Chapter 1475: You Are A Traitor
Shangling Wan"s expression turned ugly and she turned to look at He Tian. he was already staring at her with eyes that blazed with excitement.
Shangling Wan frowned, and her expression fell. Naturally, she knew about He Tian. If she did marry him, her life would be over. However, if she did not marry him, he would never let her go. This matter would determine whether or not she would be able to maintain control of the Shangling clan.
The more she thought about her situation, the sadder she became and the more helpless she felt. Finally, she closed her eyes and agreed, “Alright."
Elder He’s smile grew even more radiant.
He Tian became so excited that he was almost unable to resist taking Shangling Wan away immediately. The matriarch of a clan; how exciting!
Suddenly, the sky trembled. Visible shockwaves swept through the area, and the entire Shangling clan felt an overwhelming pressure. For a moment, all of them lost control of the star energy within their bodies. Some people tried to enforce their own control, but they ended up nearly vomiting blood.
Everyone grew pale. It felt as though the sky itself was collapsing upon them.
The only thing that Shangling Wan felt was infinite fear. Her fingers went white, and she subconsciously glanced over at Elder He, only to see that the elder was in the same condition as Shangling Wan. The old man looked terrified.
The very next instant, the pressure vanished.
Shangling Wan was soaked through with sweat and she was breathing heavily.
Elder He let out a sigh of relief and unclenched his fingers. "Everyone, don"t worry. It was just an Envoy pa.s.sing by. Such a powerhouse won’t cause any trouble for our Shangling clan."
Hearing Elder He’s words allowed everyone to relax.
"Are you He Yu?" A voice spoke up, startling everyone. They all spun around to stare at the corner where the voice had come from, and they saw a young man sitting there, watching the clan’s gathering.
Shangling Wan was frightened; when had this young man arrived?
Elder He stared at the young man in shock. Fortunately, the old man’s many years of experience allowed him to react quickly. His mind raced as he slowly stood up. He showed the slightest hint of a smile as he spoke in a respectful tone, "This little one is He Yu. Might I know what young master requires?"
Others stood up when Elder He rose to his feet. All of them continued to stare at the young man with fear and trepidation.
This young man was, of course, Lu Yin. The name he had received from the old man had been He Yu.
"So this is the Shangling clan? Looks like the information was right. Take him away," Lu Yin casually ordered.
Two members of Humility’s Gate entered the door of the room. Both of them were Explorers who had joined Huaiyuan Gate because they idolized Long Qi.
Dozens of people from Humility’s Gate had surrounded the Shangling clan’s residence, and their appearance caused the clan members to start to panic.
Elder He"s expression changed, and he quickly spoke up, "I don"t know how this little old man might have offended the young master? I beg the young master to make my offense known."
Lu Yin just looked up and responded in a light tone, “You’re a traitor."
Everyone in the Shangling clan was shocked by these words, and Shangling Wan grew pale as she turned to look at Elder He.
Elder He"s heart sank. He immediately began to argue, "Young master, you can’t be so vicious with your words. Little Yu"er has been part of the Shangling clan for hundreds of years, and I have never betrayed humanity. That’s not to mention that Little Yu"er is only an elder of the Shangling clan. Even if I wanted to become a traitor, I don’t have the means to do so, as I hold no value. The young master is too naive to try to use this claim to accuse me. Humility"s Gate won’t allow such an accusation to pa.s.s without evidence."
A smile spread across Lu Yin’s face, and he suddenly attacked by flicking his finger. The wind from his finger warped the void before striking Elder He straight in the chest. The attack pierced his body and sprayed his blood onto the ground. Elder He"s pupils instantly shrank. He was incapacitated by the first attack! He had been prepared, and yet had not been able to make even a single move before the youth had easily beaten him.
"I am Long Qi, acting Gate Master of Huaiyuan Gate." Lu Yin stood, his eyes suddenly solemn. "Does my Humility’s Gate need evidence to take action? Take him away."
