Traumatized Into Submission, Hand Over Simon Sun

Fifty strokes with the blood-tipped rods—if not dead, they’d be crippled. Yet these three hadn’t actually given false testimony; everything they said was true. As they were dragged away by the bailiffs, all three looked pleadingly at the Director of Bloodcloak Criminal Affairs, hoping he would speak up for them.

Ming Dian saw the Director’s cold, grim face and instantly knew the Bloodcloak Guard wouldn’t lift a finger to save them. He bowed his head in silence, looking every bit the man resigned to his fate.

But the two young soldiers refused to accept their fate. Struggling against their captors, they cried out desperately, "Sir! Sir, save us! You have to help us—we were working for the Bloodcloak Guard! You can't just abandon us! Save us, sir—please!"

"Drag them out! Drag them out, gag them, and beat them—beat them hard!" The Director’s face turned even darker at their outburst.

Damn it—how could they blurt that out in front of everyone? Saying it like that, weren’t they just admitting he’d bribed the gate soldiers to frame Serena Feng? Sure enough, when he turned around, he met the stony gazes of the three judges, as well as Dominic Zhai and Serena Feng’s unreadable eyes.

Fuming inside, the Director wanted to loudly declare that the Bloodcloak Guard never colluded with invisible suspects. But as he opened his mouth, he met Serena Feng’s ice-cold, murderous gaze. A chill ran through him—a very bad feeling—and in moments, that feeling proved true.

Now that Serena Feng had cleared herself of the prison-break suspicion, it was her turn to make a move. Since Simon Sun hadn’t been snatched by Feng Manor, the Bloodcloak Guard would have to hand him over.

Dominic Zhai saw everything with perfect clarity. He wanted to give the Bloodcloak Guard a hard time, but he wouldn’t steal Serena Feng’s thunder. Let her take the lead—it was much better to stay out of the fray and avoid getting hurt.

"Your Excellency." Serena Feng stepped forward, bowing slightly to show respect to the three judges. "Though I was suspected of a crime, I had neither the time nor the means to commit it. The guards at Feng Manor are all veteran soldiers lent to me by Prince Samuel Manor. They protect my safety, but would never break the law for me. If you doubt it, you can ask Prince Samuel’s Heir yourself."

"That’s right. The guards at Feng Manor are all from Prince Samuel Manor—battle-hardened veterans who would never stoop to prison-breaking." Dominic Zhai chimed in at just the right moment, his bright eyes glinting with calculation.

If the Bloodcloak Guard dared provoke Prince Samuel Manor, they’d better be ready for trouble. He couldn’t touch the Emperor, but making things difficult for Bloodcloak was easy.

Others might fear the Bloodcloak Guard, but Prince Samuel never would.

"Ahem, of course—of course. Miss Feng is the Emperor-enfeoffed daughter of the Marquis of Loyalty. How could she possibly commit a prison break?" Only now did the High Court Chief Justice remember Serena Feng’s true status. Earlier, when ordering her to kneel, he’d been nothing but arrogant.

Serena Feng gave a wry smile, a hint of mockery flickering in her eyes. She ignored the people from Shunning Marquis Manor and the Bloodcloak Guard, continuing to address the three judges of the High Court.

"Your Excellency, the Bloodcloak Guard barred me from visiting the prison, then turned around and accused me of snatching the suspect. I won’t quibble over their slander. All I ask is that Bloodcloak let me see the Little Divine Doctor Simon Sun—whether he’s dead or alive, at least let me have a look. That way, we can have some closure." Her voice caught at the end, but she didn’t cry—she just looked at the Bloodcloak Guard, full of hope.

The three High Court judges exchanged glances. Serena’s request was perfectly reasonable—she only wanted to see the person, and there was nothing wrong with that.

It was Shunning Marquis Manor who had delivered Simon Sun to the Bloodcloak Guard. Now, neither the living man nor his corpse could be found—someone had to answer for it.

Normally, no one could interfere with Bloodcloak Guard investigations, but this case had already reached the High Court. The Chief Justice said, "Director Xiao, Miss Feng’s request is lawful and reasonable. How does the Bloodcloak Guard respond?"

In these times, how many officials are truly clean? The Chief Justice was wary of Bloodcloak’s scrutiny, so he kept his tone extremely polite.

How could they respond? There was nothing left to say. Simon Sun had already been snatched by Serena Feng—they had no way to produce him. The Director of Bloodcloak Criminal Affairs turned his head away and stayed silent.

Serena Feng’s eyes darkened—she was doing this deliberately. The three judges saw it clearly and became even more convinced that Serena hadn’t snatched Simon Sun.

After all, how could a young woman like Serena Feng have such guts and skill? People instinctively sympathize with the weaker side, and between Bloodcloak Guard and Feng Manor, Serena was clearly the underdog.

Serena took a deep breath, forcing down her grief and managing a bleak smile. "You can’t produce him! You can’t produce him! A perfectly healthy man—he goes to Shunning Marquis Manor to treat the old marquis, and suddenly he’s accused of a crime, suddenly he’s thrown in jail, suddenly he vanishes.

He was a living, breathing person—not some stray cat or dog. Everyone knows Simon Sun’s reputation as a healer and a man. Even if he had committed a crime, would it justify him disappearing without a trace—dead or alive?"

At last, Serena couldn’t hold back her tears—they fell one by one.

Thinking of Simon Sun’s injuries, of his suffering in the Bloodcloak dungeon, Serena felt a stabbing pain in her heart. She hadn’t exaggerated—if she hadn’t rescued him last night, Simon Sun would have died without a trace.

Simon Sun’s injuries were so severe that he wouldn’t have survived three days in the Bloodcloak dungeon. The Guard’s usual practice would be to dispose of the body, then claim he’d escaped. That way, it would never be Bloodcloak’s fault.

"Serena Feng, what exactly do you want?" Director Xiao was so shaken by Serena’s speech that his face turned purple—finally, he looked almost human.

Serena didn’t back down, stepping forward. "I don’t want anything except for Bloodcloak to hand over the man."

"Serena Feng, you know perfectly well he’s not in the Bloodcloak dungeon." She was asking questions she already knew the answer to—it was shameless.

"Director, what kind of joke is that? How would I know where he is? All I know is that the Little Divine Doctor was handed over to Bloodcloak by Shunning Marquis Manor. Now I’m asking Bloodcloak for him."

"I…" Director Xiao was so furious he could hardly breathe. What could he do? He couldn’t produce the man. If he could, none of this would be happening.

Serena said nothing, simply stared at him, unwavering—she demanded Bloodcloak hand over the man.

Seeing Serena refuse to let go of Bloodcloak, the advocate for Shunning Marquis Manor finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the man couldn’t be found, Serena wouldn’t be able to overturn the case.

If the man was gone, what good would it do to overturn the case? But Serena, failing to force Bloodcloak to produce him, suddenly turned on the advocate and snapped, "You, you’re with Shunning Marquis Manor. If Bloodcloak can’t produce him, what about you? Did you really hand him over to Bloodcloak? This was a minor case—why escalate it to Bloodcloak? Even if your young lady later committed suicide, the case should have gone to the Capital Prefect. Why send him to Bloodcloak? What was your real motive?"

She would never forget that Shunning Marquis Manor was the real culprit…

Note to readers: If I don’t write the details of the case reversal, it loses some flavor. The author thinks this scene turned out well—thumbs up!