Turns Out, I’m In A Villain Clan! Chapter 459 What Can Happen?

Beneath a veneer of strained composure, turmoil brewed just outside the grand hall.

A large gathering had assembled to witness the fate awaiting Bai Zihan, captured by Han Shenwu.

Members of Elder Han's group buzzed with anticipation and thrill over Bai Zihan's impending ordeal.

Clearly, plenty harbored resentment toward Bai Zihan for numerous grievances.

Meanwhile, some pondered how even a figure like Bai Zihan from the Bai Clan would now have to yield to them going forward.

Qinglan lingered at the periphery of the throng.

Her face stayed icy, yet her hands balled into fists hidden in her sleeves.

House arrest confined her—a decree from Han Sha, who dreaded her sway and potential uprising.

In reality, she had stayed impartial, offering no real aid to any faction. Nor did she wish to ignite a civil conflict at this juncture.

Yet Han Sha remained skeptical and had gone so far as to plan her expulsion.

Without protest, she had followed his directive, hoping he might regain clarity.

But that clarity never arrived.

She questioned if remaining here held any value.

Maybe departure offered a wiser path.

Suddenly, word arrived that Han Shenwu had seized Bai Zihan.

"Han Sha, you've crossed the line!"

Anxiety gripped her particularly hard upon learning Bai Zihan had been crippled.

Without that injury, concern would be needless—Bai Zihan could swiftly dispatch foes like Han Sha.

Defying the Sect Leader's direct command for seclusion, Elder Qinglan emerged from her quarters.

She recognized Han Sha's scheme to exploit Bai Zihan for his personal gains.

She had held back during Tian Yuheng's exposure—since, despite any plots, it followed legitimate channels.

But assaulting a disciple from the Heaven Sword Sect—

This she refused to tolerate. All the more so for Bai Zihan, her nominal disciple.

Swiftly, she arrived at the Main Hall, where a modest assembly had gathered.

***

"Xueqing! Ziyan!"

Her eyes locked onto two of her students right away.

The pair had hovered near the main hall's entrance, evidently anxious over Bai Zihan.

"Master!"

Relief and astonishment colored their cries.

"Is Bai Zihan in there?" she pressed with urgency.

Affirmative nods from them verified the rumors she'd caught.

Before the hall, sealed tight and shielded by a protective array, she paused.

Such defenses typically countered invading foes within the sect.

But here they were, activated now.

This proved Bai Zihan was intentionally confined within. Qinglan advanced a pace.

Another stride—

"Master!"

Bai Xueqing clutched her sleeve, eyes bulging.

"Forcing entry at this moment—"

"I understand," Qinglan murmured softly.

Yet her advance continued unabated.

Her stare held steady on the shut portals.

Right as she lifted her arm—

The doors groaned apart.

A silhouette appeared.

Bai Zihan.

Qinglan's breath hitched.

"...Bai Zihan?"

Injuries seemed absent from him.

Splotches of blood marred his footwear and attire—from Han Sha and his allies, not himself.

All the same, no grave harm appeared to have befallen him.

Nevertheless, Qinglan stayed cautious. Her intent was to shield him and whisk him back to the Bai Clan without delay.

Before advancing further—

Additional steps echoed.

A person trailed after him.

Han Sha.

However—

Qinglan's eyes widened sharply.

The former commanding Sect Leader of the Heaven Sword Sect trailed half a pace behind Bai Zihan, his posture slightly bowed, frame shrunken inward.

A strained grin masked his features, as though dreading any slight to Bai Zihan.

No trace of pride lingered.

No hint of command remained.

Qinglan gaped.

The nearby disciples gawked in shock.

A heavy quiet descended like a storm.

"Sect Leader Han?"

Qinglan inquired deliberately.

He resembled Han Sha outwardly, yet lacked any commanding aura, rendering him unrecognizable. Elder Han spotted the onlookers and promptly shifted his demeanor.

Stooped shoulders squared up.

The artificial smile dissolved as if erased.

Han Sha moved ahead, his garments whipping crisply while his presence surged—not crushing, yet sufficient to reassert his supposed dominance.

Of course, despite the facade, he stayed positioned behind Bai Zihan.

Spotting Qinglan then ignited his fury.

His tone grew icy and commanding.

"Elder Qinglan," he declared firmly.

"What brings you here?"

The statement landed like a judge's hammer.

