Everything was as before. When San Jie arrived with Yu Lingyu, Shen Ming had already returned, provoking San Jie's anger. After a night full of conflict, it was morning at last. In the morning, someone quickly knocked on the door, angering San Jie again. Calming him down, Luo Cheng offered to look it out.
"Duan Shimei?" He asked in a bit of surprise, looking at Duan Xia who was out. "Get ready soon," she said nervously. "The sect is calling a meeting."
"The whole sect?" Half-dressed, San Jie walked out the door as if he had forgotten he was half-dressed. Seeing his bare chest, Duan Xia turned red and looked away. "The whole sect."
It is a quick preparation. In no time, they had gathered in the large open-air pavilion in Juyao, and there were more than four thousand Wen Sect disciples gathered there. Sneaking through the crowd, San Jie joined the small queue at Jun Peak. "What's happening?" He asked the person in front of him. "I don't know. The elders are back." He said. "I wonder if Da Shixiong will be alright."
San Jie frowned. "What's wrong?"
Jun Peek's disciple who was in the front turned around and looked directly at San Jie. "Definitely because of Meng Shixiong." He said with a sigh. "I can't believe it."
"Even so, where is Yu Shixiong? Shouldn't he be here as the fifth inner disciple?" Xu Jin asked, emerging from behind San Jie. San Jie shrugged his shoulders. "Who knows? He might still be moaning and sleeping."
"I called him." Duan Xia said. "They said he won't come because he's sick."
San Jie was not surprised.
"Oh, that's Han Zi Ying!" Xu Jin muttered blushing shyly, looking at the handsome boy walking among the disciples. "It's Zi Ying Shixiong for you." A young lady from Shensheng in the next queue kindly corrected her.
"Eh, is your Da Shixiong okay? I heard he's going to face a big punishment." asked another.
Xu Jin tried to answer, but San Jie stopped her. "None of your business." He said in a harsh tone.
"Da Shixiong did nothing wrong."
"Ooh~ nothing wrong? Protecting a demon...yeah it's not a wrongdoing, it's a crime." Someone from Chuangzhou scoffed. San Jie tried to say something, but the man pushed the others and fell back as if he had been hit by someone. "What's wrong with it, you dumbass!" Shen Ming shouted, trembling with utter rage. "You piece of shit, scum than a demon. Go to hell you motherfucker!"
San Jie ".....???"
"Shen Xiong!" Xu Jin cried out in fear and hung onto his arm, pulling him back. "Stop that!"
The other one stood up, laughing hysterically. "Did you see? Did everyone see it? This is the true state of Jun Peak."
"What do you want us to see?" An amused and soothing voice came from behind him. Han Zi Ying smiled as she put his arms around Chuangzhou's disciple's shoulders. "Tell me, what are we supposed to see?"
"N-nothing Han Shixiong!" said the disciple of Chuangzhou who was trembling with fear. The smile on Han Zi Ying's face faded.
"Then that's it. Stop fooling around and get into your places, all of you!" He said angrily, turned the other way, and left. Then an eerie silence. The chirping of birds rose from all directions and the clouds were drifting in the brisk wind. After the previous day's rain, everything seemed to have started anew, but there was a musty look in the environment. Even the sun was not that bright. "I have a bad feeling about this..." Duan Xia muttered to herself.
The congregation began after the five elders took the stage. Elder Shi didn't seem so happy. Elder Shen Guo also said nothing and stared at Wei Yunhe at the front of the queue with a dark gaze. Elder Shi gave a short speech about the war and what was lost, and soon got down to the real topic.
"Wei Yunhe!" His voice echoed around the outdoor pavilion. Hamming his hands, Wei Yunhe took a step forward. "Kneel!"
Jun Peak barely hid their anger as their Da Shixiong knelt before the entire sect. Only San Jie looked on discreetly.
"Did you know about Murong Meng?" Elder Shi asked.
"Deny it, you fool!" Han Zi Ying, on the other side, muttered to himself as if in frustration. After being silent for a while, Wei Yunhe finally raised his voice.
"I..." Everyone held their breath for a moment. "Knew it!"
A long silence.
Han Zi Ying closed hIS eyes tightly in frustration, and a smile tugged at the corner of Yi Qiu's mouth. "As expected from a fool." He whispered happily.
