Chapter 53: Acting
“What exactly does Lord Beirut want to do?” Linley wondered in his heart. Whether there was a traitor in the clan, whether it was Follan—these were matters without evidence. Why was Lord Beirut asking so many questions?
Just as Linley was puzzled, Beirut, seated high in the hall, slammed his wine goblet heavily onto the long table before him. The harsh sound made the four clan leaders and Pussero all turn to look at him.
“Hmph!” Beirut suddenly let out a cold snort.
Instantly, the entire hall fell silent. Everyone understood that this Lord of the Azure Prefecture seemed somewhat displeased. Offending others was one thing, but one couldn’t offend the pillar of the clan’s existence. Galesrean chuckled twice and said, “Lord Prefect, is there something the matter?”
Beirut glanced at him, then swept his gaze around the room, his eyes cold and clear.
“Linley and his group were ambushed by eight enemy Elders. He killed several of them, and merits deserve rewards—I commend your clan’s handling of that. But… didn’t the Four Divine Beasts Clan investigate how eight Elders could attack at the same time?”
Beirut snorted coldly and continued, “As far as I know, during that ambush by eight enemy Elders, three of them used Sovereign power, clearly intent on killing Linley! Moreover, during the battle, even my grandson Bebe was caught in the crossfire. Fortunately, I had long since forged a soul defense artifact for him, allowing him to withstand those green specks. Otherwise, he would have ended up like Delia!”
“Such a major incident, and your clan didn’t investigate? Hmph!” Beirut let out another angry snort and said no more.
At these words, the many Elders in the hall began secretly discussing via divine telepathy. Even the four clan leaders on the dais were conversing the same way. In their view…
Beirut’s anger likely stemmed from Bebe being affected.
Although Bebe was unharmed, Beirut was clearly still furious. The four clan leaders could fully understand this.
“Lord Prefect,” the Vermillion Bird clan leader said apologetically, “We also believe that the attack by those eight Elders was definitely premeditated. Otherwise, how could eight Elders have appeared right outside Miluo City as soon as Linley left? But this matter is impossible to investigate!”
“Impossible to investigate?” Beirut said coldly. “It’s simple. There’s a traitor in your clan.”
“A traitor!”
At these words, the hall erupted in uproar.
Follan was so startled that his pores seemed to stand on end, and his heart gave a violent lurch. But he quickly calmed down: “It’s fine. Absolutely fine. Besides me, no one knows that I notified the eight great clans. If I don’t say anything, who would know? Even if Linley suspects, what evidence does he have?”
In an instant, Follan steeled his resolve—no matter what, he was not the traitor!
But as the saying goes, a guilty conscience needs no accuser. Even knowing no one could find out, Follan still felt uneasy.
“Father, is there really a traitor?” Emmanuel also sent a divine telepathic message to Follan.
“Perhaps,” Follan replied, feigning calmness. “There might be a traitor, or maybe the eight great clans really had a way to track Linley’s movements.”
The hall buzzed with noise as the Elders were shocked.
Linley, however, was bewildered: “This Lord Beirut… isn’t he going too far?” He didn’t know what to say. There was no evidence, yet Beirut dared to act this way. Still, in Linley’s mind, Beirut had always been unconventional.
“Linley, is there really a traitor?” Delia, seated beside him, asked via divine telepathy.
“Probably,” Linley replied.
“Who is it? That Follan?” Delia glanced at Follan. When thinking of a traitor, she too immediately thought of him.
“If there is a traitor, it’s almost certainly him,” Linley answered.
At that moment, Galesrean on the dais quickly said, “Lord Prefect, you say there’s a traitor. Do you have evidence?”
“Of course I do!” Beirut said with a faint smile.
The hall erupted in uproar once more. Even Linley was surprised.
“Evidence?” Linley himself had no idea where any evidence could come from.
“Evidence?” Follan below was alarmed. “No, absolutely not. I changed my appearance when my divine clone delivered that message. No one could possibly know about this.”
“Where is the evidence?” Galesrean pressed. “If there really is a traitor betraying the clan… Lord Prefect, rest assured. No matter who it is, the Four Divine Beasts Clan will execute all their clones without exception. Not one will be spared!”
Galesrean’s words were resolute.
“Yes, they must be executed!” the White Tiger clan leader said coldly.
“Lord Prefect, what about the evidence?” the Vermillion Bird clan leader asked. Everyone in the hall turned to look at Beirut. Linley and Follan also stared at him, wondering…
What evidence could there be?
“I can’t say, I can’t say!” Beirut said with a faint smile.
Everyone was stunned.
“Lord Prefect, what do you mean?” Galesrean and the others were baffled. Linley frowned in confusion.
Beirut smiled faintly and said, “Saying it would be useless, because only two people know about this matter. One is me, and the other is a great Sovereign! Do you think a Sovereign would testify over such a trivial matter? As for the details, they involve certain information about the Sovereign, which I dare not divulge.”
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Linley was also stunned. How had a Sovereign gotten involved?
“Lord Prefect, you mean there’s no evidence that can be produced?” the Grand Elder’s voice rang through the hall.
“That’s right, there’s no evidence that can be produced,” Beirut nodded.
The Grand Elder said respectfully, “Lord Prefect, without evidence you can produce, this matter cannot yet be confirmed. Whether there is a traitor remains uncertain! Without evidence, it’s best not to stir up unrest and suspicion.”
“Ridiculous!”
Beirut looked at the Grand Elder. “What, do you think I’m lying?”
The Grand Elder was at a loss for words.
