The Near Future (Part 2)
The moment Jian Li heard that booming voice, her body tensed up.
As she scanned the crowd for the source of the voice, she noticed a giant man standing at the front of the crowd. He held a large staff in one hand while pointing the other one at her.
"What's going on here?", he asked angrily.
"This little girl has the gall to commit such a heinous crime in front of all of us?", he continued as he raised his staff.
"Calm down, brother!", another person yelled in protest. "Jian Li isn't the cause of all this madness. Do you think a child like her would be able to kill Yan faster than you could react?"
"He's right!", someone said.
"What if that monster that truly killed Zhang Yan came out from a dark corner and attacked us right now?", another voice shouted.
The already tense crowd devolved into a panic.
Jian Li looked at the crowd. She felt bad for all the people who seemed afraid of her.
As she stood there, she noticed the man with the staff and booming voice had vanished.
"Even if you didn't directly murder him, the fact is that he died fighting you. Don't blame me for being unreasonable."
Every single word seemed to be transmitted into her head in a split second, making her feel odd.
A sense of foreboding struck her.
"NO!", some voices shouted in unison as all of a sudden a loud bang was heard behind her.
Jian Li quickly turned around to see He Yu and the giant man with the staff behind her, clashing with each other.
The man's staff was broken into several pieces and He Yu was badly wounded in the shoulder. Blood dripped from her fingers and stained her white robe red.
Meng Liang and two other men shortly appeared beside He Yu and quickly moved to assist her.
The giant man looked annoyed and looked at He Yu before glaring at Jian Li.
The giant man had an appearance similar to Zhang Yan but his skin was pale, almost deathly, and he had no hair or eyebrows. His eyes were cold and his mouth was curled into a snarl as he stared at Jian Li with hatred.
He raised his broken staff and pointed it at her before speaking.
"You're nothing more than an evil murderer who killed my disciple!", he said furiously.
"I'm no murderer!", Jian Li yelled back at him, raising her wooden sword defensively as she backed away from him. "I didn't kill your disciple."
"Meng Liang, what is the meaning of this? Are you truly letting a mere Earth stage child get away with murder?", the man growled.
Jian Li could feel the anger radiating from Meng Liang as he glared at the giant man.
"Zhang Zi. With all due respect, what gave you the right to touch a member of the True Sword Sect?", Meng Liang scolded.
"I have every right to do so!", Zhang Zi replied indignantly.
"Are you sure she's the one responsible for his death?", He Yu coughed as several other swordsmen were supporting her while she recovered.
"Of course I am!", Zhang Zi spat angrily.
"Then show me proof! How could a child like her murder someone just from her barely Earth stage cultivation?"
He Yu's tone was firm, but Zhang Zi just shook his head.
"I don't need to prove anything. My disciple has been killed by an assassin! If I leave this place without a body, I swear I will make somebody pay for it!", Zhang Zi exclaimed angrily.
"The same goes for me!", a voice suddenly cried out.
The crowd looked in the direction the sound came from.
An old man walked out from the audience. His clothes were tattered and dirty, revealing his skeletal figure. His eyes looked tired but his face was full of vigour and determination.
He bowed towards the old man who had come out of the crowd.
"Do you think you can escape justice now that you've committed the crime?", the old man asked Jian Li angrily.
"I haven't done anything wrong!", Jian Li responded firmly while standing her ground.
"Silence!", the old man interrupted as he approached her. "Why are you still alive?!"
"I haven't killed anybody! He is the one who attacked me in the first place! I do not know what is going on.", she said, looking up at him with a determined gaze.
"Are you going to keep denying that you killed my disciple?", Zhang Zi asked as he narrowed his eyes.
Jian Li was silent. There was nothing she could say to get out of the situation.
"Did you not see Zhang Yan moving sluggishly earlier? It has to have been a mental attack gone wrong-", He Yu said.
"Even if it was an accident, to retaliate with such force is still a heinous deed! Don't tell me you think what happened today is fine because of that stupid excuse?", the old man interrupted.
"Who are you to lecture us?! You're just a lowly True Sword Sect Elder!", Zhang Zi shouted angrily.
"I will take care of this myself!", he continued, lifting his staff and pointing at Jian Li. "You will pay for this with your life!"
"Don't be foolish, brother!", another voice yelled out.
A middle-aged man with deep wrinkles that made his face look as if he had a permanent frown appeared at his side.
"Brother, stop! We shouldn't let our anger get the better of us.", he pleaded as he tried to take the broken staff from Zhang Zi's hands.
"Shut up!", he roared as he pushed the man away.
"This girl killed my disciple and she won't admit her fault!", he said while glaring at Jian Li. "She needs to die to avenge my disciple!"
Meng Liang stepped in front of Jian Li and He Yu. "Enough already! Stop being ridiculous!", he shouted back at Zhang Zi.
"What is happening here is exactly why we cannot allow anyone to act recklessly. Zhang Zi, how could you? Have some sense of propriety.", he added.
"I don't need your lectures, Meng Liang. I'm taking this matter into my own hands.", Zhang Zi said.
Meng Liang's eyes narrowed.
"So be it then. But you'll be sorry you did."
He quickly raised his hand, pointing his finger at Zhang Zi.
Instantly there was a bright flash of light accompanied by an explosion that seemed to tear the air apart.
Zhang Zi was thrown across the stage and landed roughly several dozen meters away.
He immediately glared at Meng Liang.
"How dare you strike me?", Zhang Zi demanded angrily.
The old man stared coldly at Meng Liang and spoke.
"You dare challenge me, boy?"