Lang Jiuchuan was no fool. She would never voluntarily offer up a handle by which others could seize her. This was something she had done — but confessing to it? That required proof. She would never incriminate herself willingly.

So was she someone who dared act but lacked the courage to admit it?

No, no, no. The burden of proof lay with the accuser. It was that simple.

She was no saintly bodhisattva who, when questioned, would be so afraid the other party couldn’t produce evidence that she’d brazenly declare I did it, so what of it?

That wasn’t bravery. That was stupidity.

Between being caught with evidence and handing over the evidence herself, she would always choose the former.

You say I implanted a sha curse on you? You and I both know perfectly well that I did. But what of it? Produce your evidence. Otherwise, you simply suffered a backlash. You struck first. Your technique was countered and the backlash came for you. You are outmatched. That is all.

This would be Lang Jiuchuan’s answer, regardless of who came asking.

She looked coldly at Lu You’an, her expression even more haughty and contemptuous than his had ever been. Show mercy where mercy can be shown?

She had already shown mercy once, out of consideration for the Venerable Xuanneng. But there was a limit to patience — once exhausted, there was no need to endure further.

Her gaze was far too frigid. Lu You’an felt fear beneath his fury. She was just a young woman — how did she dare offend him, dare offend the Rong Family? Who had given her such audacity?

Behind him stood not only the Rong Family, but also the Tantai clan — and the monk standing right here.

“Father!” Lu You’an cried out reflexively toward the Venerable Xuanming.

The Venerable Xuanming went rigid. He turned his head, and that round, smooth face of his had lost all semblance of Buddhist serenity — it had darkened considerably. “Amitabha Buddha. Benefactor Lu, this poor monk’s dharma name is Xuanming. You have called the wrong person.”

Had he lost his mind? Even if some people already knew the truth of his identity, calling out to him so openly in front of everyone — was he not worried that being an illegitimate son would become irrefutably confirmed?

He had never thought the boy this foolish before. How had he grown more witless with age? Had the yin-sha energy eaten away at his brain?

Lu You’an’s heart lurched. Meeting that icy gaze, his expression shifted through several rapid changes.

He had allowed fury to overwhelm his reason. His composure had collapsed entirely.

How had this happened?

Lu You’an suddenly snapped his gaze toward Lang Jiuchuan — it was her doing. He hastily lowered his eyes, and the hand hidden within his sleeve formed a Taoist hand seal as he silently recited the Heart-Clearing Verse.

Lang Jiuchuan sneered inwardly. So much for talent. He couldn’t even withstand a simple confusion talisman — his composure crumbled at a moment’s notice. With this level of ability, how had he dared come to this meditation hall and move against Cui Shi so brazenly?

All his courage rested on the Rong Family.

The mockery at the corner of Lang Jiuchuan’s lips grew more pronounced. From this glimpse alone, she could read the whole. Over these past months, she had encountered the Rong Family’s members again and again, and from their conduct, she had come to understand the general quality of that clan’s disciples — most of them relied on the prestige of their sect to do as they pleased.

They served the Rong Family, and the Rong Family’s towering reputation served as their shield.

If such was the Rong Family, then what of the Feng Family? And the others within the Gong Family — would they be any different?

The Xuan clans. Hah.

A flash of contempt passed through Lang Jiuchuan’s lowered eyes. She felt a deep shame and sorrow on behalf of the Xuan sect as a whole — no, these people were not fit to represent it. They were not worthy.

The Venerable Xuanming might have refused to acknowledge his son, but Lang Jiuchuan had no intention of letting either of them off so easily. She feigned startled realization and looked at him. “Father? No wonder the Reverend advised me to show mercy — so this is your son.”

She gave a soft sound of curiosity. “But this fellow practitioner — isn’t he the fourth son of Lord Lu Changxue of the Lu Family? I’d heard he was sent to the Rong Family to study the Way. How does one study the Way and end up calling the wrong man Father?”

Lu You’an felt the sha backlash flare — no, it was his own fury making it worse.

This woman was absolutely insufferable.

