Xue Ye frowned slightly and sank into thought.
Ning Lin was indeed an incorruptible official. He knew that perfectly well.
An uproar also rose from the crowd below the platform.
"The second charge, colluding with the Spirit Hall Empire—I deny it!"
Ning Lin's voice rang out again, even more forcefully.
"I was born in Heaven Dou and raised in Heaven Dou. My family, friends, and old acquaintances are all citizens of the empire. I have never had the slightest private connection with anyone from the Spirit Hall Empire! Tell me, Sect Master Tang, with whom did I collude? When and where did I sell out our military intelligence, and what intelligence was it?"
"If you wish to condemn someone, you will never lack a pretext!"
His questions struck the ground like ringing metal, piercing straight into everyone's hearts!
"The third charge, assaulting a female Soul Master in the street—I deny that even more vehemently!"
Ning Lin's voice suddenly rose, his gaze cutting like a sword straight toward Ma Hongjun behind Tang San!
"That filthy act was committed by Ma Hongjun, the Evil Fire Phoenix of your Shrek Seven Devils! I saw an injustice and intervened, only for you to turn black into white and force the charge upon me!"
"To preserve your companion's reputation, you would sacrifice an outsider like me. Tang San, is this your Sea God's Light, your path of justice?!"
Boom!
At those words, the entire crowd erupted!
Countless gazes instantly shifted from Ning Lin to the deathly pale Ma Hongjun!
Among the commoners, someone finally could no longer hold back and shouted aloud.
"I remember! City Lord Ning is a good man! When disaster struck my family three years ago, he opened the granaries and distributed grain. He saved every member of my family, young and old!"
"That's right! Last winter, when the city was hit by a snow disaster, City Lord Ning personally led soldiers to clear the snow. He even gave his own padded coat to a beggar who was freezing to death! I saw it with my own eyes!"
"City Lord Ning could never be a corrupt official! He often gives away even his own salary to help the poor!"
"Clear the city lord's name! There must be an injustice here!"
For a time, cries of support rose one after another.
The people's hearts were the simplest scales of all.
They remembered those who treated them well.
On Shrek's side, the atmosphere instantly grew strange.
Xiao Wu's brows knitted even tighter. She tugged anxiously at Tang San's sleeve and whispered, "Brother San... what is going on? What City Lord Ning said... could it be true?"
Her instincts told her that things were nowhere near that simple.
A flicker of uncertainty also appeared on Zhu Zhuqing's face as her gaze moved back and forth between Ning Lin and Ma Hongjun.
Ning Rongrong turned to her father.
A sharp gleam flashed through Ning Fengzhi's eyes. He murmured to the Bone Douluo beside him, "Gu Rong, what do you make of this...?"
The Bone Douluo chuckled. "Now this is getting interesting. That boy doesn't look like he's lying."
Elsewhere, a hint of amusement appeared even on the eternally stern face of Yu Yuanzhen, patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
The Tang Sect had wanted to establish its might, but it seemed to have kicked an iron plate instead.
At that moment, however, no one present was more shocked than Tang San himself.
Not a trace of composure remained on his face.
No!
How could this happen?!
What about my poison?
The Yin-Yang Death Powder was refined from octagonal mysterious ice grass and infernal delicate apricot, supplemented with dozens of the world's rare poisons. Colorless and odorless, it sealed the throat upon contact with blood. The higher the victim's Soul Power, the faster it took effect!
Forget a mere Soul Emperor—even a Titled Douluo caught off guard would have his Soul Power stagnate and suffer a fate worse than death!
Why was Ning Lin completely unharmed?
He stared fixedly at Ning Lin, trying to find even the slightest trace of pretense on his face.
There was none.
Nothing at all.
Ning Lin was calm and composed, his breathing steady. Where was even the slightest sign of poisoning?
A thought suddenly exploded in Tang San's mind!
This fellow... has a way to ward off poison! He can even neutralize mine!
Instantly, alarm bells rang wildly in Tang San's heart!
The danger Ning Lin posed in his mind abruptly rose several levels!
Ning Lin ignored Tang San's expression, so dark it seemed ready to drip water. His voice rang across the square once more.
This time, he began recounting what had happened on the day of the incident.
"Three days ago, at dusk, on Vermilion Bird Avenue in Heaven Dou City."
"I had finished my official duties and was about to return home when I heard a woman crying for help from a dark alley at the street corner."
"I followed the sound and saw Ma Hongjun of your Shrek Seven Devils pinning a female Soul Master against a wall, intending to violate her!"
Ning Lin's voice was clear and steady, as though he were recounting something utterly ordinary.
"The woman fought desperately, but she was not strong enough. Seeing that, I naturally intervened."
"With one palm strike, I knocked Ma Hongjun away and rescued her."
"Who would have thought that Ma Hongjun would fly into a rage out of humiliation, hurl abuse at me, and even attempt to attack me?"
"Just then, Sect Master Tang, you arrived with your companions from Shrek Academy."
Ning Lin's gaze settled on Tang San again, a cold smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"After learning what had happened, you not only failed to punish your companion for his wrongdoing, but chose to attack an outsider like me to shield him and preserve the laughable reputation of your Shrek Seven Devils!"
"You subdued me on the spot, then used threats and promises to force the victim to change her story and slander me!"
"You turned black into white and fabricated charges!"
"Tang San, was a single word I said a lie?!"
The truth had been laid bare, just like that!
After a moment of deathly silence, the entire trial square boiled over!
"What? That's what happened?"
"That fat man was the real criminal? Sect Master Tang framed City Lord Ning to cover for him?"
"I knew it! How could City Lord Ning ever do something like that?"
"The Shrek Seven Devils? The Sea God's successor? Pah! A nest of snakes and rats, shameless to the extreme!"
Even the Soul Masters and ministers who had originally supported the Tang Sect exchanged bewildered looks, their faces filled with astonishment.
They had never imagined that a trial that should have been nailed firmly to the board could take such a turn!
"Silence! Silence!"
Prince Xue Xing slammed his hand on the table and rose to his feet, glaring at Tang San.
"Tang San! Is what City Lord Ning said true? You dared to inflict unlawful punishment and frame a loyal, upright man in my Heaven Dou City!"
Calling Tang San's expression ugly no longer came close to describing it.
His face had turned a purplish hue, mingling shock, fury, humiliation, and murderous intent.
He had calculated every possibility, arranged every piece of evidence and every step of the proceedings, and even employed an extraordinary poison as his final safeguard.
Yet the one thing he had failed to foresee was that Ning Lin would not only be immune to his poison, but would dare expose the truth before the eyes of the entire world!
He was finished.
The reputations of the Tang Sect and the Shrek Seven Devils now hung by a thread!
Meanwhile, in a corner of the crowd.
Xiao Wu was utterly stunned.
She stood rooted to the spot, releasing her tight grip on Tang San's sleeve.
She did not want to believe Ning Lin's words.
She could not bear to believe that her upright, kindhearted Brother San, who had always stood on the side of justice, could commit something so vile and shameless.
Before you continue