Chapter 1030 – Framed?
The responses from the guards caused the atmosphere to stagnate yet again as Feng Huita sorrowfully said, “Young Yun, this little king’s trash guards were unable to protect you well, this little king is truly incapable… only, I wonder where Young Yun went during this hour? You didn’t encounter any danger, did you?”
Feng Huita’s voice was quite polite. However, everyone could hear the grief and hatred mixed within. It was clear that Feng Huita had already come to the conclusion that the person who had killed Mu Hanyi was Yun Che. As he had said earlier, the only person who could possibly cause Mu Hanyi to open the secret passage without telling anyone else was Yun Che. Moreover, Yun Che had mysteriously disappeared just an hour before all of this occurred.
Yun Che’s brows furrowed, but just as he was about to speak, Mu Xiaolan flusteredly said, “No… there’s no way. The relationship between Yun Che and Senior Brother Hanyi was so good. Moreover, Yun Che’s profound strength has only just reached the first level of the Divine Origin Realm. There’s no way that he would have been able to kill senior brother Hanyi. You all… have truly criminalized the wrong person.”
“Furthermore… furthermore…” Mu Xiaolan’s voice abruptly quieted down, “Furthermore, an hour ago, Yun Che… he… he… he was actually… he was with me in my quarters…”
As Mu Xiaolan got towards the end of her statement, her voice became weak like a mosquito as she deeply hung her head, not daring to make eye contact with anyone else. From everyone else’s point of view, it was just the shame of a girl… but Yun Che knew that it was because she had just told such a great lie even though she was not good at lying.
Nonetheless, the innocent Mu Xiaolan had actually stood up for him at such a critical moment. She had not hesitated to tell a lie which threw away her purity to protect him… his “fond” treatment of her this entire time had indeed not been wasted!
Mu Xiaolan’s words caused everyone to suddenly become dazed. As for Situ Xiongying, he was stunned at first, but then, traces of extreme joy emerged in his eyes as he almost wasn’t able to prevent himself from jumping up with joy. He hurriedly walked forwards as he said with some abashedness, “This… Ice Wind Emperor, esteemed guests, in all honesty, Young Yun and my daughter, since long ago… Ah, both of them are extremely passionate for each other, and that is why the two of them have decided to join together. Only, my daughter is merely a Ice Phoenix Palace disciple. Her status cannot compare at all with Young Yun. Moreover, after the Great Realm King betrothed Fairy Feixue to Young Yun, it became even harder for them to speak of this matter. Thus… but now it is like this, everything which could not be said has been said. Earlier, Young Yun was indeed in my daughter’s quarters. This… I hope everyone here will take it seriously.”
With his status as an independent region lord, Situ Xiongyang naturally wasn’t as innocent and shy as Mu Xiaolan. The tone of his voice, his expression, and even the look in his eyes were extremely natural as he used flawlessly used words in the right order with the right logic. It was indeed perfect.
As these words ended, everyone’s expressions became ambiguous. After all, Yun Che’s profound strength was indeed at the first levee of the Divine Origin Realm. This was something that they all knew. As for Mu Hanyi, he had been at the fifth level of the Divine Tribulation Realm. Although Yun Che had become the direct disciple, it was only because of his incredible innate talent which surpassed Mu Hanyi. If the two were to actually fight, even if there were a hundred of him, he still wouldn’t be a match for Mu Hanyi. Thus, how could Yun Che possibly have killed Mu Hanyi… and based on the circumstances, it would have had to be by himself.
As such, it was hard for them to believe Feng Huita’s claim that Yun Che was the one who killed Mu Hanyi. To them, it was no more than wild speculation. In contrast, Situ Xiongying’s explanation was much more reasonable. To begin with, many of them had been wondering why Yun Che, with his incredibly high status of direct disciple, would bring a girl with him when visiting the Ice Wind Empire. For the two to be in a relationship would make very much sense.
