The Cold-Hearted Princess Who Transmigrated Here

After listening to his father's solemn instructions, Li Xuexin dared not delay and hurriedly ran to the altar.

He took a deep breath, and with all his might, swung the drumstick in his hand, striking heavily on the huge and ancient cowhide drum.

Suddenly, the sound of drums, "dong-dong-dong," rang out. The heavy, muffled sound spread rapidly outwards like ripples, echoing and reverberating through the quiet, deep valley.

Before long, the tribespeople, who were busy with their own tasks, heard the unusually loud and warning drumbeats. They stopped what they were doing, their faces showing confusion and tension. They asked each other what was happening and then hurriedly gathered around the altar.

Night had fallen, and to provide enough light to illuminate the area and prepare for the upcoming sacrificial ceremony, a large pile of firewood, taller than a person, was burning fiercely in the open space around the altar.

The orange-red flames leaped merrily, illuminating the surroundings brightly, and occasionally crackling and popping.

After most of the clan members had arrived, Li Kongchen walked steadily forward. He stood solemnly and resolutely in front of the blazing bonfire.

Then, he bowed deeply to the crowd that had gathered around him, expressing his respect and gratitude to his people.

After standing up, Li Kongchen looked around and said loudly, "Fellow clansmen, I'm sure many of you still remember what I look like!"

A slight commotion arose in the crowd. Some of the older tribesmen looked at the unfamiliar yet strangely familiar man before them, their eyes revealing surprise and contemplation.

After a brief pause, Li Kongchen spoke again, his tone tinged with grief and indignation: "That's right, just as everyone has guessed, I am Li Kongchen, the Li family man who mysteriously disappeared twenty-six years ago!"

Upon hearing this, the room fell silent instantly, everyone staring intently at Li Kongchen, waiting for him to continue.

"The reason I have been unable to return to my hometown all these years is all thanks to this heinous Ling Feng!"

At this point, Li Kongchen clenched his fists, veins bulging on his forehead, clearly unable to suppress the surging anger within him.

"Back then, I was relentlessly pursued by his men, barely escaping with my life. If it weren't for a fortunate coincidence that someone else came to my rescue, I probably would have died far from home and never set foot on this land that gave me birth."

Immediately afterward, Li Kongchen raised his voice and shouted indignantly, "Ling Feng has committed numerous evils and crimes. Today, I will expose all the evil deeds he has committed in front of all my clansmen, revealing his ugly face and making him face the judgment of our clan's gods!"

Li Kongchen's gaze was icy, and he didn't even give Ling Feng a chance to start arguing. He resolutely turned his head and focused his gaze directly on the trusted servant of Ling Feng who was kneeling on the ground, trembling.

Li Kongchen's face was ashen. "If you can honestly and completely expose all the crimes Ling Feng has committed, I can consider pleading with my clansmen to spare your life."

This trusted servant had been utterly despondent, believing he was doomed, but when he heard Li Kongchen's words, a glimmer of hope flashed in his eyes.

As if grasping at the last straw, he was so excited that he couldn't contain himself and began to kowtow repeatedly to the tribesmen standing around him.

Each kowtow produced a crisp and loud sound, as if the head was about to be broken open.

"Fellow villagers, I am truly innocent! I was forced to commit those mistakes because I was coerced and threatened by that villain Ling Feng!"

"Please, everyone, believe what I'm saying and have mercy on me so I can live!" the trusted subordinate cried out, his face filled with a mixture of regret and fear.

"I hereby swear that from this day forward I will repent and reform myself, completely turn over a new leaf and become a new person! I will never dare to do anything bad again! Please, esteemed people, have mercy and forgive me!"

However, just as he was about to continue his incessant begging for mercy, Li Kongchen interrupted him mercilessly.

Li Kongchen shouted sharply, "Enough! Stop rambling and get to the point!"

The rebuke was like a thunderclap in the air, startling the trusted servant so much that he trembled and dared not utter another word.

He knew that time was of the essence and there was no room for delay, so he quickly composed himself and began to recount in detail all the heinous acts he knew about Ling Feng.

"In order to make the previous Holy Maiden obey him, Ling Feng had me take men to secretly control her beloved Second Master Li. In order to save Second Master Li's life, the Holy Maiden had no choice but to compromise and agree to marry him."

"But he says one thing to people's faces and another behind their backs. After marrying the Holy Maiden, he ordered me to secretly kill Master Li. Then I pretended to tell Madam An that 'Master Li left on his own,' so that no one would suspect that Ling Feng was behind the killing."

"After that, in order to completely win over Madam An, Ling Feng tried all sorts of methods to force her to submit to him, but Madam An's natal Gu was extremely domineering, so he never succeeded."

"Later, when Madam An became pregnant and gave birth, he learned that it was the child of Second Master Li. Ling Feng was so angry that he went crazy. To save face, he tacitly accepted the role of the fake father. He also took the opportunity to use this as a pretext to blackmail Madam An with the life of the young lady, forcing her to steal the Wan Du Pearl, the most precious treasure in the valley, and hand it over to him."

“Madam An used many methods to delay this matter, but unfortunately, five years ago, the Ten Thousand Poison Pearl was still stolen by Ling Feng. After that, Miss also disappeared, and then Madam An also disappeared. I think their unexplained departure must have been Ling Feng’s doing.”

