Chapter 136-The Manga Pariah's Guide to Self-Salvation

 "The Saintess's case is going to trial next Sunday. Sigh, who could have thought that the Saintess, who looked so noble and flawless, would commit such a cruel murder case?"

In the tavern, a man's sigh that seemed pitiful could not conceal the excitement of curiosity.

He continued to talk with fervor, his face flushing red. "Tell me, why on earth did she kill people? Maybe this isn't the first murder case the Saintess has committed. The more someone looks pure and flawless, the more..."

"Enough. Everyone has seen the Saintess's good deeds in the lower district. This case hasn't even started trial yet!"

"So naive. How could Ye Zheng, a noble young lady, need your sympathy? Her father is the High Court Judge. Is the trial result even a question?"

"I saw in the newspaper that the two civilian researchers she killed were ordinary people with no abilities, from poor backgrounds. They finally got a decent job to barely support their wives and children, and then this happened..."

Someone drank wine, sighing uncontrollably, their tone full of sympathy.

"By the way, what exactly is that experiment in the West District about? Why is no one discussing it anymore?"

"Heard it was research related to abilities, wanting to rely on some external forces to improve strength, I guess. In the end, a noble lady's child had an accident, implicating the ordinary people of the entire West District to suffer."

These days the tavern was unusually lively. Percy and the other two sat in a small booth listening to the noise outside, looking unwell and exceptionally silent.

Before setting off for the West District, the three of them sat here deciding to go find Lucy. After returning, there were still only three of them sitting here.

On the way to track the traces of the Fallen Breed, Percy met Lucy in York Town. She looked very hurried. When she bumped into him again, there was no joy, only panicked surprise. She told him that she wanted to stay to comfort her frightened family and could not return to the East District for the competition with them for the time being.

The two had many times of fighting side by side. Percy saw the dodging little expression of Lucy at a glance; she wasn't telling the truth.

He encouraged Lucy to accompany her family, then completely gave up following Sykes's team to track Sierra and the traces of the Fallen Breed. He had a vague guess in his heart that Lucy might still be maintaining contact with Ye Zheng.

Next, those Dragon-Bodied Humans seemed to have completely hidden away. No wind or movement was heard, nor did they cause harm to ordinary people as they had anticipated.

...Ye Zheng was right. She did not do wrong, at least it seemed so for now.

After realizing this, a heavy shadow always pressed on Percy's heart, making him breathless. Why did he stand on the opposite side of Ye Zheng without thinking at that time? Perhaps because once he admitted Ye Zheng's correctness, then his struggle and Aunt Mingyue's death would seem meaningless.

If Ye Zheng really had a way to restore them, then what Sykes killed were not monsters, but elders who once cared for him meticulously.

A sound of tables and chairs falling over and intense collision came from outside. Percy came back to his senses and looked out. Another group of people started fighting because of Ye Zheng.

"Percy, have you decided? Not going to be a witness?" Roy suddenly spoke up and asked.

Probably because Percy had dealt with Ye Zheng at the base and also bumped into Ye Zheng carrying Kiran's head, that noble accusing Ye Zheng wanted him to appear in court to testify, striving to prove that Ye Zheng was a cruel and bloodthirsty person.

Percy shook his head. "I don't like associating with those nobles."

Roy said: "Ye Zheng almost killed you. It's not an exaggeration to call her an enemy. Percy, perhaps you should be a little colder. And—didn't the Emperor also hint for you to go?"

Percy frowned. "His Majesty didn't mean for me to testify. He probably thought Ye Zheng and I were friends and gave me a seat to audit."

He looked at Roy, his eyes full of disapproval. Roy shrugged and replied: "Alright, you aren't an important witness anyway. Whether Ye Zheng can turn the tables still depends on herself."

"But I don't agree with your naive view of the Emperor, Percy. He is... ha."

Roy stopped halfway through speaking. Percy stared at him in confusion, feeling that Roy's attitude was a bit strange. But Roy had always been mysterious, occasionally moody, and didn't like others probing into him deeply. Percy did not continue to ask.

"Hey, friends, besides the case of Saintess Ye Zheng, don't we have a trickier matter in our hands?"

Caleb raised his hand, his voice carrying caution, interrupting the topic of the two regarding the Emperor.