“Sister,” Galesrean sent a divine telepathic message, “Lord Prefect clearly wants to pursue this. Let him pursue it. After all, to identify a traitor, we need at least a convincing reason. If he makes arbitrary accusations, the Four Divine Beasts Clan won’t stand for it! For now, don’t provoke him.”
Galesrean then asked solemnly, “May I ask Lord Prefect, who is the traitor you know of?”
Instantly, the entire hall fell silent.
Linley listened intently. Beirut smiled faintly, raised his right index finger, and pointed it at Follan below the dais. “The traitor of your Four Divine Beasts Clan is him! Follan!!!”
“Follan!!!” Beirut’s final shout echoed through the hall. Follan’s face turned extremely ugly in an instant.
Linley was astonished and sent a divine telepathic message to Beirut: “Lord Beirut, what are you doing?”
“Don’t overthink it. I have my plans. Just watch what happens next,” Beirut replied via divine telepathy.
The many Elders seated below all turned to look at Follan. He immediately stood up, his face filled with anger, and said in a loud voice, “Lord Prefect! I, Follan, am a third-generation member of the clan. Over the past ten thousand years, I have killed two Seven Star Demons from the enemy! My son even lost his strongest divine clone in battle against the enemy. And you call me a traitor? Hahaha…”
Follan laughed bitterly, the sound filled with indignation, causing many Elders to instinctively believe him.
Clearly, Beirut had produced no concrete evidence from start to finish, and the traitor he pointed out was “Follan.” If it had been a younger member of the clan or someone who joined later, the Elders might have believed it.
But Follan—the Grand Elder’s son!
They couldn’t believe he was a traitor either.
“Lord Prefect,” the Grand Elder stood up, his eyes beneath the silver mask blazing with anger. He said coldly, “Follan is my son. I know him well after countless years! I dare guarantee that he is absolutely not a traitor! Nor could he be!”
Beirut still wore a faint smile on his face.
“Oh, you won’t admit it?” Beirut glanced at Follan.
“Follan, do you think you did it without anyone knowing? That if you don’t speak, no one will find out?” Beirut said with a faint smile. “But you forgot, a Sovereign’s divine sense can probe without you ever noticing!”
Follan’s heart trembled: “Could it be that everything I did was known to a Sovereign? Impossible, impossible! How could a Sovereign happen to pay attention to my affairs?” He kept convincing himself.
Outwardly, Follan still held his head high and said firmly, “Lord Prefect, I, Follan, dare to say that I have never betrayed the clan, absolutely not!”
“I won’t say more,” Beirut looked at him. “You think you’re innocent, right?”
Follan nodded proudly: “Of course!”
Beirut nodded slightly: “Very well. If you are truly innocent, then don’t resist. I will perform a ‘Soulsearch’ on you. Under Soulsearch, you will reveal the truth completely.”
Hearing this, Linley understood Beirut’s plan: “Follan is a Seven Star Demon after all, and among the Elders, his strength is considerable. Moreover, he’s from the Azure Dragon clan, protected by innate azure light in his soul. Forcibly performing a ‘Soulsearch’ on him would be difficult even for Lord Beirut.”
Soulsearching a Seven Star Demon was hard.
If that Seven Star Demon also had innate azure light protection… the number of people in the entire Hell who could Soulsearch him could be counted on one hand.
“Soulsearch?” Follan said angrily. “Lord Prefect, I am not a traitor! And you still want me to submit to a ‘Soulsearch’? Although you are the exalted Lord Prefect, I must say—you go too far!”
“How dare you!” Galesrean shouted.
But Follan stepped forward boldly.
“Thud!” He knelt heavily.
“Clan Leader!” Follan said passionately, “At this point, I have nothing to say. This Lord Prefect slanders me and then wants to perform a Soulsearch, telling me not to resist. I, Follan, am an Elder of the great Four Divine Beasts Clan! I am a Seven Star Demon! Such great humiliation—I cannot bear it!”
Follan raised his head and said, “Clan Leader, if I must bow to the Lord Prefect’s authority, then today I will submit to his will and die here! Lord Prefect, go ahead and strike! Execute me if you will! But you, Beirut—even if you are the Lord Prefect, even if you have done great favors for my clan, I will not allow you to insult me further! Kill me if you must, but I will not tolerate your slander!”
Follan closed his eyes: “If you want to kill me, go ahead!”
The many Elders in the hall began discussing via divine telepathy.
“Follan, just submit to a Soulsearch once. Then Lord Prefect will know you’re innocent,” Galesrean said.
“The humiliation I’ve suffered is enough. And now you want me to submit to a Soulsearch without resisting?” Tears streamed down Follan’s face as he cried out, “Clan Leader… when the Ancestor was still here, who would dare treat an Elder of our clan like this?”
These words resonated with many Elders present.
When the Ancestor was alive, even the Asura of Hell wouldn’t have fazed the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
Beirut laughed.
“Hahaha!”
Beirut’s laughter rang through the hall. He then stood up and walked directly down from the dais.
“If you want to kill me, then kill me,” Follan said, kneeling on the ground with a look of indignation.
“Lord Prefect,” Galesrean quickly said.
But Beirut walked down from the dais, smiling faintly: “You’re quite good at acting, boy. Fine. If I force you to death today, they’ll say I slandered you. So I’ll let you live a few more months… When those months are up, let’s see what you have to say!”
With that, Beirut flicked his robe and strode out.
“I, Follan, am not a traitor. After a few months, I still won’t be a traitor!” Follan said, still kneeling but lifting his head defiantly.