Chapter 74: The Perfect Scapegoat!

A cold smile touched Lin Yun's lips. "He gave me such a hard time in the Great Hall earlier. Now it's clear they don't care about the good of the sect at all. They're just afraid my presence here is some kind of threat to them."

Xu Miaoyun fell silent.

Without revealing himself further, Lin Yun slipped away from the scene with Xu Miaoyun. On their way back, she asked him nonchalantly, "Why did you go to Mingtai Mountain? You know it's a forbidden area."

Lin Yun scratched his head in embarrassment. "It's what Elder Li told me before he died. He said there were traitors in the Beast Taming Sect and that I should pay close attention to Mingtai Mountain."

As expected, hearing Li Hong's name, Xu Miaoyun's expression softened considerably.

"Zhao Fa has always been as timid as a mouse, the last person to get involved in any conflicts. Yet now his personality has completely changed, and he's sneaking into the Ming Pavilion to steal things. Who is he doing it for?"

Lin Yun, of course, knew everything, but he feigned ignorance. "This matter… we should report it to the Sect Master first."

Xu Miaoyun nodded. The two of them then departed in haste.

Neither of them noticed a shadowy figure slowly materializing in the darkness not far from where they had been…

After the night's events, Lin Yun could clearly feel that Xu Miaoyun had grown much closer to him.

Of course, it wasn't that kind of closeness. It was more like she was treating him as her own child.

The thought sent a shiver down Lin Yun's spine. Don't tell me this Senior Xu thinks I'm some kind of… reincarnation of Elder Li? Terrifying.

After finally managing to escape from Xu Miaoyun's maternal watch, Lin Yun made a beeline for Zhou Damao's courtyard. As it happened, Zhou Damao had also just returned.

Having fled from Mingtai Mountain, Zhao Fa immediately sought out Wu Boyan.

"I told you! The timing was too risky tonight!" he hissed. "Zhou Damao saw me!"

Wu Boyan's face fell. "What did you do?"

"Hmph. The kid tried to follow me. Naturally, I knocked him out and fed him a Return to Dust Pill," Zhao Fa said, his expression grim. "But since it's come to this, one death doesn't matter. I've already sent Chang Le to finish the job."

Wu Boyan's expression shifted rapidly. He stared at Zhao Fa, cracking his knuckles. "For now… that may be our only option."

Just when he thought the matter was settled, Zhao Fa's tone changed. "Oh, right. I think that Lin Yun kid saw me too. Xu Miaoyun was with him."

Wu Boyan nearly decked him. You idiot! Why are you so full of problems? Can't you do anything cleanly? Can't you save me a little trouble?

His eyes darted about slyly. "Leave Lin Yun for now. I'll handle Xu Miaoyun. I doubt she'd be willing to risk everything for an outsider."

Hearing this, Zhao Fa finally let out a sigh of relief.

Neither of them knew that their entire scheme was already unfolding within the palm of Lin Yun's hand.

When Lin Yun entered Zhou Damao's courtyard, he found Chang Le just about to drink with him. What kind of poison he was peddling in that wine gourd—how could Lin Yun not know?

Seeing Lin Yun appear, Chang Le froze. This wasn't in the script! What was this guy doing here?

"Senior Brother Zhou, it's so late. Aren't you resting yet?" Lin Yun asked.

Zhou Damao scratched his head. "I just felt like I forgot to do something. I couldn't remember what it was on the way, so I just came back. Just so happens Junior Brother Chang Le is heartbroken over some romance and came to me for a drink." He laughed heartily. If he couldn't remember, he wasn't going to worry about it.

"Ooh, is that wine?" Lin Yun's eyes lit up. "That's great! It's been ages since I've had a proper drink. The craving is killing me!"

He spotted the wine gourd on the table, and without a second thought, he uncorked it and took a deep sniff. "Good… what a good wine!"

Chang Le's eyes went wide. Kid, you can't drink that!

But before he could get a word out, Lin Yun was already chugging it down in a series of great gulps. Glug, glug, glug. He finished with a loud burp.

Both Chang Le and Zhou Damao stared, completely dumbfounded. What kind of move was that?

"Senior Brother Chang Le… my apologies. I've been on the road for so many days without a drink," Lin Yun said, scratching his head as if he were already drunk. "The craving just hit me. Please forgive my rudeness."

Chang Le stared at the empty wine gourd in Lin Yun's hand, his mouth agape. What the hell was happening today?

"Senior Brother Zhou, since the wine is all gone, I won't linger. Please rest well."

"Hey, Junior Brother Chang Le, I have more wine here…"

Before Zhou Damao could finish, Chang Le had already bolted. Stick around? Was he kidding? In a moment, Lin Yun would kick the bucket, and his own guilt would be sealed!

Zhou Damao sighed, looking at the "drunken" Lin Yun. "Junior Brother Lin… you really are something else…"

He assumed Lin Yun was genuinely intoxicated. But in the next instant, Lin Yun's eyes cleared completely. With a surge of vital energy, he expelled all the wine from his body.

Zhou Damao's eyes widened. What the hell was this kid playing at? He couldn't understand it at all.

Lin Yun glanced at him and said plainly, "Senior Brother Zhou… that wine was poisoned."

Zhou Damao shot to his feet. That was a serious accusation. "Junior Brother Lin, don't say such things."

"This is the sect. How could…"

Before Zhou Damao could finish, Lin Yun produced an Image-Retaining Crystal. It played back the scene of Zhao Fa stealing the item from the Ming Pavilion and being spotted by Zhou Damao. The image instantly sobered Zhou Damao up…

After fleeing Zhou Damao's courtyard, Chang Le didn't dare go far. If Lin Yun died too quickly, he'd have to start planning his escape from the sect.

Soon enough, he saw Lin Yun emerge from the courtyard, his steps unsteady.

"Hmph. As expected of a disciple from the Flowing Cloud Sect. His physique is quite strong," he muttered. If it had been any other Origin Sea cultivator from their sect, they'd likely already be dead.

Seeing Lin Yun make it back to his own courtyard, Chang Le finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Early the next morning, a huge uproar shook the sect.

The Ming Pavilion had been robbed. A geological survey map had been stolen.

The timing was suspect. Lin Yun had only just joined the sect, and now a theft of this magnitude had occurred. Jiang Zhengqing was reportedly furious.

But when Fang Yan led the men from the Disciplinary Hall to find Lin Yun, he was already dead.

Outside the Great Hall, Zhao Fa was in a complete panic. "It's a mess! Everything's a total mess!" he said, pacing frantically. The plan was to get rid of Zhou Damao, but now Lin Yun was dead instead.

Looking at the unconcerned, composed Wu Boyan beside him, Zhao Fa pressed, "Aren't you going to say something?"

Wu Boyan smiled at the panicked man. "What are you so anxious about?"

"Isn't this just killing two birds with one stone? I've already made the arrangements. All you have to do is insist you know nothing and push all the blame onto Lin Yun."

Wu Boyan smiled with absolute confidence. The turn of events had indeed been unexpected, but Lin Yun's death had actually solved many of their problems. Now, they no longer had to worry about the theft from the Ming Pavilion implicating them.

After all, in the entire Beast Taming Sect, no one was a more perfect scapegoat than Lin Yun.