Grandmaster Zhu Zhang finally addressed the shopkeeper, cutting off his internal speculations.

"Please rest assured, Shopkeeper Mu, justice will be served as soon as we have all the information required."

The Bestiary Grandmaster's response seemed appropriate for the course of an investigation, but Shopkeeper Mu felt that something was not right. He had already delivered a detailed account of the incident, and had even brought witnesses to testify on his behalf. Why was the girl not on her way to the dungeons by now?

"Grandmaster…" Shopkeeper Mu began to appeal, his voice was pleading, but the Grandmaster instantly raised a hand and waved it in a demand for silence.

"I grant the accused, Li Meirong, permission to step inside the hall," the Grandmaster stated, glancing briefly at the pale-haired man beside him as he did so. The scary looking stranger hummed approvingly.

Li Meirong walked inside, kneeling a few steps behind Shopkeeper Mu. She glanced up, only to see the banes of her existence staring right back at her.

Zhu Zhang was sighing, appearing dejected, and as for Zhu Qingyue… did he look angry? Was he annoyed with her?

"Grandmaster Zhu Zhang. Senior Zhu." Li Meirong maintained her composure, cupping her hands in front of her as a display of respect.

The murmurs of the crowd could only barely be heard, but the contempt they displayed was unmistakable. Li Meirong's eyes darted to the onlookers; many were scowling at her.

The crowd was divided between attendants of the Bestiary Division and disciples who had witnessed the shop's explosion. Numerous disciples covered their scalps with paddy hats – they had become the laughing stock of the entire sect overnight because of this girl!

The crowd's outrage only heightened Shopkeeper Mu's resolve. 'Everyone is on my side!' he thought gleefully, placing his worries aside and regaining his composure. He silently rebuked at himself for his needless fretting. 'The man called Senior Zhu is most likely outraged on my behalf!'

The two esteemed individuals were seated on an elevated dais a great distance from the rest of the masses. To the spectators, the Grandmaster's respectable guest appeared to be curbing his rage and restraining the urge to lash out. The one whom Li Meirong had addressed as Senior Zhu had clenched his hands into tight fists, and the moment Li Meirong had arrived, his irritated expression had noticeably worsened.

Wasn't that a sign of his obvious displeasure and disdain towards the loathsome girl?

Shopkeeper Mu was elated, thinking that even the Grandmaster's guest supported him due to the souring of his mood.

"Just wait and see what will happen to you," Shopkeeper Mu whispered venomously to Li Meirong, who was kneeling just behind him.

The loathsome girl had so pompously threatened his life yesterday, and now look at her! Bowing so low, her shoulders hunched in fear…

Li Meirong did not reply. Her eyes were red, and her head dropping a fraction lower.

The shopkeeper was not wrong in his deduction – she was indeed afraid. It was a miracle she had yet to develop a true phobia of crowds, as every time she was surrounded by people, she ended up needing to defend herself from torture or death, typically due to being wrongly accused.

She knew she was the one in the wrong this time, destroying the man's shop as she had, but he was practically slave trading! Spirit Beasts weren't mindless creatures. They had the same level of intelligence as humans – if not higher.

She was willing to find a way to compensate Shopkeeper Mu for his loss. They could have settled the issue calmly, but she had been so angry…

Li Meirong really wanted to smack herself over the head for acting so foolishly before.

Still bowing low, she wondered if this trial meant she would no longer be accepted as an inner sect disciple, much less a personal disciple now.

Well, it would at least mean she wouldn't have to spend any more time with any of the crazy men that were surnamed Zhu. If she made it out of here alive, that is.

"Would you be so kind as to explain your version of the events?" Zhu Zhang asked finally.

His tone was unusually friendly, and Li Meirong looked up to see the frightening Grandmaster smiling faintly at her.

She went saucer-eyed; her expression was almost comical in her surprise.

'Did he just smile at me?' she nearly slipped backward. 'This is too shocking!'

Li Meirong tried to understand his unexpected reaction, but she just could not come to terms with this odd change in behavior. Could it be that Zhu Zhang had become more lenient towards her because he wanted her to compete for his sect?

Regardless of her theories, she concisely delivered her rendition of yesterday's situation in detail, confirming that she had indeed gone inside the shop and was responsible for its destruction.

Zhu Zhang listened attentively to her report, no longer appearing uninterested, and Zhu Qingyue's temper seemed to have lessened as well. He now looked strangely calm; expressionless even.

Li Meirong was unable to make sense of their attitude. It was beyond her comprehensive abilities to analyze these strange people. Despite their willingness to listen to her, she was still stressed. Listening didn't mean they would take her side, especially since the sect laws actually condemned her actions.

Or at least, that was what she thought, right up until the moment when Zhu Zhang addressed the shopkeeper again. "I see… so that is what happened. It sounds like a misunderstanding to me – would you not agree, Shopkeeper Mu?"

Everyone looked startled, except for perhaps the expressionless Zhu Qingyue. Li Meirong's mouth dropped open in disbelief, and a collective, sharp inhale was uttered by the attendees.

More than anyone, Shopkeeper Mu was utterly confounded by what he just heard.

'Could someone please explain what the hell is going on?' he silently panicked. 'That loathsome girl actually confessed to wrecking my shop! How in all the seven hells does it sound like a misunderstanding?!'