Chapter 179: Everyone, Please Watch the VCR! Ouyang Rong Is Still Alive
Chapter 179: Chapter 179: Everyone, Please Watch the VCR! Ouyang Rong Is Still Alive
"You! How can you be so rude!" Wen Liang’s face flushed red as he glared at Pei Shaoqing.
Pei Shaoqing laughed. "Politeness? That’s reserved for people. Why would I show politeness to a dog?"
"You’ve gone too far!" Wen Liang stepped forward.
"WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH!"
Several crossbow arrows shot through the air and landed in a precise row before him, forcing him to back away.
Wen Liang seethed for a moment, then gave a cold snort and retreated to the side, no longer willing to step out and humiliate himself.
But he committed the day’s events to memory.
Wu Tian stepped forward, pointing an indignant finger at Pei Shaoqing as he rebuked him harshly, "Pei Shaoqing! I respected you as a Lord of the National Dynasty and personally came to your door to humbly apologize. If you refuse to accept it, so be it! For the sake of your impartial enforcement of the law, I couldn’t bear it, but I still agreed to hand over the assailant to be dealt with according to the law."
"But you were relentless! You slandered my junior brother Zhang Qing, accusing him of murder out of a personal grudge and arresting him. And now you’ve brought soldiers to our door to cause trouble. Aren’t you being far too arrogant!"
His voice trembled as if his heart was breaking, filled with pent-up frustration, indignation, and rage. It was a moving performance.
"Lord Pingyang, where you can spare someone, you should."
"That’s right. Even if the people from Medicine King Valley were in the wrong first, does that mean your Jing’an Guard is blameless?"
"He’s going way too far."
"I owe a debt to Medicine King Valley! If Lord Pingyang wants to cause trouble, he’ll have to step over my dead body first!"
Everyone began to condemn Pei Shaoqing. Some even glared with their eyes wide, ready to fight to the death.
Pei Shaoqing took in the entire scene. He had to admit, Medicine King Valley’s rallying power was impressive. These people weren’t just putting on a show; they were ready for a real fight.
"HAHAHAHA!" He suddenly burst out laughing.
This baffled everyone.
Xu Jing asked, "Brother Pei, why are you laughing?"
"I’m laughing at how hopelessly stupid you all are! A bunch of fools being used by another!" Pei Shaoqing sneered.
This indiscriminate attack on the entire group instantly provoked public outrage.
"Bullshit! Even if you’re a Lord, that gives you no right to insult us as you please, Pei Shaoqing!"
"That’s right! Lord Pingyang, don’t push us too far!"
"If you don’t give us an explanation today, I’ll fight you to the death! What does it matter if I lay down my life right here?"
"Calling you stupid is an understatement," Pei Shaoqing said, pointing at Wu Tian. "Do you know what this man was begging me for the other day, bowing and scraping before me? He just didn’t want me to disrupt the ceremony and affect his succession."
"He was even willing to sacrifice his junior brother, Zhang Qing, to curry favor with me, stating explicitly that as long as I didn’t come to trouble Medicine King Valley today, he would tacitly admit that Zhang Qing was guilty."
"Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!" A flash of mockery crossed Wu Tian’s eyes. ’You think anyone will believe your baseless claims?’ he thought. With an air of absolute righteousness, he declared, "Everyone here—from my peers in the Jianghu to the elders and my brothers in Medicine King Valley—knows what kind of person I, Wu Tian, am. Do you really think I’m that sort of man?"
"Our Senior Brother would never do something like that."
"Exactly! It’s a weak and pathetic slander. Do you think we don’t know what kind of person our Senior Brother is?"
"Lord Pingyang, stop fabricating lies out of thin air."
"It seems the matter of Pharmacist Zhang’s murder was indeed a frame-up by Lord Pingyang, just like how he’s slandering Pharmacist Wu now. We all trust him, that’s all."
The corners of Wu Tian’s mouth turned up slightly. He shot Pei Shaoqing a smug smile. ’What can you do to me?’
Pei Shaoqing returned the smile. "In that case, why don’t I show everyone something."
