Public opinion storm
Ling Yao returned to the academy with the old dean, Morris, and his guards, and was temporarily housed in a secluded but heavily guarded detached building. It was ostensibly a "VIP lounge," but in reality, it was no different from house arrest. However, for Ling Yao, it was simply a change of scenery—a place to absorb magic cores and study the rules of this world. She was happy to have some peace and quiet, and dismissed the watchful eyes outside as just a few unsightly stone statues.
Finn Leaver, as a "key contact" and "Ling Yao's designated errand boy," was also allowed to stay outside the small building to serve (monitor), which greatly relieved him, at least he wouldn't have to be separated from Miss Ling. While busy arranging various "research materials" that Ling Yao might need for her, he also vividly and exaggeratedly boasted to the occasional academy personnel he came into contact with about Ling Yao's great power in the Black Forest and her glorious deeds of shattering the Holy Light Judgment with a single finger, trying to clear Ling Yao's name.
However, his faint voice was quickly swallowed up by a much larger and more turbulent undercurrent.
Inquisitor Silas's public defeat in the Black Forest, failing not only to capture Ling Yao but also unexpectedly boosting his reputation due to the "rescue," was undoubtedly a resounding slap in the face to the Inquisition and himself. The intense humiliation and deeper fear drove him to abandon all remaining reservations, deciding to use every means at any cost to permanently nail Ling Yao to the pillar of shame as a "heretic"!
The courthouse, this massive and highly efficient propaganda machine, began to operate at full capacity.
First, carefully edited and distorted "incident reports" were secretly delivered to the city's nobles, guild leaders, and influential public figures. The reports downplayed Ling Yao's rescue efforts, instead emphasizing the "unknown, bizarre, and undefinable" power she used, describing it as a "chaotic evil power" more dangerous and uncontrollable than mutated monsters and curses themselves.
The report suggests that it was the existence of Ling Yao, this "abnormal factor," her "otherworldly aura," or rather, some kind of "evil ritual" she secretly performed, that caused the anomalies in the Black Forest and the madness of the monsters. She was the source of the disaster, not the savior!
Following this, a group of seemingly "neutral" and "objective" scholars and commentators began to express their "worried" views in various salons, parties, and informal occasions, discussing "the potential risks that unknown forces may bring," "the destructive impact of alien creatures on the local ecology and laws," and "the ancient wisdom that those who are not of our kind must have different hearts."
Meanwhile, the low-level informants and agitators kept in the courthouse poured out, infiltrating every corner of the academy city like a virus, spreading rumors in the most colloquial and sensational language in taverns, markets, and streets:
"Have you heard? The Black Forest tragedy was all orchestrated by that Eastern witch herself!"
"She used evil magic to attract demons, and then pretended to save people, all to gain their trust!"
"She wasn't saving people at all! She was extracting the students' soul essence in a more covert way! Otherwise, how could the curse be broken so quickly?"
"Even the holy light of Inquisitor Silas has been corrupted by her! What an evil power that is!"
"Her presence at the academy is a ticking time bomb! Sooner or later, she'll bring an even greater disaster upon us all!"
Fear, like a carefully concocted poison, is being gradually injected into the river of public opinion.
At first, many people, especially the students and their families who were saved by Ling Yao, as well as some people who had witnessed the effects of the "Eastern Secret Medicine," expressed doubt and refuted it.
But the trial court was far too well-prepared, and the quantity and intensity of the rumors were astonishing. When a voice is repeated a thousand times, and comes from what appears to be an "authoritative" or "insider" voice, its destructive power is immense.
Moreover, Ling Yao's power system truly defies common sense, which in itself easily triggers unease and suspicion. The fear of the unknown is one of humanity's deepest instincts.
Gradually, the seeds of doubt began to take root and sprout.
"Speaking of which... the accident during that trial was indeed very sudden; it had never been this serious before..."
"Her medication is working a little too well, could it really be..."
"Even the court has said so, it can't be just empty talk, right?"
"If she has no problems, why would the dean be looking at her?"
Public opinion has begun to subtly shift.
Those who had previously been grateful for the "Eastern Secret Medicine" now looked at the guarded building with complicated and wary eyes. The once bustling shop was now completely deserted, as if some source of plague lurked there.
Some people with extreme fears even began to gather at the academy gate, holding up simple signs and chanting slogans, demanding that the academy "thoroughly investigate heretics" and "expel or even purify the Eastern Witch" to ensure the safety of the city.
"We must protect our home!"
"We can't let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch!"
"The court is right! Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free!"
Various voices filled with hostility and fear began to converge, forming a powerful pressure of public opinion directed at the academy's higher-ups, and even more so at Ling Yao, who was under surveillance.
Every time Finn went out to buy supplies or gather information, he could feel the omnipresent pointing fingers and hostile gazes, which made him both angry and aggrieved, and he almost got into arguments with people several times.
"How could they do this! Ungrateful! Turning black into white!" Finn was so angry that he jumped up and down in the small building, complaining to Ling Yao, "You're the one who saved them! Now they treat you like a jinx! It's all that bastard Silas's doing!"
Ling Yao's reaction was much calmer. She was trying to channel a wisp of lightning immortal power into a newly delivered fluorescent stone, without even looking up: "Human hearts are fickle. It's common."
She had experienced too many similar things. Faced with absolute self-interest or fear, gratitude and facts were often the first things to be discarded. Besides, she didn't have any deep affection for the people in this world, so naturally she wouldn't feel disappointed.
"But... but are they just going to let the court talk nonsense? What about the dean? What about the professors? And Professor Silver Bud? Why don't they come out and say something fair?" Finn asked unwillingly.
A fair word? Perhaps. But in the face of the wave of fear that the trial has unleashed across the nation, individual voices seem so weak.
Professor Eleanor Silver did attempt to defend Ling Yao. At an internal college meeting, she argued her case logically, refuting the unsubstantiated accusations and emphasizing the academic value of Ling Yao's theoretical system and the facts of the rescue.
However, her statement was quickly drowned out by more voices advocating "caution," "the greater good," and "appeasing public sentiment." Some even privately speculated that Professor Eleanor had been bewitched by "Eastern magic" and that her testimony was unreliable.
The old Dean Maurice was under immense pressure. On one hand, he had to contend with the increasing pressure from the court and the conservative aristocracy; on the other hand, he had to quell the growing panic within the court. He tried to control the spread of rumors, but the court's long-established network of public opinion was deeply entrenched, and his efforts had little effect.
He visited Ling Yao once, his words filled with apology and helplessness. He said the investigation was still ongoing and hoped Ling Yao could wait patiently. The academy would do its best to ensure her safety and strive for a fair outcome.
Ling Yao simply indicated that she understood, as if the other person had only said, "The weather is nice today."
Her nonchalant attitude only made the old director more uneasy.
The public outcry intensified, beginning to affect the academy's daily operations. Some parents jointly wrote a letter demanding that the academy immediately take action against Ling Yao, or they would consider expelling their children. Some merchant guilds with close ties to the conservative aristocracy also began to pressure the academy, citing "threats to city security," and even hinted at cutting funding.
The entire academy city seemed to be shrouded in a dark cloud of "fear" and "suspicion".
Ling Yao, at the eye of the storm, continued her regular life: eating, sleeping, absorbing magic cores, and studying the rules. Occasionally, she would look out the window, feeling the increasingly intense malice permeating the air.
She knew that Silas wouldn't be satisfied with just a victory in public opinion.
This storm is just the prelude.
Real trouble is coming soon.
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