Meister der Mehrdeutigkeit

Kapitel 81

Ye Li was startled and looked at Xiao Xiao, "You can't be that cruel, can you...?"

Xiao frowned slightly. The springs flowed in all directions; perhaps someone had already been poisoned. Even on the main island of the seventy-two islands of the East China Sea, there were innocent civilians. Lian Zhao… would he resort to such ruthless methods to achieve victory?

Xiao Xiao lowered her head and pondered. Wen Su had said that the surrender letter this morning stated that Donghai should hand her over, and if the water was poisoned, she would surely die... Therefore, even if it was poisoned, it was not a "deadly poison," but probably just a weak poison, a trick to force Donghai to surrender.

Xiao Xiao had just finished thinking when she realized she was overestimating herself. At this point, she could barely protect herself; how could she possibly think of saving others? ...If they were bad people, she should just stay out of trouble and not help those in distress. Besides, Donghai really had nothing to do with her... But...

She couldn't help but think of the seriously injured disciple in the main hall; her senior sisters, who, though unkind to her, had never bullied her... and her martial aunt...

As she hesitated, Ye Li said indignantly, "I never expected that the Lian family, the Divine Arrow Clan, would resort to such insidious methods, not even sparing ordinary people! That Lian Zhao must be a black-hearted, ugly monster, despicable and vile, destined to be struck down by lightning..."

"No!" Xiao Xiao shouted.

Ye Li was startled, "How could I have said anything wrong!"

"I said no!" Xiao Xiao suddenly stood up and shouted.

Her stopping here wasn't the problem; the problem was that she managed to expose herself, even though she was hiding perfectly well.

Xiao Xiao looked up and saw that she was surrounded, and the knives in the hands of the other party were all cold and menacing.

Would someone who poisoned the spring water heed her pleas for mercy? Of course not!

Just as the men were about to attack, Xiao Xiao had a sudden inspiration and shouted loudly, "How dare you! Do you know who I am!"

Her shout made those people stop their knives, even though they were still skeptical.

Xiao Xiao strolled out slowly, looking at those people without any fear.

She didn't lower her blade an inch, and everyone was watching her, their murderous intent undiminished.

Xiao Xiao smiled and said loudly, "I am the person your master is looking for."

Upon hearing this, the men's demeanor changed slightly.

"Don't believe me?" Xiao Xiao reached into her pocket, took something out, and tossed it to one of them.

The man looked at what he had caught, and his expression changed drastically. It was a bone sword, carved with a cloud-piercing pattern. "I have offended you greatly before, please forgive me, young lady."

Xiao Xiao nodded, walked up to the man, and took back the bone buckle. This small bone buckle now held an astonishing weight in her hand.

"Were you ordered to poison the spring?" Xiao Xiao asked.

"yes."

"Whose orders?" Xiao Xiao asked again.

The man hesitated slightly before saying, "It is Young Master Lian."

Xiao Xiao's heart sank, but she remained calm. "A deadly poison, he wants to kill me?"

“Young lady, you misunderstand. The poison in the spring was just ordinary poison. It would take at least three days to become fatal. Young master had no intention of killing anyone; he merely wanted to force Donghai to surrender,” the man replied.

"Where's the antidote?" Xiao Xiao asked.

The man glanced at his companion and said, "I have no antidote." He paused slightly, then added, "Now that we have found you, young lady, please come back with us."

She glanced at him, pondering. Knowing Lian Zhao's character, he naturally wouldn't publicize her affair. And the Shenxiao Sect, allied with the Lian family, must be Wei Qi. Given Wei Qi's cunning, how could he reveal her true identity? Thinking this, she said frankly, "Since I'm in the East Sea, I have a more important mission. I can't go back with you now. Now that your whereabouts have been exposed, you should leave quickly..."

Before she could finish speaking, countless torches lit up all around them.

"Want to leave? Not so easy!"

Xiao Xiao was greatly alarmed, only to see a large group of East Sea disciples swarming forward. Leading them were several helmsmen from the East Sea.

"Take them all!"

At the leader's command, Xiao Xiao was on the verge of tears.

She finally knew how to write the word "bad luck"...

...

When Xiaoxiao was led to the main hall, I was truly speechless. So, you can't do good deeds recklessly! I should have known better than to have such thoughts; I should have just stayed hidden and stood by and watched her die. Now that I've shown myself, I've become a traitor… But then again, being a traitor is still doing something bad, isn't it… Sigh…

"Island Lord! I've suspected this girl for a long time! She really is a spy! I'll chop her up and throw her into the sea to feed the fish!" A helmsman, filled with indignation, stepped forward and shouted to Wen Jing.

Wen Jing frowned as he looked at Xiao Xiao.

"Xiaoxiao, what do you say?" Wen Jing asked.

Xiao Xiao blinked. What else could she say?

"What else is there to say! The brothers have all heard it!"

Upon hearing this, all the disciples echoed in agreement.

"Island Master, she colluded with outsiders to poison the spring water. We can't let her get away with this!"

