Chapter 225 Not Allowed
An eerie silence fell over the execution ground hall.
Wei Xizhen entered against the light, walked to the long table and stopped naturally at the end, looked up at Wan Guiyue who was sitting at the head of the table, and bowed her head slightly in greeting.
He was quite polite to the Legalist predecessors.
"Why did you..." Wan Guiyue changed her words halfway through, "If you were coming back today to participate in the judgment, why didn't you say so beforehand?"
Her tone was gentle, and she even had a smile on her face.
“I didn’t know there would be a ruling meeting today before I came back.” Wei Xizhen glanced at the people present without showing any emotion. Her gaze swept over Yu Suishi for a moment before finally settling on the voting circle on the table. “Since it’s such a coincidence, I’ll trouble Dean Wan to announce what crime the target of today’s ruling has committed.”
Wan Guiyue tapped her fingers lightly on the table, seemingly deep in thought.
If Wei Xizhen joins the adjudication, his vote will be crucial and will directly determine the outcome of the adjudication.
However, given his character, everyone knows without guessing that he will definitely vote for the black card.
Although Wei Xizhen did not reach the point of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free," she was still extremely strict and adhered to Legalist doctrines: all officials, subjects, nobles, and commoners should follow the law.
The others had different expressions; some were watching the spectacle, while others were trying to hide their true thoughts.
Wu Huaiwei rolled her eyes, denying her own guess in her heart.
The incident of Luo Fu using Lan Poison happened suddenly, and Wei Xizhen was someone Nangong Sui had called back just two days ago. How could Nangong Sui have predicted that Luo Fu would be judged by the Legalists after the incident?
I guess I was overthinking it.
If Wu Huaiwei knew that Yu Sui knew about Mei Liangyu and others' plan against Luo Fu, and that Ou Rushuang and Wan Guiyue were both Xuan Kui's people, she would understand that Yu Sui's questioning of Wei Xizhen's news that night was no accident.
However, at this moment, Yu Sui appeared innocent and bewildered, seemingly curious and expectant about the changes before her, just like a child.
While Wan Guiyue was thinking, Zou Qian broke the silence first: "If you hadn't come, we would have already ended things."
Someone spoke up, and Ou Rushuang added, "Dean Wei is indeed late."
Kuang Chu leaned back with his hands behind his head and grinned, "I don't think it's too late. It's just in time. Isn't this a tie? It's just as well. We don't need Dean Wan to intervene, which is more in line with the Legalist principle of fairness."
When he finally spoke of fairness, his tone was full of meaning.
"The Legalist Judgment Conference is decided by the participation of all twenty-four Taiyi Saints. As long as one is a Taiyi Saint, one has the right to vote, regardless of whether the person being judged is in the academy."
Wei Xizhen sat down at the long table, her pale eyes looking at Wan Guiyue without much fluctuation: "It is inconvenient for the host to vote in person unless there is a tie. If necessary, the Listening Wind Ruler can also contact other saints outside the Water Boat and the Academy. Now the Communication Academy no longer restricts the Listening Wind Ruler from transmitting information, so they can be invited to participate in the adjudication meeting at any time."
Before Wan Guiyue could agree, Zou Qian had already tapped the table lightly and nodded, saying, "This suggestion is good, I agree, it's a tie anyway."
Although Wu Huaiwei was reluctant to get involved in troublesome matters, she wasn't completely ignorant. There must be someone at the table who genuinely wanted to save the disciples outside.
Rather than letting Wei Xizhen draw the fire, it's better to involve all the saints.
“I agree,” Wu Huaiwei said slowly. “The vote on the verdict won’t take much time, especially for something as important as the Orchid Poison. If it’s just a few of us making the decision, they’ll say we’re excluding them.”
Although Yin Ziwu didn't say anything, he nodded in agreement.
Ou Rushuang couldn't help but curse Yin Ziwu in her heart; he only did one thing after taking the money.
Wan Guiyue smiled and said, "Although I haven't been out for long, I've heard that Shui Zhou is very busy. There were also frequent incidents of the Sea Eye recently. Everyone else must be too busy there to pay attention to the academy's affairs."
“I was busy with matters on the water boat and didn’t know. If I had known that the Orchid Poison Organization was targeting the disciples of the academy, I would have rushed back to deal with it no matter how busy I was,” Wei Xizhen said calmly. “Researching strange fire on the water boat was my personal choice, but protecting Taiyi Academy is the duty of a Taiyi Saint.”
Ou Rushuang felt that the implication of these words was that they were being blamed for not reporting the discovery of the Lan Poison organization in the outer city in a timely manner.
Leng Rouyin seemed to think so too. She didn't want to be blamed afterward, so she said calmly, "The Lan Poison organization that was lurking in the outer city has long been wiped out."
