Chapter 1.27

Silence hung heavily over the courtroom, the overcast sky peeking through the windows making the day only greyer. Everybody waited impatiently for the lawyer to appear. If they didn't show up in fifteen minutes, the authorities would send somebody to check up on them to make sure that they weren't in immediate peril and then take them here.

If they were in danger, then the case would resume once a designated lawyer was ordered to come to defend Mu Ninghua.

Ling Xia had heard about the circumstances from his secure position as a witness. He and his friends were basically in government captivity except that it was called 'protection'. But they asked for it, so they had to deal with it.

As they were sitting outside the courtroom, they weren't in the know about how things were going, but the sudden whoosh of air as a person zoomed past them implied that the case would finally proceed.

The man was wearing black trousers and a tidy white collared shirt. The professional aura the clothes emitted was entirely separate from his rushed person. He whizzed past them, flinging the door open and close faster than a person could say "abc".

Ling Xia wasn't quite able to catch his face because he moved too quickly, but Ji Shengge seemed to have captured his face. His face turned dark, and he leaned down next to Ling Xia's ear. "That," he whispered urgently, "was Mu Ninghua's father. He's her lawyer."

A sinking feeling formed in Ling Xia's gut. They had miscalculated.

Bu Huai, who had accidentally overheard Ji Shengge's words, seemed not to be able to understand the other. He quietly asked in return, "Why does that matter?"

In an instant, the two heads craned back to stare at Bu Huai. Their eyes told him that he was an idiot. "If her father is her lawyer, then he will definitely have strong emotions towards this case. That'll either hold him back or push him to be better. It just depends on our luck, but from what I know about him, he'll probably have stronger arguments than ever," Ling Xia tried to patiently explain in a soft voice.

Internally, he really wanted to get inside the courtroom and take the situation into his own hands. He forced his incessant urges down. But the thought led him down a rabbit hole of how he hated courts and cases because he had to put his own fate in another's hands. Somebody he might have never had met before, even. It unnerved him to no end. Why did he have to put himself in these situations?

He seriously could have just killed Mu Ninghua instead of putting her in jail. Such unnecessary trouble just so she would suffer a bit more before her death.

But whatever. He couldn't change what had already happened.

As he waited for his turn to give his testimony, his only entertainment, Wei Liqin, was not present. See, Burt Danvef, the host of Wei Liqin, technically had no connection to Mu Ninghua, so there was no way he was allowed here, or even in the courtroom. In conclusion, Ling Xia had to sit there, twiddling his thumbs, with no jubilant Wei Liqin to cheer him up.

Granted, he probably would have to suppress that ecstaticness because of the two strangers that were also deemed witnesses even if he was here. Yang Lizhen was also here, but his pitch black suit, straight back, and cold face warned everybody against infringing.

Luckily, it wasn't long before he was called in as a witness. As he was led to the behind of the mahogany lectern, he scanned the room. Mu Ninghua was behind another lectern, still with her constraints on, and her father, Mu Chang stood next to her.

To the right of them, the lawyer that was assigned by the country, Xu Shuang, stood. His stance differed greatly from Mu Chang's. Xu Shuang exuded confidence, while Mu Chang looked unsure of himself in this huge room.

When Mu Chang saw who the first witness was, though, his eyes hardened and his aura transformed. Hidden beneath his tough exterior was the hurt of being betrayed. He recognized Ling Xia as the Li Ming that often visited his house to see Mu Ninghua, so he never expected them to reunite here, especially as enemies.

His hands that were clasped behind his back tightened their hold on each other because he was trying to restrain himself, to make sure his emotions didn't get the better of him. Nevertheless, he had a job to do. So he quietly listened as Ling Xia gave his testimony against his daughter.

"I was Mu Ninghua's friend for the first two years of high school. I don't know when something changed, but I noticed that Mu Ninghua seemed to have a deep-seated hatred directed toward me. So I started distancing myself from her discreetly.

"During the first week of school, we had the annual school-wide project, and Mu Ninghua and I decided to work together. So I went to her house to complete it over a couple of days. Once there, Mu Ninghua left to get some food, and I accidentally caught sight of Mu Ninghua's journal. I wasn't planning on reading it or anything, but it was turned to a random page, and I just caught some words in it.

"After that, my interest was piqued. So… I read it," Ling Xia cringed a little while saying that. That didn't really help him paint a picture of himself as a pitiful victim. But it was the only way he could make the story seem real.

"Just for context, um, at first glance, I saw my name, Chu Yan's name, a notorious in the gang at the time which was called Azure Wolves, and something about murder, so I suppose it's better to say that I wanted to investigate. I mean, I didn't really like how my name was next to that gang's name and the word 'murder'.

