Jia Fu was torn. He had already cleared Fang Yuan of suspicion in his heart and was almost certain that Jia Gui was the mastermind behind it all.
"But even if I know the truth, what good does it do me?" A surge of grief and indignation welled up in Jia Fu's heart. "I have no evidence whatsoever. If I go to Father and accuse Jia Gui empty-handed, he'll probably think I'm trying to frame him!"
Jia Fu was shrewd. He looked at Fang Yuan, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.
Jia Jinsheng had been traveling with him through thick and thin. Now that Jia Jinsheng was missing, he, Jia Fu, naturally bore the responsibility of not taking good care of him! Since he couldn't accuse Jia Gui, he had to give his father an account.
And that account was right before him!
"Right, if I use this Fang Yuan as a scapegoat, it will barely be enough to explain things away. As long as I get through this hurdle, I can take it back from them twofold." A wicked thought immediately arose in Jia Fu's heart.
He suddenly raised his voice and pressed Fang Yuan harshly, "Fang Yuan, how do you prove that you didn't secretly harm Jia Jinsheng?"
The clan elders were taken aback. This was clearly an internal conflict of the Jia family, so why was he clinging to someone from their own clan?
Only the Gu Yue clan chief's face darkened. His gaze turned sharp as he fixed his eyes on Jia Fu.
"Fang Yuan, do you have any witnesses to prove that you were not present and had no time to secretly harm Jia Jinsheng? If not, you are the murderer!" Jia Fu pointed his finger at Fang Yuan, his eyes wide with fury, his demeanor intimidating.
"He's trying to push our clan's Fang Yuan out as a scapegoat! How outrageous!" By now, the clan elders had caught on as well, and their expressions all turned hostile.
Having been engaged in their own scheming and infighting for so long, a single thought was enough for them to understand Jia Fu's position and intentions.
"Witnesses? Of course I have them! I already arranged everything." Fang Yuan sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he put on a convincing act of being unable to clear himself, opening his mouth as if to speak but forcing the words back down.
"Don't say anything else, just tell me, yes or no!" Jia Fu's voice rose again, bearing down on Fang Yuan.
Fang Yuan wore an expression of indignance, until finally, as if in resignation, he squeezed two words out through gritted teeth. "No."
"Haha. Then you are —" Just as Jia Fu was about to announce his verdict loudly...
"Wait!" With a single stride, the School Elder stepped in front of Fang Yuan, a stern expression on his face. "Of course he has a witness! I am his witness!"
"You?" Jia Fu was startled.
"That's right, this old man." Faced with the Rank Four Jia Fu, the School Elder's tone was a bit weak. But upon seeing the encouraging gaze from the clan leader, Gu Yue Bo, his confidence swelled, and he raised his head. "These past few days, Fang Yuan unexpectedly took the lead in advancing to the intermediate stage. I sent people to investigate him in secret. His whereabouts every single day are recorded. There is no time for him to have secretly harmed Jia Jinsheng."
"Yes, that's right..." Fang Yuan hid behind the School Elder. No one saw the faint smile that curled at the corner of his mouth.
Jia Fu's face turned ashen. He hadn't expected the School Elder to suddenly step forward and vouch for Fang Yuan.
More critically, the Gu Yue clan leader did not object. This was significant, representing that the Gu Yue clan was going to protect this Fang Yuan.
"I see! I was so focused on making Fang Yuan the scapegoat, I only thought of my own situation and never considered their feelings. That's right! If I successfully pin the crime on Fang Yuan, the Gu Yue clan will bear the infamy of having murdered a member of the Jia clan. In the future, they will face retaliation from the Jia family, their reputation will be damaged, and merchant caravans won't dare to come and trade. The losses would be too great!"
Thinking of this, Jia Fu was so annoyed he wished he could slap his own forehead.
The high-ranking members of the Gu Yue clan were thinking the exact same thing.
Fang Yuan was only C-grade. If he really had harmed Jia Jinsheng, handing him over wouldn't have been a big deal. But the key point was that his suspicion had already been cleared. If they handed him over anyway, wouldn't the Gu Yue clan suffer massive, unnecessary losses?
Knowing that this conflict had reached an irreconcilable point, Jia Fu gritted his teeth and decided to see it through to the end. He spoke, "In that case, allow me to use the Footprint Gu. Once this Gu is used, it can show the footprints of the last thirty thousand steps on the ground."
The School Elder immediately snorted in displeasure.
By saying this, Jia Fu was clearly showing his distrust. However, the School Elder had no reason to stop him, so he stepped aside.
"Go ahead and test me!" Fang Yuan sneered at Jia Fu, raising his head and walking up to him.
He was brimming with confidence because he had long anticipated this turn of events. Therefore, these past few days, he had strictly confined his activities to within the stockade, never once setting foot in the secret cave in the crevice.
Under the watchful eyes of the Gu Yue high-ranking officials, Jia Fu dared not play any tricks.
The shape of the Footprint Gu was very peculiar; it looked just like a human foot. Its material resembled a piece of translucent frozen milk, giving it a smooth and tender feel, with a layer of yellowish-green fluorescence covering its surface.
It was not very big, only the size of a palm.
Jia Fu held it in his hand, and his Primeval Essence surged out, pouring into the Footprint Gu.
The Footprint Gu grew brighter and brighter until, with a soft "bang," it exploded into a large cloud of yellowish-green fluorescent powder.
With a whoosh, the fluorescent powder enveloped Fang Yuan, swirled around him once, and then flew out of the main hall's entrance.
Along the path where the fluorescent powder passed, a series of footprints immediately appeared on the ground.
These footprints all emitted a yellowish-green light, matching the size of Fang Yuan's two feet exactly. They were precisely the footprints he had just made when entering the council hall.