Liu Qingping wanted to suppress Xu Yi and use him as a scapegoat. Xu Yi wanted to strike back at Liu Qingping, and still had to drag him into the open.
He'd already boarded Liu Qingping's pirate ship, and hadn't planned to jump off. After all, this Lord Xu seemed less like a human being the longer you looked at him. Though he felt some sympathy, there was nothing he could do to help.
But he never dreamed that just because he'd hesitated to speak earlier, Lord Xu would come after him first.
This Lord Xu, who'd been so timid just moments ago, suddenly tore off his hypocritical mask, baring a vicious face and a gaping maw. He immediately demanded an explanation for the missing incense offerings, then threatened to wield his authority to convict him of incompetence, petition for his removal as River God, and throw him into the Underworld Prison to await judgment.
How could he possibly take that? Even knowing that Liu Qingping had someone backing him, Lord Xu was the god officially in charge. Once his memorial went up, and the person being charged was a subordinate with proven guilt, he couldn't imagine any way to escape punishment.
With no choice, he could only switch sides again and turn to Lord Xu, confessing all the schemes Liu Qingping had orchestrated against Xu Yi.
Once Kong Donglai had cracked, the River God of the Jing River, the Mount Jinniu God, and the Gezi Mountain God were much easier to break through. He only had to push Kong Donglai in front of them. None of them would stubbornly hold out to the end; it simply wasn't worth it.
**"Nonsense! Kong, you dare slander me to my face? You really think I, Liu, am some nobody from a backwater