Chapter Eleven: Framing and Scapegoating

  "Ah——"

  A shrill and mournful howl suddenly rang out, causing everyone on the street to involuntarily feel a shiver in their hearts, and unanimously cast their eyes towards the source of the sound.

  Zhao Zhi Jing's long sword fell to the ground with a "clang", and he stared at Yin Zhi Ping with a shocked face, backing away while shaking his hands in front of his chest: "Yin Shidi, I'm sorry, it was not intentional, I really didn't mean to..."

  Yin Zhiping had already lost his long sword, both hands tightly covering his lower body, fingers seeping with blood, eyes fixed on Zhao Zhirong who was constantly retreating, gaze filled with incredulity: "You...you..." Before he could finish speaking, he couldn't bear the intense pain and collapsed to the ground, body convulsing, blood flowing out with each spasm, a shocking sight.

  Ling Muyun's face was "shocked" as he stared at Zhao Zhijing, his body trembling slightly as if frozen. He pointed a shaking finger at Zhao Zhijing and said in a trembling voice: "You... are so ruthless! How could you do such a thing to your own fellow disciple? Are you trying to ruin him for life?"

  "It's all your fault, it's all your fault... I'm going to kill you!" Zhao Zhirong, who was in a state of panic and confusion, suddenly found an outlet for his emotions when he saw Ling Muyun, and let out a frenzied roar as he picked up the long sword on the ground and stabbed at Ling Muyun with all his might.

  "What does it have to do with me? That sword wasn't even mine, and there are so many people here who witnessed it all. You think you can frame me?" Ling Mu Yun dodged Zhao Zhi Jing's incoming longsword and shouted loudly.

  "It's all your fault! If it weren't for you, my junior brother wouldn't have gotten hurt!" Zhao Zhi Jing was now completely beside himself, bellowing as he charged at Ling Mu Yun again. Having lost all reason, Zhao Zhi Jing had clearly forgotten just how formidable Ling Mu Yun's skills were, and only thought of killing off the culprit who had caused his junior brother to get hurt, as if that would alleviate some of the guilt and fear in his heart.

  At Zhao Zhi Jing's current state, Ling Mu Yun thought it wouldn't take much effort to kill him. However, he didn't plan on doing so. If he only wanted to kill Zhao Zhi Jing, he could have defeated Yin Zhi Ping first and then come back to finish him off. Why go through all the trouble?

  He designed it so painstakingly just to make these two authentic teachings of the Quanzhen School turn against each other a decade or so earlier, and slaughter each other. Only in this way can he thoroughly vent his anger, and also make the Quanzhen School fall into internal strife, unable to spare any effort to find trouble for him. If he kills Zhao Zhi Jing now, it will only make the entire Quanzhen School unite against him with a common enemy, and take revenge with all their might. With the strength of the Quanzhen School, if they really fight to the death, he can't hold on even if he doesn't die, and will be forced to flee to the ends of the earth. Where can he find time to do the system release task for him?

  At this moment, Ling Mu Yun's body shape shifted and he arrived behind Zhao Zhi Jing. With a flick of his wrist, the long sword's blade stood upright and struck out with a "slapping" sound, accurately hitting the back of Zhao Zhi Jing's head. Although it wasn't a direct slash, the internal force infused in the sword's power was not trivial either. In an instant, a lump swelled up on the back of Zhao Zhi Jing's head, and he fell to the ground with his eyes rolling back, knocked unconscious by the severe blow.

  One sword drew a swoon from Zhao Zhi Jing, and after another glance at Yin Zhi Ping who was convulsing on the ground, Ling Mu Yun only felt a surge of relief in his chest. The resentment that had been pent up for over ten years, from his past life to now, finally thoroughly vented out.

  After taking care of Zhao Zhi Jing, Ling Mu Yun glanced around at the onlookers, who retreated in fright as his gaze swept over them, as if he were some kind of ferocious beast from the wilderness.

  It wasn't because Ling Muyun looked particularly intimidating, but rather the things he did scared them off. In the Zhongnan Mountains, Quanzhen Sect was a dominant force, and it wasn't uncommon for people from the Jianghu to clash with Quanzhen disciples. However, most of the time, these people would either be captured or killed, or driven away. But now, Ling Muyun had single-handedly defeated two Quanzhen disciples with decent martial arts skills before reaching adulthood, so it was no wonder that those who had always regarded Quanzhen Sect as their protector god were shocked and frightened.

  Ling Mu Yun glanced around, saw the tavern owner also standing at the door of the tavern, timidly watching the commotion. He immediately took out a small gold ingot from his bosom, waved his hand, and drew a golden light that accurately fell into the tavern owner's hands.

  Looking at the stunned shopkeeper, Ling Mu said loudly: "This gold is for your meal money and compensation for your loss. The rest of it you can use to find a doctor to treat this Taoist priest." As he spoke, he pointed to Yin Zhiping who was convulsing on the ground.

  "Yes, yes, I will definitely follow Young Master's instructions." The shopkeeper was slightly stunned, then nodded repeatedly in agreement.

  At that time, Jinzi's purchasing power was still quite strong. This small piece of gold was enough for him to open a wine shop for half a year's income. After deducting the cost of food and inviting doctors' fees, he would naturally be happy to agree with at least half of it left over.

