Betrayal- Part 1; Childhood friends(One day in the past- VI)

"It was him. I saw it in my eyes. He killed Deng Yifeng in front of my very eyes. He looked like a monster when he killed poor shixiong Deng. He pleaded to this monster not to kill him. But he looked like a crazy person. He stabbed him many times and checked whether he died before leaving. I was so scared to see everything. If...If only this man saw me, I would be dead by now."

Xie Ra couldn't believe his ears. What in the world was he saying? He didn't even know who killed Deng Yifeng. But, now a half-dozen people stood in front of the sect court and testified that they witnessed how he killed his colleague in a cold-blooded manner. He tried to wrap his head around the situation.

"Allow me to speak, elder, I have to say something about this too." Li Juan stood up. Xie Ra knew this wasn't going in a good direction now. She was a strong cultivator in the sect but, for some reason, she seemed to hate Xie Ra.

"Well, it's not like I personally hate junior Xie Ra. But, I have a theory about this. He has half demonic heritage, right?" Oh shit, She dropped a bee nest amidst the gathering. Everyone started to murmur loudly.

Not many people knew about this except his closest friends, family, shizun, and a few sect elders including the sect leader. Everyone who knew his secret gave him a sympathetic look. Even Xie Ra knew his chance of survival dropped a few folds with this statement.

Li Juan turned her head to Xie Ra with fake concern. However, he could smell her victory across the room. His hand clenched with anger. Is she mocking him now? Then, she turned to the court and continued her talk.

"It was known by everyone that demonic tribes are very ruthless killers. My theory is maybe his demonic blood acted instead of his consciousness. That explains why he couldn't remember about the murder. So, I think we should think about this situation on his side too." Then, she bowed and sat in her place.

What the heck was she talking about? She just gave a sword to behead him. Now she wants to act like a righteous person here? Xie Ra never felt this helpless before.

Before she started to talk, many seemed to question whether a childish person like Xie Ra could cold-bloodedly stab his colleague 18 times. But, with her declaration, many of them looked convinced that he was the murderer.

Xie Ra gritted his teeth and looked at the floor to hide his tears. He didn't want to appear weak in front of anyone. But, his action seemed to put more oil to the already raging fire of suspicions. Even, he knew this. He tried to prepare his mind for his tragic fate.

"Anyone else want to talk on behalf of the suspect?" A literature elder asked the audience using the voice amplification technique. Nobody tried to say anything.

He turned around his head and tried to search for his friends. A few juniors who learned under him stared at him with helpless stares. It was clear that they didn't believe that their playful senior could be that cruel.

A junior sister was busy crying silently. Her red face was visible to the distance where Xie Ra was sitting. He recognizes her immediately. Ah-Luo, his *foster mother, elder Ming Tianglong's fangirl.

A few of his other friends looked helpless too. They tried to give encouraging smiles to Xie Ra secretly. But, many of his faithful friends weren't there. Long Wang, Master villain(his nickname), and even his gege weren't in the sect at the moment. These three would surely talk on behalf of him.

There was another person Xie Ra expected to stand by him. Shi Weizhe. He was Xie Ra's partner in crime for so many years. Xie Ra tried to search for him but, he couldn't find him among the crowd.

Weird? wasn't he supposed to be here? Maybe he got a side quest? Yeah, that must be the answer. His friend would never do that to Xie Ra. He remembered how he comforted him when Xie Ra got into trouble in the past years. A person like that would never betray him by locking him out when Xie Ra needed him.

Sect leader cleared his throat. Everybody turned their heads in his direction and listened attentively.

"As nobody tries to speak on behalf of the suspect, the second day of the trial will come to the end now. The last trial day will be held in two days, at the second bell time." He dismissed the gathering for that day.

Xie Ra was taken away into the cold dungeons in the Immortal sword sect by two deity elders. His hand was bonded with a special rope that suppresses the spiritual energy flow in his body. These ropes were specially made for criminals among the cultivators. It blocks their inner qi flow which makes them weaker a few folds than their true strength.

But before he left the main pavilion, he saw a familiar silhouette leaving the pavilion side door quietly. He was shocked. It was his friend Shi Weizhe. Xie Ra's eyes widened from the shock. Was he there when the trial was going on? Then why didn't he say anything for Xie Ra. They were friends from childhood. Xie Ra wanted to talk to him.

One elder tried to grab him away. His grasp hurt Xie Ra a lot as his body was already weak by sticking inside a dark dungeon, eating a small amount of food for so many days. But, he still wanted to ask for an explanation. He yelled behind his childhood friend.

"Xiao Shi, Hey, Stop, Please stop, give me a moment to talk with you."

Shi Weizhe halted on his tracks. But, he didn't turn towards the Xie Ra. Then, he asked coldly, "Ask quickly."

Xie Ra gulped. His friend's act hurt him. But, he still brushed it off and spoke to him again.

"Were you there in the trial? You weren't right? I wasn't suspecting you. I'm just asking. I know you won't do that to me. Right?"

Shi Weizhe didn't say a word. Xie Ra couldn't understand why. So, he started to talk again.

"Why don't you say anything? You won't do that to me, right?" His voice was fuelled with pain.

Shi Weizhe still didn't bother to turn back. Instead, he replied in an unemotional tone.

"I told you about it before. Remember it or not, that's on you." Then he continued to walk away without turning back.

What? What did he say? Did he say anything about not talking on behalf of him before? Or did he accidentally do anything that made his friend angry? But, whatever happened, couldn't he explain before coldly saying it and walking away?

Xie Ra's pain turned to anger. A wave of anger that was born from the pain of abandonment. He shouted after his friend who just blocked him off when Xie Ra really needed him.

"What happened to you, Xiao Shi? Aren't we childhood friends? Why are you like this? Just explain what I did at least. Even after what you did, you don't want to explain? You know what, Do whatever you want?" His pain exploded in the form of anger.

Abandonment wasn't something new for Xie Ra. His parents abandoned him. His many friends left him. Many people close to him just left him. But, what hurt most was he didn't expect his friend to turn his back on him in a moment like this. He turned around to walk back to his dark cell. Where he could go and cry until his anger and pain subside.

Two elders clearly saw what happened. They even noticed the silent tears wetting Xie Ra's face while he stormed away with extreme rage. They didn't try to say anything. It wasn't their business at all.

On this gloomy dark evening, two best friends walked in opposite directions, never to meet again in that life.