It carried the weight of a sect leader chastising a rule-breaking elder—nearly akin to rebuking one under confinement.

Yet at that instant, Bai Zihan shot him a frown of irritation.

Han Sha's breathing faltered.

A shiver raced along his back.

He hadn't pivoted yet, but awareness struck.

Bai Zihan's eyes were upon him.

Merely a serene, level stare—one laden with an intensity Han Sha now grasped all too intimately.

The sort implying:

You've gone too far!

Han Sha's pupils contracted.

His mind raced.

(Indeed—Elder Qinglan is his master.)

...Not quite.

Not genuinely. It was common knowledge.

Bai Zihan gained no teachings from her.

He was simply listed under her peak—a mere procedural step.

Bai Zihan outmatched Elder Qinglan vastly. She held nothing to impart from the start.

A being capable of felling hordes of Void Refinement experts in moments—what insight could she, in that realm, possibly offer?

Even so, he appears to regard Elder Qinglan with deference.

Han Sha gulped.

His voice softened in an instant.

"...Elder Qinglan," he repeated, much more tempered.

Qinglan observed intently.

Han Sha drew a measured breath, then faced her completely and cupped his hands.

"Upon reflection," he pressed on, tone even but strained, "the penalty leveled against you proved somewhat harsh."

Whispers stirred among the assembly.

How could this be? Since when did the mighty Sect Leader express remorse over an overreach?

He had banished multiple disciples and elders merely for declining his alliance.

And that marked his mercy. Those aligned with Sect Leader Tian faced imprisonment, backed by invented charges.

Han Sha compelled himself onward, smile strained.

"For an act you never committed," he stated cautiously, words selected meticulously, "such handling was unfit."

Then, projecting louder for all to catch: "Effective immediately, Elder Qinglan's sanctions are revoked."

The declaration rang out over the square.

Astoundment flared rapidly.

Disciples' jaws dropped.

Elders traded bewildered looks. Qinglan remained rooted.

For an extended beat, she uttered no words.

Her eyes shifted—not toward Han Sha—but to Bai Zihan.

She grasped that Han Sha's compliance—and the revocation of her penalty—stemmed wholly from Bai Zihan.

Initial fears had plagued her, above all after tales of Bai Zihan's crippling. But the current scene dispelled that rumor plainly.

Evidently, in unseen privacy, Bai Zihan had wrought some effect on Han Sha.

And given Bai Zihan's nature, violence seemed likelier than mere discourse.

"Bai Ziyan!"

Chu Ziyan hurried up, gaze sweeping Bai Zihan top to bottom.

No signs of combat marred him—yet the crimson marks persisted.

Thus, events had surely unfolded within the Main Hall.

"They didn't harm you, did they?"

Chu Ziyan queried anxiously.

Bai Xueqing trailed closely after.

Bai Zihan eyed them briefly.

"What trouble could arise?"

He responded.

"I simply conversed with the Sect Leader regarding the sect's path ahead."

His glance darted—quick and offhand—to Han Sha.

"And offered congratulations on his fresh role," Bai Zihan appended.

"Isn't that so?"

Han Sha tensed as Bai Zihan regarded him.

No second prompting required. The fitting reply was obvious.

He bobbed his head eagerly.

"Absolutely!" Han Sha affirmed hastily, volume pitched a touch high.

"Young Master Bai Zihan ranks as a vital asset to the Heaven Sword Sect.

Thus, I deemed it essential to consult him directly and solicit his views on enhancing our sect."

He mustered a gracious grin, hands folded in exemplary sect leader fashion. "After all, my ascent to Heaven Sword Sect's leadership is quite recent. Any unrest among disciples or elders would be intolerable."

"Hence, I sought dialogue with an outstanding talent like Bai Zihan to refine my leadership approach."

Concern!

Thoughtfulness!

Regard!

Each phrase rang impeccably.

Even some gullible disciples swallowed the obvious deception.

Chu Ziyan blinked.

Bai Xueqing's mouth quirked faintly.

Elder Qinglan held her tongue—but her scrutiny intensified, noting Han Sha's stiff stance, the subtle strain in his frame, and how his gaze skirted Bai Zihan's for mere instants.

All present discerned it.

Plain as daylight.

Whatever transpired in that chamber—

Bai Zihan had inflicted something dreadful upon Han Sha.

To the extent that defiance against him appeared utterly absent.