The Venerable Xuanming recited Amitabha and said, “Young benefactress, better to resolve grievances than to deepen them. Shall we not each take a step back?”

Lang Jiuchuan regarded the Venerable Xuanming with cool composure. “Since the Reverend has already taken monastic vows, he should hold the principle of karmic cause and effect in the highest regard. Even if this is your son, you cannot play favorites and apply double standards. He used evil arts against a member of the Lang Family — such conduct is the way of demonic practice. The Rong Family prides itself on being a righteous sect and surely would not shelter someone who behaves this way. As it stands, the officers from the Bureau of Oversight are on their way. I believe it is best to let the Bureau of Oversight adjudicate what he has done — otherwise, what was the point of the court establishing the Bureau in the first place?”

She placed particular emphasis on the word court, making clear to Xuanming: your true surname is Tantai, and what the court advocates is what the imperial clan advocates — what your own ancestral clan advocates. Do not undermine it.

“Do not distort the facts!” Lu You’an gasped, his breathing ragged. “It was you who first cast a nightmare curse on my mother, causing her to fall into a nightmarish stupor and injure herself through it. What I did was no more than a son seeking justice for his mother.”

“Do not spit blood and accuse others falsely. What nightmare curse? I have no grudge with your mother — why would I work magic against her? What evidence do you have that I did it? Are you relying purely on the words from your own mouth? ” Lang Jiuchuan sneered coldly. “I could just as easily say that you are fabricating charges to frame me.”

Hatred ignited in Lu You’an’s eyes. “There is indeed evidence — my mother saw that you are possessed by a wandering spirit, and you feared exposure, so you sought to have her silenced.”

At these words, every member of the Lang Family — who had been crouching like quails — looked up sharply. What was he saying? A wandering spirit?

Lang Zhengping’s face darkened entirely. He stepped forward, his voice stern yet somewhat shaky with forced composure: “Is this the true character of those in the Xuan sect? When outmatched, you resort to fabrication and slander — trying to destroy a young girl’s reputation with groundless accusations. Is this the spiritual integrity of your Xuan sect, the vaunted righteousness of the Rong Family — so vile and malicious? A wandering spirit? Laughable. What wandering spirit would be so bold as to roam freely through Huguo Temple, with no fear of manifesting before the sacred image of the Buddha?”

Lang Jiuchuan nearly raised her hand: That would be me, your very own great-niece.

The man wasn’t wrong, come to think of it.

Lang Zhengping then turned to the Venerable Xuanming: “Reverend, have you ever witnessed a wandering spirit that could move unimpeded through every hall of a temple? If such a brazen ghost truly existed, would the Buddha and Bodhisattvas simply look the other way?”

The Venerable Xuanming: “…”

“My family’s young Miss just completed a ritual ceremony with the Venerable Xuanguang, standing directly before the Three Sacred Images — and yet you claim she is possessed by a wandering spirit? Utterly absurd!” Lang Zhengping fixed Lu You’an with an ice-cold stare. “You, on the other hand, are of a so-called righteous sect, yet your deeds are vicious and corrupt, running contrary to every principle of righteousness. Perhaps it is you who has been cultivating some sinister and harmful art with designs to harm the people of this world.”

In her heart, Lang Jiuchuan was cheering wildly for her great-uncle. When it counted, this elder of hers was indeed reliable.

But wait — the fact that Lu You’an had exposed this matter so openly made her wonder. Had he truly come here solely to avenge his mother? Or was there another purpose to this visit?

She would not believe for a single moment that Xi Yun had abandoned her designs on her. She would not quietly allow Lang Jiuchuan to live on — especially now that the Rong Family’s young master was about to emerge from his seclusion, intent on clearing away obstacles that might catch his eye.

Lang Jiuchuan looked toward Lu You’an with a long, searching gaze, scrutiny threading through her expression.

Beneath that unnerving stare, Lu You’an felt panic beneath his rage. He lowered his eyes — but within them, a flash of cold light came and went.

The Madam had been right. This monster should become flower fertilizer for their young master.