"Will you admit your mistakes? Do you know how many people died because of your carelessness Wei Yunhe? As a main disciple, you should protect your disciples, not demons." San Yumo, the chief of Chuangzhou shouted.
Wei Yunhe lowered his eyes. "Murong Meng is also a disciple of Jun Peak," he whispered.
"A disciple? He's a demon!"
"So he must die?!" Wei Yunhe's voice rose. "Should he die, because he was born a devil? He was not born that way of his own accord."
"That's enough you idiot." Zi Ying muttered in alarm.
"Let go of a demon, you will kill hundreds of humans." Yi Qiu said.
"I have had high hopes for you." Elder Shi said in frustration. "You released that Lotus demon too. And now look how many of your brothers lost their lives thanks to your decision."
"Not only that, but you weren't here at the time of the attack. Your case should have finished in Luoyang a few days before that. Wei Yunhe, are you also an accomplice?"
Yunhe felt his heart explode. A partner? he?
"Elder San Yumo, that's too much." Han Zi Ying said, standing up for Yunhe.
"So he's an accomplice because he wasn't here?" A voice rose from behind the crowd. It was full of fun and sarcasm. "So you're accomplices too, old men? Where were you during the war?"
As everyone's attention turned to that person, they stepped aside and gave way. In between walked someone they had never seen before. Tall and slender, he was extremely handsome and had striking silvery hazel eyes. Dressed in a black and red robe, he looked like a rich son mocking others.
"Who are you? What the hell are you talking about?" Yi Qiu shouted. Yu Lingyu smiled and walked forward, standing next to Yi Qiu. "Isn't that logical? If he's an accomplice because he wasn't here, then those old men are accomplices too because they weren't here at the time." He didn't know exactly what the war was or what was happening, he only heard things from different places. But Yu Lingyu's expression was direct and unyielding.
"They were in solitary meditation." Yi Qiu shouted.
"Oh, can you confirm that? You just said meditation in solitude, so none of you met them in person, did you?"
Xiao Hai, who was behind, had a small smile on his face.
"Who do you think you are to interfere like this?" San Yumo asked in a stern tone mixed with anger.
"I am?" Yu Lingyu asked with eagerness as he waved his hand towards himself with sparkling eyes. Almost everyone was stunned, and only Elder Shen Guo looked more shocked than surprised. It seemed; he knew who this person was. But he did not know at the same time.
"How did an outsider like you enter the sect?" Yi Qiu asked.
"Heyoo~ That's too bad. It hurts, you stupid firebird." Yu Lingyu sneered, clutching his heart as if hurt by the word 'outsider'. San Jie held back his laughter with difficulty.
Everyone's attention was on the man who jumped in the middle of a really important meeting and danced absurdly.
"I am Yu Lingyu!" He said with a wink. "The fifth and final Inner Disciple of Jun Peak. Can I participate in this or not?"
There was a great uproar around the crowd.
"Yu Lingyu?"
"Isn't that the clownish poet?"
"Why the hell did he wear a mask before.."
"Why did ya all call him a clown, he is not a one."
"What the heck is happening?"
Yi Qiu also stared in shock. "Yu Lingyu, that coward?"
Lingyu puckered his mouth. "Coward? Am I a coward? Are you sure that you are not talking about yourself?"
This was by no means the coward punching bag that Yi Qiu once faced. He had never imagined that the face behind the mask he once made fun of was so handsome and well-featured. The Clownish poet who was the clown of the whole sect was not such a person.
"Yu…Lingyu?" Elder Shen Guo muttered to himself, even more shocked than before.
"Silence!" Shi Xieren shouted angrily, and loudly. The whispers died away and gradually everything became quiet. "Even if he wasn't an accomplice, he protected the demons. That's a crime that deserves punishment!"
"Wei Yunhe didn't know that he was a demon." Then another voice was heard. Sha Nami came walking from the side of the stage. She had a small wooden box in her hand, and she had disheveled hair and dusty clothes as if she had arrived suddenly. "What do you mean Nami?" Zi Ying asked, as no one else was asked.
"I met Murong Meng. Or I should call him Meng Zhi, son of wolf king Hu Ze!"
This caused a stir among all. "Son of Hu Ze, you mean that?" Zi Ying asked, his eyes widening. "It can be true." Xiao Hai said coldly.
"He is a high-class demon, there is no way that Yunhe knew that Murong Meng was a demon. And also Meng confirmed that Yunhe didn't know about him." Sha Nami said.
