Chapter 25 - 20: Has the Fever Gone to Your Head!?

[The Collapse of Morality! Shocking Case Rocks Lusen City, Victim’s Father Faces Death Penalty After Killing Abuser!]

[Does The Law Need Reform? After a Ten-Year Search for His Daughter, He’s Greeted Not with a Reunion, but a Prison Cell!]

[Outrage! Should Human Traffickers Be Stripped of Their Human Rights!? Should Buyers Be Punished as Severely as the Traffickers Themselves!?]

[A Trafficked Woman’s Personal Account...]

[...]

November 8th.

At 6:30 in the morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten. A biting chill hung in the air, and white steam billowed endlessly from the steamers at the breakfast stalls lining the road.

Reading the striking headlines in the newspaper, the people sitting at the breakfast stall felt a fire smoldering in their chests.

"God damn it! The police were nowhere to be found when the girl was kidnapped, and they never showed their faces while she was being raped. But the second her family kills the trafficker, a whole swarm of them shows up!"

"What about that Li Erniu’s parents? Why haven’t they arrested those two?!"

"They weren’t involved in the crime..."

"Fucking bullshit! She was held captive for ten years, and you expect me to believe those two old bastards weren’t involved in abusing her?"

"I bet you anything the money to buy her came from those two old bastards!"

"Sigh, but the court has no evidence."

"This fucking world..."

"..."

At the breakfast stall, a few people sat together, arguing about the newspaper until they were red in the face, their eyes filled with a murderous rage. Their chests heaved violently.

The sound of their conversation rose and fell, practically non-stop.

Lin Guodong stood nearby, waiting in line for food. He turned his head to look at the men and listened in silence.

The owner dishing out the food looked up at him for a second before lowering his head again, continuing his work without pause as he casually asked:

"Professor Lin, what do you make of this case?"

The question brought Lin Guodong back to his senses.

He pulled his gaze away and looked at the breakfast stall owner, shaking his head and sighing.

"It’s a tough one."

Although he hadn’t read the paper,

Lin Guodong knew exactly what they were discussing.

It was, of course, the human trafficking case from Li Family Village in Lusen City.

The victim, Wang Mei, had been abducted for a full ten years. For a decade, she was chained up in a woodshed, subjected to constant assault, and lived a life worse than a dog’s.

Her father, in his attempt to save her, had killed her captor and was now being sued by Li Youcai and Liu Cui...

"You know, for cases like this in the past, some lawyers would be scrambling to take it on, even paying out of their own pockets."

Lin Guodong’s tone was calm, but his words were filled with gloom.

Lawyers work for money, but it depends on the case. As long as a case generates enough public outrage, those Gold Medal Lawyers would be desperate to take it on, even paying out-of-pocket to handle everything for the victim!

The Wang Qiang case was certainly big enough. The entire Green Forest was in an uproar over it, with people discussing it on every street and in every alley.

But so far, not a single major lawyer had stepped up to take it.

"Because it’s hard to win."

Lin Guodong looked down, digging for money in his pocket as he spoke.

"The defendant initiated the attack, and Li Erniu died as a result. Based on that fact alone, there’s almost no evidence that favors the defendant’s side."

"Not to mention all the other objective evidence that favors Li Erniu."

Saying this, Lin Guodong shook his head.

"It’s tough."

Hearing this, the owner stopped what he was doing, asking hopefully:

"I heard the trial starts the day after tomorrow. That’s still two days."

"Is there really nothing that can be done in these two days!?"

Lin Guodong’s heart was a mix of emotions. He didn’t want to say it, but as an expert in the field, he understood the inner workings better than anyone.

He could only say quietly, "Even if there is a way, it’s a one-in-a-hundred chance. It would be nothing short of a miracle..."

Before the breakfast stall owner could respond, he continued:

"Let me put it this way."

"The incident happened in Li Family Village. The police and the prosecution can only gather evidence in Li Family Village!"

"That includes depositions, witness testimonies, and physical evidence. And as for the depositions and witnesses..."

Where would that evidence come from? From the villagers of Li Family Village, of course!

