Chapter 1165: Sacrifice the Pawn to Save the Commander

Ding Wei had to give that warning. He was afraid Huang Ban might try to help him conceal something that should no longer be concealed.

At this point, how could Ding Wei fail to see that the truth could no longer be hidden? The moment he saw the five men brought in together, and then saw them confess, he knew there was no longer any point in covering things up. The more they concealed now, the more dangerous the consequences would become.

Yuan Se cheerfully glanced at his disciple's reaction.

Seeing the five men kneeling nearby, Huang Ban had already guessed what had happened. One look at Ding Wei's face confirmed it, and he no longer dared equivocate. "We went into the mountains thirty li southeast of the city."

Consort Yuan asked, "What did you go there for?"

Huang Ban pointed toward the five kneeling men. "We discovered that five large flying mounts had suspicious movements during the period when Niu Youdao was assassinated. These five were the ones who requisitioned the mounts. Presiding Administrator Ding summoned them because he wanted to determine what had happened."

"Did you determine it?"

"Yes. We discovered that Xuan Yao had arranged it."

"What did Xuan Yao use those five flying mounts for?"

Huang Ban raised his eyes toward Ding Wei again. The answer came with difficulty. "The man who assassinated Niu Youdao was Xuan Yao."

The five kneeling men shuddered inwardly.

In truth, when Ding Wei had first summoned them, they had already suspected something of the sort. They had simply not dared be certain. Everyone knew about the grudge between Xuan Yao and Niu Youdao.

Hearing Xuan Yao finally dragged into the open, Ding Wei's heart grew heavy. He had told his master only moments ago that there had been no progress in the case. He had plainly lied to him.

He immediately tried to intervene in the questioning, cupping his hands once more. "Master..."

He wanted to explain, but Yuan Se cut him off again. "I told you, this is not the time for you to speak. I gave you a chance earlier, and you chose not to say anything. Since you would not speak, let others speak first."

"Your master is a reasonable man. I said I would give you a chance to explain, and I certainly will. Once everyone else has finished, there will be plenty of time for you to explain slowly. Understand?"

Ding Wei was forced to shut his mouth again.

But his interruption had been a signal to Huang Ban.

After following Ding Wei for so many years, Huang Ban understood immediately. He grasped why Ding Wei had tried to step in.

The matter had to stop with Xuan Yao. From this point onward, they could not continue telling the entire truth.

Why?

There could be no reason other than protecting Ding Wei.

Consort Yuan asked, "In other words, Ding Wei had already discovered that Xuan Yao was the one who assassinated Niu Youdao."

"Yes!"

"Then why did you not report it? Why did you order these five men to conceal it?"

"Presiding Administrator Ding said the matter could not be allowed to leak for the time being. He would make the arrangements himself."

Consort Yuan immediately looked toward Ding Wei. "Ding Wei, since you had already solved the case, why did you tell the Sacred Venerable earlier that there had been no progress?"

Ding Wei fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "It is inconvenient to explain right now."

Even Consort Yuan was surprised by that answer, much less Yuan Se.

Had matters reached this point and he still intended to be stubborn to the end?

Ding Wei's status was not ordinary. He was Yuan Se's disciple. If he refused to speak, Consort Yuan could not simply use force without authorization. She tilted her head toward Yuan Se, asking him to decide.

Yuan Se said, "Ding Wei, Consort Yuan is investigating the case right now. You should cooperate."

"Yes!" Ding Wei answered respectfully.

Then he pointed toward the five kneeling men. "We discovered that these five had requisitioned the flying mounts. Their purpose was suspicious, and they were implicated in the assassination of Niu Youdao. I originally intended to arrest them immediately and bring them back to Wentian City for interrogation."

"However, their background implicated this disciple, which meant it implicated Dayuan Sacred Land. Before the truth was clear, before I possessed definite certainty, I had no choice but to act cautiously. I feared causing harm to Dayuan Sacred Land."

"That was why, out of concern for attracting attention, I brought them into the mountains outside the city for secret questioning."

