"Greetings, Patriarch Lin—"
"Save your breath. You'll need it." Patriarch Lin interrupted with a cold expression on his face.
Steward Jin swallowed nervously before turning to look inside the room, and that was when he noticed an exhausted-looking man sitting in the middle of the room.
Steward Jin immediately recognized this man to be the one he forced to take the blame for the incident, and his body began squeezing out every ounce of sweat it contained once he realized the situation.
"What's wrong, Steward Jin? Do you recognize this servant?" Lin Chunhua pretended to be ignorant and asked.
"Y-Yes… He's one of many servants in the Lin Family…" Steward Jin responded in a shaky voice.
"Is that all? What else can you tell me about him?" Patriarch Lin continued to ask.
"I…"
However, Steward Jin couldn't utter another word out of his mouth.
"Let's stop this pointless chatter and get straight to the point. Wu Jie, is this man, Steward Jin, the individual who forced you to take the blame?" Lin Chunhua suddenly said.
Wu Jie glanced at Steward Jin, seemingly hesitant to respond.
"Don't forget, both you and your family have our full support." Patriarch Lin reminded him.
Wu Jie nodded, and after taking a deep breath, he spoke, "Yes, he is the man who threatened my family."
"THAT'S A LOAD OF BULLSHIT!" Steward Jin subconsciously roared out loud.
When he realized what he'd just done, he quickly followed it up, "Patriarch! Ancestor! That man is speaking nonsense! I never threatened him! I am being framed!"
And before they could respond, Steward Jin pointed at Wu Jie and continued, "You claim that I'd threatened your family, but what proof do you have to back that claim?! How dare you try and frame me! A mere servant!"
The room became dead silent.
A calm voice broke the silence a moment later, "There is only one proof we need."
"What?"
Steward Jin shifted his gaze to the handsome young man sitting on the other side of Wu Jie.
Yuan pointed at the Grail of Truth resting on the table and continued, "He's not lying, and that is all I need to know that you're guilty."
"Now tell me, are you solely responsible for this mess, or are there others?"
"..."
Steward Jin didn't dare to speak, as he didn't want to drag his master to hell with him.
However, Lin Chunhua wasn't having any of this, and he grabbed Steward Jin by the neck before lifting him into the air.
"SPEAK! WHO ELSE IS RESPONSIBLE?!"
"N-Nobody! I am the only one responsible!" He muttered.
The Grail of Truth immediately began pulsating with light.
When Lin Chunhua saw this, his expression turned cold, and he suddenly tossed Steward Jin across the room.
The room shook slightly when Steward Jin's body slammed into the wall, leaving behind a large crack on it.
Patriarch Lin approached Steward Jin and spoke in a low voice, "If you tell us the truth, I might spare you the death penalty."
Feeling as though a dim light had appeared in his seemingly pitch black situation, Steward Jin became hopeful that he might survive this ordeal.
"On the other hand, if you don't, I will personally torture you for a hundred years." Lin Chunhua suddenly said.
Steward Jin's body trembled in fear upon hearing such horrifying words, and he subconsciously muttered out loud, "M-Minghai! Young Master Lin Minghai is also responsible!"
The temperature in the room suddenly dropped significantly, and Patriarch Lin mumbled in a low voice, "Minghai…? He's also responsible for this?"
Patriarch Lin didn't want to believe that his son was involved with the Silent Rippers, but somewhere deep within him believed otherwise.
"Lin Minghai… Although I don't recognize this name, since he has the Lin Family's surname, is he a direct descendant?" Lin Chunhua asked his son, who nodded in a stiff manner.
"Yes… He's my son…"
"..."
After a moment of silence, Lin Chunhua spoke, "I don't care if he's your son or your wife. If he's responsible, he will take responsibility. Bring him here."
Patriarch Lin had no choice but to summon Lin Minghai to the room.
Several minutes later, Lin Minghai entered the room.
"Greetings—"
A clear sound rippled in the room almost immediately after Lin Minghai opened his mouth.
Lin Minghai looked at his father with a look of disbelief on his face after realizing that he'd just been slapped in the face.
"Father…?" Lin Minghai mumbled.
"Absolutely useless! You're a disgrace to the entire family!" Patriarch Lin uttered in a cold and disdaining voice.
It was at this moment Lin Minghai noticed the other figures in the room, and when he saw the expression on Steward Jin's face, he instantly realized his situation.
"W-Wait! I can explain!"
"So you're not even going to deny it?" Lin Chunhua said.
"I…" Lin Minghai was speechless. If Steward Jin had given him up, there was no way he could talk his way out of this. The only thing he could do is hope that they wouldn't kill him because of the Lin Family's blood that is currently running through his veins.
"This was all Steward Jin's idea. I merely followed it."
"No matter if you came up with the idea yourself or you're simply going along with it, you're just as guilty." Lin Chunhua sneered.
He turned to look at Patriarch Li and continued, "You have assured the Young Master that you will punish the culprit with death regardless of their identity, and your son is no exception. But since he is your son, I will allow you the courtesy to end his life."
"As for you…"
Lin Chunhua suddenly looked at Steward Jin.
Whoosh!
Before Steward Jin could even open his mouth, Lin Chunhua tossed his sword that was aimed directly at Steward Jin's heart, pinning him into the wall and killing him instantly.
Lin Minghai fell on his buttocks when he saw this, and he even pissed his own pants.
"P-Please have mercy, father!" Lin Minghai crawled to Patriarch Lin's feet and began begging for his life.