Chen Hanlin stared with wide-open, furious eyes, pointing at Chen Yingjian and shouting angrily, "You unfilial wretch! The Ancestor Sword and the sword manual have always been kept together. Now the Ancestor Sword is here while the manual is missing. If you didn't do it, who did?"
Chen Yingjian widened his eyes and cried out loudly, "Patriarch, I, Chen Yingjian, swear to the heavens that I have never touched so much as a page of the sword manual!" His face was filled with anger and grievance, his eye rims turned red, and tears swirled in his eyes while his body trembled slightly from agitation. He bit his lip tightly, as if trying desperately to restrain the grief and indignation in his heart.
Chen Qian chimed in from the side with a sarcastic sneer, "Hmph, who's going to believe your ghost stories? You've always been idle and good-for-nothing, so it's hardly surprising that you'd commit such a shameful act now." As he spoke, he cast a sideways glance at Chen Yingjian, a contemptuous smile hanging on his face and his chin tilted slightly upward.
Chen Yingjian turned his head and glared furiously at Chen Qian, saying, "Elder Chen Qian, do not spit blood and slander people! Incompetent though I may be, I still know the righteousness of the clan. How can you defame me like this?" Chen Yingjian's chest heaved violently, and his hands were clenched so tightly into fists that his knuckles turned white.
Chen Haoran could no longer hold back and spoke up, "Patriarch, I know the boy Yingjian. There is definitely something fishy about this matter, and I hope you will investigate it thoroughly. Although Yingjian's talent isn't much to speak of, he has always been utterly loyal to the clan and would never do anything to bring disgrace to our family's reputation."
Chen Hanlin let out a cold snort. "The evidence is conclusive, what is left to investigate? If you don't hand over the sword manual today, don't blame me for being ruthless."
Chen Yingjian clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white, and through clenched teeth he said, "Patriarch, give me three days. I will surely uncover the truth and clear my name."
Chen Qian immediately sneered, "Three days? Are you trying to take the opportunity to run away?"
Chen Yingjian glared at him and shouted loudly, "Elder Chen Qian, stop spouting nonsense and framing me with groundless accusations! I, Chen Yingjian, walk an upright path and sit with a clear conscience; I have never harbored such despicable intentions. I am wholeheartedly trying to uncover the truth to clear my name, yet you sit here making malicious insinuations—what is your motive?" Veins bulged on Chen Yingjian's forehead, his face flushed red, and his entire body trembled slightly from rage.
Chen Qian crossed his arms over his chest with a trace of disdain at the corner of his mouth, and said, "Hmph, based on what? A greenhorn like you has never acted properly, idling away your days. Now that such a major incident has occurred, you still attempt to use this kind of excuse to buy time. What else could it be if not trying to run away? Don't think I don't know your little schemes."
Trembling all over with his temples throbbing, Chen Yingjian cried out, "Elder Chen Qian, how can you wrong me so? I have always held reverence and loyalty toward the clan and have never once committed an act of betrayal. Although my progress in cultivation is slow, I have never given up striving. Now that I face this false accusation, not only do you refuse to uphold justice, but you kick a man while he is down. Is this how an elder is supposed to behave?"
Chen Qian narrowed his eyes, a glint of malice flashing within them, and said, "Stop your glib tongue. The facts are right before our eyes—the Ancestor Sword was found in your room. What else do you have to argue about? Don't think you can muddle through just by putting on an innocent act."
With bloodshot eyes, Chen Yingjian rebuked angrily, "Elder Chen Qian, you keep claiming the evidence is conclusive, but did you see with your own eyes that I stole the sword manual? Or is this just your groundless speculation? My room can be easily sneaked into—isn't that peculiarity worth pondering?"
Chen Qian's expression darkened, and he said coldly, "Hmph, regardless of anything else, the Ancestor Sword was found in your room. That is an indisputable fact, and no amount of sophistry on your part will change it."
"That was clearly someone deliberately framing me! I, Chen Yingjian, can stake my life on the guarantee that I never stole the sword manual. Elder Chen Qian, you are so eager to condemn me—could it be that you have a guilty conscience?" Chen Yingjian shouted loudly, his voice echoing through the grand hall.
"Impudent!" Chen Hanlin's aged, wrinkled face turned livid as he shouted angrily. Hearing this, Yuan Hua standing in the crowd wore an expression full of schadenfreude, just short of laughing out loud toward the sky.
"Father, you must investigate this matter clearly, do not..." Chen Haoran snapped out of his daze and stepped forward to say.