To prevent Ling Feng from interrupting this person's confession, Xuan Wu thoughtfully silenced him by pressing his acupoint.

Ling Feng remained relatively calm about the previous accusations, which indirectly indicated that the servant was telling the truth. However, when it came to the accusations against the young lady and the madam, Ling Feng became so agitated that he almost broke free from the servant's restraints. Clearly, this accusation was not something he had arranged.

Unfortunately, nobody cared, and the confidants continued to present their evidence.

"Over the years, all the riches and honors Ling Feng promised to everyone were fake. What he really wanted was the Gu and witchcraft that could manipulate people's bodies and minds. The clansmen he asked me to take out were all killed in the end because they couldn't meet his requirements. There were seventeen of them in total."

"The thirty-one assassins he had me secretly bring in were all ruthless and desperate criminals. The Li and An clansmen who were killed while traveling in recent years were also victims of his secret investigations. He had me find clues and then notify these people to carry out the killings quietly. There were fifteen of them in total."

"Ling Feng is ruthless and cruel. His attitude towards his servants is simply outrageous! If anyone does anything that disobeys him, he will not hesitate to kill them to silence them."

"Over the years, he has personally murdered at least ten servants and maids. And I was forced to follow his orders!"

"Please believe what I'm saying. Every charge I've listed against Ling Feng is based on solid evidence."

"He committed such a heinous crime that it is intolerable to Heaven and deserves to die! We urge everyone to have him cremated as soon as possible to comfort the souls of those innocent people who died tragically."

After everyone heard this account, those who had lost their relatives and kinsmen were instantly filled with rage. They were furious and eager to rush forward and tear Ling Feng apart alive to vent their hatred.

Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Li Xingchen hurriedly shouted loudly and quickly arranged for Xuan Liu, Xuan Qi and others to stabilize the scene.

Meanwhile, Li Kongchen stood to the side, his face clouded with anger. He felt both intense resentment towards Ling Feng's actions and deep sorrow for the suffering he had indirectly caused his wife and daughter.

At that moment, he felt as if his internal organs had been struck by a heavy hammer, and the pain was unbearable.

Ultimately, reason told him that dealing with the immediate problem was more important, so he signaled Xuanwu to take the complaining servant away and deal with him appropriately.

Xuanwu naturally understood what Elder Kong meant. If this person was truly forced, he could be spared the death penalty but would not escape punishment. If he was lying, he had more than a dozen ways to make him understand that living was the most terrible crime.

Despite having avenged his great enemy, Li Kongchen's mood did not lighten at all; on the contrary, an unprecedented sense of heaviness weighed on his heart.

He is now filled with remorse. If he had been braver and had trusted his wife and daughter more, he could have prevented their tragedy.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered the day he left the Prince Xian's residence, and the accusations that the unruly little girl had made against him.

At the time, he thought it was just a child's sophistry and didn't take it to heart. But now, however, every scolding felt like a heavy hammer blow to his heart.

He couldn't help but ask himself, "What exactly does my love mean?"

He now realizes that all these years, he has been a complete traitor, betraying both his beloved and the vows he made to her.

He had never truly trusted An Yi's love for him, nor had he ever suspected that everything she did was forced upon her.

He once thought he loved An Yi deeply, but now it seems how ridiculous and hypocritical that so-called "love" was! It turns out that the truly cheap and false love was what he gave An Yi.

For so many years, she has lived in fear every day, constantly worried, trying her best to save his life on the one hand, and to protect herself and her child on the other.

But he, the husband and father who should have taken responsibility, was completely unaware of this and instead blamed and hated her.

On countless days and nights, when An Yi tossed and turned, unable to sleep due to worry, he, like those executioners, simply watched her suffer indifferently, without any emotion.

Thinking of this, Li Kongchen wished he could stab his own heart with a sword; he could not forgive himself for his sins.

If something really happened to his daughter and wife, then there would be no meaning for him to live in this world. He, like Ling Feng, truly deserved to die. Perhaps he should have died twenty-five years ago to be worthy of An Yi's sincere devotion.

Seeing his second brother's completely distraught state, Li Xingchen knew that scolding him was useless, and he could only feel helpless.

He walked to the highest point of the sacrificial site and loudly proclaimed: "This man is Ling Feng. Based on the numerous crimes confessed by his confidants, I'm sure everyone knows what's going on."

"For many years he has been secretly eroding the foundation of our clan, and his crimes are heinous. He should be executed today, but our clan's customs cannot be abandoned. We will use him to hold a sacrifice, and ask the gods to bless our clan with peace and happiness for generations to come."

Upon hearing this, everyone was somewhat surprised, but no one objected, since Ling Feng's evil deeds had already been exposed.

Xuanwu and Xuanliu carried Ling Feng, whose eyes were bloodshot and who was on the verge of death, to the altar.

As the ritual began, the high priest of the tribe chanted incantations and danced around Ling Feng, while also scattering various herbal powders. Suddenly, a strange light flashed across the sky, and everyone looked up to see what was happening.

At that moment, Ling Feng tried his best to escape, resist, and argue, but unfortunately he could not speak or move his hands and feet, and could only writhe on the ground.

Li Kongchen walked towards him with a cold smile, "Today I will see you off on behalf of my wife and daughter."