Chapter 106 He should be bound and taken back to Mount Shu, where the Sword Sect will cripple him…

In the middle of the night after they left the Spirit Treasure Secret Realm, Lu Yuanyuan developed a high fever.

It wasn't because of what happened by the pool. She had placed the bet herself, and with her modern mindset, she wouldn't make a scene over something like that; what happened, happened. It was simply that she was exhausted, and the corrosive poison was spreading, which overwhelmed her body.

During this time, she vaguely felt that someone was taking care of her in the room, giving her acupuncture, wiping her sweat, feeding her medicine and porridge, and placing a wet towel soaked in cold water on her forehead.

After two days of being in a daze, Lu Yuanyuan's fever finally broke on the morning of the third day. When she woke up in the morning, her chest and back were soaked with sweat. She propped herself up, lifted her shirt, wiped the sweat from her neck, and sensed her golden core. She found that the bone-corroding poison had been metabolized and her spiritual power had basically returned to normal.

Upon waking up and following the plot, Lu Yuanyuan learned that during the three days she had stayed indoors, the outside world had been developing according to the plot she knew.

This morning, all the disciples of Mount Shu withdrew from the Lingbao Secret Realm. So many people went in and conducted a thorough search, but they couldn't even find a trace of Master Xugu. Having searched fruitlessly, and not wanting to linger inside, they had no choice but to retreat and report back to the sect.

It seems that her framing of Duan Lansheng did not have any impact on the main storyline.

The fact that things went so smoothly made her feel inexplicably uneasy.

However, this could very well be because the trial that will determine her and Duan Lansheng's fate has not yet arrived, and their destinies are still subject to endless changes.

But it's not far off. If this life unfolds the same as the previous one, then that trial should take place today.

Lu Yuanyuan lowered her head in thought when she suddenly heard the door open and a very light footstep approaching.

"woke up?"

A tall figure passed over the screen. Yin Xiaozhu parted the curtain with his left hand, and held a bowl of porridge in his right hand, sprinkled with meat pieces and steaming hot. The bowl was actually not small, but it looked a size smaller in his hands.

He walked over with a normal expression: "Are you hungry? Have something to eat."

Lu Yuanyuan thought for a moment and reached out to take the bowl, but he gently dodged her.

"Let me do it, you just got over your fever."

Yin Xiaozhu sat on the edge of the bed, scooped up some porridge with a spoon, blew on it to cool it down, and then brought it to her lips. After hesitating for a moment, Lu Yuanyuan lowered her head and ate the spoonful of porridge from his hand.

She ate very slowly. Yin Xiaozhu was very patient and didn't rush her, feeding her spoonful by spoonful. When the porcelain bowl was empty, he took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the corners of her mouth before casually mentioning, "Shizun said he wants to see you."

Lu Yuanyuan was startled, then felt a warm touch on her face.

“I’ve already explained what happened that night to him. But he insists on seeing you, perhaps he has something to ask.” Yin Xiaozhu’s face darkened slightly, but when she looked up, he composed himself and said casually, “If you don’t want to see him, you don’t have to go. Stay here, and I will handle this matter properly for you.”

By the end, his tone seemed to have taken on a cold tinge.

Perhaps it's not just my imagination.

Lu Yuanyuan did not agree immediately. Her long eyelashes drooped for a moment, then lifted again: "Since Master wants to see me, I'll go."

.

Perhaps not wanting to make a big fuss before things were settled, Xu Yuanzi did not meet her in the small building where he was temporarily stationed, lest someone overhear him.

Fortunately, after passing through the woods near the small building, you will reach a cliff with a large pavilion.

When Lu Yuanyuan arrived here dressed and accompanied by Yin Xiaozhu, the people in the pavilion immediately looked at her.

Lu Yuanyuan immediately spotted Master Xuyuan sitting at the head of the table. Beside him were Qi Chang and Fu Xinguang, their expressions complex, and Duan Lansheng, who had looked up abruptly after she appeared, his eyes fixed on her face.

Three days passed, and Duan Lansheng's spiritual power had returned to normal. His black hair was tied up high, his appearance was very handsome, and his face was pale, no longer the disheveled figure he had been by the water. But his gaze seemed to instantly transport her back to that night, making it hard for her to breathe.

Upon seeing that she had come with Yin Xiaozhu, he seemed to grit his teeth.

Lu Yuanyuan held her breath, looked away, went to the pavilion, and bowed to Xu Yuanzi.

She had experienced such interrogation once before in her previous life. After Duan Lansheng was cured of the poison, Xu Yuanzi summoned both her and Duan Lansheng. Also present were witnesses who were involved in the incident and had witnessed it.

Back then, she was the one being questioned. Now, her position and Duan Lansheng's position have been reversed. Once again, the tables have turned.

With everyone present, Xu Yuanzi opened his aged yet sharp eyes, glanced at her and Duan Lansheng, and said in a deep voice, "Yuanyuan, I have already learned what happened that night from your senior sister. But this matter is of great importance, and I still want to hear if you have anything to say."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xu Yuanzi clearly saw the girl in front of him tremble.

He paused for a moment, then softened his tone, becoming more magnanimous and gentle: "You... don't need to hold back, don't be ashamed, you can say whatever you want, Danqingfeng will definitely uphold justice for you."

Fu Xinguang, standing beside him, scratched his head and couldn't help but ask, "Duan Lansheng said he went underwater to pick the antidote, but he didn't see the Bone-Corroding Flower. What exactly happened? Did he really bully you? Or is there some misunderstanding? Tell me, anything is fine!"

