Chapter 36: Slander

The vehicle sped along the highway and soon left the sealed Danger Zone, successfully returning to Tianchang City.

Seeing the familiar city, Li Yi, covered in blood, finally relaxed his whole body in the carriage.

Now he felt sore and painful all over. Many parts of his body had suffered injuries due to overexertion or long-distance running, especially his back. When he first dodged that fierce *biao*, he had been scratched with several bloody gashes. Although the bleeding had stopped, it still burned with pain.

"Li Yi, after we return to the Stability Zone, I'll have the supervisor arrange for a doctor to check your body and give you an examination. You don't seem to be lightly injured in your current state," Zheng Fei observed Li Yi's pain in the car and said.

"Alright, thank you. I'll trouble you then," Li Yi nodded, not refusing.

Zheng Fei laughed. "It's all part of the job; no need to thank me. After all, you were injured for this mission, and the company won't ignore it. However, your injuries are considered light. There's a Spirit Medium Realm cultivator named He Jun whose injuries are truly miserable."

"He Jun?" Li Yi's expression shifted. "Is he still alive?"

He had run into this He Jun when he was fleeing earlier, and the man had wanted to use him to lure away that fierce *biao*. However, he wasn't simple either; he had used He Jun to lure away a group of spider-like humanoid monsters.

"He's still alive; he shouldn't die, but he lost an arm and has multiple severe injuries on his body. If he hadn't been lucky enough to run into Yang Yi Long, who was also retreating, and get a hand from him, he probably wouldn't have made it back," Zheng Fei said. "And He Jun is very unlucky; I heard he didn't encounter just one fierce beast, but a whole group of monsters."

"Among so many people who escaped back, his situation was the most dangerous."

After hearing this, Li Yi's expression became strange.

One had to know that those monsters had originally been hunting him.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. The car has arrived; let's get off," Zheng Fei said.

At this moment, the vehicle stopped.

Li Yi returned to No. 89, District 1 of the Stability Zone.

It was still that familiar building.

Li Yi got out of the car, and Supervisor Xu Ming immediately walked over with two nurses.

"Li Yi, you go treat your wounds first. I'll help you store your prey; someone will contact you later. If you're worried, I can have the prey packed and sent to your room," Zheng Fei said.

"No need, you help handle it; I trust you," Li Yi said.

He wasn't worried about the item disappearing; with so many people watching and cameras everywhere, Yang Yi Long couldn't possibly turn his back on his word over a single prey corpse.

Zheng Fei nodded. "Alright, then you go get some rest."

"Li Yi, can you still walk? Do you need a wheelchair? Have you experienced any dizziness?" Xu Ming looked at Li Yi, who was covered in blood, and kept asking about his condition.

"I'm fine, I can walk; no need for a wheelchair," Li Yi waved his hand.

Supervisor Xu Ming said, "That's good. Your condition is not bad, but for the sake of caution, it's best to come with me for an examination. Some internal injuries are invisible; only a comprehensive physical examination can confirm them."

"Alright, I'll trouble you," Li Yi said.

"I knew you were lucky and wouldn't die. How could a cultivator with your potential be folded in the Danger Zone?" Xu Ming added.

Li Yi sighed. "I was just lucky to have saved my life; I almost didn't make it back."

"It's fine as long as you're okay now. Follow me; I'll take you to the medical room."

Xu Ming nodded and immediately led Li Yi and the two accompanying nurses toward the building.

Soon.

Several people took the elevator to the medical room on the ninth floor.

At this moment, there were several patients in the medical room. The air was filled with a bloody smell, and occasionally, bursts of wailing could be heard.

Li Yi glanced casually and discovered several injured cultivators.

"Li Yi, you little bastard..."

A cultivator, wrapped in bandages and lying on a hospital bed, had a pale face due to excessive blood loss, but when he saw Li Yi, he still struggled to curse angrily.

"He Jun?"

Li Yi recognized this person at a glance. "You really are still alive. I didn't expect you to still have so much energy after losing an arm. The vitality of a cultivator is truly tenacious."

"Li Yi, if it weren't for you, how would I have been hunted by that group of monsters?" He Jun became emotionally agitated and began to curse loudly. "I'm telling you, this isn't over. I'll let everyone know about your sinister intentions—using any means necessary to survive and causing me to suffer such severe injuries."

As soon as these words were spoken, many cultivators in the medical room looked at Li Yi in unison, their eyes revealing unfriendly expressions.

He Jun ended up in such a miserable state because Li Yi harmed him?

The other cultivators were also injured, and their moods were already terrible, full of anger. Seeing someone like Li Yi who would sabotage his teammates, they wanted to rush up and beat this guy up.

However, no one acted impulsively.

Because they wanted to see how Li Yi would defend himself and what the truth of the matter was.

