Chapter 394: Come and Kill Me
Chapter 389 of "The Great Ming in the Box" introduces new challenges: Li Daoxuanâs words truly startled Yizhangqing. She couldnât help but turn to look at Ground... Keep following!
Li Daoxuanâs words truly startled Yizhangqing. She couldnât help but turn to look at Ground Rabbit, who was sprawled out nearby.Ground Rabbit grinned, âYes, this Mr. Rabbit is extremely fierce. Killing a few dozen or a hundred people, I wouldnât even bat an eye. Especially skilled at killing women and children, one slash each, one slash eachâŚâ
Gao Yiye wondered aloud, âWhat Iâm about to say is my own thought, not the Deityâs words. Ground Rabbit, when have you ever killed women and children? And isnât your specialty weapon a sword? Since when did it become a blade?â
Ground Rabbit protested, âHey hey, Saint Lady, nowâs not the critical time to expose me!â
Everyone: ââŚâ
Yizhangqing: âHuh?â
Just a moment ago, she had been terrified to death of Ground Rabbit. But suddenly hearing this exchange between the two before her, she froze completely, dazed for a long moment. Her face was stiff as she said, âYou tied me up and brought me here, deliberately saying all that to scare me. What on earth are you trying to do?â
âAlright!â Li Daoxuan said, âHonestly, thereâs no hidden agenda. You represent those labor offenders whose menfolk we eliminated. Youâre a typical example. People like you are numerous within the labor camp. I reckon at least half the prisoners in there have men in their families who died at the hands of Gaojia Village. This is an issue we must resolve. Thatâs why I summoned you, to use you as a representative case to address.â
Yizhangqing gritted her teeth. âCorrect, people like me are plentiful. Sooner or later, they will take up arms and kill you all to avenge the men of their families.â
Li Daoxuan retorted, âDonât think saying that will make Gaijia Village apologize for killing your brother. Why did your brother die? Surely you understand that better than us. You just refuse to admit it.â
Yizhangqing: ââŚâ
Li Daoxuan pressed, âLet me ask you this: Did your brother kill and burn houses? Did he rape and pillage? Ever point his weapon at unarmed ordinary people? While he was committing these acts, your feelings as a womanâhow did you feel? Did you plead with your brother to stop? Did you feel anguish over your brotherâs actions? Or perhaps⌠when the food he robbed filled your belly, did you even feel happy?â
Hearing this, Yizhangqing instantly froze solid.
Absolutely right!
These issues truly existed.
As a woman, Yizhangqing was powerless to stop the men in her family. Womenâs status was too low. âThe elder brother is like the fatherââif a brother decided to pillage and murder, his younger sister had no voice, no control.
She could only watch helplessly as her brother ran amok with Wang Zuoguaâs bandit army.
Moreover, the food he plundered ended up filling her stomach. Thinking about it this way felt incredibly strange.
Li Daoxuan said, âIf the family members of the people your brother murdered while doing evil came now, demanding to kill you and perish together with you, what would you think?â
Yizhangqing remained silent.
Li Daoxuan continued, âAlright, you actually know where the problem lies. But youâre hypocritical. Your brother can kill others, but others cannot kill your brother. Because your brother put food on your plate, didnât he?â
Sweat poured down Yizhangqingâs forehead, her expression complex.
Li Daoxuan used his âFocusâ ability to scrutinize every nuance of her expression. If heâd seen even the faintest hint of indifference to othersâ lives and deaths, he would have ordered her execution.
However, Yizhangqingâs face clearly showed remorse. Li Daoxuanâs words seemed to have struck a chord.
âI⌠I know⌠I knew my brother did evil things. I begged him not to, but he wouldnât listen to me. But donât say I was happy because he brought back stolen food! I was miserable! I had nightmares constantly⌠I knew this path my brother and I were on was wrong⌠that weâd eventually face Heavenâs punishmentâŚâ
Li Daoxuan said, âWow? So you did know? Then let me ask you⌠do I count as Heaven?â
Yizhangqing: â!!!â
She froze utterly now!
