"Sect Leader Zhao, I'd like to ask Madam Zhu a few questions?" Tian Ji felt that Elder Li wouldn't be the type to kill his grandniece and frame Feng Chu. His grief over losing his loved ones seemed genuine.
The other elders of the sect finally understood the cause of the current chaos. Elder Qi spoke up, "Sect Leader, this matter can be settled by examining Elder Li's grandniece for injuries. Why were people dispatched to apprehend someone without verifying the facts? Please wake Madam up; we also want to know the reason."
Elder Qi, having cultivated the Dao through medicine, could easily handle a minor injury examination. However, the key person was dead, and the body was missing. No one would believe there wasn't something fishy going on.
The Elder of the Discipline Hall also expressed his desire for clarification. After all, sect matters fell under the purview of the Discipline Hall. How could the Sect Leader's wife order arrests so readily? And not only that, but she was also defeated, publicly embarrassed, and almost caused the sect to be overthrown. They were also unlucky enough to encounter such a formidable individual. If this matter wasn't handled properly, the sect's millennia-old reputation would be ruined.
Sect Leader Zhao's brow furrowed deeply. His wife was stimulated and delirious. What if she said something nonsensical upon waking...
"Madam was stimulated and is not in her right mind, so she may not be able to explain the reason clearly," Sect Leader Zhao said, looking at Zhao Yangzi, hoping he would help ease the situation.
However, Zhao Yangzi's eyes were calm and unruffled. He turned his head away, gazing into the distance, his attitude clearly rejecting the idea. He hadn't expected his mother to poison him and cripple his cultivation. He didn't believe his father was unaware of his mother's actions.
"Sect Leader, I have some knowledge of medicine. You need not worry," Elder Qi insisted, convinced that the Sect Leader's wife was involved.
"Yes, yes," another elder agreed.
"Sect Leader, we must thoroughly investigate the backyard of Lanxi Courtyard again. Perhaps the real culprit hasn't left. From now on, no one enters or leaves," the Elder of the Discipline Hall stated solemnly. Could this be a conspiracy by another sect? Was it intended to sabotage the alliance between Chaotian Immortal Sect and Qingyan Sect?
"No need. I have already made arrangements," Zhao Yangzi's voice came, cold as ever.
A figure in the crowd shifted uneasily. Yun Yi found it strange, wondering what was wrong with Yun He. Yun Ya also looked at Yun He with a knowing gaze. Half an hour ago, while he and Yun Yi followed Tian Ji to the backyard, Yun He had pulled them into an empty room.
The three reunited and poured out their hearts to each other. Yun He recounted how he'd tried to go back to save them after escaping, but couldn't find any trace of them, so he came here first. He spoke with tears and a choked voice. Yun Yi, moved, repeatedly comforted Yun He, telling him not to blame himself.
In reality, after escaping, Yun He had gone directly to Chaotian Immortal Sect, knowing that Ye Ju and the others were also heading there. He hadn't given any thought to the lives of Yun Ya and the other.
Yun Ya watched Yun He's performance with a cold eye, thinking that only a fool like Yun Yi would believe his nonsense. Yun He could have used a sound transmission talisman to pinpoint their location and find them. But what did he say? He dropped it during the fight!
"Senior Brother Yun Ya, how did you end up with the demoness Ye? Why didn't they kill you two?" Yun He asked with feigned curiosity.
"Demoness? We were supposed to assassinate them?" Yun Yi's expression changed upon hearing this.
Yun Ya and Yun Yi both believed Yun He was referring to the incident where they were abandoned in the snow. Was it Fairy Ye who had thrown them into the freezing wilderness?
Yun Yi's heart tightened. Was she the target of his revenge? The one who almost got him killed by snow wolves? The one who threw him into the freezing wilderness to die of cold? He couldn't believe this truth. So he and his senior brother had been played like fools by her... and they'd even pretended not to know each other!
Seeing their strange expressions, Yun He quickly asked what was happening.
"Brother He, what was our sect's mission?"
"Capture the Nine-tailed Fox alive, and kill its master! That Fairy Ye is the master of the Nine-tailed Fox divine beast."
Yun Ya and Yun Yi listened to Yun He's words, their hearts churning with immense anger.
"Brother He, Senior Brother Ya and I lost the memory of the assassination. She altered our memories." This was why they faced their enemy as strangers.
"So that's how it is!" Yun He exclaimed, feigning sudden enlightenment. He had thought they were already dead at Ye Ju's hands.
"It's alright. There'll be a good show soon. Even the Sect Leader's wife is going to deal with her! And she doesn't know you've learned the truth. Wait for a chance to deliver a fatal blow!" Yun He exclaimed, practically dancing with excitement.
Yun Ya and Yun Yi fell silent. After thinking calmly, they realized she had been merciful to them. They had intended to kill her first, yet she hadn't killed them, merely abandoned them.
With a thunderous boom, the three heard a sound and their expressions changed. They quickly flew to the scene, only to witness Fairy Ye's earth-shattering sword strike. All three were stunned by the sword. No wonder she disdained killing them; they weren't even considered opponents!
Yun He wasn't faring any better. Ten top experts were dispatched with a single sword strike! Fortunately, he had escaped quickly, or he would have been split in two. That was a terrifying way to die.
When Yun He heard that Lanxi Courtyard was sealed, he knew something was amiss. He wasn't among the invited guests and would surely be suspected. All the elders present afterward were from Chaotian Sect; no one from other sects had arrived. Madam Zhu was still unconscious, and there was no one to mediate.
Yun He slowly began to back away. Zhao Yangzi, who had been scanning the area with his divine sense, made a gesture, and two hidden guards rushed toward Yun He. Before Yun He could even react, he was captured.
Yun Yi opened his mouth to speak, but Yun Ya grabbed him and shook his head.
"Elders, we've apprehended a suspect. An unfamiliar face."
Zhao Yangzi spoke. The hidden guards had informed him via secret message that this man had come out of the backyard with Yun Ya and Yun Yi. They had already interrogated the maids and found that only Elder Li had gone to the backyard. Yun Ya and Yun Yi had followed Tian Ji there afterward. So, where did this man come from? Unless he had been in his mother's backyard all along, making him the prime suspect in the death of Li Qihong, or the destruction of the evidence!
Zhao Yangzi laid out his deductions.
"Help! Why are you arresting me? I was just watching!" Yun He tried to maintain his composure.
"Hmph, guilty or not, we'll find out after interrogation. What were you, an outsider, doing in our sect's Sect Leader's wife's backyard? Speak! Where did you take Li Qihong's body?" The Elder of the Discipline Hall immediately got into character, interrogating people being his specialty.
"No need to interrogate. Just toss him a pill," Ju Yin recalled Ayou's medicine.
Steward Zhu stepped forward and directly shoved the pill into Yun He's mouth, simultaneously disabling his cultivation. This method of sealing cultivation was taught by Fairy Ye.
Seeing the technique, Yun Yi and Yun Ya finally believed that Ye Ju and the others were their enemies, and their hearts were in turmoil! They hadn't fully believed Yun He when he spoke; how could they trust someone who had abandoned them and fled alone?
Yun He, startled by the sudden intake of the pill, coughed violently. However, it was a top-grade elixir that dissolved upon contact with the mouth, making it impossible to vomit.