"Once the truth was confirmed, I still had concerns. I did not dare make the matter public and took some temporary precautions instead. When I came here this morning, I had intended to report everything to Master and ask Master to decide. However..."

He stopped there and glanced at Lü Wushuang.

There was no need to say more.

Yuan Se and Consort Yuan both followed his gaze toward Lü Wushuang and instantly understood what Ding Wei meant.

He had originally intended to report everything to the Sacred Venerable, but because Lü Wushuang was present, family shame should not be aired before outsiders. He had therefore concealed the matter temporarily, intending to wait until Lü Wushuang left before speaking.

Yuan Se fell silent.

He had to admit that Ding Wei's explanation was reasonable.

The assassination involved their own people. With an outsider present, and before Yuan Se himself had made the final decision, Ding Wei truly could not casually expose the affair in front of someone else. Doing so would leave their side no room to maneuver.

That was precisely the sort of discretion Ding Wei ought to possess. Otherwise, why had Yuan Se let him preside over Misty Pavilion?

Lü Wushuang gave a derisive snort. "So I've become your excuse for concealing the case."

Ding Wei immediately retorted, "Sacred Venerable Lü, what I said is the truth. Why must you deliberately distort it into an excuse?"

With his master present, he had no need to defer to Lü Wushuang.

Lü Wushuang snorted. "If Fatty Yuan hadn't torn the cover off for you, I imagine you would have kept hiding it forever. Your subordinates—without your approval, would they dare assassinate an inspector on their own?"

Ding Wei said, "The case is already very clear. Someone acted behind my back. I only discovered the truth last night. If Sacred Venerable Lü bears such a deep prejudice against me and insists on splashing dirty water over my head, there is nothing I can do."

Yuan Se's eyes flickered.

That was exactly what puzzled him as well.

Ding Wei had only discovered the truth last night and apparently had known nothing beforehand. That did not seem to align with the warning Lü Wushuang had given him earlier.

It was precisely because of that discrepancy that Yuan Se had remained patient enough to drag the relevant people here one by one and confront them face-to-face.

He raised one hand slightly toward Consort Yuan.

Consort Yuan immediately gestured again.

Everyone turned.

Xuan Yao was being escorted over.

The moment he entered the pavilion and saw the five men and Huang Ban kneeling there, then connected that sight with his own sudden arrest, more than half the warmth drained from Xuan Yao's heart.

He knew he was probably doomed.

In a daze, he barely even registered how he ended up kneeling.

Consort Yuan asked, "Xuan Yao, where did you go last night?"

The question snapped him back to himself.

His heart filled with regret.

He regretted letting hatred cloud his mind and driving him to assassinate Niu Youdao. He had succeeded in venting his resentment and killing Niu Youdao, but now he feared he had thrown his own life in along with it.

Still clinging to one final hope of survival, he did not know how to answer.

He was about to steal a glance at Ding Wei's expression when Ding Wei suddenly barked sternly, "At this point, you are suffering the consequences of your own actions. Answer honestly. Conceal nothing!"

The instant those words came out, bitterness covered Xuan Yao's face.

It was over.

His final hope of surviving shattered.

With a bitter smile, he answered, "I went into the deep mountains outside the city."

Consort Yuan asked, "Why did you go into the mountains?"

Xuan Yao no longer remained bowed low. Slowly, he straightened on his knees and sat back on his calves. He sighed. "Presiding Administrator Ding summoned me."

"Why did he summon you?"

Xuan Yao shook his head with a dry laugh. "Everything was my own doing, and I have only myself to blame. I was the one who assassinated Niu Youdao. The Presiding Administrator uncovered it and summoned me for questioning."

"Why did he question you in the mountains outside the city?"

"I don't know. Perhaps he was concerned about the effect on Dayuan Sacred Land."

"Did you confess honestly?"

"The Presiding Administrator had already uncovered evidence. There was no way to hide it anymore. I had no choice but to confess."

"After you confessed, what arrangements did Ding Wei make?"

Ding Wei's heartstrings tightened at the question.

