I'm Pleading Guilty pt 1

Mian Tianni was certainly unhappy. Li Heilong glared at her directly and had no regard for her status as the current Mian Matriarch. Well, she had long known that the Li family was fearless and could even eat up their own just because they wanted to.

The only reason why the Li family—Li Heilong in particular—was being good to the Mian family was because of Mian Bingbing.

The old woman only hummed, her angry-saint airs still there but ignored by the tycoon. "Liu Xiaodan's case is too bizarre. He is clearly innocent for half of the murders charged to him. However, he had jumped into the fray by killing that Ren young master and his friends.

"Liu Xiaodan is being manipulated by a strong entity. That strong entity is also affecting Feng'er." The shaman opened her eyes and stared at Li Heilong who didn't even budge. "I have yet to assess the situation properly.

"If Liu Xiaodan dies and the entity starts a rampage, I might not be enough to handle him. I could try to ease the damages... only if he gets sent here in the temple. Please pull out the charges against Liu Xiaodan. I cannot do anything if he's in jail."

Li Heilong snorted before turning to Mian Bingbing. "Bingbing, Liu Xiaodan is technically your nephew. What do you think will happen if the Ren family pulls out their charges?"

The woman glared at him, but not too much as he was shifting Mian Tianni's anger at him. "I think the media will make a connection between Liu Xiaodan and Li Feng, and they will find out that they're connected by the Mian family.

"Not to mention their very passable blood relation, they are both members of a family that practices occultism. The killings might be related to a cult...

"To a very grotesque initiation rite into becoming a shaman."

"How insolent." Mian Tianni reacted when Mian Bingbing made it sound like the shamans needed their disciples to kill humans that they swore to protect. However, she had dealt with the media before, and that was how it would turn out exactly.

"Auntie Ni, I cannot pull out the charges. It's either Liu Xiaodan dies or gets saved by the jury." Li Heilong shook his head. The charges were non-negotiable by either party, and so Mian Tianni could only cry with Wu Qianqian.

As for the jury, it would be hard to see how they saw a young man allegedly caught red-handed in killing fifteen students... and carrying out more murders.

...

Liu Xiaodan's last day in prison was rather peaceful. The Black Boss never returned, and no ghost tried to threaten his peace. He had seen his parents one last time and the lawyer who was gladly taking on the case. Somehow, he did believe that a child like Liu Xiaodan could never kill like an animal.

Since his trial was widely-anticipated, the police had given them an escort from the prison to the courtroom. Mixed emotions were coming from the people as they waited for the supposed shameful walk of a twenty-one-year-old that killed a number close to his age. When the police arrived and formed a barrier, they all roared their sentiments.

The car stopped, and the heavily-armed police escorts took Liu Xiaodan out of the car. However, even the escorts were stunned when Liu Xiaodan looked so calm. The people around him were all screaming, and he just looked straight and walked so casually.

"You're an animal!" Someone yelled and threw a cup of soft drinks at Liu Xiaodan. However, Liu Xiaodan merely stopped his tracks and moved his head a little, missing the cup. He then turned to the direction of the man and locked gazes with him.

Everyone felt the chilly winds blowing around them, and their voices were slowly drowned in their throats. Liu Xiaodan only looked at one person, and yet everyone felt like he was killing them all at once.

However, his gaze was cold and lifeless... it wasn't a glare that threatened the man.

"M-Move." The escort behind him pushed him a little, and Liu Xiaodan continued. However, none of the protesters and even media personnel could make another sound. All broke out in cold sweat without even knowing what was going on.

He reached the courtroom and swept his gaze at the people in the audience. He saw his classmates and his friends, barely containing their emotions. Also, he got glimpses of the rest of Li Feng's gang who were glaring at him.

Among the other side were the Ren family and the Li family members. Li Heilong was next to the Ren family head, but Liu Xiaodan didn't see either Li Feng or Li Yunru. His eyes then caught sight of the jury who gave him a mix of gazes. He then finally saw his parents... along with Mian Bingbing and Mian Tianyu.

Wu Qianqian couldn't stand seeing her sweet son stand in that place. He was not a murderer, and all of these should have been caused by Guangru. However, even the child couldn't be taken to court. Besides, the only death that the child actively participated in was Huang Kun's... and Jiang Hou's, albeit him delivering this man to his friend.

