After Becoming the Villain’s Black Moonlight - Chapter 6

The Great Barren Mountain was currently under lockdown. Without orders to search, Yin Huizhi had no choice but to follow the team back to the sect to await news. He sat on the edge of his bed, clutching the golden sore ointment he had requested from the physician, remaining motionless for a long time.

Should he report it, or should he not?

That Xie family retainer only had a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation. If he were still in the mountains and Yin Huizhi reported him to the sect, the man would surely face certain death. If the man had never committed any evil, then reporting him would be nothing short of the “The Farmer and the Snake,” an act of base ingratitude. However, if he did not report it and Li Chi’s disappearance was indeed that person’s handiwork, his silence would be an act of aiding and abetting a villain.

Yin Huizhi covered his face and let out a low sigh, falling back onto his bed in a state of agonizing conflict.

Bang!

With a loud crash, his door was violently thrown open. No matter his standing, Yin Huizhi was effectively a personal disciple of the inner peaks. Having his door burst open so rudely was highly irregular. He immediately flipped over and sat up, his cold gaze piercing through the screen toward the blurred silhouette at the doorway.

“Who is it!”

The intruder did not answer. Instead, they bypassed the screen and entered the inner chamber. When Yin Huizhi saw the visitor’s attire, his pupils shrank. Dozens of disciples wearing deep blue round-collared robes and carrying swords stepped forward together, surrounding him as if confronting a formidable enemy. These were not disciples from the Peak of Questioning Swords, but the apprehension team from the Judgment Pavilion.

Unlike the Hall of Good and Evil, which dealt with minor punishments and admonitions, the Judgment Pavilion was a true institution for interrogation and sentencing. Yin Huizhi’s grip on the edge of the bed tightened slightly.

“Junior brothers, what is the meaning of this?”

The leader of the team glanced at him, a look of cold sternness and loathing appearing on his face. He said in a deep voice, “We are acting on the orders of the Pavilion Master and the various Peak Lords to apprehend a suspect. Senior Brother Yin, please come with us.”

They clearly had no intention of explaining the charges. Yin Huizhi knew he had committed no crimes, but unless a major case was involved, the Judgment Pavilion would never be sent to make an arrest. It could only be one thing. Yin Huizhi’s heart sank. He stood up and said, “Please, lead the way.”

The apprehension disciple glanced at him with some surprise, seemingly not expecting him to be so cooperative. He then raised his hand and ordered someone to bring out the Immortal-Binding Rope to tie him up. Yin Huizhi frowned, as he had not expected them to go as far as using the Immortal-Binding Rope.

By the time he was brought to the Judgment Pavilion and forced to kneel in the main hall, Yin Huizhi realized the situation had surpassed any of his previous conjectures. The Pavilion Master was personally presiding over the trial. On the high dais, the Master of the Judgment Pavilion sat at the judgment desk. Behind him stood a massive statue of the Guanlan Ancestor. Beneath the statue were eleven chairs. Ten Peak Lords sat upon them. Chu Ruqi, who not long ago had praised him for being a good child, sat in the center, his gaze heavy as he looked down at him.

One chair remained empty because his master, Perfected Spirit Seclusion, was absent due to being in meditative seclusion.

Yin Huizhi was asked over a hundred questions repeatedly, all regarding his actions the previous night, down to the minutest detail. By the end, his throat was so dry he could barely speak. The Pavilion Master’s reaction to his answers was lukewarm, even indifferent. Only when Yin Huizhi confessed that his escape was aided by a demonic cultivator did the Master show a flicker of emotion.

Time ticked away, and the number of disciples gathering outside the Judgment Pavilion grew. Two full hours passed. The fog of doubt and unease in Yin Huizhi’s heart grew thicker. This sense of bewilderment finally culminated when the Pavilion Master threw out a new question: “Did you kill Li Chi?”