His earlier excuse that Lü Wushuang's presence had forced him to conceal the matter had been a gamble.

He was gambling that Xuan Yao would not betray him.

Xuan Yao remained silent for a moment before giving a miserable smile. "There were no arrangements. He ordered Huang Ban to keep watch over me and told me to await disposition."

With that answer, he had taken all responsibility onto himself.

A stone finally dropped from Ding Wei's heart.

Precisely because of that, a complicated emotion appeared in the look he gave Xuan Yao.

This was, after all, a trusted subordinate who had followed him for many years.

But there was nothing Ding Wei could do.

He himself was struggling to escape danger. He had no ability to save Xuan Yao.

Huang Ban also secretly relaxed.

If Xuan Yao had revealed Ding Wei's plan to silence every participant in the assassination, then Huang Ban's earlier words would have been exposed as lies as well. He too would have found it impossible to escape responsibility.

Consort Yuan fell silent for a moment. Then she turned to Yuan Se. "Young Master, this concubine has no more questions."

Yuan Se gave an acknowledging sound and waved her back behind him.

Then he gave Lü Wushuang a sidelong glance and chuckled. "Great Beauty, your turn."

Ding Wei's heart jumped.

It still was not over?

What did Lü Wushuang have to do with this?

Lü Wushuang gave a cold snort. "This is obviously sacrificing the pawn to save the commander. You rehearsed the story in advance, and you actually believe it?"

Yuan Se said cheerfully, "Don't ask me. I don't know."

Ding Wei cupped his hands slightly and looked at Lü Wushuang. "I do not understand what Sacred Venerable Lü means."

Lü Wushuang said, "Why pretend to be confused? Do you truly not know why the inspectors from the eight sects went to Wuliang Garden?"

She cast Yuan Se a cold sidelong look. "Fatty Yuan, the matter is obvious. Wuliang Garden is involved. When choosing which side to sacrifice, anyone knows which weighs more. And yet one mere Xuan Yao is supposed to shoulder everything..."

"What a profitable bargain."

Yuan Se chuckled. "Don't ask me. I have no idea."

Ding Wei frowned. "The inspectors from the eight sects went to Wuliang Garden while I was outside the Sacred Realm. I had no prior knowledge of it at all."

"Is that so?" Lü Wushuang asked. "Then why did Xuan Yao assassinate Niu Youdao neither earlier nor later, but precisely after Niu Youdao had obtained testimony from Wuliang Garden? Don't tell me it was merely a coincidence!"

Yuan Se calmly drank his tea with a smile, as though the matter had nothing to do with him.

"Wuliang Garden testimony?" Ding Wei asked in confusion. "What testimony?"

Lü Wushuang laid it out plainly. "After the arson at Wuliang Garden, Niu Youdao accompanied you there and questioned people. During that visit, he noticed certain abnormalities. Afterward, he kept pursuing the matter and eventually uncovered some clues."

"The clues indicated that the great fire at Wuliang Garden was deliberately set. The purpose was to coordinate with an inside traitor in the Garden. The fire was intended to create chaos and give that traitor an opportunity to steal the Wuliang Fruit!"

"Steal the Wuliang Fruit?" Ding Wei was shocked.

Lü Wushuang continued, "After uncovering those clues, Niu Youdao invited the inspectors from all eight sects to Wuliang Garden to collect evidence. They obtained a batch of testimony from inside the Garden and intended to bring it back for review so they could establish the evidence."

"And at precisely that moment, Niu Youdao was suddenly killed."

"Ding Wei, do you think that was a coincidence?"

Everyone who had not already known about this was stunned.

Even Xuan Yao froze.

He had never imagined the timing of his attack would coincide with something so enormous.

Now he finally understood just how thoroughly he had courted death.

No wonder all Nine Saints had been alarmed enough to personally watch the investigation.

Ding Wei could no longer remain calm.

He abruptly turned and demanded, "Xuan Yao, why did you choose that exact time to kill Niu Youdao?"

[End of Chapter 1165]