Elder He spat out blood and shouted in a hoa.r.s.e voice, "You’re from Huaiyuan Gate! You have nothing to do with this place! Gate Master Liu of the Blue Moon Gate won’t let you get away with this."
Lu Yin completely ignored the old man. As Elder He’s voice grew more and more distant, Lu Yin turned his attention to Shangling Wan, only to be rather surprised. "Are you the Shangling clan’s matriarch?"
Shangling Wan had not said a single word throughout everything that had happened, as she had not had the courage to do so. The moment that Lu Yin spoke to the young woman, she hurried to bow and replied respectfully, "Yes. This small one is Shangling Wan, matriarch of the Shangling clan."
"At such a young age?" Lu Yin frowned. He had wanted to make some money from this incident, but the matriarch was such a young woman, and also only a Cruiser. It would be inhumane to try to get any money from her.
A bit disappointed, Lu Yin turned to leave.
"Young Master, please wait a moment," Shangling Wan suddenly spoke up.
Lu Yin stopped, rather puzzled.
Shangling Wan then asked everyone else to leave.
He Tian started to panic, and he spoke to Shangling Wan, "Matriarch, my grandfather-"
"Get out!" Shangling Wan shouted.
He Tian trembled, but did not dare say another word. He had always relied on his grandfather’s strength and position to be able to act and didn"t dare to say more. He has always relied on his grandfather"s power to act without any restraint. He Tian was talented, but he was also known as a little tyrant within the Shangling clan. With his grandfather arrested, his support had disappeared. He could already imagine what the future held for him.
Lu Yin looked at Shangling Wan with interest as he sat back down.
Shangling Wan asked in a respectful tone, "Young Master, is Elder He really a traitor?"
"You’re also wanting me to show evidence?" Lu Yin replied.
Shangling Wan quickly denied the possibility, "I would not dare. It’s only that Elder He is my Shangling clan’s most powerful expert, and his existence is what prevents the nearby families from being bold enough to attack us. My father was killed in a surprise attack due to Elder He’s temporary absence. If I also end up being killed, my Shangling clan will likely not be able to survive."
Lu Yin’s tone remained light, "None of this has anything to do with me."
Shangling Wan continued to speak respectfully, "Young master has made great contributions to humanity by capturing traitors, and this is naturally the most important thing. My Shangling clan has nothing to do with this, so all we can do is donate some resources to express our feelings.
"Could you wait for a moment, young master?"
Lu Yin grew emotional. Could things really work out so well? Freely offered resources? After thinking for a moment, he tipped back his head and closed his eyes to rest.
Shangling Wan"s eyes lit up, and she quickly moved out to gather some resources.
She soon returned to see Lu Yin still resting and let out a sigh of relief. She placed ten cosmic rings on the table. "Thank you, Young Master, for capturing traitors and Redbacks to protect mankind. These gifts show the good will of my Shangling clan. I hope these please the young master."
Lu Yin glanced at what had been delivered and saw that he had been given a few hundred million star essence, which was an impressive sum. He remembered that the Blaze Realm had only possessed a comparable amount of resources, while the Shangling clan did not even have any Envoys. The two could not compare in power, and gathering so much money had likely forced the clan into poverty.
"The Shangling clan has a good heart. Not bad. Not bad," Lu Yin praised. "I will be sure to tell you what happens."
Shangling Wan remained constantly very respectful. "This is nothing much, but might it be possible for my Shangling clan to publicly claim to have discovered something wrong with Elder He and that we took the initiative to contact Young Master to come and arrest him?"
Lu Yin stared at Shangling Wan in amazement. This woman was very smart. She was intending to use Lu Yin’s name to intimidate the family members, which would be much more effective than Elder He’s presence. People would understand that the Shangling clan had discovered something wrong, and yet instead of contacting the local Blue Moon Gate, they had reached out to the distant Huaiyuan Gate? There could only be one reason for doing so: the Shangling family had an acquaintance within Huaiyuan Gate, or at least someone that they were familiar with.
