The disciple next to Yang Wu Huang furrowed his brows. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Gongsun Chen scoffed. "Exactly what I said. We might not have been able to find anything even if we looked for it. And anyway, do you know what happened? If not, then why are you saying such things?"
The disciple gnashed his teeth. "What's wrong about what I said? It could have been a plan, couldn't it? Do you want to say that the ones who died were merely unfortunate?"
Gongsun Chen furrowed his brows as well and glared at the disciple. "I'm not saying anything of the like. But you and everybody else here know clearly just what you're insinuating. Have you already forgotten what Elder Baili said yesterday? I haven't! Anyway, you all can let go of your suspicions about Mei Chao Bing. He was with us all the time. We would've known if he did anything."
Yang Wu Huang slightly furrowed his brows. How come somebody was stepping out to defend that traitor? Clearly, nobody had been on his side just a day prior and he had needed Elder Baili to defend him. How could things have changed this fast?
Some of the other disciples had the decency to look ashamed of themselves when they heard Gongsun Chen's words. Indeed, they had treated Mei Chao Bing just like previously as if Elder Baili's words had been nothing but hot air that didn't need to be taken seriously.
They glanced at the Elders, before trying to diminish their presence. Even though nobody had said anything about their behavior in the past years, it was clear that at least Elder Baili wasn't willing to let the matter slide any longer. Well, if Mei Chao Bing was truly engaged to his disciple, then that was no wonder. If Mei Chao Bing's image continued to be like this, then Yun Bei Fen would also suffer. Naturally, his Master wouldn't want something like that to happen.
While some disciples had this kind of thought, there were others who didn't care at all. Naturally, these were the people that were on Yang Wu Huang's side. They knew about the rivalry between the two people and with the stigma that was already attached to Mei Chao Bing's name, they were sure that it was more beneficial to them if they followed Yang Wu Huang.
Anyway, they had done pretty well in the last few years. It would be idiotic to suddenly change sides. With Yang Wu Huang, they had already put in a lot of effort. If they continued to treat him sincerely, then it wouldn't be to their disadvantage. On the other hand, who could say for sure that Mei Chao Bing would accept them even if they wanted to change sides? In that case, it was better to continue to work in the direction they had already chosen.
Thus, one of the disciples raised his chin and tried to help out. "Nobody is saying that he did anything. But you can't refuse to admit that this is quite strange. We never met any demonic practitioners in these two weeks. Now, he came here and something like this happens almost immediately.
"Furthermore, isn't he the one most likely to find that array? If it wasn't him, then we'll definitely apologize. But right now, I really can't help but agree with what Ao Jiang said. Even if you don't agree, we should at least be able to voice our opinion and ask for some clarification. Don't you think so?"
Gongsun Chen narrowed his eyes and wanted to retort but Mei Chao Bing reached out and lightly touched his arm. "Thank you for trying to help me out. I don't think you're doing yourself any good if you continue with this though. If they want an explanation, we might as well let the Elders give one. Isn't it better to investigate everything and make sure that there really wasn't anything fishy about this?
"I have a clear conscience so I'm not worried about myself. But what happened with my Master back then should have told all of us that sometimes, the people we don't expect to be traitors can be one after all. If one of the disciples here is indeed working together with the demonic practitioners, then it is better for us to find out sooner rather than later. That way, we might be able to save other lives."
On the other side of the square, Yang Wu Huang's eyes slightly widened. Could it be that Mei Chao Bing was trying to pull him down to his level? Did you want to pin the label of a traitor onto his head that as well? He couldn't let that happen!
He clenched his fist but didn't know what to do. If he jumped out to refute, he would only make himself suspicious. But if he didn't say anything … What if the Elders investigated and indeed found some kind of clue? He was sure that they hadn't left anything behind that would point to them but who knows for sure? If things went wrong … He could lose everything.
Regardless of what Yang Wu Huang thought, it wouldn't change the outcome. Elder Baili and Elder Xing exchanged a glance before slowly nodding. Originally they hadn't wanted to bring it up because, well, the one who had informed them about the array had indeed been Mei Chao Bing and they could imagine how this would look to the other disciples. And considering that he had informed them in such a way, it was obvious that he had wanted to keep exactly that from happening.
But the one to suggest indeed investigating this had been Mei Chao Bing as well. In that case, they didn't feel any pressure going forward with this. Anyway, they would first investigate everything else. And what Mei Chao Bing had just said was true, just because they were sure that he wasn't a traitor, didn't mean that none of the others was. Anyway, they couldn't let this matter slide. They had to find out what happened.