Lord of the Desert

Chapter 467: Evil Law
August 18th is approaching the autumnal equinox.

Early morning, southern coast of Zhanzhou, Hegao County.

There was a wisp of incense in front of the clan's tablet, and higher up there was a hardcover copy of the Dahua Law.

County constable Geng Chi sat in the hall and drank a large bowl of porridge with two boiled eggs. He stood up and listened through the door to his only son's even breathing in his sleep. He glanced at his beloved wife who was pickling snow vegetables in the kitchen, then picked up a knife and left the yard.

He had been feeling uneasy these past two months and had to be careful.

It was still early today, the sky was dim, and there was no one else in the alley except for the old camphor tree with gray hair and wrinkled skin standing in the silence and desolation.

Before I knew it, the noisy cicadas two months ago had disappeared.

[I wonder where these summer insects died? ]

Geng Chi had an inexplicable thought in his mind. He took a few steps and suddenly found a protrusion in the gray wall behind the camphor tree. He was startled and when he put his hand on the hilt of the knife to look carefully, he found that it was a man in gray standing silently, staring at the ant nest under the tree.

"Where are you going out?"

The man in gray looked up, revealing his left eye covered by a cloth. It turned out to be Lao He, the neighbor who moved in three months ago.

"Ah, yes."

Geng Chiqiang forced a smile and replied.

Old He is a loner who makes a living by selling stinky tofu. There is a foul smell in his house that lingers day and night, so he is not liked by the neighbors in the alley.

"By the way, Qiu Sheng, who works at Fu Shou Ju, recently had a big event. He was promoted from a clerk to the owner. He will set up a few tables at home tomorrow night. Remember to go."

Geng Chi remembered something.

"Is this the happy event for Shopkeeper Sheng?"

Old He turned his head as if he was not shaking it, and the tone he used when mentioning the word "happy event" was particularly strange.

"Isn't this a happy occasion? You just moved in not long ago, I don't know how hard that kid has worked these years..."

Geng Chi asked back.

The autumn wind quietly blew through the long alley, causing goosebumps on his collar.

"Well."

Lao He stopped answering and rubbed the spider-web-like cracked wall with his hands, then suddenly fell into a daze as usual.

"If it's inconvenient, forget it."

Geng Chi didn't know how to talk to this man, so he strode away.

Under the camphor tree, Lao He watched the shadow of Captain Geng turn out of the alley, and then shifted his gaze back to the ant colony - the ants that had just found food were diligently carrying it to the nest.

"Toil or to waste time? If you had not toiled, you would not have died today."

He stepped down, and his soles rolled in the dust three times.

An hour later.

In the west of Hegao County, there is Banlan Lane where poor people gather.

The alleys are high and narrow, and sunlight dares not penetrate deep into them, and can only crawl on the backs of the tiles.

Geng Chi walked into the alley alone, walking as fast as a dragon or a tiger, without bringing his subordinates or drawing his sword.

Not long after, he rushed into an old house with a hole in the tile roof and dragged out a thin and listless man.

"I received a case at the government office this morning. When I arrived at the location and saw the method used to break the lock, I knew it was you, the scoundrel!"

He shouted loudly.

"No, Uncle Geng, it's not me..."

Qingpi didn't dare to resist and just begged for mercy.

"Not you? Then where did you get the money for gambling at the stall last night?"

Geng Chi laughed out of anger.

"Uncle Geng, I have no choice. My stomach is really empty. Otherwise, how dare I offend you?"

Seeing that he couldn't be fooled any more, Qingpi tried to please and laughed.

But Geng Chi didn't fall for it.

"No way? Someone found you a job at Fushouju before, and you've only been working there for a few days?"

This question brought out a lot of bitterness.

“The work at Fushouju was not done by humans;”

"Working hard there for ten days only earns a few dollars;"

"The shopkeeper and the clerks don't associate with me. They obviously look down on me..."

Geng Chi was tired of listening to this.

"Since you don't want to live a good life outside, then go to the dark prison and enjoy yourself for a while. I don't believe that the law can't punish you..."

The two of them were dragging each other outside when they suddenly heard a dry and hoarse voice calling out, "Captain Geng."

Geng Chi looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the dark door looked like a vertical coffin with the lid half opened, and a gray-haired head was floating inside.

He was startled.

"You don't recognize the old woman?"

The old woman trembled and moved out of the darkness, revealing a gray patched linen dress.

A stench of old age and corruption escaped like a ghost.

Geng Chi's Adam's apple rolled, and he moved a few steps away, grabbing Qingpi.