Liang Zhen asked Leng Rouyin with a somewhat surprised smile, "Since you are also a member of Shui Zhou, didn't you tell them about this?"
Wu Huaiwei raised her hand to cover her face and laughed, "Sister Rouyin, you must have a bad memory."
Leng Rouyin ignored her and said calmly, "If a few Lan Poison organizations require the intervention of all twenty-four Taiyi Saints, then it would be too much of a fuss."
Following her words, Ou Rushuang said, "Shui Zhou's research on strange fire is for the sake of all living beings, and it is not easy. It is indeed inconvenient to bother them with some trivial matters."
After saying that, he added, "The other group of sages left Taiyi to meet with the six kingdoms because of the Communication Academy, and they were unable to receive any messages from Taiyi. That's why today we have to have all of you here to make the Legalist judgment."
The renowned scholar, Elder Zhu, smiled and stroked his beard, saying, "In the event of a tie at the adjudication meeting, the presiding officer makes a supplementary vote. This is also a rule of Legalism. But now that Dean Wei has returned, who will cast the final vote?"
Old Zhu's words extinguished the lively atmosphere that had just begun, and people fell silent once again.
This silence was a sign that everyone else was waiting for Wei Xizhen and Wan Guiyue to make a decision: either Wei Xizhen would say she would cast her final vote, or Wan Guiyue would refuse Wei Xizhen.
In either case, they will offend each other.
In the silence, the youngest person present raised his hand and said timidly, "Then, is Dean Wei considered late? If so, then Dean Wan should cast the last vote."
Although the girl's tone was timid, her voice was clear and distinct, reaching everyone's ears.
Ou Rushuang's hand, which was under the table, twitched involuntarily. She sighed inwardly, thinking how impatient Ou Rushuang was.
Everyone could tell that Yu Sui's words were biased towards Wan Guiyue, but she seemed to have forgotten that Wei Xizhen had said before that Legalist judgments did not necessarily require attendance; any Taiyi Saint could participate.
Wei Xizhen and Wan Guiyue remained silent because they were wary of the fact that the other party was a member of the Legalist school, and they were waiting for the other party to give up.
Yu Sui's words gave Wei Xizhen a reason to speak.
Before Wan Guiyue could even try to salvage the situation, Liang Zhen laughed and said, "There's no such thing as being late. Since he's here, he can submit his application."
Yu Sui seemed startled by the answer and froze for a moment.
Wu Huaiwei hadn't expected that Yu Sui would become the scapegoat in the end, and she couldn't help but find it somewhat amusing that she had even doubted her before. Feeling helpless, she maintained a nonchalant expression and said, "This Ghost Daoist disciple is participating in the Legalist trial for the first time on behalf of Elder Chang; it's normal that he doesn't know the rules."
She looked at Wei Xizhen and said sarcastically, "You'd better cast your last vote quickly, lest you scare our Elder Chang's little apprentice to death here. If Elder Chang thinks I'm bullying his apprentice, he might start fighting with me again."
Upon hearing this, Wei Xizhen blinked and exchanged a glance with Wu Huaiwei.
Yu Sui was glanced at by Wan Guiyue, who was in the first seat. As if she knew she had said something wrong, she shrank her neck, pursed her lips, and lowered her head guiltily.
If Wei Xizhen hadn't appeared, Nangong Sui would have had no say in casting this vote on behalf of the Ghost Dao Clan. But Wei Xizhen's return disrupted the plan, and the naive young girl panicked.
Wan Guiyue sighed inwardly; the presence of so many saints in the room was indeed quite intimidating.
Ou Rushuang thought so too.
Although Nangong Sui is the Princess of Qingyang, she has been a practitioner of martial arts for eighteen years. She has only recently entered the cultivation world. It is understandable that she would feel pressured and lose her composure when she encounters a room full of low-level sages.
Wei Xizhen tapped the table, and the two cards that Wan Guiyue was holding under her fingertips came into his hand. After bowing slightly to his senior, he said in a low voice, "I still have many doubts about the Orchid Poison matter. I hope to interrogate her before making a decision."
Wan Guiyue smiled and said, "No."
Despite being rejected in public, Wei Xizhen remained calm and simply gazed at Wan Guiyue.
"Today's verdict was initiated only after my interrogation was completed." Wan Guiyue met Wei Xizhen's gaze without flinching, her voice soft yet calm. "Luo Fu's use of Lan Poison was witnessed by Dean Jiang himself, and hundreds of disciples from the medical clinic can testify to this. The blood test with Qingya Water is also conclusive evidence."
The fact that all the disciples who knew Luo Fu were interrogated and that the Farmer's True Word Gu was used to assist them proves that Luo Fu did indeed rely on the forbidden Orchid Poison to improve his cultivation.
