The Extreme Alchemist of the Mighty Cauldron

Chapter 437: Framed

In the Purple Mist Great Hall, as a result of Elder Jin’s words, the atmosphere had become somewhat somber and tense, many people were watching Elder Jin with peculiar glints in their eyes.

Seated in the foremost position, Han Luoyun seemed to be wearing a faint smile, and didn’t appear to be angered by Elder Jin’s words.

“What utter nonsense! What does Gu Daofeng’s death have to do with Fang Lin? Can you present any evidence? Without evidence, it’s simply slander!” A senior official refuted.

Elder Jin gave a cold sneer: “Of course, I do have some evidence.”

As he said this, Elder Jin clapped his Nine Palace Bag, and took out a Sound Bead.

“The voice in here is the evidence,” Elder Jin said as he played the voice from within the Sound Bead.

“It was Fang Lin! Fang Lin murdered our chief. He plotted a cunning trap, and under the chief’s unsuspecting circumstances, he was ruthlessly killed by Fang Lin, I saw it all!” From within the Sound Bead came an alarmed cry of a person, sounding extremely tense.

Upon hearing this voice, the expressions of many at the scene changed all at once.

“The person who recorded this voice was Elder Zhao Dengming, a trusted aide of Gu Daofeng. On the day, he was with Gu Daofeng when they went out and personally witnessed Fang Lin murdering Gu Daofeng. He himself was severely injured and is presently unconscious. However, before lapsing into unconsciousness, he left behind this Sound Bead as evidence,” Elder Jin said indignantly.

The crowd went silent, if this evidence was genuine, then the situation could be disastrous for Fang Lin. After all, he was an accused murderer of a chief and not even Fang Lin, as a True Disciple of Purple Mist Sect, could bear that claim.

If this charge were to be established, even Han Luoyun’s desire to shelter Fang Lin would be in vain.

“I suggest that Fang Lin be investigated,” a high-ranking official stated.

“The death of a sect leader must be strictly investigated. If Fang Lin has suspicion arouse, he should face questioning,” another high-ranking official announced his position.

However, only a part of the seniormost members of the Purple Mist Sect stood with Elder Jin, a majority of them didn’t utter a word.

Elder Jin didn’t care; he hadn’t originally expected to gain the consent of these senior officials—all he needed was the support of a part of them.

As a matter of fact, this so-called ‘evidence’ was concocted by him, leaving no stone unturned to cause severe injuries to Zhao Dengming.

In Elder Jin’s view, as long he held this Sound Bead, Fang Lin would always be under suspicion of murdering Gu Daofeng, hence he could use this against Fang Lin.

Just then, Han Luoyun finally spoke, “Since you say that Fang Lin murdered Gu Daofeng, then how do you suppose he killed Gu Daofeng who had Heavenly Origin’s strength?”

Elder Jin replied angrily, “It must have been Fang Lin who used some kind of treacherous scheme, otherwise Gu Daofeng could not have been caught off guard and killed by him.”

“You’re spouting bullshit!” At that moment, Elder Hu, his face a picture of anger, arrived. He hadn’t even fully entered the hall before he started cursing Elder Jin.

Elder Jin’s expression darkened, a surge of anger rose in his heart, but faced with Elder Hu, he had no choice but to suppress it.

After all, Elder Hu held a higher standing and was an elder of the sect. Even Sect Master, Han Luoyun was deferential towards Elder Hu. If Elder Jin dared disrespect Elder Hu, others would seize this opportunity against him.

Elder Hu pointed at Jin’s nose and accused, “Is it because that scoundrel Gu Daofeng is dead, you have to painstakingly frame Fang Lin?”

Elder Jin didn’t look at Elder Hu but said with a poker face, “It’s not me who’s framing him. There’s evidence proving that Fang Lin is suspicious of murdering Gu Daofeng.”

Elder Hu let out a sardonic laugh, “This so-called evidence, isn’t it created by you at your will? God knows whether this evidence is true or false.”

Elder Jin retorted angrily, “Zhao Dengming is presently severely injured and in a coma, how can it be false?”

Elder Hu snorted with disdain, “Of course it can be false, we don’t know how Zhao Dengming got injured. What if you, Jin, intentionally harmed Zhao Dengming to frame Fang Lin?”

Elder Jin’s face paled at these words, as did the expressions of others present, they looked at Jin, their eyes filled with suspicion.

Elder Jin persisted, “Elder Hu has no evidence to prove that I’m framing Fang Lin. However, I have evidence proving that Fang Lin murdered Gu Daofeng. So, Fang Lin is indeed under suspicion. Are you, Elder Hu, trying to turn the tide because Fang Lin is your disciple?”

On hearing this, Elder Hu, too, was infuriated. He very much wanted to slap Elder Jin’s face. However, considering they were in the Purple Mist Great Hall and everyone present had a status, under sensible circumstances, no one would take such an action.

“Did any of you ever consider why Gu Daofeng chose to leave the Pill Sect without a sound? What was he going to do?” At this point, Han Yinyue, who had been standing aside and had not spoken a single word, finally spoke, directly addressing the crux of the matter.

Everyone pondered over her words, the more they thought about it, the more they felt that something was off, and subsequently, everyone’s gaze fell on Elder Jin to see how he would respond.

Elder Jin composed himself and said, “I am not sure about this matter and am currently investigating it. However, now that Gu Daofeng has died, the most important thing is to investigate the cause of his death and find out who the murderer is.”

Han Yinyue laughed and said: “Elder Jin is correct. Therefore, we should clarify why he left the Pill Sect without anyone’s knowledge. This might be related to the cause of his death.”

Elder Jin’s expression hardened. Han Yinyue was holding onto this point and not letting go, making it difficult for Jin to divert attention.

“I suggest letting Fang Lin come forward and tell everyone face to face where he went after leaving Black Cauldron City, and what he did. We should be able to find inconsistencies from that and then start the interrogation,” Elder Jin said.

Han Luoyun intervened directly: “There’s no need for that, I know everything that Fang Lin did after leaving Black Cauldron City.”

Silence fell with Han Luoyun’s words. The implied meaning of his words was that he was protecting Fang Lin.

“Sect Master, this concerns the life of a sect leader, we should conduct a thorough investigation,” Elder Jin said with a bow.

Looking at Elder Jin, Han Luoyun suddenly laughed and said, “Gu Daofeng was your disciple, did you understand him well?”

Elder Jin was confused by this question but nodded, “I did have a good understanding of him, if he hadn’t died, his future would have been limitless.”

An ambiguous expression surfaced on Han Luoyun’s face, “To my knowledge, during his lifetime, Gu Daofeng had some contact with the Hidden Kill Hall.”

“What?” Everyone gasped in surprise upon hearing this; they were looking at Han Luoyun in shock.

Elder Jin’s face turned pale, he immediately retorted, “That’s impossible, absolutely impossible; there must be some mistake.”

Han Luoyun did not respond further, instead, Han Yinyue took a step forward, looked at Elder Jin with a stern expression and said, “The evidence of Gu Daofeng colluding with the Hidden Kill Hall is in my hands. Elder Jin, as his mentor, are you really completely ignorant of this?”