Volume 5 Chapter 40
by Need_More_SleepVolume 5 + Chapter 40: Suspicion And Framing
Xia Yi noticed that one of the White Night cultists had not yet completely lost consciousness. She dragged the woman out and began to question her.
This was the very fox-woman who had earlier forced holy water upon her own daughter.
Yue Liu and her subordinates also turned their gazes toward her, waiting for the fox-woman’s reply.
“White Night… who is that?”
The fox-woman looked at Xia Yi blankly, her face filled with confusion.
“Are you pretending to be stupid?” Xia Yi frowned. “You are a cultist of the White Night Church. Just moments ago, you were begging Bai Lian to grant you holy water.”
“White Night Church… Holy Maiden…”
The fox-woman’s reaction was sluggish, she muttered those words dully, as if merely repeating unfamiliar sounds.
“I don’t know… I don’t understand what you’re talking about…”
“Just now, you were the one forcing your daughter to drink the holy water that had fallen onto the ground!”
Xia Yi was growing angry.
How could this person be so stubborn? The facts had already taken place, yet she refused to acknowledge them.
Xia Yi strode forward aggressively, and the movement startled the fox-woman.
“Ahhh!! Don’t come closer, don’t come closer! I don’t know anything… I don’t know anything…”
The fox-woman collapsed onto the ground and began trembling violently.
That expression did not look feigned. It truly seemed as though she knew nothing at all.
“What is going on with the Silver Dragon Princess? What White Night Church, Holy Maiden, holy water…?”
“Is she making up excuses to justify her own violence?”
“This is highly suspicious.”
Yue Liu’s subordinates were clearly already deeply distrustful of Xia Yi.
Her earlier statements had done nothing to prove her innocence.
Xia Yi turned around and looked toward the other members of the White Night Church, grabbing a man dressed as a high-ranking cultist and hauling him up.
He had participated in the attack earlier and was wearing the robe of a senior cultist. There was no way he could know nothing.
“You are a senior cultist of the White Night Church. You acted under Bai Lian’s command and distributed holy water to the ordinary believers here. Am I right?”
“…”
“You’re wearing the church’s robe. You can’t talk your way out of that.”
“Aba.”
“…What?”
“Aba, aba?”
The senior cultist let out strange sounds. His eyes were dull and vacant, saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth onto the ground.
His behavior and demeanor were nothing like that of a normal adult.
“Do you even know what you’re doing?” Xia Yi felt a chill of foreboding.
“Aba? Aba! Aba!”
The senior cultist remained like a fool struck senseless, gnawing on his own fingers, unable to form a single coherent sentence.
Xia Yi seized several more White Night cultists, attempting to extract information about Bai Lian and the church.
But the situation was exactly the same as before. The ordinary believers seemed to have lost their memories entirely, remembering nothing about the White Night Church.
The senior cultists were in even worse condition, as though their minds had suffered a tremendous shock. Not only did they remember nothing, they had become mentally impaired, incapable of speaking properly.
Under such circumstances, Xia Yi had no way to offer a convincing explanation to Yue Liu and her people.
“Silver Dragon Princess, you have gone too far!!” one of Yue Liu’s subordinates accused angrily. “We invited the Dragon Clan’s delegation to Fox Hill, and yet you injure our foxfolk civilians, harming them to this extent?”
“I told you, this is the doing of the White Night Church,” Xia Yi replied helplessly.
“What White Night Church? You are spouting nonsense! Do not take us for fools! The Fox God’s shrine maiden has always been only Her Highness Yue Liu. There could never be another who serves as the Fox God’s shrine maiden.”
“The Nine-Tailed Foxes are the royal family of the foxfolk. How could they possibly establish some heretical cult? Among the young Nine-Tailed Foxes, there is only Her Highness Yue Liu. Are you implying that this was her doing?”
“Dragon, your actions have gravely offended our foxfolk!”
Yue Liu’s subordinates were furious, pressing Xia Yi aggressively for an explanation.
If this matter were mishandled, the consequences would undoubtedly be severe.
Xia Yi had said everything she could, yet they refused to believe her.
These methods must have been Bai Lian’s doing. She had likely mixed something into the holy water. In the event of an emergency, she could use it to poison the White Night cultists, ensuring they would be unable to reveal even the slightest information about the church.
That must be the reason why the White Night Church had been able to operate within Fox Hill for so long without being discovered.
“So that is your explanation?” Yue Liu asked, looking at Xia Yi.
“Yes.”
Xia Yi answered firmly.
The White Night Church was truly vicious, to commit such inhumane acts against its own believers, and even frame others when necessary.
She knew that under these circumstances, her explanation held little persuasive power. Yue Liu had no reason to believe her.
“Your Highness Yue Liu, let us summon the guards and deal with this terror of a dragon who harmed our foxfolk civilians, ”
One of Yue Liu’s subordinates was about to take action, but she was stopped.
“Wait.”
“What is it, Your Highness?”
“Take all these foxfolk civilians into custody. Afterward, investigate thoroughly and question them carefully. As for the Silver Dragon Princess, do not lay a hand on her,” Yue Liu explained.
“What?” The subordinate was stunned. “Your Highness, she harmed our foxfolk civilians!!”
“There are still many doubtful points in this matter. We cannot judge solely by surface appearances,” Yue Liu said calmly. “Among these civilians, there are indeed individuals wearing suspicious robes. That is something that cannot be ignored.”
“…That is true.”
The subordinate could not refute her reasoning.
Under Yue Liu’s insistence, the other foxfolk refrained from acting against Xia Yi. Instead, they followed her orders, first taking the foxfolk civilians into custody, and only afterward proceeding with further investigation.
To be honest, Xia Yi was somewhat surprised.
Yue Liu had always called her a destined rival and sworn enemy, yet rather than seizing the opportunity to strike while she was down, she had chosen to defend her instead.
“Fox Carrot, you’re actually helping me,” Xia Yi said with a smile.
“Hmph! Who’s helping you? I am merely making a rational judgment!”
“You don’t suspect me?”
“You are the rival I have chosen. How could you stoop to something so disgraceful? If you truly were capable of such behavior, then you would not be the lifelong rival I intend to contend with!”
Xia Yi laughed. “Thank you. I’ll treat you to something delicious next time.”
“Don’t speak in that tone! We’re not close enough to go strolling through the streets on a date together!”
After saying that, the little fox froze for a moment, then her cheeks flushed red.
“You… you’re thinking of going on a date with me? Th-that is not allowed… Dragon and fox can only be enemies…”
“What are you talking about?” Xia Yi walked over to her side and asked curiously.
“Ah!”
Startled, the little fox hurriedly changed the subject.
“You, come with me! Return with me at once! You are not allowed to wander around anymore!!”
[Translator’s Note: Bai Lian and White Lotus are the same person.]
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