It now also made much more sense why Yun Che wouldn’t let others follow him when leaving Ice Maiden Palace an hour earlier. If this was the case, his action was indeed reasonable.
“So it was like this. Region Lord Situ… congratulations!” A middle aged person, who was closest to Situ Xiongyang, exclaimed, their face full of envy. One’s daughter being able to reel in the Great Realm King’s direct disciple was indeed extraordinary… it was as if the virtue accumulated over eighteen generations of ancestors had come to fruition!
“Ah, it’s nothing, it’s nothing.” Situ Xiongyang hurriedly waved his arms, but the expression on his face had already bloomed into one full of joy.
“They are both young after all, they are right in their prime. Thus… it’s only natural, its only natural.” The person who spoke this time had spoken extremely sternly with Situ Xiongyang earlier in the day, but now, their voice contained some fawning.
“Ah, it’s not my place to direct my daughter, it’s not my place. In the end, although I raised her, she will always be someone else’s. Forget it, let them do as they please.” An expression of helplessness appeared on Situ Xiongyang’s face.
“See, as I was saying, how could someone like Sir Yun possibly do such an evil thing? So it was like this… Ice Wind Emperor, I believe that the thief has still yet to escape the imperial city. We should immediately lockdown the city and search it.”
Mu Xiaolan’s head was still hanging low at this time as she tore and twisted at her clothes with her fingers.
“Eh? There is something in the thirteenth prince’s hand!”
Elder Yan, who was still observing Mu Hanyi’s corpse, suddenly creased his brows as he quickly picked up Mu Hanyi’s left hand. Grasped amidst the five completely deformed fingers was a short piece of white silk.
Elder Yan carefully retrieved the short piece of silk from within Mu Hanyi’s fingers.
It was about three inches, and was embroidered with an exquisite image of an Ice Phoenix. From the tear at the bottom fringe, it was clear that it had been forcefully torn off, and from the color, it had not been torn off for long.
Upon seeing this piece of silk,Yun Che’s gaze moved as he quickly glanced at his right hand.
“This is… part of the sleeve of Divine Ice Phoenix Sect’s uniform. Moreover, it is clear that it has just been ripped off!”
When Elder Yan finished speaking, his gaze turned, as did everyone else’s, and subconsciously looked at Yun Che… Moments later, the pupils of everyone there simultaneously contracted as if they had been pierced by thin needles.
The snow colored silk sleeve covering his left arm was fine, but over his right arm… there wasn’t a sleeve present. Indeed, there was only a fresh tear.
“！@#￥%…” Countless curses ran through Yun Che’s mind.
As soon as he saw the sleeve, he had realized that it was indeed his… however, it had absolutely not been torn off by Mu Hanyi. It became clear that someone else had managed to tear it off from his body… and they had done it whilst remaining completely undetected!
This was hundreds of times harder than silently killing him!
Yun Che’s heartbeat began to beat faster as he sucked in a breath of cold air through his teeth.
It was clear that the person who had managed to silently whisk away Mu Hanyi’s corpse from right beneath his nose was the same person who tore off the silk sleeve over his right arm… who was this terrifying person who was hiding within the shadows, and why were they doing what they were doing?
To have Mu Hanyi’s corpse be discovered so quickly so that everyone’s suspicion was directed towards him, and to then use the sleeve as irrefutable evidence, it was clear that the person wished to “frame” him. However, if the person had truly wanted to harm him, then they would have already taken his life with their terrifying power which caused him to shudder. He would have been deader than dead without the slightest trace left behind… so why would they go to so much trouble!?
The sleeve held within Mu Hanyi’s hand and the tear on Yun Che’s snow colored clothes caused the entire courtyard to abruptly become silent as everyone made the clear connection. No one dared to speak. As for Situ Xiongyang, who had been so full of joy, his face immediately stiffened. Mu Xiaolan’s pupils expanded as she stared onwards and fell into shock and panic.
