Chapter 759: Confronting Testimony

What was going on?

Niu Youdao had killed the Elders in charge from Zhao's three major sects, and slaughtered a group of their elite disciples as well?

Yucang wondered whether he had heard correctly. Did Niu Youdao really have that kind of ability? Were all those Zhao cultivators merely decorations?

But Bai Yulou had explained everything clearly. Niu Youdao had even used a Heavenly Sword Talisman. There could be no mistake.

When Yucang finally recovered, he was truly dumbfounded.

Had that brat gone mad?

He had actually dared open a slaughter here?

Sha Rulai slowly turned his head and gave Yucang a cold glance, as though asking: This is the man you came here for?

That single, penetrating look filled Yucang with desolation.

Utter desolation.

Sha Rulai turned back to Bai Yulou. "Niu Youdao says Zhao's cultivators struck first?"

Bai Yulou replied, "Yes. That is what he says."

Sha Rulai gave a cold snort. "Since when did Zhao's cultivators possess such enormous dog guts?"

Yucang could not resist interjecting, "Niu Youdao doesn't have guts that big either. He must have been forced into it."

Sha Rulai abruptly turned and stepped toward him.

Yucang was instantly frightened into retreating a step.

"I did not ask you. Since when is it your place to interrupt Misty Pavilion's affairs? Are you qualified to interfere?"

What friend?

A single sentence ripped away the last scrap of cloth covering their so-called friendship.

The man stood that high above him.

He was that overbearing.

Yucang lowered his head in alarm.

"I'd like to see who has such enormous dog guts!" Sha Rulai turned back and asked, "Has the course of events been investigated?"

Bai Yulou said, "It only just happened. There hasn't been time for a detailed investigation. The relevant people have already been detained and are being brought over."

He pointed toward a group being escorted in from outside.

Sha Rulai's cold gaze turned in that direction.

...

When Niu Youdao had first arrived here, he had privately thought it unfortunate that even after coming all the way to Misty Pavilion, he still had no chance to enter and see what the place was actually like.

Now the opportunity had arrived.

He truly had been given a chance to see it.

The manner of his arrival, however, was somewhat awkward.

Most of the others were here for the first time as well.

But who was in any mood to admire the scenery?

Pavilions, terraces, halls, and residences stretched one after another, all imposing and extraordinary.

The group was escorted to an open space adorned on all sides by rare flowers and unusual plants.

No one had any interest in looking.

Every last person was like a startled quail, body and mind sunk in enormous fear and unease.

They waited for a while.

Then several people approached from a corridor beneath layers of overhanging eaves.

One of them surprised Niu Youdao.

Yucang?

What was Yucang doing here?

Niu Youdao noticed his expression.

The old man's complexion looked rather poor, and when he looked toward Niu Youdao, his eyes seemed to carry resentment.

Yucang was indeed full of resentment.

More than resentment—he was practically boiling with grief and indignation.

For the sake of protecting Niu Youdao inside the Tiandu Secret Realm, Yucang had run himself ragged everywhere, pleading with people and calling in favors. He had even come all the way here to seek Sha Rulai's help.

For Xiaoyue Pavilion's great undertaking, he had truly thrown himself into the effort without reservation.

And Niu Youdao?

The bastard had simply opened a slaughter here.

Yucang had exhausted himself worrying and laboring on Niu Youdao's behalf, only for Niu Youdao to destroy everything in one stroke.

How could he not resent him?

Niu Youdao did not keep his attention on Yucang for long.

His main focus shifted to the man Yucang was accompanying so carefully.

From the man's bearing alone, Niu Youdao could tell that he suppressed everyone around him.

He plainly possessed authority here.

Sha Rulai stopped expressionlessly before the group and examined them briefly. Then he asked in an unhurried voice, "Who is Niu Youdao?"

Bai Yulou raised a hand and pointed.

Niu Youdao cupped his hands in salute.

Sha Rulai looked him up and down for a while. "You came here and ran wild, even daring to kill people on this ground. Have you grown tired of living?"

