After My Faked Death Failed, My Ex-Wife Came Chasing After Me - Chapter 46.1

Lu Ting’an: Releasing the fox (not really)

Like a drowning person grasping at a life-saving straw, Lu Ting’an shouted at her in panic: “Lin Zheng, save me!”

Lin Zheng’s expression turned stern. With a flick of her hand, she recalled the Broken Moon sword. Her toes lightly tapped the mountain wall as she borrowed the momentum to descend, her body moving like a swift wind, striking directly at the vital points.

Cui Daoyan clutched his severed finger, which was gushing blood. His face was contorted in pain as he roared: “I thought we were kindred spirits and intentionally spared your life, yet you are so ungrateful!”

“Cut the nonsense! Give me your life!” Lin Zheng raised her hand to stab, and several disciples of the demon race immediately drew their swords from their robes, stepping forward together to surround her.

Lin Zheng remained composed, her sword movements sharp and powerful. Even fighting one against four, she did not fall into a disadvantage, forcing them to retreat step by step. Seeing that things were going poorly, Cui Daoyan bent down to pick up a dagger from the ground. With a murderous glint in his eyes, he walked step by step toward the tied-up and immobile Lu Ting’an.

Lu Ting’an let out a scream. Lin Zheng’s heart tightened; with a wave of her sleeve, she repelled the people beside her and suddenly threw her long sword out. Fortunately, Cui Daoyan was prepared; he raised his blade to block it, but he was still sent flying by the spiritual energy, crashing heavily against the stone wall and spitting out a large mouthful of blood.

“Light the signal smoke! Don’t let them escape—”

Lin Zheng knew that this place was not safe to stay in for long, as the demon reinforcements would arrive in an instant. She no longer lingered in the fight. Leaning down, she scooped up Lu Ting’an from the ground, performed light-footwork skills, and leaped several zhang, her figure quickly disappearing into the moonlight.

Lu Ting’an pressed tightly against her chest, feeling only a cold fragrance permeating her nose. Her eyes grew hot, and she almost burst into tears.

“Lin Zheng…”

Hearing her weak voice, Lin Zheng stopped abruptly. She looked down at her slightly, her tone tinged with a bit of nervousness: “Are you injured?”

Lu Ting’an buried her head in Lin Zheng’s arms and said aggrievedly: “No, I was just scared to death.”

Lin Zheng’s heart ached, and she couldn’t help but hold the person a bit tighter, comforting her: “Don’t be afraid, we will return to the Baiyun Luying Sect very soon.”

Feeling the warmth radiating from her body, Lu Ting’an felt a sudden, inexplicable flutter of panic in her heart for some reason, and she gave a low response.

By the time they had traveled day and night under the stars and moon to return to the Baiyun Luying Sect, they could see from afar that the base of the mountain was a sea of black—it was filled with immortal sect disciples, fully armed and solemn. Lin Zheng was stunned. She landed gracefully, bowed to them, and said: “I am Lin Zheng, the eldest disciple of the Baiyun Luying Sect. Where is the Sect Leader? I have urgent matters to report.”

Upon hearing this, the expressions on the disciples’ faces distorted instantly. They stared at her with gritted teeth and said: “Lin Zheng? You actually have the face to come back?”

Lin Zheng froze slightly, somewhat confused. “What do you mean?”

The crowd exchanged glances, and one disciple asked with a face full of suspicion: “The entire immortal cultivation world is saying that you, Lin Zheng, are in league with that demon Cui Daoyan from the Shiya Yueyue Pool, intending to incite the demon race to rebel against the immortal realm, and that you even kidnapped the sons and daughters of various sect leaders. The official denunciation has already been delivered to the mountain gate. What are you pretending for now?”

“What did you say?” Lu Ting’an exploded upon hearing this, jumping down from Lin Zheng’s arms and saying urgently: “Go quickly and inform my father! Tell him the Eldest Miss has returned and wants to confront him face-to-face!”

Before long, the two of them were kneeling together inside the Yingxian Pavilion.

Lu Qingchen and Sun Youqing, seated at the head, remained silent. Surrounding them were the cold-faced leaders of various sects. Among them, Sect Leader Song Yanwu was the most extreme; he nearly crushed the corner of the table in front of him into powder. His eyes stared gloomily at Lin Zheng as he roared: “Lin Zheng, as you just said, it was your idea to have the disciples enter Tianbao City. Do you still dare to quibble and say you weren’t involved in the rebellion against the immortal sects?”

Lin Zheng knelt straight, her expression unchanged. She said calmly: “Regardless of how Sect Leader Song suspects me, if I didn’t do it, I didn’t do it.”

“You!” Song Yanwu laughed out of extreme anger, saying “Good, good, good” three times. He said: “Then explain this: why is it that in the denunciation sent over, your name appears under the final sentence, ‘By the mandate of the Heavenly Dao, slay the evil’?”