Liu Xiaodan then sat next to the lawyer and his assistant and looked up at the judge's seat while waiting for him to come in. Without much additional waiting, the judge arrived. The trial started.

Of course, he was the first one to stand under oath. The prosecutor was showing photos to the jury, and even the other members of the audience gasped as the photos from the crimes were displayed.

Liu Xiaodan was only watching as he relived those moments in his head... only the times associated with it. Aside from the senior student and the fifteen thugs, he was not there when the crimes were done.

"Mr. Liu, were you responsible for all of these deaths?" The prosecutor started. Even if Liu Xiaodan opted for a guilty plea, he was still being asked. The man answered without much emotion, "Yes."

"Mr. Liu, can you walk us through your method?" He asked, but Liu Xiaodan couldn't answer right away. He was under oath, and even if he knew he should lie to get everything over with, he couldn't.

The father then lifted his gaze and looked past the prosecutor, meeting the gaze of his mother. The prosecutor noticed and spoke again, "Mr. Liu, please look at me, not at your mother."

"A child..." His voice was soft, and so the prosecutor encouraged him to speak louder. "A child. A ghost child."

The jury was stumped, but the prosecutor frowned. He threw a look at the defense lawyer who seemed to be sweating in his seat. The prosecutor then spoke again, "A ghost child? Was this... ghost child... the same ghost child that Miss Chuan reported seeing in the scene of the murder?"

Miss Chuan... right. He didn't see Chuan Nayi as well. A small smile curled his lip before he assented. "Yes."

"Is there anyone else who could have... erm, prove that you were indeed using a ghost child?" The prosecutor knew that it didn't make sense, but the judge made him continue. Everyone who worked on Huang Kun's murder did say that the main suspect seemed to be an apparition of a ghost child.

"...Li Feng," Liu Xiaodan murmured, but his voice was audible enough for the Li family to react. Then, Liu Xiaodan smiled bitterly. "The only reason why he got dragged into this was that he was telling me to stop.

"I lost control of the ghost child during Jiang Hou's murder, and so his body was delivered to his best friend who was calling for him while dragging himself across the kitchen floor."

Murmurs broke out, and the judge called for order in the court. The judge then turned to Liu Xiaodan. "Mr. Liu, Mr. Li might not be the prime suspect here, but he's still under investigation for this."

He then turned to the defense. "Your camp pleaded guilty. Can you provide more proof about the existence of this ghost child?"

The judge couldn't believe he was saying this as well.

"Your honor, we have photos." Atty. Cao got up and gave a folder to the judge. "Those are taken from multiple security cameras surrounding the shop where Mr. Liu bought a black horse stuffed toy for the ghost child.

"Also, the same child was seen loitering the area days after... buying an oversized black bear. The black bear is also seen in the hospital ward and in the prison cell where Mr. Liu stayed."

"This is ridiculous..." Ren Liang, the Ren family head and father of Ren Ditian, hissed. He then looked at Li Heilong who was next to him. "Do you believe this? A ghost..."

"I am married to a shaman. Don't talk to me about how ridiculous this sounds, Mr. Ren." Li Heilong sneered softly. However, his eyes were still on Liu Xiaodan. "One thing's for sure, though. Your son's blood in his hands, and not on some ghost child."

"...right, right." Ren Liang gritted his teeth. "This man had already pleaded guilty; why are we even having a trial? Shouldn't he be sent straight to the execution room?"

"Father, the police still think he could be a scapegoat... for Li Feng." The daughter next to her father spoke, attracting Li Heilong's ire. However, he could not refute it. It was true after all.

The judge's head hurt upon seeing the photos. He wanted to convince himself that all of these were shopped. However, it looked too real. He then closed the folder. "Prosecution, do you have more questions?"

The prosecutor nodded his head and cleared his throat. "Let's move on to a more recent case, Mr. Liu." He showed a photo of the aftermath of his encounter with Ren Ditian.

Some members of the jury even controlled their gagging. Ren Liang also sucked in cold air; a monster—this man was a monster!

The prosecutor's voice echoed: "Is this also the work of the ghost child?"

"No, that was me." Liu Xiaodan didn't even blink.

He then lifted his head to look at the prosecutor himself. "I saw them ganging up on my friends. Ren Ditian ordered his goons to attack, and I killed them."

"How exactly did you kill them, Mr. Liu?"

"...it's hard to explain without a test. I need a target... and its intention to kill."