"You're demanding a second trial now, do you think I've been recuperating for too long and don't even know the most basic rules, yet you arbitrarily convict me of using orchid poison?"
Wan Guiyue's words completely extinguished Wei Xizhen's desire to interrogate. After a moment of silence, he said, "Dean Wan is right. Since you are in charge of the trial and conviction, I really shouldn't have made this request. I'm sorry."
When Wu Huaiwei heard his apology, she gave a light hum.
Wan Guiyue stared at Wei Xizhen without saying a word.
If Wei Xizhen were to conduct a second trial, given his methods, Luo Fu would likely not be able to withstand it. Moreover, Luo Fu knows too much; if he cannot survive, then he must die.
At this moment, Ou Rushuang and Wan Guiyue had made a decision: they would rather let Wei Xizhen vote to execute Luo Fu than give him the opportunity to interrogate him.
So Ou Rushuang said, "Dean Wei, you can conclude today's adjudication meeting."
Wei Xizhen lowered her eyes to look at the two cards in her hand. Her gaze swept over the red card and stopped on the black card. With a flick of her finger, she sent the black card flying into the circle.
Five reds, six blacks.
Execute on the spot.
Wan Guiyue stood up and looked past Wei Xizhen toward Luo Fu, who was kneeling outside the hall. Under the scorching sunlight, he had nowhere to hide.
"Execute him." Wan Guiyue beckoned, and six black wooden plaques flew out from the table, surrounding Luo Fu within them.
As Wan Guiyue pronounced her verdict, the Legalist instructors waiting outside solemnly formed hand seals and chanted complex incantations in a low voice.
Luo Fu looked up in disbelief, his cloudy eyes reflecting the blurry scenery in the hall. The moment the voice proclaiming his death reached his ears, his whole body trembled.
Shouldn't the result be to send him back to Qingyang?
How could they be executed on the spot?!
Before Luo Fu could figure it out, the clicking sound in his ears made his body stiffen, cold sweat slid down his brow bone, and his eyes trembled uncontrollably. He slowly turned his head and saw that the statues of saints on both sides of the passage were rotating.
The jade statues of the Legalist saints, which were originally facing each other, turned around and faced the execution ground hall. All 136 jade statues, each as tall as a small mountain, faced Luo Fu, their eyes fixed on him with majesty, beginning a silent trial.
The disciples waiting outside the notice board saw the movement of the jade statue and knew that the Legalists had taken action, so they were stunned.
Nian Qiuyan, standing in the crowd, calmly watched the rotating jade statues. He had guessed from the moment Yu Sui went up that Luo Fu was unlikely to survive the Legalist execution ground this time.
"No……"
At the critical moment of life and death, Luo Fu felt an overwhelming fear and subconsciously turned his head to plead with the saints in the hall. However, the pillar of light that fell from the sky pierced through his chest, directly shattering the five elements light core in his body, pinning him to the ground, and blood splattered on the spot.
The people inside the hall were also watching outside. As Luo Fu screamed in agony, more and more tiny beams of light pierced through his body. Due to the powerful impact, flesh and blood flew out. One hundred and thirty-six execution beams of light almost turned Luo Fu into a sieve.
Inside the hall, Yu Sui covered her mouth with both hands, her almond-shaped eyes wide open, both shocked and frightened.
Ou Rushuang stared expressionlessly at the dead Luo Fu. Although he felt a little sorry for him, that was all he could do. As for the others, he glanced at the clearly frightened Yu Sui. He still needed to teach her how to behave properly; otherwise, things would get complicated if she continued to act like she did today.
Jiang Shulan, who was standing next to Yu Sui, stood up, her face full of compassion. She shook her head and sighed softly, feeling sorry for Luo Fu who had gone astray.
The others didn't show much emotion, and Leng Rouyin was the first to leave.
Wu Huaiwei winked at Wei Xizhen, signaling him to leave with her. Wei Xizhen glanced at Luo Fu outside, but also got up and followed her.
Ou Rushuang narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched the two people leave one after the other.
Wei Xizhen was unable to get Luo Fu to a second trial as she wished, and she must be unwilling to accept it. There may be further actions to take, so we must take precautions as soon as possible.
The saints left one after another, and the number of people around the long conference table dwindled. Zou Qian remained seated, scratching her neck and raising an eyebrow as she looked at the frightened girl opposite her.
That's a bit over the top.
Judging from our recent interactions, this girl isn't someone who's easily intimidated by something like this.
Yu Sui noticed Zou Qian's gaze and meaning, and when no one was watching, she winked her left eye at him.
Zou Qian stopped scratching her neck and chuckled inwardly, "Interesting."
He got up and left, still without saying anything.
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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