"How should we handle these materials?"

The eyes of the three looked at a stack of white paper placed on the table at the same time.

Several days ago, everyone was still in the West District. When Percy's trio and Sykes left the base on the way to stop Zhou Yun, they learned that the base was breached and fell to the Fallen Breed. Thinking of Lucy who stayed in the base, Roy and Caleb decided to return to the base to find Lucy.

They didn't find Lucy. When they returned to the base, it was already a mess of devastation, but while searching for Lucy, they accidentally discovered some things.

A certain guest room inside the Royal Palace.

The phone screen illuminated Ye Zheng's face. Too many things had happened recently; she hadn't opened her phone for a long time, nor did she have time to pay attention to the forum.

The popularity that surged again made her very curious about the readers' views on her, but now Ye Zheng could only suppress her curiosity. She had more important things to do.

—The preview of the original manga.

Her fingertips swiped skillfully until flipping to a certain colored image.

On the screen, three young boys were surrounding a table, their expressions angry and sad, discussing something intensely.

"Lucy hasn't completely turned into a Fallen Breed yet, there must be a chance to save her! This material pointing directly at Wen Jian shows that he must have a way!"

"Threaten Wen Jian with this material? The Pope participating in this kind of experiment is a scandal, but Wen Jian has a hundred ways to suppress rumors."

"No, we still have Ye Zheng. She is the Saintess of the Sei Curia; perhaps she has a way to negotiate. We just want Lucy to return to normal; Wen Jian has no reason not to agree."

Ye Zheng slightly tilted her head back, sorting through the development of the original plot.

In the original plot, Ye Zheng did not save Lucy. The Cloud-Soaring Squad wanted to restore Lucy, who was semi-Fallen Breed, to normal. They wanted to use the materials related to Wen Jian found in the base to make Wen Jian help Lucy recover.

Right, in the original plot, she, Ye Zheng, was still a member of the Cloud-Soaring Squad.

Ye Zheng stared at the inconspicuous stack of white paper on the manga color page. She was somewhat concerned: what exactly was written inside related to Wen Jian?

If it could prove that Wen Jian was connected to the three people accusing her of killing them, or could directly prove that they were working for the Sei Curia, then this trial would have a chance to be transferred to the Sei Curia's responsibility. Although the Sei Curia might not be favorable to her, having one more path was always good.

Ye Zheng rubbed the phone screen. She was trapped in the Royal Palace now, and every move was bound to be monitored, including Heath who was running errands for her.

So she could only ask Heath to do little things for her. Once more crucial evidence was intercepted by people with ulterior motives, her situation would only be more passive.

Ye Zheng pondered for a moment and decided not to act. Percy as the protagonist would definitely appear in court. At that time, she could act according to the circumstances. Even if this trial was not in the original plot, Ye Zheng believed it would definitely become an important plot in the manga.

[Of course, you are now the top popular big villain. It's possible to lose to the protagonist, but absolutely impossible to fall in a nonsensical trial!]

The System spoke up to encourage her.

Although it said so, it actually wasn't sure either. This sudden trial brought too many variables. Everyone's choice and attitude could affect the final result: the Emperor, the Pope, the protagonist group, the noble forces... Of course, the most unpredictable one was still Ye Zheng.

Thinking that it was Ye Zheng, the System inexplicably felt reassured instead. Ye Zheng had always been the one bringing storms to others; those who wanted to strike her down were the ones who needed to pray for good luck.

[Rest assured, although public opinion inside and outside the manga is very lively regarding you, more and more people like you.]

Ye Zheng hadn't had time to look at the forum feedback yet, but she could guess that her actions in the West District would cause a lot of controversy. The girl pursed her lips and smiled helplessly: "Liking me must be a very hard thing, right?"

[But the happiness you brought them definitely exceeded the feeling of hardship, so they support you all the time.]

[You don't need to worry. They are just like 'Like idol, like fan', very motivated. Zheng stans never cry!]

The System cheered.

Ye Zheng put down the phone, lay back on the bed, and slowly exhaled a breath. Her black eyes stared at the gorgeous crystal chandelier on the ceiling.

