Chapter 31 You dare say you weren't willingly used by me?

Ling Shu took out three confessions with her fingerprints from the imperial green storage bracelet left to her by her mother.

She'd do anything to add another charge to this guilty person.

She always remembered what Wang Lifu had told her: "There is more than one way to fight back than killing someone." She didn't really agree with it, but she got inspiration from it. On the surface, the deaths of those three people had nothing to do with her, but in reality, she was the one who indirectly caused their deaths.

The so-called thunderstorm was simply her ability to control lightning. However, she died suddenly, and she didn't know why. She had used some methods to force Zhou Qi and Qian Yu to write a confession. Qian Yu had a strong will to live, while Zhou Qi did not.

Someone helped her.

This person is more capable than her.

Is it Zhuang Jinfu? But isn't she supposed to stay out of worldly affairs?

When Zhuang Jinfu confronted Shan Ji today, everyone present was shocked. But when they heard Ling Shu mentioned in his words, they found it reasonable. Sure enough, having a disciple creates ties. Even the aloof and ruthless outsider can slap someone.

When the confession reached Zhuang Jinfu's hands, Shan Ji's crime was compounded.

It is clearly written in black and white that Shan Ji instigated Sun, Wang, Zhou, Qi, and Yu to beat up their fellow disciples, and instructed Zhao Chi to murder Ling Shu, with Sun, Wang, Zhou, Qi, and Yu as accomplices.

Shan Ji became the scapegoat.

Zhao Chi was also dragged into this.

When Elder An Hong read out Zhao Chi's confession in front of everyone, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

Zhao Chixin felt utterly hopeless. Looking at Ling Shu's righteous indignation, her heart ached terribly.

Ling Shu would not refuse to take it out just because her confession mentioned her.

She didn't care about her own safety, and even if he had already surrendered to her and risked exposure to invite the Masters and Elders to her aid, she wouldn't have softened her heart.

Murder is also punishable by forty strokes of lightning.

Shan Ji chuckled: "Thunderbolt? If I, an elder of Shangqing Mountain, can't even withstand thunderbolt, what kind of elder am I? Come on, what other evidence do you have? Can you kill me?"

The tribulation of the Nascent Soul stage involves thirty-two lightning strikes. Most cultivators cannot reach the Nascent Soul stage, and twenty lightning strikes are the limit. Therefore, the Heavenly Thunder Law of the Shangqing Sect is actually unable to curb the elders' crimes.

Ling Shu was furious and jumped off the table, wanting to draw a teacher's sword and rush over to finish her off, but she couldn't draw it after a long time. She had been able to draw Zhao Chi's sword smoothly before, but this time she couldn't. The teacher stopped her and said, "Ling Shu, no matter how angry you are, you must not act rashly. This matter should be left to the elders of the execution platform to handle."

Ling Shu looked at the sword with a puzzled expression. The Master said, "The sword recognizes its master. Be obedient. We all know you have been wronged. The elders of the execution platform will seek justice for you."

Ling Shu said, "But the existing laws can't punish her. She'll only retaliate more fiercely after she gets out!"

The teacher sighed, "There's nothing we can do about it. Headmaster Wang was originally quite capable, but she was exposed for having a relationship with a demon. I'm not saying demons are bad, it's just that the conflict between humans and demons is really hard to resolve. Most people don't like demons."

Ling Shu said, "To ordinary people, cultivators and demons are the same, equally dangerous."

The Master sighed, “Indeed. The higher one’s cultivation level, the more dangerous it is. Without restrictions, the consequences would be unimaginable. It’s a pity that we don’t have the background of a noble family and can’t squeeze into the Council of Elders.”

Masters are generally people in the middle or late stages of Foundation Establishment. In literature, they are judged by their knowledge; in martial arts, they are judged by their skills. Teaching magic is something that only the masters of inner disciples do. Therefore, the masters of Shangqing Mountain are generally people with low magical power and ordinary backgrounds. People from noble families generally do not come to be masters, as they are paid little and have a lot of work.

Seeing Shan Ji's arrogant demeanor, Ling Shu silently made up her mind.

