Volume 10, Chapter 697 – Who Is the Real Scapegoat

“Big Brother, you’re not joking with us, are you?”

After a brief moment, Wenren Li stood up abruptly, his voice trembling with agitation.

“That’s right! All of the Immortal Alliance’s elders are experts above the Divine Realm. What right does that girl have to kill them? She doesn’t have an immortal bloodline, and she isn’t even that old.”

Wenren Zheng, sitting nearby, immediately chimed in.

“When have I ever joked with you?”

Wenren Jun’s expression darkened as he replied coldly, “In the cultivation world, determining one’s cultivation based on bloodline is old-fashioned nonsense, and it’s not simply about age either. Otherwise, how do you explain why the newly appointed Holy Maiden of Huarong Sect is so powerful?”

The gathered relatives fell silent, rendered speechless by this argument. After all, the astonishing strength of Huarong Sect’s new Holy Maiden was undeniable.

“Furthermore,” Wenren Jun continued, “if she hadn’t killed the Immortal Alliance’s elders, where would this living Golden Fate Blossom seed have come from? Have you ever heard of the Alliance Leader giving such a seed to outsiders?”

“No, never,” Wenren Lian replied with certainty, then suddenly paled. “Wait, that’s not right! If this is really the case, then doesn’t this mean our Wenren Clan has gotten ourselves into unimaginable trouble?”

“That’s right! She went there representing Wenren Yu, but the Immortal Alliance doesn’t know that woman was an impostor. They’ll definitely hold our Wenren Clan fully responsible!”

Wenren Zheng sprang up from his chair in alarm.

“Doesn’t this mean my granddaughter will be the first to bear the brunt of the Alliance’s wrath?”

Wenren Li’s face went deathly pale. He had already lost one granddaughter; he couldn’t possibly endure losing another.

“My heavens! Those were three elders’ lives we’re talking about! The Immortal Alliance will never let this slide!”

“What do we do now? What do we do? With the Alliance’s style of handling things, they’ll definitely annihilate our entire Wenren Clan!”

“This is absurd! How did we get tangled up in such a disaster for no reason?”

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Inside the study, the gathered Wenren clansmen finally realized the severity of the situation. Panic spread like wildfire, and everyone jumped to their feet.

“Scared now, are you?”

Wenren Jun sneered mockingly.

“Big Brother, you must come up with a solution to get us through this crisis. Otherwise, the Wenren Clan is doomed.”

Wenren Lian’s voice trembled as he spoke.

“Me? You want me alone to figure it out? Then what, the rest of you are here just to sit around and wait for death?”

Wenren Jun snorted coldly.

“You can’t put it like that. After all, the idea of using a ‘scapegoat’ was your brainchild. Now that it’s blown up, shouldn’t you shoulder the main responsibility?”

Wenren Lian shamelessly tried to push the blame.

“That’s right, and besides, you’re the Wenren Clan’s Patriarch,” Wenren Zheng added quickly, backing him up.

“What nonsense are you spouting? My father came up with this plan for the sake of your granddaughters, and now that there’s trouble, you want to dump all the blame on us? That’s sheer ingratitude!”

Wenren Qing, standing nearby, snapped furiously.

“I’m not denying I suggested the idea,” Wenren Jun shot back, “but when the decision was made, all of you agreed to it. Don’t think you can pin everything on me alone.”

“Enough!” Wenren Li slammed his hand on the table impatiently. “Arguing won’t solve anything. If we don’t come up with a way to deal with this, none of us will escape!”

“That’s exactly why I called everyone here tonight,” Wenren Jun said coldly, his face filled with irritation. “I wanted us to pool our thoughts and find a way to save the Wenren Clan. But some people came just to shift the blame.”

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“Big Brother, what if we just tell the Immortal Alliance the truth?” Wenren Zheng hesitated for a moment before suggesting, “After all, it was a Honghua Sect girl who killed those three elders, not one of our Wenren daughters.”

“But we were the ones who sent her there,” Wenren Li countered sharply, “and not for innocent reasons either. Do you really think, knowing how the Alliance operates, that they’d let us off?”

“Not only that,” Wenren Jun added, “doing so would also offend those Honghua Sect female disciples. Even if we somehow deal with the Immortal Alliance, how would we deal with them? That would just add enemies on all sides.”

“That’s right,” Wenren Qing agreed. “Those disciples already warned us before leaving, if we dared reveal their identities, they wouldn’t spare us.”

“In that case, we have no choice but to keep this secret,” Wenren Li said gravely. “As the saying goes, between two evils, choose the lesser. The Wenren Clan can barely handle the Immortal Alliance as it is; we can’t afford more enemies.”