There were seven days left until the court session. Ye Zheng ran through the words she entrusted to Wen De on the train in her mind: track the Dragon-Bodied Humans Wen Jian was hiding, maintain contact with Annabelle, and comfort her mother.

...She wondered if she would come that day. Ye Zheng covered her eyes with her hand. Witnessing husband and daughter standing against each other with her own eyes must be a cruel thing for her.

She and Wen De had a special communication code. She would ask Heath to help pass a message tomorrow, and by the way, bring her a copy of "Imperial Law" and "Sei Curia Law".

Ye Zheng wasn't clear what moves the opposition would make or what evidence they held. She could only make all preparations within seven days. Saintess Ye Zheng could not fall in this place.

The night grew deeper. After thinking for a while, Ye Zheng felt her head starting to get dizzy. She simply reached out to turn off the light, and the room instantly fell into darkness.

There were seven days until next Sunday's court session; no need to be overly anxious.

Besides various coping methods, maintaining a healthy body was also very important. Ye Zheng thought irreverently that she was still young; she could outlast that bunch of old geezers.

Tuesday.

In a dark and winding alley, a decently dressed man looked around vigilantly. After confirming nothing was strange, he took out a key and aimed at an inconspicuous small door. The lock clicked softly. Just as he was about to push the door to enter, sudden severe pain struck, and then he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

From the shadows on the ground, half a body leaned out at some point. The woman caught the key and walked out from the shadow. Another woman with a similar figure to her walked behind her.

They entered the room. Upon hearing a faint abnormal sound coming from below, their footsteps paused. The two looked at each other with smiles.

"Finally found it. The old thing really knows how to hide."

Thursday.

In a small building in the West District, the elderly nun quietly hid today's newspaper. However, she didn't expect that after returning to the living room from shopping, a group of girls were gathering around reading the newspaper. Seeing Annabelle return, they revealed guilty expressions, but they still summoned up courage to ask:

"Will Her Holiness the Saintess be okay?"

"She killed that group of people for us! How can they slander her like this?"

"They became victims, then what are we?"

Annabelle did not blame them. She rubbed their heads and said softly: "She will be fine. As long as we are still alive, they cannot invert black and white."

Friday.

Percy read the materials in his hand over and over again. He completely didn't know how to utilize it. Wen Jian and the Sei Curia were the masterminds leading the Hope Project, yet they did not receive the punishment they deserved. Everyone's scrutinizing eyes were actually placed on Ye Zheng, and she was the most innocent person in the Sei Curia, the person who should least be judged for this matter.

Aunt Mingyue disappeared completely because of his incompetence. At the very least, he wanted to make these murderers pay the price.

This document might be waste paper in his hands, but what if he united with Ye Zheng? As fellow victims of the Blood Flower Incident and the Hope Project, even if they were enemies, they still had a common enemy, Wen Jian.

So Ye Zheng could not fall in this trial. But what could he do?

Percy was thinking with concentration in front of his bed. Suddenly, a crisp sound came from outside the window, as if something had hit the glass window. Percy opened the window and surprisingly discovered a white paper strip on the windowsill.

Saturday.

"Your Highness Crown Prince, I heard Ye Zheng was once disrespectful to you. Are you really not—"

"I don't have time to participate in such boring matters."

"Alright, still thank you for being willing to let Knight Hughes attend. With him, the Crown Prince's close attendant, testifying, Ye Zheng will definitely receive the due..."

"Get out."

Sunday, morning.

Ye Zheng put on a simple white robe, tied up her long hair, had no makeup on her face, looked composed, and was enjoying a fairly sumptuous breakfast.

This was a breakfast specially supplied by the Royal Family. Ye Zheng had eaten it for a few days and felt the taste was not bad. The variety was not comparable to ordinary noble families, but not good enough to make her want to stay and continue enjoying it.

A rush of knocking sounded. Ye Zheng put down the cup in her hand, picked up a napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth, and walked towards the door.

She pushed open the door, looked at the few people outside in uniforms with serious faces, and raised a smile: "Good morning."

Ye Zheng's expression was extremely natural, just like a most ordinary and plain day. She went out calmly under the escort of the few people.

This day was Sunday, the recognized rest day of the Empire.

But today no one relaxed. Everyone was eagerly looking forward to this trial destined to go down in history.

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