"So I read it, and I learned about how she despised me and that she wanted to kill me. That's kind of unbelievable, but it's true. At first, I thought I read it wrong, but as I read more, I realized that these were her actual thoughts

"I didn't know why because she never stated a reason in her journal, but I did know that it was going to happen soon. Not the exact time, but soon. So I didn't say anything because I didn't exactly know what to say, or what to do, actually. Looking back on it, I don't exactly understand why I didn't immediately go to the police, but I think it was because of my lingering friendship with Mu Ninghua."

Ling Xia awkwardly laughed. "So, after that I went to school like usual for a few days. Then on that Wednesday, I wanted to take the shortcut home, like usual, because I didn't want to be late for tutoring. My tutee's parents at the time always threatened to fire me if I didn't come on time. But when I reached the shortcut, I saw all the fighting there.

"It's a weird shortcut, and it had a history of gang fights near the area, but at the time, I thought it was safe. So imagine my surprise when I saw a gang fight there. At first, I thought I could just bypass them and be on my way because there were only a few, and the shortcut was very wide.

"Dumb idea. When I turned the corner, there were a huge amount of people there so I turned tail and ran. It was only after, when I overheard a conversation that Chu Yan, a person that I'm pretty sure is currently helping Mu Ninghua and the former leader of the Azure Wolves, was having, that I learned the reason that Chu Yan placed the fight at that specific time and that specific place.

"Oh yeah, the fight was between the Azure Wolves and another gang, and it was instigated by Chu Yan. But um, back to the topic at hand, basically, he was jealous of my friendship with Mu Ninghua and wanted me dead.

"Then, I, uh, started speculating. I usually don't go down this track, but from Mu Ninghua's journal, I knew that she was somehow manipulating Chu Yan. So I figured that might have been Mu Ninghua's doing. Umm, then I continued having to deal with Mu Ninghua for the rest of the year. Of course, I have no proof that she was the one behind the scenes during the incident with Chu Yan, but I hope this will help with the decision."

Ling Xia took a huge breath after finishing. It was hard acting like he was nervous and jittery the entire time. He took so many breaks and acted so flustered, it was honestly exhausting.

Mu Chang, on the other hand, had listened to Ling Xia's words with rapt attention and felt like he was on a high. His senses were super alert as he ran through any discrepancies in Ling Xia's story. Mostly because, if that was true, he didn't know what he would do.

The judge cleared her throat. "Okay then. Mr. Mu, you may now question the witness."

Mu Chang walked closer to Ling Xia, using their close proximity to pressure Ling Xia, a trick Mu Chang often used in court. Ling Xia was unfazed. "Mr. Ling, is there any proof of this journal's contents drawing you towards this conclusion?"

"Um… yes! I took a few pictures of it because Mu Ninghua was coming back. I think they're still on my phone." He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his short list of photos. It didn't take long to reach the right pictures. He showed it to the judge and the two lawyers.

Mu Chang immediately followed up with another question when he saw the pictures. "And how did you know how to read this cryptic language? And so quickly that you could catch the main idea in just a glance?" He grew more confident as he talked, thinking that he already had Ling Xia trapped.

Wrong.

"That's actually a common code in the US. I also write in my journal, and I wrote enough to be fluent in it." A light blush decorated Ling Xia's cheeks as he voiced that he, a boy, owned a journal where he put all of his deepest secrets.

But Mu Chang still thought he had the upper hand. "Your honor, what are the chances of the same code being used in two completely different journals? Furthermore, there is no proof that he ever had a journal."

The judge deliberated on this, even looking over the thirteen jury members to let them know to note this down. "Wait! I do have proof! My journal's still in my house."

A few years back, Ling Xia started a journal just for this purpose. It was his plan from day one to bring this up. The judge was luckily on his side. "Then you may bring it to the courtroom tomorrow."

"Thank you, your honor." Ling Xia slightly bowed his head in gratitude.

"Then, do you remember what exact day you took photos of the journal?" Mu Chang pressed on, wanting to lead Ling Xia into a potential trap.

Ling Xia took a moment's pause. He acted like he was sifting through his memories. "Uhh, it was the Sunday before the project was due, I think. I don't remember the date, if that was what you were asking."

"No, that's fine." Mu Chang frowned noticeably. He thought he could trick Ling Xia into saying that he read the journal after it was stolen. Then a memory drifted into his head, and, like a switch, he had an idea.

"A few days after you supposedly read my client's journal, she said that it was stolen. From a few reports, I've been told that it happened on the Wednesday after your invading of her privacy. The culprit ran off to your family's house specifically, can you tell me why?"

Ling Xia shrugged. "I don't know. But during that week, I woke up to two people from the police department camping outside of my house. They were waiting for me… I think. They told me that something was stolen, and the criminal had entered my house. They didn't tell me that it was Mu Ninghua's journal."