Li Yi didn't want to take the blame for no reason. He said coldly, "He Jun, you were hunted by a *biao* yourself and deliberately lured that *biao* onto me, almost killing me. If I hadn't had an outburst in a desperate situation, my body evolved, and I stepped into the Spirit Medium Realm, fighting desperately to kill that *biao*, I would be food in that *biao*'s stomach right now."

"As for you being hunted by another group of monsters, that's your own bad luck; you can't blame me."

After speaking, Li Yi took off his shirt, revealing the scratch marks on his back.

Many people looked and immediately identified that these were indeed wounds left after being scratched by a fierce beast's claws while fleeing.

"So that's how it is."

Seeing that Li Yi spoke with reason and evidence, and had wounds as proof, their eyes immediately changed, and they looked at He Jun with complex expressions. After all, He Jun had no proof that Li Yi was the reason he was hunted by monsters.

Li Yi continued, "He Jun, you are born evil. When you were fleeing in the Danger Zone, you didn't just harm me. The two assistants by your side earlier were also harmed by you. You used them as bait to attack, using their corpses to drag down the fierce beast's attack. Otherwise, how could you have run back safely? Fortunately, the last cultivator revealed your sinister intentions before he died and warned me, otherwise I would have been harmed by you too."

"You, you're talking nonsense! Li Yi, when did I ever use my companions as bait? You're slandering me! Everyone, don't believe him. If I were really like what he said, I would have run back safely long ago; how could I be so severely injured?"

He Jun's pale face instantly flushed red. Although he had intended to let others drag down the fierce beast for him, he had never used them as bait.

He didn't expect Li Yi to look honest and dutiful but actually be full of bad intentions; his ability to fabricate rumors was truly impressive.

Li Yi didn't give him a chance to fight back. He felt there was no need to talk about morality when dealing with such people; splashing dirty water was something anyone could do. He continued, "I'm slandering you? Everything requires evidence. If you think I harmed you, then produce evidence. Don't sell your misery here to deceive others' sympathy."

"I, I can't produce evidence, but Li Yi, where is your evidence? You said I harmed my two assistants and lured that *biao* to attack you, then you must also produce evidence to convince everyone. If you can produce evidence, I'll admit to this matter. But if you can't, you are slandering me, and I won't be done with you for the rest of my life."

He Jun roared on the hospital bed, extremely angry, to the point that his wounds burst open again, and fresh blood spilled out.

However, he didn't believe at all that Li Yi could produce any evidence.

People had already died in the Danger Zone; the corpses were probably gone by now. Where would he find evidence?

Therefore, in a situation where there was no proof, He Jun was righteous and not afraid at all.

Li Yi stared at him and said, "You want evidence? I'll give it to you, but someone needs to bear witness. Xu Ming, I want Yang Yi Long to come forward to bear witness to this matter. Can you notify him?"

Then he looked at Supervisor Xu Ming on the side.

Xu Ming immediately nodded. "This matter concerns a homicide case involving two cultivators. If you can produce evidence, I can go and invite Yang Yi Long to bear witness."

"The evidence is in the stomach of that fierce *biao*. If everything is as I said, the two assistants by He Jun's side must have been eaten by that fierce *biao*. It just so happens that I brought back the corpse of that fierce *biao*. As long as we cut open its stomach and take out the flesh and blood inside for testing, everything will be clear," Li Yi said.

"That makes sense. Truth cannot be falsified. If it's really like this, we can find evidence by digging open the stomach. Even if it's just a piece of undigested bone, as long as we do a DNA test, we can know the result. It just so happens that this medical room has the relevant equipment. You wait, go wash your body and treat your wounds first; I'll arrange the processing."

Xu Ming immediately guaranteed that he would handle this matter well.

"Alright, then I'll wait here for the result," Li Yi said.

Xu Ming didn't delay and immediately ran away.

This matter was very serious, involving a homicide case and the reputation of cultivators. Moreover, at this critical juncture, if not handled well, it would lead to very serious consequences.

"What, you brought the *biao*'s corpse?" At this moment, He Jun panicked a little.

But how could this be possible?

How could Li Yi have really killed that *biao*?

He was a cultivator who hadn't even awakened his Spirit Medium... Wait, no, it seems he had already awakened his Spirit Medium.

Suddenly.

He Jun only then noticed that Li Yi's eyes were very bright and glowing; this was a sign of entering the Spirit Medium Realm.

Thinking of this, his heart instantly turned cold.

"No, this shouldn't be. Even if he really awakened his Spirit Medium, it's absolutely impossible for him to beat that *biao*." He Jun, sitting on the hospital bed, had a changing expression, and cold sweat had unknowingly broken out on his forehead.

If the matter of sabotaging his teammates was confirmed, he would never be able to turn his life around.

It was precisely because of this that he had wanted to harm Li Yi together with the others earlier.

That way, no one would know what he had done in the Danger Zone. ===== CHAPTER 37 =====