Giving false testimony right in front of me

In the courtyard of Clear Wind Pavilion, a blue light and a golden light flashed, and Xue Lanyuan and Jin Buhuan appeared, accompanied by Feng Shu and Feng Yi.

"What's going on? Why all the tension?" Jin Buhuan waved his fan as he looked at the two men facing off.

Mo Yan glanced at the two newcomers, then frowned at Lin Qingyang and asked coldly, "What is the meaning of this?"

Lin Qingyang shrugged. "Naturally, I want to clear things up in front of everyone! You said I injured your disciples, so I owe you an explanation. Call Lei Guang and Lei Chen here too. I'll confront them face-to-face!"

Mo Yan stared at him darkly, but since Lin Qingyang wanted a confrontation, he had no reason to refuse. He clenched his hand, extinguishing the lightning in his palm.

"Lei Cheng!" Mo Yan called to the disciple at the head of the group.

Upon receiving the order, Lei Cheng immediately hurried away with several others.

Everyone waited in the courtyard. Feng Shu brought tea, and Jin Buhuan drank as he studied Lin Qingyang curiously. His gaze swept over the bite marks on Lin Qingyang's neck, then shifted to Qi Mo, who sat alone on the steps nearby. His eyes immediately lit up with gossip.

"I never would have guessed you were into that. This Demon Slave really is good-looking," Jin Buhuan leaned toward Lin Qingyang and whispered.

"Stop right there. It's not what you think," Lin Qingyang said, drinking his tea.

"I understand. Keep it quiet." Jin Buhuan smiled, then covered his mouth with his fan and whispered, "If you really like that sort, Golden Spirit Court has a few good-looking demon slaves. You can buy one for six hundred Spirit Stones."

"Seriously? You even make money pimping?" Lin Qingyang stared at Jin Buhuan, speechless. Was this really a respectable immortal sect?

"What can I do? Managing a household isn't easy. I'll squeeze out whatever I can," Jin Buhuan sighed, waving his fan. His Golden Spirit Court was responsible for the Nine Skies Sect's finances.

"You certainly are honest." Lin Qingyang gave a dry chuckle.

Jin Buhuan smiled and continued, "But I'd advise you to forget about that Qi Mo. His temper is awful. If I hadn't been looking for a bargain back then, I never would have bought him."

Lin Qingyang looked at Qi Mo. He was still sitting quietly in the corner, staring at the ground before him. There was no telling what he was thinking, or whether he had heard what Jin Buhuan had just said, or whether he was already used to being discussed like this.

Meanwhile, Xue Lanyuan stared darkly at Mo Yan beside her. Mo Yan gave her a puzzled look.

"Elder Xue, do you have some grievance against me?" Mo Yan asked in confusion.

"Why would you ask that, Elder Mo? Have you done something shameful and developed a guilty conscience?" Xue Lanyuan asked coldly.

"What do I have to feel guilty about?" Mo Yan frowned, inwardly wondering why everyone had been acting so strangely lately.

Before long, Lei Guang and Lei Chen were helped inside. Both had bruised, swollen faces and bandages all over their bodies. A red mark crossed Lei Guang's face, while half of Lei Chen's hair was gone, exposing his bare scalp. Fear showed in both their eyes when they saw Lin Qingyang.

Qi Mo, who had been sitting on the steps, stood upon seeing the two and walked over to Lin Qingyang, a fierce chill in his eyes.

The instant Lei Guang saw Qi Mo, he grew agitated. Pointing at him, he shouted, "It was this beast! He tried to escape yesterday and even bit me!"

As he spoke, Lei Guang showed everyone the place on his hand where Qi Mo had bitten him, then continued indignantly, "Last night, my junior brother and I finally managed to subdue this beast, only for Elder Lin to appear out of nowhere. Without hearing us out, he beat us into this state and took him away!"

Lei Guang looked remorseful. "Master, your disciple was incompetent and failed to keep watch over the prisoner!"

Seeing this, Lei Chen echoed him. "Your disciple was incompetent!"

Watching this performance of turning the blame on the victim, Lin Qingyang could not help rolling his eyes.

Anger flared in Qi Mo's eyes. "Lies! It was because you wanted to do that sort of thing to me that-"

Before Qi Mo could finish, Mo Yan sent a bolt of lightning at him. Lin Qingyang instantly flashed in front of Qi Mo and deflected the attack with a wave of his hand, but the impact forced him back two steps, pain surging through his chest again.

"What, your disciples can spout whatever lies they like, but the victim isn't allowed to speak?" Lin Qingyang said, suppressing the taste of blood rising in his throat.

"Demon slaves are deceitful. How can his words be trusted?" Mo Yan said.

"But I saw it too. Both your disciples had their trousers off. Surely they weren't playing a game of comparing dicks," Lin Qingyang said.

Mo Yan seemed stunned by his words. After a long moment, he said, "How have you become so vulgar?"

Everyone present frowned at this as well. Among the Human Clan, it was now far from rare for beautiful demon slaves to become tools for satisfying lust, but that was in ordinary households. The Nine Skies Sect was a place of cultivation, with strict rules that had always required its disciples to keep themselves pure, observe discipline, and act with restraint. Moreover, Qi Mo was an important suspect. This was not merely a violation of sect rules, but a blow to Mo Yan's dignity.

Lei Guang glanced around, then dropped to his knees with a thud and declared loudly, "Elder Lin, every word your disciple has said is true! If any of it is false, may lightning strike me down and may I die a horrible death!"

Lei Guang spoke with such pained sincerity that he truly seemed to have been wronged. But Lin Qingyang glanced at him and chuckled. "Anyone with a mouth can swear an oath. As for whether you did it, we'll only know after an interrogation."

Hearing this, Lei Guang and Lei Chen thought he meant to torture them. Their expressions changed, and they looked at Mo Yan.

Mo Yan's face was livid. Through gritted teeth, he said, "Torturing disciples of the sect over a demon slave? You're utterly absurd!"

Lin Qingyang's aggressive stance also brought hostile looks to the faces of the Ink Cloud Hall disciples nearby.

Lei Guang looked around, gritted his teeth, and continued, "Elder Lin, this demon slave harmed the Sect Leader, yet you keep protecting him. It really is baffling! Could it be... could you have something to do with the Sect Leader's poisoning?"

Silence fell over the scene. For a moment, none of them spoke. Lin Qingyang raised an eyebrow and looked over. Lei Guang looked up at him too, a measure of viciousness in his eyes.

"Lei Guang, you can't make careless accusations like that," Jin Buhuan said gravely.

"I'm not making careless accusations! Everyone knows Elder Lin fell out with the Sect Leader back then because he didn't get the Sect Leader Position. If we're talking about who would want to harm the Sect Leader, isn't he the most suspicious one? Maybe... maybe he was the one who ordered that beast to do it!" Lei Guang declared loudly.

Mo Yan listened with a frown and said nothing, but there was some doubt in the gaze he directed at Lin Qingyang. Everyone else looked at him as well, yet no one dared speak. It was not that no one had suspected this; no one had dared say it aloud.

Lin Qingyang raised an eyebrow at Lei Guang, his expression still perfectly calm. He walked slowly up to him and chuckled. "Giving false testimony right in front of me. You're quite brave."

Lei Guang watched Lin Qingyang nervously and was just about to speak when Lin Qingyang's expression sharpened. He raised his hand and unleashed a blast of wind straight at Lei Guang's face. Panic crossed Lei Guang's face, then the force of the palm swept over him, and his eyes rolled back as he fainted.