The Medallion novel Chapter 176

Evan had just reached a secret agreement with Deputy Commander Chen, when Rocky was thrown into the prison of the northeast military camp. Rocky's cell was small and isolated.

'I didn't even have the time and freedom to meet Sue for the last time before I was thrown in this prison cell. I didn't even get to say goodbye to her, ' Rocky thought. He was worried about Sue especially because she had just experienced such a crushing tragedy—her beloved grandfather was killed by Mathew, a member of Evan's first squad. He got killed when he tried to stop Mathew from raping his precious granddaughter. If Rocky didn't show up and stop Mathew in time, the situation could have gotten worse. However, it did put Rocky in a dilemma. To avoid punishment, Mathew conspired with Evan to set him up and frame him of the crime Matthew had committed. They made it look like he was the one who tried to rape Sue. He had already explained the situation to Marin. He hoped that smart as she was, she could prove his innocence. Right now, he couldn't do anything. He had to trust her to figure out what truly happened. Rocky put his hands behind his back and lay down on the cold floor. He glimpsed at the gray sky through the barred window in his cell. There wasn't much light coming inside the room, but there was enough to highlight the worried look on his face. His eyes looked tired and his mouth was set into a grim line. This was the second time that he had been put in prison since he traveled to his current world. The last time he was in prison was because of Lena, while this time it was for Sue and her slain grandfather named Jackson. It seemed that his misfortunes involving imprisonment always had something to do with women.

The more he was thinking, the more anxious and confused he got. He just couldn't understand why there were so many terrible people trying to set him up. His head hurt by thinking too much so he shook his head and sat down in a lotus position to clear his head. Instead of wasting his time trying to understand those people, he would rather use it to do something useful. He closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. In just a few moments, he was already concentrating on improving his cultivation base further. Now, he didn't have to be secretive about it. His real cultivation base had already been exposed, and there was no need to hide it again. After a moment, the bright light at the second grade of Earthly Stage began to shine upon him. He soon immersed himself in the cultivation.

Deputy Commander Chen, who had been ordered to investigate what Rocky had done, came back by nightfall with some other people. Without any hesitation, he immediately strode to Marin's camp to report his investigation results to her. He held his head high with confidence about his supposed investigation.

"What did you say? It was true? Rocky did kill the old man and rape the old man's granddaughter?!" Marin screamed. The veins in her neck were so stressed it looked like it was about to pop. She looked rather shocked when she heard Deputy Commander Chen's report, because she never expected that Rocky would really lie to her. Her whole body was shaking with anger and disbelief. She did not know what to believe.

"Most of the villagers have moved away soon after they found the old man in their village was killed, including the old man's granddaughter. Anyway, we can't find her. She must have ran away from fright. Now there are only a few people left in the village. The remaining villagers told me they all have witnessed how Rocky had killed the two spirit manipulators and seriously injured Matthew," Deputy Commander Chen said positively. He said it so smoothly and confidently as if he had already rehearsed the report in mind. There was a little sympathy and guilt flickering in his eyes. After all, there was no truth in what he was saying. But the spark of emotions soon vanished. There was no reason to express sympathy when there was so much at stake here. For his future career in the army, he had made a secret agreement with Evan to frame Rocky.

"How dare him…" Marin snarled angrily and smashed the table with a loud thud. Her breathing quickened from anger. Deep lines formed on her forehead because of the way she was furrowing her eyebrows so hard. She glared furiously at the table in front of her. It never occurred to her that Rocky would have committed such unspeakable crimes. She had seen Rocky look quite upright and had tried to trust him, but obviously the investigation results showed that she should never trust such a bastard like him. She was greatly disappointed in him. How could she put her trust on someone like him?

"Commander, Rocky had gone completely mad. He did not only kill an innocent villager, but he also raped a young and innocent girl, and even killed two spirit manipulators of our northeast military camp who tried to stop his outrageous behaviors. Any of his behaviors is a blatant violation of our military discipline. He is a killer and he must be and punished and executed for his crimes! It seems that only by executing him in public can we quell the rage of the public," Deputy Commander Chen added. Now that he had chosen to frame Rocky, he had to do it thoroughly, or else, it would bring him endless trouble and affect his future career in the army. He put his career on the line when he agreed with this frame up. So, he had to be all out in doing so, even if it meant that Rocky would face a public execution.

Marin's face looked heavy and grim. She frowned and narrowed her eyes. She couldn't help but go over the facts of the whole incident again. She was so deep in thought that she almost forgot that she had company. She waved her hand dismissively to Deputy Commander Chen and said, "You can leave now. In terms of Rocky's punishment, I need to think it over."

"It's a very serious matter, which has caused a great negative impact on the public. Commander, I hope that you will look at the matter in the larger picture and put the interests of the public above everything else. Rocky may have seemed different, but the facts of this case say that he is a murderer and a threat to the public," Deputy Commander Chen reminded deliberately, then bowed to Marin and retreated slowly. He needed to lay it out so smoothly so that she wouldn't suspect any foul play.

"Did he really do all those things?" After seeing Deputy Commander Chen leave, Marin could not help but ask herself such a question. Although Deputy Commander Chen had reported the results of the investigation that it was Rocky himself who really did such shameless things, somehow, deep inside, she still felt a little odd about the whole incident, as if it was not as simple as it seemed. There must have been more to what they had known.

"The whole event still has to be reported to the base camp before I make the decision to punish him. After all, his real identity is still a top secret. Even if he had committed such a heinous crime, I can't punish him simply and hastily before I know who he really is. But if even base camp approves to execute him, then I can do nothing but…" Marin swallowed back the words on the tip of her tongue. She was thoroughly confused. Although the evidence showed that Rocky was guilty, she still hoped that the base camp would cut him some slack and keep his life. She pondered for a moment what to do. The she rushed to get her writing materials and quickly wrote down a detailed letter about the whole event. After that, she went to the beast farm to release her war dragon Verdanim, and let it fly to base camp to deliver the letter for her.