Framing

Chapter 24: Framing

Thousand Mechanism Hall, Kunlun Mirror.

The image of Luo Qiuzhen bowing his head in agreement froze on the surface of the mirror.

Looking at that cunning face, Ning Ye chuckled:

"Wang Sen, Wood Puppet Sect? Haha, what a great idea. Truly worthy of the Black and White Divine Palace; this trick of turning black into white is played with such divine mastery."

Wang Sen was, of course, innocent. The problem was that it wasn't just Ning Ye who understood this; Luo Qiuzhen, Fu Dongliu, and perhaps even Yue Xinchans knew it as well.

But the Immortal Sects valued their reputation. If they said you had to hand someone over within three days, you had to hand someone over within three days. Even if you couldn't find the real culprit, you had to find a scapegoat to satisfy the requirement.

Ning Ye was not at all surprised by this way of doing things at the Black and White Divine Palace. The only thing that exceeded his expectations was Luo Qiuzhen.

He hadn't expected this method to be proposed by Luo Qiuzhen, especially since he had acted so professional previously.

This also verified another thing: ability and character are often unrelated. While Luo Qiuzhen might seek truth, it didn't mean he wouldn't fabricate it. His pursuit of truth was perhaps just to make the fake appear more real. Without such mental acuity and methods, he likely wouldn't have fared well in the Black and White Divine Palace.

Moreover, doing this would also dispel any jealousy Fu Dongliu might have felt toward him.

Truly, one shouldn't fear an opponent with ability; one should fear an opponent who has ability but no bottom line.

However, no matter how brilliant Luo Qiuzhen was, he would never imagine that the real culprit was not only off the suspect list but was also monitoring their conversation.

Someone with the strength of Fu Dongliu could not be monitored by the current Ning Ye, but he was able to monitor them this time because he had participated in the construction of the Inspection Hall—he had planted the Moon Shadow Cold Sand inside.

When he first invented this item, his master had called it a mere "clever but useless toy," but facts proved that what allowed Ning Ye to surpass others was precisely his unique way of thinking that no one else possessed.

It was for this reason that Ning Ye had orchestrated the arson at the Inspection Hall.

He certainly wasn't doing it to destroy evidence; that was just a smokescreen. His true purpose was to participate in the reconstruction of the Inspection Hall so he could scatter the Moon Shadow Cold Sand throughout the hall.

Because this item was his own invention, even if others discovered it, they would be unable to understand it.

Compared to the poisoning case, the purpose of the arson case was much more obvious, but without the catharsis brought by the poisoning case, Ning Ye might not have been able to think so calmly—sometimes, a mistake is the necessary cornerstone for the truth.

Sure enough, only two days later, Ning Ye already knew their countermeasure.

"Wang Sen..." Ning Ye fell into deep thought at this moment.

This Wang Sen was destined to be his scapegoat.

But could he make use of him to stir up some trouble? Ning Ye couldn't help but wonder.

Wang Sen was an ordinary outer sect disciple of the Black and White Divine Palace with no master.

This was a major reason why he was chosen as the scapegoat.

Tonight, as usual, Wang Sen was practicing in his residence when he suddenly sensed something. He lunged out of the house just in time to see a black shadow flash in the distance and an object fly toward him.

Wang Sen dodged it, only to see that it was a letter.

Wang Sen was quite cautious; he first used a spell to probe it, confirming there were no tricks on the letter, before opening it to read. After reading it, he trembled all over: "This is..."

The contents of the letter were too shocking, but connecting it to what had happened previously, Wang Sen knew it was likely true. Just as he was about to put the letter away, he saw the handwriting on it vanish entirely, leaving him no chance to keep it.

Knowing he didn't have much time left, Wang Sen began to prepare.

Early the next morning, Wang Sen went to the herb fields as usual—disciples without masters usually had some extra work to do. Because Wang Sen walked the path of the Wood Element, he naturally chose to work in the herb fields.

After finishing his work in the afternoon, Wang Sen walked toward his residence.

Just as he reached the door, he saw a group of people surrounding it.

People from the Inspection Hall.

As expected!

