WBICDPH Chapter 101

Chapter 101: A Framed Crime

Hearing those words, Lin Jin felt as if a dull thunderclap had struck his head. His mind throbbed, and he sat there for a long time, unable to recover.

He tried to process what Hua Nanzhi had said, searching for any other possible meaning, any hint from her expression that she might be joking.

But there was nothing.

After a long silence, he curled his fingers tightly into the thin blanket over his lap and repeated in a low voice:

“Qi Xiaolang… is dead?”

“Yes!” Tears immediately spilled from Hua Nanzhi’s eyes. She wiped them hastily, her voice breaking as she sobbed, “Th-this morning… they found him at the foot of the main Penglai Mountain… when they found him, he was already… He said he went back to his room last night, didn’t he? This is still within Piaomiao Pavilion—how could something like this happen…”

Lin Jin opened his mouth, wanting to ask for details, but seeing her state, he knew he wouldn’t get anything useful right now.

He threw off the blanket and got out of bed, his legs numb, nearly collapsing to his knees.

“Let’s go. Take me there.”

Hua Nanzhi nodded, quickly wiping her tears before leading him out.

Along the way, Lin Jin felt dazed.

Qi Xiaolang… dead? The shy boy who had been sitting at the dinner table just yesterday, smiling—dead?

He followed behind Hua Nanzhi mechanically, his mind blank, unable to form a single coherent thought.

He refused to accept it—until they reached the foot of the main mountain.

A crowd had gathered.

The moment he saw them, the heavy weight hanging in his chest finally came crashing down, leaving him dizzy with pain.

He almost lost his footing. Pushing through the crowd, he made his way to the front—and saw his silent sect members, and the small, frail body lying on the ground.

Jiang Lou, usually carefree and unserious, now wore a grim expression. Kneeling on one knee beside Qi Xiaolang’s body, he silently reached out and closed the boy’s unblinking eyes.

The other three disciples under him stood nearby. Luo Miaomiao, who had always doted on Qi Xiaolang the most, was crying the hardest—her eyes red and swollen. When she glanced at the Piaomiao Pavilion disciples trying to console her, there was unmistakable hatred in her gaze.

Liu Xun and the others stood off to the side, their expressions dark. San Zongyu was negotiating with Mu Shan, while the surrounding crowd whispered noisily among themselves.

The noise made Lin Jin’s head ache. Frowning, he stepped forward and finally saw Qi Xiaolang clearly.

The boy who had been so full of life yesterday—who had shone in the artifact workshop, who had been shy and reserved among them—now lay alone on the ground.

Blood had seeped from his seven orifices, pooling beneath him, already dark and clotted. His small body was twisted at unnatural angles, several bones likely broken.

It looked like death from a fall from a great height.

“Mu Shan, don’t you think you owe us an explanation? Our kid was perfectly fine yesterday, and now he’s lying here! Do you know who he is? He’s the direct disciple of the Beikun Sect Master of Yanyu Mountain! Not only do you have no explanation, but you also don’t even have an attitude? Who do you think you are—can you even bear this responsibility?! Call your Pavilion Master! Something this big happens and she dares not show her face?!”

Apparently dissatisfied with San Zongyu’s slow progress, Liu Xun shoved him aside and launched into a furious tirade at Mu Shan.

“What’s this? Yesterday, you were pointing at my disciple, calling him a useless waste who can’t cultivate, even shamelessly trying to take him back. Now that you failed and embarrassed yourself, you’re holding a grudge and taking revenge? If you’ve got a problem, settle it openly in the arena! What kind of scum targets a child?! What—his talent in artifact refining offended you? If you can’t have him, you destroy him?! Fine! Let the whole world see what kind of place Piaomiao Pavilion really is!”

“Liu Xun, what nonsense are you spouting?!” Mu Shan snapped, his beard trembling with anger, though his momentum was clearly weaker.

“It’s not that our Pavilion Master doesn’t want to come—she’s in seclusion! You know that! All cultivation sects are supposed to live in harmony. What do you mean by ” revenge? What do you mean by destroy if we can’t have him? Don’t slander us! We do regret what happened and will take responsibility—but that doesn’t mean you can throw accusations around! Look at the injuries—get any healer to examine him, and they’ll say it’s a fall from a height. Maybe he just slipped off the long bridge in the night! He hasn’t formed a core yet, he can’t fly—this could very well be an accident!”

