“This is impossible!”
Sikong Zun roared.
“Nothing is impossible. When we defeated the Black Crow army and returned to Northern Desert City, it was Jia Lin and Jia Yun, father and son, who led troops to block our retreat, putting us in mortal danger. You say they did not betray us, so why did they do it? Could it be that you gave the order?”
Ling Xiao asked loudly.
“How could it be my order? I knew nothing about this.”
Sikong Zun hurriedly distanced himself first.
“If that is so, I killed traitors and removed a great calamity for the Emperor. How can you say I am guilty? Could it be that you, Grand General Sikong, have become the grand general of the Black Crow Empire?”
Ling Every word from Ling Xiao struck at the heart, leaving Sikong Zun utterly unable to retort.
Though he was furious, he remained very restrained throughout.
Especially when he acted at the city gate, he did not let the Northern Desert Army get involved, and upon reaching the square, he also did not let them act.
His purpose in doing so was to avoid giving anyone a handle against him, so that he could use his glib tongue to render Sikong Zun speechless.
“Fine, even if everything you say is correct, what about raiding the execution ground, killing Ji Changran, Wan Qiufeng, and the many soldiers overseeing the execution? How do you explain that? This is also a capital offence. Do you not know?”
Sikong Zun asked again.
“Raiding the execution ground?”
Ling Xiao said calmly, “Ji Ning and the others are not only innocent but have merit. They were framed by you, this traitorous thief, and you privately set up an execution ground. I merely saved meritorious subjects of the Divine Phoenix Empire. Do you think I am guilty for doing this?”
Traitorous thief?
Ling Xiao had once again, in front of so many people, called Sikong Zun a traitorous thief, and Sikong Zun had no words to refute.
“What, Sikong old dog, are you still not convinced?”
Ling Xiao looked coldly at Sikong Zun and questioned him publicly, “You say I am a traitor, you say I am a criminal, now I have explained clearly.
So may I ask Grand General Sikong, how will you explain your numerous crimes?
I think whether it is the Emperor or the citizens of the imperial city, they all want to know the truth!”
“Ling Xiao, even though you have a clever tongue, I, Sikong Zun, am upright and honest, loyal to the sovereign and patriotic, and have committed no crimes!
You say I schemed to frame Ji Ning, but you have no evidence!
You say I sent people to intercept and kill you on the way, you still have no evidence!
You say I abandoned the army and fled back to the imperial city alone, but the fact is that you and those rebels from Northern Desert City tried to kill me. I alone could not withstand so many rebels, so I could only return to the imperial city for reinforcements!”
Sikong Zun believed Jiu Mozhiyan would not betray him, so even if Ling Xiao had captured him alive, it was useless.
That was why he dared to be so confident, treating lies as truth.
“Heh, I knew you, Sikong old dog, would not admit it.”
Ling Xiao sneered, “But I have told you more than once, I returned to the imperial city, I dare to call you a traitor, because I have evidence!”
“Evidence? What evidence do you have? Show it, do not keep spouting nonsense here. I am the grand general of the empire, not someone you can slander at will! If you cannot produce evidence today, you will surely die!”
Sikong Zun really wanted to slap Ling Xiao to death right now, but seeing the Moon Goddess standing beside Ling Xiao, he dared not move.
“Want evidence? It is simple.”
Ling Xiao gave a cold smile, then grabbed Jiu Mozhiyan by the head.
“What are you doing? Jiu Mozhiyan is the only witness. Are you going to kill him?”
Sikong Zun roared.
“What? Does Grand General Sikong want him to speak?”
Ling Xiao asked.
“Who exactly colluded with the Black Crow Empire, Jiu Mozhiyan knows best. Since the Emperor is present, let Jiu Mozhiyan speak. I am upright and fear no crooked shadow!”
Sikong Zun said with a smile.
“Very well, since that is so, then please ask.”
Ling Xiao tapped Jiu Mozhiyan, waking him from his coma.
“Jiu Mozhiyan, as the little prince of the Black Crow Empire, did you ever collude with Ji Ning to harm this marshal in secret?”
Sikong Zun asked loudly.
His voice was very loud, audible clearly to everyone in the square and even the entire imperial city.
Jiu Mozhiyan gritted his teeth and said, “Yes, we had agreed with Ji Ning to kill Sikong Zun, then provoke infighting between Northern Desert Pass and Northern Desert City, to capture Northern Desert City in one fell swoop.
Unfortunately, that fellow Ji Ning was useless and was actually injured by Sikong Zun’s men with a poisoned arrow, then we encountered the monster Ling Xiao, who surprisingly mastered military strategy and defeated our army.
This prince hates him to death!”
His words were beautifully spoken.
Since he could not frame Ling Xiao, he simply shaped Ling Xiao into a positive hero of the Divine Phoenix Empire, then splashed dirty water on Ji Ning.
Anyway, was this not exactly what Sikong Zun wanted?
As long as Sikong Zun was satisfied, he might be able to escape.
Though he had suffered a great fall this time, he had also gained much insight and understood many things. As long as he could return to the Black Crow Empire.
He believed he could certainly rise higher.
“Hahahaha, did you hear that, Ling Xiao? This is the witness you brought back. You must believe what he says, right? Let us not speak of anything else, Ji Ning actually tried to harm this marshal in secret and provoked civil war between the Expedition Army and the Northern Desert Army, giving the Black Crow Empire an opportunity. He is the traitor!
He deserves to be executed!
You raided the execution ground to save him. Though your merits are not small, they do not offset the crime. Even if the death penalty can be avoided, the living punishment is hard to escape!”
“Hahaha, hahahaha, hahahahaha!”
Ling Xiao suddenly burst into loud laughter.
“Your Majesty, you have seen it too. Even Jiu Mozhiyan wants to protect Sikong Zun. Does this not prove he is the traitor?
The true process, you have already seen through the blood mirror. The blood mirror is a divine artefact of the Scorpion People tribe. It has two peculiar effects. One is to track a person’s soul.
This is why Temur Mutu wanted to seize it.
The other is even more powerful. It can capture a person’s true memories, so no matter how that person lies, it will still play the real process exactly as it happened.”
Feng Ming Wuliang’s face looked very ugly.
Before coming here, he had indeed seen that segment of Jiu Mozhiyan’s true memories. It was Feng Qingyan who brought it to the palace for him to see.
But now, Jiu Mozhiyan was lying, slandering Ji Ning while whitewashing Sikong Zun.
So was the result not obvious?
“Your Majesty, do not be hasty in dealing with Sikong Zun. I hope all the soldiers and civilians of the imperial city know this truth. Only then can they understand who the villain is and who the hero is!”
Ling Xiao smiled slightly and said to the crowd, “Deputy Dean Feng, please play the memories captured by the blood mirror towards the sky. The bigger the image, the better!”
“Good!”
Feng Qingyan aimed the blood mirror at the sky. Moments later, a blood-coloured cloud appeared in the sky.