The deterrence of this understanding would be powerful enough that not one of the neighboring clans would dare offend the Shangling clan.
Offering up a few hundred million star essence to ensure the clan’s safety was certainly a cost-effective investment.
While their matriarch was a very young woman, the Shangling clan was still a family of cultivators, and they were not stupid and had some level of ability. The resources available to such a family could not compare to what ordinary people could access.
Lu Yin smiled. "I like dealing with smart people. Yes, but don’t say too much, or else you’ll face even greater trouble."
With that said, Lu Yin’s body disappeared.
Lu Yin himself was no threat, but if Shangling Wan made too much of the matter, outsiders might think that there was a close connection between the two, and that would be dangerous for the young woman. Many people would move to make trouble for the Shangling clan, and none would be individuals the clan could stand up to.
Seeing the empty table, Shangling Wan blew out a long breath and smiled. With this, she would have enough time to develop her family, or at the very least, preserve her clan. She no longer needed to marry that beast He Tian and suffer from Elder He’s oppression. This had truly been her lucky day.
There were times that a single thought could trigger a great number of events. If Shangling Wan had not specifically asked Lu Yin to wait, her Shangling clan would never have been able to endure the outside forces, and the neighboring families would have devoured the clan. Resources could be regathered, but there would be nothing left at all if the clan disappeared.
The Shangling clan alone had been able to give Lu Yin hundreds of millions of star essence, which left Lu Yin looking forward to his next arrests.
However, he was also aware that the clan had emptied their pockets to the point of exhausting all savings, and only by doing so had they managed to deliver such a sum. He would likely not be able to gain an equivalent amount from the next traitors he arrested, though it would all depend on whether the traitors belonged to large families or not.
While not many people in the outside world learned of Lu Yin’s most recent activities, those within Humility"s Gate all knew that he had arrested another traitor.
As Lu Yin made his way back to Huaiyuan Gate with Elder He, a man emerged from the void and blocked Lu Yin’s path.
Lu Yin stepped forward as soon as he saw who was before him. "So it’s Gate Master Liu. We meet again."
Lu Yin had been stopped by Liu Zhan, the Gate Master of Humility’s Gate’s Blue Moon Gate. This man was an Envoy, as well as a member of the Liu family which guarded the Sword Monument.
Liu Zhan was a serious person, and he had not said a single word when first meeting Lu Yin when Lu Yin had been on Qing Chen Mountain.
"Gate Master Long, are you certain this person is a traitor?" Liu Zhan looked past Lu Yin at the captive Elder He.
Elder He spoke up in a hoa.r.s.e voice and yelled, "Gate Master Liu, I"m being framed! This person has no evidence against me! I"m really being framed! I"m not a traitor."
Lu Yin responded in a serious manner, "Absolutely certain."
"That’s ridiculous!" Elder He screamed.
Liu Zhan stared at Lu Yin. "I don"t actually care whether or not he’s a traitor, but Gate Master Long, if you’re making an arrest outside of your jurisdiction, shouldn’t you at least speak to me first?"
Lu Yin immediately apologized, "I was inconsiderate and rash. If I move to arrest someone in your territory again, I’ll make sure to speak to you first."
Liu Zhan nodded and then stepped into the true universe and left.
Lu Yin was quite surprised; he left just like that? Lu Yin had believed that Liu Zhan had appeared to make things difficult for Lu Yin, and the young man had even been ready to call Qing Chen, but Lu Yin had never expected the Envoy to leave so quickly. He had just wanted to state a simple request?
Elder He was stunned. To his knowledge, Lu Yin had crossed into another district to arrest the old man, which was something that should have offended Liu Zhan. The two should have fought each other both publicly and through hidden means, and Elder He could have benefited from such a conflict. It was frowned upon to arrest someone in another’s district, especially without evidence, right?
Suddenly, Elder He remembered how the outside world viewed Humility"s Gate: extremely protective of their own. That was it, protective of their own. Elder He started to grow desperate when he realized that these people did not care about him at all.
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