Chapter 29 TWENTY-NINE

Chapter 29: Chapter TWENTY-NINE

"I happen to have one. You wouldn’t believe what I stumbled upon."

Xin Linhua turns to the judges.

"Permission to use the big screen."

"Go ahead."

The judges are now quiet. They lean back, arms folded before they look exasperated yet entertained. They’re waiting for his next move.

"Thank you." Xin Linhua rolls up his left sleeves.

Now that he has confirmed that the judges are not here to take sides, he’s about to switch the court hearing into a private show!

He connects his smartwatch to the big screen and scrolls through the apps. There’s only one video in the gallery.

"Now then, my lord." Xin Linhua teases "Do watch closely."

The video begins to play.

In the alleged video, a large peach blossom tree appears on screen. The tree is best known to prune in spring and bloom in autumn then disappear in winter. But not in Jingyi Garden.

A few seconds later, the Captain walks into the frame. His hands are folded before him and his head is lowered.

"Sir." The Captain’s voice rings out loud and clear "I have the whole situation under control, but we have a problem."

Underneath the large tree, a figure is covered by the branches and leaves. His face is hidden away, but a faint outline of his silhouette can be seen.

"What situation?" A rough voice echoes from him.

"I got rid of everything that can bail him out a penalty, but it seems the witnesses recorded some videos that day. It’s everywhere now."

"You fool!" The figure bellows "You can’t handle one defect!? How hard is it to pin murder on a kid!?"

"Sir..." The Captain shudders "I’ll get it sorted out somehow–"

"You’re useless." The man cuts him off "The only option we have is to speed up the court hearing date. Get him convicted. The death penalty is very much in effect. A life for a life, even Xin Tangzi will have a hard time bailing his son out of his one."

The video stops. The crowd pulls themselves out of the trance they’re stuck in.

"Captain." One of the judges fumes "Is this true?"

The Captain remains silent as ever, his finger curling into a fist. His expression is enough to serve as his answer.

"Captain, I hope you understand the severity of your actions." Another one says "The charges against Guide Xin are heavy. Also, who told you he’ll be given the death penalty? He’s standing on charges of assault and attempted murder."

Xin Linhua’s smile freezes on his face. He turns ever so slowly towards the judges.

"Attempted? Attempted murder? Did you just say ’attempted murder’?" He questions.

"Yes." Another nodded "Luckily for you, Gao Chengi is still alive. He’s not dead, but he’s not fairing well either. He’s still under observation for now."

Xin Linhua’s expression turns icy. For someone who’s standing trial and got told that he didn’t kill a man, he looks unhappy.

"Guide Xin. Is something wrong?"

"No." Xin Linhua’s smile falls back in place "I’m just... glad. He’s alive. Not dead."

"Oh..." Another one nods and leans forward "Guide Xin, did you manage to find the Captain’s accomplice?"

"Accomplice..." Xin Linhua clicks his tongue like he’s thinking about something.

Every eye in the room is on him now. In the institute, if you’re subject to a court hearing, you can’t have a lawyer because the proceedings are private. No witnesses either, unless absolutely necessary. Even the parents who had come to ask for compensation had all been escorted to another room earlier.

The fact that Xin Linhua saw through the Captain’s scheme before the trial eve began, and prepared enough evidence to bail him out of a death penalty is already impressive enough. The whole courtroom is just waiting for him to continue.

"I think so." Xin Linhua grins.

They all turn to the large monitor once more. The video continues from where Xin Linhua cuts it off. The Captain exchanges a few more words with the man in the shadow.

"Xin Tangzi." The man laughs "That precious son of yours, I’ll let watch him get electrocuted to death."

The court falls quiet. The trial can be said to have been taken over by Xin Linhua, but whatever it is they’re watching has nothing to do with the trial anymore. It’s political now.

"Captain." Xin Linhua smiles at the man "Did you even try with the name? You just changed the first letter to something more conspicuous and glaring."

"What are you talking about?" The man grits his teeth.

"Captain...Hao, is it?" Xin Linhua tilts his head "You can’t be that lazy, can you?"

Right then, on the large monitor, the figure walks out of the shadows and shade of the tree. The Captain’s expression changes and his face turns pale.

"Turn it off!" He grabs Xin Linhua’s hand.

Like reflexes, Xin Linhua grabs his arm and twists it to the back. He locks the hold for a few seconds before releasing the Captain. He raises his hands in the air with an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, sorry, my reflexes act faster than I think." He apologizes.

"Restrain the Captain." One of the judges orders.

The officers have been standing to the side watching the whole drama unfold from start to finish. They snap out of their reverie and quickly hold their Captain down.

"Uncle." The Captain’s voice echoes from the monitor, garnering everyone’s attention once more "You don’t have to worry about the Xin family failure, I won’t let you down."

The man who the Captain had called uncle, slowly walks out from the shadows. His hand reaches to pat the Captain’s shoulder.

"Don’t fail me."

The moment his face comes into full view on the large screen, a man springs up from his seat in the audience.

"What blasphemy is this!?"

"Gao Jin." Xin Linhua turns to the man "I didn’t you’ll go as far as to use your own son. That’s just sad."

Gao Jin. The helmsman of the Gao family. A family that was on par with the Xin and Rong but fell short later on. Their house stopped producing Sentinels and even fewer offspring. When Gao Chengi awakened as a D-Rank, it was enough to make him throw a party.

Xin Linhua still remembers. His brothers were discussing something with their father in the study when he barged in and announced to them that he’ll be joining Zhongjing institute.

He waited patiently at first, so he was able to pick a few words from outside the door.

Gao, business, bid, illegal. Stuff like that, but he threw them to the back of his head. He didn’t pay any attention to it afterwards. Now, that memory has come in handy and he starts to piece things together.

"Xin Linhua!" Gao Jin points at him "It’s enough that you almost killed–"

"Spare me the sob story, no one is buying that." Xin Linhua cuts him off "To use your own son just to get me killed, Uncle, do you not fear retribution, or do you think my family is some pushover?"