"Shut your mouth! Look at the nephew you're shielding—what does this look like?" Chen Hanlin interrupted him with an iron-blue face, pointing at him and roaring. Completely losing his previous "immortal, ethereal demeanor," he was in a state of absolute fury right now, his beard twitching with rage.
Chen Yingjian took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down as he said, "Patriarch, I know that at first glance all the evidence points to me, but please think carefully. My room has never had any special defenses, and anyone could easily sneak in. Furthermore, if I had truly stolen the sword manual, why would I keep it in my own room waiting to be discovered? This was clearly meticulously designed by someone wanting to frame me. I implore the Patriarch to give me the opportunity to prove my innocence, find the true culprit, and restore peace to the clan."
Chen Qian immediately retorted, "Hmph, this is nothing more than sophistry. Who knows if you didn't do it on purpose to muddy the waters and distract people?"
Chen Yingjian glared at Chen Qian. "Elder Chen Qian, if I had truly done it, I wouldn't need to stand here arguing my case with reason; I would simply confess. I, Chen Yingjian, walk an upright path and fear no shadow."
Seeing that further questioning would yield no results and the sword manual remained unfound, and wanting nothing more than to recover the manual as quickly as possible to ensure the clan's peace, Chen Hanlin shouted, "Put this matter on hold for now. Guards, drag him off to the Law Enforcement Hall and keep him under strict guard. Without my permission, no one is allowed to see him, nor is anyone allowed to send him food. Hmph..." As his voice fell, Chen Hanlin flicked his sleeve and strode away with a dark expression.
Watching the thin, gaunt figure being dragged out by the clan's law enforcement officers, Chen Haolin's face revealed a look of heartache mixed with helplessness, and he shook his head with a sigh.
As the head of the Law Enforcement Hall, Chen Haotian had no choice but to carry out the Patriarch's orders. He stepped forward to pat his older brother on the shoulder and comforted him, "Don't worry, nothing will happen."
Turning his head slightly, Chen Haoran met his younger brother's comforting gaze. After a moment, he gave a bitter, helpless nod.
Following the conclusion of the interrogation and the removal of Chen Yingjian, low whispers broke out in the hall like a bustling marketplace.
"Damn, I never thought our clan would harbor someone like this."
"A good-for-nothing who bites the hand that feeds him, he should have been expelled from the clan long ago."
...
Ugly words poured from the mouths of certain clansmen, completely disregarding Chen Haoran standing right in the middle. They made his veins bulge with anger, and an impulse to beat people up surged in his heart. In the end, however, he was pulled away by Chen Haotian, who dragged him out of the main hall.
As the two of them walked out, an eerie, sinister smile spread across Chen Qian's aged face in the center of the hall.
...
Night fell...
Inside the cold, dark iron room, a faint beam of moonlight shone in through the iron window, casting its light upon the young man huddled in the corner with his arms wrapped around his knees...
Surrounded by darkness, this faint beam of light was the only brightness here...
A chilling breeze swept in through the window. Chen Yingjian shivered, hugging his knees tighter to warm his frail body. His gaze looked out toward the starlit night sky, his eyes filled with both confusion and determination.
He lay awake all night...
This iron room was called the House of Self-Reflection, a place used to lock up clansmen who had committed grave mistakes so they could face the wall and reflect on their actions. Just like Chen Yingjian at this moment, locked up here to reflect until he figured things out and was released...
Inside a covert, hidden chamber...
"Grandfather, I have already handled the matter just as you instructed. According to your wishes, I placed the original copy in that small valley where that good-for-nothing always hangs out. As long as we bring the Patriarch there tomorrow... heh heh..." Yuan Hua said with a sinister laugh.
Hearing this, Chen Qian raised his head, a flash of approval crossing his fierce eyes, and smiled, "Well done."
"However, Grandfather, won't going this far be a bit too much?" Yuan Hua asked after hesitating for a moment.
Chen Qian paused, his white brows furrowing slightly, before rebuking, "Hua, one who achieves great things does not sweat small details. To be merciful to others is to be cruel to oneself. Do you understand?"
"Besides, a good-for-nothing who is completely useless to the clan—such dead weight, even expelling him from the family is no big deal."
"Grandfather's instruction is right, Grandson understands." Hearing the elder's words, Yuan Hua felt it made a great deal of sense and nodded.
Seeing him nod, Chen Qian's aged face finally broke into a faint smile. "Once you break through to become a Spirit Disciple, I can secure even more cultivation resources for you."
At this, Yuan Hua was overjoyed, his expression filled with excitement as he said, "Thank you, Grandfather!"
"Alright, you've been busy all day, go back and rest," Chen Qian said, waving his hand.
"Mm."
Yuan Hua bowed to the elder with a deeply excited expression and then turned and left...