Phoenix Top and Dragon Bottom Chapter 19

Chapter 19 · Blood on the Ground Raises Deep Suspicions

Suddenly, the sky began pouring down a torrential rain without any warning, extinguishing the raging fires in an instant. The rain came down so unexpectedly that everyone was drenched within seconds. Seeing no shelter nearby, they had no choice but to cautiously seek refuge in a house where the fire had been put out, carrying the bodies of Xiang Zong and Butler Fu with them.

Once they were sheltered from the rain, the group began to reassess the situation. Some people in the crowd had faintly heard Butler Fu uttering the word “mo” earlier. Now, they disregarded Long Qinghan, who was standing right in front of them, and directly pointed accusing fingers at Feng Xuan Yang, who was known to be involved in the demonic arts, and sternly accused him of being the murderer.

Feng Xuan Yang stood calmly with his hands behind his back, saying nothing. Meanwhile, Long Qinghan felt mentally exhausted, his thoughts drifting back to before his resurrection. After the double wedding, the massacre at the Mei Mountain Villa occurred shortly thereafter. Everyone inside the villa died overnight, and the murderer seemed to have acted out of resentment, as some bodies were thrown to the lake at the foot of the mountain before the killer fled, staining the entire lake red. At that time, those who were still awake noticed the incident and rushed up the mountain. They were shocked to see Feng Xuan Yang standing in the villa, and beside him lay Butler Fu, who was still breathing, but before taking his last breath, he pointed at Feng Xuan Yang and murmured the word “mo.”

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Feng Xuan Yang was momentarily stunned, then smiled understandingly. He knew that even if no one else believed in him, Long Qinghan would always stand by his side.

Returning to Xiang Zhong’s body, Long Qinghan lowered his head to examine it. He found that the body was still slightly warm to the touch, but due to being surrounded by the intense fire, it was hard to accurately determine the time of death. However, judging from the deep, bone-revealing wound in his abdomen, it seemed that he was killed by a sword thrust. His face had stiffened, with wide-open eyes, a complex expression of either ferocity or pain and resentment. It was hard to deduce what he had experienced before his death.

Nevertheless, the biggest question remained: How did Feng Xuan Yang end up here, and how did he know that Xiang Zhong was dead?

But for now, Long Qinghan noticed that everyone around him was glaring at Feng Xuan Yang. He knew he had to defend Feng Xuan Yang’s innocence instead of questioning him about Xiang Zhong’s death.

He still remembered that before his resurrection, Xiang Zhong’s body was burnt to ashes, leaving no evidence behind. Following Butler Fu’s words, everyone falsely accused Feng Xuan Yang of the massacre at the Mei Mountain Villa. In a fit of rage, Feng Xuan Yang severely injured them and fled. In their subsequent confrontation, both Long Qinghan and Feng Xuan Yang sustained injuries. However, due to Long Qinghan’s lack of combat experience at the time, Feng Xuan Yang managed to escape while inflicting injuries on him. Afterward, Feng Xuan Yang’s exceptional martial arts frightened everyone, and they dared not provoke him again. Thus, the case of the Mei Mountain Villa massacre remained unsolved.

But now, since starting anew, Long Qinghan secretly swore that he would uncover the truth and clear Feng Xuan Yang’s name.

However, it seemed like fate was working against him as evidence pointing to Feng Xuan Yang emerged once again.

“Look, over here!” someone’s voice came from the direction of the bedroom, and everyone rushed in upon hearing it.

Long Qinghan furrowed his brow and exchanged a glance with Feng Xuan Yang before following inside.

Yet, when he saw where the person was pointing, Long Qinghan was taken aback.

On the floor where he had just rescued Xiang Zhong, there were two blood characters, or rather, two incomplete characters, “魔丿.” The writing was crooked and rushed, and though the “丿” wasn’t fully formed, Long Qinghan somehow knew it was the character “月,” meaning “moon.” “魔月” (demonic moon), what could this possibly signify?

Long Qinghan felt his head spinning. When he had rushed in earlier, Xiang Zhong lay here, seemingly struggling before his death, knocking over the desk, which caused it to fall onto him. In the heat of the moment, Long Qinghan hadn’t noticed the blood characters. But now… he glanced at the overturned desk on the ground, seemingly disturbed as he saved Xiang Zhong, causing the desk to fall and inadvertently cover the blood characters, thus preserving them after the fire.

However, a trace of ruthlessness flashed in Long Qinghan’s eyes, and he shot a fierce look at the person who spoke earlier. There were plenty of fallen items and furniture in the room, so why did that person only turn over the desk?

However, no one else cared about what Long Qinghan was thinking. In their eyes, the only thing they saw was the word “demon.”

In an instant, all the evidence pointed to Feng Xuan Yang, who appeared inexplicably at Mei Mountain Villa, covered in blood, and was seen leaving in a red robe. Butler Fu’s last words, the blood characters, and Feng Xuan Yang’s statement that Xiang Zhong was dead – all these signs made people suspect that Feng Xuan Yang was the one behind the massacre at the villa.

Suddenly, Long Qinghan felt so tired, so worn out. He staggered for a moment, almost losing his balance, but a hand quietly reached out and steadied him.

Long Qinghan was taken aback and turned to see Feng Xuan Yang’s gaze meeting his. In those eyes, there was no trace of panic or fear caused by suspicion, only determination, as if nothing in the world could shake him even the slightest bit. Facing so many people’s doubts, Feng Xuan Yang didn’t try to defend himself with words, but his upright posture and determined expression conveyed to Long Qinghan that he was innocent!

