"There's no need for such haste, Sect Leader," Lin Ya said calmly. "My disciple has always acted with order and purpose. If she behaves this way, she must have her reasons. If you intend to punish her, you should at least hear what she has to say. Otherwise, after Steward Ma's false accusation just now, would you create yet another miscarriage of justice?"
Before his cultivation was restored, Lin Ya had usually spoken to Zhao Wuji in a polite, restrained tone.
But now.
He didn't intend to give Zhao Wuji even a shred of face.
Zhao Wuji's expression darkened, he gritted his teeth, "Yun Jin, speak! What reason do you have for barging into the main hall without permission? And what's the meaning of bringing this man here bound hand and foot?"
Yun Jin stepped forward slowly, expression calm, "Sect Leader, a disciple reported that these past few days, Danxia frequently went toward He Mountain. Out of curiosity, I went to look. There, in the cave where Danxia was once imprisoned, I found this child."
Zhao Wuji frowned slightly.
He couldn't help glancing at Ye Danxia.
Could this good disciple of his be hiding something else from him?
Ye Danxia only lowered her head tightly, not daring to utter a single word.
Yang Yun, however, still had some strength left. Even bound, he remained proud and unyielding.
He said evenly, "The disciples of Tianxing Sect are truly unreasonable. I am a child of a cultivation family, merely stopping here to rest for a moment, and was seized, tied up, and dragged here like this. I truly do not understand, what could a mere child have done to warrant such cruelty from your sect's disciples?"
He spoke with indignation.
At the moment, he appeared as nothing more than a boy, born with striking, snow-pale features and delicate charm. No one looking at him would think such a child could pose any danger.
Yun Jin had, however, been ruthless, his limbs were tightly bound, and the skin of his wrists showed deep purple bruises. He indeed looked pitiful .
Many present hesitated upon seeing this.
A few even revealed looks of sympathy.
Yes.
What could a child have done wrong?
Even if he had done something wrong, shouldn't he have been taught gently, not treated this way?
Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes, "Yun Jin, he's just a child. Why did you tie him up and bring him here? What are you trying to say?"
Yun Jin calmly took out several boxes and opened them casually.
Zhao Wuji's expression changed the moment he saw what was inside.
These were exactly the missing spiritual plants.
Yun Jin said softly, "These were found in the cave where the boy was hiding. When I discovered him, he was consuming the plants. If the quantities don't match, it must be because he has already used them."
What?
These spiritual plants ended up in this child's hands?!
The crowd's expressions all shifted.
The faint goodwill they had just felt toward Yang Yun vanished, replaced by deep wariness.
Because.
Judging from the quantity, quite a few of the spiritual plants had already been consumed.
But among them, some were of high grade. For a child at Qi Refining Stage, how could he dare directly consume them?
Wasn't he afraid of exploding and dying on the spot?!
In the cultivation world, anything was possible, but everyone's first thought was the same, there's a problem with this child.
Zhao Wuji's gaze grew cold and gloomy as he looked at Yang Yun, "So you're the thief after all! Speak, why did you steal Tianxing Sect's spiritual plants?"
"Steal?" Yang Yun frowned slightly, maintaining his proud composure. "When did I ever steal? These plants were personally given to me by one of your disciples."
"Absurd!" Zhao Wuji shouted in fury. "These plants are priceless treasures, who would ever give them away for nothing?"
Yang Yun turned in puzzlement toward the kneeling Ye Danxia beside him.
At this moment, he started feeling like something was wrong.
When she had brought him those spiritual plants, he had thought Ye Danxia was indeed capable, worthy of being the Sect Leader's favored disciple.
But if she was so favored, why was she kneeling here, not daring to lift her head?
Could these plants be stolen?
A surge of anger and humiliation rose within Yang Yun. He, the dignified Demon Lord, was being treated as some lowly thief!
Grinding his teeth, he said, "Big Sister Ye, weren't these spiritual plants the ones you gave me? You said they were your personal collection!"
Ye Danxia's body trembled, but at this point she could no longer hide it. With tears in her eyes, she raised her head pitifully, "Mas… Master… these spiritual plants were indeed given by me to Xiao Yun. He isn't a thief."
With the Black Demon Drill in her body, Ye Danxia had no choice but to defend Yang Yun. No matter how unwilling she was, she had to stand up for him.
Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes, "You stole the sect's spiritual plants for this boy?"
Ye Danxia's eyes filled with tears, "That day, Xiao Yun was being chased and gravely wounded. Those pursuers were vicious. They only stopped when they realized this was Tianxing Sect territory. Seeing him so pitiful, I brought him into the cave to rest. Xiao Yun is just a child, I couldn't bear to watch him suffer in pain day and night. So, I tried to get some spiritual plants to heal him. Master, I know what I did was wrong, but you have always taught me to protect the weak. How could I just stand by and watch a child die? None of these spiritual plants were for me, I only wanted to save him."
Ye Danxia cried as she kowtowed.
Han Xiaoyu was moved.
He had almost misunderstood his Little Junior Sister.
Yes.
She's a kind and gentle person. If she had encountered such a tragedy, how could she have ignored it?
"Master, though Little Junior Sister's actions were wrong, her intentions were to save a life. Shouldn't her motive at least earn some compassion?" Han Xiaoyu said earnestly.
Zhao Wuji's expression softened slightly.
Of course, the main reason was that Yun Jin had recovered most of the spiritual plants. This time, his losses were minimal.
With little loss, Zhao Wuji suddenly found himself more willing to forgive Ye Danxia.
Yang Yun, seeing Ye Danxia's act, quickly caught on.
He also put on a pitiful look, "Don't blame Sister Ye, she only did it to save me. If someone must be punished, let it be me alone."
"No, you were forced to accept them. All the blame is mine." Ye Danxia said tearfully.
"Sister Ye…"
"Xiao Yun…"
The two looked at each other, both in tears, a scene so moving it might almost have been touching.
Zhao Wuji hesitated, then spoke softly, "Since most of the loss has been recovered, then perhaps—"
"Sect Leader," Yun Jin smiled faintly, "you're not planning to let this matter drop, are you?"
Zhao Wuji frowned, "What do you mean? He's just a child. Surely you don't intend to harm him? If word of this spreads, what will become of Tianxing Sect's reputation?"
Yun Jin said coldly, "This person's name is Yang Yun. I don't know if he's truly a child but when I found him, he was calmly absorbing a fifth-grade spiritual plant as though drinking water. Tell me, how could a Qi Refining Stage child possibly do such a thing? And what kind of injury requires this many spiritual plants to heal? I suspect there's something much deeper at play here."
"Indeed, there are many oddities about this boy," Lin Ya agreed.
The others nodded one after another.
A child who could absorb so many spiritual plants effortlessly, without suffering clashing energies or exploding. That's far too strange.