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墨書 Inktalez
Waking up from a deep sleep, it was already the afternoon of the next day. Sunlight slanted through the window, casting a long diagonal shadow in front of the bed. Although awake, Li Hong lazily stretched his limbs, unwilling to move. Suddenly remembering the Golden Silk Cat, he patted his chest and was immediately startled; the little cat was gone!
He rolled over and got up, only to see a small, conspicuous golden figure curled up in the corner of the bed, sleeping soundly and purring softly. He smiled and pinched its scruff with two fingers to bring it closer. The Golden Silk Cat was too lazy to move, merely glancing at Li Hong with its blue eyes before closing them again. Li Hong tucked it back into his chest and strode outside.
The courtyard was quiet. Li Hong used his Divine Consciousness to discern that there were many people in the guest courtyard where Ling Xuzi resided. Just as he was about to walk over, Spirit Stone's familiar loud voice rang out: "Old Six, you’re awake? Come over here."
Entering the hall, Li Hong was taken aback.
The room was filled with people—Ling Xuzi, Spirit Stone, Ling Yi Zi, and several unfamiliar faces dressed as elders from the Nine Li Sect. Among them were even two female cultivators—Ling Xiangzi and Yue Qingzi. They had actually come over. Chuxuan, Chu Xi, and others stood in two rows below; upon seeing him enter, they exchanged knowing glances but he couldn’t tell what they meant.
At the front of the disciples stood a graceful young man in white robes. He turned around, appearing both envious and resentful for a moment before quickly regaining his composure. It was Chu Huai.
Everyone in the room looked at Li Hong but remained silent.
At this moment, Yue Qingzi slowly said, "Chu Hong has woken up; you may begin asking." Her expression was very kind.
Li Hong felt grateful towards this elder from the Scripture Repository; it was she who had discovered that he was suitable for cultivating the Six Spirit Salty Ritual. However, he did not understand what her words meant.
Ling Xuzi nodded at Nine Beam Peak's Elder Brother Ling Yi Zi. Ling Yi Zi frowned slightly, seeming hesitant to speak. After a long pause, he finally said, "Chu Hong, your senior brother Chu Huai claims that you conspired with enemies to frame Emei Sect leading to deaths; is there any truth to this?"
Chu Huai! Li Hong sneered inwardly but maintained a respectful demeanor as he replied, "In response to Master Uncle, there is absolutely no such thing."
Ling Yi Zi immediately responded, "Oh, there isn’t?" He turned to Ling Xuzi and said, "Chu Hong said there’s no such matter."
What kind of questioning is this! The entire room nearly burst into laughter. Ling Xuzi's face showed signs of embarrassment while Spirit Stone smiled cheerfully. Yet neither spoke further. Looking at Chu Huai, his expression was dark enough to drip water.
Li Hong understood; it must have been Chu Huai who reported him. As a result, Ling Xuzi—his master—and Spirit Stone—his own master—were unable to intervene for fairness and thus left the questioning to Ling Yi Zi. However, Ling Yi Zi clearly did not believe it, leading to this awkward scene.
At that moment, Ling Xiangzi spoke up: "I will!"
Her face was as cold as ice, and her voice was stern as she said, "Chu Hong, how did Black Flame die? Although Emei has not sent anyone to inquire about this matter yet, we must clarify it ourselves! If you utter even a half-truth, I will ensure that you are delivered to Emei for them to deal with!"
"Master—" a delicate voice interrupted, and it was Chu Xi who could no longer hold back. She pouted and said, "I already said I wouldn't get involved in Chu Hong's matters..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Ling Xiangzi cut her off sharply: "Shut up! Do you think I don't know about your relationship with him..." The words almost escaped her lips but she had to swallow them back, glaring fiercely at Chu Xi.
Chu Xi felt extremely wronged, tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted to storm out but was worried about Li Hong, so she stood still; thinking of her master's last three words, her fair face gradually flushed with a hint of red, and she lowered her head, though her expression was no longer as sorrowful.
Everyone understood the situation; some were nearly laughing out loud. Spirit Stone looked at Chu Xi with a smile, his gaze akin to that of a father-in-law watching his daughter-in-law.
