The Rogue System [BL]
Chapter 218 - The juvenile court

Chapter 218: Chapter 218 - The juvenile court

The serial murder case went viral. the local government started to pester the police to hasten their investigation to find the culprit. Because of this, they had to push the hearing way earlier than expected.

Eric walked into the courtroom, his face pale and tired. He secretly touched the black eyeshadow his brother had helped apply under his eyes. The makeup caked under his fingernail and pulled up. ’How many layers did he apply on my face? I asked him to make me look pitiful, not look like a sick pervert who whacks off all night long.’

he secretly adjusted his makeup.

in fact, this makeup idea was Guan’s. he had suggested that he look as wane and tired as possible to incite pity from the judge.

The juvenile court was not that terrifying. There were not many people present in the room. The judge was a fifty-something lady with a lot of smile lines on her face. as soon as she entered the room, she cast him a comforting smile.

This judge was said to be the most merciful to young abused kids like him.

this alone gave him a bit of confidence.

Guan nudged him from the side. "Don’t be nervous. they will only ask you questions regarding that burned body."

Eric nodded clutching his pant legs. He was only accused of the Desecration of a human corpse. The other murder charges were not put on him as the time frames did not match up. He said that he was captured only three years ago he did not have any contact with the other dead victims.

"Jung, when they ask you about other stuff... just.... give them a toned-down version of it okay. No supernatural stuff. No one will believe it and the case will be dragged out to the regular court which is not good for us. they don’t pity children. they will hound you with questions one after another until you confess to a crime you didn’t commit."

Eric gulped loudly. "Way to cheer me up."

"Relax." Guan gently held his hand. "Just calmly answer their questions that’s all. I’ll take care of the rest."

Eric peered up at his warm brown eyes. there was a subtle hint of something unknown in them. Eric had seen this look before on Aaron and he did not like that Guan was gazing at him his way. he subtly pulled his hand out of his hold. "Brother Guan... I don’t like being touched. I forgot to mention it to you before." he whispered back.

"Oh, sorry," Guan smiled awkwardly.

the judge settled down and started their case.

the first thing they started to discuss was the burned body.

it was still not his turn to talk. Guan took lead and submitted all the documents they had collected to prove his innocence.

the judge flipped through all the records that were submitted.

"hmm...." the judge hummed as she wrote down something

Eric anxiously shook his leg looking at her wrinkled face

"Jung Shi, please come up here." They called Eric in for questioning.

Gulping he stood in the Diaz looking at the public lawyer who was fighting against the case. "Jung Shi right? Ill just ask a few questions. Is that okay?"

He nodded.

"your lawyer argued that it was self-defense that you killed the man in self-defense then why did we find his body completely incinerated?"

"I have no idea, sir. After I cut him, I jumped over the wall and collapsed. I too wondered why he didn’t follow me out. I only made a small cut on his neck. It... it was bleeding though."

sitting thee was nerve-wracking.

his hands were already wet with sweat with just the first question.

but he calmed his mind and clearly recounted what had happened when he escaped that wretched murder house. he made sure to emphasize that he was in a badly wounded state and that he collapsed right after he climbed out. it was physically not possible for him to have the energy go back in and burn that old man to a crisp.

they had proof for all that. first, they had Haolei’s grandmother’s written statements about his bloodied state when he was rescued. second, they had concrete hospital records of when he was admitted with serious injury

so many things were lined up by Guan to prove his innocence.

"Was he bleeding too much?"

"I don’t know. My head was hurting so much then.. I had blood in my eyes... I couldn’t see properly."

"Your blood or his blood?"

"My blood. While I was running away the man caught me. he pulled me down the tree. I hit the Back of my head.’ He gingerly touched the spot. There was not even a scar left behind but he had a bald spot to prove his injury.

"Then? can you explain how you got your other injuries?"

"He kicked me in the stomach repeatedly and dragged me away... I got scared. My hand randomly searched for anything. Anything I could defend myself with. I got a hold of a wooden hilt. Pulling it out to find a knife. I secretly hid it in my clothes and when he lifted me up by my neck, I cut him and ran." He was full-on trembling by now.

This is what Guan asked him to do.

He added these few acts to garner pity from the judge. If the death of the monk was written off as self-defense, then it would be the best result they could get. The other deaths had nothing to do with him. They would only ask questions regarding it."

Clenching his hand, he glanced up with his tear-filled eyes. "I didn’t mean to hurt him... I didn’t. I just wanted to leave. I was so hungry... I was so hungry."

The other lawyer paused. "He didn’t feed you?"

"I.. I only had one fruit per day. After that he made me do manual labor. Cleaning the garden... cleaning the house... I did everything and got to sleep only at night," he whispered. "My stomach was hurting... it hurt so much that day. I just wanted to eat. So, I snuck into the garden to steal an apple. But he caught me. I panicked, I ran...and then. And then...."

"That would be enough. I have enough information." The judge intended before the public lawyer could ask further questions.

Eric glanced up at her silently sobbing

"Today we are here to discuss the charges placed on mister Jung Shi," she casually licked her fingertips and flipped through the file.

"On the charge of manslaughter, I pronounce him not guilty, for the Charges of destroying the corpse. Not guilty. Jung Shi shall perform Mandatory fifty hours of community service."

Guan and Haolei finally let out a deep breath.

Eric glanced up. "am I..... free?"

"yes, you are free, young man." the judge smiled down at him. "Since the victim is underage, I shall put him in foster care until he is of age.

"Wait," Haolei shot up. "I plan to adopt him."

The judge stopped. "Is that so, it’s a good thing. Do you wish to live with him Jung Shi?" she glanced at him.

Eric wiped his tears away and nodded. "He is a very kind person. he took care of me when I was sick."

"that’s good then. Court dismissed,"

Eric looked at Guan in disbelief. "I—is it really over?"

"Yeah, you’re free. You know why?"

"Sympathy?"

"No because of your injuries. The broken bone on your shin was shifted to the left. With your strength, you could not have self-inflicted that on yourself. The abuse was clear. As for the destruction of the corpse, your head injury really proved your innocence. the case will be passed to the cops again. You would be called for questioning now and then but you can do it via call. no need to go to the police precinct." Guan smiled at him.

The court was adjoined just like that.

Eric walked out a free man.