Chapter 339: Framing and Blaming

Yuan Yao fell silent for a moment.

"No."

These three words were calm and resolute.

Xie Yan's breath hitched, his voice hoarse: "Yuan Yao, are you really going to do this?"

"Yes."

Xie Yan's chest heaved with anger, his wound bleeding nonstop: "Yuan Yao, you provoked me first."

Yuan Yao said coldly: "Xie Yan, you were the first to insult me."

"I..." Xie Yan recalled the offhand remark he'd made when they first met: "You're just a Qi Refining Ninth Layer trash."

He said: "Back then, didn't your gaze at me also brim with contempt?"

Yuan Yao gritted her teeth: "I was shocked, not contemptuous! That's your own imagination!"

Xie Yan: "You kicked me!"

Yuan Yao: "You didn't retaliate, did you?"

Xie Yan: "Yuan Yao, haven't you already taken revenge? In the Flowing Light Secret Realm, when I fell ill, you beat me with fists and feet, and even tried to kill me!"

Yuan Yao: "Xie Yan, have you forgotten something? It was you who wanted to kill me back then."

Xie Yan: "... I never acted on it."

Yuan Yao sneered: "Then you also wanted to kill me! You feared I'd leak your secret, so you wanted to silence me. Right?"

Xie Yan was left speechless by her retort.

Yuan Yao, furious, strained to break free of his grip, but he held fast, and she furrowed her brows.

"Xie Yan, what exactly do you intend to do?"

Xie Yan stared at her with a deep gaze: "Yuan Yao, you may hit me or curse me, but you cannot draw a line between us."

Yuan Yao's wrist ached from his grip, she was furious, and she looked at him with disgust.

"Xie Yan, I hate you."

Hearing those words, Xie Yan stared blankly for a moment.

He unconsciously loosened his hold.

Yuan Yao quickly rose, stepped back several paces, gave him a cold glance, then turned and left.

Xie Yan suddenly coughed up blood, which trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Yuan Yao gave no reaction to the sound behind her.

She walked even faster.

…

One day later.

The girl, clad in a pure white, wind‑fluttering snowy cloak, sat astride the broad, sturdy shoulders of a massive, mighty snow beast, which strode forward with strong, agile steps.

Above the snow beast's head hovered a puppet, lifelike and vivid, as if alive, dancing joyfully.

Meanwhile, on the snow beast's other, slightly rounded and sturdy shoulder, a cute little fox with vivid fur and striking eyes perched steadily.

At this moment, the girl lowered her head slightly, gazing intently at the map she gripped, carefully studying the marked locations and then comparing them one by one with the actual terrain around her.

She realized that her current location was drawing ever nearer to the buried treasure!

If the weather holds good, without a sudden violent blizzard, continuing at this pace she would need roughly another full day to reach the treasure site smoothly.

But then Yuan Yao noticed a growing number of human footprints appearing in the snow.

This indicated that a force likely lay ahead.

Who could they be?

She thought of Hua Chengyan and the others.

Could it be them?

But the number of footprints didn't match.

According to the footprints, the group must number at least thirty or forty.

Yuan Yao felt a sense of wariness rise.

She did not halt the snow beast; instead, she urged it forward swiftly.

After about two and a half hours, Yuan Yao saw the footprints grow clearer, and with her keen hearing she faintly caught voices ahead.

Though she couldn't make out their words, Yuan Yao knew she was now very close to them.

Yuan Yao suddenly thought of something, looked at the puppet dancing on the snow beast's head, and said: "Yuan Batian, go, be my eyes."

Yuan Batian seemed not to understand her words, tilting its head slightly.

And in the next instant.

Yuan Yao swiftly raised her hand, casting a spiritual‑power puppet seal on Yuan Batian, which immediately shuddered all over.

It lifted one arm, then leapt quickly down onto the snow.

Its figure shot forward with great speed.

During this, it moved cautiously, often using cover to shield its small frame.

At that moment, Yuan Yao closed her eyes.

She placed her spiritual sense within Yuan Batian.

As they drew nearer, she finally saw the group ahead through Yuan Batian.

The young disciples in the troop almost all wore uniform azure robes and matching cloaks; among them were two in white robes: a middle‑aged cultivator about forty or fifty, and a woman about thirty.

There was also an old man in gray robes, white‑bearded and white‑haired, slender, with triangular eyes.

And before them stood another figure.

Yuan Yao hadn't yet seen clearly, but suddenly sensed a sharp burst of spiritual force attacking in an instant.

She immediately controlled Yuan Batuan to dodge, then swiftly returned.

That spiritual force and consciousness continued to pursue.

Yuan Yao felt she couldn't let the opponent discover her position, so she decided to control Yuan Batuan to speed away in another direction.

That spiritual force and consciousness came from the gray‑robed elder.

He seemed unwilling to give up the chase.

Yuan Yao controlled Yuan Batuan to evade quickly, then fled wildly.

While fleeing, Yuan Yao felt it was enough, and she controlled Yuan Batuan to dart into a nearby cave.

But as soon as Yuan Batuan entered, a powerful suction force suddenly seized it.

Yuan Yao didn't have time to react; when she looked up, she 'saw' the familiar ghost‑face mask.

???

The boy was almost naked above the waist, his gruesome wounds already wrapped in gauze; his shoulders were broad, waist narrow, abdominal muscles clearly defined, with a mermaid‑line allure.

!!!

The boy also sensed the pursuing spiritual force; he lifted his gaze, and with a 'buzz' let out a burst.

The two spiritual forces collided abruptly.

On the other side, the gray‑robed elder's complexion shifted slightly as he withdrew his spiritual force.

A few people nearby noticed the gray‑robed elder's oddity and couldn't help asking, "Second Elder, what's wrong?"

"Someone is watching us," the gray‑robed elder said, his expression cold.

"Who is it?" a clear, cold female voice sounded.

Gray‑robed elder: "A boy wearing a ghost‑face mask."

"What?!" the beautiful girl draped in a white cloak showed surprise, then quickly furrowed her brows.

Could it be that madman Xie Yan?!

…

Inside the cave.

The boy threw his outer garment over himself, then stared at the puppet in his hand with a half‑smile.

"You deliberately framed me?"

"Yuan Yao."

"I didn't expect you to hold such a grudge."

Each of his sentences shocked Yuan Yao.

Unfortunately, she couldn't make Yuan Batuan speak; otherwise she would certainly have explained.

This is completely an accident!

Who would have known he was hiding here?

"This puppet, I want it." Suddenly, the boy spoke again.

The puppet immediately thrashed wildly in his hand.