“Impossible!”

Luo Miaomiao suddenly cried out sharply, interrupting him.

She wanted to say more, but Jiang Lou shot her a glance.

“Miaomiao. Mind your manners.”

Though unwilling, she lowered her head and fell silent.

Jiang Lou stood up in her place, his usual playful demeanor completely gone. His presence was cold and intimidating.

“It wasn’t an accident.”

Mu Shan frowned. “And why are you so certain?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Because we are artifact refiners.”

Jiang Lou’s voice was icy.

“On the day Xiaolang joined, I gave him a high-grade flying artifact. We artifact refiners aren’t strong in combat, so survival tools are everything. He might lack other things, but he has plenty of artifacts from his senior siblings and me. Any one of them could have saved him from falling to his death.”

He paused, eyes sharp.

“And you’ve been standing here this whole time—haven’t you noticed anything missing? Where is the yellow-grade storage ring on my disciple’s hand? Don’t tell me it just fell off.”

Mu Shan’s face twitched.

“You’re saying… someone coveted his treasures, killed him for them, and staged it as an accident?”

“Obviously.”

Jiang Lou let out a cold snort.

“My disciple was perfectly fine when he left us last night. Maybe we should ask the person who was last seen with him.”

The truth wasn’t a secret—Qi Xiaolang had left with Yao Fang and several Piaomiao Pavilion disciples.

Soon, Xiao Yunkong brought them over.

Yao Fang’s face was pale. The once arrogant man now hunched over, his guilt and unease obvious to anyone.

He glanced at Qi Xiaolang’s body—and immediately looked away as if shocked.

“Yao Fang.”

Jiang Lou observed every reaction.

“You took Xiaolang away last night in front of all of us, saying you’d report something to the elders. What happened after that? Care to explain?”

Before Yao Fang could answer, Mu Shan spoke first in shock:

“Report what?”

Yao Fang trembled.

“I-it was just… yesterday they used an artifact furnace to cook food. I thought… maybe that counts as unauthorized use, so it needed reporting…”

“Rubbish!” Mu Shan exploded. “I was on duty last night—no one reported anything! What trouble have you caused behind my back this time?!”

Yao Fang collapsed to his knees with a thud.

“I didn’t do anything! I swear! I just… I was angry after being insulted, so I wanted to mess with them a bit. I took the boy out and deliberately led him the wrong way, just to scare him… I never intended to kill him! I didn’t even know he would die! This has nothing to do with me! Master, please believe me! Seniors, please believe me!”

“Senior… don’t lie…”

A timid voice suddenly came from the crowd.

A young boy stepped forward, pointing at Yao Fang.

“I saw it last night… on the long bridge. Senior Brother Yao grabbed that boy, took his storage ring, and pushed him off the cliff. I was scared, so I didn’t say anything… but lying is wrong… if I don’t speak, he’ll never get justice…”

“Lies!”

Yao Fang lunged forward, grabbing the boy’s shoulders.

“Which eye of yours saw that?! Say it! Don’t frame me!”

The boy burst into tears.

“I’m telling the truth! I didn’t hurt you!”

After a long pause, Mu Shan sighed.

“Search Yao Fang’s room.”

Soon, a disciple returned with a yellow-grade storage ring.

“It was found beneath the floorboards.”

Jiang Lou took it, checked it, and confirmed it belonged to Qi Xiaolang.

His fingers tightened until his knuckles turned white.

“With both witness and evidence present… what else do you have to say?”

Yao Fang seemed to lose all strength.

“I… I don’t know… I’ve never seen that… I’m innocent! I’ve been wronged!”

Mu Shan sighed heavily.

“Take him to the punishment hall. We’ll wait for the Pavilion Master to pass judgment.”

“Wait.”

Just as they dragged Yao Fang away, Lin Jin suddenly spoke.

All eyes turned to him.

After a moment, he said firmly:

“I believe him. He didn’t do this.”