Wang Sen cursed inwardly.

A disciple from the Inspection Hall walked over and said, "Wang Sen, your crimes have been exposed. Come with us."

Wang Sen feigned ignorance: "What crimes?"

The disciple snapped, "The poisoning of our sect's disciples and the arson at the Inspection Hall."

Wang Sen smiled: "Do you have evidence?"

"The evidence is right here." A disciple stepped forward, holding a Jade Bottle and a Wooden Bird in his hands.

The disciple said, "These were found in your room. The bottle contains Three-Wither Pollen, the Wooden Bird is the tool you used to commit arson, and there is also a secret letter from the Wood Puppet Sect addressed to you. What else can you say to defend yourself?"

By now, many disciples had gathered to see the commotion. Upon hearing this, they were in an uproar, glaring at Wang Sen with fury.

Wang Sen smiled: "If you are determined to find fault, you will always find a reason."

"Still trying to deny it!" A disciple lunged at him.

Wang Sen did not resist, only saying, "Since that is the case, I demand a public trial."

"That goes without saying."

Having caught a spy from the Wood Puppet Sect, the Inspection Hall would naturally announce it to calm the public. Now that the evidence was ironclad, what did a public trial matter?

Only Luo Qiuzhen, watching from the side, felt a faint sense of unease as he saw Wang Sen act this way, though he didn't know where the problem lay.

An hour later, in the main hall of the Inspection Hall, Yue Xinchans had already appeared on the dais, while a dense crowd of countless disciples gathered below to watch.

Yue Xinchans said, "Wang Sen, I heard you requested a public trial yourself. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Wang Sen answered loudly, "Reporting to the Hall Master, this is a frame-up! This disciple is innocent!"

Yue Xinchans was not surprised. "The evidence is ironclad. How could it be a frame-up?"

Wang Sen smiled, and this smile inexplicably sent a chill through the hearts of Fu Dongliu and Luo Qiuzhen standing nearby.

Wang Sen said, "The two items the Inspection Hall confiscated do not belong to me. At the very least, they did not exist before last night. Therefore, if my guess is correct, someone must have deliberately planted them while I was working in the herb fields earlier today to frame me."

Yue Xinchans asked, "What proof do you have to say so?"

Wang Sen replied, "Reporting to the Hall Master, my residence is a humble shack, and my abilities are limited, so I cannot set up powerful protective measures. For the sake of safety, I used the simplest method: I installed an Image Recording Stone on the rafters, which can record everyone who enters or leaves my room throughout the day."

What?

Fu Dongliu nearly lost his composure.

Yue Xinchans's eyes flashed with a sharp light. He extended his hand, and the Hand of the Chess Player suddenly appeared in the sky, crossing the vast space to land atop Wang Sen's residence. With a single grasp, he tore the roof right off and pulled it over.

Amidst a sky full of dust, an Image Recording Stone was already in his hand.

Yue Xinchans did not activate the Image Recording Stone for all to see; instead, he let the footage play only for his own eyes, keeping it hidden from the crowd.

The images flashed rapidly before Yue Xinchans's eyes. Soon, he saw a figure sneaking into Wang Sen's room at high noon, placing the Wooden Bird and the Jade Bottle inside.

Seeing this, Yue Xinchans was furious. With a squeeze of his hand, the Image Recording Stone turned to powder. A monstrous rage erupted from his body, pressing down so hard that everyone in the hall was unable to stand.

Seeing this, Fu Dongliu knew exactly what had happened and began to tremble in terror.

Yet, the rage came as quickly as it went. The next moment, Yue Xinchans had regained his composure and said, "I have seen it. It is indeed as you said; this matter was a frame-up. However, it is a pity that the culprit did not reveal their true face. It must be some spy hidden within our sect, making them difficult to track down. Fu Dongliu!"

Fu Dongliu shuddered, stepped forward, and knelt down. "Dongliu is here!"

"Look at the fine mess you've made! You nearly harmed an innocent disciple of our sect. I order you to capture the true culprit immediately and restore Wang Sen's innocence!"

With that, Yue Xinchans rose to his full height and vanished without a trace.