Judgment

For some reason, Wuyue Sha kept his mouth tightly shut, refusing to reveal who was behind him.

Sang Ying and the others had no other choice. Fortunately, the Blue-Robed Apostle had already been rescued. Perhaps asking those closest to Wuyue Sha might yield some unexpected results.

As for Wuyue Sha, since he refuses to reveal the information everyone wants, then his existence is meaningless.

Sang Ying told Liu Duanyue about the Corruption she saw Moonless City that day, and also mentioned the Corruption and her promise to him.

Liu Duanyue was a reasonable person. After understanding how the Corruption Sang Ying mentioned came about, he readily agreed to hand over the Wuyue Sha to that group of Corruption to deal with.

In order not to delay the resolution of the feud between the Corruption creatures and the Wuyue Sha, Liu Duanyue summoned everyone in Moonless City the day after the incident—including the apostles of the Sun-Chasing Hall.

Sang Ying and Jiang Zhuoxue rescued them, but because they had worked in the Sun-Chasing Hall and had done some bad things, Liu Duanyue decided to detain them after much consideration.

The plan is to wait until some time has passed and the facts of their crimes are clarified before sentencing them according to the severity of their offenses.

Let these people help rebuild Moonless City first. If the sins are truly grave, then we can't blame Liu Duanyue and the others for not being merciful enough.

This approach was approved by most people, and to be fair, Yu Heng was naturally imprisoned as well. However, he did not resist, because his only apprentice, Dongdong, was already being taken care of by Sang Ying and Jiang Zhuoxue.

Now that Dongdong has broken away from the Sun-Chasing Hall, is free from the Curse, and can even be associated with Sang Ying and her group, Yu Heng is already very satisfied.

So, as he sat on the pile of weeds in the cell, listening to the group of Blue-Robed Apostle, their cultivation sealed, hysterically roaring and cursing Liu Duanyue, he kindly spoke up for the first time, advising, "Stop yelling, he won't listen to you. I saw it before you were locked up; the hall master was brought back in tattered robes. He's even lost his Soul-Locking Banner; the Sun-Chasing Hall has no chance of rising again. Besides, he was just lying to you; the people of Moonless City actually saved you."

However, Yu Heng couldn't comprehend the Blue-Robed Apostle's reverence for their leader, Wuyue Sha. Upon hearing this, the Blue-Robed Apostle, imprisoned together, immediately retorted, "You're talking nonsense! The leader wouldn't lie to us. When we woke up, all the Curse on us had disappeared. It must have been the leader who saved us. Those people know nothing and still portray the leader as a villain. They don't understand the pain of being Curse, and they want to destroy our only lifeline. They are the real villains!"

Yu Heng said helplessly, "The Curse on you was lifted by someone named Jiang Zhuoxue, and it has nothing to do with that hall master. Moreover, you didn't fall asleep at all; the hall master used the Soul-Locking Banner to turn you into living corpses! If that female cultivator wielding the sword hadn't destroyed the Soul-Locking Banner, you would have truly died after three days."

But waking up a sleeping person is no easy task. No matter Yu Heng talked until his mouth was dry and his lips were sore, the group of Blue-Robed Apostle just wouldn't believe him.

All they knew was that when they woke up, the Curse on them was gone. No one else in the world, except their leader, had that ability.

In the end, even when Yu Heng brought up the Soul-Locking Banner, this group still said, "Even if the Hall Master used the Soul-Locking Banner on us, it must be because it's beneficial for breaking the Curse Soul-Locking Banner us! Perhaps the Soul-Locking Banner is the key magical Law Artifact for breaking the Curse!"

Another Blue-Robed Apostle immediately became anxious. "Then does that mean that female cultivator surnamed Sang has destroyed the only hope for all those Curse in the Hidden Nether Realm?!"

Then came a barrage of insults directed at Sang Ying, nearly tearing the entire cell apart.

The jailer had already heard the commotion inside. He had initially just laughed at the apostles for being so stupid, being completely manipulated by Wuyue Sha. But after hearing them speak so arrogantly to Sang Ying, he couldn't sit still any longer. He quickly stood up and gave the most disruptive ones a good beating.

The apostles, whose Cultivation Method had been sealed and abolished, were no different from ordinary people; they felt the same pain when the jailer's whip struck them.

Under the relentless beatings of the jailers, they suffered enough and had no choice but to obediently quiet down.

Watching this scene, Yu Heng cursed himself inwardly: Why did he bother with those idiots?

The trial, which summoned the entire city, began the day after Yu Heng had reflected on his actions.

Everyone gathered below the high platform that Liu Duanyue had specially ordered to be built. After everyone had arrived, Liu Duanyue nodded to the people below the platform.

Four armored City Guard escorted Wuyue Sha onto the high platform, forcing him to kneel below Liu Duanyue, facing the people below.

The Sun-Chasing Hall apostles, who had been brought over by another group of City Guard in shackles, saw this scene and immediately began to clamor in disbelief, determined to rescue their innocent hall master.

But before they could act, the jailer stepped forward and waved his whip, instantly silencing the most vocal groups.

"I have invited you all here today to explain to you the events that have occurred in the city these past few days. As you all know, our Moonless City has suffered an unprecedented catastrophe these past few days. Monsters and zombies roam the city, killing our loved ones and destroying many houses. But what you do not know is that the culprit behind all this is the person kneeling here today. Many of you will surely remember his name— Wuyue Jizong!"

Zhou Xuan, who had forced Wuyue Sha to kneel, raised his hand and revealed his face. Half of his face was gnawed by Corruption, making him look horrifying. But the other half of his face was intact, enough for anyone to see his appearance clearly.

A murmur rippled through the crowd below. It was the first time the Sun-Chasing Hall's apostles had seen their leader's true face. They couldn't believe that the disheveled, disfigured, and frail-looking man with red markings on the platform was their wise and mighty leader!

"He has red markings on his body, and he has no idea how to break the Curse!" a Blue-Robed Apostle exclaimed in despair.

"Then how was the Curse on us lifted? Was it an illusion, or did we see it wrong?" The person speaking kept rubbing their arms, trying to make the long-vanished red markings reappear.

Yu Heng looked at their desperate and pitiful appearance, but didn't say a word.

On the high platform, Liu Duanyue continued speaking, bringing up his grudges with the Moonless Household once again, and recounting Wuyue Sha's experiences after leaving Moonless City.

Finally, Liu Duanyue sighed and said, "Ultimately, this undeserved disaster was brought upon you all by my Liu Household. It was also because the City Guard I selected failed to fulfill their duties, resulting in so many deaths. Today, I request to step down as city lord and select a capable person from within the city to take over, so as to bring prosperity to our city!"

A note from the author:

That's all for today. I've been quite unrestrained these past few days, but I should start updating properly again tomorrow!

Sparrow holding claws JPG

See you tomorrow~