Lu Ting’an furrowed her brows and glanced at him with some displeasure. “What can a single name prove? Could it not be that Cui Daoyan intentionally framed Lin Zheng?”

Suddenly, her tone shifted. She looked directly at Song Yanwu and said coldly: “Furthermore, Sect Leader Song, I heard Cui Daoyan say with my own ears that his current uprising is entirely because you, under the guise of ‘enlightenment,’ tricked the demon disciples into trusting you while secretly killing them to take their inner dans to boost your cultivation. If it weren’t for that, how could there be such a disaster today?”

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall became so quiet that one could hear a needle drop.

The faces of the various sect leaders turned colorful shades of blue and white. Song Yanwu was stunned on the spot. He pointed at her, his eyes wide, unable to speak for a long time. Then he suddenly turned his head and shouted at Lu Qingchen: “Brother Lu! Your daughter is talking utter nonsense, and you’re not going to control her?!”

Lu Qingchen finally spoke slowly, saying sternly to Lu Ting’an: “An’an, Cui Daoyan is a demon who killed his father and mother and disregarded human relations. How can his words be believed? Why haven’t you apologized to Sect Leader Song yet?”

Lu Ting’an clenched her hands into fists and knelt there indignantly, refusing to yield.

Song Yanwu cursed in anger. Sun Youqing had no choice but to act as the peacemaker. While comforting him, she swept a sharp gaze over Lin Zheng and said: “Be that as it may, Lin Zheng is suspicious after all. Before the matter is fully brought to light, you shall first reflect in the Soul-Severing Prison at the mountain peak.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Zheng’s heart trembled, but in the end, she did not defend herself further. She leaned down and kowtowed, saying respectfully: “Yes, Master.”

Lu Ting’an grew anxious, but just as she was about to protest, she was quietly held back by Lin Zheng, who shook her head at her.

Lu Ting’an stared blankly at Lin Zheng’s departing figure. For a moment, her blood boiled. She stood up and shouted at the room full of people in anger: “You caused this trouble yourselves, yet instead of thinking about how to make amends, you insist on pushing an innocent person out to take the blame. What kind of immortal sect leaders are you?”

Seeing her speak so recklessly, Lu Qingchen finally became angry. He stared at her with a dark face and said: “Silence! This is no place for you to speak! From this day forward, you are confined to the Yingyue Pavilion. You are not allowed to step out without my order!”

Hearing this, the sect leaders all breathed a sigh of relief, looking at her with eyes full of smugness. Cui Daorong advised hypocritically: “Miss Lu, your father has spoken. Why don’t you go back?”

Lu Ting’an spat fiercely. She didn’t want to stay with these people for even another moment and turned to leave.

After returning to the Yingyue Pavilion, Lu Ting’an could not fall asleep no matter what. Whenever she closed her eyes, the image of Lin Zheng appeared in her mind.

She took a deep breath, got out of bed, and quietly pushed open the window to glance down. Perhaps fearing she would cause another scene, Lu Qingchen had sent several disciples to guard her day and night. At this moment, they were standing in the courtyard, blocking the only exit.

Lu Ting’an blinked, and a plan formed in her mind. She pulled a small porcelain bottle from her robes, poured some powder into the incense burner, and picked up a fan to gently waft the faint smoke outward.

Before long, the steps of the disciples below gradually became unsteady, and their figures swayed. Before they could react, several “thuds” followed as they collapsed to the ground one after another.

Lu Ting’an was overjoyed. Without further hesitation, she hurried and ran toward the mountain peak.

In the original book, it was written that the Soul-Severing Prison at the mountain peak was used to imprison disciples who had committed heinous crimes. There were countless vengeful spirits inside, and it was bone-chillingly cold year-round. Even if Lin Zheng had high cultivation, she would surely suffer quite a bit.

Lu Ting’an was burning with anxiety. She ran all the way and stopped at the intersection near the mountain peak, panting for breath. She saw two disciples leaning lazily against the wall chatting in front of the Soul-Severing Prison not far away. She couldn’t help but quietly lighten her steps, hiding behind a large tree and concentrating her energy to listen.

“Hey, Senior Brother, did the Sect Leader tell you when Lin Zheng is to be executed?”

“Sigh, does that even need to be said? Who among those locked in the Soul-Severing Prison isn’t executed after two days?”

“That’s not right. When Lin Zheng came today, didn’t Elder Sun say she was sent here to reflect? There was no mention of an execution?”

“Tsk tsk, I said you lack discernment; no wonder you haven’t become an inner disciple after all these years. Have you ever seen anyone go to the Soul-Severing Prison to reflect instead of the Discipline Hall? Lin Zheng must have committed some unpardonable crime. Elder Sun just couldn’t say it clearly and left her a bit of face.”