Ling Xiangzi pretended not to see and continued to speak sternly: "Chu Hong, tell me! What exactly happened!"
With thoughts racing through his mind, Li Hong had already prepared his speech. He sincerely recounted the events as they unfolded, concluding with: "That person with the broken leg was later surrounded and killed by Emei Sect disciples. At that time, only their people were present. I have had past grievances with Emei Four Swords; how they choose to interpret this is entirely up to them! However, the disciples are extremely dissatisfied!"
"Yes, I can testify! It has nothing to do with Sixth Senior Brother; they are framing him!" Chuxiong was the first to shout.
Chu Hai and others chimed in one after another, even Chu Liang insisted it must be a misunderstanding.
A particularly cold voice spoke up: "Although Sixth Senior Brother is arrogant and overbearing, there is absolutely no way he would conspire with enemies to frame Emei Sect. Over the past month, thanks to him taking care of us brothers, if it weren't for him, we would have died a hundred times in the Ancient Celestial Field. Although I have never liked Sixth Senior Brother's personality, I would never dare to lie!" Chuxuan stepped forward and declared loudly.
At this moment, his face was serious, and his words carried a sense of righteousness. Even Li Hong felt embarrassed upon realizing he had been perceived as arrogant...
All the elders present listened intently; by now everyone believed that Emei was either framing them or had misunderstood. However, since Emei Sect had always been at odds with Nine Li Sect, how could they let go of this opportunity to pressure them into handing over Li Hong?
"Why don't you just say it out loud?" Chuxuan shouted at Li Hong. "Do you really want to be an unknown hero?"
Li Hong scratched his forehead and said sheepishly, "I'm afraid they won't believe me if I say it..."
"But it's the truth!" Chuxuan interrupted loudly, bowing to Ling Xuzi. "Actually, this matter is quite simple to resolve. When we retreated later, we happened to encounter those Black-Clad Assassins attacking the disciples of Emei Sect. At that time, Sixth Senior Brother devised a plan with the disciples; he would launch a surprise attack to cover our retreat while also rescuing the Emei Sect disciples. In fact, Sixth Senior Brother is a benefactor of Emei Sect! He even killed a Black-Clad Assassin and has a bottle of Elixir found on him as proof."
Li Hong was taken aback, unsure of Chuxuan's intentions. After all, it had been agreed that the bottle of Elixir would only be shown privately to their master, and this was definitely not a good time with so many people around.
Chuxuan, however, said solemnly, "Please forgive my rudeness. The origin of this bottle of Elixir is significant; I ask that unrelated individuals temporarily step back until we see the outcome." He emphasized the words "unrelated individuals."
The crowd erupted in an uproar, with many elders scolding Chuxuan for his boldness. But Chuxuan remained undeterred, standing tall. Even Li Hong had to admire his courage at this point.
"Alright, I agree!" The speaker was Yue Qingzi, her expression cold as she resolutely addressed everyone. "I will stay; the sect master’s nephew, Spirit Stone, Ling Yi Zi, Ling Xiangzi, and Chu Hong will also remain. Everyone else must retreat outside the courtyard."
As the Chief Elder of the Scripture Repository, Yue Qingzi's words carried weight. Once she spoke, none of the Elders dared to refute her; they all shot cold glances at Chuxuan before leaving one after another. Chu Xi and others followed suit, casting comforting looks at Li Hong as they exited and quietly giving Chuxuan a thumbs up. Only Chu Huai shot a cold glare at Chuxuan before reluctantly backing away.
The hall quickly fell silent. Yue Qingzi waved her hands, and a clear light rippled through as she set up a barrier formation. She looked kindly at Li Hong and said, "You can speak now."
Li Hong straightforwardly recounted everything in detail and finally handed the bottle of Disguise Pill to Spirit Stone, saying, "This matter is too serious; it implies that someone within Immortal Sect is colluding with the enemy! The numerous casualties among the participating disciples are closely related to Heavenly Grain."
Spirit Stone took the jade bottle and glanced at it before suddenly changing color. He quickly passed it to Ling Xuzi. The others took turns examining it, growing increasingly alarmed.
