Chapter 152 Confession
Lin Jingle opened his mouth and said sullenly, "No problem."

He continued to interrogate, "Did you kill Dai Yong and attack his Niwan Palace on purpose?"

Pan Yun immediately shook her head, tears streaming down her face as she said, "No, I was so scared at the time that I only wanted to save Duke Cui Huai. All my actions were subconscious moves to defend against the enemy, and I didn't think much about it at all."

Lin Jingle taunted, "Really? But didn't you grab Nong Zhiyi's neck and threaten us at that time?"

Pan Yun's tears flowed even more violently, and her nose started to run.

Miaozhen moved her butt a little further away from her, then took out a handkerchief and gave it to her.

Pan Yun quickly took it, wiped her tears and nose, and choked up, "How can that be a threat? There is someone behind Nong Zhiyi, and everyone in the academy knows who the person is. Is it wrong for me to ask the academy to give us an explanation?"

"At most, I had just finished a fight and was still angry, so my words were a little harsh, but I really didn't mean to threaten you."

Lin Jingle: ...

Pan Yun seemed to be dissatisfied and said, "If Lin Tang doesn't believe it, you can ask Dean Zhang, did you feel threatened by me at that time?"

Wang Feiyin immediately turned around and looked at Zhang Ziwang with a half-smile, "How did Ziwang feel at that time?"

Zhang Ziwang's expression remained unchanged, and he said coldly: "It's just the children's angry words, I don't feel anything."

The students watching below began to discuss quietly, "Didn't someone say that Dean Zhang's face turned green at that time? They also said that she was very domineering, but she doesn't look like that now."

"I was there at the time, I can testify that she was very domineering at the time, and I still get excited when I think about it now."

"It's true. I was there too, and I was standing to the side. When she turned around, she was facing me. You don't know, I was trembling in my heart. I thought she was going to fight with Dean Zhang the next moment."

Unfortunately, not many people believed it. What everyone saw now was Pan Yun crying with snot and tears streaming down her face, looking a little pitiful.

Come to think of it, she was only nine years old, much younger than Nong Zhiyi and the others. Although she was a disciple of the Mountain God, and although she had defeated Zhang Weiyi, one of the proud sons of heaven, in the entrance exam, everyone still thought she was weak.

"Why are you all talking about this? Shouldn't you be talking about who is behind Nong Zhiyi and the others? Who is the mastermind behind such a big thing?"

"You do not know?"

"Should I know? The Criminal Court hasn't figured it out yet."

"Do we need to interrogate this? It's easy to guess that it's the three Zhang brothers from Fengqiyuan. I guess it's most likely Zhang Weiliang, or Zhang Weigang. They both have small minds."

"But weren't they sent down the mountain to gain experience? Could it be Zhang Weiyi?"

"No way? Senior Brother Zhang Weiyi wouldn't be so narrow-minded, right?"

"Why not? Pan Yun beat him in the entrance exam. He is a fifth-year student, while Pan Yun is only a first-year student, only nine years old. He has always been the best among us. Do you think he would mind being beaten in public like this?"

Zhang Weiyi: …

He replied coldly: "I don't mind."

"I'm not talking about you, why do you answer that..." The other party's pupils shrank, and he was stunned, "Senior Brother Zhang Zhang Zhang..."

Zhang Weiyi lowered his eyes to look at him, squeezed in beside him and stood in the front row.

He didn't dare to say anything when he was cut in line, and he even remained silent afterwards, not daring to say anything more. It was really suffocating.

In the field, Lin Jingle's interrogation continued, "Who is the person behind the scenes you are talking about?"

Pan Yun raised her head from under her handkerchief, looked at Lin Jingle and said firmly, "Zhang Weiliang."

There was no expression on Lin Jingle's face, nor on Zhang Ziwang's face.

Lin Jingle looked at the three people kneeling beside him, "Really?"

As accomplices, the three were only slightly injured, but their expressions were not much better than those of Nong Zhiyi and Dai Yong.

After the incident, they were caught and locked up. At this time, the three of them were pale and looked at each other in panic. Nono dared to say a word.

Nong Zhiyi, who had been silent the whole time, held his stomach and climbed up, saying with a pale face: "Master, there is no mastermind behind this. I asked them to help me."

"Oh?" Lin Jingle lowered his eyes and looked at him, "Then why did you ambush and beat Duke Cui Huai?"

"I wanted to steal his money and resources, and threatened him to give me all his future cultivation resources. Who knew he would dare to resist? He also had a powerful amulet on him, so we got angry and finally lost our strength."

The other three also nodded immediately, looked at Nong Zhiyi with a guilty look and said, "I, we all listen to Nong Zhiyi."

Nong Zhiyi admitted it, "Yes, they all listen to me."

Lin Jingle looked at him sarcastically, "You are talking about loyalty now, don't you think it's too late? We found out that you received a sum of money sent from the foot of the mountain five days ago, a full 100 taels. Who sent it to you?"

Nong Zhiyi's face turned pale. "It's the money I made from selling talismans." "Really? Who did you sell it to? Why didn't you receive the money then, but sent it now?"

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

Nong Zhiyi was sweating profusely, but he couldn't lie because Lin Jingle could go to the money house to check.

Although the money shop cannot disclose the privacy of its customers, with the ability of the academy, it may be possible to find out.