"Then why did he admit it? Are you all lying to the elders together?" Yi Qiu shouted.
"Because if he isn't, then this supreme court of yours will blame Mei Qingxuan instead of Wei Yunhe." Yu Lingyu said the word Supreme Court, adding maximum sarcasm to it.
"Are you sure he lost his memory?" Xu Jin asked, whispering into San Jie's ear.
"Why would we blame Mei Qingxuan?" Yi Qiu asked as if a little surprised. Even though he pretended not to know, what Yu Lingyu said was still true.
"Mei Qingxuan is the one who is close to Murong Meng. You will blame him for failing to recognize the demon if Wei Yunhe doesn't have all the faults on his shoulders. So now Wei Yunhe admitted it and there is no use in blaming Qingxuan. Heyoo~ Am I correct, you dusty firebird?"
"You damn jerk of Jun Peak, what do you think you are doing?!" Grabbing Lingyu's collar, Yi Qiu growled. Lingyu raised his hands as if to surrender. "See!" he shouted. "See, have you all seen? This is the true state of Chuangzhou!"
"He attacks someone weaker than himself, very pathetic."
"Isn't this it?" Xu Jin whispered. "Aren't those the words that man said to Shen Xiong?"
"From the beginning, you intend to frame Wei Yunhe." Yu Lingyu continued.
"You idiot! He's here because he made a mistake!" Yi Qiu was shivering and his body temperature was rising.
"If that girl on the stage never met Murong Meng and didn't confirm that he is a high-class demon who can't recognize without a proper demon-catching method, yeah then sure, Wei Yunhe is guilty. And how about now, is he still guilty?"
"Yes, he is!" Yi Qiu said, laughing like a maniac. "Forget about Murong Meng! He still protects that bitch Meng Li and speaks up for a demon. He is a criminal who must be punished."
"Meng Li Shijie didn't kill anyone, and she still saved the people - us who were about to die." Yuan Yu Yi called out from somewhere. The events were happening fast and the Elder Council was waiting in silence for a moment.
"Stop it all of you!" Wei Yunhe shouted in frustration. "Enough is enough. Don't disrespect the Elders!"
"Heyoo~ here you go again," Lingyu said sarcastically. "Hey, Da shixiong...You should learn to protect yourself first. If you can't protect yourself then how are you going to protect others? You will get killed both you and them."
Wei Yunhe never expected Yu Lingyu to say something like that. 'You will get killed both you and them.' Those words hit his chest like a hail of ice.
"Only stupids will sacrifice their lives for others," Lingyu said in a harassing voice.
"Stop!" Standing up, Elder Shi said in a deep tone. "We need to investigate this matter further, but we can confirm that Wei Yunhe protected Meng Li and talked about the demons, and he turned the things he was supposed to protect into the hands of his enemies and caused great destruction. I hereby Shi Xieren, according to the law of the Wen Sect, it is affirmed that the guilty Wei Yunhe shall be subjected to the punishment of a hundred lightning bolts."
"He will die!" Han Zi Ying shouted. "Elder Shi, please reconsider."
"Please reconsider." Xiao Hai also said.
"Elder Shi, you should reduce the punishment." Sha Nami said handing the wooden box to him. "I was going to give this to Elder Shen Guo, but now, it is appropriate to give it to you."
Shi Xieren opened the small wooden box. Glowing inside was a blue key-shaped object. "This.."
"Infinite key. Treasure of the former Demon King Sang Lian. This is the key used by Murong Meng, Wei Yunhe's key is safe. So, Yunhe did not lose what he protected." Indeed, this discussion between Nami and the elders was done behind the congregation. The lost thing was a secret known only among a very small number of people.
"Fifty lightning strikes." Elder Shi said. "That's all for now. Let's go back to this after we've looked into more details. I'll disperse the council from here."
Wei Yunhe had no idea what was happening. He definitely knew who Murong Meng was, and he really lost his key. Whatever Nami showed, his conscience was defiled even if it lessened his punishment. Why do they show that he did not do what he did?
"Because you did the right thing." Xiao Hai appeared from the side and said as if reading Yunhe's thoughts.
"Very charming," Lingyu muttered to himself in a sarcastic voice as he looked at the scattering congregation. As a sect with a high reputation, he was not very happy with the decision-making and internal litigation of the Wen sect. "But what did the demons do so wrong?"