Chapter 151: Confession

Lin Jingle opened his mouth, then muttered, "No problem."

He continued interrogating, "Did you deliberately attack Dai Yong's Niwan Palace with lethal force?"

Pan Yun immediately shook her head, tears streaming down her face, "No, I was terrified then—I only wanted to save Cui Huai Gong. Every move I made was instinctive defense; I never thought beyond that."

Lin Jingle sneered, "Really? But weren't you choking Nong Zhiyi's throat and threatening us at the time?"

Pan Yun cried even harder, snot running down her nose.

Seeing Miao Zhen shifted her seat slightly away from her, then pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

Pan Yun quickly took it, wiped her tears and nose, then choked out, "How could that be a threat? Nong Zhiyi was acting on orders from someone—everyone in the Academy knows who it is. Didn't I just ask the Academy to give us an explanation? What's wrong with that?"

"At most, I'd just finished fighting, my anger hadn't cooled, and my qi was surging, so I spoke harshly—but I never meant to threaten anyone."

Lin Jingle: …

Pan Yun, as if that weren't enough, added, "If Lin Tangzhu doesn't believe me, ask Zhang Yuanzhu—did he feel threatened by me at the time?"

Wang Feiyin immediately turned his head, smirking, to look at Zhang Ziwang, "Ziwang, how did you feel back then?"

Zhang Ziwang's expression didn't change; he coldly replied, "Just children's angry words—I felt nothing."

The students watching below whispered among themselves, "Wasn't it said that Zhang Yuanzhu's face turned green back then? That she was terrifyingly imposing? But now it doesn't look like it."

"I was there at the time—I can testify. She was terrifyingly imposing. Even now, thinking back, my blood still boils."

"True, I was there too—I stood right beside her. When she turned her head, she was facing me directly. You wouldn't believe it—I was trembling inside, convinced she was about to fight Zhang Yuanzhu right then."

But few believed them. Everyone now saw only Pan Yun, weeping with snot and tears streaming down her face—she looked pitiful.

Think about it—she's only nine, much younger than Nong Zhiyi and the others. Though she's a disciple of the Mountain God, though she defeated one of the Heavenly Chosen, Zhang Weiyi, in her entrance exam, everyone still sees her as weak.

"Why are you all gossiping about this? Shouldn't you be discussing who's behind Nong Zhiyi and the others? This is a huge matter—who's the mastermind?"

"You don't know?"

"Should I know? The Criminal Law Hall hasn't uncovered it yet."

"Does it even need investigation? Use your toes to think—it's clearly the Zhang brothers of Fengqi Court. I bet it's Zhang Weiliang, or maybe Zhang Weigang. Both have narrow minds."

"But weren't they sent down the mountain for training? Could it be Zhang Weiyi?"

"No way? Brother Zhang Weiyi wouldn't be that petty, would he?"

"Why not? Pan Yun defeated him in her entrance exam. He's been here five years; she's only one year in, only nine. He's always been the top among us. Do you think he'd be fine with being publicly defeated like that?"

Zhang Weiyi: …

He coldly replied, "I'm not bothered."

"I wasn't talking about you—why'd you jump in…" The other's pupils shrank, stunned, "Brother… Brother Zhang…?"

Zhang Weiyi glanced down at him, squeezed past him, and stepped to the front row.

He dared not complain about being cut in line, and remained silent afterward, too afraid to say another word—but he was bursting inside.

In the center, Lin Jingle's interrogation continued, "Who do you say is the mastermind?"

Pan Yun lifted her head from the handkerchief and stared at Lin Jingle, speaking with finality, "Zhang Weiliang."

Lin Jingle's face showed no expression. Zhang Ziwang's showed none either.

Lin Jingle turned to the three kneeling beside him, "Is that true?"

As accomplices, the three had suffered only minor injuries, but their faces were no better than Nong Zhiyi's or Dai Yong's.

After the incident, they'd been captured and locked up. Now their faces were pale, trembling with fear as they exchanged glances, too timid to speak.

Nong Zhiyi, who had been silent, groaned and rose, clutching his stomach, his face white, "Tangzhu, there is no mastermind. I asked them to help me."

"Oh?" Lin Jingle looked down at him, "Then why did you ambush and beat up Cui Huai Gong?"

"I wanted to steal his money and resources, and force him to hand over all his future cultivation supplies. I never expected him to resist—he had a powerful Peace Talisman on him. We got angry, lost control, and didn't hold back."

The other three immediately nodded, casting guilty glances at Nong Zhiyi, "We… we all followed Nong Zhiyi's orders."

Nong Zhiyi admitted it, "Yes, they all followed me."

Lin Jingle sneered at him, "Now you're showing loyalty? Isn't that a bit late? We found you received a payment of one hundred taels from below the mountain five days ago. Who sent it?"

Nong Zhiyi turned pale, "It's money I earned selling talismans."

"Is that so? Who did you sell them to? Why didn't you collect payment then, but received it now?"

Lin Jingle asked in great detail—where the money came from, who sent it.

Nong Zhiyi broke into cold sweat, dared not lie, because Lin Jingle could check the bank.

Though banks couldn't disclose customer privacy, the Academy's power might still uncover the truth.

Lin Jingle sneered, "How convenient—the money came from Linjiang Prefecture. Zhang Weiliang has been training there recently."

