Chapter 1324: Mutual Accusations

Chapter 1324: Chapter 1324: Mutual Accusations

"You call me shameless, but I think it’s you who’s spouting nonsense!" Su Fengchen couldn’t afford to lose momentum, and retorted sharply.

"The truth is yet to be determined! However, Feng Chen made a good point, which is that actions should be backed by evidence! Pei Yan, you investigated this matter. There should be some progress by now, right?" Seeing the two at each other’s throats, Lin Ruxue, the one orchestrating everything behind the scenes, finally spoke up to intervene.

"Senior uncle, you really know how to command people! I’ve been handling one task after another at your Immortal Palace, and my injuries haven’t even healed yet! Now you want me to offend others too!" Pei Yan knew Lin Ruxue wanted him to pierce through the facade, to expose the White Deer Institute’s disguise; he’d better seize this opportunity to gain some benefit!

Seeing Pei Yan standing there holding his wound, looking painfully wronged, Lin Ruxue slightly raised her arm and tossed a wooden box towards Pei Yan. Once he caught it, Lin Ruxue sneered coldly and mocked, "Consume this, and your injury will no longer be an issue. As for your reward for assisting me over two days, you won’t miss out."

As she spoke, Lin Ruxue leaned back while Lin Daozi hastily brought an armchair from behind and placed it behind his master, also arranging a chair for his new senior uncle. Once both masters were seated, Pei Yan opened the wooden box in his hand and glanced at it without consuming the contents. His injuries weren’t severe; he could heal on his own. He closed the box and tucked it into his storage ring. With compensation in hand, Pei Yan found motivation to act, turned to Su Fengchen, and smilingly said, "Su Mountain Master, there’s no use denying; those several people have already confessed."

By this point, Su Fengchen had an inkling that all of this aimed ultimately at him. It seemed the issue lay with Ding Zhiyi and the three others. These were individuals from declining sects, who caused trouble back in the day. White Deer Institute secretly sheltered their sect members and families, gave them new identities, and arranged for them to hide in a remote branch of White Deer Institute, thus averting total disaster. These three thus became pawns for White Deer Institute in its shadowy dealings.

This assassination attempt on Pei Yan’s servant was indeed as Pei Yan and others previously suspected—a ploy to stir trouble between the Hongjun Sword Furnace and the Investigation Hall, diverting their attention in preparation for later moves. To that end, Su Fengchen even crafted a series of follow-up plans, such as determining the right time to introduce the perpetrator, thereby solidifying Hongjun Sword Furnace’s identity as a traitor. However, things did not go as smoothly as when framing Celestial Sword Manor.

Pei Yan’s extreme and swift reaction was something they hadn’t anticipated. If a person were caught at White Deer Institute, any disguise would be pointless. Similarly, if they fled from his location, his own suspicion couldn’t be cleared. Su Fengchen is a man of resources; in panic, he didn’t hesitate to sacrifice two critical figures hidden in Hongjun Sword Furnace to pull off the disguise and cover this matter.

Su Fengchen knew well that this approach had many flaws, but the situation was urgent and he couldn’t think of a better solution temporarily. According to his plan, even if the matter were exposed, it would take some time. As long as he had a chance to breathe, he would return to the sect to secretly transfer significant figures and resources, leaving only an empty shell. Even if problems arose, it wouldn’t result in total decimation like at Peach Blossom Spring.

Yet he hadn’t expected Ding Zhiyi to be found out so quickly. He had placed restrictions within Ding’s mind, believing even if His Majesty the Spirit Emperor took action, it would still take time to dissolve them. How did these people confess so quickly? Or was Pei Yan bluffing, merely identifying a suspicious point?

"Confess? Confess to what? Pei Yan, don’t use words to deceive me! Whoever confessed, let him come face me personally! Although White Deer Institute has committed errors, we’re not confused over major matters. On the contrary, you’ve been stirring trouble in Daoist Plane, first claiming Celestial Sword Manor had issues, then accusing Hongjun Sword Furnace, and now targeting White Deer Institute? Hah, you’ve upturned the entire Daoist Plane; Su doesn’t understand who you’ll suspect next?" Regardless of what Pei Yan had discovered, Su Fengchen could only deny and meet the challenge.

"Alright! Since Su Mountain Master is so confident, let’s have a face-off then! Commander-in-Chief Mao, I’m counting on you." Pei Yan anticipated Su Fengchen’s stubbornness and didn’t say much, waving for Mao Xiang, who nodded knowingly, sought Lin Ruxue’s approval, then exited Yixue Pavilion.

While Mao Xiang went to fetch the witnesses, Pei Yan stood idly in the courtyard before returning to the pavilion, picking up his utensils, sitting next to where he’d been interrupted during the feast, and continued drinking alone. He also invited others to join him, but at this point, who could eat like him without care? They could only smile and politely refuse, standing on either side of the meditating Lin Ruxue, waiting for Mao Xiang to bring the witnesses.

Soon after, Mao Xiang led a team, pushing Ding Zhiyi and the three others into the room. Once the three were pressed into the scene, Pei Yan still sat in the pavilion, took a sip of wine, and called out, "Come on! The one you wanted to face is here! Ding Zhiyi, speak up!"

"What do you want me to say?" Having heard Pei Yan’s question, a dejected Ding Zhiyi raised his head, glanced at Su Fengchen’s indifferent gaze towards him, shook his head, and smiled bitterly.

"Just tell us whether you three returned to White Deer Institute via the Secret Teleportation Array at the Immortal Palace, and how you deceived us." Pei Yan casually enjoyed a bite of food.

"No! No deception! The ones who returned from Immortal Palace were us!" ℴ

"Ridiculous nonsense!" Watching ’til now, Liu Xuanji, who had observed last night’s questioning process, was enraged, her seven orifices smoked from anger. Despite her status as an Elder, she rushed up and kicked Ding Zhiyi over, then grabbed the riding crop from the accompanying Embroidered Robe Envoy and began to whip without rhyme or reason.

A lunatic elder in a cloak sporting a balding look waved the riding crop, with tufts of hair bouncing at her temples. Liu Xuanji at this moment was not only undignified but also somewhat pitiful and laughable. Witnessing all this, Su Fengchen coldly watched for a moment before he couldn’t restrain himself; he stopped her by shouting, "Enough! Liu Xuanji, look at what you’ve become! Just because he refuses to frame White Deer Institute, are you so furious you become this vicious? Even if coerced confessions yield so-called evidence, would His Majesty the Spirit Emperor believe it?"

"Su Fengchen! You hypocrite! Still pretending in front of everyone!" Liu Xuanji sneered back upon hearing this, flinging the riding crop, which Su Fengchen sidestepped slightly, using source energy to guide it—making it veer towards Lin Ruxue.

Liu Xuanji was aghast at the scene. If she truly hit the Spirit Emperor—even accidentally—it would be disrespectful. Just as the crop was about to strike the front of Lin Ruxue, a greasy hand suddenly reached out and seized it firmly.