A stretcher was carried into the main hall. Upon it lay a corpse so brutally mangled that it no longer resembled a human. It had been nearly ground into fragments. Pieces of flesh mixed with dirt and gravel were a truly shocking sight. A blood-stained silver sword lay beside the body, its blade showing faint cracks.

The Pavilion Master’s voice boomed from above: “Yin Huizhi, disciple of the Peak of Questioning Swords, the evidence is ironclad and the facts are clear. What more do you have to say for yourself!”

The ironclad evidence was that sword beside the corpse. A sword usually has no name, and this was an extremely common standard-issue sword from the Peak of Questioning Swords. Every personal disciple received one upon being formally accepted by a master. However, the Peak of Questioning Swords only had two personal disciples. One was the gaunt Yin Huizhi kneeling in the hall. The other was the eldest disciple, Ji Huixue, who was still in seclusion.

Ji Huixue had been in seclusion for three years. Perfected Spirit Seclusion had personally set up a protective array after he entered the cave. Furthermore, years ago on the day of his capping ceremony, Ji Huixue had received the famous sword “Flowing Wind,” forged by a renowned master from the Upper Realm using rare materials sought out by Spirit Seclusion himself.

Everyone knew this sword could not be Ji Huixue’s. If it was not Ji Huixue’s, whose could it be?

The disciples outside the Judgment Hall looked at Yin Huizhi with disbelief and loathing fear. Whispers broke out, eventually coalescing into comments like “So that is how it is” and “There were signs of this long ago.”

“Disciples who knew Li Chi say that he had been at odds with you since you entered the sect,” the Pavilion Master stated. “He often spoke ill of you behind your back and ignored you during the trial. Why would Li Chi seek your help when Qing He was in trouble? And why did you do exactly as he said without hesitation?”

Yin Huizhi was stunned for a long time. His fingernails dug into his palms bit by bit. He spoke slowly, “It was my duty.”

The Pavilion Master continued, “Before the incident, did you have a verbal altercation with Li Chi?”

“No,” Yin Huizhi replied.

“Did you intentionally skip the gathering of the escorting disciples to go and take revenge on Li Chi?”

Yin Huizhi suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot as he met the Pavilion Master’s gaze. “I did not! I did not even know Li Chi disliked me.”

The Pavilion Master frowned. “Yin Huizhi, Li Chi once discussed your background while eating in the dining hall, using unkind words. Do you truly claim to be unaware of this, and that you did not harbor a grudge or murderous intent?”

“Is it even worth it?” Yin Huizhi lowered his head, murmuring with a hint of irony. “He was neither the first nor will he be the last. Why would I go that far?”

“What do you mean?” the Pavilion Master asked.

Yin Huizhi closed his eyes. “If I truly hated him that much, why would I have saved his friend, Qing He?”

The Pavilion Master signaled to those below, and soon, Qing He was brought forward. From the moment he appeared, Yin Huizhi stared straight at him without blinking. Qing He, however, did not look at him at all. Instead, his face was deathly pale as he stared at the mangled remains on the ground, his body trembling.

“Qing He,” the Sect Master called out. “Do not be afraid. Tell us what you know.”

Qing He’s body shook. He made an expression that was half-crying and half-retching. “Sect Master, okay.”

Like a camel about to be crushed by the final straw, Yin Huizhi stared at him intently, his tone certain. “On the day I carried you on my back, you were awake, were you not?”

The Sect Master frowned upon hearing this but said nothing. Under Yin Huizhi’s gaze, Qing He nodded cautiously and said timidly, “Yes.”

Yin Huizhi’s eyelashes fluttered. Before he could speak, Qing He continued, “When I was half-conscious, I did feel Senior Brother Yin carrying me, but before that, I did not see Senior Brother Yin at all. Knowing Li Chi’s personality, he would never have gone to Senior Brother Yin for help.”

Yin Huizhi looked at him in disbelief. The Pavilion Master’s face darkened. “Yin Huizhi, what else do you have to say?”

