Joy showed on Hong Beimo's face, but he was far from ecstatic. Apparently, Ren Tianqing had already told him the news before they came.
The astonishment on Qiqi's face vanished in an instant, and her lovely features regained their usual stillness, like an ancient well without a ripple. "Where did you obtain this skull, Mister Ren?" she asked calmly.
"I happened upon it in Western Sichuan, Your Highness," Ren Tianqing replied.
Qiqi held out her hand.
Holding the skull in both hands, Ren Tianqing slowly approached Qiqi and respectfully presented it to her. She examined it. It was extremely light, seemingly identical to the skull she had obtained before. Yet holding it gave her none of that previous sense of communion. She immediately suspected it was a fake, but then remembered Hu Xiaotian saying just now that a third skull existed in this world. She set it aside.
Qiqi's reaction went somewhat beyond Ren Tianqing and Hong Beimo's expectations, leaving both men momentarily stunned. By rights, she should have acted as though she had found a priceless treasure.
"This skull is fake!" Qiqi declared.
More than her reaction, it was this statement that cast a shadow over the hearts of the two seasoned schemers. Ren Tianqing had endured a thousand hardships to find the skull and did not believe it could be fake, yet Qiqi had pronounced judgment without hesitation.
"Your Highness," Hong Beimo said, "in my humble opinion, this skull is no different from the one we saw before."
Qiqi chuckled. "If you could see through it yourselves, what would you need me for?"
Hong Beimo and Ren Tianqing exchanged a glance, both looking utterly embarrassed. In truth, everyone present was exceptionally intelligent. Why else would Hong Beimo and Ren Tianqing willingly bow before a mere slip of a