“Exactly,” Wenren Jun said firmly. “So forget about shifting the blame. Right now, everyone needs to focus on figuring out how to deal with the Immortal Alliance.”

“What if we just refuse to admit anything?” Wenren Lian suggested eagerly. “We could claim someone impersonated our Wenren Clan. Wouldn’t that solve everything?”

“Yes! That works!” Wenren Zheng’s eyes lit up. “Those Honghua Sect disciples aren’t our real granddaughters anyway. If they don’t believe us, they can come and see for themselves.”

“But my son personally escorted those Honghua Sect disciples to the Alliance,” Wenren Jun countered coldly. “Plenty of people saw him. How could we deny that?”

“Then how about this?” Wenren Li proposed. “If the Alliance comes to hold us accountable, he can say he was forced by those impostors.”

“Yes, yes, that’s a good idea!” Wenren Lian immediately agreed.

“Good idea? My foot!” Wenren Jun snapped. “You think the Immortal Alliance cares whether we were forced? Three elders are dead!”

The room fell silent at once.

Everyone knew Wenren Li’s suggestion was the only remotely feasible plan, but it was unfair to Wenren Qing, and no one wanted to force him outright.

The discussion dragged on until dawn, yet no one came up with a better solution. Despair hung heavily in the air.

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“No need to debate further,” Wenren Qing suddenly said decisively. “Let’s go with Fourth Uncle’s plan. I’ll take the blame.”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!” Wenren Jun roared, furious.

“Big Brother,” Wenren Lian said earnestly, “I know how you feel right now, but those Honghua Sect disciples have caused us a catastrophe. If you think we can smooth this over without paying any price, you’re dreaming.”

“Easy for you to say!” Wenren Jun barked. “This concerns the entire Wenren Clan, so why shouldn’t I be the one to be the sacrifice?”

“Well, you are the Patriarch,” Wenren Lian muttered under his breath.

“Besides,” Wenren Zheng added slyly, “we weren’t the ones who sent those women to the Alliance. Even if we wanted to, we can’t step up.”

“Big Brother,” Wenren Li said sternly, “I admit this isn’t fair to Nephew Wenren Qing, but we can’t hesitate anymore. If you insist on protecting him, in the end, none of us will survive.”

“Father, just let it be,” Wenren Qing urged softly. “There’s no more time. If we keep hesitating, the Immortal Alliance will arrive at our doorstep, and we’ll be in an even worse position.”

Wenren Jun clenched his fists, his entire body trembling. After a long, painful struggle, he finally closed his eyes and said hoarsely, “So be it. Forgive me, son.”

“Good, good, good! As expected of the Patriarch! We chose the right man to lead us!”

The relatives immediately began showering Wenren Jun with empty praise, all grinning from ear to ear. The small study felt like it was split into two worlds.

“Ah… this is truly retribution!” Wenren Jun laughed bitterly, shaking his head. “I wanted to find someone else to be a scapegoat, but in the end, it’s my own son who’s become one!”

Then he turned his icy gaze toward the others. “Don’t celebrate just yet. Even if my son is willing to sacrifice himself, his life alone won’t be enough to pay for three Immortal Alliance elders. To make them relent, we’ll have to pay another price.”

“What price?” Wenren Lian asked quickly.

“Rare treasures, of course,” Wenren Jun replied coldly. “That’s the only way to convince the Immortal Alliance. Otherwise, why would they believe our words?”

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The relatives exchanged nervous glances before nodding reluctantly.

“Go back,” Wenren Jun said tiredly, waving his hand. “Bring out every valuable you have. Whether your granddaughters or daughters live or die this time depends on how much sincerity you can show.”

Meanwhile, at Honghua Sect, Qi Huang had already woken up.

She hurried excitedly to the back garden, grabbed a hoe, and began digging. Now that she had obtained Golden Fate Blossom seeds, she had to plant them as soon as possible.

Qi Huang dug four pits, filling them with some soil she had brought back from the Kapok Valley Treasure Land, before carefully planting the four seeds.

Still uneasy, she even poured a little “fertilizer” mixed with her own blood over them, then gently covered them with a thin layer of soil.

“They must sprout…”

Qi Huang prayed silently. She knew that only by successfully growing the Golden Fate Blossoms could she change the fate of the people of Huangtian County.

After planting the seeds, Qi Huang planned to focus entirely on finding a way to control the Assimilation Qi within her. If she didn’t solve the problem of her soul soon, it would eventually consume her beyond recovery.

What Qi Huang didn’t know was that during her recent visit to the Kapok Valley Treasure Land, she had already attracted a massive hidden danger—

The Yin-Yang Eyes had seen her!