Chapter 335: Chapter 335. Reputation or Peace

Prince Huang Zen had been harboring displeasure against Xin Jingsao for a while now. He restrained himself because of his aunt’s warning. Hence, he was happy when Amon ticked Xin Jingsao off. He quickly came to Amon’s defense, not because he wished to help Amon, but because he went in a roundabout way to irritate Xin Jingsao.

“Even if he didn’t disturb anyone, it doesn’t mean any random person has the right to sit at the same table as us. Who is he anyway?” Xin Jingsao asked.

“I apologize for his callousness, Deacon Jingsao,” Li Shi said. “He is…”

“And who the hell are you?” Xin Jingsao asked. His tone didn’t show any respect.

“Jingsao. That woman is this country’s chief archeologist, Li Shi,” Xin Dhaije informed.

Instead of feeling guilty for his impoliteness, Xin Jingsao’s condescending tone became even more apparent after learning Li Shi’s identity. “An archeologist? What kind of people make it their profession to dig and disrespect the ruins of our ancestors?”

“Her sins are not limited to that,” his master, Xin Dhaije, joined his disciple instead of stopping him. “She used to be the follower of our faith but left for the absurd reasons of searching for the truth by digging up history.”

“What a blasphemy!” Xin Jingsao exclaimed. His face turned into a disgusted expression. “Our faith has already taught the truth. To question that is the act of a heretic. It is completely intolerable.”

Li Shi’s face turned red from hearing all that. She was doing her best to restrain herself from talking back. Amon wondered in amusement how quickly the criticism against him was redirected. All he wanted was to stop wasting time. He didn’t expect Li Shi to become the target of the guests’ aggression.

“Ehem!” Princess Huang Er stood. “I guess we all have enough drink already. Let’s proceed to the main topic. We will go to review the mural.”

She gestured to the maids, who proceeded to clean the table and remove the plates. Two maids opened the backdoor that led to the guest hall.

“Please,” Princess Huang Er gestured to Xin Dhaije.

Xin Dhaije was still holding his cup. He drank the remaining wine inside before placing it down. He then stood and walked toward the opened door. Xin Jingsao followed him.

“Are you okay?” Hua Rong asked Li Shi.

Li Shi was clenching her fists. “I’m okay,” she said. Yet, her voice didn’t sound okay.

Hua Rong looked at her sharply. She said, “Please compose yourself. As you know, our relationship with Oredolia is not exactly sunshine right now. That was why we canceled our attempt to inform them about the mural. We can’t antagonize them unless we want our relationship to worsen. You insisted on keeping this mural. It was still okay if you only showed it to the local scholars, but Oredolia somehow learned about it. Now they sent these two to check it.”

“It is good they learned about it. This way, we don’t need to hide the mural anymore,” Li Shi replied defiantly.

“We will see,” Hua Rong said. She walked to the door with Hua Ling by her side.

Hearing the conversation, Amon wouldn’t be surprised if Li Shi intentionally invited a scholar whom she knew would leak the existence of the mural to the followers of the Temple of Divinity. She must be frustrated she couldn’t openly display this mural to the world even after possessing it all these years.

“You ready?” Amon asked.

Li Shi took a deep breath. Her expression hardened. “Yeah,” she said. She walked into the guest hall with Amon following behind.

Inside the guest hall, Xin Dhaije and Xin Jingsao were staring at the giant mural with creased foreheads.

Princess Huang Er stood beside the mural. After Li Shi came to her side, she said, “This mural was found around nine years ago by a team led by our chief archeologist, Li Shi. I will let her tell you more about it.”

Li Shi thanked the princess and started narrating how they excavated the mural. She informed Xin Dhaije and Xin Jingsao of the location the mural was from. She also let them know that Amon was on the team she led and was the first person who laid eyes on and deciphered the mural.

Both guests didn’t show any signs of interest. They continued staring at the mural without glancing at Li Shi.

Li Shi continued to speak. She started explaining the story she had interpreted from the mural. Since she had introduced Amon as the first to decipher the mural, she cued him in to aid her in her explanation. Amon complied and added details when needed. Their guests remained silent throughout the narration. Only when she arrived at the part that mentioned the first son being jealous of the second son, who was also the first demon, did they utter something.