A long time passed without a response. The Pavilion Master pressed further, “Yin Huizhi! Why are you silent? Are you fully admitting to it?”

The corners of Yin Huizhi’s mouth quirked slightly. When he looked up again, his eyes were bloodshot and his voice was hoarse, like sandpaper. “What else can I say? Have you not all already decided it was me?”

Though he was usually a man of few words, he was never lacking in etiquette. This was the first time he had spoken with such a biting attitude, and he was immediately rebuked by one of the Peak Lords. Yin Huizhi seemed not to hear. He scanned the faces on the high dais, faces filled with disappointment, disgust, and the refusal to even look at him. He said word for word, “Sect Master, Pavilion Master, Martial Uncles. I have said everything I should and should not have. What else is there to say?”

Since being brought here by the apprehension team, he had no idea how many times he had repeated his explanation. From beginning to end, not a single word had changed. He truly did not know what else he could say. No one answered him. He blinked, and a silent trail of bloody tears appeared on his right cheek. Qing He, who was peeking at him, was so frightened he took a step back.

“I did not kill anyone!” His voice suddenly rose to a pitch that was almost shrill. “The sword is mine, but no matter how many times you ask, my answer will not change. I did not kill anyone.”

Chu Ruqi looked utterly disappointed in him. “Then why was your sword not on your person? And why is it covered in Li Chi’s flesh and blood?”

Yin Huizhi murmured, “If I knew, I would not be kneeling here.”

“Stubborn and incorrigible!” the Pavilion Master roared. “I see you simply did not know how to hide it, so you threw the murder weapon into the corpse pit to be buried! A sword that has tasted blood for the first time will either develop a spiritual glow or be haunted by resentment.”

Clearly, this sword was smothered in a black mist of resentment. One Peak Lord suddenly asked, “If it was not you, could it have been someone else?”

Yin Huizhi was silent for a long time before he spoke slowly, “Although I was saved by that demonic cultivator, I am not clear about his actions.”

“Absurd!” the Peak Lord interrupted. “Even if you are making up lies, have some sense. While Guanlan’s arrays are not claimed to be the best in the world, they would never let a demonic cultivator sneak in unnoticed and leave without a trace. The killer who slaughtered the disciple Li Chi must be within the trial group!”

“Wicked creature,” Chu Ruqi said as he shook his head. “Pavilion Master, pass the sentence. There is no need to wait for his master to finish seclusion.”

The Pavilion Master’s anger cooled slightly as he nodded in agreement. A long list of crimes and the verdict followed, ending with a swift and decisive punishment: Yin Huizhi was to be stripped of his status as a Guanlan Sect disciple, have his cultivation destroyed, and be banished from the mountain.

Yin Huizhi had his cultivation destroyed once before. The feeling was something he would never forget. His dantian was drained bit by bit, his meridians were seized by invisible hands and forced back into the state of a mortal body, and then, there was no more spiritual energy flowing within.

“He actually killed Junior Brother Qing He. He is simply cold-blooded and insane.” “He is truly an animal.” “He is so terrifying. He used to greet me; my spine chills just thinking about it.”

“Eating and drinking for free at the Immortal Lord’s house while being ungrateful. He is just like his mother!” “Bastard!” “You are just an unwanted stray! You think you are worthy of competing with me? Go die!” “Your mother? That sickly woman is already dying.” “A-Yin, you must grow up well.”

Chaotic, noisy voices buzzed in his ears. For a moment, he could not tell where he was or what year it was. His head ached terribly, as if someone were using a hammer to crack his bones and a steel needle to stir his brain. Someone came forward to drag him, binding his hands and pulling at his legs. He was pinned to the ground, his hands tied. That strange yet familiar sensation of spiritual energy being drained emanated from his dantian.

“Stop!”

A voice imbued with majestic spiritual energy and pressure came from that steep, high peak to the east of Mount Guanlan. It was like the moon descending upon the world, clear and brilliant.

“Senior Brother Ji has finished his seclusion?” “Senior Brother Ji is out!” “Senior Brother Ji’s cultivation is at Golden Core Great Perfection!”

Yin Huizhi suddenly spat out a mouthful of dark blood. Amidst the heavy ringing in his ears, he turned his head in a daze. Snow-white robes fluttered to the ground, transitioning into a hurried pace. Ji Huixue pushed aside the guards at the hall’s entrance and rushed in to catch the tottering Yin Huizhi.

“Huixue! What are you doing!” “Ji Huixue, have you lost your mind!”

Ji Huixue held Yin Huizhi’s shoulders tightly and knelt down with him. Two pairs of knees hit the ground, but only a single muffled thud was heard. “Sect Master! Martial Uncles! I know Huizhi’s character best. It is impossible for him to kill a fellow disciple! I beg my Martial Uncles to investigate clearly!”

Yin Huizhi sensed his hands were trembling slightly. Majestic spiritual energy poured out from his slender fingertips, incessantly flowing into Yin Huizhi’s body.

“Senior Brother,” he rasped, trying to stop him. “There is no need.”

Ji Huixue’s eyes were faintly red, and his voice was unstable. “Your Senior Brother arrived too late.”

The disciples outside the hall fell silent for a few breaths before the whispering grew even louder, though kept very low. Yin Huizhi could no longer hear what they were saying. On the high seats, Chu Ruqi’s face turned various shades of pale and green. Chu Ruqi saw that Ji Huixue’s cultivation had greatly improved, and an irrepressible joy flickered in his heart. However, that bit of admiration was currently suppressed by disappointment and the need for discipline. He said with restraint, “Huixue, this case is settled. Do not meddle further out of favoritism.”

The phrase “meddle out of favoritism” caused various expressions to appear on everyone’s faces. Ji Huixue crawled forward on his knees, grabbing Chu Ruqi’s hem. “Martial Uncle, Martial Uncle, I beg you. No matter what, at least wait for Master to finish his seclusion. Do not cast my Junior Brother off the mountain.”

The Lord of Blazing Flame Peak, a man with thick eyebrows and a bushy beard, could not stand this behavior. “What is with this womanly display! Do you still have the dignity of a Chief Disciple! Your Junior Brother killed someone, and you are kneeling here pleading for him? It would disgrace the Guanlan Sect if this got out!”

Ji Huixue insisted stubbornly, “He did not!”

“A-Hui’s body cannot withstand having his cultivation destroyed again, Martial Uncle,” Ji Huixue’s voice carried a slight tremor. “If it happens again, his lifespan will be severely damaged.”

The Peak Lords remained silent with darkened faces. Mortals love a spectacle, and cultivators are no exception. At first, only the disciples of Zhaoyang Peak surrounded the Judgment Pavilion. Now, news that Ji Huixue had finished his seclusion and was pleading for a criminal regardless of his status had brought everyone flocking from all directions. The ground was crowded with people. The uniforms of the eleven peaks were intermingled, and even the sky was filled with people watching the commotion from their swords.

Seeing that Ji Huixue was about to speak again, Chu Ruqi swiftly placed a silencing spell on him and sealed his spiritual points. He then signaled to the guard team in the pavilion. Having done all this, he sent a dark-faced transmission: “Those spectating outside the pavilion are sentenced to copy the sect rules one thousand times.”

The crowd scattered like startled birds and beasts. Ji Huixue was ultimately taken away by force. Whether Ji Huixue’s intervention had an effect or not, the farce ended with Yin Huizhi being thrown into the dungeon and his punishment temporarily suspended.

In the pitch-black dungeon, Yin Huizhi sat in a corner with his knees pulled to his chest. Sunlight peeked through a small window slit, making his eyes ache.

“Little Immortal, why is it that every time I see you, you look so wretched?”

Yin Huizhi looked up abruptly, staring at the person before him. Just as it had been by the deep pool that day, the person looked down at him with a smile.