Oh. My. Fate?! (BL, Volume 8, Part 2)

338 It's All a Set-up

Fei Bai Mu arrived at the square that they were using for the trial before any of the envoys from the other sects did. Normally, this wouldn't be the case if it was only the smaller sects that came but considering that the other unranked sects were taking part as well, she could hardly make them wait. Thus, she made her way over as soon as she sent her disciples to tell the other envoys.

It didn't take long for the others to arrive and the group exchanged some pleasantries. Fei Bai Mu showed them to their seats that were right next to hers to make sure that it was obvious to all of the sects that they were of one opinion in this matter. Their disciples took up posts behind them, keeping their eyes to the front. Later on, it would also be their task to keep an eye on the demon-hunting sects.

Only after that was done, did the other sects arrive one after the other. The first ones were the other righteous sects starting from the first-tier sects to the lower-tiered once with the Yun Zou Sect being one of the first. Only after that were the demon-hunting sects called over. The last one to arrive was the Chun Feng Sect itself.

The one in the lead this time was actually their Sect Master Xian Xun. His expression wasn't a good one, making some of the other participants whisper among themselves. It really made them wonder if maybe something big would happen. But surely, the Chun Feng Sect couldn't be so bold as to stage an attack while on the grounds of the Jian Yi Sect, right?

Fei Bai Mu didn't address either side. She merely motioned to the seats that had been prepared for the Chun Feng Sect before she got up and addressed everyone. "I'm sure that I do not need to explain much anymore.

"A while ago, our Jian Yi Sect was anonymously informed about something happening that was causing trouble among our righteous cultivation sects. The Chun Feng Sect that is present here today was accused of having imprisoned disciples of the righteous sects because of the assumption that they were related to the demon race.

"In several cases, there was circumstantial evidence at best and in most cases, there was none at all. Furthermore, none of the sects whose disciples had been imprisoned were informed of what had happened. Many of the sects searched for their missing disciples for a long time before they had to give up. They lost a valuable member of their sect and, unfortunately, it seems to be the case that at least one disciple was gravely injured while one died and all the other disciples suffered from the long imprisonment, making unsure when each of them will recover.

"What most of you might not know yet is that the disciples were recently freed which is the only reason we even know how exactly they are doing. Today, what we are here to do is, for one, to deal with these accusations against the Chun Feng Sect and, second, agree on some rules regarding what we expect the demon-hunting sects to do in the future to avoid such a case ever happening again."

Fei Bai Mu looked over all the people present. The expressions they had after hearing this news were very different. Naturally, the Chun Feng Sect wasn't happy at all while the sects whose disciples had been imprisoned before had mixed expressions. On the one hand, they were enraged about what had happened, on the other hand, they were glad that they had their disciples back even if they weren't at their peak anymore. Still, they refrained from saying anything to make sure that the trial would run smoothly. They wanted justice for their people after all.

Seeing that things were going quite well considering the circumstances, Fei Bai Mu nodded. Her gaze swept to the horizon for a moment, trying to see if anybody of the dragon race had appeared yet but there was no one. It seemed that they would still have to wait for them to arrive. Anyway, it would be good if she continued to explain first. The dragons probably wouldn't care about the long-winded process in the beginning.

"For today, I want to let those who don't know the specifics of the situation yet gain an understanding first. After that, the Chun Feng Sect may try to justify itself." She turned to look at Sect Master Xian while waving at the disciple standing next to her to pass out the jade slips where they had prepared the information for the visitors.

Each sect was handed one of the slips and then hurriedly retrieved the information. The sects that had already known most of it weren't surprised at all and at most furrowed their brows at some of the finer details that to the Jian Yi Sect hadn't mentioned in the previous meetings.

The other sects had a hard time controlling their expressions though. The original short information of what the Chun Feng Sect had done had surprised them a lot already. But this ... They really had a hard time understanding how they could've dared to do something like this. Weren't they afraid of losing everyone's trust?

When Fei Bai Mu was sure that everybody had finished perusing the information, she once again turned to Sect Master Xian. "Now, Sect Master Xian, why don't you explain to us what you were thinking when you ordered your disciples to do this? I'm quite interested in hearing your justifications." Honestly, she didn't believe that there was anything worthwhile he could say, but she would still allow him to speak. She did not want anybody to say that the Jian Yi Sect was bullying anyone. They really didn't need to do something like that.

Xian Xun gave a scoff. Defend himself? She really made it sound as if this was a trial where he had any chance to get off if he was able to defend himself. "Sect Master Fei is saying that what I say today will actually be able to change the outcome?"

Fei Bai Mu furrowed her brows. Considering all the evidence that they had, that was more than unlikely. In fact, even if the Chun Feng Sect had imprisoned demons instead of those who weren't for the most part and there had only been a handful of mix-ups, it didn't change the fact that there should be rules for imprisoning people. "What is Sect Master Xian's meaning?"

"My meaning is that I suspect that ... some people are in cahoots with the demons and this is all a set-up!"