After the Fairy Maidens Fell to Darkness, They Captured Me to Ruthlessly 'Repay' Their Gratitude-Chapter 91 - "Throwing Dirt? Youre Truly an Expert at It"

Though the battle at Yong’an City left An Luo Yi with lingering guilt, it didn’t mean she had transformed from the proud and aloof “Destined Heroine” into a pushover.

From childhood to now, no one had dared to speak to her with such mocking undertones.

Well, those who had either ended up dead or were too terrified to ever appear before her again.

Now, Li Zijing’s blatant provocation was like dancing on An Luo Yi’s landmine.

His expression practically screamed, “If you’re a sword cultivator, come down and cut me.”

Crack—

The second-floor pavilion began to frost over. The temperature of the entire venue plummeted, and every guest present was reminded of the terrifying power of the “Destined Heroine.”

At the same time, Li Zijing discreetly swallowed hard, feeling as though a mountain loomed over him.

Swish!

She drew her sword.

From the pavilion, the silver-haired fairy descended like a flurry of snow, her sword gleaming with icy light. A second surge of spiritual energy erupted from her.

Li Zijing felt his forehead dampen with cold sweat.

Immortal Art: Heavenly Shield!

He hastily activated his protective shield, but the moment her Silver Phoenix Sword struck it, cracks began to form within seconds.

Updated from freewёbnoνel.com.

“Dammit, you call this Foundation Establishment...?!”

Li Zijing cursed under his breath. As his shield shattered, seven arcs of icy sword energy streaked toward him. He narrowly avoided them with several backflips, escaping the seven-meter range of her sword strikes.

An Luo Yi stood tall, silently sheathing her sword.

Li Zijing got to his feet, but the sight of the seven-meter fan-shaped frost scars on the ground before him sent chills down his spine.

He had been standing at the eighth meter.

He had narrowly avoided being sliced in half by less than half a meter.

Panting from the close call, Li Zijing forced a stiff smile, clapping his hands as he spoke.

“As expected of Fairy Luo Yi. Though you’re only at the peak of Core Formation, with the enhancement of the Abyss Spirit Orb, you’ve achieved the might of a Nascent Soul cultivator! Impressive, truly impressive!”

Still smiling, he continued, “But, if not for Liu Moqing acting as your scapegoat that night, I doubt Fairy Luo Yi would’ve obtained the ancient treasure, the Abyss Spirit Orb, would she?”

His words were blunt and dripping with sarcasm.

As his voice fell, the audience shuddered. If what Li Zijing said was true, then An Luo Yi abandoning Liu Moqing to face danger alone at the Abyss Spirit Hall was indeed suspicious.

Betraying one’s comrades was a grave taboo among cultivators.

For a moment, An Luo Yi stood on the stage, under the scrutinizing eyes of the crowd, unsure how to defend herself.

At this critical moment, a clear voice rang out from the second-floor pavilion.

“Senior Zijing, as an immortal attendant of the Dragon Dynasty, you should know that your words carry weight.”

“?”

Li Zijing squinted, looking toward the source of the voice. He saw the speaker was none other than He Ange. The crowd followed his gaze, recognizing the white-robed youth standing on the second floor.

“Did I say something wrong?” Li Zijing’s gaze turned sharp, his tone laced with killing intent as he tried to suppress the Foundation Establishment cultivator.

But He Ange merely smiled faintly.

“First of all, Senior Moqing isn’t a scapegoat, because she’s neither dead nor a ghost. To call someone who nearly died protecting an immortal treasure a scapegoat—don’t you think that’s inappropriate?”

He Ange turned to the green-robed fairy beside him. “Don’t you agree, Senior Moqing?”

Li Zijing’s brow furrowed, but his expression froze when he saw Liu Moqing standing by the second-floor window.

“Young Master He is correct. During the chaos at the Abyss Spirit Hall, I reconciled with Fairy Luo Yi thanks to Young Master He’s mediation. Senior Zijing wasn’t present that night, so if you’re merely repeating hearsay, I suggest you refrain from making baseless accusations.”

“?!”

Li Zijing hadn’t expected Liu Moqing to publicly defend An Luo Yi.

What was even stranger was Liu Moqing’s demeanor. Wasn’t she the Liu family’s young lady? Why was she sitting beside He Ange, addressing him as “Young Master He” with such familiarity?

It didn’t make sense.

By all logic, An Luo Yi’s disappearance that night should have left Liu Moqing resentful. She should have been siding with Li Zijing, making things difficult for An Luo Yi.

Yet here she was, standing up for An Luo Yi in public.

Caught off guard, Li Zijing’s expression turned grim.

Meanwhile, Liu Moqing glanced at the white-robed youth beside her, her gaze warm and filled with unspoken meaning.

Li Zijing’s suspicions weren’t entirely unfounded. As an indirect victim, Liu Moqing had initially been unwilling to forgive An Luo Yi when she first visited to apologize.

During that time, Liu Moqing had been deeply depressed, unsure of how to move forward with her life.

But He Ange’s intervention had given her a new path.

