Chapter 192 - The Betrayal of a Friend
Chapter 192 The Betrayal of a Friend
Su Wen turned around and looked at Xue Qianxun meaningfully before he left. For some reason, Xue Qianxun had a bad feeling when she saw his gaze. ‘It’s fine! With Sect Master protecting me, I’ll definitely be fine!’ Xue Qianxun consoled herself. Ding Hesong also noticed Su Wen’s gaze. He consoled in a low voice, “Don’t worry, since you’re not wrong, the Sect will definitely not let you suffer.” “Thank you, Sect Master.” Xue Qianxun bowed in reply. Ding Hesong instructed again, “Men, inform everyone in the Sect to stay away from these people from the royal court. Don’t provoke them as you wish! Treat them as transparent people and pretend they stink like dog poop!” Ding Hesong did not know… that when Su Wen got serious… smelly dog poop would be nothing but a compliment to him.
At the very least, the dog poop would quietly lie on the ground…
Su Wen would not!
At this moment, Su Wen was already patrolling the sect with his hands behind his back. Zhao Jin followed behind him, swaggering around. He walked up to a group of Star Rank disciples who were training their swordsmanship at the martial stage. Just like ordinary sects, the Bright God Sect had a hierarchy. After all, there were too many disciples, and it was too slow to teach one by one. They could only teach them all together and select the strong from within! Below the Star Rank were the Outer Disciples. Those at the Star Rank and above were the Inner Court Disciples, and above them were Core Disciples and Elders. At this moment, hundreds of inner sect disciples were practicing their sword techniques on the martial arts arena. They had no idea who Su Wen was!
After all, there were tens of thousands of people in the sect, so it was inevitable that there were people who did not know each other.
A core disciple in the Earth Rank was in charge of supervising and instructing. At this moment, Su Wen placed his hands behind his back and Zhao Jin followed behind him, arriving at the scene. Su Wen stood by the side with his hands behind his back!
The core disciple in charge of this martial arts arena, Qian Shen, frowned. These two people looked unfamiliar!
“Who are you?” Qian Shen walked to Su Wen’s side and asked.
Pa!
Zhao Jin immediately slapped him! “Is my Young Master’s identity something you can ask?”
This slap stunned Qian Shen!
This servant… is too skilled!
His cultivation was even higher than his own!
He was only at the 3rd Grade of Earth Rank and could not be considered a top figure in the sect. However, he had never heard of an expert of Earth Rank becoming someone’s servant. And weren’t they too arrogant? Just as he finished taking the beating, the disciples who were practicing their sword skills stopped and looked over. Su Wen shouted, “Who asked you to stop? Practice till you drop! If I find anyone slacking off, I’ll expel them from the sect!” Looking at Su Wen’s young face… his stern reprimand, his righteous words, and his confidence, countless possibilities flashed across Qian Shen’s mind… Could he be related to the Sect Master?
Or a descendant of a Heaven Rank elder? How else would he dare be so arrogant? How would an ordinary person dare to do such a thing in the sect? At this moment, Su Wen looked at him and sneered. “Look at what you’ve done! The sect asked you to supervise their sword practice, but this is how you supervise them? All of them are listless, just going through the motions! If this is the case, how can they achieve great things? Everyone is not allowed to eat dinner today! Practice until midnight! If I discover anyone who dares to leave early, you will be the one to answer!”
With that, Su Wen turned around and left!
Qian Shen was left standing there, not knowing what to do! As the duo gradually walked away… Zhao Jin said in a low voice, “How is it, Young Master! Was my hit at the perfect timing just now!”
Su Wen: “Just in time! Come, find the next one. Find someone around this age! They definitely don’t know many people!” The two of them had already discussed this beforehand!
In the evening, at the Bright God Sect’s dining hall!
Ding Hesong came. As the sect master, he was still quite diligent. Although he could eat in his own residence, he still insisted on coming to the dining hall every day. On the one hand, he wanted to improve his relationship with the disciples, and on the other hand, he wanted to supervise the dining hall. He looked around the dining hall and realized that there were especially few disciples today. At this moment, he saw Su Wen as well!
At this moment, Su Wen, Zhao Jin, Feng Baichuan, and the unlucky spirit beast shop owner were seated at a table. In front of them was a table piled high with food.
As Su Wen ate, he said to Feng Baichuan and the boss of the dining hall, “Since we’re already here, there’s no need to stand on ceremony. Anyway, you don’t have to spend money, so just go all out! Old Feng, especially you, don’t keep it. My father especially praised your appetite and said that you’re a rarely seen rice bucket[1]!”
