Chapter 64: Punishment, Justice, and the Will of the People

Translator:

Nyoi-Bo Studio

Editor:

Nyoi-Bo Studio

Zheng Ping had to hold his temper. He gave Jiang Chen a vicious look and said, “Do you think you’re that great? Hopefully you won’t cry later.”

Then he left the Profound Theory Palace without doing anything.

Jiang Chen didn’t know what he meant, but he knew he shouldn’t be a sitting duck and had to figure out a solution quickly.

He exchanged a look with Wen Xin and left the palace without claiming any tasks.

As soon as he walked out of the palace, he walked into a group of people head on. They were wearing the uniform of senior disciples. What was special about them were the armbands they wore on their right arms. The armbands read LAW.

“They are from the Hall of Penal Law!” Wen Xin thought to herself and felt worried.

“Jiang Chen, you insulted your apprentice brother and picked a quarrel in the Profound Theory Palace. We are here to arrest you.”

They besieged Jiang Chen, each holding a thick iron chain in their hands. They looked malicious, definitely not easy to manage.

Someone gave Jiang Chen’s shoulder a hard push before he could respond. He looked back with fury. A disciple of the Hall of Penal Law was sneering at him, full of contempt.

“Stay calm! The Hall of Penal Law is difficult to deal with,” Jiang Chen never expected Wen Xin, who seemed afraid of nothing, would have said such a thing.

Jiang Chen looked down. He knew he shouldn’t act on impulse at that moment.

“The Hall of Penal Law supervises all disciples and punishes those who violate the rules, but you must follow the laws yourselves,” Jiang Chen said.

A disciple of the Hall of Penal Law punched him in the stomach and whispered into his ear, “I am the law.

Then he waved his hand. “Take him away!” Instantly each of them put their iron chain around Jiang Chen and took him away.

Meng Hao was jumpy and nervous, but he didn’t know what he could do.

Wen Xin was frowning. She had watched Jiang Chen being pushed here and there, seemingly having something on her mind.

The other disciples were used to such a scene. They weren’t surprised at all.

Jiang Chen had slapped a senior disciple. This was just the beginning. He would suffer more in the future.

Jiang Chen was taken to the Hall of Penal Law. It was a house constructed on a shady side of the mountain. Due to the lack of light, the room was pretty dark. There were all kinds of instruments of torture hanging on the walls.

Along with the screams that came out of it, this place made people tremble with fear.

But the disciples of the Hall of Penal Law were used to all of this. Their expressions were quite normal.

The disciple who had just punched Jiang Chen was sitting in a chair. He shouted, “Kneel down!”

Jiang Chen didn’t obey him. Instead, he sneered at the guy.

The disciples standing next to him didn’t show any mercy. They beat him with sticks, but Jiang Chen kept standing there.

Not until a disciple kicked the back of his knee did he half kneel.

“He’s a hard nut to crack!”

The disciple sitting in the chair kept sneering and said, “Now you are in my hands. I, Liu Song, have a lot of ways to deal with you.”

“Really? You’d better kill me. Otherwise you’ll regret it,” Jiang Chen said.

“Ha!” Liu Song burst into laughter. So did his men. Some were smiling bitterly while shaking their heads. They had thought that was a joke.

Liu Song took a pen and ink after he had a good laugh. Then he wrote something on a paper.

Soon after, he threw the paper to Jiang Chen and said, “Read it.”

Jiang Chen picked the paper up. There were listed his crimes — contradicting an apprentice brother, speaking rudely, rioting in the Profound Theory Palace, and being arrogant and uncooperative with the disciples of the Hall of Penal Law.

His punishment was one month’s solitary confinement and a penalty of six months’ disciples’ benefits.

“If you’re really that tough, don’t sign it,” Liu Song mocked him.

“If you don’t sign, we’ll ‘entertain’ you well,” a disciple next to him said with sarcasm.

Jiang Chen rolled his eyes. If he didn’t sign, there would be big trouble. If he signed, he would be punished unfairly.

If I fight with them here in the Hall of Penal Law, the consequence will be severe. I could be evicted from the Natural Law School.

Fine.

Jiang Chen bit his finger and pressed his bleeding finger on the paper.

It surprised Liu Song and the others that he had done it so quickly.

Liu Song took the indictment back and blew on the fingerprint. He said to Jiang Chen in a taunting manner, “How boring! I thought you were tough.”

Before Jiang Chen could speak, Liu Song waved his hand again and said, “Take him to Penitence Cliff.”

“Apprentice Brother Liu, you mean the Lost Soul?”

“Certainly.”

Everyone gave Jiang Chen a sympathetic look.

There were many places for solitary confinement. Most of them were on untraversed cliffs. On some of them, it was sunny and the terrain was flat. If you built a shed there, the solitary confinement could be almost like a vacation.

Some of them were located on perilous peaks, which were full of jagged rocks of grotesque shapes without a s.p.a.ce to even lie down.

Where Jiang Chen was going was the Lost Soul. It was the worst of them all.

It was above a bottomless abyss, and it was located in a draught. The wind there sounded like the wails of ghosts and howls of wolves. The place was dismal. Days were the same as nights. People had been driven crazy there.

When people heard the news, some were rejoicing this decision, some felt sympathy for him, and others said it served him right.

After all, it was him who had stopped Zheng Ping, who was about to leave, and slapped him. If he hadn’t done it, he wouldn’t have been punished.

“What does he think the Natural Law School is? How dare he act superior here?”

Hong Youjun heard someone gossiping while she was walking. She felt lucky that she had followed her father’s advice.

She was going to meet Wen Xin to advise her to stay out of trouble.

Wen Xin was worried at that moment. Ning Haotian was very influential in the Natural Law School. Her networking as a princess wouldn’t work here.

Even if Hong Youjun hadn’t come, she would be unable to do anything.

However, Wen Xin couldn’t accept Hong Youjun’s good intentions. She said, “When I walked into the Profound Theory Palace, I saw you and Jiang Chen act like strangers, and I was wondering what happened. Now I understand.”

“What can I do? Jiang Chen has offended such an important person,” Hong Youjun said.

“Let me ask you one thing. If Jiang Chen weren’t from the Hundred Thousand Mountains, but from a great force that was as powerful as the Black Dragon City, what would you do?” Wen Xin said.

Hong Youjun didn’t know how to answer her. She wondered what Wen Xin was alluding to.

“I investigated Jiang Chen a little after leaving the trial grounds. He was the chosen one, but his holy pulse was robbed since he didn’t have the right protection. Ning Haotian owes Jiang Chen a lot. However, he is suppressing Jiang Chen like this in the Natural Law School!” Wen Xin said with fury.

“But this is the reality,” Hong Youjun said.

“I believe in justice. I’ve showed you my viewpoint. If Ning Haotian wants to deal with me in the same way he suppresses Jiang Chen, bring it on!” Wen Xin said.

“Alas,” Hong Youjun let out a sigh. She knew her friend’s character, so she gave up the attempt to convince her, but she felt vaguely unhappy. Compared to Wen Xin’s att.i.tude, she was behaving like a sn.o.b who followed the ma.s.ses.

Suddenly, an idea occurred to her. She hoped someone would teach Wen Xin a good lesson.

Since that was the only way she could feel better.

After she left Wen Xin’s place, Hong Youjun received another piece of news, which made her even more resolute.

Meng Hao, who had been with Jiang Chen in the Profound Theory Palace, was accused of stealing and almost beaten to death.

“See? Wen Xin, if you were not the princess, you would also end up like this,” Hong Youjun thought to herself.