Shifting the Blame

"Why?! We have no grudge against you..." Ning Yuanfeng's heart shattered with terror. He desperately channeled his soul power, the Glazed Tile Pagoda shimmering as he sought to bolster his companions' defenses.

"Why?" The leader of the men in black stepped forward, his blade wreathed in cold, dark soul power. His tone was dripping with deliberate mockery. "If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for provoking someone you shouldn't have!"

"Someone I shouldn't have..." Ning Yuanfeng's pupils contracted violently. The cold, smiling eyes of Ye Yang from earlier that day overlapped with the murderous gaze of the man before him! A horrifying realization struck his mind like a lightning bolt! He shrieked:

"It's the Crown Prince! Did Xue Qinghe send you?! He was only pretending to let us go this morning!!"

"Smart, but too late!" The leader sneered. His blade whistled through the air with a piercing shriek as he struck down with lethal force!

"No--!!!"

The desperate roar was cut short.

The cold blade pierced through Ning Yuanfeng's chest! Blood gushed out like a fountain.

The other Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples fell like stalks of wheat under the siege of the other soul kings, unable to even let out a scream.

In the throes of death, a final flash of malice and clarity erupted in Ning Yuanfeng's eyes.

He used his last ounce of strength, his blood-stained fingers trembling as he clawed a twisted, gruesome character into the gap between the cold stone slabs beneath him—

"Crown"!

As the final stroke fell, his head lolled to the side, and he breathed his last.

Blood followed the grooves of the stone, slowly staining the incomplete yet distinct character red.

The leader of the men in black swept a cold glance over the corpses and his gaze landed precisely on the glaring blood-written character.

Instead of wiping it away, he deliberately positioned Ning Yuanfeng's body to cover the mark.

"Mission accomplished." He nodded slightly toward the shadows, his voice devoid of emotion. "The trail has been left 'clear' enough."

In the darkness, a blurred figure appeared silently. He glanced at the blood-written character and issued a low, hoarse command: "Withdraw. Let the people of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect 'discover' this gift themselves."

The five men in black merged into the night like ghosts, vanishing without a trace.

It was not until the next morning, when commoners went up the mountain to gather herbs, that the bodies were discovered.

The next morning, Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Golden Throne Hall.

The solemn atmosphere of the morning court was torn apart by a suppressed fury. Emperor Xue Ye sat high upon the dragon throne, his face so dark it seemed as if water could drip from it.

He gripped a report so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Absurd! Simply lawless!" Emperor Xue Ye slammed the report onto his desk with a thunderous bang. The sound made the ministers in the hall tremble, and they all lowered their heads, holding their breath.

His voice rolled through the hall like muffled thunder, heavy with imperial wrath: "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect! The pillar of my Heaven Dou Empire! Their direct disciples were slaughtered and left to rot in the wilderness right at the foot of my imperial capital!"

"This is a slap in my face! This is a provocation against the majesty of the entire Heaven Dou Empire!"

His dragon eyes, sharp as lightning, swept over the terrified ministers: "The Ministry of Justice! The City Defense Department! What are you people doing?!"

"In the heart of the imperial capital, how could such a shocking bloodbath occur! Where are the killers?! Where are the clues?! Is there truly not a single trace left behind?!"

The hall fell into a deathly silence, with only the heavy, ragged breathing of Emperor Xue Ye echoing off the walls.

Ning Fengzhi stood at the front of the civil officials, his face equally grim. He closed his eyes slightly, hiding the grief within.

Although Ning Yuanfeng and the others were not core disciples, they were, after all, the face of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

If this matter were not handled properly, what would become of the sect's reputation?

Just then, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, a sharp-featured middle-aged official, took a deep breath. Under immense pressure, he stepped out from the ranks, knelt on the ground, and spoke with a tremor he could barely conceal:

"Reporting to Your Majesty! We... we have investigated the scene throughout the night, exhausting every effort, and dared not show the slightest negligence."

"The scene was brutal; the killers were ruthless and efficient, having wiped away almost all traces... However, the net of justice is wide, and nothing escapes it!"

He paused, looked up, and his eyes darted quickly across Emperor Xue Ye on the throne, then flickered past the expressionless Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, and finally lingered for a moment on Prince Xue Xing, whose face had suddenly tightened, before he continued:

"Beneath the body of the primary victim, Ning Yuanfeng... we discovered a gap in the stone slabs that had been deliberately covered by his body!"

"Inside the gap, written in blood with a finger, was a... an incomplete character!"

His voice rose sharply, heavy with the weight of revealing a shocking secret: "It was the character 'Crown'!"

The word "Crown" hit the hall like a boulder dropped into a calm lake!

The entire Golden Throne Hall erupted in an instant!

The character "Crown"?!

In the Heaven Dou Empire, especially within this court, the implication was far too specific!

Almost everyone's gaze subconsciously turned toward the Crown Prince, who stood at the very front of the officials, his posture upright and his expression still calm and unruffled.

Emperor Xue Ye's pupils contracted violently. A chill rose from the depths of his heart, replacing some of his fury.

His sharp gaze, like a physical blade, instantly pinned itself onto his eldest son.

He absolutely did not believe that the Crown Prince, in whom he had placed such high hopes and who was known for his benevolence, would commit such a foolish and vicious act. Yet, this character truly required a reasonable explanation.

Ning Fengzhi also looked at Xue Qinghe, but there was no anger in his eyes. As his disciple, he still trusted Xue Qinghe's character; this benevolent Crown Prince could never do such a thing.

The only question was, what exactly was the culprit trying to achieve by framing Xue Qinghe in this manner?

"Father, ministers, why are you all looking at me? That is the character for 'too,' not 'crown prince.' How does that have anything to do with me?" Ye Yang raised an eyebrow slightly, his tone calm.

He turned his gaze toward the livid Emperor Xue Ye and the solemn-faced Ning Fengzhi, his tone becoming a fraction more sincere.

"Furthermore, as I just stated, even if Ning Yuanfeng and the others truly wrote the characters for 'crown prince,' their intentions are clear as day."

"I only encountered them by chance on the street yesterday and had a minor verbal dispute. Out of respect for Sect Master Ning, I reprimanded them on the spot and let them go."

"If I were to send men to brutally murder several direct disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect over such a trivial matter..."

Ye Yang's voice rose slightly, carrying an unquestionable, awe-inspiring weight: "Would I ever commit such a cruel, heartless act that destroys my own defenses and plunges the empire into turmoil?"

"This is clearly a deliberate frame-up by someone intending to sow discord between the Imperial Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Their heart deserves to be punished!"

[Ding! Eloquent defense in a crisis, Eloquence +1, Dignity +1]

Ning Fengzhi's tightly furrowed brows shifted slightly.

The Crown Prince's words were clear, logical, and reasonable.

Based on his understanding of Xue Qinghe, the other party was indeed not the type of person to be so shortsighted and violent.

He had already learned the details of yesterday's conflict through other channels, and the Crown Prince had indeed shown sufficient restraint at the time.

If it were truly the Crown Prince's doing, why go through the unnecessary trouble of letting them go in public only to kill them in secret and leave behind evidence? This looked much more like a clumsy attempt at framing someone.