Although he had already guessed how malicious these people's thoughts were, upon hearing the question, Liu Buli couldn't help but feel disgusted by them.
His smile faltered, and after taking several deep breaths to calm his emotions, Liu Buli finally spoke again, "I apologize, it seems this fellow Daoist hasn't understood my meaning. But it's alright, it's my fault for not explaining clearly, and I should be the one to apologize to all of you. I have heard rumors about your guesses that a dragon is by my side. But the truth is, I haven't hidden anyone here, let alone a dragon. How could I possibly have what you imagine?"
"How could there not be? Liu Buli, don't lie!" Hearing his statement, one of the cultivators jumped up, saying, "I've heard from your sect's disciples! A strange person has always been by your disciple's side, and he's not from your sect! You must know exactly what he is!"
Upon hearing this accusation, Liu Buli's expression suddenly turned unpleasant. He wondered how the rumors outside had started. So it turned out there was a traitor within their own sect, deliberately causing trouble for him.
However, it was fortunate that from the beginning, Liu Buli had anticipated that this mess might fall upon Ao Lie. Having made thorough preparations in advance, he wasn't worried about being singled out for gossip at this moment.
Still, he maintained the proper demeanor.
After hearing the other person's words, Liu Buli paused slightly. Then he smiled and said, "I thought you were going to say something else. So it's just a misunderstanding among our own disciples. I haven't managed the sect's affairs properly, and whatever misunderstanding has arisen, I, as the Sect Master, must apologize to all of you. As for the person you mentioned, he is indeed not from my Dan Sect, and I did bring him back from Shuicheng. But what does he have to do with a dragon? He's merely Shen Muzhi's distant cousin. If you don't believe me, you can ask him yourselves."
This was the arrangement they had agreed upon beforehand.
And even if they hadn't agreed, after being friends for so long, Shen Muzhi would absolutely not expose anything in such a matter.
Precisely because of this, facing the doubtful gazes of those people, Shen Muzhi calmly nodded and said, "He is indeed a distant cousin of mine. If you don't believe me, you can investigate. My younger brother, Shen Muyan, is currently the City Lord of Shuicheng. He has gathered most of the Shen family members there. He plans to revitalize our family, which is not difficult to understand, is it?"
In fact, even if he hadn't said this, those people already understood most of it. Because Shen Muyan's actions were not secretive; he was openly working to revive the Shen family. Although it hadn't yet reached the scale of a major family, based on the current momentum, it was evident that as long as he persisted, it would only be a matter of time before the Shen family in Shuicheng became powerful enough to be looked up to by everyone.
However, while this was what was said, and it did sound somewhat reasonable, the problem was that the Shen family had too many collateral branches. Even if they accepted Shen Muyan's invitation and everyone gathered in Shuicheng, they were actually not very familiar with each other. If one were to ask the Shen family members if that man existed, it's likely that apart from Shen Muyan, others would find it difficult to give a definitive answer.
Yet, while this was what was said, for those cultivators, just as they were unwilling to question Shen Muzhi about this matter, they all knew very well that Shen Muzhi and Liu Buli were close friends, and Shen Muyan was Shen Muzhi's biological brother.
To put it more bluntly, as long as Liu Buli willed it, even if he pointed at black and called it white, these two brothers would unconditionally defend and support him. Since the person being questioned was of such a nature, whether or not to proceed with the inquiry was essentially meaningless.
Everyone understood this clearly, so their gazes fixed on Shen Muzhi, and for a moment, no one spoke.
Finally, someone spoke up from somewhere, saying, "There's no point in arguing with us here! Liu Buli, since you say the person you brought back is human, then bring him out to see us directly! Dragons and humans are different! Even if he truly used demonic arts to disguise himself as a human, his eyes can't be hidden! The book says that dragon eyes are vertical pupils! Even if they transform into human form, this cannot be changed! Bring him out and let us see him, and we can judge for ourselves whether what you're saying is true or false!"
In fact, even if no one had said it, Liu Buli had already been contemplating how to divert these people's attention to this matter.
But he hadn't expected that without him needing to worry, their own supposedly perfect preliminary investigation had already provided him with the greatest convenience.
His smile was almost uncontrollable, but upon hearing this suggestion, Liu Buli still tried his best to put on a troubled expression. Frowning slightly, he said, "I invited all of you here because I consider you friends. But you not only keep suspecting my friend, but you also insist on calling him out to prove such a trivial matter. This is the territory of my Dan Sect, and you are making such a commotion within my sect. Don't you think your behavior is a bit excessive?"
Of course, they knew their behavior was a bit excessive.
And they were certainly afraid that Liu Buli would get angry with them because of their excessive behavior.
But for them, the treasure they coveted and longed for was right before their eyes. How could they calmly let go of this best opportunity to obtain the treasure!
However, due to Liu Buli's strength, the expressions on everyone's faces were somewhat frozen.
After a moment of silence, an older person stepped forward. With a kindly smile on his face, the words he spoke were not at all pleasant.
He said, "Sect Master Liu, of course, we are willing to trust you. But the existence of dragons is indeed too astonishing. Now that someone claims the man in your sect is not right, why don't you let us see him? If there's no problem, we promise to apologize to you and cease any further entanglement. What do you say, is that acceptable?"