Li Daoxuan said, âThe picture grows clearer, doesnât it? Those who commit evil will ultimately be punished by Heaven. Heaven has many ways to punish a person: dying at the hands of other bandits, being wiped out by the imperial bandit suppression force, falling to oneâs death while walking, choking to death while eating, drowning while drinking water⌠or, being killed by the Gaojia Village Militia!â
âHe couldnât escape this fate because he was not a good man. Only good men receive good ends. How could an evil man meet a virtuous death?â
Yizhangqing began to waver. She knew. She truly knew. She had merely been blinded by hatred. Now, Li Daoxuanâs words jolted her realization: her brother could not evade Heavenâs Law.
And the Heavenâs Law⌠was speaking to her right now!
How utterly mortifying!
Li Daoxuan pressed on, âThe Gaojia Village Militia was sent by my order. Your brother was punished by my decree. If you seek revenge, merely killing Gaojia Village followers is useless. You must defy Heaven itself to avenge your brother. Come now⌠come and kill me to fulfill your vengeance for your brother.â
As he spoke, he slowly reached his hand into the box.
A colossal golden hand wearing Thanos Gloves descended, reaching out towards Yizhangqing. The very fingertip alone dwarfed her entire body.
âGround Rabbit! Untie her bonds. Let her try to kill me.â
Upon hearing the command, Ground Rabbit promptly stepped forward, untied the ropes binding Yizhangqing, and casually shoved a knife into her hand â One Blade. Then, he swiftly retreated to stand protectively in front of Gao Yiye, guarding against a potential outburst from Yizhangqing.
This small action earned Ground Rabbit a silent nod of approval from Li Daoxuan.
Yizhangqing gripped the knife, her whole body trembling uncontrollably as she gazed upon the heaven-piercing giant hand before her.
She wasnât stupid. She didnât need to try. One Blade was utterly useless. Couldnât scratch it. Couldnât even make a dent. This god inviting her to kill him? He was clearly just toying with her.
Li Daoxuan prompted, âNot going to try?â
Tears streamed down Yizhangqingâs face. âHow could I ever kill the Heaven? I donât have the power!â she choked out.
Ground Rabbit chuckled beside her. âExactly! Defying fate? Who could possibly achieve that?â he smirked.
Gao Yiye sighed softly. âThese are my own thoughts, not the Deityâs words,â she said gently. âMiss Yizhangqing, the reason your brother died was precisely because he defied fate, invoking the Heavenâs punishment. You, captured alongside the elderly and weak, women and children, clearly didnât directly participate in the banditsâ wars. Your sin lies solely in benefiting from the spoils brought back by your brotherâs evil deeds. Why must you compound your own guilt by seeking revenge for the death of such a wicked man?â
Yizhangqing wept helplessly. âYouâre right⌠I benefited from my brotherâs plunder⌠Thereâs no turning back for me nowâŚâ
Li Daoxuan interjected, âOn that point, you are mistaken. In my realm, as long as the crime isnât punishable by death, there is always a path to turn back. There is no notion here of executing families for an individualâs crime. When someone commits an offense, we do not execute their nine clans, nor even their three clans.â
Yizhangqing: â!â
Li Daoxuan declared, âWhat needed to be said has been said. Now, I pronounce the final judgment regarding your crime of attempting to assassinate the Head Guard.â
He paused, adopting a deeper, more authoritative tone: âYizhangqing. For the attempted assassination of Head Guard Zhong Gaoliangâthwarted by intervention before its completionâthe charge of âAttempted Murderâ stands proved. By law, the sentence ranges from at least three years to no more than ten years of imprisonment. However, considering your target was a person I hold in special favorâan aggravating circumstanceâI, as the presiding judge, impose the maximum penalty permissible under the law. That is⌠an extension of your prison term by ten years. Comprehend the sentence?â
Yizhangqing looked up in shock. After the scolding, she had braced for execution, perhaps preceded by torture. But the final judgment⌠was merely an extension of her labor sentence by ten years?
âReturn now,â Li Daoxuan ordered. âReflect deeply upon the words Iâve spoken to you today. Contemplate the life attitude you should adopt henceforth upon your return to prison. Dedicate yourself to labor reform. There may yet be opportunities for sentence reduction, early release, and a chance to reform yourself. Your brother is dead. Will you follow his path to destruction? Or strive to live well, make amends for the evils he committed? The choice rests entirely within your mind. Commit another offense after this, however, will lead to certain death.â