The warmth from that hand spread throughout his body, filling him with an inexplicable strength. He regained his balance, gently patting that hand, and then exhaled slowly. In an instant, his eyes shot out sharp cold light, restoring the cold and aloof demeanor of a king.

He yelled loudly, silencing the crowd’s harsh accusations against Feng Xuan Yang, and coldly glanced at them, saying, “The matter of Lord Xiang’s death is suspicious, and we must not hastily conclude this accusation based on subjective speculation.”

“The murderer, besides Feng Xuan Yang, who else could it be? Young Master Long, by defending him like this, could it be that you are in league with him?”

“Shut up!” Long Qinghan roared, his fierce gaze piercing the person who spoke, causing them to tremble and refrain from speaking.

Long Qinghan withdrew his gaze slowly and said coldly, “If you committed a murder, would you stay here and even appear in front of everyone covered in blood?”

The crowd shook, and for a moment, they fell into silence.

However, this alone was not enough to dispel their doubts. “Young Master Long, how do you know this isn’t a scheme deliberately set up by Feng Xuan Yang to dispel our suspicions?”

“Humph, what a joke!” Long Qinghan sneered and flicked his robe. He retorted, “If that were the case, why go to such lengths? Why not just kill and run away, leaving no trace for investigation? Wouldn’t that be better? Why would Feng Xuan Yang put in such effort?”

“This… Young Master Long, you keep defending him, but the person involved hasn’t said a word yet,” the person continued, unwilling to let go of the matter.

“Hmm?” At this moment, Feng Xuan Yang spoke up. He raised an eyebrow and sneered, “Ha, if you truly consider me the murderer, then nothing I say will be of any use. If I were to say that I didn’t kill him, you would think I’m lying. If I remain silent, you would think I’m admitting guilt,” he shrugged, casting a mocking gaze at the crowd, “So, what should I say then?”

The crowd trembled, revealing embarrassment on their faces. However, among them, there were some who were reasonable, and one of them asked, “But why did Sect Leader Feng come here late at night?”

Feng Xuan Yang glanced at the person who spoke and nodded approvingly, saying, “I couldn’t fall asleep at night, so I took a walk around the lake. When I reached the foot of the mountain, I heard sounds of fighting from the villa, so I came to check it out.” Suddenly, he waved his robe and preempted the others from speaking, “There’s no need to ask how I arrived so conveniently. You all came here just as conveniently in the middle of the night. Everyone was asleep, so why did you come? Could it be… someone told you that something would happen tonight, and that’s why you rushed over and happened to witness me committing the crime?”

“This… with Sect Leader Feng’s mention, this does seem a bit suspicious. Tonight, I was fast asleep when it seemed like someone entered my room and woke me up. Then I heard someone shouting that Mei Mountain Villa was on fire. Startled, I got up and hurried over, and on the way, I ran into you all, fellow disciples.”

Long Qinghan was stunned by the response but then turned to ask the others, “What about the rest of you? Is it the same for everyone?”

They all nodded in agreement, but as they looked at each other, they discovered mutual surprise in each other’s eyes.

Long Qinghan heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. It seemed that Feng Xuan Yang could be saved. He gave Feng Xuan Yang a reassuring look and then said, “It appears that someone deliberately framed Sect Leader Feng. Why else would you all so promptly discover this incident?”

“But how do you explain Sect Leader Feng being covered in blood here? And just now, I’m sure everyone saw Sect Leader Feng kill Butler Fu.”

“Hmph.” Feng Xuan Yang suddenly chuckled, but he didn’t say anything. He just shrugged, as if saying, “Believe me or not, it’s up to you,” while looking at Long Qinghan.

Long Qinghan understood Feng Xuan Yang’s character and didn’t blame him. In this perilous situation, the more Feng Xuan Yang said, the easier it would be for someone to use his words against him. So, not answering was the best course of action for him now.

However, Long Qinghan alone couldn’t handle the situation. He turned his head and looked at Feng Xuan Yang with a hopeful gaze, hoping he could clarify things.

Feng Xuan Yang shrugged helplessly and said, “Forget it, whether I say it or not, whether you believe it or not, I truly did not kill Xiang Zhong. As for the blood on me, it was stained in self-defense while I was killing those people.”

Long Qinghan’s brows furrowed, and he asked with doubt, “Self-defense?”

“Yes,” Feng Xuan Yang nodded, “When I arrived here, it was a scene of carnage, and I hadn’t even seen Xiang Zhong yet when several people from the villa attacked me in succession. To protect myself, I had no choice but to kill them all. However…” Feng Xuan Yang’s expression darkened suddenly, “I noticed something strange about the people attacking me. Their expressions seemed vacant, as if they were being manipulated.”

The crowd gasped, finding the idea of people being manipulated to commit murder horrifying.

However, some remained unconvinced, “What about you assassinating Butler Fu?”

“Him?” Feng Xuan Yang raised an eyebrow and said disdainfully, “I didn’t kill him.”

“Nonsense, everyone saw it!”

“Saw what?” Feng Xuan Yang smirked coldly, “If that’s the case, why didn’t you come forward to stop me?”

“Nonsense, we were watching from a distance. By the time we wanted to stop you, you had already fled.”

“So, you were all watching from a distance?” Feng Xuan Yang snorted coldly, his tone becoming stern, “Then dare I ask, did any of you see my face?”

The room fell silent at his words because no one among them had seen the face of the person in the red robe.

And Long Qinghan lowered his head, furrowing his brows as he pondered the silhouette he saw earlier. Suddenly, a flash of insight struck him, and he spoke up, “It wasn’t him…”

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