The inside of the Embroidery Pavilion was like a big embroidery workshop.
The workers were female disciples who were acting as embroideresses. Each of them had their own work station which was a long table. They each sat at their own table and did their own work.
Before stepping through the door, Tuoba Guoyun had warned Chen Shaojie that the female disciples in the pavilion needed to focus on stitching spell arrays onto the clothes, so he could not distract them.
But once they were inside, Chen Shaojie thought Tuoba Guoyun was talking completely out of his @ss.
The inside of the pavilion was harmoniously bustling with noises and activity.
The female disciples were all talking while they worked. Someone even let out a soft laugh right then, sounding like a clear and pleasant bell.
However, after Tuoba Guoyun entered the pavilion, he coughed lightly, and the atmosphere in the pavilion instantly changed.
The laughter was gone. The chattering was gone. The harmonious atmosphere was gone. Only silence remained.
Tuoba Guoyun stood at the door of the Embroidery Pavilion as if he was striking a pose.
He surveyed the embroideresses without a word. They slowly lowered their heads under his gaze, not daring to look him in the eye.
Chen Shaojie, following behind Tuoba Guoyun, did exactly as the chief said. He put on a frosty expression, looking as if he wished everybody to stay a thousand miles away from him.
His indifference and Tuoba Guoyun's coldness complemented each other well.
"You're here, Senior Brother Guoyun."
A woman soon walked out from the side of the pavilion and greeted Tuoba Guoyun.
"I've come to take a look."
Tuoba Guoyun nodded at the woman.
The woman should be the person in charge of the Embroidery Pavilion. He led Tuoba Guoyun and Chen Shaojie to a room on the second floor, which was obviously her office.
After they were seated, Tuoba Guoyun asked, "Have you heard about our vestments blowing up in the Western Region, Junior Sister Wenjie?"
"I've heard!"
The woman called "Wenjie" looked pale. She nodded. "It's my fault for not managing the pavilion well, Senior Brother. I'm so sorry."
After a short pause, she added gratefully, "I heard you took on all responsibilities earlier today and was even whipped as a result... Sigh, I'm the one who should have been punished."
Chen Shaojie was standing behind Tuoba Guoyun. When he heard this, he could not help stealing a glance at Tuoba Guoyun.
A leader who would bear responsibilities for their subordinates was a good leader.
If that was the case, although the chief was foul-tempered, at least he was not useless.
"Forget about the punishment."
Tuoba Guoyun waved his hand dismissively and said, "I'm the hall master of Jing Yun Hall, so when there's a mistake, I'm naturally the most deserving of punishment."
Wenjie pursed her lips. "Thank you, Senior Brother."
Tuoba Guoyun waved his hand dismissively, indicating that it was no big deal. He then asked, "Have you interrogated the embroideresses over the matter?"
"Not yet!"
Wen Jie explained softly, "This matter is almost impossible to investigate. I've taken a look at the vestments that exploded. It's difficult to tell whose handiwork they were. Rather than engulfing the pavilion in fear, we're better off observing in secret to try and expose the culprit who sabotaged the vestments."
"What do you mean, Junior Senior Wenjie? You think this is a deliberate act?"
Tuoba Guoyun was shocked. His expression changed.
Wenjie hesitated before saying with a deep scowl on her face, "Like I said, I've taken a look at the vestments that blew up. If someone made a mistake while embroidering the spell array, the spell array will just fail to function at worst. It won't blow up.
"The explosion can only mean that someone had deliberately added a spell array that can make the vestment explode to the original spell array."
"Truly?"
Tuoba Guoyun face was grim, "Are you sure about this?"
Wenjie nodded. "I've shown the vestment to Senior Brother Liyu. Senior Brother Liyu has confirmed it."
After a slight pause, she continued, "I truly wonder whose handiwork the explosive spell array is. It's so meticulous and clever. A few subtle modifications were all it took to cause the vestments to explode at a crucial moment. It's scary to think about!"
"Is that so?..."
Tuoba Guoyun pondered for a moment, then turned to Chen Shaojie and said, "Wait for me outside."
"Yes, Senior!"
Chen Shaojie immediately answered. He wasted no time in removing himself from the room.
He had heard Wenjie's words too. He did not know much about the sect's situation, but from what he heard, the issue seemed to have changed from mistake-correction to counterespionage all of a sudden.
So the vestments that had suddenly exploded in the Western Region turned out to have been tampered with.
And the person who did the tampering was still lurking within the Qing Yu Immortal Sect.
This made him suddenly realize that this world was actually really dangerous. A mole had even infiltrated the sect. He reminded himself to always be careful from now on and make sure to lie low.
After some time, Tuoba Guoyun finally came out of the room.
His was still looking cold and solemn. Wenjie, who followed behind him, was looking even more tired than before. This made Chen Shaojie very curious as to what the two had talked about in the room, or what activity they had performed.
Tuoba Guoyun walked over to Chen Shaojie's side. He looked downstairs to the workshop and said in a low voice, "You can't repeat a single word of what you've heard to another person, understood?"
"Understood!"
Chen Shaojie answered with force.
Tuoba Guoyun's gaze wandered from one embroideress to another and started mumbling, as if talking to himself, "These vestments were custom ordered from stores in the mundane world. After they reach the sect, they're sent straight to the Embroidery Pavilion to have spell arrays stitched on them.
"The materials for the embroidery came from the Vast Storage Hall, so there should be no problem with them.
"The spell array itself came from the Scripture Depository, so there should be no problem with it either.
"Therefore, the problem can only be with them..."
Chen Shaojie initially did not have much knowledge of the manufacturing process of the vestments, but after listening to what Tuoba Guoyun said, he now also realized that the traitor should be hidden among the female disciples in the Embroidery Pavilion.
"Alas, this matter is very difficult to investigate..."
Tuoba Guoyun sighed softly and shook his head. "Not many clues can be obtained from the vestments anymore, so naturally, we won't be able to find out who tampered with them... unless we round the embroideresses up and search all their souls... Tsk, that's just wishful thinking. It's simply not doable."
Chen Shaojie listened quietly. He could now somewhat understand the dilemma that the chief was facing.
The vestments had blown up, not leaving many clues behind, so although he knew there was a traitor, there was simply no way to find out who it was.
Tuoba Guoyun continued to organize his thoughts, "We can now only observe them closely every single day. No matter what, we can't allow any more vestments to blow up. But since time immemorial, becoming a thief is easy and avoiding a theft is hard. Close monitoring isn't a long-term solution. Unless we replace all the people here..."
Hearing the chief's words, Chen Shaojie suddenly interjected, "There's no need to replace everyone here, Senior. If you just wish to prevent the vestments from blowing up again, I have an idea that should be viable."