"Lin Qingyang! What are you doing!" Mo Yan glared at him furiously.
"Calm down. I'm just letting him sleep for a bit!" Lin Qingyang said leisurely.
This was a technique he had only recently recalled, Windbreath Palm. Simply put, it sent out a strong gust that blew away the oxygen in front of someone, making them pass out.
Mo Yan stepped forward to examine Lei Guang and found that he had indeed only fainted, but the look he gave Lin Qingyang remained deeply displeased.
"You're so determined to keep him from speaking. Could it be that what he said was true?" Mo Yan demanded coldly.
Lin Qingyang remained composed. "He can tell you whether Lei Guang was talking nonsense." As he spoke, he pointed at Lei Chen beside them.
Lei Chen looked fearfully at Lin Qingyang, then at Mo Yan, and said nervously, "What happened last night was indeed... just as Senior Brother said."
"Was it?" Lin Qingyang chuckled and stepped forward.
Lei Chen recoiled in fright, and Mo Yan hurried forward to shield him. "What are you trying to do now?"
"There's no need to be so nervous. I only want to clear up what happened last night, and I promise I won't lay a finger on him," Lin Qingyang said.
Mo Yan frowned at him, unable to understand what he was up to. Xue Lanyuan and Jin Buhuan looked equally puzzled.
"Don't you want to know whether what your dear disciple said was true or false?" Lin Qingyang said quietly, then raised an eyebrow. "Or are you afraid I'll actually uncover something and make you lose face?"
Provoked by this, Mo Yan snorted coldly and stepped aside in indignation. "If you dare try anything, I won't let you off either!"
Lin Qingyang smiled faintly and stepped forward to look at Lei Chen. The smile faded from his face, and his gaze suddenly became intensely oppressive.
"Lei Chen, I'm giving you two choices. First, tell the truth, and I can absolve you of your wrongdoing. As for Lei Guang, the ringleader, he'll be punished according to sect rules!" Lin Qingyang said, his voice calm and incisive.
Lei Chen looked at him nervously, but still said, "What Senior Brother just said was the truth. We didn't do it."
Beside them, Mo Yan gave a disdainful snort.
Lin Qingyang smiled. "Don't rush. I haven't told you the second choice yet. Second, I knock you out now, then wake your senior brother and give him the same choices. I just wonder whether his answer will be the same as yours."
Lei Chen looked at Lin Qingyang in some confusion. Only after a long moment did he realize something, and his expression abruptly changed.
Lin Qingyang continued with a chuckle, "You can say nothing now. But in a little while, will Lei Guang believe you said nothing? What if he thinks you've already sold him out? Will he pin everything on you to save himself? After all, only the two of you can say for certain who masterminded this, but Lei Guang is much more eloquent than you. Oh, right. Under the Nine Skies Sect's rules, how is this sort of situation usually handled?"
Lin Qingyang looked at the three people behind him. Mo Yan remained silent, his expression dark, while Jin Buhuan looked embarrassed.
Only Xue Lanyuan replied, "Their cultivation is crippled, and they're expelled from the Immortal Sects!"
In truth, abusing a demon slave was not that serious, but Lei Guang had not only lied just now, he had also slandered an elder. In the Immortal Sects, where respecting one's teachers and honoring their teachings mattered above all else, that was a grave taboo.
"Thank you, Elder Xue." Lin Qingyang smiled politely. When he turned back, Lei Chen's face had already gone deathly pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. He was plainly panicking to the extreme.
Lin Qingyang watched him with a smile. When he remained speechless for a long while, Lin Qingyang put on a regretful expression. "It seems you've made your choice. I won't force you, then."
With that, he swept his sleeve as though to flick it at Lei Chen's face. Lei Chen was so frightened that he dropped to his knees with a thud.
"I choose the first! I choose the first!" Lei Chen shouted through tears. "Lei Guang was the mastermind! He said that demon slave wouldn't survive anyway, so there was no harm in having some fun! I didn't want to do it!"
