Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 95: There is No Such Thing as Justifiable Defense in the Law

Chapter 95: Chapter 95: There is No Such Thing as Justifiable Defense in the Law

On their way back, everyone from the Town Martial Office remained silent.

Zhang San sat on his horse, pondering his future.

On one hand, Senior Xu needed him, although not very much, but it would indeed be quite unkind of him to run away at this moment.

On the other hand, he was after all a member of the Heavenly Punishment Sect. Zhang San felt that sooner or later he would be settled; although he had been subjected to the Soul Cleansing Technique, was he a tool or a pawn in the eyes of those in the Town Martial Office? It didn’t seem like a good idea to stay here no matter how he thought about it.

Thus, Zhang San called Han Baiwen over again and asked in a low voice, "How are the people in your Heavenly Punishment Sect?"

Han Baiwen, having been asked by Zhang San like this before, felt that Zhang San might be interested in the Heavenly Punishment Sect.

Plus, having inquired recently, he found out that quite a few of Zhang San’s brothers had actually been killed by their superior, Officer Bai, which made him even more certain that Zhang San was somewhat disappointed with the Town Martial Office.

A capable person like Zhang San was naturally welcomed by the Heavenly Punishment Sect.

"The people in our Heavenly Punishment Sect are all very good, just like these people here in the Town Martial Office. They are brothers in life and death, looking after each other. The superior is like..."

Han Baiwen almost blurted out that they were as good as Bai Yucheng.

Zhang San waved his hand, dismissing him, and continued to mull things over.

Staying would leave him always anxiety-ridden, better to run away.

But escaping was also a science; jailbreaks could make for several seasons precisely because escaping wasn’t as simple as having legs.

So, Zhang San approached the carriage, dismounted, jumped onto the carriage, and slipped inside by lifting the curtain.

Wei, who was looking after Xu, glanced at Zhang San and asked, "What’s wrong? You’ve been off these last few days. Did the matter with Officer Bai hit you that hard?"

Zhang San smiled wryly and shook his head. The shock of his death hadn’t been as great as when Ying revealed the truth.

"Senior Wei, do you have any Skills of Concealment? After the battle in the Ghost Domain, I feel I need to learn some of these special methods."

Wei frowned slightly, feeling that something was off with Zhang San.

This was either a time to boost strength or a moment of disillusionment with the dark world. Learning the Skill of Concealment now?

He thought it was rather unusual.

Just then, the sleeping Xu suddenly opened his eyes, which were filled with darkness, and then, the third eye in the middle of his forehead suddenly opened.

Wei internally voiced his concern and gave Zhang San a meaningful look.

Wei knew if Xu really lost control here, it would create huge problems for the Town Martial Office on Chuan-Yu Road.

First, an officer slaughtering his subordinates, and now a military chief starting to attack his colleagues.

Of course, most importantly was Xu’s safety!

Zhang San immediately lifted the carriage curtain and shouted outside, "Senior Xu needs to relieve himself, we’ll get off first. You go ahead."

Saying this, Zhang San pulled out a blanket to cover Xu’s head, and with Wei’s help, he rushed Xu out of the carriage towards the nearby woods.

Seeing this situation, Ling knew that Xu was about to lose control. He glanced at the other martial artists in the group and commanded sharply, "Continue forward. We’ll catch up in a moment."

With that, Ling headed towards the direction of the woods.

A martial artist beside him couldn’t hold back and spoke, "Military Chief Ling, if Senior Xu is relieving himself, isn’t it inconvenient for you to go and check?"

Ling turned and glared angrily, "Am I checking if it’s convenient for Zhang San or not? Who asked you to meddle? Did I ask for your opinion? Mind your own business and scram!"

The surrounding martial artists hurriedly moved forward, fearing Ling would come over and deliver a slashing blow!

Ling turned and dashed into the woods.

Sure enough, when Ling arrived, Wei had already been repeatedly hammered by Xu on the ground.

As for Zhang San, he used the Wood Series Spell to summon countless vines from behind to hold Xu back; otherwise, the now out-of-control Xu would have punched Wei, leaving him looking for his teeth and likely to be on a liquid diet for the rest of his life.

Ling pulled out a piece of Paper Money from his bosom and tossed it into the air.

The Paper Money doubled from one to two, two to four, four to eight...

Eventually, countless pieces of Paper Money fluttered down, completely enveloping Xu.

Plop—

The completely enveloped Xu fell straight to the ground.

Zhang San, somewhat worried, asked, "Won’t this suffocate him?"

"He’s still breathing, it’s fine."

Relieved, Zhang San then helped Wei up from the ground, his face swollen and bruised.

Wei used the Wood Series Spell to treat the injuries on his face and shook his head saying it was fine.

"It’s been many years since I was beaten this badly. It’s just this old thing; with anyone else, I wouldn’t let him off so easily!"