And what kind of evidence would they provide? You don’t need to be a genius to know it’ll be 100% fabricated and favorable to Li Youcai!

And the police and prosecution can only hold their noses and record that evidence.

"That’s why this case is so difficult, and why no one wants to take it."

Lin Guodong let out a long sigh.

Cross-examination requires real evidence, but the defendant’s side has none to present. A savvy lawyer would never take on such an impossible risk.

"But..."

The breakfast stall owner’s lips moved, but no words came out. He looked at his old junior high classmate, finally sighed, and said no more.

He handed the breakfast to Lin Guodong and walked away, silently starting to knead some dough.

Lin Guodong glanced back at the patrons at the table.

The men were still fuming.

He shook his head, didn’t look again, and left with his soft tofu and baked flatbread, disappearing from sight.

The November air was biting. Lin Guodong walked down the street in a thick, bulky coat, pausing now and then before turning a few corners.

「Before long.」

Lin Guodong found himself standing before a Daoist Temple. He walked into the courtyard and stopped in front of a guest room, raising his arm to place his hand on the door.

"CREAK~"

The door swung open.

"You’re back?"

A gentle voice came from inside. Looking up, he saw a graceful middle-aged woman walking toward him. She then closed the door.

"Mmm."

Lin Guodong nodded, placing all the breakfast he was carrying on the table.

"Eat it while it’s hot."

His wife, Su Xin, glanced at him, then slowly turned her back to him. She began to unpack the breakfast as she spoke:

"In a bad mood? What’s wrong?"

"Sigh."

Hearing her ask, Lin Guodong didn’t hold back. He immediately sat down in a chair and heaved a long sigh.

"It’s that case in Li Family Village. You have no idea how much of an uproar it’s causing out there."

"The breakfast stall, the wet market, the supermarket... just on my way back from buying breakfast, I must have heard people discussing it at least five times!"

As the wife of law professor Lin Guodong,

Su Xin was also in the legal field, so she was naturally aware of the case. She said gently:

"What are your thoughts on it? Maybe you could contact the local bar association and try to take on the case..."

At her words, he fell silent.

It’s a well-known fact that the field of law... is a breeding ground for depression.

Lin Guodong wanted to make the justice system better, society more stable, and the people happier, but... reality always seemed to hit him over the head, leaving him lost and confused.

Take marriage, for example—one of the simplest yet most contradictory areas.

First, when it comes to divorce, the court bases its decision on ’determining whether the emotional bond is broken.’ This means that even if the bond *is* broken, as long as one party adamantly refuses, getting a divorce is very difficult.

Seems completely unreasonable, doesn’t it?

But if you were a man who was scammed into a marriage, and without this law, the woman quickly filed for divorce the day after the wedding, the court would immediately rule the divorce valid.

What would await you then? The lightning-fast division of your assets!

So, a cooling-off period for divorce is necessary.

Thinking of it that way, it seems reasonable again, right? No.

Now, assume you’re a woman suffering from domestic violence. You can’t take it anymore and want a divorce, but because this law exists, the man insists the emotional bond isn’t broken, preventing a quick divorce.

And so, it seems unreasonable again, doesn’t it?

But if you try to refine the law further to perfect it, you can’t plug all the holes. In fact, the loopholes just get bigger.

And so Lin Guodong, the idealist, was lost at this crossroads—a schizophrenic double-edged sword.

That’s why he had decisively moved to this Daoist Temple to rest for a few months, hoping to restore his inner peace.

"Forget it."

Lin Guodong was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"I’m just a theorist. If I took on a case relying on my reputation as a professor from a top university, that would be irresponsible to the client."

Hearing this, his wife, Su Xin, didn’t offer empty reassurances. The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes crinkled as she began to comfort her husband in her own way.

"So you *do* know you’re a theorist professor?"

"Yue’s current case seems to be related to the Li Family Village incident. Why don’t you go give her some guidance from a theoretical perspective?"

As she finished speaking, Lin Guodong paused.

He had a daughter named Lin Yue, who was also in the legal profession and had become a lawyer after graduating.

It seemed she had recently taken on the child custody case for the victim of the Li Family Village trafficking incident. A custody case would inevitably involve the attitude of Li Erniu’s family toward the defendant after Li Erniu’s death...