Niu Youdao said, "This humble one was not running wild. Zhao's cultivators bullied us too far. They attacked me first, and I had no choice but to defend myself. I ask Misty Pavilion to uphold justice and decide the matter fairly for this humble one!"

Yun Ji and the others' gazes flickered.

He was turning the accusation back on the accuser.

Could forceful sophistry like this really fool them?

What was going on?

Could someone really lie through his teeth this openly?

The Zhao cultivators were momentarily stunned.

Once they recovered, they reacted like cats whose tails had been stepped on.

Who dared shoulder responsibility for this?

Voices erupted one after another.

"It wasn't us! It was him! Niu Youdao attacked first..."

The scene instantly became noisy.

Bai Yulou barked, "Silence!"

No further intimidation was needed.

The entire place fell quiet at once.

Bai Yulou turned toward Sha Rulai for instructions.

Sha Rulai could not be bothered wasting words.

He merely lifted his chin slightly.

Bai Yulou understood, bowed to accept the instruction, then faced the cultivators from Zhao's three major sects. "Did you strike first?"

"No! He attacked first..." The voices rose again.

Too noisy.

Bai Yulou said heavily, "One at a time. You."

He pointed at one man.

The cultivator immediately pointed at Niu Youdao, face full of grief and fury. "It was him! He attacked first. Everyone saw it clearly. How can he deny it?"

Niu Youdao countered at once, "Who deliberately blocked the entrance to Tiangu? I repeatedly asked you to move aside, yet you refused. Who was it that stopped us from entering Tiangu? Was everyone here blind? Go on, then. Keep talking nonsense. Keep framing and slandering me!"

The cultivator opened his mouth, hesitated, then found himself unable to answer.

The Zhao cultivators who had been shouting their denials a moment earlier collectively fell silent.

Not one had anything to say.

And now, collectively, they grew frightened.

Quite a few secretly glanced toward Sha Rulai to see his reaction.

Ordinarily, there was nothing unusual about two hostile groups blocking each other's path and trading a few barbed words.

But spoken from Niu Youdao's mouth at a moment like this, the matter suddenly sounded different.

What did it mean that they had blocked him and refused to let him enter Tiangu?

The key problem was that nothing Niu Youdao had just said was fabricated.

Every sentence was true.

Not one word was false.

There was no way to refute him.

And many people had witnessed it.

The facts could not be twisted.

Situ Yao and the others were speechless as well.

They too secretly watched Sha Rulai's expression.

By now, everyone could tell that he was the man in charge here.

And sure enough, Sha Rulai's face had turned cold.

One eyebrow lifted slightly.

The gaze he directed toward Zhao's people was distinctly unfriendly.

What sort of place was Tiangu?

These were people whose names had been registered on Misty Pavilion's public lists, people who had come to participate in the opening of the Tiandu Secret Realm.

Yet Zhao's cultivators had dared stand beneath Misty Pavilion's eyes and block them from entering?

What were they trying to do?

How could Sha Rulai possibly be pleased?

Zhao's side could not simply admit guilt like this.

The cultivator forced himself to argue, "Who blocked anyone from entering Tiangu? We were only asking questions. Who would dare prevent people from entering Tiangu? You were the one who suddenly struck to kill—"

Niu Youdao seized the opening and cut him off. "You truly say whatever suits you. Fine. Let's call it questioning. Who were you questioning?"

The cultivator pointed toward Situ Yao. "Sect Leader Situ Yao of Myriad Caves Heavenly Mansion. Everyone saw it!"

Niu Youdao said, "Then why block me? Why prevent me from entering? I asked you politely again and again to make way. Not only did you continue blocking me, but when I tried to pass, Wan Tongfu and Ming Jing even took the opportunity to secretly use their arts to injure me. Their attack was vicious. What reason was there for that?"

"You were questioning Situ Yao. I had already told you to take your time talking. Why did you still stop me? And why launch a covert attack against me?"

The Zhao cultivators were shocked.

The man being questioned shouted urgently, "Nonsense! What covert attack? No one secretly attacked you!"

