Chapter 71:
This Venerable One’s Been Framed
FACE PALE, Mo Ran was in utter disbelief as he summoned the weapon that he’d put away only a moment ago. Jiangui answered his call, appearing in his hand in a blaze of fiery light.
When he compared the two, the weapon that had killed Eighteen was practically identical to Jiangui. It was almost like a piece of it, save for the fact that it had no hilt. Could it be that somewhere in the world, there was a second Jiangui?!
Before Mo Ran could think further, urgent footsteps approached at a rapid speed. Chu Wanning was more levelheaded than Mo Ran; he quickly assessed the situation and a chill flickered through his eyes. “Mo Ran, put Jiangui away!”
“Huh?”
Too late.
A group of people had arrived at the entrance to the cave. In that group were people from the feathered tribe and cultivators from various sects. Even Xue Meng, Ye Wangxi, and Shi Mei were there. It was as if someone had noticed that something strange was happening and called just about everyone over in a hurry.
And so, when everyone arrived one after another, the sight that greeted them was that of Eighteen, brutally murdered, the willow vine cutting into her neck. Behind her, they saw Mo Ran and a small child, markedly battered from the aftermath of a fierce battle. On top of that, Mo Ran was covered in blood and holding Jiangui in hand, his willow vine coursing with a menacing, fiery light…
No one made a sound. That is, until someone yelled, “M-murderer!”
The crowd fell into an uproar. Panic, anger, and whispered words surged into a river, the drone of voices shaking one’s very bones.
“She’s dead!” “Murderer!” “How vicious…” “Must be insane!” “Lunatic.” Fragments of sentences were repeated over and over, until the frenzied mob looked no different from the walking corpses in the illusion. For a moment, Mo Ran almost thought that the illusion wasn’t yet over—that the nightmare continued still.
It was as if the blood spilt in Lin’an two hundred years ago still covered the ground.
“No…” He took a step backward, throat dry. “It wasn’t me…”
Mo Ran felt a tug on his clothes, and his step paused. Amidst the madness, he looked down and saw Chu Wanning’s clear eyes. He murmured helplessly, “It wasn’t me…”
Chu Wanning nodded and tried to shield Mo Ran with his own body. However, he was only a small child at present, so what could he do? As he fretted, he felt Mo Ran step forward.
More and more people joined in on the shouting. “Lock him up! The kid too! Grab them! Murderers!”
“We can’t let them get away, they’re too dangerous! Hurry and grab them!”
Mo Ran pulled Chu Wanning behind him, blocking him from sight, then took a moment to breathe and collect himself. “I didn’t kill Miss Eighteen. Please let me explain.”
The faces in the crowd looked indistinct, overlapping with a memory from his past life that he couldn’t bear to recall. He strained his eyes and caught sight of Xue Meng among the shadows in the crowd, his face filled with disbelief. Then he saw Shi Mei, eyes wide and face pale, his head shaking repeatedly.
Mo Ran closed his eyes. “I didn’t kill her,” he said in a low voice, “but I don’t plan to run away either. At least hear me out before you lock me up?”
Even so, no one wanted to listen to him. Anger and anxiety spread through the crowd.
“Y-you’ve been caught red-handed,” a high-pitched voice cried. “What is there to say?!”
“That’s right!”
“Just toss them in the prison cave first! If it turns out they didn’t do it, we can let them out then!”
“Lock them up! Lock them up!”
Xue Meng snapped out of his shocked state. He stepped out from the crowd and stood in front of those angry, twisted faces with his back to Mo Ran and raised his voice. “Everyone, please settle down. I have something to say.”
“Who the hell are you?!”
“Why would we listen to you?!”
“Wait, isn’t that the little phoenix?”
“Little phoenix? You mean the darling of the heavens? That Xue Meng guy?”
“That’s him…”
Xue Meng’s expression was terrible, nearly colorless. He took a deep breath and said, slowly, “Everyone, please listen. These two are disciples of Sisheng Peak, and I can vouch for them. Under no circumstances would they do something like murder an innocent person. So please, calm down and let them explain.”
A moment of silence, then someone yelled, “Why should we believe you? So what if they’re Sisheng Peak disciples—that doesn’t mean you know their true nature!”
“Exactly! There’s no knowing what someone’s really like, even if you’re from the same sect!”
Xue Meng’s expression grew darker still, his lips pressed in a thin line as his hands clenched into fists.
Behind Xue Meng, Mo Ran stood with Chu Wanning in tow. Truth be told, he was surprised that Xue Meng had come out in their defense. He hadn’t exactly been close with his cousin in his past life, or rather, they had hardly been able to stand each other. Later, when he’d become the emperor of the mortal realm and burned, killed, and plundered as he liked, they had naturally ended up on opposite sides of the battlefield.
Mo Ran had never expected that Xue Meng would stand with his back to him, facing the horde and all their pointing fingers. Warmth flooded his heart. “Xue Meng, you…believe me?”
“Ugh! Yeah right, you damn mutt!” Xue Meng’s face turned slightly toward him as he huffed. “Look at this mess you’ve gotten into! Aren’t you the older one? Why do I have to clean up after you?!”
Mo Ran had no reply.
After he was done cussing out Mo Ran, Xue Meng whipped back around and started yelling at the crowd in an even fiercer tone. “What do you mean? How could I not know them? One of them is my shidi and the other is my cousin! Who knows them better? Me or you lot?”
“Xue Meng…”
“Would it kill you guys to listen to a bit of explanation? With all these people here, it’s not like they’re gonna grow wings and fly off if you give them a couple of minutes!”
At this time, Shi Mei also stepped forward, but his mannerisms were far too soft to be imposing, and there was fear in his voice as he said, “Everyone, I can also vouch for them. They absolutely wouldn’t have hurt Miss Eighteen, so please hear them out. Thank you…”
Ye Wangxi stepped forward as well. Although he didn’t vouch for them, he was much steadier than the rest of the agitated crowd. “Even if it’s for a temporary detainment, they deserve the chance to explain and defend themselves. Otherwise, we might let the real killer off the hook. What if that person is among us as we speak? What then?”
At his words, the people in the crowd immediately started looking at one another with alarm in their eyes.
“Fine! We’ll hear you out first!”
“We’re still going to lock you up! Can’t be too cautious, after all!”
“Guilty until proven innocent!”
Mo Ran let out a breath and layered thankful hands before his forehead. Then, after a moment, he actually smiled. “I never imagined that when I was surrounded on all sides, anyone would still be willing to believe in me. Okay, okay—even if I get locked up, just for you three, I won’t be mad about it.”
Mo Ran simply and briefly went over what had happened, from the manifestation of the illusion and the events that had transpired within it, to finding Eighteen murdered upon exit.
Unfortunately, once a Domain of Fiends scenario was overcome, a brand-new illusion was created for the next person to enter, so there was no way to validate Mo Ran’s claims. It did seem like a stretch for him to have come up with such an elaborate story in mere moments, if he was making it up. So by the time he finished, more than half the people in the crowd seemed to be wavering.
A higher-up of the feathered tribe spoke quietly to her subordinate, then said, “Mo Ran, Xia Sini, although you have presented explanations, you have no evidence. For the safety of Peach Blossom Springs, we must detain you until the matter has been resolved.”