It wasn't that he was impatient, but as the first witness to discover the Bone-Corroding Flower, after learning what had happened, he was driven mad by the unbelievable process—he simply couldn't believe that Duan Lansheng, who was usually upright, aloof, and ascetic, would do such a despicable thing as deliberately hiding the antidote and taking the opportunity to violate the mentally unstable Lu Yuanyuan!

However, Lu Yuanyuan and Duan Lansheng were such good friends, and she was always so kind to him. The number of times she risked her life to save him during missions was countless. It was said that back when Duan Lansheng was often looked down upon and isolated in Shu Mountain, she was the only one who actively teamed up with him on missions, always speaking up for him and never letting anyone say a bad word about him. She had absolutely no motive, and even less would she, to slander Duan Lansheng!

If the truth wasn't that Duan Lansheng disregarded her wishes and bullied her, what reason would she have to let her senior sister say such things? What reason would she have not to explain for Duan Lansheng and say a good word for him?

However, Lu Yuanyuan remained silent and kept her head down when questioned by the two men. Gradually, her eyes reddened, and she took a deep breath, biting her lip as if trying to suppress some emotion.

Silence does not mean that no information has been revealed.

Silence can sometimes be a euphemistic way of expressing oneself.

Moreover, seeing her expression, everyone present understood perfectly well—she remained silent because she was still thinking of past relationships, and even though she had been wronged, she chose to grit her teeth and swallow her harsh words.

Fu Xinguang was stunned for a moment, then thought about it again. Duan Lansheng himself had half fox demon blood, and demons were most susceptible to the influence of their mating season... The scales in his heart seemed to tip instantly. His eyes blazed with fire, and he slammed his fist on the pillar next to him, glaring at Duan Lansheng: "Duan Lansheng, you, you, you, are you even human! How could you do such a thing? What explanation do you have?!"

Lu Yuanyuan couldn't help but look over.

Since she arrived at the pavilion, Duan Lansheng hadn't uttered a single word. Now, he slowly raised his eyelids, his lips pale, but there was none of the rage, resentment, or anguish she had expected. Amidst the accusations, his back remained straight, but now, as he gazed at her, a hint of pleading and earnestness, unlike anything he had shown before, appeared in his eyes: "Yuanyuan, I have something I want to say to you alone."

Lu Yuanyuan lowered her head and did not respond.

Sure enough, as soon as she pretended to run away, she heard Yin Xiaozhu's voice: "Is there anything you can't say here?"

Due to the limitations imposed by her "simp" persona, she was not allowed to accuse Duan Lansheng during this trial.

But today, she realized that remaining silent could be more agonizing than speaking. Is it hard to be a bad person, or is it just that she's not used to it?

Even though there were so many people present, she felt as if she and Duan Lansheng were standing in the same body of water. Every breath she took, every tremor in her body, was transmitted to him through the ripples beneath her feet.

She, who wronged Duan Lansheng, is the person in the world who knows better than anyone how innocent Duan Lansheng is.

Shouldn't Duan Lansheng realize that he misjudged her? She is such a despicable and unscrupulous person.

She stood on the stage she had built herself, performing a play she had written. Now, the play had reached its climax, and the tension in her throat tightened further, as if it would snap at any moment…

Suddenly, she felt a warmth on her shoulder and was pulled into an embrace. Lu Yuanyuan stiffened.

In front of Duan Lansheng, Yin Xiaozhu pulled her into his arms, patted her back reassuringly, and then looked up, his tone cold and unyielding: "Master, there's no need to ask any further. The whole story is clear. Yuanyuan's condition was far more serious than Duan Lansheng's, and she lost her mind much earlier. Duan Lansheng found the Corrosive Flower underwater but hid it away, simply to do that despicable thing. He violated the Shushan precept against lust, is unworthy to be a disciple of Shushan, and even harmed his own fellow disciple. He should be severely punished as a warning to others."

"Severe punishment?"

“That’s right. He should be taken back to Mount Shu, his cultivation should be abolished by the Sword Sect, and he should be expelled from the sect.”

Lu Yuanyuan was startled and looked up at him.

In her imagination, Duan Lansheng's fate should be to be punished and then expelled from the Shu Mountain sect, just like the original owner of the body she possessed in the original book.

Unexpectedly, Yin Xiaozhu's first move was to cripple Duan Lansheng's cultivation.

As long as a cultivator's golden core remains, even if their cultivation is absorbed by the Star Absorbing Technique, they can rebuild it. Therefore, what he meant was that he intended to shatter Duan Lansheng's golden core.

Once he loses his golden core, Duan Lansheng will revert to a half-demon, forever losing his chance to embark on the path of immortality. Even if one day he learns the truth about being framed today, he will be like a cripple in her presence, powerless to seek revenge.

In her past life, Duan Lansheng killed her. In this life, she deliberately seeks revenge on him, ruining his reputation and taking away his cultivation and future. Does that make it even?

Lu Yuanyuan was unaware of the expression on her face when she suddenly felt a tightening on her wrist. She quickly looked up and saw Yin Xiaozhu staring at her, his brows slightly furrowed, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Just then, a clear voice suddenly rang out from the misty cliff edge: "Wait a minute!"

Everyone was taken aback.

The mountain was almost vertical, with a bottomless abyss leading to the Spirit Treasure Secret Realm below. They had confirmed earlier that no one was hiding in the bushes around the pavilion, and they hadn't heard the sound of a sword flying. How could someone suddenly appear out of nowhere?

The next second, everyone watched in disbelief as a person wearing a hat and completely covered from head to toe rolled out of the bushes, rushed in front of them, and ripped off the hat.