Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Lu Yuanyin met their eyes without flinching, looking directly at the crowd on the high platform. She called out loudly, "I did fight with Lu Sisi and the others, but I didn't go for the kill. I had no dealings with those thirteen people."

The moment she finished speaking, Tong Lanyi pointed at her nose and cursed fiercely, her face twisted like she wanted to tear her apart. "Who do you think you're fooling? There was no one else there at the time except you! Then who else could it be? You seriously injured my brother and the others, used your pills to lure the vines to kill them and cover your tracks, and then fled in fear of punishment!"

"If Gu Lingqiu and the others hadn't shown up to save us, Si Si and I would've definitely died under those vines! I know you've long been jealous of Si Si—jealous that her talent is better than yours, jealous that the elder of the Flood Dragon Clan favors her, and you can't stand how our master and your fiancé treat her! Everyone here knows how rotten you are!"

"Now you're satisfied, aren't you? Si Si's meridians are broken, her cultivation dropped, and she might end up a mortal! Are you happy now?"

After speaking, Tong Lanyi pushed aside the disciples supporting her and knelt heavily on the ground. She kowtowed three times and said, "I beg you, Sect Leader and elders, to get justice for Si Si and my brother!"

As her words fell, the crowd broke out in curses. Those people spoke fiercely, like they wanted to publicly shame her. "How shameless! After hurting everyone, she still dares to show her face? If I were her, I'd be too ashamed to live!"

"I always knew she was bad news, but I never thought she could be this vicious. Sure, there were minor spats before... but Si Si saved her life! She's always taken care of her, and yet she struck with such cruelty, dragging so many others into it. That ingrate! She's got no conscience! Pah!"

"I feel like she might not be that bad... I took the spiritual pills she gave me..."

"What do you know? You can't judge a book by its cover! Don't let her bribe you with a few little things!"

Lu Yuanyin looked around at the crowd, her heart sinking. She saw that several elders looked grim, murder flashing in their eyes. She gripped her longsword tighter. "I didn't run because I was guilty. I was badly hurt and someone saved me. I just woke up today."

"Talk is cheap. It's easy to frame someone without evidence. I request to check the Mirror of Heaven and Earth!"

Hearing this, Tong Lanyi's face turned even uglier. The veins on her forehead bulged, and her voice was sharp and piercing, filled with undisguised hatred. "You know full well that the secret realm nearly collapsed midway, and the Mirror of Heaven and Earth failed. It's impossible to retrieve the past images now. How can you be so shameless?!"

When she heard the Mirror of Heaven and Earth had failed, Lu Yuanyin fell silent for a moment. No wonder Tong Lanyi was so bold to frame her.

She looked coldly at Tong Lanyi, who was staring straight back at her. Tong Lanyi's face twisted into a vicious, weird look, a glint of determination flashing in her eyes.

Just as Tong Lanyi was about to speak, worried voices came from outside the hall. "Si Si, are you okay?! How could you..."

"Junior Sister!"

Lu Yuanyin caught a glimpse from the corner of her eye. Several people were helped into the hall—Lu Sisi and her parents, Lu Yuan and his wife.

The moment Lu Sisi's mother saw her, she burst into tears before speaking. "Lu Yuanyin, how cruel you are! Si Si is your cousin, after all. You two are sisters. How could you hurt her like this over a man?" Wiping away her tears, her face haggard as she leaned into her husband's arms, the once elegant woman was filled with regret, sobbing pitifully.

"After your parents died, our family took you in and always looked out for you. But we never knew you harbored such resentment toward us! If you have a problem, tell us! Take it out on me, not my Si Si!"

With her face full of tears, she looked up at the Sect Leader Chongyao on the high platform and said sorrowfully, "Sect Leader, I beg you for justice. I'll be forever grateful."

Lu Sisi's face was pale, her eyes red. She swayed like a fragile white flower in the wind, unbearably pitiful. She tugged at her mother's sleeve and whispered, "Mom, please stop..."

Trembling, she walked into the hall. She gently pushed away her mother's hand and struggled to bow to the Sect Leader and elders. Perhaps due to pain, a sheen of sweat appeared on her forehead, her face turning even paler. She said softly, "Si Si pays respects to the Sect Leader and elders."

Lu Yuanyin's face stiffened. She stared at Lu Sisi for a moment. As soon as their eyes met, Lu Sisi's frail body trembled, a flash of fear crossing her face. But then, seeing her parents beside her, she bit her lip and pretended to be brave. "I'm fine. Master has already promised to rebuild my meridians. I've troubled the Sect Leader and the elders."

"Please, Sect Leader, don't pursue this any further. Only A Yin is left from Uncle's side. I can't let anything happen to her."

Though she said this, she couldn't help but tear up. A few crystal tears rolled down her pale cheeks, almost falling. She quickly wiped them away.

