There is no Redemption for A Scum Villain

Chapter 16

"How did they get to know about this?" Shen Qingqiu asked, his eye twitching in annoyance, "Who told th- LIU QINGGE!"

The man in question had been standing off to the side, looking grumpy. As always. But he was there. So who else could be the culprit. As soon as his name was yelled, Liu Qingge flinched. He pushed himself off the wall and straightened his back.

Shen Qingqiu stared at him in anger. Yue Qingyuan looked between the two of them, then he looked at the other peaklords that were standing around the room. Shen Qingqiu was sitting in a chair. He was still not fully able to stand for long or walk around, but despite sitting, he looked like he held the most power in this room. Everyone seemed to cover before him.

Qi Qingqi stepped forward. She flicked a grain of dust off of her sleeve and crossed her arms. "It wasn't him. It was me," she said.

"You?!" Shen Qingqiu's glare fixed upon her now. Piercing. "You dared?!"

"Aw, come on dear. What's so bad about telling them?" Qi Qingqi asked back.

The other peak lords looked to the ground, stepping from one foot on the other. Nobody dared to look up. Shen Qingqiu threw a disregarding look at the massive amount of packages and bags in the corner they had brought. Every single one of the peak lords-excluding Qi Qingqi, Liu Qingge, Mu Qingfang, Shang Qinghua and Yue Qingyuan-had brought something. Every single one had come before Shen Qingqiu. Every single one had bowed so deeply their head had almost touched the floor, even as they stood. Every single one had apologized until their throat went sore, their voice hoarse.

Shen Qingqiu was not annoyed by the apologies. Neither was he annoyed by them bowing down. What upset him was that somebody had brought forth the message that Shen Qingqiu liked snacks and sweets. And those fools, in their deep will to express their guilt, had brought so much that Shen Qingqiu feared it would be enough to last for the rest of his life.

Ignoring Shen Jiu's happy squealing, Shen Qingqiu felt like he was about to lose it. This situation, it irritated him deeply. And had Qi Qingqi just called him 'dear'? Who was she? His mother?! She was younger than him! One person was left to appologize. His eldest shidi. The one who had caught him literally red-handed, but innocent.

Wei Qingwei came before him. "Shixiong, I still have to make an apology. I know you're agitated, but please...will you hear me?" he asked. He looked genuine. His brows were knit with guilt.

Shen Qingqiu sighed deeply, threw Qi Qingqi one last glare then turned to his shidi. "Speak..."

To his surprise, contrary to the others, the man knelt down. He laid his hands on the ground and touched his forehead down. "Shixiong, I know what I did is beyond forgiveness. It caused you immense suffering. I beg of you to forgive me. If you can't, I'm willing to do anything to compensate."

Shen Qingqiu's face faltered for the first time. He had been apologized to five times already, but none of them had been so remorseful. So... Was this man genuine? Did he mean what he said? Shen Qingqiu sighed deeply.

"I can't blame any of you," he said lastly, "Even if I wanted to. Just as you said. The evidences were clear as the water of a spiritual lake. It's only natural to suspect me."

Wei Qingwei looked up, puzzled. Then anguish and guilt filled his face. "No! This is unforgivable. I should have seen! You were over yourself with grief. I should have noticed," he shook his head with determination, "And to let you get brought to the Water Prison...I should not have agreed. Should not have been the loudest to agree. My guilt, my mistake is undeniable!"

"Over mys-" Shen Qingqiu pulled up an eyebrow. What did that man mean by 'over himself with grief? Shen Qingqiu wasn't denying that he had grieved, but he had been subtle. He chose to ignore that comment for a moment. "Regardless. You thought I had tried killing our sect leader. There were rumors about me having made a breakthrough in cultivation. I was an uncertain risk. You couldn't determine whether I might just snap and do something, no matter how 'well behaved' I was. You thought I had already done such great harm."