Chapter 110: Matters Concluded

The group moved to the side hall of the Law Enforcement Department.

The three presiding directors of the Law Enforcement Department, Zhao Bin, Ren Ze, and You Donglai, sat on the dais. The two parties involved, Zhuang Jin and Luan Zhenyun, along with Miao Shao, stood on either side, while the Eighth Young Master Shen Xuchen, his personal attendant Zou Qingfeng, and the Ninth Young Master Shen Xuqing observed from the back.

The trial began with the statements of the involved parties.

Zhuang Jin recounted the events, emphasizing that Miao Lun had been blinded by greed upon seeing the treasure, and that he had only acted in self-defense, resulting in the accidental killing.

Luan Zhenyun, having reviewed the files on Zhuang Jin and Miao Lun early last month, added, "Last month, when Garrison Commanders Zhuang and Miao came, I reviewed their records. Back in the northern city, Garrison Commander Zhuang had actually saved the latter... and today, Garrison Commander Zhuang came to report..."

These facts were all on record and verifiable.

It was then Miao Shao's turn.

Miao Shao was a man who excelled in combat and understood duty and grievances, but he was ill-equipped for verbal sparring. In his mind, the matter should have been resolved by a fight to the death between him and Zhuang Jin, but that was clearly impossible.

Consequently, he could only snort coldly, "What is there to say? My brother died at his hands, and a life must pay for a life!"

Zhuang Jin did not even need to respond to this flawed argument; Luan Zhenyun refuted it immediately: "I have heard that Garrison Commander Miao has achieved many military exploits in the southern city, and surely his own hands have not been free of the blood of Medicine King Gang warriors... If, as you say, we must demand a life for a life without regard for right or wrong or the sequence of events, then shouldn't you also pay for the lives of those Medicine King Gang members?"

"This..." Miao Shao was left speechless.

At this moment, the coroner, having examined the carcasses of the black goat and Miao Lun, announced the findings: "From the depth and drying time of the blood on Garrison Commander Miao Lun's hands, and by comparing the wounds in the black goat's abdomen, it can be determined that it was indeed Miao Lun who extracted the beast treasure. The meridians in Miao Lun's hands show signs of being shattered, which, according to the autopsy, suggests a forceful palm-to-palm strike where he was met with a stronger counter-strike. The fatal wound was to the chest, resulting in death from a single palm strike..."

Facts leave traces, and corpses "speak." Some things cannot be faked after death. In short, the evidence was extremely favorable to Zhuang Jin, confirming that Miao Lun had been driven by greed to initiate the attack.

"The matter is clear and beyond doubt," Ren Ze stated, feeling a sense of relief. He knew the truth was on Zhuang Jin's side, and he would not have to clash with the two young masters. While he was upright and stubborn, he was not entirely ignorant of worldly affairs, and he had no intention of making things difficult for himself unless his bottom line was crossed.

You Donglai nodded as well, looking at Zhuang Jin with a kind smile. "I share this view. The fault lies with Garrison Commander Miao Lun, who was blinded by greed. Garrison Commander Zhuang acted only in self-defense and is without fault."

Zhao Bin, seeing his colleague You Donglai ignore his signals and make such a statement, realized his colleague had "defected." Seeing Miao Shao flush red with frustration and unable to formulate an argument, Zhao Bin had to step in himself. "One cannot put it that way. I have reviewed the files; Garrison Commander Miao Lun was recognized as a kind and gentle man. His actions might have been a moment of confusion..."

"It was clearly a murderous intent, an attempt to take my life. With just a flick of his tongue, Director Zhao turns it into a 'moment of confusion'? What a sharp tongue you have!" Zhuang Jin, not allowing Zhao Bin to twist the truth, interrupted and questioned: "If premeditated murder can be called a 'moment of confusion,' then let me pose an analogy: If I were to kill Director Zhao's son, could I also say it was just a moment of confusion and thus avoid punishment?"

Hearing this analogy and thinking of his eldest son who died in the northern city last month, Zhao Bin was triggered, his voice turning shrill. "Garrison Commander Zhuang, let us stick to the facts! Do not bring up other matters!"