Tears glistened in her eyes, but she managed a weak smile. That only made the crowd angrier—they wanted to kill Lu Yuanyin right then.

"Junior Sister Lu! We can't let this go!"

"We must give Junior Sister Lu justice!"

"We cannot allow such a selfish, vicious, and heartless person to tarnish the reputation of our sect!"

Chongyao Sect Leader also raised his eyelids and looked down coldly at Lu Yuanyin, who stood alone among the crowd. "Lu Yuanyin, do you have anything else to say in your defense?"

Hearing the Sect Leader's words, Lu Yuanyin's heart sank. The Sect Leader had almost already decided that she was guilty.

Standing amidst the surging crowd, surrounded by angry shouts, she felt a stifling suffocation in her chest. A pent-up rage surged through her, threatening to choke her. Her hands clenched tightly in her sleeves, and Lu Yuanyin let out a cold laugh.

Nothing she said now would matter. She should have known—perhaps from the very beginning, the Sect Leader never intended to let her off.

He had always admired Lu Sisi and unconditionally believed her words. Now that Lu Sisi was severely injured and her foundation destroyed, he would certainly not let the matter rest.

The reason the Sect Leader had not yet ordered her punishment and allowed her to say so much was likely only because her master, Immortal Lord Changye, had not yet appeared.

Immortal Lord Changye held an exalted position in the Chongyao Sect. Even the Sect Leader and elders had to show him respect.

Seeing the disciples growing more and more agitated, Chongyao Sect Leader raised his hand slightly, and the hall instantly fell into dead silence.

Lu Yuanyin tightened her grip on her longsword. "I do not admit guilt.

Lu Sisi has the Black Flood Dragon to protect her. Tong Jinyu has already reached the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage. With the help of so many fellow disciples, even a Golden Core stage cultivator would find it difficult to easily defeat them. I am certainly no match for them. Killing fellow disciples is a grave crime. Unless there is conclusive evidence, I absolutely refuse to accept this!"

Hearing this, Chongyao Sect Leader let out a cold laugh. His face darkened gradually, and an oppressive pressure silently descended upon Lu Yuanyin.

Lu Yuanyin felt as if she had been struck hard. A wave of bitterness rose in her throat, and her face instantly lost all color. Seeing the disgust, scorn, and schadenfreude in the eyes of those around her, she swallowed the blood in her throat, stiffened her back, and said coldly again, "Is the Sect Leader trying to extort a confession by torture? I refuse to accept!"

Seeing that Lu Yuanyin dared to defy him multiple times in front of so many disciples, the Sect Leader's face grew darker. He stared gloomily at Lu Yuanyin standing in the crowd, but instead laughed in anger. "Incorrigible!"

Just as the Sect Leader was about to lose his temper, an elder beside him gently coughed and shook a jade token in his hand. The Sect Leader glanced at it, and upon seeing the message on the token, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

He stroked his white beard, his gaze lingering on Lu Yuanyin for a moment. A dark glint flashed in his eyes, but he said coldly, "Take her away first. Confine her to the Reflection Cliff. She is not to leave without my permission."

Hearing this, the disciples were incredulous. "Sect Leader!"

"Sect Leader, reconsider! Please punish this malicious person immediately!"

Lu Sisi stared blankly at the Sect Leader, as if she hadn't expected him to let Lu Yuanyin off so easily. She bit her pale lips, her frail figure swaying as if she might faint from grief.

Lu Yuanyin, too, was startled. She hadn't expected such an outcome today. She lowered her eyelashes slightly, wondering what the Sect Leader had seen that changed his mind. But no matter what, she had to survive... Even if there was only a glimmer of hope, she wouldn't give up.

Ears filled with the clamor of voices, her head buzzing. After the Sect Leader left, Lu Yuanyin slowly walked out of the Reflection Hall. When the disciples saw her, they recoiled as if she were a plague, scattering like the tide in all directions.

She lowered her lashes and walked expressionlessly with the guards toward the Reflection Cliff. Then she saw a tall, slender figure standing quietly behind the crowd. He wore a black robe embroidered with gold patterns, his dark hair tied high with a jade band. His features were dashing, and his demeanor was wild and unruly, strikingly handsome.

But at this moment, his clothes and hair were disheveled, his eyes bloodshot. His pitch-black eyes fixed on her, filled with disappointment and unfamiliarity.

Just as they were about to pass each other, Gu Lingqiu suddenly grabbed her slender wrist. Crimson spread in the depths of his eyes, and his face was as dark as water.

Lu Yuanyin had never seen him wear such an ugly expression.

She exerted a little force to break free from Gu Lingqiu's grip, only to hear him say coldly, "Lu Yuanyin, when did you become so ruthless?"

"To do such a despicable thing out of personal grudges... and here I was worried you might be hurt. You've really let me down."

Author's note:

None.