Chương 73: Little spirit bird

Hu Tong mentioned his wife, a gentle and virtuous woman. Every smile, every gesture was so beautiful and moving that Su Mu could never forget her. He wept. Su Mu knelt on the ground, head bowed, tears streaming down his cheeks. He was confessing to Hu Tong and to himself. He said, "Yes. I wronged you. I wronged Han'er. But I had no choice. I was possessed by the demon at the time. I could not control myself. I could not help it, I could not help it... Your wife, Han'er. She was so beautiful.

She was like a cloud bathed in sunlight, wrapping around me tightly. She was so gentle, so accepting. She was perfect, like the sea stirring up waves. And I was a lonely fish, swimming in her waves, feeling her warmth, her tenderness..."

"Shut up, Su Mu! Listen to yourself! She is my wife! How dare you talk about her in front of me! You beast! Shameless!" Hu Tong was furious. No, he was a hundred times more furious than furious, for some unknown reason. Su Mu looked up at Hu Tong, his eyes full of guilt. His eyes were bloodshot, red turning to black.

"I made a mistake." Those were his first words. His voice was hoarser than before, like a demon's dry howl.

"I had sexual intercourse with Han'er, but I also atoned for it by cutting off that thing between my legs. Right in front of you and Uncle, I slowly cut it off with a knife, sliced it cleanly, and threw it into the backyard to feed the dogs. I gave up my dignity as a man. I was no longer a complete man. I never showed my face before you again. Can you imagine how much I suffered?"

"Heh. Suffering? What does your suffering change?" Hu Tong sneered.

"Because of your rape, Han'er was lost and distraught. In the end, she killed herself out of shame. You killed her indirectly, Su Mu. Your sins are heavy. Now it is time to pay!"

"Yes. You are right. I killed Han'er. According to the law of conservation, I must use my own life to repay hers." Su Mu wiped away his tears. His expression grew solemn. He looked up. Above him shone the truth, radiant and boundless. He looked down. Below him, countless followers prostrated themselves, weeping. They raised their hands and cried, "Lord! Our lord! You cannot die! Let us die in your place!" Su Mu said, "My life is about to end. But my soul will live forever in your hearts. For truth is eternal."

Fang Cheng said, "Hey, hey. That's it? No way. From my excellent investigative experience, this rape case is full of holes. First of all, Han'er killing herself out of shame is highly suspicious." A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. At this point, Fang Cheng had transformed into the spirit bird Abai. Haha. Yes. He was a bird now. With sharp eyes. He was about to open his beak. All the delicious clues would not escape his stomach!

He stroked his chin and walked up to Hu Tong.

"If I remember correctly, your father-in-law is an elder of the Hall of Eternal Life. Unless you remarried, Han'er is that elder's daughter. Most Hall of Eternal Life elders are Ninth Realm, great cultivators. Their partners are usually cultivators too. As a child raised in a cultivator's family, Han'er's values would be different from ordinary mortals. She would not be bound by the Three Bonds and Five Constants of the mortal world. In short, her heart is definitely stronger than an ordinary woman's.

Getting raped? So what. The cultivator world has always been a mess. Half the so-called "dual cultivation" is just an excuse to sleep around, all in the name of pursuing immortality. Sure, it does help boost your cultivation, but let's be real—it's about sex. So stealing another man's wife? Nothing new. Everyone's cheating on everyone. No point feeling ashamed about it. Especially in our Great Sheng– high‑level female cultivators are few and far between.

There's this one female elder in the Eternal Life Hall, and they say the guys queuing up to bang her go all the way to the coast. If I were Han'er, raised in that kind of atmosphere, hah, loyalty? Screw that. Rape? Screw that too. If I don't go out and hook up with other men myself, that's already more than you deserve."

"Enough, Fang Cheng!" Hu Tong snapped.

"This is between him and me. It has nothing to do with you. Understand?"

"No. As a righteous man, I must let the truth come to light!" Fang Cheng's righteous fire was blazing. He turned to Su Mu, ready to continue questioning, because Hu Tong was a liar who would not tell the truth.

"Su Mu, tell me about Han'er. Every detail. How did you meet? Let me uncover you and the other culprit."

"Han'er was different from those morally corrupt cultivators. Her parents were among the few good people in the Hall of Eternal Life. Her father was my superior back then. He treated me well." Su Mu began to speak. He had entered a state of confession. Whatever Fang Cheng asked, he would answer. He fell into his memories, slowly recounting how they met. That pure girl would call him sweetly, "Mu, my love~." Ah, that one word, spoken so tenderly, went straight to his heart. Even now, remembering it felt like honey.

Hu Tong could not take it anymore.

"Enough, Su Mu! How dare you bring up the past! Do you have no shame before Han'er? No shame before me?" Su Mu fell silent. It was not right to talk like this in front of the husband. Fang Cheng was displeased. He scolded Hu Tong, "You are the one who should shut up. Your wife was raped. Then she died. And you shamelessly cooperated with her rapist. Have you forgiven him? Huh? Just like that? Heh. How absurd. You say Su Mu has no shame. You are no better."

"Fang Cheng, do not think I will not touch you just because you are Pei Tang's man." Hu Tong's face darkened, cold energy radiating from him.

"Mr. Hu Tong, please show some respect to the Bird Judge." Fang Cheng warned, then continued, "Fine. I will not bother asking. As an excellent investigative spirit bird, I have already hypothesized the whole case. Haha. I am going to fly now..." Fang Cheng began flapping his hands like wings. Because he was a bird. With sharp eyes. Some folks claim that if you keep stepping on your own feet, left on right, right on left, over and over, you'll eventually rise into the air.

Fang Cheng's take: as long as he spun his arms fast enough, the air pressure above would drop, and the pressure below would rise, lifting him into the sky. Haha. Look. Fang Cheng was flying. Like a bird. Circling above Hu Tong and Su Mu.

"You two below, listen up. I am going to make a bold hypothesis. During my hypothesis, if anyone interrupts, you will be offending this judge's dignity. I will stab you to death!" As he spoke, Fang Cheng released a terrifying killing intent. It materialized like a sea of blood, covering the entire palace. Thick black-red energy coiled around him. Behind him, a massive humanoid phantom appeared. Its face was hideous, its eyes blood red. It looked like a great demon crawling out of the netherworld.

The demon looked down from the nine heavens, its gaze filled with cold indifference, as if all living beings were nothing but ants. It locked its gaze on Hu Tong, because the broken Su Mu would not interrupt. Under that gaze, Hu Tong felt like he was in a bloody hell. Blood everywhere. He trembled violently, as if his blood had been drained. Why was it so powerful? Why was it so terrifying?

"No. You are not a cultivator. Who are you?" Hu Tong's forehead was drenched in sweat. He cried out in panic.

"Correct. I am not a cultivator. I am a cute little spirit bird. Hahahaha..."