While treating Wei, he glanced over at Zhang San and asked, "Do you really want to learn the Skill of Concealment? You saw that besides fleeing, in situations like just now, it’s utterly useless. It doesn’t defend, nor does it have any attack power."

Ling couldn’t help but be curious, and he looked at Zhang San and asked, "Are you planning to flee for your life?"

Zhang San immediately waved his hand and said indifferently, "I’m perfectly fine, why would I need to flee for my life?"

"Killing your superior, you commit one of the nine unforgivable sins of treachery! Tsk tsk tsk..."

Zhang San immediately argued, "That was self-defense, if someone wants to kill me, shouldn’t I be able to resist?"

Ling looked at this young brother and whispered, "The law doesn’t have anything about self-defense; the legal code dictates, if you kill your superior, you are to be put to death!"

Zhang San felt that he had no love for the Great Sui Dynasty anymore.

...

Within the Ghost Domain, after Old Fox had visited a friend and had delivered the items his friend had asked him to bring, he and the two Little Foxes started to head out.

But just as they were about to leave the Ghost Domain, they were stopped by an old man.

Just one look at the other party made Old Fox feel his hair might explode.

So strong!

Old Fox, being one of the five Clan Leaders of the Five Immortal Clans of the Northeast, might not be able to dominate the entire Northeast, but he certainly walked sideways through it.

But now, Old Fox felt that if this person wanted to, in one round, not three, he could be buried right here.

"This friend, I came here to visit my friend, Ghost King Wutong. Now that my visit is over, I want to return home. Please let me pass."

Old Fox knew that Wutong was the strongest Ghost King in this part of the Ghost Domain, and by mentioning his name, who would dare not give face!?

The old man chuckled at Old Fox.

"So you’re a friend of Little Five."

That sentence made Old Fox feel his legs soften a bit.

"I didn’t mean to stop you three intentionally, it’s just that my daughter just got... hmm... married. Now that she has a family of her own, as a lonely ghost with no descendants, I feel very lonely."

Old Fox was stunned, what did this mean?

Am I supposed to call you dad?

It wasn’t really out of the question; as long as it could save his life, that would be fine. After all, he was responsible for Xiang and his cousin’s child – disgrace was disgrace, death was death, but the children must not be harmed.

But just then, the snow-white Little Fox ran forward two steps and called out smilingly to the old man across from them, "How about I become your goddaughter, Godfather, and you let me stay in Chuan-Yu Road to play?"

In an instant, a smile blossomed across the old man’s face.

Such a clever Little Fox!

"Good daughter. And what about your father and your sister?"

Little Fox looked at her own father and cousin, laughing as she said, "You guys go back to the Northeast first. I’ll be fine staying here, Godfather seems very nice. Plus, I can go play with him."

Old Fox understood that his daughter wanted to stay to be close to that boy from the human race!

The old man gave Old Fox a respectful bow, "Your daughter is now my daughter, and I will treat her even better than if she were my own. Rest assured. You are from the Northeast, right? Please return."

As the old man spoke, and without waiting for Old Fox’s response, he waved his hand, and Old Fox and the fiery red Little Fox disappeared.

Old Fox, holding his niece, felt the scene before him shift, and upon opening his eyes again, they were already at the Changbai Mountain Heavenly Lake.

And Hu Xingxiang, looking at her godfather, clapped continuously, "Godfather, you are so amazing!"

The old man was very pleased to be praised, for many years, countless ghosts, demons, and devils had feared him and flattered him, but this was the first time someone had praised him sincerely.

"Come here! Since it’s your first time meeting godfather, godfather will give you a gift."

The old man said, raising his hand, causing a scroll to appear around them.

The scroll unfolded, displaying various weapons and magical treasures.

"These items were presented to me by ghosts and monsters who have received my favors. Choose one as a meeting gift."

"Godfather, what is that long, thick, shiny thing with forks on it?"

The old man raised his hand, pulling over the divine weapon Little Fox was pointing to.

"This weapon once belonged to the strongest martial artist in the mortal world, who later, to gain his freedom, pawned it to me. It is called — the Fangtian Halberd!"

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[Note 41]Legal Trivia

The Tang Dynasty was the peak of the development of the ancient judicial system in China, but even during this time, there was no concept of "self-defense" as such. However, by then, there was already some recognition of the notion of reducing punishment for defenders in critical situations.

The Tang Code Commentary in Judicial Contest Nine·Mutual Injury Discussion records: "If the one who strikes second has just cause, reduce the penalty by two degrees." This implies that if two people are fighting, and I strike second and my actions are justified, then my punishment can be reduced by two degrees. This record also discusses the outcome of fights between individuals of different statuses. After all, people were categorized into different classes at that time. But at least it shows some respect for defenders, which could be considered progress in legal system, though it can’t compare to modern standards.