But if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, even Chu Feng wouldn't have believed that the very backer Xia Ran had been relying on was someone he actually knew.
As it turned out, Xia Yan—the sister standing before him—was none other than the very same Xia Yan he had known at the Shura Burial Ground.
And this all traced back to the Shura Burial Ground.
Back then, Chu Feng had been entrusted by Song Yun to go to the Shura Burial Ground and help her obtain an item called the Sacred Healing Pearl.
Later, Chu Feng learned that the Shura Burial Ground was swarming with Shura evil spirits, which piqued his interest in the place.
In order to gain entry, he participated in a marriage competition hosted by the Shura Burial Ground's master, the Black Fiend Old Demon, for his granddaughter.
At the marriage competition, Chu Feng forged alliances with two people.
They were Xia Yan and Xiao Yu.
Both of these individuals were extremely powerful, highly mysterious, and possessed extraordinary backgrounds.
It was worth noting that both of them were women disguised as men.
Chu Feng had only discovered their true gender by sheer chance, when he happened to catch sight of their real forms.
But neither Xia Yan nor Xiao Yu held it against him.
Because at the marriage competition, Chu Feng had helped both of them. Though they had known each other for only a short time, they had forged a certain bond of friendship.
His relationship with Xia Yan, in particular, ran even deeper.
But Chu Feng had never imagined that his ally from the Shura Burial Ground was actually none other than the renowned Xia Yan of the Wo Long Martial Sect.
So when he saw Xia Yan standing there, Chu Feng was both surprised and delighted.
He knew that given his relationship with Xia Yan, she would never believe Xia Ran's lies, much less act against him on Xia Ran's behalf.
Sure enough, when Xia Yan recognized Chu Feng, she was even more emotional than he was.
She immediately began confronting the younger brother she had always doted on—all because of Chu Feng.
"A misunderstanding?"
"So what you're saying is, the Chu Feng you claimed bullied you…"
"Is actually him?"
Xia Yan pointed at Chu Feng in her arms and demanded.
Everyone could feel her fury.
"Sis, it's a misunderstanding—it really is a misunderstanding!"
Xia Ran cried pitifully. He truly hadn't anticipated that Chu Feng would have this kind of background. Knowing Li Muzhi would have been one thing, but for Chu Feng to actually know his backer Xia Yan as well? He was now in complete turmoil, his composure utterly shattered, because no matter how he looked at it, there would be no easy way out of today's situation.
"A misunderstanding? The 'misunderstanding' you're referring to must be this, then?"
Chu Feng opened his palm, and a sphere of light shot out from his hand.
At first, the sphere was no larger than a pearl, but as it soared into the sky, it grew larger and larger.
Hmmm— Suddenly, the sphere of light expanded rapidly, like a small moon suspended in the void.
It was so massive that every cultivator standing before it looked like a mere ant.
Within the sphere of light, figures began to appear.
There was Chu Feng, and Xia Ran. And besides them… several of Xia Ran's subordinates from the Southern Sparrow Academy.
The crowd instantly understood—this was a recording array that had captured everything that happened after Xia Ran and his men entered Chu Feng's residence.
What had just transpired had been recorded by the array.
Now, it was being replayed for everyone to see.
Through what the array displayed, the people could learn that…
Chu Feng had never harmed Xia Ran at all. Instead, Xia Ran had used premeditated methods to injure himself before collapsing to the ground.
After that, several of his subordinates, understanding the unspoken plan, burst through the door and charged out.
What came next was what the crowd had witnessed before—Xia Ran's subordinates claiming that Chu Feng was trying to kill him.
As it turned out, Chu Feng had long suspected that Xia Ran harbored ill intentions in entering his residence.
So he had gone in first and set up an array capable of recording events over a short period of time.
His purpose was to have evidence to clear his name should anything go wrong.
"Xia Ran, is this your idea of a 'misunderstanding'?"
Chu Feng asked with a grin.
But Xia Ran completely ignored Chu Feng and turned instead to Xia Yan.
"Sis, that's not what happened at all! Don't believe him—he fabricated this through the array. It's not real!"
Xia Ran put on a wretched expression. He would never admit his guilt. After a bout of tearful complaints, he looked at Chu Feng with a wronged expression: "Chu Feng, you're truly despicable."
"I was trying to spare my sister from any difficulty, knowing you were acquainted with her, so I was willing to call it a misunderstanding."
"I swallowed my pride and chose not to hold it against you—all to give my sister face."