Chapter 2880 Competing
Luo Bing nodded. She explained how she and her sister had gone out to search for the Heavenly Flame seed. She then explained how a traitor had sold them out and put them in desperate straits. She also told the others how Long Chen had come and saved them.
This way, the portion that Li Cai and the others had missed was made up for. It could be considered a complete narration.
Luo Bing stealthily glanced at Long Chen with admiration. His thinking actually ran so deep.
Long Chen had intentionally had Li Cai tell his part before having Luo Bing make up for the spot that Li Cai hadn’t been present. Long Chen knew that Luo Bing wasn’t skilled at lying, and furthermore, in this situation, she didn’t have the power to lie. If she was the one to tell the whole story, under that pressure, she wouldn’t be able to conceal the part where Long Chen had told them about how he had conned Chu Kuang.
However, since it was separate parts, with her only having to talk about one part, not only was the whole matter narrated perfectly, but the secret was coincidentally avoided as well. Long Chen’s calculations were truly stunning.
After Luo Bing’s testimony, everything was seamless with no flaw. Furthermore, almost everyone knew of the Chu and Luo families’ enmity.
The academy’s rules only limited people within the academy, so they couldn’t manage the grudges that lay between the families of the disciples. As long as they made their moves outside of the jurisdiction of the academy, the academy would rarely interfere in personal matters.
However, this time, things were too big. Hundreds of inner academy disciples had died. If they didn’t handle this, the entire academy would be thrown into disorder.
“Chu Kuang, it’s your turn to testify,” said the scarred magistrate.
Chu Kuang’s body twitched, but other than blinking his eyes, he couldn’t really move.
Long Chen narrowed his eyes and instantly understood. This fellow was truly crafty. He actually used such a way to avoid having to testify.
Just then, the scarred magistrate looked at the head judge. “Chu Kuang’s injuries are too severe to testify or defend himself. Why don’t we postpone this matter before continuing our investigation?”
“Chu Kuang’s injuries are severe, and he cannot testify for himself. We can question him after he has recovered. But aren’t some other people capable of speaking?” said the head judge.
“But the two of them are…”
“Oh?”
The head judge suddenly stared down at the magistrate. “The guilty parties can be differentiated by master and subordinate, big and small. Chu Kuang can temporarily not testify, but the other two are fine, correct? Could it be that because you’re a member of the Chu family, you want to use your position for fraud?”
Long Chen was surprised. Originally, he had thought that these two magistrates had just been bought by the Chu family. But based on the head judge’s words, this scarred elder was actually a member of the Chu family. No wonder Luo Bing said that the Chu family was deeply rooted in the academy. Such solid backing was truly tough.
The scarred magistrate’s expression sank. He coldly said, “I, Chu Huairen, have always acted fair and impartial. When have I ever abused my position for fraud? Head judge, with your status, there are some words that you can’t randomly say.”
The head judge’s words had clearly infuriated him. The truth was that the Discipline Inst.i.tute was essentially run by him and the other magistrate.
That was because the previous holder of the head judge position eventually ended up with a deviation in his qi technique, and in order to recuperate, he almost completely stopped managing matters in the Discipline Inst.i.tute. Then out of nowhere, just a few years ago, a new head judge was appointed. Furthermore, it was someone viewed as extremely young for the position. He was also missing an arm.
The two of them were extremely displeased by this appointment. Whether it was in terms of seniority or qualifications, both of them were superior to this one-armed youngster.
However, they heard that he was appointed by the dean himself, so they didn’t dare to do something. Fortunately, there was no conflict that arose from this matter. But after the new head judge appeared, their own authority was slowly suppressed. Furthermore, this head judge was a bit domineering, simply saying what he wanted and making it happen without giving the two of them a chance to discuss it.
The two of them had started to grow unhappy with this situation, so they had secretly set up some hindrances for him. There was even a rumor that a year ago, there had been a large argument between them.
The rumor said that the head judge even went to the dean, but it didn’t seem as if anything had happened before it was settled. Afterward, this head judge did not appear again. The two of them a.s.sumed that he was dejected and started to bitterly cultivate.
However, Long Chen’s matter caused him to come back out. He was as domineering as ever, directly opening the first grade trial hall before the two of them even received the word.
It could be said that there was a certain estrangement between the head judge and the two magistrates. The head judge now finally had a chance to counterattack, so his words naturally weren’t very polite.
“Ye Ming, step up,” shouted the head judge.
That Ye Ming hastily took the stand. Although he was a Four Peak expert, he was pale with terror.
“Tell us what happened. Remember, you will only have one chance,” ordered the head judge coldly.
According to Ye Ming, he was the one who had accompanied Chu Kuang back to Crescent Moon Valley. He explained what had happened.
Long Chen suddenly indicated that he wished to speak. If the judges a.s.sented, he could speak.
“Long Chen, what do you have to say?” asked the head judge.
“There is a hole in what he said. He testified that Chu Kuang wanted his protection, but he didn’t know the goal. However, he was clearly wearing a mask when he came. That shows that he was afraid of being recognized, and he did not mention this in his testimony. There is no need to wear a mask to protect someone. Only someone doing some shady business would need to cover up their ident.i.ty. Am I right?” Long Chen looked at that Four Peak expert.
Ye Ming instantly began to sweat. The expressions of the two magistrates grew ugly.
The head judge shouted, “Ye Ming, did you hear what Long Chen said? He asked you what Chu Kuang told you he wanted you to do. Tell the truth.”
Ye Ming’s body quivered. He was considering how to respond when the divine light of the two statues increased in intensity and fell on him.
“AH!” Ye Ming screamed as if his soul was pierced. If someone wanted to lie here, the statues would immediately sense it and ignite their souls. Thus, there was no way to lie here.
“I’ll speak, I’ll speak! Young master Chu Kuang wanted me to kill people! He wanted Luo Bing, Luo Ning, and Long Chen dead!”