  Yin Zhiping, who was lying on the ground, suddenly lifted his head after hearing Ling Muyun's words and asked in a painful voice: "Why?"

  Yin Zhiping's words were unclear, but everyone present knew what he meant. If they had hurt him, why would they spend money to find a doctor to save him?

  Ling Muyun walked up to Yin Zhiping and looked at his distorted face, saying calmly: "This young master has no grudges or grievances with the Quanzhen Sect, but I just can't stand your ways. I wanted to teach you a lesson, who would have thought that you would turn on each other? Ah, let's just say I pity you..."

  This was certainly not Ling Muyun's true intention, in fact he deliberately provoked a quarrel with Yin Zhiping, so that he would not have any evil intentions towards Little Dragon Girl again, and also to vent the evil air that had been accumulated in his chest for a long time. However, although this is what he thought in his heart, he couldn't say it out loud, acting requires a complete performance, since he had decided to pour dirty water on Zhao Zhi Jing's head, he naturally had to pretend to be more convincing.

  Yin Zhiping believed in Ling Muyun's words in his heart. Indeed, Ling Muyun had no grudges against him and even if there was a conflict due to some verbal disagreement, it wouldn't have escalated to the point of harming or killing each other. From the facts, Ling Muyun didn't lie and had no need to lie. At that time, if Ling Muyun wanted to, he could have easily killed them with one sword, so why would he deceive them? Moreover, Ling Muyun only knocked Zhao Zhi Jing unconscious, how could he have any intention of harming him?

  He had no idea that although it was his first meeting with Ling Muyun, Ling Muyun had already hated him for two lifetimes. The resentment between them was not something he could know or understand.

  Thinking he understood the situation, Yin Zhiping couldn't help but feel a deep resentment towards Zhao Zhijing. When people are hurt, they can't help but feel psychologically unbalanced and harbor resentment towards the person or thing that caused the harm. Yin Zhiping was no exception, and under Ling Mu Yun's deliberate guidance, this resentment easily shifted to Zhao Zhijing.

  If it wasn't for Zhao Zhi Jing insisting on inviting him out for a drink, he would still be in the Chongyang Palace at this time, so how could he have gotten himself into this kind of situation?

  If it weren't for Zhao Zhi Jing making the first move, how would they and Ling Mu Yun end up in a sword fight?

  If Zhao Zhijing had come down and fought alongside him instead of taking advantage of the situation to launch a sneak attack, or if he could have sheathed his sword in time, how would he have ended up suffering such serious injuries?

  Nowadays, the culprit who caused the trouble is just fainting, while the person who was passively involved in the turmoil has to bear this unbearable pain and humiliation, which is so unfair!

  All of this is Zhao Zhi Jing's fault, it should be him who suffers the consequences!

  Or was Zhao Zhi Jing intentionally doing it? If not, how did his sword strike so accurately, neither biased nor deviated, and hit exactly that place...

  "Zhao Zhi Jing!"

  Yin Zhiping's voice was filled with resentment and hatred, like a mother wolf whose cubs had been killed...

  "Yin Zhiping, don't blame me, I'm doing this for your own good. Let you see the true face of Zhao Zhijing earlier and take the initiative to avoid being calculated by him like in the original work, which would lead to a disastrous outcome and even cost you your life... In a way, I've saved your life..."

  Ling Muyun saw that his plan had succeeded, and he secretly smiled to himself. He sheathed his long sword and walked back on the path, but in his heart, he had already made up his mind to leave Zhongnan Mountain. Now that he had injured a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect, staying here any longer would be asking for trouble. As for choosing to return to Caolu Temple, aside from retrieving his luggage, it was also to fetch his horse - the fine steed he had ridden when he came was still being kept at Caolu Temple. Traveling such a long distance without a reliable mount wouldn't do.

  Just as they walked to the entrance of the town, they saw several Quanzhen Taoist priests with buns and swords walking towards them, led by a middle-aged man in civilian clothes. The guide suddenly pointed at Ling Mu Yun and shouted loudly: "Everyone, it's this little brat!"

  "Hey kid, stop right there!"

  "Think you can stir up trouble and then run away? No way, stay behind for us!"

  Those Taoist priests immediately drew their swords and surrounded Ling Mu Yun. Seeing this, Ling Mu Yun understood that someone had informed the Quanzhen Sect's disciples. Without hesitation, he unsheathed his long sword with a "clang" and shook it, instantly releasing several beams of sword light towards the approaching men. A dense, ringing sound like striking a bell was heard as the swords in the hands of the Quanzhen disciples were simultaneously knocked out of their grasp.

  Right after that, Ling Muyun's figure moved and he swept to the front of several people. Before they could recover from the shock of losing their swords, a long sword whipped out like a whip, "slap slap slap" several sounds rang out, and several Quanzhen Taoists were all knocked unconscious to the ground.

  "Ah!"

  The middle-aged man who led the way for several people was frightened and shouted, turned around and ran. Ling Mu Yun chased up with a sword and knocked him unconscious, so that he wouldn't go to report the news and lead more people here.

  Having gotten rid of those people, Ling Yun's heart was not at ease. Who knew if there were still Quanzhen Sect members behind them? Therefore, he didn't dare to slack off and immediately used his lightness skill to dash towards the direction of Cao Cao's hut. Now, this Zhongnan Mountain had become a place of right and wrong for him, so it was better to leave quickly.

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