Zhang Ziwang said without expression, "If Lin Tangzhu has suspicions, he can send someone to bring him back for joint interrogation; if it truly was him orchestrating it from behind the scenes, the Zhang family will impose severe punishment without mercy."

Zhang Ziwang's face was expressionless: "If Lin Tangzhu suspects him, send someone to bring him back for interrogation. If he truly orchestrated this, the Zhang family will punish him severely."

"Fine," Lin Jingle said, "I'll send Criminal Law Hall personnel to bring him back."

Wang Feiyin: "Then how can we proceed? Not everyone's here."

He pointed at Dai Yong lying on the wooden board, "If he's not treated soon, even my miraculous healing skills won't save him."

Lin Jingle said, "First, treat him."

Wang Feiyin: "Who pays for the herbs?"

Zhu Zifang couldn't help sneering, "Wang Feiyin, this man was injured by your Mount Sanqing disciple Pan Yun. Who do you think should pay?"

"Pfft, if you can't speak properly, keep your mouth shut," Wang Feiyin snapped, "Are you deaf? My little sister said she acted bravely. Even if we grant the worst-case scenario—that it wasn't that Weiliang who ordered it—Nong Zhiyi himself admitted they were the ones who ambushed Cui Huai Gong."

"Not to mention Cui Huai Gong is our neighbor and my little sister's fellow disciple and close friend—even if he were a stranger, witnessing such injustice, one ought to draw one's sword and intervene. What fault does she have?" Wang Feiyin glared furiously at Lin Jingle, "Tell me—what fault does she have?"

Lin Jingle paused, then said, "In this matter, she is blameless."

Wang Feiyin puffed up with pride.

Lin Jingle said, "But she publicly threatened her superiors and the Academy, tarnishing its reputation—she is guilty."

Wang Feiyin: "You..."

Lin Jingle raised her hand to stop his protest, her gaze sharp as a blade as she fixed it on Pan Yun: "Don't put on such a performance before me. You were threatening us—you were threatening the Academy—at the time."

"Pan Yun, I understand you've only just entered the Academy and haven't yet felt a sense of belonging, but I hope you remember: once you enroll to study here, you are a member of the Academy."

Lin Jingle said solemnly: "You study here without paying a single coin; all your expenses and cultivation resources are provided by the Academy. What the Academy teaches you is not merely the skills to survive and thrive, but the very foundation upon which you may touch the Dao. I know there are injustices within the Academy, but no matter what, you cannot deny the teaching and protection it has given you."

"If there are injustices, you may seek redress from the Criminal Law Hall, or approach the heads of each academy to speak for you. You must not turn against the Academy, let alone hate it. Pan Yun, do you admit this guilt?"

Wang Feiyin frowned.

Pan Yun also frowned. She lowered her eyes, then rose, changed from sitting to kneeling, and said with solemn seriousness: "Tangzhu Lin's reprimand is correct. I was wrong—I truly have not felt a sense of belonging to the Academy."

She said with shame: "From the moment I entered the Academy, I was targeted by my seniors. That left me with a terrible impression of the Academy. Later, I was bullied by Zhang Weiliang and his two brothers, and my heart filled with rage. Moreover, for over a month since arriving, apart from my fellow disciples' junior pupils, only Sister Xuan Li and Cui Huai Gong, both from Yushan County, were willing to befriend me. I felt no kindness from the Academy. I am young, and I naturally thought wrongly—my heart grew bitter and resentful."

"When the incident occurred, and I fought Nong Zhiyi and others, I learned someone was manipulating them behind the scenes. That made me even angrier, and under my prejudice, I assumed it was the Academy's seniors who were responsible." Pan Yun lifted her head, tears glistening in her eyes: "Today, when Tangzhu Lin shouted out loud, I realized how deeply biased I had become. I should not have harbored resentment toward the Academy because of past grievances. My prejudice was wrong. I admit this guilt!"

The students began whispering among themselves: "Honestly, if I were her, I'd be even more biased."

"Exactly. It's no wonder she's biased—after all, it was Master Zhu Zifang himself who arranged for her to enter Fengqi Academy."

"I thought he was being kind. Isn't he supposed to be Pan Yun's patron?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Does he look like a patron? Why did Pan Yun fight Zhang's three brothers the moment she entered? Precisely because Master Zhu Zifang assigned her to Fengqi Academy. Has any new student ever been placed in Fengqi Academy before?"

"There were three empty rooms there. Normally, the three most outstanding third- and fourth-year students would be chosen to move in, based on merit points. Whoever had the highest merit points got the rooms. But Pan Yun and her two junior pupils moved right in—who could accept that? That's why so many resent them, especially the third- and fourth-year seniors."

"If it were me, I'd hate them too. But now I hate Master Zhu Zifang even more."

"Who doesn't?"

"When Pan Yun lists it all out, she really hasn't received much kindness since entering the Academy~~"

Pan Yun's confession of guilt won her a wave of sympathy; few now believed she was truly guilty.

Lin Jingle listened to the murmurs below, then pursed her lips and said: "Since you admit guilt, I shall punish you. According to Academy rules, you shall receive twenty blows with the cane, and be sent to the Reflection Cliff for three months of solitary reflection."

"Wait," Wang Feiyin said unhappily: "Lin Jingle, are you using your authority to settle personal scores? She merely asked you for justice—and you're sentencing her to three months on the Reflection Cliff?"

(End of Chapter)