Preserving the Evidence

The blazing torchlight illuminated the entire courtyard as brightly as day.

More than a dozen Law Enforcement Hall disciples formed a circle, trapping Shen Yuan firmly in the middle of the courtyard. Blades were drawn, cold light flickered, and the tension had reached its peak.

On the ground, the intermediary and Zhao Kun's accomplice were still unconscious, sprawled amid the weeds. Shen Yuan gripped the small ebony box tightly in his hand. Inside lay all the evidence needed to overturn the case.

"Shen Yuan, as the foremost outer sect disciple, you knowingly broke the rules! You broke into a sealed residence late at night and launched a sneak attack that injured fellow disciples. What punishment do you deserve?" The Law Enforcement Hall captain stepped forward and barked harshly, the tip of his sword aimed directly at Shen Yuan's chest.

Shen Yuan knew full well that this Law Enforcement Hall squad had long since been bribed by Zhao Kun's side. Tonight had been a double trap from the start.

If he did not come for the evidence, Wang Dong would be wrongfully expelled. But if he risked coming to seize the evidence, he would be surrounded on the spot and charged with breaking into a private residence at night to commit violence. The wooden box would be confiscated under the pretext of "inspecting the evidence," then destroyed without a trace. By then, he would bear the blame as well and even lose his qualification for the Inner Sect Test.

What a vicious chain of schemes.

He could not fight head-on. The moment he made a move against Law Enforcement Hall disciples, the charges would become fact, and no amount of reasoning would clear him. But he absolutely could not hand over the wooden box either.

Shen Yuan's mind raced as countless plans flashed through his head.

"Captain, look at that wooden box in his hand! It must be stolen goods! Take it from him at once!" A disciple in the group shouted loudly. His shifty gaze made it obvious that he was a spy Zhao Kun had planted in the Law Enforcement Hall.

Several disciples responded and moved to snatch the wooden box.

"Stop." Shen Yuan stepped sideways, shielding the box behind him. His voice was steady and resonant, loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly. "There are no stolen goods in this box. It contains the crucial evidence that will clear Wang Dong of the theft accusation. It holds correspondence and tokens proving that Zhao Kun ordered his men to frame Wang Dong."

"What utter nonsense!" The spy immediately retorted. "Senior Brother Zhao Kun is reflecting behind closed doors. How could he possibly do such a thing? Shen Yuan, you are trying to confuse everyone with lies! Hand over the box for the Law Enforcement Hall to inspect!"

"If I hand it over to you, the evidence will vanish from the face of the earth, won't it?" Shen Yuan gave him a cold glance.

The Law Enforcement Hall captain frowned deeply, inwardly hesitant. Shen Yuan was currently first in the outer sect assessment and highly regarded by Elder Zhang. He was not some ordinary disciple who could be dealt with however they pleased. Yet someone above had quietly given orders that the intruder must be apprehended tonight.

"Shen Yuan, regardless of what is inside the box, breaking into a sealed residence at night is already a violation. Hand over the box and return with us to the Law Enforcement Hall. We will open it publicly and determine the truth." The captain spoke in a deep voice.

Once he handed it over and it fell into their hands, getting it back would be harder than ascending to heaven.

Shen Yuan's gaze swept over the high courtyard wall before settling on a pile of old ceramic jars stacked atop the roof. A plan instantly formed in his mind.

"You may inspect the evidence. But this place is full of all sorts of people, and someone may tamper with or destroy the letters in secret." Shen Yuan raised his voice. "If you wish to inspect it, immediately send someone to invite Elder Zhang. Open the box publicly before the elder, with everyone as witnesses, and distinguish truth from falsehood."

"Who has time to wait for an elder? Hand it over at once!" Zhao Kun's spy hurried forward.

"Insolence." Shen Yuan shouted sternly. "This concerns a disciple's future and innocence, as well as a conspiracy to frame him. Does that not even warrant waiting for an elder to verify it? If you have no guilty conscience, why are you so eager to seize the box right now?"

His righteous words left the other party speechless. Quite a few ordinary Law Enforcement Hall disciples nearby showed hesitation in their eyes.

After hesitating for a moment, the captain said, "Send two men to Elder Zhang's residence at once. Report the situation and invite the elder here. The rest will stand guard. Shen Yuan, you are not to leave this courtyard by even half a step!"

The two disciples accepted the order and ran out of the courtyard. One was an ordinary disciple loyal to the Law Enforcement Hall; the other was Zhao Kun's spy.

Shen Yuan watched coldly.

That spy would never honestly go find Elder Zhang. He would most likely delay along the way or even alert Zhao Kun's people. Then he would return once the timing was right.

He could not simply wait.

As everyone focused on the courtyard gate, Shen Yuan's body suddenly blurred.

"Stop him! Don't let him escape!" someone cried out.

The Law Enforcement Hall disciples drew their blades and rushed forward to block him.

But Shen Yuan was not breaking out of the encirclement. He activated the footwork of the True Subduing Tiger Fist, flashed forward, stepped on some debris, and leaped onto the roof.

"Chase him! Get on the roof!"

A mass of Law Enforcement Hall disciples surged beneath the eaves. Everyone's attention was drawn to Shen Yuan on the roof.

With everyone's gaze fixed on the rooftop, Shen Yuan flicked his arm.

A black shadow flew from his sleeve. It was not the real ebony evidence box, but an empty old wooden box of similar size and appearance that he had picked up near the corner of the house!

The old box rolled down the slope of the roof and crashed heavily into the weeds on the other side of the courtyard. Its lid burst open, scattering scraps of waste paper.

"The wooden box fell! Go get it!"

Seeing the box fall, more than half the Law Enforcement Hall disciples rushed over without a second thought, scrambling for it.

All their attention was firmly drawn to the fake wooden box.

In that instant of chaos, Shen Yuan took advantage of everyone's distraction. With a turn of his hand, he accurately tossed the real ebony box containing the secret letters through a gap in the roof into a hidden crevice on the outer side of the wall. The spot was extremely concealed; no one could possibly discover it without searching carefully.

Having done all this, Shen Yuan stopped trying to flee. He jumped down from the roof, landed in the courtyard, and stood with his hands bound behind his back.

"I am not running. I will remain here and await Elder Zhang's arrival."

At that moment, the disciple who had seized the fake box shouted excitedly. But when he opened it, he saw only a pile of shredded waste paper.

"It's empty?! How can it be empty?!" The man's face was filled with disbelief.

The entire courtyard erupted in an uproar.

The Law Enforcement Hall captain's face turned livid as he glared at Shen Yuan. "Shen Yuan! Where is the real wooden box? Where did you hide the evidence?"

Shen Yuan remained calm and answered unhurriedly, "I already said that someone here intends to destroy the evidence. If I kept the box on me, you would certainly have taken it by force. To preserve the evidence, I placed it somewhere safe that only I know. Once Elder Zhang arrives, I will retrieve it and open it before everyone. Before the elder arrives, no one will get their hands on it."

"You!" The captain was choked speechless.

He had never expected Shen Yuan to pull such a move. Shen Yuan was surrounded, yet the evidence had been hidden elsewhere. Even if they arrested him and tortured him for answers, they still would not obtain anything if Shen Yuan refused to reveal the location.

Zhao Kun's planted spy was frantic. Without the box of secret letters, capturing Shen Yuan alone would not accomplish their goal.

The courtyard fell into a stalemate.

Some disciples guarded Shen Yuan while others scattered through the courtyard and across the roof, searching frantically for the real wooden box. They turned the whole courtyard upside down, digging through every crack and patch of grass. But the crevice Shen Yuan had chosen was exceptionally hidden, and their hurried search yielded nothing.

Time slowly passed.

The night grew deeper.

About half an hour later, footsteps sounded in the distance. Elder Zhang, his white hair gleaming in the torchlight, hurried to Liu Er's old residence with several attendants.

The moment Elder Zhang entered the courtyard and saw the Law Enforcement Hall disciples all over the ground, the two unconscious men, and Shen Yuan standing in place, his brows knitted tightly.

"What exactly happened here in the middle of the night?"

The Law Enforcement Hall captain hurried forward and reported everything he had seen that night in full detail, deliberately emphasizing Shen Yuan's crimes of breaking into a sealed residence, injuring fellow disciples, and concealing evidence.

Once he finished, Zhao Kun's spy immediately added, "Elder, Shen Yuan has been evasive. He still cannot produce this so-called evidence of secret letters. I fear it is all fabricated lies!"

After listening, Elder Zhang turned his gaze toward Shen Yuan. "Shen Yuan, what do you have to say?"

Shen Yuan bowed respectfully, neither servile nor overbearing. "Elder, Wang Dong's theft from the storeroom was a carefully planned frame-up. Tonight, I traced the other party's movements and came here to find evidence. The two people inside are men Zhao Kun bribed. The box contains their exchanged notes and forged tokens—all irrefutable evidence. To prevent the evidence from being seized and destroyed on the spot, I hid the small ebony box in a stone crevice in the wall outside the courtyard. If someone accompanies me, I can retrieve it for public inspection."

The spy immediately shouted in rebuttal, "Empty claims! Who knows whether you forged it afterward?"

"Whether it is forged will be clear once we take it out." Shen Yuan raised his eyes. "Elder, I respectfully ask that trusted attendants at your side accompany me to retrieve it. No one else may touch it, eliminating any chance of tampering."

Elder Zhang looked deeply at Shen Yuan. Having lived for so many years, he had seen countless schemes in officialdom and the sect. He had already guessed most of the truth.

"Fine." Elder Zhang nodded. "My two personal attendants will accompany Shen Yuan to retrieve the evidence. Everyone else will remain where they are. No one is permitted to follow."

At those words, Zhao Kun's planted spy's face instantly turned extremely ugly.