Ling Xuzi's expression darkened as he said angrily, "So that's how it is! I suspected Qing Yizi had ulterior motives all along; this must be reported to the sect master for him to decide and give us all justice!"
"Exactly! Let's report this to the sect master!" Ling Xiangzi and Ling Yi Zi echoed in agreement.
“Sect Leader Uncle, wait a moment.” The speaker was Chuxuan.
The people in the hall increasingly felt that Spirit Stone, the seventh disciple, was quite clever. Considering his background, they couldn't help but sigh inwardly about his deep family roots.
Spirit Stone coughed and said, “Old Seven, go ahead and speak, but remember not to overstep your bounds.”
“Yes.” Chuxuan looked at Li Hong and said, “Sixth Senior Brother, I need you to take a trip.”
Li Hong was once again taken aback. “Where to?”
“You just need to go to Emei Inn and show them the Mid-Level Spirit Talisman ‘Fire Phoenix’. They will naturally understand that it was you who came to their aid. At that time, we can invite Emei Sect’s leader Yiyang to come and discuss things. As for what to say, I believe Sect Leader Uncle and Master should already know, right?”
Ling Xuzi frowned.
Spirit Stone pondered and asked, “What do you mean?”
“Emei has lost over a hundred outstanding disciples in the Ancient Celestial Field. In comparison, the death of that Black Flame is trivial. I believe Yiyang must be furious right now and very eager to find out who is behind this. This way, his anger will be directed at the people from Heavenly Grain, and he might even be grateful to us from Nine Li Sect. With him accompanying us, we will have a better chance when we approach the sect leader. For both public and private reasons, I think Master Shibo should let Li Hong go on this trip.”
“Good! Brilliant plan!” Ling Xiangzi thought for a moment and immediately praised it. She looked at Spirit Stone with a smile and said, “Your two disciples are both talented in their own ways; even I envy them. I think Chuxuan’s suggestion is excellent!”
Spirit Stone smiled broadly, fully accepting Ling Xiangzi’s words. However, Ling Xuzi sighed, “My junior brother naturally has good disciples, but what about mine?” His face was heavy, his long brows nearly knotted together, revealing a hint of sadness.
Everyone understood his feelings. Chu Huai was his close disciple whom he had always cared for deeply. He had thought he could pass on his legacy to him, but unexpectedly found him to be so morally corrupt; no wonder he felt heartbroken.
Ling Xiangzi spoke bluntly and loudly: “It’s not too late to realize this now! Hmph! What use is there for such treacherous scoundrels? In my opinion, he should spend his life reflecting in solitude! Framing fellow disciples and being the first to accuse others will eventually lead to disaster; it’s better to get rid of him sooner rather than later!”
Ling Xuzi felt a deep sadness in his heart and remained silent for a long time before hesitantly saying, "Let's do as Junior Sister suggested."
Spirit Stone quietly exchanged glances with Li Hong. Li Hong had no choice but to muster the courage to plead for Chu Huai.
Ling Xuzi couldn't feel any joy and said lightly, "You are a good child, but I am aware of the situation."
********
Spirit Stone led Li Hong and Chuxuan out of the courtyard. Chu Huai had been anxiously waiting outside for quite some time. When he saw the three come out, he opened his mouth to ask, but Spirit Stone hurriedly took Li Hong and Chuxuan away.
Ling Xiangzi's cold voice came through, "Chu Huai, come in!"
With the barrier removed, everyone outside heard Ling Xuzi's cold voice say, "Chu Huai, your temperament is quite flawed; you are unworthy of the expectations I have for you. From now on, you will only be my registered disciple. After returning this time, you are not allowed to enter or leave my residence without my permission!"
This meant that all privileges for Chu Huai were revoked, and he would no longer hold any position as the sect leader.
Chu Huai collapsed to the ground, feeling utterly despondent. The disdainful gaze from Chu Xi among the crowd made him feel as if he were falling into an abyss. Anger burned within him as he shouted, "I refuse to accept this—"
No one paid him any attention; the crowd dispersed in a frenzy.
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