106 Human Nature (1/2)
When the two Elders emerged from the house, they called for the disciples to gather on the square where they would normally get their instructions in the morning.
The disciples couldn't help but gather in small groups, talking in hushed voices. More than a few of them glanced in Mei Chao Bing's direction, seeming unsure of what they should believe. Had he been the one to mess with the array? Was he innocent? They couldn't make up their minds about this.
Everything seemed to point in his direction but they just didn't know. When the Elders finally appeared in front of them, they almost wanted to heave a sigh of relief. Whatever the answer to the question was, it was better to know than to be kept in this state of anticipation and worry where they felt like they could do nothing.
Elder Xing and Elder Baili stepped in front of the disciples and once again exchanged a glance. The one to step forward was Elder Xing since he had been the one to make the announcements for the past days as well. They hoped that by doing it this way, it would give the disciples a sense of normalcy. Or at least as much as that was possible right now.
”Elder Baili and I have investigated the matter that happened yesterday. As it turns out, this tragic event was not caused by one of our disciples.”
Some glances were once again exchanged and quite a few people looked at Mei Chao Bing. So it turned out that he hadn't done anything …
On the other hand, Yang Wu Huang slightly furrowed his brows. How could this be the result of the investigation? It was good that they hadn't found out that it had been him but why hadn't they convicted Mei Chao Bing? They couldn't really believe that this had nothing to do with any of the disciples, could they?
Elder Xing didn't even glance in his direction and just continued to explain. ”As it turns out, this was caused by the actions of the demonic practitioners just as we had originally thought.
”Elder Baili and I believe that the way they went about this might have been intentional. They likely wanted us to suspect each other. That way, the trust between all of you would be diminished and they would have an easier time taking everyone out.
”This is a perfidious plan and we can count ourselves lucky that we were able to find out in time. Otherwise, there's no way knowing if the consequences the next time wouldn't have been even harsher than yesterday. We could have lost many more disciples.”
At that, Elder Baili also stepped forward. ”I hope that this serves as a reminder to everyone that we shouldn't easily distrust each other. Right here, right now, our only enemy are the demonic practitioners. There's no need to distrust your martial brothers and sisters. I hope that everybody will keep this in mind.
”Naturally, if you do have some suspicions, then that should be brought up. This is also something that is a sign of our trust in each other: We are able to mention something that we feel is strange not as an accusation but to listen to the explanation our martial brothers and sisters can give. That is an inquiry. An Inquiry for the truth. And the truth is what will keep us safe in the future.”
Mei Chao Bing narrowed his eyes at these words. Naturally, he didn't think that Elder Baili doubted his sincerity. After Yun Bei Fen, Elder Baili was probably the next person who trusted him the most. But for him to say this, there had to be more behind it.