"Su..ling?!"
The name slipped from her tongue as a broken whisper, yet in the silence everyone heard it, and I saw their shocked reactions.
Elder Tian's face was like a carved stone now. "When Su Ling returns from her mission she will answer for this, and until then" he looked at the separated disciples, "all of you are suspended from sect activities, confined to quarters, and you will await formal sentencing."
Then he turned to me.
"Fu Yang, you have been wronged by this sect, your treatment was violated—your reputation damaged—your recovery disrupted, and on behalf of the Clouded Peak Sect, I apologize." An elder apologizing to an outer disciple in front of the entire sect. Yet I said nothing, and the assembly was still silent.
That's when I felt it.
A powerful cultivation pressure, coming from the direction of the inner sect buildings, moving at a terrifying speed.
Elder Yun.
He appeared at the edge of the training grounds, moving with the speed only high-level cultivators could manage, his robes slightly disheveled as he had left closed cultivation in a hurry.
His gaze scanned the whole area. The disciples who had gathered; the cultivators who were standing separately in front; and Wu Lian who was still on her knees crying on the ground.
And then, he spotted me up on the platform. He immediately looked stunned and worried, before he crossed the distance to the platform in seconds, the other elders immediately making space for him.
"What happened?" His voice controlled yet with an underlying tension I could clearly hear, "I was in closed cultivation, a servant informed me of an emergency assembly, something about Fu Yang and…"
He trailed off, looking at Elder Tian for explanation.
Elder Tian's expression was neutral. "Elder Yun, days ago your disciple Su Ling orchestrated a conspiracy to falsely imprison Fu Yang, and she manipulated Wu Lian into making false harassment accusations, arranged for his arrest without proper procedure and ensured he received no food or medical attention during imprisonment."
Elder Yun's face went blank. "What?"
"Wu Lian has confessed and multiple disciples have confirmed Su Ling's involvement."
"That's..." Elder Yun looked genuinely shocked. "That's impossible, Su Ling is one of my most disciplined students and follows every protocol strictly, and so there must be some misunderstanding."
"There is no misunderstanding," Elder Han said coldly.
"Wu Lian could be lying, trying to deflect blame onto someone with higher status." Elder Yun's voice was firm. "Su Ling is on an important mission right now and she's not here to defend herself and so we shall not judge her based on the discourse of disciples attempting to save themselves from punishment."
Elder Tian's eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you suggesting we ignore sworn testimony from multiple sources?"
"I'm suggesting we wait until Su Ling returns so that she can present her side before drawing conclusions."
The other elders were watching this exchange carefully, Elder Yun defending his disciple while Elder Tian maintained the investigation's integrity.
The pressure was now up on me, and I had to act right now, so I stepped up twice and walked closer to Elder Shen who was still positioning himself in front of me on the platform.
"Elder Shen," I said quietly, my voice weak, just loud enough for him and the nearby elders to hear, "I have something to tell you about what happened during the Zhang Kun incident, maybe it's…"
Elder Shen turned to look at me. "What is it?"
I glanced at Elder Yun and then back to Elder Shen, making it look like I was reluctant to speak as if I was afraid of causing trouble.
"That day, when Chen Wu and I were investigating Zhang Kun, Su Ling appeared suddenly, out of nowhere, we hadn't told anyone where we were going yet she found us anyway."
Elder Shen's expression sharpened. "Go on."
"She had tried to stop us and insisted that we shouldn't investigate." I paused, letting my voice shake slightly. "But Chen Wu refused as he was determined to expose the spy, and so she followed us to where Zhang Kun had gone."
Elder Han had moved closer now. Listening carefully.
"And when we confronted Zhang Kun—when the fight started, Su Ling stayed back and didn't engage herself, and after Sect Master Shen's projection appeared..." I closed my eyes like the memory was painful, "when it attacked me and I called for help, she tried to stop Chen Wu from rescuing me.."
SILENCE.
"She told him it was too dangerous, that he'd die if he interfered, and she tried to hold him back while the projection was attacking me." My voice dropped even lower. "If Chen Wu hadn't broken free, if he hadn't come anyway, I would have already been dead."
The lie flowed smoothly, mixed with just enough truth and telling in a way to make it believable.
Yes, Su Ling HAD been there, even I didn't know how she appeared—She HAD been involved in the fight and yes she really held Chen Wu back at that time…
"I don't know her intentions," I continued, "I only know what I saw and what I experienced, maybe she was just scared, maybe she genuinely thought Chen Wu would die if he helped me, but…"
I let the sentence hang, letting them fill in the implications themselves.
Elder Yun stepped forward. "This is ridiculous, Fu Yang is clearly traumatized from his imprisonment and misremembering events, Su Ling would never—"
"Elder Tian," Elder Shen interrupted, his voice sharp,"when exactly did Su Ling instruct Wu Lian to make these false accusations, what was the timeline?"
Elder Tian understood immediately, and he turned to the separated group of disciples, specifically to Wu Lian who was still on her knees.
"Wu Lian, when did Su Ling approach you, when did she tell you to accuse Fu Yang?"
Wu Lian looked up, face streaked with tears. "It was the day after the Zhang Kun incident, the morning after, she came to my quarters early, before dawn, and she said…"
"What did she say?"
"She said Fu Yang had ruined something important and needed to be dealt with before he caused more problems." Wu Lian's voice was shaking. "She said if I helped her... if I made the accusation... she'd owe me a favor and help me advance to Core Formation someday."
…
The timeline aligned perfectly and the connection was obvious.
Elder Shen and Elder Han exchanged a long look, and I could see them processing, connecting dots and reaching the same conclusion.
Su Ling had tried to let me die during the fight and when that failed she had immediately moved to Plan B, false imprisonment and letting me die while she was away on a mission.
It all fits together beautifully.
"This is speculation," Elder Yun said. But his voice had lost some of its certainty. "It still doesn't prove—I already declared that Wu lian must be lying"
"It proves more than enough for a formal investigation," Elder Tian said firmly, "and when Su Ling returns from her mission she and everyone involved in this incident will be questioned thoroughly," he paused " under a Soul Binding Oath, until then these charges stand."
Elder Yun's jaw tightened. "She deserves the opportunity to defend herself before being condemned."
"She will have that opportunity." Elder Tian's gaze was steady. "This is not a misunderstanding, but rather a pattern of behavior."
(Su Ling… she'd be finished now… mmm) And with that I turned to look for someone else in the crowd, who else but Mei..
"Fu Yang," Elder Shen said quietly. "Go back to the Medical Hall. Elder Han will take care of you."
"Yes."
Elder Han guided me down from the platform and away from the assembly, and as we walked I glanced back once — then suddenly a guard came bursting in, "Emergency! Make way! Make way!"