From this perspective, Lin Yue must be overwhelmed with work right now.

She was still young, after all. It was normal for her to find it difficult.

"But... she hasn’t come to ask me for help these past few days."

Lin Guodong was a bit hesitant.

Su Xin replied, "The girl just graduated not long ago. Maybe she doesn’t want you to see her in a difficult spot."

Lin Guodong thought for a moment and felt that made sense.

"Then I’ll go see. If I can help, I will."

Having made up his mind, Lin Guodong didn’t dawdle. He stood up and walked out.

Watching his retreating back, Su Xin smiled. Then, she unhurriedly sat down in her chair and began to eat her breakfast, chewing slowly.

...

In the guest room.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK~"

Lin Guodong knocked on his daughter Lin Yue’s door, but there was no answer for a long time.

’Not here?’

He raised an eyebrow, question marks popping into his head. He then applied a little force with both hands.

The next second...

"CREAK~"

The door opened.

A simply decorated bedroom appeared before him. And Lin Yue was sitting at her desk, engrossed in a book, an expression of profound, life-questioning doubt on her face.

Seeing his daughter was home, a hesitant look appeared on Lin Guodong’s face.

"What are you doing?"

He leaned in and asked in a gentle voice.

"Why have you been so out of it these past couple of days?"

When he got closer and saw the book in Lin Yue’s hands, Lin Guodong’s eyebrows shot up.

She was reading none other than Dongguo’s supreme, ultimate technique: the *Criminal Code*!

’If I remember correctly, after going out early in the morning a couple of days ago, she had come back and locked herself in her room, studying this book for days on end.’

’And with that look on her face... she must have run into a difficult problem!’

"Huh?"

Hearing the voice, Lin Yue finally snapped out of her own mental world.

She turned her head, and seeing it was her father, she let out a sigh of relief. She then recalled the question Lin Guodong had just asked her...

Lin Yue hesitated for a moment, then, with that same life-questioning expression on her face, she said:

"Dad, I... I ran into a thorny problem. I’ve been thinking about it for the last two days."

’Just as I thought. She really is stuck on something!’

Seeing this, Lin Guodong smiled, mentally preparing himself to answer her question.

After all, while his daughter might not be a world-class lawyer, she was still a top student who graduated from one of the country’s most prestigious universities!

There was no doubt that Lin Yue was a genius. But for a genius like her to have a question...

’What kind of question could it be!?’

"It’s alright. If you have a question, you can ask your dad."

Lin Guodong pulled out a chair and sat down beside Lin Yue, speaking in a soft voice.

At his words, Lin Yue gave him a rare, peculiar look. She paused, then asked, "Are you sure you can handle it?"

Lin Guodong was taken aback for a second, then he chuckled and said:

"If it were about anything else, maybe not. But when it comes to the field of law... in all of Dongguo, your dad is absolutely top-tier!"

Lin Guodong was very confident.

This confidence was rooted in his ability and his status!

He was a law professor at a top-tier university, a full-time fixture in the academic world. He had mentored several doctoral students alone!

The papers he published were featured in authoritative international journals and cited by countless people!

He even had the right to propose revisions to judicial regulations. He was a complete academic titan in the legal field, standing at the very pinnacle of his profession!

’How could he possibly be unable to answer a mere student’s question?’

"Okay, then I’ll ask," Lin Yue said hesitantly.

Lin Guodong nodded. "Go ahead."

Lin Yue took a deep breath. She frowned, fell silent for a moment, and then, after a long pause, said word by word:

"Dad, tell me..."

"Is... kidnapping a child really against the law?"

Lin Guodong: ?

Lin Guodong froze. He stared at his daughter, completely stunned.

’How could such a question—one that belonged not just in the legal field, but was something even an illiterate person would understand, a question of the most basic common sense—come out of the mouth of this top university graduate!?’

’And she’d even spent days flipping through the *Criminal Code* without finding the answer, and now she was asking him, a professor!’

Unsurprisingly, the next second, Lin Guodong’s face was a mask of bewilderment as he exclaimed.

"Are you delirious from a fever!?"

.....