Nangong Xu's face was already bathed in a layer of cold sweat. He had reported everything single detail faithfully to the Headmaster and the Vice Headmaster that day. Although he was not in complete agreement with the way the two Headmasters had dealt with the matter, it was nevertheless beyond his position to interfere.
Nangong Xu was still agonising on how to formulate a suitable response when he noticed Long Qi's hand that was clasped around the handle of the sword hanging from his hip suddenly tensed, and that two inches of the gleaming steel had been exposed above the scabbard!
The insinuation was clear.
Nangong Xu gulped.
He had no choice but to truthfully relate all the events that had taken place that day in front of everybody. He repeated what he had reported previously, word for word, without changing a single syllable.
Everything from the moment Nangong Xu led his team into the Battle Spirits Forest to seek out Lu Wei Jie, and when Lu Wei Jie had revealed the truth of the matter to him, including the period after he had escorted Lu Wei Jie, Ning Xin and the others back to the Zephyr Academy, without forgetting to mention the discussion between the two Headmasters.
Not a single detail was left out, and everything was revealed clearly.
Fan Qi's face was filled with guilt while Ning Rui was red with rage.
The disciples surrounding them were all whispering in hushed tones, causing an incessant murmur that made people's mind hum.
"Senior Lu was actually made a scapegoat? It is now obvious that Ning Xin had been the one that initiated the whole thing, but Senior Lu was made to bear the blame."
"Well, Ning Xin is the Vice Headmaster's daughter, and she comes from a prosperous family background, how can ordinary disciples compare to her?"
"How shameless can she be? She actually attempted to murder people and loot their bodies after that! And now she is in hot soup with the Rui Lin Army and the Cloud Treading Peak."
"The Vice Headmaster is always portraying an image of being dignified and incorruptible all this time, I never would have thought that he would be capable of such despicable acts of backstabbing….."
The continuous tirade of debates rose, and in just a few quick moments, Ning Rui's and Ning Xin's reputation had fallen lower than the deep ravines.
Ning Rui felt like he should offer some retort, but there was nothing he could say. It had happened so suddenly then, although he had taken quick measures to try to fix the issue, there were several areas that he had not been able to cover up quickly enough.
And now, Jun Wu Xie had been able to fully use them and turned them all against him, and it was now impossible for him to regain control of the situation.
"This is the response that your esteemed academy is giving to us, is that right?" Jun Wu Xie gave another chilling laugh. Her eyes looked past Fan Qi, looking straight at Ning Rui.
"It was a great big misunderstanding! That was just pure slander that Lu Wei Jie spouted out because he was angry for being expelled!" Ning Rui attempted to make a final struggle upon seeing his own daughter's deathly pale face and his heart wrenched to see her in such a pitiful state.
"Misunderstanding? Are you telling me that the men from both the Rui Lin Army and the Cloud Treading Peak are all falsely accusing the academy as well? Or do you think that besides you and your daughter, everyone's in cahoots to deliberately make things difficult for you?" Jun Wu Xie had no intention of letting Ning Xin off easily this time. She then turned to Fan Qi.
"What does the Headmaster have to say to this?"
Fan Qi was already drenched in his own sweat. He knew the truth behind the whole matter. He had only agreed to cover it up because Ning Rui had pleaded so badly. Now that Jun Wu Xie had uncovered everything before everyone here, he found himself at a complete loss.
"It wasn't me! It's really not me! It was Yin Yan! Yin Yan was the one who lured that Spirit Beast in! I had nothing to do with it!" Realising that she was about to be declared guilty, Ning Xin was suddenly completely terrified. She couldn't care less about anything else and just pointed at the desperately cowering figure of Yin Yan and screamed.
Yin Yan was already so hopelessly terrified that he could not move when he heard Ning Xin's accusation. He lifted his head in shock and his face was suddenly filled with utter disbelief.
He would never have dreamed that Ning Xin would pin all the blame on him like this.
"Yin Yan, I saw how pitiful you were then and I begged my father to protect you. I had not thought that it would cause my father to be implicated into the matter. I was too soft hearted, this really has nothing to do with me and my father." Ning Xin on the spur of the moment, quickly decided to shift all responsibility onto Yin Yan, her eyes suddenly vindictive and venomous.