“This is preposterous,” Xin Dhaije uttered. “You must have interpreted it wrong.”

“That’s impossible,” Li Shi argued. “I have shown this mural to several other scholars. They agreed with my interpretation. If you let me explain, you can see this depiction of the second son shows that…”

“Then the mural itself is false!” Xin Dhaije exclaimed. He didn’t show any interest in hearing Li Shi’s explanation. “It must be the work of demon worshippers who wished to use it to sow confusion and falsehood on future generations. It can’t be trusted. For the sake of the world, it must be destroyed!”

“You can’t be serious!” Li Shi talked back. “This is a priceless treasure from the past. It contains the knowledge that might tell us the true history of our world.”

“Blasphemy! How dare you!” Xin Dhaije shouted. “It is as I feared. This mural corrupts those who study it, just like you have been corrupted. It cannot be allowed to exist!”

Finished speaking, Xin Dhaije pointed forward using two fingers. As he did, the six longswords on his back flew out of their scabbards by their own accords. The six swords sped forward as if alive, leaving trails of light as they flew.

Everyone was surprised by Xin Dhaije’s sudden action. Li Shi did, too, but she managed to act. She jumped and put herself in the swords’ paths. She slapped her palms forward, generating a powerful wave that tried to deflect the incoming swords.

“Foolish heretic! If you wish to defend this demonic mural, then you deserve to die!” Xin Dhaije exclaimed.

He didn’t show mercy. His swords picked up in speed. Li Shi’s wave didn’t affect them in the slightest. Considering the gap in their cultivation, it was not surprising.

The backlash from her energy wave clashing with the offensive force from the six swords caused her to vomit blood even before the swords arrived. A gentle energy suddenly enveloped her, relieving her of the pressure she suffered. The same gentle energy coalesced into a golden wall. The golden wall prevented Xin Dhaije’s swords from pushing forward.

The golden wall came from Princess Huang Er. She was floating before Li Shi.

“Hmph!” Xin Dhaije harrumphed. Instead of backing off, he exerted even more power. His swords started spinning, creating a strong drilling force. The penetrative power from the swords began drilling holes in the golden wall. They were advancing again.

Xin Jingsao also acted. He charged forward with his broad sword lifted. Amon was about to intercept him, but Prince Huang Zen beat him to it. He carried a golden sword that clashed with Xin Jingsao’s broad sword.

“How presumptuous!” Hua Ling exclaimed. A glaive appeared in her hands. She jumped while swinging the glaive.

Her swing created a powerful force that struck Xin Jingsao’s six spinning swords. At the same time, Huang Er’s golden wall shone and erupted. The blast tossed the six swords away.

The soldiers stationed on the sides of the two halls came forward after witnessing the confrontation. They surrounded the two Oredolia delegates with their weapons drawn.

Xin Dhaije’s swords didn’t fly far. They reoriented themselves in the air and flew back to their master. They remained flying while revolving around Xin Dhaije as if guarding him. Xin Jingsao also disengaged from his fight with Prince Huang Zen and retreated to his master’s side.

“Hold!” Princess Huang Er commanded. The soldiers took one step back after hearing her command, but their weapons were still at the ready.

“Bishop Dhaije, do you want to make an enemy out of Echos?” Princess Huang Er asked.

“It was you who displayed the desire to make Oredolia an enemy by keeping this mural intact,” Xin Dhaije returned. “Destroy it, or you will face the righteous wrath of our temple!”

“That is absurd!” Li Shi exclaimed. Blood still trickled from her mouth, but she didn’t care about it. “You can’t demand others to destroy historical evidence simply because it doesn’t conform to your belief!”

“On the contrary, it happens more often than you think,” Xin Dhaije replied.

Li Shi turned to Princess Huang Er. The princess’ face appeared grim. She didn’t expect things to escalate this fast. The entire reason she entertained these two guests was to cool them down before they inspected the mural. She was afraid this kind of confrontation could happen.

“Princess, you can’t give in to their demand…,” Li Shi pleaded.

The princess was quiet. She was contemplating. She didn’t want to go into open conflict with Oredolia. However, submitting to their demand would make their kingdom appear weak. They would be a laughingstock to the other countries if this news spread. She was weighing her options. To defend their reputation or avert a war with Oredolia?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep