A Belated Apology

[Not only did Wen Yun keep a harem of male and female lovers after marrying Senior Huo Fei, he also smeared her name and framed her beloved... There wasn't a decent thing he wouldn't refuse to do.]

Crime after crime, each one steeped in evil.

The powerful cultivators all around felt their worldviews shatter.

This was Wen Yun, the foremost Painting Immortal?

Wen Yun, the pure, unblemished painting fanatic who stood apart from worldly affairs and devoted himself to his art?

At last, Gong Lin straightened up.

His voice was hoarse, as though he had not spoken in ages. "I want to see Huo Fei."

This time, the Flame Hall disciples held little hostility toward him.

The Flame Hall elder's manner had softened considerably too. "Gong Lin, our Sect Master is still in seclusion. We don't know when she'll emerge."

Gong Lin spoke again, his voice rasping. "Tell me where she's secluded. I'll wait outside."

"Ten years or a hundred—I'll wait for her."

Li Zi wiped away a tear of emotion. [System, so Gong Lin never dared set foot in Flame Hall because Wen Yun threatened him? Now he can finally come.]

The system was moved too; its electronic voice trembled.

[By the way, Host, do you know why Huo Fei became a taboo throughout the Cultivation World?]

[Why?] Li Zi asked.

At the mention of it, the other powerful cultivators frowned in displeasure.

Huo Fei might deserve sympathy, but it did not change the fact that she had failed their Sects' strongest cultivators at the critical moment.

[It's because, during the war between immortals and demons, Huo Fei and the people she led from Flame Hall didn't set the fire at the most crucial moment. But there was a misunderstanding.]

[The Immortal Realm's strongest cultivators had developed an array that could kill the Demon Realm's army, but it wouldn't work on the Demon Prince. They needed to use the array to destroy the army before he arrived, then face him afterward. But word of the array leaked while it was still being prepared. That meant the Demon Prince was already inside it before it was activated. Setting the fire then would have cut off the cultivators' retreat.]

Everyone present listened with their hearts pounding.

Some of them had fought in that war between immortals and demons.

Mountains of corpses lay everywhere, blood and flesh flying.

Even now, the Demonic Cultivators' arrogant laughter could startle them awake from dreams at midnight.

They had blamed Huo Fei for so many years.

Had they been wrong all along?

Huo Fei had been gravely wounded in that battle. She had remained in seclusion ever since and had never offered the outside world any explanation.

Was this the truth?

Li Zi asked urgently, [But why didn't she come out and explain? She wasn't the one who leaked the array! Why should she bear all those years of condemnation? How is that fair?]

The system's voice wavered. [Because no one would have believed the truth. If the blame were turned back on her, all of Flame Hall might have suffered for it.]

Li Zi said darkly, [Don't tell me that scoundrel Wen Yun was involved again?]

[It wasn't Wen Yun who leaked word of the array... was it?]

Blood surged through the listeners.

Could it really be true?

So many years had passed since the war between immortals and demons. Powerful cultivators from every Sect had fallen in that battle.

After the sacrifice ended, immense grief swept through the Sects, and they held a grand memorial ceremony.

Afterward, the major Sects sank into despondency.

Many powerful cultivators chose to enter seclusion. They had no heart to investigate what had happened back then.

But now that the past had been brought up again...

If Wen Yun really had leaked the news, then the entire Cultivation World had hated Huo Fei for all these years and wronged an innocent woman for nothing.

Just then, a furious shout rang out from the crowd.

"You wretched little insect! How dare you insult the lord like that! Shut your mouth!"

Before Li Zi could react, several metallic clashes of weapons rang out.

In the southwest corner, a Sect dressed in striking clothes had been surrounded by powerful cultivators from other Sects, all ready for a fight.

Unlike the plain, uniform robes of the other Sects, these disciples wore white garments splashed with rainbow-colored ink, as though someone had painted an abstract work across the fabric.

The powerful cultivators of Spirit Sword Sect stepped forward together, shielding Li Zi behind them.

Rosy Cloud Sect was a loyal lackey of Wen Yun, the foremost Painting Immortal.

Every year, the Sect presented Wen Yun with gifts.

They even hung his calligraphy and paintings in their ancestral hall for future generations to admire.

They could not stand hearing Li Zi slander Wen Yun in her thoughts.

The Sect Master of Rosy Cloud Sect had even tried to attack Li Zi just now.

He was asking to die!

Short as she was, Li Zi rose onto her toes and peered through a gap, looking utterly bewildered.

[System, what just happened?]

The system was still flipping through a book and was just as bewildered. [No idea. I'm still digging up dirt on Wen Yun.]

The senior brother standing in front of Li Zi could not help answering her. "The ones being surrounded are from Rosy Cloud Sect. They're followers of Wen Yun, the foremost Painting Immortal."

Li Zi gave the senior brother who had answered her an obedient smile.

Inside, her thoughts exploded. [Oh, I get it. Could the Sect Master have a crush on Senior Huo Fei?]

The powerful cultivators thought, Huh?

What kind of leap was that?

The system asked too, [Host, what makes you say that?]

Li Zi clicked her tongue inwardly.

[He thinks Gong Lin waiting outside Huo Fei's cave residence is an insult to her. He must have been secretly in love with Huo Fei for ages. Maybe he even followed Wen Yun just to be closer to the woman he loves. What great, sincere love! Sect Master of Rosy Cloud Sect, I'm rooting for you.]