Shanji laughed, "Isn't your King Dog supposed to be very powerful? How come every time you apply to the Elders' Council for a change in the law, it gets rejected? Hahahaha!"

The room fell silent. Zhuang Jinfu's face was frighteningly gloomy. She stepped forward and slapped Shanji hard across the face. Her voice was filled with hatred as she coldly said, "I really want to kill you."

Shanji was genuinely afraid this time, but she quickly overcame her fear: "Even if you are a Celestial Venerable, you can't avoid the Execution Platform and the Elders' Council when you do things."

Shan Ji was confident of victory: "Besides, you are under the supervision of Heaven, so you cannot possibly commit murder in secret."

Ling Shu thought to herself, if the person who helped her wasn't Zhuang Jinfu, then who could it be? Whoever it was, their stance was the same as hers.

Suppressing his anger, Zhuang Jinfu said coldly, "An Hong, take her away to await further instructions."

Shanji was taken away, and Zhao Chi was also taken away on suspicion of attempted murder.

Before leaving, Zhao Chi solemnly handed his sword to Ling Shu: "Please take good care of my sword."

Ling Shu noticed that she was staring at her. "I will." She took the sword, but Zhao Chi still hadn't let go. She said through gritted teeth, "You must take good care of my sword."

Ling Shu understood and smiled, "Definitely."

As Zhao Chi was leaving, Ling Shu suddenly called out to her, "I forgive you."

Zhao Chi paused, turned around, tears welling in her eyes, and choked out, "Thank you."

The teachers all knew that Ling Shu had been wronged, so they all gathered around to comfort her and advised Zhuang Jinfu not to be angry. Then the other injured candidates waited for the teachers to visit them, and one by one they left because they had other things to do.

In the end, only Zhuang Jinfu and Ling Shu remained.

Zhuang Jinfu's expression remained unchanged; in fact, he became even angrier: "Don't you know it's dangerous?"

Ling Shu: "If I don't get involved myself, how long will it take to bring the bad guys to justice?"

Zhuang Jinfu frowned, his tone unfriendly: "With your clumsy 'scheme'?"

Ling Shu retorted angrily, "So what? We've already dragged her out!"

Zhuang Jinfu, unable to contain his emotions, said sternly, "Don't you know that if Zhao Chi betrays you, I'm unwilling to step in, and Li Chang doesn't go into the formation with you, you really will die in the Meridian Killing Formation?!"

Ling Shu roared, "I believe Zhao Chi! I also know that Zhao Chi will definitely persuade Li Chang to follow me! And you, are you really not going to step in?!"

Zhuang Jinfu was struck by the question that had hit her hard. Would she not step forward? She asked herself, her lips parted and closed, suppressing her emotions, breathing heavily, and then she fell silent.

She couldn't utter a single "no".

Zhuang Jinfu's gaze was somewhat complicated, as if she didn't recognize the person in front of her: "You... who else have you schemed against?" Zhuang Jinfu's voice trembled: "You've taken all the good things the three of us have done for you into your calculations, Ling Shu, you've changed."

Ling Shu turned her face away, a bitter feeling welling up again, and dared not look her in the eye.

She was right; she even manipulated people's emotions.

“But you still showed up,” Ling Shu said, her hands hanging naturally at her sides, clenching her sleeves tightly. Suddenly, she mustered her courage again. With her shrewdness, how could she not guess her clumsy plan?

Ling Shu, her eyes red-rimmed, straightened her face and looked directly at her: "Dare you say you weren't willingly used by me?!"

Zhuang Jinfu's mouth was tightly closed, like a taut gourd, and she was right again.

“Say it! Say you’re not true!” Ling Shu pressed her.

Zhuang Jinfu dared not admit it. If she did, she would definitely relentlessly pursue her. They were master and disciple, a relationship that could not be violated.

Silence can also signify acquiescence.

"What answer do you want to know?" Zhuang Jinfu slowly calmed down, suppressing his emotions and pretending to be normal. "What do you want to prove? Ling Shu, we are master and disciple. I am good to you only because I am your master. You don't receive much care in this world, and I pity you."

The words "I pity you" struck Ling Shu's heart like a heavy blow. The answer she had been hoping for was nothing but her own wishful thinking. Tears streamed down her face, unstoppable.