Unlike other cultivators who offered empty platitudes, He Ange genuinely thought about her future. Learning that her family ran a fabric business, he gifted her valuable clothing designs, encouraging her to help her family’s business in Yong’an City.

He even told her that if she couldn’t let go of cultivation, she could consider becoming a rogue cultivator. He offered to help her if she chose that path.

Liu Moqing understood the implications of his words. If she hadn’t agreed, He Ange likely wouldn’t have allowed her to retain those memories.

Later, He Ange personally brought An Luo Yi to apologize to her, finally earning her forgiveness.

Strictly speaking, Liu Moqing’s loyalty lay with He Ange.

Now, her public defense of An Luo Yi was partly due to her forgiving nature and partly out of respect for He Ange.

“Senior Zijing, since you’re so insistent on revisiting old matters, I’d like to bring up something about Xu Daoyun,” He Ange said, his lips curling into a mischievous smile.

Li Zijing felt a sinking feeling in his chest, cold sweat forming on his forehead.

The crowd’s attention shifted to Li Zijing, their curiosity piqued.

He Ange spoke loudly and clearly.

“As everyone knows, before Xu Daoyun became an immortal attendant of the Dragon Dynasty, he was a fellow disciple of Senior Zijing. Over the years, they maintained a close relationship, often dining and drinking together, enjoying camaraderie... Oh, and before Xu Daoyun took up his post at the Abyss Spirit Hall, Senior Zijing even gifted him an expensive jade pendant. Their bond was clearly deep.”

“You! Stop spouting nonsense!”

Li Zijing’s face turned pale. Everything He Ange said was true, but how did this boy know?

At the time, Li Zijing had heard Xu Daoyun was being assigned to guard the Abyss Spirit Hall and, thinking he might rise to prominence, had gifted him the jade pendant as a gesture of goodwill.

Gifting between cultivators was a common social practice.

But Li Zijing hadn’t anticipated Xu Daoyun’s later betrayal of the Dragon Dynasty.

“How could I be making this up? The jade pendant was found on Xu Daoyun’s corpse. This was confirmed by the Six Doors Bureau’s investigation,” He Ange said with a chuckle.

As a disciple of Qin Shiyan and a key figure in the Yong’an City incident, He Ange had access to the official reports. Borrowing a copy from his master was a simple matter.

But Li Zijing couldn’t understand how a Foundation Establishment youth could have such detailed knowledge of official records.

“Speaking of which, I recall... About a week before the chaos in Yong’an City, Xu Daoyun sent Senior Zijing a letter. I wonder, did you receive it? What kind of message would an immortal attendant on the verge of betraying the Dragon Dynasty send to his senior?”

“There was no such letter! He Ange, I warn you, stop spreading lies! Do you know that slandering an immortal attendant is a capital offense?!”

Li Zijing was livid, his secrets laid bare. He shouted in anger, his composure shattered.

Xu Daoyun had indeed sent him a letter.

But the letter contained nothing incriminating, merely an invitation to meet for a meal when Xu Daoyun returned to the Dragon Dynasty for work.

At that time, Xu Daoyun hadn’t yet fallen to the Demon Sect.

If the letter had been suspicious, the Dragon Dynasty would have detained Li Zijing long ago.

Now, He Ange was deliberately twisting the narrative, misleading the crowd and tarnishing Li Zijing’s reputation.

“If I’m slandering an immortal attendant...”

He Ange’s tone was light, his gaze shifting to the silver-haired fairy on the stage.

“Then what about Senior Zijing’s earlier accusations? Claiming Senior Sister Luo Yi betrayed her comrades and calling Senior Moqing a ghost? It seems Senior Zijing has little respect for the two immortal attendants who distinguished themselves at the Abyss Spirit Hall.”

“You!”

Li Zijing was speechless, his face red with fury as he glared at He Ange.

Meanwhile, the audience whispered among themselves, their eyes filled with doubt as they looked at Li Zijing.

The reason was simple: Liu Moqing had personally refuted the accusations against An Luo Yi.

But who could refute the dirt He Ange had thrown at Li Zijing?

Xu Daoyun was dead, unable to defend himself. Who could prove Li Zijing’s innocence?

It was a classic case of “easy to accuse, hard to clear.”

Li Zijing knew this all too well—he had planned to use the same tactic against An Luo Yi.

Now, the tables had turned.

“He Ange, you’re courting death! If you have such a problem with me, why not come down and face me in a duel?” Li Zijing, unable to clear his name, lashed out in anger.

But at that moment, he felt a chilling aura from the stage.

“A mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator challenging a Foundation Establishment junior? Li Zijing, you truly have no shame.”

An Luo Yi’s voice was icy, her chest radiating an intense frost. A blue-purple orb floated before her, crackling with lightning-like energy that enveloped her body and her Silver Phoenix Sword.

“The Abyss Spirit Orb... She’s developed it to this extent?”

Li Zijing trembled, realizing the silver-haired fairy before him, though officially at the peak of Core Formation, had reached the might of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator with the Abyss Spirit Orb’s power.

Now, with the orb fully activated, her aura was overwhelming.

Li Zijing finally understood.

The earlier strike had been without the Abyss Spirit Orb’s enhancement.

Now, she was serious.