Chapter 52: What Does Catching the Culprit Have to Do with Me, Li Wudao?

Just as the steward was about to administer punishment,
“Hold on! What does punishing the assailant have to do with me, Li Wudao?”
Li Wudao spoke up at just the right moment, glancing at them with a hint of amusement.

“You brat, still trying to deny it at this point—don’t you find it ridiculous?”
Ruan Liangcai said coldly, looking at him with disdain.

“What do you mean by that? Sun Qian clearly named you as the one who injured him, how could it have nothing to do with you?”
Ding Hui called out to the steward, puzzled. If possible, he wouldn’t mind giving Li Wudao some leeway to mediate.

“Of course it has nothing to do with me, because Ruan Fei wasn’t beaten by me at all. I was just watching from the side; it was Yang Lin and the others who did it.”
Li Wudao grinned, delivering the rehearsed excuse.

“I admit, when Ruan Fei was being beaten, I was applauding on the sidelines...”
The youth’s eyes held a mocking gleam as he smiled and retorted,
“But every debt has its debtor. If you want to punish the culprit, shouldn’t you be looking for Yang Lin and the others instead?”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions varied—some angry, some strange, some amused.
Though the boy’s argument made sense, there was something infuriating about him.

Ruan Liangcai’s face darkened, and he snapped coldly,
“Nonsense! No matter how you spin it, you won’t escape punishment today!”

After waking, Ruan Fei tearfully insisted that Li Wudao was the attacker—how could that be false?

“Send a few people to bring Yang Lin and the others here, and find several disciples who were present that day. Hurry.”
Ding Hui remained rational and dispatched the stewards present.

“Yes!”
More than twenty stewards took their orders without delay and left quickly.

“Everyone, wait a little longer. Whether Li Wudao is lying or not, we’ll know once the others arrive.”
Ding Hui tried to comfort everyone.

“Hmph, just a last-ditch struggle. Let the brat carry on for a little while longer.”
Ruan Liangcai snorted coldly, glaring fiercely at the youth.

Time ticked by slowly.

Cheng Yuanliang gradually frowned.
Li Wudao remained unnervingly calm, standing there as if confident and fearless.

“Could it be that this kid isn’t lying?”
Even as the chief of the First Peak, he felt unsettled.

If that were true, it would be difficult even for him to act rashly.

Another fifteen minutes passed.

Yang Lin and two others were brought in, followed by seven or eight disciples who had been present at the scene.

Seeing Li Wudao,
Yang Lin immediately understood and laughed awkwardly, “Junior Brother Li, we meet again.”

Meng Yu and Lü Zian also smiled and nodded.

“Senior Brothers Yang, Meng...”
Li Wudao greeted the three lightly, not dwelling on it.

Ding Hui’s eyes flickered at the scene.
These three were among the elite true disciples, each with strong backing.
He hadn’t expected Li Wudao to be on such familiar terms with core true disciples like Yang Lin in such a short time—a feat not easily achieved.

“Li Wudao claims you three injured Ruan Fei. Is that true?”
Ding Hui asked straightforwardly.

Ruan Liangcai and Cheng Yuanliang held their breath, watching Yang Lin and the others intently.
Sun Qian looked anxious and worried, her heart pounding.

To some extent, Li Wudao had not lied; he was not the one who physically struck Ruan Fei.
Now, she could only hope Yang Lin and the others wouldn’t be foolish enough to take the blame themselves.

After all, if they were held responsible, there would be no good outcome.

However, their answer crushed her hopes.

“Junior Brother Li’s words are correct. Ruan Fei was indeed injured by the three of us.”

Yang Lin admitted openly, throwing a friendly glance at Li Wudao.
Meng Yu and Lü Zian nodded calmly as well.

The night before, Li Wudao had already coordinated with them, anticipating various possibilities and thus responded confidently.

The hall fell into a brief, heavy silence upon their confirmation.

Ding Hui let out a quiet sigh of relief.
Thankfully, the situation now had room to ease.

“That’s impossible! You’re lying! Last night Fei himself told me it was Li Wudao who injured him.”
Ruan Liangcai’s disbelief turned to fury.

“Your son is talking nonsense, slandering me—watch out or I’ll sue you for defamation!”

“Yesterday, that brat Ruan Fei spoke recklessly, insulting us as useless. We only taught him a lesson. Many people were present and can testify.”

“He’s just an inner disciple provoking true disciples—insubordination! Shouldn’t he be punished?”

Yang Lin and the others defended themselves vehemently, showing no respect to Ruan Liangcai.

“I can testify for Senior Brother Yang, that’s true.”
“I can too.”
“...”

Then, the seven or eight disciples present echoed in agreement.

Having benefited from Li Wudao, they naturally sided with him.
Besides, they weren’t lying—the scene had unfolded exactly as described.

“You...”
Ruan Liangcai’s face flushed with shame and anger. He was being humiliated like a grandson, wanting to retort but at a loss for words.

At that moment,
Sun Qian could no longer hold back, her expression anxious,
“It’s not like that!”

“Although Li Wudao didn’t strike directly, he gave the three of them ten thousand low-grade spirit stones, which is why they attacked Ruan Fei...”

At this point, if she didn’t speak up, she would truly be helpless against Li Wudao.

The situation shifted once again after her words.

