Chapter 435 - 435: Verdict
Mi Yao couldn't understand what was happening. No one was ready to believe her side of the story. Everyone was asking for her to be punished for something she didn't even do, and she was finding it hard to prove her innocence.
She could see that most of the Grand Elders were against us. She thought that the only one that could still believe her was the Sect Master. Only she could save her in this situation.
'I swear I didn't do anything," Mi Yao looked towards the Sect Master and said to her in a pleading tone.
The Sect Master found herself stuck between a rock and a hard place. She hated Long Chen, and thus she didn't want to Punish Mi Yao, but almost everyone was asking for her to be punished. Even the Grand Elders that were on her side were asking for her punishment.
"I've heard enough. After hearing about both sides, I think that this matter needs more consideration. Mi Yao will not be Punished yet, but she will be put under house arrest until everything becomes clear," The Sect Master said.
"Are you really not even going to put her in the prison? Is it not you abusing your powers? I didn't say anything when you decided to have Long Chen go against Mu Zheng to get the position of the captain despite him being the 1st ranked in the demon ranking. I knew you did it because you are partial towards your Disciple, but I let it pass. Still, you're going to abuse your powers again? That too so brazenly in front of all of us?" Lang Jing furiously said.
He was faking his anger for the most part, though. He realized that it was the right opportunity to make everyone against her.
"Lang Jing! How dare you talk to the Sect Master like that? Do you think that you're your father?" Grand Elder Chu responded. "You should be the one who's punished instead."
"Even though I agree that Lang Jing's words were somewhat strong, but I do understand where he's coming from, and I agree with his point. Someone tried to kill his disciple. Which one of us wouldn't react like that if it had happened to our disciples? Seeing the sect master siding with her even after all that is wrong," the Prime Elder said.
"Yeah, she should be imprisoned for life! We can get more information after that about the whereabouts of the treasures."
"She deserves to be Punished. Her stories are filled with plot holes. It's clear that she lied."
"She wouldn't have lied if she wasn't hiding anything. She must have done it for the treasures. The Flute of War is one of the most important treasures of the Divine Heaven Sect after all."
The Grand Elders got even more active in this discussion. They didn't let this topic go.
The Sect Master was under the pressure now. Over 90% of the elders were asking for her to be punished severely.
"Alright. After reconsidering the matter..."
The Sect Master was about to change her verdict before Mi Yao stopped her.
"Wait! I can prove that he's lying!" Mi Yao said.
Everyone looks at her with curiosity. Even Long Chen was somewhat surprised about what she could say in this situation that wouldn't make it seem like she was trying to delay things. If she said to go ask the other sects, that would just be seen as delaying tactics, and the Sect wouldn't bother with that
"Alright. We'll listen to you. What do you have to say for yourself," The Sect Master asked her.
Everyone was looking at her, waiting to hear what she had to say.
"The Flute of War! I can prove that he didn't get the Flute of War. We only gave him the list of desired items, and the Flute of War was one of the top items on the list, but we didn't mention about the looks of the Flute. Ask him what it looks like. The sect master and the Grand Elders must have read about the description of the flute. You guys can clearly see if he lies about it," Mi Yao said.
Long Chen sighed as he looked towards her. He couldn't help but think that she brought out the worst point that would only make her fall deeper. Who could know about the flute, if not him? He had the flute in his storage ring, after all.
"What do you want to know about the flute? The fact that it's exactly 30 cm long or that fact that its width was 2 cm? Or do you want to know about the three red lines that intertwine on the flute, making it seem like they are forming some strangely charming words," Long Chen answered.
"That's right. I've read about the red lines in the book that are only available at the highest level of our library. Other than the Sect Master and me, no one could have read that," the Prime Elder said.
"That makes it clear. Long Chen held the flute, and that's why she stole it from him and left him dead. We wouldn't even know what had happened if Long Chen hadn't survived. Such a pity,"
The Grand Elders' trust in Long Chen only deepened after this.
The Sect Master sighed. She had no way but to listen to the Elders now as all the proof was against Mi Yao. If she still didn't listen, then she would lose her reputation and the support of the Grand Elders that were still on her side.
"He's right with what he said. That's exactly how the Flute of War is supposed to look like, Mi Yao, I've come to a verdict. You will be imprisoned with other prisoners. You won't be allowed to come out. If you don't tell us about the location of the Flute of War even after three days, then you will be crippled," the Sect Master declared.
"Grand Elder Ki, you can take her to her destination," The Sect Master told one of the Grand Elders.
Grand Elder Ki took Mi Yao and left.
"You managed to survive her again. I don't know if It is luck or something else," the Sect Master said as she looked towards Long Chen.
Long Chen simply smiled and didn't answer her. He could see that the Sect Master and the Prime Elder were both ways too high in cultivation. They were definitely higher than the Sky Realm. He was sure that they were Heaven Realm cultivators.
He stood no chance against them even if he used his Flute of War. At Least not until he finished the Bloodline Trial and removed the restriction on his strength.
"It's late today. You can go back and rest. There are still some questions that you need to answer. I'll send Grand Elder Chu with the list of those questions tomorrow," the Sect Master told him before she left.
"Good work, kid. You did great finding the Flute of War. As soon as we get the Flute of War back from Mi Yao, you will get your rewards," Prime Elder praised Long Chen before he left as well.
Slowly, all Grand Elders left the place.
Chu Miao's master was there as well. He took Chu Miao with her.
Only Long Chen and Lang Jing remained.
"Come with me," Lang Jing said.
Lang Jing left the discussion hall as well, and Long Chen followed after him.
They walked back to his courtyard.
"Give me that thing," Lang Jing told Long Chen.
"What thing?" Long Chen asked back.
"The thing that you were assigned to get. Give me the necklace," Lang Jing said.
"I don't have the necklace. I didn't find it. There was no place with that tombstone you talked about," Long Chen replied.