47: Catch them all

For a moment, the entire Deacon Hall was suppressed by his Aura alone.

Outside the hall, the Outer Sect Disciples, who had been filled with righteous indignation, now subconsciously closed their mouths, their eyes revealing deep apprehension.

This was the might of an Inner Sect Disciple!

Even when facing the Enforcement Elder, he remained fearless, twisting black into white!

Zhang Ping, who was kneeling on the ground, heard Liu Feng’s words, and the glimmer of hope that had ignited in his eyes instantly dimmed, leaving only the dead silence of despair.

How could a trivial dog like him possibly bite a high and mighty Inner Sect Genius? The other party didn't even need to provide any evidence; merely by the disparity in their status, he could brand all of Zhang Ping's accusations as “baseless slander”!

Above the high platform, Elder Liu trembled with rage but was unable to act.

He was well aware of Liu Feng’s background. He was not just an ordinary Inner Sect Disciple; his Elder brother was a prominent Core Disciple within the Sect, highly valued by a certain influential Elder. Without conclusive, irrefutable evidence, trying to move him based solely on the accusation of an Outer Sect steward? It was simply wishful thinking!

For a time, the entire situation seemed to have reached a stalemate.

Liu Feng looked at the crowd, who were angry but dared not speak, and the mocking smile on his lips deepened. He glanced disdainfully at Lin Ye, as if to say: Do you see? This is the vast difference between us!

However, just as he was at his most triumphant, believing he had completely controlled the situation—

A calm voice, devoid of any emotional fluctuation, resonated clearly within the hall, like a stone cast into a tranquil lake.

“Senior Brother Liu, what a grand display of power.”

It was Lin Ye.

The young man who had stood quietly to the side since Liu Feng entered, as if stunned into silence, finally spoke.

He slowly raised his head, his dark eyes calmly meeting Liu Feng’s arrogant gaze.

“What are you? Do you have a right to speak here?” Liu Feng frowned, shouting sternly.

Lin Ye ignored his reprimand and turned to Elder Liu on the high platform, bowing respectfully once more.

“Elder,” he began slowly, his voice not loud, but every word was clear, “What Zhang Ping said might just be his side of the story. That ledger might also be, as Senior Brother Liu said, false evidence he fabricated to escape blame by making baseless accusations.”

At his words, everyone was stunned.

Even Liu Feng was utterly bewildered.

This kid… is he speaking up for me?

Only Zhang Ping, upon hearing this, suddenly looked up, staring at Lin Ye with an expression full of disbelief and despair.

“However…” Lin Ye’s tone shifted, and a cold, sharp glint suddenly flashed in his calm eyes, “What if I have other evidence?”

“Evidence that proves Zhang Ping’s words are true, and that Senior Brother Liu, you are being eloquent and twisting black into white?”

The mocking smile on Liu Feng’s face instantly froze! He looked at Lin Ye’s calm, unruffled eyes, and a strong sense of unease, like a venomous snake, suddenly coiled around his heart!

“You… what nonsense are you spouting!” He blustered, “You, a good-for-nothing from the Outer Sect, what evidence could you possibly have?!”

“Whether I have it or not is not for you to decide.”

Lin Ye slowly pulled out another… thin booklet from his embrace.

This booklet was different from the previous ledger; it didn't have yellowed pages, only a few clean white sheets bound with the simplest string.

“Elder,” Lin Ye held up the booklet high, his voice calm yet filled with undeniable power, “This Disciple is not talented, but for these past three months, besides daily chores and Cultivation, I have developed a small habit.”

“That is… recording.”

“This Disciple recorded everything I saw and heard each day, things I found interesting or illogical. Originally, it was just to pass the time, but I never expected it to come in handy today.”

He didn't immediately present the booklet but turned, his gaze like a knife, directly at Liu Feng, whose face had begun to turn slightly pale, and said loudly:

“Gengzi Year, July fifteenth, clear. The Sect rules state that Inner Sect Disciples inspecting the Outer Sect medicinal fields must be in pairs, and the route is fixed. But on that day, only Senior Brother Liu was responsible for the inspection. Furthermore, he inexplicably changed the inspection route, lingering for a full stick of incense near a long-abandoned alchemical room in the back mountain.”

“And it was on that very day that Steward Zhang Ping, under the pretext of ‘the alchemical room being damp and needing to move medicinal materials to dry,’ took ten century-old Body Tempering Grasses from the medicinal storehouse! But these ten medicinal herbs never returned to the storehouse!”

At these words, Liu Feng’s pupils suddenly constricted!

Lin Ye didn’t stop, his voice growing even colder!

“Gengzi Year, August third, rain. The Outer Sect dining hall’s kitchen reported a loss of one hundred jin of third-grade spirit rice due to ‘damp rice.’ The person responsible for signing off on this should have been an Outer Sect Deacon. But the signature left on the dossier is yours, Senior Brother Liu! May I ask, Senior Brother Liu, when did you, an Inner Sect Disciple… also serve as a Deacon for our Outer Sect?”

“Gengzi Year, August twenty-seventh, night…”

One by one!

Case by case!

Lin Ye’s voice, like the sharpest carving knife, clearly etched one seemingly insignificant yet everywhere peculiar event onto the hearts of everyone in the hall!

Every single thing he spoke of had excruciatingly precise times, locations, and… witnesses!

These matters, taken individually, might just be minor issues, explainable by “coincidence” or “oversight.”

But when they were linked together with Zhang Ping’s ledger recording the illicit sale of resources… a complete, flawless chain of evidence instantly formed!

“You… you… you are slandering me!!”

Liu Feng’s face had long lost its previous arrogance, leaving only a deathly pallor! He pointed at Lin Ye, his lips trembling, but he could no longer utter a complete rebuttal!

Because every single thing Lin Ye said was true!

They were all “conveniences” he provided for Zhang Ping’s theft, using his authority!

He couldn’t understand it at all!

How… how did this Little Bastard, this ant he had never even bothered to notice, know all of this so clearly?!

He was left speechless!

“Silence!”

Above the high platform, Elder Liu’s furious roar finally sounded!

He stared intently at Liu Feng, who was already in disarray, and in his already cloudy old eyes, flames of unprecedented “disappointment” and “anger” burned!

“Liu Feng!” He enunciated each word, his voice as cold as a knife, “What more do you have to say?!”

“I… I…” Liu Feng’s body swayed, and he completely collapsed.

“Guards!”

Elder Liu gave him no more chances, slamming the gavel down!

“Take down these two audacious Sect traitors who stole Sect resources, both of them, for this old man… apprehend them both!”

“Throw them into the water dungeon! Await the Sect Master and Grand Elder’s personal judgment!”

“Yes!”

The two black-clad Law Enforcement Disciples, who had long been unable to restrain themselves, descended like fierce tigers, instantly pinning Liu Feng and Zhang Ping, who had already lost all will to resist, firmly to the ground!

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