“I knew it! You are the mastermind behind this!”
Ruan Liangcai regained his composure and glared coldly at Li Wudao,
“Spending ten thousand spirit stones to hire thugs to injure someone—you’re really willing to spend big!”

“Hey, hey, hey, you can eat any kind of food, but don’t speak nonsense.”
Li Wudao protested righteously,
“I’m quite close with Senior Brother Yang and the others; I just gave them some spirit stones as a friendly gesture over tea. What’s wrong with that?”

“Many disciples here heard this; whether I’m lying or not, just ask them.”
He fixed his gaze on the seven or eight disciples.

“That’s right, that’s right. Senior Brother Li said exactly that.”
Instantly, the disciples spoke in unison.

“This...”
Ding Hui and the stewards exchanged awkward looks, muttering how absurd it was.

They were astonished by Li Wudao’s extravagance and speechlessness at his explanation.
Who in their right mind offers ten thousand spirit stones just to have tea?
Is he crazy? Or just burning money for fun?

Nonetheless, they tacitly understood and looked upward, deciding not to get involved.

“Don’t twist the facts!”
Ruan Liangcai ground his teeth and hissed,
“You just joined the sect; how close could you be with Yang Lin and the others? Giving ten thousand spirit stones at once—if there’s no foul play, then no one would believe it!”

At that moment, Cheng Yuanliang stepped forward, supporting the argument,
“Elder Ruan is right. This boy’s explanation is unconvincing; suspicion of hiring thugs to injure remains.”
His cold gaze landed on Li Wudao,
“If he cannot present solid evidence, I, as the First Peak’s chief, will not let this go lightly!”

With the First Peak chief’s words,
Ding Hui could not pretend not to have heard. He focused on the youth and asked,
“Li Wudao, do you have anything to say?”

“Evidence, huh... easy...”
Li Wudao smiled confidently, pointing to the testifying disciples,
“Yesterday, I was in a good mood. Besides Yang Lin and the others, some onlookers were also given spirit stones without charge. These people here should have received some, right?”

Fortunately, he had kept a trump card—it hadn’t been in vain.

Sure enough, those disciples quickly chimed in.

“Senior Brother Li is really generous. He casually handed out five thousand spirit stones. Even us spectators got some.”
“Yes, yes.”
“...”

Seeing their reverent and enthusiastic expressions,
Though everyone found it ridiculous, they had to believe it.
They looked at Li Wudao, thinking how strange it was that such foolishly wealthy people really existed.

“Now do you believe me?”
Li Wudao shrugged with a smile, sighing to himself,
“When did giving spirit stones to others become a crime? My noble character is being questioned—ah, is it human nature that’s twisted or morals that have decayed?”

He grew more and more sentimental, nearly convincing some unaware listeners.

Even Yang Lin and the others widened their eyes in newfound knowledge.
One had to admit, this Junior Brother Li had a thick skin and knew how to push people’s buttons.

Ruan Liangcai and Cheng Yuanliang’s expressions visibly soured.
They launched attacks in succession only to be slapped down by Li Wudao—what humiliation!

The atmosphere grew tense and silent enough to hear a pin drop.

“Elder Ding, we were the ones who beat him. If there’s punishment, it should be on us, not an innocent.”
Yang Lin broke the silence, hinting at something.

“Yeah, so will there be punishment or not? If not, we’ll leave.”
Meng Yu and Lü Zian echoed him.

Seeing this, Ding Hui looked troubled, feeling overwhelmed.
These three were the chief’s direct disciples—how could he punish them? Would he dare?

This time, unusually, no one protested.

Cheng Yuanliang frowned deeply. Yang Lin and the others were troublemakers; even he did not want to offend them lightly.

Ruan Liangcai’s face grew darker and darker, feeling helpless.
He was utterly frustrated—he was certain Li Wudao was the culprit but just couldn’t do anything about it.

Was he to just watch this kid walk away unscathed?

Suddenly,
Sun Qian knelt down with a thud, tears streaming,
“Li Wudao cruelly and violently crippled my cultivation. I beg the peak lord to stand up for me!”

In an instant, everyone’s expressions changed.
They had nearly forgotten this matter.

“Oh? There’s that too?”
Cheng Yuanliang double-checked and found that Sun Qian’s dantian was indeed damaged.

His heart steadied, and his cold gaze locked onto Li Wudao,
“How do you explain crippling her cultivation?”

“Even if she’s an outer disciple, crippling her dantian is unforgivable and cannot escape severe punishment!”
Ruan Liangcai saw his chance and stepped forward aggressively, glaring at the youth.

Li Wudao did not respond, his eyes flickering as he occasionally glanced toward the hall’s entrance.

“Xiao Jiang, it’s all up to you now. Don’t mess up at a time like this...”
He murmured quietly, having anticipated an emergency and arranged for help before coming.

Yet, until now, Jiang Churan had not appeared, and he was growing uncertain.

“Since it’s admitted, there’s nothing left to say. Elder Ding... proceed with the execution.”
Cheng Yuanliang spoke decisively, forcing the matter without giving Li Wudao a chance to breathe.

“Let’s see who dares!”

A loud, forceful shout rang abruptly from outside the hall.

Shortly after, two figures hurried in.

Leading was a middle-aged man dressed in ornate robes, followed closely by a young woman in her prime.

They were none other than the sect master Murong Yan and Jiang Churan.