"Then why do you know that the criminal was the same one that stole Mu Ninghua's journal?" Mu Chang asked a bit of a stupid question.

Ling Xia looked confused. "Um… because I assumed it? I didn't think another person would be able to break into our house, especially when I almost never forget to lock the door." As soon as these words dropped out of his mouth, his eyes brightened.

"Oh! Did we forget to lock the door on that night? Maybe the person entered and locked the door behind them to keep all the police out. Was that what happened?" Ling Xia grew animated as the speculations flowed out of his mouth, but he was quickly shut down.

"Mr. Ling, you are not the one asking questions here," the judge's voice reached his ears. She wasn't completely on his side, it seemed.

Ling Xia nodded sheepishly. Mu Chang, on the other hand, was frozen with astonishment. That was exactly what he heard from Chu Yan.

"Okay!" he exclaimed, snapping himself out of his daze. "Then, did the police officers find anything suspicious?"

"They found clothes in our backyard, and our back door was unlocked. So was our backyard door. They said they would take the clothes into the lab, and they also momentarily found my gloves from the night before suspicious. Nothing else happened, I believe," Ling Xia explained it out for Mu Chang. He remembered it very clearly, perhaps too clearly.

As soon as the vague notion that he was too specific began to enter his mind, Mu Chang acted on it. "How do you remember this event so well?"

Ling Xia's mind filtered through his thoughts for an excuse for this behavior. Soon, red rose to his cheeks again. "I used to have nightmares about it, thinking that they would accidentally convict me."

A snicker came from the crowd, but it was immediately silenced by the judge's hard glare. Ling Xia only bowed his head deeper.

"Alright. Then explain to me how the police officers got a warrant so quickly. The crime had occurred only the night before and yet they had time to go to the court, get a warrant, and go to your house in that immeasurably short amount of time?

The judge, first of all, shouldn't have even been awake at the time, and it should've taken more than overnight to approve the search warrant. Your honor, this search of his house may not have even taken place." Mu Chang turned back to the judge for his last statement, trying to prove a point that Ling Xia wasn't going to let be reasonable.

He instead placed his hopes on Xu Shuang, wishing he would use what he said for his questions. "I don't know, but they showed me their warrant," he responded, shrugging.

"Hmm." Mu Chang's face became grim. He had a hunch in his heart, but he refused to speak his mind because it would only weaken his case.

While Mu Chang paused to think of other questions, Xu Shuang took this opportunity to ask something. "Your honor, may I approach the witness for a question?"

The judge's eyes darted to Mu Chang, who was still deep in thought, and allowed Xu Shuang to talk. "Go ahead." She nodded firmly.

"Thank you." Xu Shuang also approached Ling Xia, though not trying to frighten him away like Mu Chang. "This warrant… Could you describe it?"

Ling Xia grinned wickedly in his mind. It worked. "Ummm… the only thing I remember from it is that it was very colorful," he shared, looking not too sure of himself.

The entire courtroom fell deathly silent as the judge, Mu Chang, and Xu Shuang deliberated on this new piece of information. "Mr. Ling, are you aware that warrants are never made with color because there is no need for color?"

Ling Xia's innocent eyes widened noticeably. "So it was a fake search warrant?"

The deathly silence previously in the room transformed into a collective silence, everybody lamenting on how much of an idiot one had to be to not have an idea of what a search warrant looked like, or even just know that it wasn't made in color.

It baffled them. Some people's thoughts wandered over to the possibility of none of this happening if Ling Xia 'knew' that the warrant was fake from the very beginning because there seemed to be a deep underlying plot here.

It was hidden just beneath the surface, not obvious enough for a passerby to notice, but easily seen if one took a closer look. Who was trying to investigate Li Ming's house without consent? What was going on?

But it appeared Mu Chang, skin pale and fingers slightly trembling, had finally connected the dots. His teeth instinctively went over to his lips, absentmindedly biting down as he went through the horrible reality.

The only way Chu Yan could have gotten the details about what happened in that investigation was if he was a part of the whole conspiracy. And that meant that Chu Yan was now in question for the most probable suspect to be the leader of the Azure Wolves.

That meant that whatever Ling Xia said was true. Mu Chang's daughter was truly guilty of all these crimes.

The thought that the accusations might be true shook Mu Chang to his core. How could his daughter do this?

As he mulled over this possibility, he unconsciously put more and more pressure on his lip. It turned pale, all the blood rushing away from the area until a sudden pain broke him away from his thoughts.

The taste of iron filled his mouth as he realized what had happened, and he hurriedly sucked all the blood away from it. He swallowed the unbearable liquid down, a faint taste still lingering in his mouth, and he hoped nobody would notice this.

