Even I Almost Believed It

The Mu family's family trial was held every year at the Nine Foot Mountain Range, but there were some minor problems this year.

Initially, they held the trial at the edge of the mountain range, where only Tier 1 primordial beasts could be found, and maybe an occasional Tier 2, which only those at the level of Novice would be able to deal with.

And it was also relying on the number of Yuan Cores that those who participated were able to gather and the level of the cores to determine the ranking in the trial.

But this year, for some reason, when the Mu family people entered Nine Foot Mountain Range, something strange happened. There were an unusual amount of primordial beasts at the edge of the mountain range, and as they went slightly further in, they even encountered Tier 3 and Tier 4 beasts!

This not only shocked the fledglings from the Mu family, but also those adventurers who wandered around the Nine Foot Mountain Range all year round!

Luo Xi City was a small place after all, and there weren't many strong people here. If they encountered primordial beasts of this tier, it was obvious they would lose.

If one were to compare the trial and one's life, the latter was more important.

Although the people were more scattered, once the three-day trial time was up, basically everyone came back safely. 

The head of the Mu Mansion, Mu Yan, and several elders who were waiting also breathed a sigh of relief once they saw this situation.

"What happened at the Nine Foot Mountain Range? Something has caused all the primordial beasts to flee." 

"The mountain range is huge, and if we want to find out the reason, I think it's impossible. The fact that we were able to save the lives of these children is already good enough." 

"That's right, it has always been safe enough, but this year, I don't know what happened. It's lucky that those primordial beasts had not gone mad and gone on a killing spree. Otherwise, all these fledglings would have died in the mountain range, and our Mu family would have suffered heavy losses!" 

Several elders whispered and chattered amongst themselves, curious about the situation, but thankful for how it had ended.

Mu Yan sat at the head of the table. Naturally, he was also puzzled, but it wasn't something for people like them to poke their noses into even if something had really happened.

Right now, the more important matter was still the fledglings of the family.

Thinking of such, he looked at a man who was standing on the stage in front of him.

"Have you finished the headcount?" 

The man looked back and brought his fist together in a salute. "Reporting to Master Mu Yan, I've checked the numbers. A total of 239 people entered Nine Foot Mountain Range for the trial, and a total of 221 people have returned." 

Mu Yan's face was solemn. "18 people are missing?" 

The man nodded in response. 

The elders looked at each other.

18 missing from 200 over people who had participated. The numbers actually didn't differ too much from the previous years. 

Only… they were all still youngsters in the end, and it was a pity that they ended up this way.

Mu Yan nodded and said in a heavy voice, "I understand. According to the rules, all of them will be given proper burials and compensation."

The man seemed to hesitate a little and didn't respond to that.

"What is it? Why aren't you saying anything?" Mu Yan's voice was strict.

The man hurriedly answered, "Among these 18 people, we couldn't find 5 corpses, Master Mu Yan." 

Mu Yan froze, then jumped to his feet abruptly. 

"How can they not have been found? Who are they?" 

The atmosphere in the area suddenly froze when these words were spoken.

Everyone looked over, especially those youths who had just gone through the family trial. They all looked towards the man anxiously as they held their breath.

Who were the people who were so unlucky that even their corpses could not be found?

"Mu Lianhai, Mu Danchuan, Mu Tie, Mu Yang…" 

The man rattled off several names, and the faces of many people among the crowd changed slightly.

Those were the names of the people who usually followed Mu Ye…

At this moment, everyone's gaze looked in a specific direction.

There, Mu Ye, who was still injured, stood. His expression was cold and solemn, and when he felt the gaze of the crowd, he coldly snorted.

Mu Yan also looked over and said in a heavy voice, "Mu Ye, I remember that when the trial started, these few people all followed you into the Nine Foot Mountain Range, didn't they?" 

Mu Ye took a few steps forward and bowed.

"Yes, they did." 

"Why can't their bodies be found? You all were moving as a small team, tell us what happened." 

