The Beauty CEO's Personal Expert

Chapter 643: Chapter 640: Desiring to Impute Guilt

"Ling Chen."

Zhou Jun called out as he and Song Ge helped Ling Chen to his feet. Looking at Ling Chen, who was spitting blood and pale as a sheet, Zhou Jun turned his head back and glared fiercely at the executioner, saying sternly, "He’s on his last legs. I need to take him for treatment."

"The punishment isn’t over; how can it just end like this?" Song Yi spoke up from the crowd.

Zhou Jun snorted coldly: "If we continue, he’ll nearly be beaten to death." As he spoke, Zhou Jun looked at his grandfather, calling out in dissatisfaction, "Old man, do you really want to kill him?"

Zhou Qi waved his hand and said, "Take him away."

Hearing this, Song Ge quickly lifted Ling Chen and hurried toward the room.

With the punishment over, the onlookers on the training ground also gradually dispersed. Song Yi shook his head and returned alone to the Yangxin Pavilion to report the situation to Huang Zheng.

...

"It hurts... it hurts, gently, gently..."

Come nightfall, Ling Chen lay sprawled on the bed, crying out as if possessed, his handsome face contorted with pain.

Beside the bed, Zhou Jun and Song Ge held disinfectant alcohol, gently wiping the wounds on Ling Chen’s back, then applying ointment and wrapping them with bandages.

Although the fifty strokes were not completed, the forty-odd strokes had left Ling Chen in very bad shape. His back was a mass of scars, and the bedsheet was stained red with blood – an unbearable sight.

"Bear with it," Zhou Jun said.

"Dammit! It’s not you feeling the pain, you’re speaking too lightly," Ling Chen retorted in dissatisfaction.

"Who can you blame other than yourself? You went looking for trouble, so you deserve to be hurt."

Ling Chen turned his head back and asked Zhou Jun and Song Ge, "Didn’t Miss Su order to kick me out of Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion? Why am I still here?"

Song Ge replied, "You were injured like this, if we didn’t bring you back, you would have died out there already. Besides, the Pavilion Master was just talking; do you really think she would be so heartless as to throw you out into the forests alone?" noveldrama

Ling Chen grinned, "I knew it. You guys really are friends."

After bandaging the wound, Zhou Jun put down the alcohol cotton and said seriously, "Ling Chen, don’t blame us for speaking out, but what you did this time was indeed wrong. Even the people of Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion wouldn’t dare to intrude into Yangxin Pavilion like you did. The Pavilion Master has already shown you a great deal of face by sparing your life."

"I know."

As they were speaking, the door to the room was suddenly kicked open. Immediately afterward, Zhou Qi burst in furiously with several people.

Seeing Zhou Qi’s murderous expression, Ling Chen and the others were taken aback, not knowing what had happened.

"Old man, what’s going on?" Zhou Jun stepped forward quickly, wanting to find out what the trouble was.

"Get out of the way!" Zhou Qi pushed Zhou Jun aside without any sympathy, walking straight to the bedside and glaring angrily at Ling Chen who lay on the bed, demanding in a deep voice, "Ling Chen, confess honestly! Where did you hide that item?"

"Item?" Ling Chen asked, puzzled. "What item?"

Zhou Qi said coldly, "You’re still trying to play dumb with me? You should know best what that thing is. That item has always been kept in Yangxin Pavilion; it was there just yesterday, but today it’s gone. Besides you, the outsider, no one else has entered Yangxin Pavilion. Tell me, if not you, then who could it be?"

"This..." Ling Chen was at a loss for words. Although he had sneaked into Yangxin Pavilion last night, he did nothing but poison the food in the kitchen; he didn’t go anywhere else, let alone knew what thing Zhou Qi was referring to.

However, seeing how anxious Zhou Qi looked, that thing must be very important. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been stored in Yangxin Pavilion, guarded by so many experts.

"Ling Chen, I’ll ask you one last time—will you hand it over or not?" Zhou Qi demanded sternly.

With a bitter smile, Ling Chen said, "Elder Zhou, I really didn’t lie to you. I don’t even know what that thing you mentioned is. What’s more, after I was captured last night, I was locked up in a cell, and since coming out, I’ve always been surrounded by people. If that thing were on me, you would have found and taken it by now."

"Enough!" Zhou Qi waved his hand in impatience, "Quit making excuses. Since you refuse to hand it over, don’t blame me for what comes next. Guards, lock him up."

"Elder..."

Seeing several Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion Disciples forcibly dragging the injured Ling Chen off the bed, Zhou Jun couldn’t help but become anxious, opening his mouth to plead with Zhou Qi. But before he could finish, Zhou Qi swept a sharp glance over him, instantly causing Zhou Jun to swallow his words.

"Zhou Jun, you two listen to me, this is not a trivial matter. From now on, without my permission, you are not allowed to see Ling Chen. Take him away!"

As Ling Chen was dragged out of the room, Zhou Jun and Song Ge stood by helplessly, completely at a loss. They had thought everything was over, but who could have expected such a turn of events? Although they didn’t understand what Ling Chen had taken from Yangxin Pavilion, from Zhou Qi’s expression, it was evident that the matter was much more serious than just trespassing into Yangxin Pavilion.

After a moment’s hesitation, Zhou Jun and Song Ge finally gave up any thoughts of helping. With Zhou Qi in a fury, it was wiser not to provoke him any further.

And so, Ling Chen, who had just had his wounds bandaged, was once again thrown into the cell.

Due to his injuries, Ling Chen lay on the bed, immobilized. He wanted to rest, but Zhou Qi did not give him the chance; several guards stationed themselves in the cell, interrogating him non-stop about the whereabouts of the item.

With no other choice, Ling Chen let out a wry smile and simply closed his eyes, ignoring whatever they were saying as if he hadn’t heard it at all.

After over ten hours of interrogation, not only was Ling Chen exhausted, but Zhou Qi and the others were tired as well. Eventually, they left a few men to watch over Ling Chen and the rest went to rest.

"Ling Chen, what exactly did you do to bring such anger from heaven and resentment from people?"

Zhu Hong’s mocking voice came from the opposite cell, carrying a schadenfreude chuckle.

Ling Chen glanced at Zhu Hong and couldn’t be bothered to even acknowledge him, simply laying down on the bed and falling asleep.

For two consecutive days, except for eating and less than three to four hours of sleep each day, Ling Chen spent almost all his time facing a barrage of interrogations.

During this time, Zhou Jun and Song Ge never showed up.

Finally, after two days of interrogation, Zhou Qi seemed to have tired as well and began to relent in his pressing of Ling Chen. Weighed down by the exhaustion of the past days, combined with his own injuries, it didn’t take long for Ling Chen to fall into a deep sleep.

...

"Ling Chen, Ling Chen... wake up!"

After an indeterminate amount of time, upon hearing the familiar voice in his ears, Ling Chen drowsily opened his eyes and instantly became alert, quickly sitting up on the bed at the sight of Zhou Jun and Song Ge standing outside the cell.

However, his sudden movement was too intense and aggravated his wounds, causing him pain and making him grimace.

"You should stay lying down," said Song Ge concernedly. "Your injuries haven’t healed; don’t get up."