Niu Youdao said, "When I tried to pass those two, they suddenly attacked me in secret! They thought no one else could see them acting covertly, so I was simply supposed to endure it?"

The heart of the dispute had now formed.

One side insisted no secret attack had occurred.

The other insisted the two men had indeed attacked secretly.

Situ Yao and the others stared in astonishment.

Had those two truly attacked Niu Youdao in secret?

Otherwise, how could Niu Youdao have dared act so violently here?

They themselves could not tell whether it was true.

If the two men had secretly used their arts to strike him, outsiders naturally would have found it difficult to notice.

One side said no.

The other said yes.

They could hardly be allowed to argue without end.

Bai Yulou shouted, "All of you, shut up!"

Once the argument stopped, Bai Yulou summoned Misty Pavilion personnel.

Apart from Niu Youdao and the Zhao cultivator directly arguing with him, everyone else from both sides was to be separated and interrogated individually.

Each person was ordered to recount the entire incident in complete detail.

After making the arrangements, Bai Yulou solemnly warned everyone, "You had better explain the course of events exactly as it happened, without concealing half a word. If the testimonies do not match, anyone caught lying should carefully consider the consequences. Take them away!"

He waved his hand.

Everyone except Niu Youdao and the Zhao cultivator who had confronted him was taken away for separate questioning.

Once only the two remained, Bai Yulou fixed his gaze on Niu Youdao again. "Set aside the point you're arguing about for now. Let's discuss what I personally witnessed afterward."

"Niu Youdao, I personally saw you use a Heavenly Sword Talisman to strike down Guiyuan Sect Elder Wang Bukong, then slaughter disciples of Zhao's three major sects without restraint!"

"You claim Wan Tongfu and Ming Jing attacked you secretly, forcing you to defend yourself. What justification do you have for then killing the others so viciously?"

The Zhao cultivator beside him immediately brightened. "Sir is right!"

Niu Youdao cupped his hands toward Bai Yulou. "Since Sir puts it that way, then I assume you did not see whether Wang Bukong or I moved first."

"Earlier, I only counterattacked Wan Tongfu and Ming Jing. I had no intention of attacking anyone else. But Zhao's three major sects clearly meant to put me to death."

As he spoke, he raised a hand and pointed at the Zhao cultivator beside him.

"Sir may as well ask him whether he saw Wang Bukong draw his sword and attack me first."

"If I was the one who attacked first—if I truly possessed such monstrous audacity that I dared start trouble here of my own accord—then I, Niu Youdao, will die without complaint. I willingly offer the head on my neck!"

Bai Yulou frowned.

Whether Wang Bukong had drawn his sword first, he genuinely had not seen.

He had only rushed over after hearing the disturbance caused by the Heavenly Sword Talisman.

So he turned to the Zhao cultivator. "Did Wang Bukong draw his sword and attack first?"

"This..."

The cultivator immediately hesitated.

At the time, he had been standing behind the crowd.

Truthfully, he had not seen whether Wang Bukong drew his sword first.

Niu Youdao immediately pressed him. "What's wrong? Why are you stammering now? Don't you dare speak the truth?"

The cultivator hurriedly cupped his hands toward Bai Yulou and explained, "Sir, I was standing behind the crowd at the time. I did not see who moved first."

Niu Youdao instantly flared with indignation. "Didn't you just say I attacked first? Why is it that the instant we reach the crucial point, it suddenly becomes 'I didn't see'?"

"I..." The cultivator panicked.

He hurriedly explained to Bai Yulou again, "Sir, that was earlier. Earlier, Niu Youdao truly did attack first. As for whether Elder Wang moved first afterward, I genuinely didn't see it."

"Even if he did, Elder Wang must have been reacting urgently after seeing Niu Youdao kill people!"

Niu Youdao immediately drove the question home. "So what you're saying is that Guiyuan Sect's Elder Wang was as close as flesh and blood to the people of Luoxia Villa and Juxian Sect?"

"He saw Luoxia Villa and Juxian Sect suffer a loss, so at that very time and place, he intended to avenge those two men?"

"Do you believe that yourself?"

[End of Chapter 759]