Chapter 154: The Old Hidden Injury

Reflecting on her past actions toward Shen Qingli, she felt a twinge of shame.

If only she hadn't made mistakes back then, if she hadn't been left behind when her master went to the battlefield—perhaps she could have saved her master's life. But now, no matter what she said, it was all in vain.

"It was all my fault during the great war between gods and demons. If I had been there, it wouldn't have been so difficult to gather Master's soul! Don't worry, I will definitely obey Master's commands from now on and never make mistakes again!"

A Li raised her hand in a vow. Seeing the man stare at her for a long while before finally placing her back under the sun, she let out a sigh of relief.

Good thing, oh good thing—he hadn't thrown her away like before!

At least she wouldn't have to suffer from the wind and sun again.

Just as she was thinking this, she suddenly sensed an unusual aura and hurriedly called out to stop Xie Jinchuan.

"Xie Jinchuan, there seems to be some filth on you. Would you let me check you over?"

Hearing A Li's words, the man frowned slightly.

"Go to the full-length mirror by the door."

The unusual physical sensations he had woken up with this morning had already made him somewhat suspicious.

The moment his voice fell, he stood before the full-length mirror.

A Li's face appeared upon the glass surface. She looked Xie Jinchuan up and down as a faint beam of light shone upon him.

"Sure enough, there is filth on you. It is the power of the demon clan, though not heavily tainted. It must have happened last night..."

Hearing her mention last night, Xie Jinchuan instantly recalled the demonic aura he had drawn out while investigating Rong Qiaoyi's whereabouts.

He hadn't expected it to be so potent.

"You should have a way to deal with it, right?" he asked in a low voice.

A Li nodded and immediately initiated her "virus-cleansing" mode.

"Come on, spin around, head up, chest out, left side, right side..."

A Li chattered away, leaving Xie Jinchuan with no choice but to comply with a dark expression.

This really was like running an antivirus scan.

"You need to be careful lately. Don't use your spiritual energy casually; your spiritual energy is the most coveted treasure of the demon clan. I'm out of energy now, going back to sunbathe, bye-bye."

With a sleepy yawn, A Li's figure vanished.

***

Xie Jinchuan gazed at his palm. After that trace of black mist dissipated, he recalled the sudden deviation into demonic obsession he had suffered earlier.

It seemed that half the reason he was so easily possessed by the demonic aura was due to the lingering marks Rong Qiaoyi had left on him long ago.

At this thought, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes, and his desire to kill Rong Qiaoyi burned even more fiercely.

Leaving such a person alive would sooner or later become a disaster!

Yet, the last time he had caused tremors in her soul-essence, logically speaking, she should have needed a year or a half to recover. Even if she were refining demonic energy, it shouldn't have been this fast.

Could it be that she had stumbled upon some fortunate opportunity?

Pondering this to no avail, his phone suddenly rang. Seeing it was a call from the company, he temporarily set these thoughts aside.

After tidying up, he headed toward the office. Just as he left, a car quietly fell into step behind him.

***

As soon as Shen Qingli arrived at the company, the online public opinion had already been suppressed and handled. Yet, before even officially debuting, her reputation was already taking a hit.

Ignoring the noise, Shen Qingli walked straight into the conference room.

Su He was sitting there anxiously. Upon seeing Shen Qingli enter, a flash of deep guilt crossed her eyes.

"President Shen, I'm sorry. This entire incident started because of me, and I will bear whatever consequences I deserve. Please, I beg you not to blame Senior Brother."

Hearing that today's trending search had caused a slight drop in the company's stock price, Su He felt utterly remorseful.

If only she had simply brushed him off and walked away without speaking to Gu Qingming, perhaps none of this would have happened.

"Look at you, scared like this. Don't worry, there won't be any real problems. I came here today for another matter—concerning Chu Li."

She had watched the surveillance footage, and what piqued Shen Qingli's curiosity was that Chu Li seemed different from before. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she always felt something was amiss.

"When you ran into her yesterday, did you notice anything unusual about her?"

Su He looked slightly startled. Lowering her head in thought, she suddenly felt as though something indeed was very wrong.

"When I saw Chu Li yesterday, her personality and everything seemed the same as before. It's just that she seemed much prettier, without a trace of fatigue. But clearly, when I saw her just a few days ago, she looked utterly exhausted..."

This was precisely what Shen Qingli found strange. In the video, Chu Li seemed to radiate a glowing light from head to toe, making her intensely eye-catching.

Visible to the naked eye, her skin condition was exceptionally good.

Yet they had only met two or three days ago; even plastic surgery or medical aesthetics couldn't achieve such rapid results.

As she pondered this, Green Leek jumped onto the desk.

[Host, I think she might have used a Beauty Pill, and she definitely took a lot of them!]

Hearing this, Shen Qingli was slightly surprised. "Are you sure?"

[Only that kind of item can achieve such a state in a short time. But that stuff is extremely baleful and bizarre—you must never try it.]

"Why?"

Shen Qingli found it strange. Of course, investigating this wasn't for her own sake, but to figure out whether it had any connection to Rong Qiaoyi.

After all, Rong Qiaoyi had appeared near Gu Qingming's home last night. For Gu Qingming's safety, she had to find her out.

[That item is made from the inner core of a demon. After stripping away the demonic aura, a tiny fraction of soul is left behind, which is then blended with whatever desires the user wants. However, if taken over a long period, it drastically cuts short one's lifespan.]

[If taken every day, one will age and die within three years.]

Hearing this, Shen Qingli felt a jolt of shock. True to form, the price of beauty was immense.

"Alright, you can head back first. Don't worry about the company matters; the rumors regarding you have already been suppressed and won't implicate you further. The dance competition is coming up soon, so prepare well and don't let me down."

Shen Qingli stood up, her gaze softening as she walked over to Su He and patted him on the shoulder.

Her gentle demeanor instantly dissolved the tension in Su He's heart. He smiled, nodded, and then turned to leave.

"Thank you, President Shen! I will work hard and practice diligently so I won't let you down!"

Shen Qingli nodded and said softly, "Good."

After dealing with company affairs, Shen Qingli still felt somewhat troubled by the matter concerning Chu Li.

Since it involved a human life, she couldn't simply turn a blind eye.

"Dong Ying, help me make an appointment with Chu Li."

To determine whether Rong Qiaoyi was still active, the best way was to go straight to her company and take a look.

"Is President Shen going to see Chu Li?"

Dong Ying's voice came through the phone, and Shen Qingli gave a soft hum of affirmation.

"Then President Shen can go directly to the reception room downstairs. Chu Li has been waiting for you there for half an hour already!"