Xiao Xiao looked down helplessly at her toes. Was this the end for her, Zuo Xiao Xiao?

"Ye Li! Tell me, are you and her accomplices?!" The leader suddenly attacked, pointing at Ye Li who was standing to the side.

Ye Li was already completely bewildered, and when asked this question, she was startled, "I...she..."

After hearing this, Xiao Xiao said, "No, Senior Sister Ye Li has nothing to do with me..."

Ye Li was utterly astonished upon hearing this.

Xiao Xiao glanced at the leaders and remembered the phrase "severe torture." Helpless, she said, "...Actually, it was just me..."

“Island Lord, you are wise. She is not a spy.”

Before she could finish speaking, someone else spoke up and said this.

She looked up and saw Wen Su standing beside her, still with a cold expression.

“Island Lord, you are wise; she is not a spy,” Wen Su said.

"Wen Su, there's a limit to how much you're protecting your own! You already let her off the hook last time for going to sea without permission! Now that the evidence is conclusive, you still want to protect her?!" The captain, who was already hot-tempered, was even more furious after this.

“I said she isn’t.” Wen Su turned to look at the helmsman and said coldly.

"She isn't? Ask the brothers, we all heard what she said! Could it be that the brothers misheard?"

Wen Su ignored him and did not answer.

"Wen Su, you think you've inherited the island lord's true teachings, and you've always looked down on us leaders. Now, for this spy, you're disregarding the lives of our brothers! Today I'll see just how capable you are, and whether you can protect her!" The leader said, then drew his weapon.

The lobby was filled with noise.

"Fellow leaders, please calm down," Wen Jing said, his voice unhurried. "There are many strange things about this matter, and we cannot make hasty conclusions."

"Island Lord, do you also intend to protect a traitor?!"

"Island Master, you owe our brothers an explanation!"

Wen Jing raised his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet. He stood up, walked to Wen Su and Xiao Xiao, and said, "Xiao Xiao, you speak."

Xiao Xiao glanced at Wen Su subconsciously.

Wen Su's expression was cold, but his eyes held an urgent look as he looked at her.

After a slight hesitation, she said, "I'm not..."

An uproar immediately broke out in the lobby.

Wen Jing smiled, "Alright, I'll trust you one more time."

"Island Lord!"

The disciples were all dissatisfied.

"Everyone, there's no need to rush. Zuo Xiaoxiao, put her in jail for now. We'll make a decision after we've interrogated those spies," Wen Jing said, glancing at Wen Su.

Wen Su bowed and said, "Thank you, Island Master."

After he finished speaking, he took Xiaoxiao's hand and walked out of the lobby.

She was being led along, looking rather dazed. Suddenly, a strange thought crossed her mind. Even if he was taking her to jail, she would still be willing to follow him.

Wen Su walked for a while and then stopped. He turned to look at Xiao Xiao and said, "You are not allowed to confess to crimes arbitrarily."

Xiao Xiao blinked and asked with a smile, "How did you know I was just making up a story?"

Wen Su didn't respond to her words, but frowned and continued, "I will believe you. If you say it's not true, I will believe you're not true... Don't wrong yourself again, understand?"

A myriad of emotions welled up in her young heart in that instant. Her master had said that being wronged was no big deal. If no one in the world believed you, no amount of explanation would be worth dying for. But... if someone believed you, even just one person, for their sake, you must clear your name.

Xiao Xiao didn't understand and asked: Even if one person believes it, what's the use if a thousand or ten thousand people don't?

The master smiled and replied, "A scholar will die for one who understands him."

She wasn't a scholar, nor did she possess such heroic spirit; she thought she would never understand such strange and unconventional arguments. But today, she understood…

Seeing that she didn't answer, Wen Su said with slight anger, "Did you understand or not?"

She chuckled softly, "Yes. I understand..." She spoke earnestly, "I'm not a spy. The spring water has been poisoned; I just want to get the antidote..."

Wen Su was stunned. He looked at her, speechless.

"Thank you, Uncle-Master. I won't wrong myself next time..." Xiao Xiao said with a smile.

A deep pity suddenly appeared in Wen Su's eyes. He forced a smile and replied, "Mm."

"It's actually very easy to clear your name."

Someone spoke up behind the two of them.

Wen Su turned around and respectfully said, "Island Lord!"

The visitor was none other than Wen Jing.

Xiaoxiao looked at him with a puzzled expression.

Wen Jing walked to Xiao Xiao's side and patted her shoulder. "I know you're innocent, but now, we need to convince the other leaders as well." He smiled gently and said, "Xiao Xiao, are you willing to make amends?"

Without hesitation, Xiao Xiao nodded.

Wen Jing glanced at Wen Su and said slowly, "Xiao Xiao, do you know what the East Sea needs most right now?"

"The antidote," Xiao Xiao replied.

“That’s right.” Wen Jing nodded. “And…”

"Anything else?" Xiao Xiao asked, puzzled.

"The formation diagram of the Lian family's ship formation..." Wen Jing replied.