The Scum Is A ***

When everyone returned, this is what they heard, causing He Run to almost faint again. Yes, 'again', since earlier, after they heard that Qi Lan is a foreign person, and is also the leader of the enemies, He Run's face paled in horror and he almost fainted, being so worried for his son He Shun because Qi Lan is by He Shun's side!

Even if Ho Yue comforted them that Qi Lan might actually not be an enemy since he is here instead of his father's side, and is also hiding and was attacked by the enemies, too, He Shun felt only slightly comforted. Now, they heard that Qi Lan. Likes. He. Shun! What to do?! He Run thought and felt faint again.

"Sect leader He! Sect leader He! Calm down!" the other sect leaders called and caught He Run who almost collapsed on the floor while clutching his test tight. Obviously, he was about to cough out a mouthful of blood because of anger and other emotions.

Zheng Yi conscientiously called for You Rou since Cheng Sheng is still unconscious, looking so weak. You Rou complied and immediately checked He Run's condition before she gave him a Quick-Acting Heart Pill to calm himself. 

Meanwhile, Ho Ting was stunned when he heard this while Ho Yue was surprised, and also feels some complicated emotions. He already has a faint feeling that Qi Lan is an ally and actually not an enemy, because Qi Lan was also attacked by the enemies.

Suddenly, his guess was confirmed when the culprit that they apprehended woke up and heard a familiar voice.

"TRAITOR!" the fake rogue cultivator, who is actually mage that they apprehended as the culprit for the attacks towards the participants in the third stage of the Intersect Competition using a demon and controlling it, shouted as he viciously glared at Qi Lan. "So this is actually where you are hiding! You son of a btch!" he cursed as he spat. "After the sect leader done everything for you… paved a bloody way for you to rise… yet you left without a word and betrayed us!" he said, gnashing his teeth, as if he wanted to bite Qi Lan to death.

Everyone turned to him in surprise. Qi Lan… betrayed them? they thought as they looked at each other. Doubts filled their eyes but then they remembered what Ho Yue said earlier, that Qi Lan might be their ally instead of enemy, albeit Qi Lan's real identity.

"'traitor'? You know him?" Zheng Fu Gong asked the fake cultivator.

"Hahahaha… this voice, how can I forget it?!" the fake cultivator sneered. "He may change his face a thousand times, but his voice, and that scar, I will never forget!" he said.

Ho Yue and Ho Ting fell silent, since they also recognized Qi Lan through his ugly scar on his back.

"Who is he?" Pai Lie asked.

"Kiran!" the fake cultivator answered, though it looked like he is angrily shouting this name.

"'Kiran'…" they muttered as they looked at Qi Lan whose face is still pale due to blood loss.

Jing Rui turned to look at Ho Yue and saw that he was silent. "Take him away." He told the Righteous Alliance disciples.

Zheng Fu Gong nodded at them. The Righteous Alliance disciples obediently followed. They struck the fake cultivator on the back of his head, rendering him unconscious, before they took him away to imprison him.

"Elder Ho." Sun Yu called. He knows that he has to be the one to ask Ho Yue, as Ho Yue is an elder of the Shanliangde Sect. He feels grateful for the other sect leaders' tact.

"Sect leader Sun." Ho Yue called and slightly bowed. He then heaved a sigh.

"You should know that many lives are at stake here, including the entire land, if we let the enemies have their way." Sun Yu spoke. "Blood will be spilled, heads will be rolled and limbs will be scattered… I just want to ask you again." He looked at Ho Yue in the eyes. "Is Qi Lan, or Kiran, worthy of our trust?" he asked.

Ho Yue met his gaze and he solemnly nodded. "Yes." he answered with certainty in his voice.

Everyone sighed in relief.

"But, he is the son of the sect leader of the enemies… is he really willing to betray them? Is it really not just an act of theirs earlier?" Tang Teng asked.

"How much do you know about Qi Lan?" Li Nanzi asked. "How can you say that he is our ally?" he added.

"Because I have watched him grow up with Ting-er." Ho Yue answered and he glanced at Ho Ting whose expression twisted into anger.

They looked at Ho Ting. "You… seem to share a deep past with him?" they asked him curiously. Their gaze is suspicious as they looked at him.

Ho Ting showed an awkward expression.

"They know each other, since they were childhood friends." Ho Yue told them. He hasn't shared this with them earlier since time was tight and things are very busy, so he only had the time to tell them about Qi Lan as the son of the leader of the enemies.

"'childhood friends'…" they muttered as they looked at Ho Ting whose face darkened.

"They are close as sworn brothers." Ho Yue said.

They were shocked. No wonder why Ho Ting has a deep grudge against Qi Lan. It is because the father of his sworn brother killed his parents, and even hunted him and his uncle, wanting to kill them!

"But, Qi Lan is different from his father. He is a soft-hearted boy." Ho Yue continued as he reminisced. "He has many friends before, including Ting-er. But, one day, he was surprised to find that his friends decreased each day, until only Ting-er was left." He said.

They all fell silent as they suddenly thought of a chilling possibility.

Ho Yue saw their expressions and he wryly smiled. "En. It is as what you think. His father killed his friends." He told them.

Their faces twisted in anger and disgust.

"He is deranged!" Wu Tong said and uttered a curse. He has two sons and he can see how happy his sons when they are with their friends. So, he can't understand why Qi Lan's father would do this vicious crime.

"You have heard what that culprit said earlier." Ho Yue sighed. "His father paved a bloody way for him to inherit the sect leader position." He told them.

They were taken aback. "That… couldn't be…?" they muttered when they realized it.

"En." Ho Yue nodded. "He wanted his son to be as ruthless as him, vicious…" he said as he lowered his head. "And, in order to do that, he has to kill his son's emotions." He clenched his fists.

Their hearts sank when they heard it. "What?!" they exclaimed in shock. They can't believe that there would be a father such as this!

Most of them have families, children... so, they wanted to move the heaven and earth just to give the best to their family. Yet, Qi Lan's father is actually such a person… no. Can he even be called a person with what he has done? No wonder Qi Lan escaped! Who would want to live together with such a father, or even such a person?!

"Wait… what is this 'betrayed' that the culprit said earlier?" Xie Lan asked.

They all looked at Ho Yue. But, to their surprise, Ho Yue shook his head.

"I don't know." Ho Yue answered. "Maybe it happened after I have left our land…" he said. Then, suddenly, a thought flashed in his mind. He turned to look at Ho Ting who stood on the side silently.

Ho Ting pursed his lips. "I don't know…" he answered and he looked away, averting his uncle's gaze.

"Ting-er." Ho Yue called. "When I left, you should have had a hard time." he looked at Ho Ting's face. "How did you manage to avoid them, and safely arrive in this land?" he asked.

Everyone was surprised. They never thought of it. They thought that it was just due to luck. But, now that they think about it, it is indeed suspicious. After all, Ho Ting is still young. So, how did he manage to cross the sea and arrive on their land without a scathe? They thought as they looked at Ho Ting with suspecting gazes.

Ho Ting's face darkened. He clenched his fists. "… he helped me." He finally said.

Ho Yue smiled. It was as he expected.

"I… was actually captured by them and then was imprisoned." Ho Ting said as he took a deep breath. "But, suddenly, that night, I noticed that the ship sailed. I thought that they were planning to fed me to the sharks." He lowered his gaze. "It was only when he appeared in front of the door and untied me did I know that he stolen the ship and…" he looked at them. "… he also wanted to leave.." He muttered.