He forced himself to be calm after all of these things stacking up in his mind and weighing him down. Okay, start simple. He was bleeding. And that was okay. Alright, now onto the bigger problems. His daughter may or may not be a mass murderer.

His breathing started to pick up again until he remembered something. Just because he knew that Chu Yan was actually a gang leader didn't mean that everybody else didn't know. He would just keep it to himself.

Everybody had a few skeletons in their closets after all. This would just have to be his. Hidden away, where nobody could find it.

He tamed his expression once more. The silence in the room would just have to wait. He needed another counter-argument to make the opposition unsteady on their feet.

"So how can we prove that this fake warrant was truly fake and all of this actually happened?" Mu Chang asked, acting as if he had never lost his composure.

This caught Ling Xia off guard. According to his view of Mu Chang, he always stood on the righteous side, no matter who the person involved was. But it seemed when that person was his daughter, the situation hit a little too close to home for him to be indifferent.

"Um, I don't know." Ling Xia shuffled his feet. "I only told you what I remembered, and I could have remembered wrongly, so none of my words can truly be trusted anyway." And by saying that, he was reminding everybody that any minor discrepancies should be overlooked.

"Then I end my questioning." Mu Chang had a small yet triumphant smile on his face, as he believed he had won. But winning a battle didn't mean winning the war. And, frankly, it didn't seem like he won the battle either.

It could be seen in how, behind him, Mu Ninghua was nervously playing with the cloth of her prison uniform. Her gaunt face made her furrowed eyebrows look cruel, like an evil witch. She sat pondering on her situation, wondering how she should get out of this.

But time would not stop for her to think through this a dozen times over before arriving at the perfect conclusion.

"Then Mr. Xu may begin questioning the witness," the judge declared. Mu Ninghua was snapped out of her thoughts ruthlessly with a bang of the gavel when murmurs broke out in the courtroom about what all this information could mean.

"Thank you, your honor," Xu Shuang answered once the audience had calmed down. He cleared his throat. "So Mr. Ling, other than your journal which we will be shortly acquiring, do you have anything to back up your statements at all that this happened. Anything will help."

Ling Xia frowned as he contemplated. "I… don't think so… Wait! My brother was there with me when we saw the warrant. He can confirm that it was in color. Sorry, I forgot about that earlier."

Xu Shuang smiled gently. "No worries." He then turned to the judge. "Then, I will end my questioning."

Mu Ninghua groaned quietly. That last question was a double-edged sword. It could have helped her side too, but Ling Xia had an answer! Of course he had an answer.

She cursed under her breath while Ling Xia left the room, still intact somehow. Her head hung low, and her hands unconsciously played with her nails while thinking hard about what she could do to not lose this trial. Very quickly though, a new witness appeared to take Ling Xia's spot.

Mu Ninghua heard the footsteps approaching before she even saw who it was. Her mouth twitched, irritated because her time to think was interrupted again. Her eyes jerked up to the floor in front of the lectern, too lazy to bother with lifting her head more.

But soon, shoes appeared in her vision, a starry night sky painted on them, and her heart lurched. She knew those shoes.

Fear and trepidation filled her heart. Slowly, very slowly, her gaze travelled upward to see who this new witness was. From legs clad in black jeans to a blank white shirt that was tucked in, Mu Ninghua's eyes wandered upward still.

It was only at the moment her eyes landed on the witness's eyes that she truly comprehended the situation. Time seemed to slow as Mu Ninghua's face transformed into one of utter disbelief. A lump formed in Mu Ninghua's throat as she tried to ask why her own sister was testifying against her, but no words would come out.

She tried to swallow whatever was blocking her from talking, but it kept on rising back up, preventing her from jumping out of her seat and interrogating her sister.

Mu Ningmian turned away and walked toward the lectern. Her footsteps echoed in Mu Ninghua's heart as if they were the drums in a rock concert, but she couldn't stop Mu Ningmian.

She was stuck at a standstill: Ask her sister a question and possibly receive an actual answer, or just burst into tears and hope that would trigger some response in Mu Ningmian. So she stayed right where she was, with her mouth slightly opened in shock.

Mu Ningmian finally reached the lectern and turned, facing Mu Ninghua once more. A brief staring contest began, Mu Ninghua still in the same state of shock, Mu Ningmian with newfound confidence blazing in her eyes.

On the way to her destination, she kept on telling herself that she was in the right. She might have betrayed Mu Ninghua, but at least she didn't betray herself. Over and over again, she repeated the same thing in her mind until it bolstered her confidence, and she truly believed that she made the correct choice.

So she was ready for anything that Mu Ninghua did. No matter what, she wouldn't waver.