“You!!” Feng Baichuan could not help but curse.
Su Wen smiled and said, “I didn’t say that. It was really my father! Why don’t you beat him up when you return to the capital! I’m not afraid to tell you the truth. I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, but it’s not easy to do it due to my status!” Feng Baichuan picked up a drumstick fiercely and bit down hard to vent his anger! He recalled some unpleasant memories from Su Wen’s words!
He swore that he would rather work with Su Changqing the next time, than come out with Su Wen!
This kid was even more infuriating than f*cking Old Su!
At this moment, Su Wen also noticed Ding Hesong. “Where are they? Why are there so few people eating today?” Ding Hesong was asking. It had to be known that these martial artists consumed a lot of energy to cultivate, so whenever it was mealtime, there would be a sea of people. Today, however, the area was desolate. That person had a blank expression as he shook his head and said, “I don’t know. However, when this disciple came, I saw a lot of disciples practicing on the martial stage… I don’t know why!” “Go! Find someone and ask what’s going on!” Ding Hesong said in a low voice. Qian Shen felt bitter in his heart. He had been slapped for no reason, and was even scolded for no reason. He was even forced to observe the sword practice til midnight! Who didn’t have resentment in their hearts at this point? Not only him, even the disciples who were practicing felt the same way. At this moment, they were cursing Su Wen in their hearts. Although they did not know Su Wen’s name, it did not stop them from calling him names. Especially when it was mealtime and their stomachs were rumbling with hunger, this hatred was even more obvious. Meanwhile, Su Wen was eating in the dining hall as he happily received his Emotional Value! Ah, bliss. Seeing Ding Hesong sit down, Su Wen also went over and sat down. “Oh, isn’t this Sect Leader Ding? What a coincidence!” Su Wen smiled. Looking at Su Wen’s smile, Ding Hesong said with a dark expression, “Lord Su, what’s the matter? How’s the investigation going?” “Just so-so! I haven’t checked much yet. There’s no hurry, no hurry. Your Bright God Sect is such a big sect. The food here is just good. Let’s eat for a few more days first. You don’t know, it’s not comfortable being at His Majesty’s place. Every time there’s a banquet, I won’t be able to eat my fill. I might as well eat in your big canteen…” His nagging gave Ding Hesong a headache! Good fellow! Did you actually get addicted to living here? At this moment, Qian Shen was called over to the canteen!
When he saw Su Wen, his pupils needled!
What a lad, that arrogant guy could actually eat at the same table as the Sect Master?
One had to know that during normal times, when the sect master ate, at most only a few sect elders who were closer to him would dare to sit there. Ordinary people could forget about sitting beside him! “Today is already past the cultivation time, so why are you still training and not organizing the disciples to eat?” When Qian Shen came over, Ding Hesong asked indifferently… “This…” Qian Shen hesitated and kept looking at Su Wen. Su Wen gave him a big smile in return.
Ding Hesong sensed that something was wrong and asked, “Why are you looking at Lord Su! Speak quickly!” Qian Shen understood when he heard this! So this fellow wasn’t from his sect!
He pointed at Su Wen and said, “Sect Master, it’s him. He went to the martial arena today and said that the disciples were slacking in their sword practice and that they were not allowed to eat. He even told them to practice until midnight!” “Harh?!” Ding Hesong turned to look at Su Wen and said angrily, “Lord Su, what do you mean?”
Su Wen smiled and said, “I’m just worried for you because they aren’t working hard. All of you are citizens of Great Zhou and will be working for the country in the future. How can all of you just idle around all day? I casually said a few words, but I didn’t expect them to take it so seriously!”
“You…”
Ding Hesong was so furious that he did not know what to say. [Ding-dong. Incurred Ding Hesong’s wrath. +70 Emotional Value.] “Hurry up and call all the disciples back for dinner!” Ding Hesong gritted his teeth. Su Wen looked at Ding Hesong and said in all seriousness, “Sect Master Ding, it’s not that I want to criticize you, but you can’t just nurture these disciples to just practice martial arts. All of them have been trained to the point of being stupid. If I tell them to go left, they really just do so like fools. Even if your Sect doesn’t have a comprehensive development of virtue, wisdom, body, and beauty, at the very least, we have to be both wise and brave. If we only know martial arts, wouldn’t we just be brutes?” For the first time, Ding Hesong felt that the food in the sect’s dining hall was not delicious! He wished he could immediately get up and leave!
