“Fine. I won’t touch them if that’s what you want. Tell me: When you told those things to Pei Ge back then, did you leave something out? Were you the one who gave the order to make that threatening call to your niece? Speak the truth about her father’s death.”
Ji Ziming eyed Pei Zhenghui coldly. At once, this prison cell reverberated with the latter’s weeping.
“What happened back then was something I could not have control of.”
“You could not control?! You actually dared to say that you could not have control of it?! You colluded with an outsider to murder my father! That was your older brother! How could you bear to harm him?!”
Upon seeing how he was still unrepentant, the originally calm Pei Ge could not help but glare in hatred at her uncle. Her icy-cold voice was filled with killing intent.
“How could you? That was your older brother—your older brother who shared your blood!”
She could not stop herself from crying bitterly. Seeing how she was on the verge of a breakdown, the man quickly hugged her. Pei Zhenghui stood on the same spot, trembling.
Pound! He knelt.
He had been regretting it over the years. That was his older brother—the person who was always willing to help him no matter what. Now, he was nothing more than a ghost who had died a wrongful death and had no place to return to. It was not that he had never regretted it; it was just that he knew he could not turn back time.
“As long as you answer my few questions, I promise not to touch your family.”
Coldness flashed in Ji Ziming’s eyes as he looked at the kneeling man and lightly harrumphed. “If you still choose not to say anything, then don’t blame me for making use of my family’s power.”
“How do you want me to say it and what do you want me to say? I’ve already told Pei Ge all the circumstances back then—everything that I know. What else more do you want to hear from me?”
Pei Zhenghui cried in a low voice. A low whimper could be heard from his throat, but it did not fool either of the pair.
“Old thing, are you truly not planning to say anything, or do you want me to do something to those you love before you tell us the truth?”
The man’s gaze darkened. In this dim and gray prison cell, it became even more ruthless and bloodthirsty.
“I truly don’t know anything, too.”
The older man refused to speak out his last road of retreat. He knew inside that, if he revealed it, he would no longer be able to survive in this prison, but if he did not reveal it, his daughter would likely not survive.
Seeing that he had no signs of coming forth with the truth, Ji Ziming took out his phone and dialed a number. The call was quickly answered.
“He Yun, go check on Pei Zhenghui’s woman and who else is left in his family.”
“Yes, sir.”
His subordinate moved to inquire more, but when he recalled that his boss always had his principles and motive for doing anything, he quietly shut his mouth. What he needed to do now was find the most accurate information with the greatest efficiency.
After hanging up the call, the man hugged Pei Ge’s slim waist with one hand and said in his clear and low voice, “Don’t be afraid; even if your uncle doesn’t say anything now, I will still have my methods to force him to spill the truth.”
While saying this, his eyes were on the older guy kneeling on the floor. He could see that the latter’s face was full of hesitation and suspicion.
It did not matter. He knew that this guy would speak sooner or later. He was the weakest link to the secret surrounding the matter.
“Sir, my niece, I’m begging you two; don’t disturb my family anymore.”
As he was in prison now, the people of his family were no longer the same ones. The only thing he could do now was not disturb them.
“Fine. That works, too. Tell me first the truth. Who was behind my father-in-law’s death?”
Ji Ziming squatted. His eyes were akin to knives as he looked at the older guy. He seemed capable of killing the latter.
“Uncle, I will call you this another time. You told me before that it was a person called Yang Hua. Has he really not looked for you after what happened?”
Pei Zhenghui’s face turned dark and gloomy upon hearing her mention that person.
“N-No.”
His stutter made Ji Ziming sense an anomaly.
“Say it again!”
He tightly clutched the older man’s collar. The sudden action caused the latter to lose his breath as he panted. “I… I’ll speak—I’ll tell you guys.”
He released him, causing the latter to fall to the ground with a thump. The older man’s head hit the ground hard and even started bleeding. He looked so beaten-down it was as though he were a lamb for slaughter.
“Indeed, you knew.”
Pei Ge’s heart ached as her eyes moistened. “You were lying the last time I came. You knew everything, yet you still pretended as though you didn’t know. You made me feel so bitter. How did my father end up with a brother like you? Someone who keeps protecting the murderer for the sake of saving himself!”
“What could I do? You came looking for me so aggressively and threateningly back then; of course, I needed to keep a road of retreat for myself, or else I wouldn’t have been able to survive for this long in the prison. If I had told you everything then, that guy would have long sent someone to kill me.”
Pei Zhenghui felt helpless. At this point, he truly had nothing left—not even this last secret.
“Let me warn you: I can kill you if you dare play any tricks again!”
Ji Ziming’s gaze flashed with cruelty and hostility. When he used brute force just then, Pei Ge could almost not believe that this was the same man who had been so loving with her last night.
“How would I dare to play any tricks? I am now in prison and can’t even get out. Not to mention passing any info, it’s even impossible for me to meet with Yang Hua.”
The older guy lightly snorted. He was a soon-to-be dead man. If not for this young chap’s threats, he would not show his hand no matter what.
“Didn’t you say that someone gave Pei Ge a strange call, and it did not show an area code?”
The blood on his head slowly trickled down. His wound was tainted with dust and a few drops of rice from lunch on the floor. His prison uniform was dirty. It was clear that his life here had not been comfortable. He was so haggard he looked like a stray dog.
“Yes.”
The more he spoke, the more Ji Ziming felt that this matter was related to him, or he knew who the person was. However, for the sake of protecting himself, he was unwilling to say it.