Lin Jingle sneered, "What a coincidence, the money was sent from Linjiang Prefecture, and Zhang Weiliang has also been training in Linjiang Prefecture recently."

He looked at Zhang Ziwang.

Zhang Ziwang said expressionlessly, "If Hall Master Lin has any suspicions, you can send someone to bring him back for interrogation. If he is the real mastermind behind this, the Zhang family will punish him severely."

"Okay," Lin Jingle said, "I'll ask the people from the Criminal Law Hall to bring him back."

Wang Feiyin: "Then how can we conduct the trial? Not all the people are here yet."

He pointed at Dai Yong lying on the wooden board and said, "If he doesn't get treated, I can't save him even if I have the ability to bring him back to health."

Lin Jingle said: "You save him first."

Wang Feiyin: "Who provides the medicinal materials?"

Zhang Zifang couldn't help but sneered, "Wang Feiyin, this man was injured by Pan Yun from your Sanqing Mountain. Who do you think is responsible?"

"Bah, if you can't speak, then don't open your mouth," Wang Feiyin spat angrily, "Do you have no ears or what? My junior sister said that she was acting bravely. Even if we take a step back, this was not the instigation of that Liang. Nong Zhiyi himself admitted that it was the five of them who started the fight against Cui Huaigong first."

"Not to mention that Cui Huaigong is our neighbor, and also my junior sister's fellow disciple and good friend. Even if he is a stranger, he should draw his sword to help when encountering such an unfair thing. What is her fault?" Wang Feiyin glared at Lin Jingle angrily and asked, "Tell me, what is her fault?"

Lin Jingle was silent for a moment and then said, "She is not wrong in this matter."

Wang Feiyin became proud.

Lin Jingle said: "But she threatened the teacher and the academy in public, and ruined the reputation of the academy. She is guilty!"

Wang Feiyin: “You…”

Lin Jingle raised his hand to stop his excuses, and looked at Pan Yun with a sharp gaze, "You don't have to be so hypocritical in front of me. You were threatening us and the academy at that time."

"Pan Yun, I understand that you have just arrived at the academy and don't have a sense of belonging yet, but I hope you remember that since you have come to the academy to study, you belong to the academy."

Lin Jingle said in a deep voice: "You study here for free. All expenses and cultivation resources are provided by the academy. What the academy teaches you is not only the ability to make a living, but also the foundation for you to touch the great way. I know that there are unfair things in the academy, but no matter what, you can't deny the academy's teaching and protection for you."

"If you have any grievances, you can go to the Criminal Law Hall, or ask the deans of the various colleges to make a decision for you. You shouldn't be hostile or even hate the academy. Pan Yun, do you admit this crime?"

Wang Feiyin frowned.

Pan Yun also frowned, she lowered her eyes, stood up after a moment, changed from sitting to kneeling, and said seriously: "Hall Master Lin is teaching me that it is my student's fault. I really don't have a sense of belonging to the academy."

She said with shame on her face, "As soon as I entered the academy, my teachers took the lead in targeting me, so I had a very bad impression of the academy. Later, I was bullied by the three brothers Zhang Weiliang, and my heart was filled with anger. In addition, I have been in this academy for more than a month. Apart from my fellow apprentice nephew, only Xuan Li and Cui Huaigong from Yushan County are willing to be friends with me. Therefore, I can't feel the good of the academy. I am young, so I can't help but think biasedly, and I feel resentful in my heart."

"When the incident happened, I learned from Nong Zhiyi and others that someone was behind the scenes instructing them to do this, which made me even more angry. I was prejudiced and believed that it was the teachers of the academy who did it." Pan Yun raised her head, tears welling up in her eyelashes. "Today, when Hall Master Lin yelled at me on the spot, I realized how prejudiced I was. I shouldn't have been dissatisfied with the academy because of the previous things, so I brought prejudice. I admit this crime!"

The students couldn't help but whisper to each other, "Honestly, if I were her, I would be even more prejudiced."

"Yes, it's no wonder she's prejudiced. You know, it was Uncle Zhang Zifang who personally arranged for her to enter Fengqiyuan."

"I thought he was kind-hearted before. Didn't they say that he was Pan Yun's backer?"

"Forget it. Does he look like someone you can rely on? Why did Pan Yun start a fight with the three Zhang brothers right after she entered the academy? It's because Uncle Zhang Zifang arranged for her to live in Fengqiyuan. Have you ever seen any freshmen living in Fengqiyuan?"

"Originally, there were three empty rooms there. The three most outstanding students from the third and fourth years should have been chosen to live there. In previous years, it was based on merit points. Whoever had the highest merit points would live there. But Pan Yun and her two nephews moved in right after they arrived. Who would accept that? That's why so many people hate them, especially the third and fourth year students."

"It's me. I hate him too, but now I hate Uncle Zhang Zifang even more."

"Who isn't?"

"Pan Yun counted it this way, she really didn't receive much goodwill since she entered the academy~~"

Pan Yun's confession actually won her a wave of sympathy, and not many people thought she was guilty.

Lin Jingle listened to the whispers below, pursed his lips and said, "Since you admit your guilt, I will punish you. According to the rules of the academy, you will be beaten with 20 sticks and spend three months on the cliff of reflection."

"Wait a minute," Wang Feiyin said unhappily, "Lin Jingle, you are a private vendetta. She came to you to ask for justice, but you actually sentenced her to three months in the cliff of reflection?"

(End of this chapter)