, this was related to the highest secret of the Alchemist Association. Only a very small number of people knew about it. When those ordinary disciples saw the expressions of those highly respected elders instantly darkened, they could guess that the restriction was not be simple.
At this moment, even if Qian Ran and the others were fools, they also understood that they might have gotten into a big trouble. Even He Qingyuan was alarmed, and the color on his face gradually receded.
The lackey next to him lowered his voice and asked with a trembling voice, “What should we do senior brother Qian? Could it be that Lin Bai touched the restriction?”
Qian Ran’s intestines were green with regret. He should not have set up this trap to take revenge on Lin Bai. Now, he had even gotten himself involved. Looking at the expressions of the few mountains at the top, one could tell how serious the matter was.
“Who else could it be other than this kid? He went in alone. I didn’t think that this kid would have such great ability and bring such trouble to us.”
It was useless to say anything now. Who would have thought that Lin Bai, who was bound to die, would be able to make such a mess after the incident.
The few people who were conspiring with Qian Ran were so nervous that their faces turned pale and beads of sweat appeared on their foreheads. “Then what should we do now? Should we take the initiative to confess our crimes and tell the elders about this matter?”
Qian Ran directly smacked his head. “Are you stupid? If you say it now, won’t you be sending yourself to your death?” He looked around and happened to meet Zhong Haoran’s gaze.
Zhong Haoran seemed to have sensed their panic and shook his head without batting an eyelid. He gave them a comforting look, indicating that they should not act rashly.
Qian Ran seemed to have found his backbone. He regained some calmness and calmness, “It’s okay. We didn’t enter the forbidden area by mistake to trigger the restriction. Everything was done by Lin Bai. It has nothing to do with us. Let’s not panic.”
“But, we led Lin Bai to –”
Before he could finish, Qian Ran covered his mouth and said fiercely, “You’re speaking so loudly. Do you want to die? Are you trying to let everyone know!”
He said word by word, “I’ve already said that this matter has nothing to do with us. Do you understand? !”
Zhou Zhengqing, who was standing on the steps, swept his gaze across the floor. When he caught a glimpse of Qian Ran and the others whispering to each other, he could not help but frown slightly.
At this moment, the other elders and stewards were counting the number of people, trying to find out who was so bold.
“President, apart from the disciples who are temporarily unable to return from training outside, everyone has arrived.”
He Qingyuan’s brows were tightly knitted. “Everyone has arrived? Have those disciples outside confirmed their identities? We must prevent the phenomenon of someone pretending to be someone else.”
“Everyone has arrived. Their identities have also been confirmed.”
Hearing this, everyone was somewhat puzzled. To think that everyone from the Alchemist Association was here. Could it be that someone from the outside had sneaked in.
“Who on Earth is so detestable? Not only did they have the guts to sneak into the Alchemist Association, they even broke into our forbidden area. Could it be someone from the Medicine Sect?”
“It’s very possible. The Medicine Sect has a deep grudge with us. We have been at loggerheads for a long time. This is something that they would do.”
“It’s really too detestable. This time, we must seek an explanation from the Medicine Sect.”
Zhong Haoran looked at the people around him who were filled with righteous indignation. He had never thought that things would develop to such a state. He lowered his head guiltily for some reason.
There was another person who was uneasy with him. That was Chen Yan. He looked around and found that Lin Bai was actually not here.
He had wanted to look for Lin Bai from the start, but there was no one in the room. He thought that he was at the back of the mountain. After all, it was Lin Bai’s first time in the Alchemist Association. He did not know what the bell sounded like.
He could only send a voice transmission to Lin Bai, but there was no reply. There was no response at all. Half a day had already passed. Logically speaking, it was impossible for Lin Bai to not notice such a big movement, and he had not appeared until now.
However, what he feared the most was what came first.
“There is a new disciple called Lin Bai. He was brought here by Chen Yan, and he has not arrived yet.”
As Lin Bai had entered and exited the library, he hadn’t passed by any of the other venues except for the previous competition. As a result, everyone had almost forgotten about him. Now that he was mentioned, some of the people who had seen Lin Bai realized that he hadn’t arrived yet.
He Qingyuan and Zhou Zhengqing’s expressions changed slightly. “Is that so? where is this Lin Bai now?”
Everyone looked at each other, but none of them could answer.
“I think I saw him heading towards the library. I don’t know where he went after that.”
The library was not far from the forbidden area. He Qingyuan’s expression became even more unsightly when he thought of this. His sharp gaze was like a towering green mountain, pressing heavily on Chen Yan’s body.
“Lin Bai is your disciple. Didn’t you tell him not to trespass into the forbidden area?”
Chen Yan fell to his knees with a thump, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
“I have told him before, but, but –”
Zhong Haoran was overjoyed when he saw this. Looking at He Qingyuan’s anger, Chen Yan might be implicated as well, which was exactly what he wanted.