As he spoke, he took out a Memory Stone.
And now, let’s roll the tape!
"It’s a Memory Stone!" someone recognized it.
Someone who didn’t know asked, "What’s a Memory Stone?"
"It’s a stone that can store a scene according to its owner’s will, and then replay it whenever they wish."
Wu Tian’s face paled. His pupils contracted in shock, and sweat was already drenching his back. He stared daggers at Pei Shaoqing.
’I never thought he’d be even more treacherous than I am!’
’What do I do? What should I do?’
"Pei Shaoqing has gone too far! Disciples of Medicine King Valley, follow me! We’ll fight the Jing’an Guard to the death!" Wu Tian roared decisively and led the charge forward.
’I have to muddy the waters.’
’I can’t let him play that recording.’
But in the next second, Song Qiaosheng grabbed his shoulder and held him back, his face grim as he roared, "All disciples of Medicine King Valley, do not move!"
"Master!" Wu Tian cried, his voice trembling.
Song Qiaosheng gave him a deep look. "As your master, I believe you. Now is the perfect time to prove your innocence."
As he spoke, he casually sealed Wu Tian’s Dantian.
By now, the scene from the Memory Stone was already playing. The conversation between Pei Shaoqing and Wu Tian entered everyone’s ears, each word like a clap of thunder.
"This... How could Senior Brother do this?"
"So Pharmacist Wu is that kind of person!"
"You really can’t judge a book by its cover. We were almost used by him. Damn it, he’s a real piece of work!"
Realizing they had nearly been deceived by Wu Tian, everyone present was both incredulous and furious.
But no one was willing to admit their own foolishness.
They all just felt that Wu Tian was too evil, too cunning.
And so, their anger grew, and they began to hate him to the very bone.
"Pharmacist Wu, you..." Xu Lian stared at Wu Tian in utter disbelief, his disappointment palpable. Deeply grieved, he cried, "How could you do this!"
Xu Jing pursed his lips. He had long suspected Wu Tian was no saint; no one in the world could be that perfect. Of course, the man *had* saved his grandmother, so he kept his mouth shut and didn’t kick him while he was down.
"Tian," Song Qiaosheng said, his face as grim as still water.
The older one gets, the shrewder. Although Song Qiaosheng’s lack of energy had led him to step back from managing affairs in recent years, his mind was still sharp.
When Wu Tian had acted out of character and called for the disciples to attack, he had instantly realized something was wrong. That was why he had moved so quickly to restrain him.
Now, the truth was laid bare before him.
He was not only disappointed but felt a heart-wrenching pain.
Today, Medicine King Valley had become a joke!
Song Qiaosheng struggled to suppress the churning emotions inside him and maintain his last shred of dignity, but his eyes reddened uncontrollably. In a hoarse voice, he asked, "You tell me, your master, when did you become like this? Or have you always been this way? Was I blind? Was I wrong about you?"
"I’m sorry! Master! I’m sorry!" Sweat poured down Wu Tian’s deathly pale face. With an exaggerated expression of despair, he cried, "I wanted to be the Sect Leader too badly! It’s all I’ve ever dreamed of! I... I... SOB SOB... Master."
He dropped to his knees with a thud, clutching Song Qiaosheng’s legs and wailing. Wu Tian knew that his only chance of survival now was to make his master’s heart soften.
Song Qiaosheng closed his eyes in pain. A moment later, he opened them, scanned the crowd, and cupped his fist. "It is my Sect’s misfortune to have produced such a treacherous disciple, making a laughingstock of ourselves before our friends from the Jianghu. But as the saying goes, ’an untaught son is the father’s failure.’ The same holds true for master and disciple. This old man cannot escape the blame."
He paused, took a deep breath, and looked at Pei Shaoqing. "This old man thanks Lord Pingyang for exposing this traitor’s true face. However, regarding the matter of my Medicine King Valley disciples going to Tongzhou for leisure and injuring your subordinate..."
"For leisure in Tongzhou? I assume Wu Tian was the one who gave you that reason," Pei Shaoqing said nonchalantly.