*Slap!*

He slammed the table. At this moment, irritation caused him to lose his composure; his hatred for Zhuang Jin distorted his face. A thought flashed through his mind, and he fired off a series of questions: "Garrison Commander Zhuang, I ask you: You are a Seventh-Meridian expert, they are Sixth-Meridians. Even if Garrison Commander Miao Lun wanted to kill you, could you not have evaded him? Even if you had to retaliate, did you have to kill a colleague? Can Miao Lun's intent to kill you be an excuse for you to slay a colleague?"

This line of questioning was meant to imply that Zhuang Jin was at fault regardless of the provocation. The entire hall fell silent.

Ren Ze frowned, sensing something was wrong but unsure how to refute it. You Donglai twitched his mouth, subconsciously shifting in his seat. Shen Xuchen and Shen Xuqing showed no obvious reaction, if one ignored the twitching at the corners of their eyes. Even Miao Shao subconsciously looked at Zhao Bin, feeling a brief, misplaced sense of guilt as if he were the villain.

"I agree with Director Zhao," Zhuang Jin suddenly spoke into the silence. "Garrison Commander Miao Lun and I were colleagues. I had no intention of killing him. On the night of August 17th, I even saved his life... Since he wanted to kill me, should I have just stretched out my neck and waited for him to finish? How could I bear to lay a heavy hand on my dear colleague?"

"Our Shen family is also at fault, specifically for being too inefficient... Last month, I worked with Garrison Commander Miao Lun to kill an iron-skinned pig and earned a beast-hide armor. I intended to give it to him, but it had not yet been processed... It is a pity; had I given it to him, this matter—where he tried to kill me and I instinctively retaliated, killing him with one palm—would never have happened!"

By "self-reflecting" along the lines of Zhao Bin's logic, he made everyone feel the absurdity of the argument and exposed the flaws in Zhao Bin's sophistry.

Ren Ze felt ashamed to be a fellow presiding director with someone like Zhao Bin and could not listen further. "Garrison Commander Miao Lun failed to repay kindness, was driven by greed, and committed insubordination. His death is his own doing."

"Indeed, Garrison Commander Zhuang showed kindness to Garrison Commander Miao Lun. If the other party can still act this way, failing to handle this case properly will severely corrupt the spirit of our Shen family..." You Donglai added a fair word.

Zhao Bin tried to struggle on, arguing, "I still believe that as a Seventh-Meridian expert, Garrison Commander Zhuang was fully capable of sparing Miao Lun's life and bringing him to our department for trial. This talk of 'instinctive retaliation' does not hold water..."

"Evidence, Director Zhao? You wouldn't be trying to convict me based on nothing but 'I think,' 'groundless accusations,' and 'assumptions,' would you?" Zhuang Jin retorted.

Ren Ze and You Donglai looked at each other, secretly thinking: *This Zhuang Jin has a talent for inventing phrases!* It was clear that from this day on, terms like "groundless accusations" and "assumptions" would be forever linked to Zhao Bin's reputation.

Recalling the previous slights, Zhao Bin’s fury became uncontrollable. He roared, "I have no evidence, but... a great traitor often looks like a loyal man. Garrison Commander Zhuang, you know the truth in your heart!"

"Furthermore, even if we take a step back and say Garrison Commander Miao Lun was entirely at fault, does Garrison Commander Zhuang have no fault at all?" He turned to Ren Ze and You Donglai, "I believe Garrison Commander Zhuang should still be punished to appease public anger. It would be best to transfer him to the southern city..."

"Enough!"

Shen Xuchen, who was usually too well-bred to interrupt others, found Zhao Bin’s logic so nauseating that he felt a wave of nausea. "In the Shen family, we judge cases based on facts and evidence, not subjective speculation or presumption of guilt. Nor do we operate on the logic that if one party is at fault, the other must be as well... What kind of logic is this?"

"Before coming here, I heard that you and Garrison Commander Zhuang have a conflict. According to your theory, Director Zhao, could I also say that you are not without fault yourself?"

"This..." Zhao Bin, hit by his own logical magic, was left speechless.

"Eighth Brother is right. Even an outsider like me knows that in a life-or-death struggle between warriors, how can one hold back? Director Zhao, have you lived in comfort for so long that you have forgotten the basic realities of the world?" Shen Xuqing spoke up to settle an old score. "I once heard Father say that some people in our Shen family have enjoyed peace for too long, to the point where they no longer understand the cruelty of the battlefield or human suffering. Such people should be thrown into the fight against the Medicine King Gang..."

