"Don't you dare slander me with baseless accusations!" Yin Chengkong hastily denied upon hearing these words, his face twisted with rage.
However, Chu Feng completely ignored Yin Chengkong and instead turned to Baili Xuankong, asking, "Ancestor, if I'm not mistaken, it was Guild Master Yin Chengkong who sent word for you to return to Green Wood Mountain that day, wasn't it?"
"Yin Chengkong, is what Chu Feng says true?" At this, Baili Xuankong was also furious, because Chu Feng was right — it had indeed been Yin Chengkong who used the Golden Flash Bird to summon him back to Green Wood Mountain.
Yin Chengkong had claimed there was an urgent matter he needed to discuss with Baili Xuankong and urged him to return to Green Wood Mountain immediately.
At the time, Baili Xuankong had assumed something truly serious had happened, for the Golden Flash Bird was one of a kind, and he had given it to Yin Chengkong to use only when there was a genuine emergency.
So, upon receiving the Golden Flash Bird, he had rushed back without a moment's rest. But when he arrived, the matter was nowhere near as grave as he had imagined — in truth, it was something Yin Chengkong could have handled on his own, and there had been no need for him to return at all.
Baili Xuankong had been quite upset about it at the time, since he had abandoned Chu Feng in order to rush back. But thinking it over, Yin Chengkong was, after all, someone he had personally groomed, and who now served as the president of the Green Wood Sacred Assembly. Once he himself was gone, it would fall to Yin Chengkong to keep things in order. So he had said nothing more about it.
Then, Ximen Baiyuan had led the Ximen Imperial Clan's army to Green Wood Mountain and captured them all.
That was when Baili Xuankong realized he had been betrayed. Otherwise, why would the Four Great Imperial Clans have come to Green Wood Mountain and specifically arrested those who had ties to Chu Feng?
The first person who had come to mind was Yin Chengkong. But after thinking it over repeatedly, he had felt that Yin Chengkong did not seem like someone capable of doing such a thing.
What's more, without hard evidence, he had no grounds to make accusations. So he had not pressed the matter, because by then the thing he cared about most was no longer who had betrayed him, but rather Chu Feng's safety.
As for after Chu Feng had rescued him, Baili Xuankong had planned to investigate the truth once they returned to Green Wood Mountain — and the person he suspected most remained Yin Chengkong.
Now, since Chu Feng had directly leveled the accusation of treachery against Yin Chengkong, he naturally could no longer remain silent.
"Lord Baili, you must stand up for me!" Yin Chengkong's aged eyes glistened with tears as he spoke, his expression one of grievance. "You know me — I grew up in Green Wood Mountain, raised and trained by your own hand. I hold Green Wood Mountain dearer than my own life. How could I possibly do something like this?"
"..."
Faced with such words, Baili Xuankong's heart clearly softened somewhat. After all, he and Yin Chengkong had shared many years together, and their bond ran deep. Moreover, Yin Chengkong had genuinely rendered enormous service to Green Wood Mountain — otherwise, Baili Xuankong would never have appointed him to the position of Guild Master.
Even so, Baili Xuankong did not respond to Yin Chengkong. Instead, he turned to Chu Feng and said, "Chu Feng, I know you are not one to accuse others without evidence. If you've said this, you must have your reasons. Why don't you share them?"
"It was Ximen Baiyuan who told me. The one who betrayed our Green Wood Mountain is Yin Chengkong," Chu Feng said.
"That's impossible! Ximen Baiyuan said nothing of the sort — everyone present can bear witness!" Yin Chengkong countered desperately. "Besides, even if he had said it, it wouldn't necessarily be true."
"Heh…" Chu Feng let out a contemptuous laugh, then continued, "He indeed didn't say it out loud, because doing so publicly would have made the Ximen Imperial Clan look dishonorable — who would dare cooperate with them in the future? However, to demonstrate the sincerity of the Ximen Imperial Clan's reconciliation with me, he wrote me a note. The name on that note is right here." As he spoke, Chu Feng produced a slip of paper.