“Young Yun…” Feng Huita retrieved the piece of cloth from Elder Yan, his hands and voice both violently trembling as he said, “You are the direct disciple of a Great Realm King. Your status is extremely revered and unparalleled. My Ice Wind views you as a guest of honor, and didn’t dare to even slightly neglect you in your treatment. Hanyi treated you even more respectfully, and when spoke of you, it was always full of praise…
“Where did my Ice Wind offend you!! What kind of unforgivable mistake did my Hanyi make!? For you to kill him so decisively!!”
At first, Feng Huita’s voice was still quite restrained, but towards the end, he couldn’t help as he began to hoarsely scream.
When he was calm, he naturally didn’t dare act so disrespectfully towards Yun Che… but faced with the death of his most cherished son and the disappearance of his country’s halidom from right under his nose, he had completely lost his reason.
In fact, it was not completely impossible that he, in his current state of fury, grief, and depression, would directly attempt to kill Yun Che. Although the consequences of such an action would be incredibly tragic and likely to result in the complete destruction of the Ice Wind Empire, he would still be able to die a happy father.
If Feng Huita were to truly lose control out of anger and choose the latter option, then it was likely that the guests present in the courtyard would also be implicated. This caused many of the people present to feel fear. Situ Xiongyang hurriedly stepped forward as he said, “Ice Wind Emperor, please calm down first! There are a lot of flaws in this storyline. Don’t forget that it is impossible of Young Yun to kill Prince Hanyi with his current strength. As for the sleeve, if it was torn off, how could Young Yun himself not be aware of it? Furthermore, if Prince Hanyi had the strength to tear off the sleeve, why didn’t he try and shout for help? Also, it is only the sleeve of the right arm, and…”
“Shut up!!”
Situ Xiongyang’s voice was interrupted by an extremely hoarse roar as an incredibly terrifying and fierce-looking expression emerged on Feng Huita face. “Just because he is the Great Realm King’s direct disciple, he can kill whoever he wants!? Just because of his status, you all are willing to forgo the most basic morals and laws!?”
Feng Huita’s current terrifying state caused Situ Xiongyang to quickly withdraw and not dare to speak another word.
“It’s ok, you need not defend me anymore.” Now that the matter had reached this point, Yun Che had actually calmed down as he indifferently said, “I shall generously confess. Mu Hanyi was indeed killed by me!”
His words shocked everyone as stunned expressions emerged on everyone’s faces. Even with the irrefutable evidence, it was still a completely different matter for him to personally confess by himself.
“Yun Che…” Feng Huita took a step forward as he reached out with shaking fingers, “We are no fool. From the very start, we felt like something was wrong… it was only a minor matter of this one’s birthday, how could it qualify to have the Great Realm King send her congratulations. So… so originally… so originally it was to take my Ice Wind’s halidom!”
“Ha, hahahaha…” Feng Huita cackled manically, but his laughs were not ones of joy, but ones of misery. “If the Great Realm King had just said it, or if even you had just said it, then, even though it is our halidom, our country would not dare to not give it to you. We wouldn’t have the qualification to deny the request. Hanyi secretly brought you into the treasury because he knew that we would have the same thoughts and was afraid of us being embarrassed. That is why he did it himself… but you! You received the halidom, but why did you have to go and kill Hanyi! Why!”
“Give this one a reason!”
“A reason!”
“Royal Father!” Feng Hange hurriedly moved to hold up his father. Feng Huita was currently breathing extremely heavily, his body on the brink of collapsing, The aura surrounding his body had become unbelievably chaotic. If he suddenly attacked Yun Che, no one would have been surprised.
“Yun Che… wha… what’s going on?” Mu Xiaolan terrifiedly stood next to Yun Che. With Yun Che’s status, he was indeed able to go wherever he wanted in the Snow Song Realm. But right now, they were isolated and powerless in the home base of the enemy. Moreover, Feng Huita had already completely lost control of his emotions.
In comparison to the completely crazed Feng Huita, Yun Che was calm as he sneered, “Since you want to know so badly, then I shall tell you! I just hope that once you know… you won’t regret it!”