Chapter 250: Playing the Fool
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How could she possibly swallow her pride?
The accusations from Ling Mountain followed relentlessly, listing the crimes of Lingxian Hall like a petition signed by ten thousand people. The condemnation from the other immortal sects was now impossible to suppress.
Such was the power of influence. Had Su Cheng stood alone, he would likely have been branded a heretic cultivator by now.
But the Lingxian Hall of today was no longer what it once was.
"Are you the head of Lingxian Hall?"
Standing before the thatched cottage was a girl. Petite in stature, she was even shorter than Yu Lan, clad in a white gauze skirt.
Though small in stature, she was indeed… large!
The one-shouldered gauze dress, reminiscent of Hanfu, barely contained her ample bosom!
While she couldn't match the second disciple who traded intellect for curves, she held her own even against Qinghan!
A childish face with a voluptuous figure!
Su Cheng had no recollection of this girl and could only consult the system for details.
Hmm… Ling Mountain… Elder of Xiaoyao Peak…
Honestly, Su Cheng had thought she was here to seek apprenticeship…
Her name was Cangjue. Hmm, just the sound of it suggested she was tough as nails, not someone to mess with.
"Right, I'm Su Cheng. What brings you here, young lady?"
Cang Jue wore a displeased expression. Su Cheng was nothing like she'd imagined. She found it hard to believe this man in coarse cloth robes, carrying a vegetable basket, was the same one who'd nearly wiped out the entire Tian Dao Pavilion.
"The Grand Elder sent me. I'll be blunt: you've caused trouble this time, and Ling Mountain has no obligation to clean up your mess."
Su Cheng understood. She was here to confront him!
It happened faster than he'd anticipated. He'd assumed those old fools would take more time to act, but who knew they'd unite so swiftly?
"Are you alone, young lady?"
"What else?"
"Would you like to come in for a moment?"
"No thanks. Your shack doesn't even have a place to sit."
Su Cheng chuckled, having formed a basic assessment of this Cangjue!
This fellow clearly didn't know him, nor did he understand the Lingxian Hall!
Well, that made things easier!
"What did Elder Cang… er, Cang just mean? What does 'I've caused trouble' even mean?"
Su Cheng set down the vegetables and meat he'd just bought, then lit a cigarette. "Want one?"
"The incident at the Heavenly Dao Pavilion—you're saying you didn't do it?"
Su Cheng channeled Li Shiyao, feigning ignorance…
"The Way of Heaven Pavilion? You mean something happened to my junior brother's disciples? What happened? I haven't heard anything about it!"
Teacher Cang sneered coldly: "Keep pretending. Let's see how long you can keep it up. Seventy-six disciples of the Heavenly Dao Pavilion were slaughtered by you. Only two elders remain in his sect, and countless others were gravely injured. You want to claim all this is a frame-up?"
"How could this be? It's impossible!"
Su Cheng's eyes widened, his mouth gaped open, his face frozen in utter disbelief!
"Master Cang, everyone knows I have no cultivation! Even if I admitted to doing it, no one would believe me!"
While I have made some progress in cultivation recently, I'm still only at the Foundation Establishment stage—not even as strong as my First Disciple!
"Master, I'm not making wild guesses here. This must be someone deliberately slandering our Lingxian Hall!"
"Elder Cangjue, you mustn't believe slanderous rumors and wrongly accuse an innocent person!"
Su Cheng's words were filled with genuine emotion. He gestured emphatically as he spoke, his face etched with utter disbelief and profound injustice!
"Besides, Master Cheng and I were fellow disciples under the same master. How could I possibly harm a fellow disciple?"
"And what of Master Cheng now? If what Elder Cang says is true, I must pay him a visit soon!"
Cang Jue sneered coldly, "So you're saying it wasn't you?"
Su Cheng lied without batting an eye!
"Of course not!"
Cang Jue was at a loss for words: "The evidence is irrefutable. You still intend to deny it?"
"What evidence?"
Cang Jue thought to himself, This is your doing—what more proof do you need? So many people saw it with their own eyes. What more proof could you possibly need?
"Master Su, I don't care how you achieved this Foundation Establishment cultivation. In any case, I still hope you can give the world an explanation."
"Don't cause trouble for Ling Mountain, and certainly don't cause trouble for me."
Su Cheng smiled.
"I suppose it's all the Tian Dao Pavilion people speaking with one voice. I was in the Lingxian Hall all day that day and never left."
"I never intended to cause trouble for Elder Cang, but he must surely see this is a blatant frame-up!"
"I imagine Elder Cang's visit seeks only two things: first, evidence that I intervened; second, an explanation."
"Given Elder Cang's usual approach, wouldn't one of these suffice?"
Cang Jue wasn't stupid. Wasn't this a direct insult?
"How bold of you! Are you implying this Elder is indiscriminate and merely seeks to brush things under the rug?"
"Very well. This Elder will conduct a thorough investigation. Have you cleaned up your mess?"
Su Cheng chuckled. "Teacher Cang~ Do as you please. My second disciple hasn't had lunch yet. He'll likely start crying soon. Excuse me."
With that, Su Cheng turned and headed toward the woods, intending to return and cook for his second disciple, whose tummy often rumbled like thunder.
"Wait! Are you attempting to flee in fear of punishment? And right in front of this elder?"
Su Cheng's heart skipped a beat! Oh no!
This plot twist feels off!
"Master Cang, I must return to Lingxian Hall. You may proceed."
In the blink of an eye, before the dust beneath his feet had even settled, Cang Jue's figure flashed before Su Cheng, blocking his path!
A pair of small hands transformed into dragon-clutching claws, gripping Su Cheng's wrists firmly.
"Think you can run? Think again! Until I find proof, or until you can prove your innocence, you're not leaving my sight!"
Cang Jue was from Ling Mountain. Though her strength couldn't match Cheng Liang's, even Su Cheng—now only at the Foundation Establishment stage without his system's support—felt his wrists ache from her grip…
Should I kill her…
He had roughly 4.7 million system points left. He'd find a chance to have Yu Lan handle it…
These were his lifeline system points! Enough to keep him going like a real man for over ten minutes!
Even with a money-burning strategy, he could last about six minutes!
She was merely a Body Cultivation practitioner at the Spirit Transformation stage. The system hadn't mentioned any strange artifacts or supernatural abilities. Bad Dragon Dragon handling her would be no problem at all!
But…
"No way! I'm swamped every day! I don't have time to babysit Ling Mountain's elders!"
She suddenly grabbed Su Cheng's collar, pulling the much taller man down to eye level. Their gazes locked!
"You just say no? Do you think I'm negotiating with you?"
"Hey, hey, hey! Gentlemen use words, not fists! What are you trying to do? Bullying the smaller one, huh?"
Cang Jue glanced at Su Cheng's gaze, then looked down at her chest…
Nice~ Still got the energy for that…
Just wait until I find the evidence—I'll kill you with my own hands!
"Heh, I look like someone with a temper, do I?"
With a snap of his fingers, a group of cultivators appeared behind him in an instant—clearly his enforcers!
Lingshan upholds reason, but for those who refuse to reason, for the stubborn and obstinate, there are ways to make them see reason.
"What proof do you have? You just want to arrest someone?"
"The entire Heavenly Dao Pavilion witnessed it. You killed so many people—do you think you can escape punishment?"
Su Cheng felt a pang of guilt. He should have done a cleaner job!
As a teacher, he had committed such a grave error!
How utterly unforgivable!
"Master? Shiyao's hungry… Master, who is this?"
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