Chapter 15: Framing and Shifting Blame
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“Oh? You wish to submit to me? Then tell me—what value do you have?”
“My lord, I am the saintess of a small demon tribe. I know many of the demon race’s secrets!”
The other witch hurriedly chimed in, “That’s right, my lord. We can do anything for you!”
Han Yang pondered for a moment before accepting their request.
After all, the two witches were quite beautiful and knew a great deal about demonic arts. Keeping them around might prove useful.
“Very well. I accept your submission,” Han Yang said indifferently. “From now on, you will follow me.”
The two witches were overjoyed. They hurriedly knelt and kowtowed in thanks.
“Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!”
Han Yang led his two newly acquired witches down the mountain and reunited with Liu Ruyan and Lin Wan’er.
“Guardian Han, thank goodness you’re safe!” Seeing Han Yang return unharmed, Liu Ruyan’s anxious heart finally settled.
“I’m fine. I’m sorry to have worried you.” Han Yang smiled, then pointed to the two witches behind him. “These two are my new… friends. From now on, they’ll be returning to the sect with us.”
Liu Ruyan and Lin Wan’er looked at the two witches, who were dressed in disheveled clothes and had seductive gazes. An inexplicable jealousy immediately rose within them.
Those two women clearly did not look respectable.
The mountain path was rugged, and the group made slow progress. From time to time, Liu Ruyan and Lin Wan’er stole glances at the two witches behind Han Yang, their jealousy churning.
The witches, for their part, were obedient enough. They followed close behind, occasionally raising their heads to throw Han Yang a flirtatious glance. The sight made Liu Ruyan grit her teeth in irritation.
“Guardian Han, just who are they?” Liu Ruyan finally could not hold back any longer. Her voice dripped with jealousy.
Han Yang smiled and deliberately answered mysteriously, “I picked them up on the road… just a couple of little toys. They’re quite entertaining.”
Lin Wan’er’s expression darkened as well.
She tugged at Liu Ruyan’s sleeve and whispered, “Senior Sister, look at those seductive faces. They obviously aren’t good women.”
Liu Ruyan gave a cold snort and said nothing more.
As they continued on, a group of people suddenly appeared ahead of them. Every one of them wore the robes of the Blissful Immortal Sect, and they advanced with threatening momentum.
At their head was a sharp-featured young man with a crafty, simian appearance. He was Lu Yuan, Li Xueqing’s trusted disciple. Beside him stood an old man with a full head of white hair and an otherworldly bearing. He was Zhao Wuji, a sect elder—and the father of Zhao Tianba.
“Han Yang! Surrender at once!” Lu Yuan shouted from afar, his voice shrill and grating.
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Han Yang sneered inwardly, but on the surface he feigned surprise.
“Little Lu, what is the meaning of this? Why should I surrender?”
Zhao Wuji stepped forward and stroked his beard, speaking with righteous indignation.
“Han Yang, you betrayed the sect, stole its most precious treasure, and colluded with the demon race. Your crimes are unforgivable! Today, we have come under the sect master’s orders to arrest you and bring you to justice!”
Liu Ruyan and Lin Wan’er were instantly aghast. They could never have imagined that Han Yang would be accused of such grave crimes.
“Elder Zhao, there must be some misunderstanding! Guardian Han is utterly loyal to the sect. He could never have done such a thing!” Liu Ruyan hurriedly defended him.
“That’s right, Elder Zhao. We were with Guardian Han the entire time. He never had the opportunity to steal any treasure!” Lin Wan’er added.
“Silence!” Lu Yuan barked.
“What could two little girls like you possibly understand? Would the sect master and the council of elders ever wrong an innocent man? Men, seize Han Yang!”
The disciples immediately closed in, drawing their weapons and pointing them at Han Yang.
Seeing this, the two witches turned pale with fright. They hid behind Han Yang, trembling violently.
Han Yang secretly laughed. They were putting on quite a convincing performance.
He offered no resistance and allowed the disciples to bind him tightly.
“Guardian Han…” Liu Ruyan and Lin Wan’er cried out anxiously, but there was nothing they could do.
On the journey back to the sect, Han Yang was bound to a horse, jolting along the entire way.
He secretly observed Zhao Wuji and noticed that, although the old man maintained an outward appearance of solemn righteousness, a crafty glint occasionally flickered deep in his eyes. This made Han Yang even more certain that everything had been arranged by Li Xueqing.
“You old fox…” Han Yang cursed inwardly. It seemed Li Xueqing had gone to considerable lengths to eliminate him.
Upon returning to the sect, Han Yang was taken straight to the dungeon.
The dark, damp prison reeked of decay, the stench so foul it was nauseating.
Han Yang was bound to a thick stone pillar, unable to move.
Lu Yuan walked up to him, wearing a smug and vicious smile.
“Han Yang, so this is where you’ve ended up! Aren’t you always so good at groveling? What happened—have you fallen out of favor?”
Lu Yuan laughed maliciously, spittle nearly spraying across Han Yang’s face.
“What’s the matter? Not putting on an act anymore? Where are those two little enchantresses of yours? Why haven’t they come to rescue you?”
Han Yang sneered and spat onto Lu Yuan’s gleaming boots.
“A piece of trash like you has no right even to mention them.”
Lu Yuan’s expression changed. He raised his foot, intending to kick Han Yang, but the pig demon guarding the entrance stopped him.
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“Lu Yuan, do not act rashly. The sect master ordered that he be kept alive.”
“Hmph!”
Lu Yuan glared viciously at Han Yang before finally backing down.
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In the great hall, Li Xueqing sat high upon her throne, her phoenix eyes fixed coldly on the two witches, who trembled before her.
“Speak! Why were you wandering along the border of the Demon Realm?”
One of the witches answered in a trembling voice, “Sect Master… we were ordered to bring the Demon Lord’s placenta to the Demon Realm, where we would absorb the life force of living beings… to help it mature…”
The other witch added, “It also needs… the heart of a virgin… to complete the final awakening ritual…”
Li Xueqing’s brows drew tightly together.
“The Demon Lord’s placenta? Then you found it?”
The witches hurriedly nodded. One of them answered with a mournful expression, “But… but Han Yang… absorbed it all…”
“Absorbed it all?”
Li Xueqing shot to her feet, astonishment flashing through her eyes.
The Demon Lord’s placenta contained an incomparably potent demonic energy. Even she could not absorb it with ease. Yet Han Yang had actually absorbed it until not a trace remained? How was that possible?
Suppressing her shock, she asked coldly, “Han Yang? How did he appear at the border of the Demon Realm?”
Daring not to conceal anything, the witches recounted the entire affair in detail.
After hearing their account, Li Xueqing’s expression grew frighteningly grim.
She realized that Han Yang’s power had already surpassed her control by far—and might even threaten her position as sect master.
“Han Yang, you have some nerve ruining my plans!”
Li Xueqing ground her teeth, murderous intent surging within her.
Yet on the surface, she remained impassive. With a wave of her hand, she ordered, “Take them away and guard them strictly!”
At the same time, Liu Ruyan and Lin Wan’er were rushing about outside the dungeon, desperately trying to clear Han Yang’s name.
“Elder Zhao, please, I beg you—release Guardian Han! He truly did not collude with the demon race!” Liu Ruyan pleaded.
Zhao Wuji merely shook his head, his expressionless face revealing no emotion.
“Disciple-Niece Liu, this matter is of grave importance. There is nothing even this old man can do. The sect master has already given the order. At noon tomorrow, Han Yang will be executed publicly as a warning to the sect’s disciples.”
Liu Ruyan and Lin Wan’er were struck as though by lightning. They collapsed limply to the ground.