Song Qiaosheng’s face stiffened. He realized he had been deceived by Wu Tian yet again and gritted his teeth, wishing he could strike him dead on the spot.
Pei Shaoqing gave a cold snort. "Wu Tian sent people to Tongzhou to capture Ouyang Rong, and in the process, they clashed with my men. Ouyang Rong is a key lead in the Silver Vault theft from several years ago. I have reason to suspect that Wu Tian was willing to clash with the Jing’an Guard and kill Ouyang Rong to silence him because he is the great thief himself—Traceless on Snow!"
The accusation was like a clap of thunder on a clear day.
"Wu Tian is Traceless on Snow?"
"Hiss... It might actually be possible."
"Clashing with the Jing’an Guard is already a bad move. For Wu Tian to risk it just to kill a key witness in the Silver Vault case... it’s very reasonable to assume he was trying to silence him."
Before seeing the recording, everyone would have scoffed at such a claim. But now, Wu Tian’s credibility was shot. If Pei Shaoqing claimed the depletion of Spiritual Qi was because Wu Tian had severed a Spirit Vein, some people would probably half-believe him.
Wu Tian shot his head up and glared at Pei Shaoqing. "He’s framing me! He’s framing me! He’s friends with Ouyang Rong! He’s deliberately trying to set me up as revenge! With my status, why would I possibly resort to theft?"
’So he’s just going to sling whatever mud he can find at me, is that it?’
"Then why did you kill Ouyang Rong? How can you prove you weren’t trying to silence a witness?" Pei Shaoqing demanded.
"Who said I killed Ouyang Rong?" Wu Tian scrambled up from the ground, a frantic smile on his face, and said breathlessly, "I didn’t kill him. I just locked him up. Fine! Since Lord Pingyang says he’s a key lead for catching Traceless on Snow, I’ll hand him over to you. Let’s just see when you manage to catch this thief!"
’Shit!’
Hearing this, Pei Shaoqing was both shocked and delighted.
Delighted that Ouyang Rong was still alive.
Shocked, also, because if Ouyang Rong was alive, then he had fallen into a trap of his own making. Now he *had* to catch Traceless on Snow. Otherwise, what would the people of the Jianghu think of him?
"Ouyang Rong was already expelled from the Sect. Why did you capture him?" Song Qiaosheng demanded coldly.
When Wu Tian was weeping and begging just now, his heart had indeed softened. After all, this was the disciple he had poured his heart and soul into raising for so many years; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him his own son.
But he had known nothing about Wu Tian capturing Ouyang Rong. He had no idea how many other things his disciple had hidden from him.
"Master, I..." Wu Tian’s face was pale as he stammered an explanation, "It... it was Junior Brother Situ who told me that when Ouyang Rong left the valley, he took a personal notebook belonging to our Second Martial Uncle. This notebook is of great importance to our Medicine King Valley."
"It’s also Second Martial Uncle’s most important legacy, so I wanted to retrieve it, enshrine it in the Medicine King Hall, and carry on his teachings in his stead."
This time, he was actually telling the truth.
Originally, he had only wanted to drive Ouyang Rong out of Shu State.
But a while ago, Situ Jing had suddenly mentioned that while sorting through their master’s belongings, he had found some old notes indicating that their master had compiled his life’s work into a single notebook. However, Situ Jing couldn’t find it.
So, it was very likely in Ouyang Rong’s hands. That notebook was Second Martial Uncle’s life’s work, his true teachings—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a Secret Manual. That was why he wanted to get it back.
Enshrining it was irrelevant, of course.
The main thing was to use it for himself.
But Ouyang Rong refused to hand it over, no matter what. And, of course, he couldn’t kill him before getting the notebook.
"Hmph!" To be honest, Song Qiaosheng no longer knew whether to believe a single word Wu Tian said.
Pei Shaoqing said lightly, "You didn’t show your Second Martial Uncle that much respect when you murdered him, did you, Wu Tian?"
"What?!" Everyone’s face fell in utter shock.
Wu Tian’s vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
’He... how could he possibly know?’