Chapter 165
If the square-faced man still held a sliver of hope, all his hopes vanished when he saw Bai Chaoyan's jade pendant.
He shook his head, his face ashen, and muttered to himself, "This, this is impossible. Why do you have the Celestial Venerable's jade pendant!?"
Fan Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and walked back to Gu Zhongtai's side. What's impossible about that? Do you understand the female lead's halo? She's the Heavenly Venerable's own granddaughter! What's so strange about her having the Heavenly Venerable's jade pendant?
Xiahou clearly recognized the jade pendant. After confirming its authenticity, he nodded to Bai Chaoyan: "So it's Junior Sister. Junior Brother Guo, what else do you have to say?"
"I...I..."
The man spoke haltingly, and judging from his appearance, it was clear that he was trying to find a way to exonerate himself. Xiahou's two sword-like eyebrows furrowed slightly, showing some displeasure.
"Go to the punishment hall and receive fifty lashes. Copy the sect's rules and regulations three hundred times; the other disciples will receive half that amount! Anyone who objects will be expelled from the sect!"
After hearing these charges, the square-faced man turned deathly pale. He opened his mouth, but ultimately only bowed his head and uttered a simple "Yes."
Watching the group's disheveled figures disappear into the distance, Gu Chongtai raised his green eyes, his mocking gaze blatantly fixed on Xiahou.
“Even when you Tianshan people set a crime rule, you still drag your feet.”
"Whoosh!"
A long sword was suddenly pressed against Gu Zhongtai's neck. Fan Xiaoxiao was startled, not expecting Xiahou to suddenly attack. She immediately looked at Xiahou with a wary expression.
"What are you doing! We've already made it clear that it was your Tianshan Sect's fault, so why are you trying to attack us now!?"
Xiahou's thin lips pressed tightly together, and his originally aloof and detached gaze suddenly became extremely sharp. He coldly swept his gaze across Fan Xiaoxiao's face and immediately recognized her as the dirty little girl from Luofeng Mountain that day.
"It's you. Step aside, this is a matter between me and Gu Zhongtai!"
Fan Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth, thinking to herself, "You've already put a sword to Boss Gu's neck, who knows if you'll actually stab him in the next moment?"
This scene wasn't in the original book; it's likely that Master Gu did something to change the plot. Xiahou is a gentleman; he would never lay a sword on her. Therefore, precisely because she's uninvolved, she can't step aside!
"Get to the point! Stop bluffing with swords! Your disciples were just now turning their swords against us, and now it's your turn, isn't it!?"
Fan Xiaoxiao's barrage of questions left Xiahou somewhat at a loss for words.
Looking at the small, thin figure blocking his way, Gu Zhongtai felt his heart being gently soothed.
Forced into a corner, Xiahou looked up at Gu Zhongtai: "You're just going to hide behind a woman like this? Gu Zhongtai, when did you become so useless?"
Using a provocation tactic, Gu Zhongtai scoffed disdainfully, removing the sword from his neck with one hand, a faint, mocking smile playing on his lips.
"What's it to you?"
"you!"
Xiahou's voice choked, and he tightened his grip on the longsword. However, due to Fan Xiaoxiao's presence, he only vaguely pointed his sword at Gu Zhongtai.
The crowd of onlookers behind him, knowing there was no real danger, grew larger and larger. You could vaguely hear them saying things like the Tianshan Sect liked to bully others by abusing their power.
Xiahou's face turned ugly, and he could only frown and take down the long sword, staring intently at Gu Zhongtai with a frosty look in his eyes.
"Why did you destroy the embankment at Luofeng Mountain that day! What were your intentions in deliberately staying by our side!?"
Luofeng Mountain? Fan Xiaoxiao looked utterly bewildered. Gu Zhongtai ruffled her hair: "It's the place where you first met us."
Oh! So that's where it is.
Fan Xiaoxiao was stunned. Wait, what did Boss Gu just do to her?
She belatedly touched her head; just now… it seemed that Boss Gu had touched her head?! Gu Chongtai looked at Fan Xiaoxiao's somewhat bewildered expression, smiled slightly, and then looked up at Xiahou again with his usual nonchalant and sarcastic smile.
"Why did I damage the embankment? Why don't you ask Sun Jingde?"
Xiahou frowned upon hearing the name: "Isn't Sun Jingde a government official? How is this matter related to him?"
Gu Zhongtai's mocking expression deepened: "Heh, it seems that the renowned Xiahou Xia, the great hero of the righteous path, is nothing but a fool."
"Baby, come here, come here."
Fan Xiaoxiao was still a little confused, sandwiched between the two people, when the Ghost Doctor behind her waved to her.
She tilted her head, looking at the Ghost Doctor with some confusion, wondering what he wanted her to do.
"Go to the old man's place, or you might get hurt by that Xia the Hero who has no eyes for swords."
Gu Zhongtai offered an explanation for the Ghost Doctor, but he himself clearly meant the same thing.
The slightly protruding veins on Xiahou's forehead indicated the suppressed anger in his heart, and the icy expression on his face was almost about to crumble.
"Gu Zhongtai! Don't go too far!"
Before walking toward the Ghost Doctor, Fan Xiaoxiao glanced back at Xiahou. Suddenly, she thought of the people who had been captured and forced to do hard labor at Luofeng Mountain, and the young man called Shadan that Uncle Wang had mentioned.
She paused, then turned to Xiahou and spoke again: "You mean the dam behind Luofeng Mountain, right?"
Both Gu Chongtai and Xiahou were taken aback by her words.
"That's right."
Fan Xiaoxiao sneered: "If that dam has anything to do with you, Master Xia, then I'll truly be amazed by the righteous path."
Her words were full of hostility, and Xiahou was somewhat puzzled by her sudden change in mood. His grip on the sword tightened slightly: "What do you mean by that?"
Fan Xiaoxiao took two steps toward Xiahou, getting closer to him.
"Master Xia, we fled in such a hurry that day that we forgot to ask you, do you know where those young children and those hunched old people in the dam are from?"
Xiahou frowned; he was doing this action more frequently than usual today.
"I don't know."
Fan Xiaoxiao sneered and raised her voice: "Ha, of course you don't know, those are all villagers who have disappeared from the surrounding area! Child!"
The moment this news was uttered, it was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, causing an uproar among the onlookers.
"Heavens, no way, does the Tianshan Sect really have such a thing?!"
"Who knows? But you never know. Look, wasn't that disciple bullying people here just now?"
"Exactly! Who said that! It's really unexpected that the Tianshan Sect, which is usually so righteous, would do such a thing."
Xiahou glanced at the people around him, and his cold gaze immediately silenced them.
He took another look at Fan Xiaoxiao. Compared to when he first saw her, the girl in front of him was slightly plumper, but her face was still rather thin. In this contrast, her eyes looked exceptionally large and bright.
He inexplicably believed the girl wasn't lying, and after a moment of silence, he lowered his sword.
What evidence do you have?
"Evidence? Ah, the corpses on the riverbank outside Guqu Town are evidence. The missing people from each village and hamlet are evidence!"
(End of this chapter)
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