"Grandpa, my brother didn't come out. He's most likely dead."
"But how could someone of his strength die? He must have been killed by Chu Feng and the others."
"Grandpa, you have to avenge my brother."
After being slapped, Zuoqiu Youyu didn't get angry — instead, he started complaining tearfully.
It was clear that the brotherly bond between him and Zuoqiu Yanliang was genuinely strong, and he held his grandfather in great reverence.
"Zuoqiu Youyu, have you no shame?"
"You two brothers committed every evil deed imaginable, and now you have the audacity to point the finger at others?"
"Vice Sect Master, while you are Zuoqiu Youyu and Zuoqiu Yanliang's grandfather, you are also the Vice Sect Master of our Wolong Martial Sect."
"You shouldn't be standing up for them — you should be standing up for us."
Xia Yan refused to back down either, and publicly recounted everything that had happened in the Yin-Yang Withered Well Realm.
Of course, the crimes of Zuoqiu Yanliang and Zuoqiu Youyu were real, but regarding Zuoqiu Youyu's whereabouts, Xia Yan naturally lied.
She couldn't very well say that Zuoqiu Yanliang had been killed by Chu Feng.
Immediately after, Li Muzhi, Zhao Shi, Song Xi, Tu Yuanyuan, and the others spoke up one after another, voicing their support for Xia Yan's account.
Truthfully, when it came to someone of Zuoqiu Yanliang's stature, the testimonies of Zhao Shi, Song Xi, Tu Yuanyuan, and the others could practically be disregarded.
But Xia Yan and Li Muzhi were no ordinary figures — both of them firmly stated that Zuoqiu Yanliang had tried to harm them, which made people think that perhaps it was all true.
"Vice Sect Master, if you don't believe us, you can examine our wounds."
"Our injuries have already been treated, but there is still the aura of your grandson Zuoqiu Yanliang's weapon — the Broken Pavilion Exalted Sword — lingering on them."
Xia Yan pointed at her wound as she spoke.
"That is indeed the aura of Zuoqiu Yanliang's Exalted Weapon. There is no faking that."
The Vice Sect Master didn't even need to step forward to verify — he confirmed it on the spot.
It seemed he had already noticed from the start that the injuries on Xia Yan and the others had been inflicted by his grandson.
"Youyu, what exactly happened? Is it true, as Xia Yan and the others say, that the two of you attacked them without provocation?"
The Vice Sect Master glared at Zuoqiu Youyu, his voice sharp with fury.
"Grandpa, no — it's really not like that."
"I don't know why my brother had a grudge against them."
Seeing that he couldn't defend Zuoqiu Yanliang's actions, Zuoqiu Youyu could only try to clear himself first.
"Zuoqiu Youyu, are you even a man? If you're a man, then own up to it."
"A moment ago you wanted to silence us by killing us, and now you don't dare admit it?"
"What gives you the right to assume that Zuoqiu Yanliang not coming out has anything to do with us?"
"What gives you the right to take one look at us standing here and conclude that Zuoqiu Yanliang met with disaster?"
"Isn't it because you already knew we were with Zuoqiu Yanliang?"
"Don't forget — you were the one who trapped us in the first place," Xia Yan said.
"Xia Yan, you'd better have evidence to back up your words."
"I trapped you? Where's your proof?" Zuoqiu Youyu countered.
At this point, Xia Yan didn't exactly have evidence to produce.
In theory, the rope artifact that had bound them would count as proof.
But no one knew that the rope artifact belonged to Zuoqiu Youyu. While the rope was indeed a treasure, it wasn't like Zuoqiu Yanliang's Exalted Weapon sword — everyone knew that sword belonged to him.
Moreover, Zuoqiu Youyu was clever. Though he had used the rope treasure to bind Xia Yan and the others, he had left no trace of his aura on it whatsoever.
So even if they produced the rope, it wouldn't prove anything.
"So you're not a man after all, are you?"
"You don't dare admit it, do you? What a coward."