Kneeling on the ground, Lei Chen spoke through his sobs. "Lei Guang made me do everything! Today, too, he forced me to coordinate my story with his."
His words sent an uproar through the crowd. Mo Yan's face turned livid, while Lin Qingyang merely watched him impassively without speaking.
Seeing this, Lei Chen worried that he did not believe him and hurried on, "Everything I'm saying is true. This wasn't Lei Guang's first time doing something like this. He'd done it to several others before... He even killed one and buried them in secret..."
Before Lei Chen could finish, a bolt of lightning struck his chest, blasting him backward. He spat blood on the spot.
"You wretch!" Mo Yan cursed furiously.
Lei Chen scrambled up and knelt at Mo Yan's feet, begging for mercy. "Master, Lei Guang did it all! I really never did anything! Yesterday was his idea too! Master, spare me!"
"At most, he's an accomplice. The one who really needs to be dealt with is over there!" Lin Qingyang said, glancing at Lei Guang lying on the ground.
Mo Yan shot him a look, his expression utterly grim, then turned to the disciples behind him. "Take these two wretches back!" At his command, the disciples immediately stepped forward and dragged out the still-unconscious Lei Guang and Lei Chen, whose legs had already gone weak.
Mo Yan let out several angry breaths, then remembered something and looked at Qi Mo. "Send him back to the Forbidden Abyss too. Assign more people to guard him!"
With that, Lei Cheng stepped forward with two disciples to take Qi Mo away, only for Lin Qingyang to suddenly call out, "Wait!"
Mo Yan looked over with a frown and said impatiently, "What is it now?"
"After something like this, I'm afraid Ink Cloud Hall is no longer suited to keeping him under guard. I'll take on the trouble and keep him at Clear Wind Pavilion," Lin Qingyang said as though it were only natural.
Qi Mo froze at his words and looked up at Lin Qingyang in surprise. Beside them, Jin Buhuan and Xue Lanyuan also looked taken aback.
"What kind of joke is this!" Mo Yan retorted with a frown.
He was in charge of punishment within the sect, and the Forbidden Abyss was entirely his responsibility. Having Lin Qingyang guard a major suspect would be a public slap in his face!
"I'll punish those two wretches severely and give everyone an accounting, but guarding prisoners is Ink Cloud Hall's duty. You're used to a carefree life, so don't trouble yourself with this," Mo Yan said.
"But what if those aren't the only two wretches under you?" Lin Qingyang said.
"Lin Qingyang! What are you implying!" Mo Yan demanded through gritted teeth.
"This time, I arrived in time to prevent serious consequences. But what about next time? If a moment's carelessness gets him killed, what will happen to the sect leader's case?"
"There won't be a next time!" Mo Yan said, suppressing his anger.
"How can you guarantee that?" Lin Qingyang pressed.
"How can I guarantee it?" Mo Yan seemed unable to understand his question.
"Exactly. If you give a guarantee, you naturally have to shoulder the risks. Since you're making a promise now, Elder Mo, how do you intend to atone if something does happen?" Lin Qingyang said.
Mo Yan seemed never to have heard anything so absurd. He said in astonishment, "Atone? I'm an elder, and I'd have to atone over a demon slave?!"
"If a promise carries no consequences, it's nothing but empty words. How is anyone supposed to trust your guarantee?" Lin Qingyang countered.
Mo Yan seemed to have been caught up in his reasoning again. After a pause, he said, "Then if you take him back to Clear Wind Pavilion, can you guarantee it? Clear Wind Pavilion isn't as heavily guarded as the Forbidden Abyss. What if he escapes?"
"If he stays with me, I'll naturally take responsibility if anything happens." Lin Qingyang paused and swept his gaze over everyone. "I, Lin Qingyang, stake myself on this guarantee. If he escapes from my custody, I'll resign as elder and submit to whatever punishment you all decide!"
His words rang out with conviction, yet plunged everyone around him into instant silence. Qi Mo, in particular, stared at Lin Qingyang in disbelief.
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