Li Xiaoya was startled by those words. How did he know?! he cried inwardly, but he let nothing show on his face. He was long accustomed to deceiving people. Putting on a shocked expression, he exclaimed, "Ah, Master Xuanmen! The Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma isn't on me anymore?"
"Hmph! You crafty little fellow. You clearly let him escape, yet you still dare deny it!" Buddha Xuanmen snapped coldly.
"Senior Brother Buddha! What happened? The Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma... ah! He really isn't on this boy anymore?" Fairy Qingxia was startled at first, then, after looking Li Xiaoya over, she sprang to her feet with an incredulous cry.
"But! I was watching this boy's every move! I even placed restrictions on him. How could the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma have vanished?" Heavenly Venerable Daoling also realized that the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma was no longer on Li Xiaoya and cried out in alarm.
"Huh? He's really gone? Why didn't I feel anything? Daoist Daoling is right. I've been here with him the whole time and never went out. How could I possibly have let the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma escape?" Though the three of them scrutinized him so closely that he felt uncomfortable all over, Li Xiaoya steeled himself and persisted.
"Senior Brother Buddha! How did the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma escape? Let's search for him right away. He shouldn't have gotten far!" Heavenly Venerable Daoling said hurriedly.
"No hurry! We'll know once we ask this boy," Buddha Xuanmen said calmly.
"I don't know what happened!" Li Xiaoya hastily denied.
"Hmph!" Buddha Xuanmen suddenly snorted, and a ray of five-colored light shone from his eyes. Li Xiaoya's ears buzzed, his mind sank into a fog, and then he knew nothing more.
To Heavenly Venerable Daoling and Fairy Qingxia, Li Xiaoya appeared utterly dazed after Buddha Xuanmen cast his spell, standing motionless like a wooden puppet.
"Spirit-Confounding Art!" Fairy Qingxia exclaimed.
The Spirit-Confounding Art was a type of bewitching art, a spell Immortal Cultivators used to enthrall and control others. It was far more profound than ordinary soul-bewitching spells. Ordinary spells of that kind could only be used by high-ranking Immortal Cultivators on cultivators several ranks below them, inflicted severe harm on their targets, and carried a risk of backlash. The Spirit-Confounding Art, however, was Buddha Xuanmen's exclusive secret technique. Not only was its enthralling power astonishing, but it also did little harm to its target.
"What is your name?" Buddha Xuanmen asked Li Xiaoya in a strangely modulated voice.
"Li Xiaoya," he answered in a voice devoid of emotion.
"Li Xiaoya, answer me. Did you let the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma escape?" Buddha Xuanmen continued.
"No!"
At that answer, the three exchanged glances. Had the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma really slipped away on his own?
"Then do you know who let him escape?" After a moment's thought, Buddha Xuanmen continued questioning him.
"The young Daoist who brought the chamber pot let him escape!" Li Xiaoya answered.
"Him? Imposs-"
Before Heavenly Venerable Daoling could finish the word, Buddha Xuanmen raised a hand to stop him and continued, "Then how do you know that young Daoist let him escape?"
"Because the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma attached himself to the chamber pot he brought and left on it!" Li Xiaoya gave his answer.
"Oh! I see now. So this boy helped the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma escape. Damn him!" Hearing that, Heavenly Venerable Daoling immediately connected it to Li Xiaoya's odd behavior that morning and spoke in exasperation.
"Senior Brother Daoling, didn't the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma sneak away on his own? Senior Brother Buddha just established that Li Xiaoya wasn't the one who let him escape!" Fairy Qingxia frowned and asked.
"Heh, Junior Sister Qingxia, though the Spirit-Confounding Art and other soul-controlling spells are powerful enough to control a person completely, the way you phrase your questions is crucial when questioning them. Once Senior Brother Buddha asks another way, we'll know!" Heavenly Venerable Daoling said with a wry smile.
"Oh! But that still doesn't prove Li Xiaoya had anything to do with it!" Fairy Qingxia said.
"You don't know what happened this morning..." Heavenly Venerable Daoling gave her a full account of how Li Xiaoya had clamored to use the privy that morning.
"Heh! In that case, this boy really can't wash his hands of it." After hearing the story, Fairy Qingxia could not help laughing despite herself. But remembering that the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma had escaped, she sighed. "Could it be that our Heavenly Dao Sect truly cannot escape this calamity?" Fairy Qingxia had overseen the matter of the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma from beginning to end and understood its many twists and turns better than anyone. First, the Three Immortals of the Heavenly Dao had expended enormous effort to find a ten-thousand-year red umbrella mushroom in ancient ruins. Then, several years ago, the sect's disciples had discovered the whereabouts of the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma. Fairy Qingxia had taken action herself, spending several years before finally capturing him. Yet these past few days had brought one mishap after another. First, the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma had escaped from Liu Xian'er, then unexpectedly possessed this mortal. Next, a spy had appeared and nearly destroyed him. And now the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma had escaped again. Having been fooled once, someone as clever as him would never fall for the same trick again. Capturing him again would be harder than scaling a thousand mountains and crossing ten thousand rivers.
"Junior Sister Qingxia, don't worry. Things aren't as bad as you think. Perhaps this is an opportunity," Buddha Xuanmen said with a smile.
"What do you mean, Senior Brother Buddha?" His words eased Fairy Qingxia's heart, and she asked curiously.
"No hurry! Let's first get to the bottom of how the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma escaped!" Buddha Xuanmen said, waving a hand.
"Li Xiaoya, tell me everything that happened between you and the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma, leaving nothing out!" Buddha Xuanmen changed his approach.
"The first time I saw Guagua was at my..." In a wooden voice, Li Xiaoya recounted everything in detail, from his first encounter with the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma to how he had helped him escape that morning.
After hearing Li Xiaoya's account, the Three Immortals of the Heavenly Dao exchanged glances. Heavenly Venerable Daoling was the first to speak, a bitter smile on his face. "Ah! To think that after living for hundreds of years, I'd be made a fool of by a little brat and a ganoderma today. The longer I live, the further backward I go."
"Heh! Junior Brother, don't blame yourself too much. This may not be a misfortune. It might even be a blessing!" Buddha Xuanmen said with a mysterious smile.
"But... what do you mean?" Heavenly Venerable Daoling asked, puzzled. Ever since Senior Brother Buddha had returned, even after discovering that the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma had escaped, he had remained completely unruffled. Could there still be a chance to turn things around?
"Release!" Buddha Xuanmen swept his sleeve, and a burst of five-colored light enveloped Li Xiaoya before vanishing in a flash. Li Xiaoya suddenly shuddered. "Achoo!" He sneezed, and his blank expression immediately cleared. He stared at the Three Immortals of the Heavenly Dao in bewilderment. Seeing the strange looks they were giving him, he suddenly remembered what Buddha Xuanmen had asked him earlier. With an awkward chuckle, he said, "Heh, Master Xuanmen, I really wasn't the one who let the Five-Element Rainbow Ganoderma escape!"