How could she mistake pity for love?

Ling Shu gave a self-deprecating laugh, then choked out, "Zhuang Jinfu, you never really loved me. I only realize that now. Before, no matter if I kissed you or barged into your bathroom, you were always so tolerant of me. I thought..."

"I really thought I could move you, I could seduce you. I didn't care about any of the ruthlessness. But it turns out... it turns out your ruthlessness is real. Watching how I love you, how I get close to you, you don't feel a ripple in your heart. You even... you think I'm just a homeless child who finds a little warmth and thinks I've been saved. You yourself are also pleased with yourself for showing me warmth, aren't you?"

"Zhuang Jinfu, you are so heartless."

Zhuang Jinfu's expression remained as calm as a rock, and he took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and handed it to her.

Ling Shu was in even more pain.

But she accepted it anyway.

She needed Zhuang Jinfu's pity; if she didn't even have pity, she didn't know what else she could rely on to survive in this world.

Zhuang Jinfu turned her head silently, with Ling Shu following behind her. In this way, they would still be master and disciple.

Ling Shu rubbed her eyes as she came out and walked into the crowded lounge. Suddenly, Li Chang jumped out and called out to her, smiling innocently and excitedly: "Ling Shu, you owe me this time."

Ling Shu was still upset. When Zhuang Jinfu heard Li Chang's voice, he didn't leave but went to the side.

"Why are you crying? Did Zenki hurt you too much?"

Ling Shu replied in a hoarse voice, "Yes, I owe you. I'm fine."

Seeing that her eyes were red, Li Chang couldn't bear to argue with her anymore and said, "It's okay. Your master's healing skills are very powerful. Let her heal you properly."

Ling Shu glanced at Zhuang Jinfu, feeling a bit down, and replied, "Mm."

Zhuang Jinfu stood aside, still appearing calm and composed, while the disciples around her secretly peered through the doorway at her.

A kind master who patiently waits for his disciple to chat.

She wasn't wrong; it was Ling Shu who was wrong.

An unconventional love was accepted by a compassionate heart.

He truly is a heartless person who ascended to immortality.

Ling Shu couldn't stay any longer and just wanted to leave. The calmer she was in front of everyone, the more uncomfortable Ling Shu felt.

"I'm leaving now." Ling Shu said, trying to walk away, but Li Chang stopped her, asking, "Don't go yet, I have something to ask you." Ling Shu was upset and wanted to leave, but Li Chang was strong enough to stop her. She leaned close to Ling Shu's ear, covered her mouth with her hand, and said, "Is the Meridian Killing Formation only harmful to demons?"

“Yes, that’s right.” Ling Shu said impatiently.

Li Chang said, "Then... then why did I feel dizzy?"

Ling Shu was also stunned, and said, "I'll go back and look through the old books, and then I'll tell you."

"Okay."

Ling Shu followed Zhuang Jinfu, and they remained silent the entire way.

Zhuang Jinfu asked her for sick leave, and she didn't go to school for the next few days; she wasn't in the mood to go either.

One night, Ling Shu went back to her room, took out Zhao Chi's plain sword, changed into a night outfit, and went out.

She had long since figured out the prison shift change times, and the barrier array for entering the prison didn't stop her, which was strange, as it was exactly the same as last time.

However, this time Ling Shu sensed a scorching aura of spiritual energy, and that person was closely following him.

Ling Shu didn't care; she was just a worthless life. If that person wanted to kill her, then so be it. She walked straight towards the cell where Shan Ji was.

Upon seeing her, Shanji recognized Lingshu by her scent: "What are you doing? The execution platform hasn't sentenced me yet, you can't kill me!"

As soon as Shanji moved, the chains on her body rattled. She could not resist because the chains had a suppressing magical power.

She screamed, "Ling Shu is going to kill me! Ling Shu is going to kill me! Help!!!"

Ling Shu simply ripped off her veil and said with a wicked grin, "You think I'm afraid of these things?"

Ling Shu burst through the prison door, fiercely brandishing her sword as it pierced towards her. She heard a phrase that even in the underworld, one could not help but feel fear.

Ling Shu said, "The law cannot kill you, but it can."