In reality, his father had said this about him, but he repurposed it—after all, no one else knew.

Hearing this, and seeing Shen Xuchen’s contemplative expression, Zhao Bin was terrified. The anger that had been stoked by Zhuang Jin was doused like a bucket of cold water. He broke into a cold sweat. He knew that the Eighth Young Master, Shen Xuchen, was truly capable of making those words a reality. Panicked, he stammered, "Two young masters, that is not what I meant..."

As Zhao Bin spoke, he glanced at Ren Ze and then at You Donglai, clearly hoping for them to plead on his behalf. You Donglai, however, kept a beaming smile, acting as if he saw nothing, and said, "The Ninth Young Master’s insight is correct. Warriors must have the right to make split-second decisions; otherwise, the hesitation of 'womanly kindness' may cost them their lives."

Receiving no help, Zhao Bin became much more subdued.

...

In the end, after the review and a discussion among the three directors, the majority ruled: "Miao Lun was blinded by greed and was killed by Zhuang Jin in self-defense. He deserved his fate. Zhuang Jin is found not guilty. The beast treasure and the black goat carcass belong to Zhuang Jin, and the 862 military exploits under Miao Lun’s name are to be transferred to Zhuang Jin..."

Not only was he innocent, but he was also compensated!

In truth, Zhuang Jin was innocent in both legal and moral terms. Furthermore, considering the impact, this case served as a benchmark. Punishing Zhuang Jin, even symbolically, would have been disastrous. If someone who had saved your life could be punished for killing you after you turned on them for treasure, it would create a culture of "evil rewarding good," leading others to think, "It would have been better if Zhuang Jin hadn't saved Miao Lun in the first place." This would inevitably corrupt the internal atmosphere of the Shen family.

Especially now, with the Shen family at odds with the Medicine King Gang, punishing Zhuang Jin would easily be interpreted as encouraging "returning evil for good," leading to a chain of suspicion among warriors.

For these reasons, Zhuang Jin had to be cleared and compensated to avoid misinterpretation.

"A complete victory!" Zhuang Jin was not surprised by the verdict. Once the two young masters appeared, he knew the case was settled.

"With the Shen family's official ruling, Miao Shao can no longer use this to stir up trouble... I killed Miao Lun on the spot for exactly this reason: to be in the right and leave no future complications!"

If he had let Miao Lun go and killed him later, it would have been premeditated murder, which would have been investigated severely. He had no confidence he could escape such an investigation.

The three directors were united. Zhao Bin forced a smile, though it looked like the face of a defeated rooster. Miao Shao’s expression was equally grim. If the deceased hadn't been his brother, he would have considered the verdict fair.

"Brother Lun, your brother is incompetent!" He looked at Zhuang Jin, his knuckles white, but he eventually released his grip, filled with immense helplessness. The case was settled; he could no longer openly retaliate. And secret retaliation? Unless he was prepared for mutual destruction, it was impossible.

In this world, there was no such thing as "not involving family." If exposed, his parents, his wife and children, and even Miao Lun’s widow would all be implicated. How could he take such a risk?

No matter how unwilling, Miao Shao had to suppress his hatred, consoling himself with the thought that "there will be other days."

Zhuang Jin went to thank Shen Xuchen and Shen Xuqing. The two young masters exchanged polite pleasantries and left.

Zou Qingfeng lingered for two steps. "The matter is settled on the surface. Garrison Commander Zhuang, just be careful in private."

"Thank you for the reminder, Attendant Zou!"

Zhuang Jin knew the man was reminding him to pay up. He took out the voucher for the "enhanced meridian-clearing pill" from his pocket. "If the opportunity for the personal guard position doesn't manifest, Attendant Zou can just return the money for the pill later."

Such magnanimity and trust moved Zou Qingfeng, who exclaimed, "Garrison Commander Zhuang is truly a man of his word!"

...

Seeing Zou Qingfeng return with a look of joy, Shen Xuchen asked, "Did you get the reward?"

"Yes, that Garrison Commander Zhuang is a man of his word." Having received the benefit, Zou Qingfeng was happy to speak well of Zhuang Jin, especially since he still wanted to help him secure the guard position.

"Good!" Shen Xuchen nodded slightly and then asked, "If you reach the Seventh Meridian through this, would you be interested in becoming a director in the Law Enforcement Department?"