However, he immediately understood that this was his mistake. How could the disciples of the sect know Su Wen? What was the use of him passing down orders? Soon, the number of people in the dining hall increased! However, many of the disciples who came later subconsciously looked at Su Wen with eyes filled with hatred!
Of course, Su Wen did not care!
Seeing that there were more and more people, Ding Hesong brought Su Wen to everyone.
He said loudly, “This is Lord Su Wen from the royal court, not someone from our sect. Pay attention next time!”
Su Wen waved his hand at everyone and said with a smile, “I’m Su Wen. I’ve come to the Bright God Sect this time mainly to investigate the case of Qianxun stealing a Bright God Sect. If you have any clues, you can tell me! If you really provide me with sufficient evidence, you will be rewarded with a million taels of silver!”
As soon as he spoke, many people sucked in a breath of cold air!
One had to know that a million taels of silver was still very attractive to many of them.
Discussions broke out among the disciples. And the man in question, Su Wen, calmly returned to his seat! Feng Baichuan sneered, “Young Master Su is so generous! Our Martial Inspectorate can’t afford to reimburse this money!” Su Wen smirked as he retorted, “Don’t you know how rich my family is? Do I need you to reimburse me?” Feng Baichuan was speechless. He really could not argue with Su Wen on this point. The Su family was indeed rich, very rich! They were rich to the point that it was f*cking disgusting! But quickly, he frowned, “Will saying this help?”
Su Wen shook his head and said, “What else can we do? We don’t have any evidence now. No matter what we say, it’s useless. Since that’s the case, we have to think of a way to attack from the inside.”
At this point, Su Wen smiled. “Did you notice something that Xue Qianxun said today?” “What?” Feng Baichuan was confused at the change of topic.
“She said that she doesn’t have the money to buy the Blue Cloud Tiger!” “That’s right! What’s the problem…” At this point, Feng Baichuan frowned and reacted. “You’re saying that she might borrow money from these sect disciples?” Su Wen nodded and said, “Since she went to the Spiritual Beast Pavilion that day, it means that she brought money with her! In other words, after she went to the Spiritual Beast Pavilion for the first time, she managed to raise this sum of money in a short period of time.
Then how did she manage to do it? There are only two ways. Either she borrowed it or she stole it! But no matter what, there will always be traces left behind. If she borrowed it, then she must have borrowed it from people she’s familiar with.”
“There are many people in the Bright God Sect, and she has been here for many years. I believe she must have borrowed a portion or even a large portion of it! As long as someone is willing to testify and cooperate with our testimony, Ding Hesong will have no choice but to admit that she stole it!”.
“So you had this idea long ago! That’s why you stayed!” Feng Baichuan suddenly realized. However, he was still a little puzzled. “Then why did you lie to these disciples to practice swordsmanship?” Su Wen rolled his eyes. “Because I like to see people suffer!”
Because of what? Emotional Value, of course!
However, he could not explain this matter.
Feng Baichuan smiled and said, “But think about it, those who can lend her money are probably her friends. Would they betray her?” Su Wen said with a pained expression, “Old Feng, how did you manage the Martial Inspectorate for so many years? How many knives did you take on for His Majesty back then? Don’t you understand such simple logic? Those who betray you will always be your friends! How can strangers betray you? Furthermore, I still have a million taels of silver here! Just wait!”
Feng Baichuan remained silent. The most terrifying thing was indeed the human heart. Soon, the news spread throughout the entire sect.
Everyone discovered that Qianxun’s Blue Cloud Tiger was stolen! After all, many people had heard of Xue Qianxun borrowing a lot of money from these low-ranking disciples. Bang bang bang bang! That night, Su Wen’s door was knocked on. After opening the door, an ordinary-looking woman appeared in front of Su Wen. “I’m Xuxu’s best friend… Wang Meng…” Su Wen smiled and invited the girl into the room.
Good friends?
How interesting.
Wang Meng did not waste any time and directly stated her intentions. Her family had been doing business for generations and could be considered wealthy. Xue Qianxun had borrowed 700,000 taels of silver from her. “Furthermore, Qianxun told me personally that she was going to the capital to buy the Blue Cloud Tiger. Although I didn’t want to lend it to her, I couldn’t do it to avoid falling out with her…”
“And after she returned, she told me that she stole the tiger cub whilst you were fighting…” “Why are you reporting her?” Su Wen looked at the girl in front of him. To be honest, with her worth, this one million taels of silver was probably not the main reason! As expected, Wang Meng’s eyes flashed with hatred!