"You are Captain Geng Chi Geng, right? People in Hegao City call you 'the one with the sharp eyes that can make the evil ones tremble'. It was you who arrested my son two years ago."

The old woman stared at him and accused.

"Your son?"

Geng Chi has always had a good memory, but he didn't remember this incident.

"My son Tai San is a doctor in Ma Yi Lane."

The old lady spoke to herself.

"He used to treat patients who were all healthy, but something went wrong that time. In fact, it was because the patient's body was in bad condition. At most, he failed to cure the patient. How could it be considered murder? As a result, you arrested him and put him in jail, and he died while in prison..."

Her chicken claw-like hands were pulling at each other, revealing blue veins tangled like snakes, and the left half of her face was hidden by white hair.

As a captain of the police, Geng Chi was well versed in the Dahua Code, which did stipulate that if a doctor intentionally causes disability or death to a person while practicing medicine, he would be guilty of the same crime as a poisoner or murderer - "a person who kills a person with poison, a person who kills intentionally, and the rest of the articles that are considered intentional killing are the same as this, including a person who intentionally kills a person by biting a person with a snake, scorpion or poisonous insect, a person who intentionally violates the rules, a person who fraudulently treats a disease for money and causes death, and a person who kills a person by using medicine due to an accident."

But he really had no impression of the doctor "Tai San".

"I think you don't remember. That's right. You cruel officials use your evil laws to harm countless people every year. How can you remember?"

The old lady actually started laughing crazily.

Geng Chi usually respected the laws of the country and took it as his responsibility to pacify the local area. Hearing this, he became furious and showed no mercy to his men, who pinned down the struggling Qingpi.

"Old man, the national law is solemn and cannot be discussed arbitrarily!"

he warned.

"What is the captain's nonsense talking about?"

The old woman stood there stiffly, her neck tilted like a branch, her right eye rolled up to stare at people.

"My son died. I have asked someone to read the Dahua Law several times in the past two years. The national law has eight discussions: discussion on relatives, discussion on old friends, discussion on merit, discussion on virtue, discussion on ability, discussion on diligence, discussion on nobility, and discussion on guests. Officials are not allowed to interrogate cases involving the eight discussions without authorization."

(Yiqin refers to the emperor's relatives, Yigu refers to the emperor's old friends, Yineng refers to martial arts accomplishments, Yigui refers to high-ranking titles, civil and military officials, and officials, and Yibin refers to those who have succeeded the previous generation as state guests)
Geng Chi didn't expect this.

There are only a few people in Banlan Lane who can read. How could anyone understand Dahua Law in the past?

"The captain can't answer?"

The old woman lowered her eyes, and black lines like insects crawled in her cloudy eyeballs.

"When those nobles from aristocratic families commit crimes, how dare the officials ask more questions? Even if the sons of powerful people are not included in the Eight Deliberations, how many of them have actually been detained and punished for committing crimes? Isn't this an evil law?"

"If the ancestors are virtuous and their descendants benefit from it, they will never harm the greater good."

Geng Chi replied somewhat reluctantly.

Although he felt that the Eight Discussions were not entirely appropriate, legislation and law enforcement were two different things. Does removing the Eight Discussions allow the chief constable to enter the mansions of aristocratic families and arrest people?

After all, his low-level cultivation already makes him a great master in Hegao County.

"Then let's talk about something else. Apart from the Eight Proposals, the Salt Law, the Tea Law, the Banknote Law, and the Loan Law, which one of them didn't cost people their lives and sweat, which one didn't suppress the weak and support the strong?"

The old woman's voice trembled, like cracking winter ice.

"The Dahua Code is voluminous and may not be complete, but the general idea is good..."

Geng Chi hesitated.

"Oh, that's easy for the captain to say. All rivers flow into the sea. Can you tell which drop of water is clear or turbid?"

The old lady turned around, put her hands in her pockets and slowly walked to the other end of the long alley, leaving behind a creepy laugh.

"Old man, I really don't remember handling your son's affairs. If you have any grievances, you can come to the government office to find me..."

Geng Chi breathed heavily and replied with gritted teeth, then dragged Qingpi in the opposite direction, squeezing the latter so hard that he groaned in pain.

There was no reply behind him.

As they approached the alley entrance, Geng Chi looked back as if possessed by a ghost, but saw that the white-haired old woman was no longer at the end of the long alley. Instead, there was only autumn, like a silent beast, crouching on the dead leaves.

He suddenly turned around and walked quickly out of the alley. When the warm sunlight covered his body, he found that his whole body was sticky and uncomfortable, and he was already covered in sweat.

PS: The following chapters are under review. I will post the other three chapters later after they are reviewed.

(End of this chapter)