Mu Ye, however, looked at the man who had been reporting the headcount and asked, "You said that there were a total of 5 corpses that were missing. So, who is the last person?" 

The man was stunned, and then looked as though he was struggling at the question.

Mu Yan frowned. "Who is the last person?" 

The man hesitated a while more before finally saying, "Master Mu Yan, the last person is…

"Mu Linghan." 

The area plunged into dead silence. 

Mu Yan and the other elders were not expecting that, and their faces also sank.

Mi Linghan was already a cripple in terms of power, and in the end, he was still the patriarch of the main clan's grandson. He had only been here a few months, and now, even his corpse could not be found?

How were they going to explain this to the main clan?

Although it was possible that the main clan would not be bothered with an invalid, but…

When Mu Ye heard this, he smiled wryly.

"Master Mu Yan, the answer to your question about why the bodies of the people in my team are missing, is Mu Linghan!" 

Mu Yan's heart thumped in his chest. "What do you mean by that?" 

Mu Ye sneered. 

"After we entered the Nine Foot Mountain Range, Mu Linghan was the one who unknowingly led us into the depths of the mountain range. It didn't take long for us to encounter a Tier 2 primordial beast, a Brown Striped White Tiger!"

A few elders were shocked, and jumped to their feet. "A Brown Striped White Tiger? How is that possible?!"

Even though it was a Tier 2 primordial beast, it rarely frequented the edge of the mountain range at all because they moved in packs! How could their small team have provoked the Brown Striped White Tigers?!

"Master Mu Yan, Elders, the injuries on my body are the best proof!" Mu Ye said angrily. "If there was only one Brown Striped White Tiger, we could have dealt with it fine. That Brown Striped White Tiger injured me seriously, and I was just about to get everyone to safety when Mu Linghan suddenly struck out to kill the beast!

"Elders, all of you must know that killing one Brown Striped White Tiger is equivalent to offending the entire pack! So, before we had time to escape, we were already surrounded!" 

"Ahh!" 

Once Mu Ye said those words, a low cry of alarm came from the crowd. They all looked at Mu Ye with fear and concern in their eyes.

So, it wasn't difficult to understand how those few people had died after all.

Mu Ye gritted his teeth, obviously filled with indignation. "We were in a deadly situation, and none of us knew just how evil Mu Linghan was. To save himself, he actually secretly used the others as his shield! To buy time for his own escape, he even threw them to the Brown Striped White Tigers!" 

The whole courtyard was once again plunged into a deadly silence.

How ruthless and vicious! That Mu Linghan was really repulsive and hateful!

"I wanted to save them, but I could barely save myself. I was already struggling to protect myself, and I could only watch before my eyes as they were bitten to death…"

As Mu Ye spoke, his eyes reddened and his body trembled slightly, filled with grief and anger.

"If I hadn't already broken through to become a Novice, I'm afraid it would have been difficult for me to escape death too. After I managed to get away with much difficulty, I went back once more to look again, and found that Mu Linghan had also been dragged into the pack of Brown Striped White Tigers…"

The crowd sighed.

If so, then Mu Linghan really deserved to die! It was only unfortunate for the few others who had been used as his meat shield all in order to save himself…

Mu Ye raised his head, his eyes filled with grief and anger, and suddenly knelt down on one knee and said in a heavy voice, "I failed to protect the people in my team, and I failed to bring them back safely. I ask that you punish me, Master Mu Yan! But, since Mu Linghan has already died, I plead that you don't pursue and hold him accountable! I'm willing to bear the burden instead!" 

The time limit for the family trial was up, and since Mu Linghan still had not return after so long, then he must be dead!

It was only a pity that Mu Ye couldn't personally kill him to vent his anger!

Mu Ye kept his eyes lowered, hiding the hint of viciousness in them.

Clap, clap, clap!

Suddenly, the sound of crisp clapping came, and a voice tinged with laughter rang out clearly, "That was wonderful! Even I almost believed it!" 

Everyone present turned around, only to see a young man with an upright posture stepping forward!