“I’m inferior to her. I’m inferior to her in everything. My cultivation level is inferior to hers, and my looks are inferior to hers as well. I like Senior Brother Song! She clearly knows! She also knows that Senior Brother Song likes her! But she just won’t reject him! She made Senior Brother Song unable to forget her… She even took Senior Brother Song’s money!” Su Wen sighed. This was probably not the only dirty thing that happened between the two of them!
However, this matter was definitely the main reason why Wang Meng stood up. After saying that, the woman raised her head and looked at Su Wen. “If I step forward… what will happen to her?” Su Wen touched his chin and asked, “What do you wish would happen to her?” “Die! She must die!” Wang Meng said fiercely. Su Wen smiled and patted his chest as he promised, “Trust me, she won’t have a chance to return to the Sect!” As expected, the first and most ruthless person to stab the knife was Xue Qianxun’s friend. Indeed a good friend! Xue Qianxun probably did not expect this at all. In less than a day after Su Wen stepped into the Bright God Sect, she knelt in front of the Sect Master again! Looking at Wang Meng speaking so confidently, Xue Qianxun could not believe her eyes! “Why! Why did you betray me?” she roared. However, Wang Meng was unmoved. She did not even look at her and continued to tell her about the people that Qianxun had borrowed from. Ding Hesong sighed… and called the disciples over to question them. In front of the Sect Master, most people did not dare to lie. They all confessed honestly. This was irrefutable evidence! What do you mean by picking up a tiger on the ground? The lie would fall apart on its own. Standing beside Qianxun, the Blue Cloud Tiger seemed to sense her fear.
She kept growling fiercely. Su Wen remained seated on the chair at the side as he watched the drama unfold.
Xue Qianxun’s anger, Wang Meng’s hatred, and the Sect Leader’s helplessness.
In the end, all of them were still humans! “Alright! Sect Master Ding, since the truth is out, I’ll bring the Blue Cloud Tiger and this woman back to the capital!” “Wait!” Ding Hesong said in a low voice. “There’s one more thing I have to do first.” He walked in front of Xue Qianxun, his eyes filled with anger. To him, Xue Qianxun’s lies were the most intolerable! If Xue Qianxun had told him the truth from the start, he might not have handed her over. He might even have helped to cover up everything about her!
However, this woman tried to act smart, and chose to lie to him as well! And he really believed it!
At this point, his pride and that of the Bright God Sect, was completely lost in front of the Royal Court! He shouted sternly, “Today, I will expel Xue Qianxun from the sect. From today onwards, you have nothing to do with my Bright God Sect!” Speaking up to this point, he looked at Xue Qianxun and said coldly, “I should have crippled your cultivation and severed your limbs and tendons! However, since you are already going to be handed over to the Royal Court, our sect will no longer punish you!” Xue Qianxun knew that she was finished! Really finished! Su Wen gave Zhao Jin a look! Zhao Jin immediately went forward and sealed Qianxun’s acupoints. By the side, the Blue Cloud Tiger opened its mouth and spat out a wind blade! Bang! The wind blade was shattered by Zhao Jin! With a casual punch, the Blue Cloud Tiger was sent flying The tiger cub flipped over and staggered up, but she was not seriously injured. Just as Zhao Jin was about to bring Qianxun away… Another loud shout was heard. “Stop!” An old man with a head full of white hair and sharp eyes appeared with a young man following behind him. The moment he entered the room, he gave Xue Qianxun a reassuring gesture!
The old man entered the room and looked around before his gaze landed on Sect Master Ding Hesong. “Sect Master, I wonder what sect rules Xue Xunxian has violated! Is she worth being expelled from the sect?” Ding Hesong narrowed his eyes. This fellow was the Head of the Disciplinary Hall of the Bright God Sect, Dou Zhan! His authority in the sect was not necessarily lower than his as the sect master!
Ding Hesong said in a deep voice, “Xue Qianxun has violated the laws of the court and deceived the Sect Master. Can’t she be expelled from the sect?”
Dou Zhan refused to show any weakness. He looked at Ding Hesong and said, “Sect Master, this disciple is young and is just a child. She made a mistake and doesn’t dare to admit it. What’s the big deal about lying?” As for the theft, Dou Zhan turned to look at Su Wen and said, “Sir, Xue Qianxun is indeed wrong. However, she and my son are in love and have an engagement. Please be magnanimous. My Dou Family is willing to make up for your loss!” [1] Someone who eats a lot of rice/food every meal.