The guards took away all of his weapons - including the short knife he had received from Igillenbod, and ordered him to stay in the room and not go anywhere until the superiors decided what to do with him. There were guards outside the door. To ensure he complied with the order, friends were not allowed to visit.
"What can I do?" When the door was closed, Acton said to the wooden door. He hugged his knees with his hands and his back pressed against the wall, staring at the light on the edge of the small window on the left, which was the only light source in the room. As time goes by, the room becomes darker and darker, and it becomes colder and colder. I'm afraid it will be another sleepless night tonight! Acton thought.
At some point, Acton woke up again. It was completely dark. He felt that his whole body was stiff and numb. He stood up and wanted to move his hands and feet. Suddenly he heard a soft sound from outside the door—— Someone was opening the door, but it was getting dark now. Who wanted to see me at this time? Are you going to drag yourself out and behead yourself?
Acton subconsciously stretched out his hand to touch his waist, but found nothing. Then he remembered that his dagger had been taken away. He clenched his fists in despair. Could it be that he died in this ghost place like this in a daze?
The door was pushed open, and the firelight poured in from the door and shone on Acton's face. He subconsciously turned his head to avoid the dazzling light. When his eyes adjusted to the bright light, he discovered a familiar figure standing at the door: "Why is it you?"
"Surprised, aren't you?" Igillenbod asked angrily. He threw the dagger back to Acton: "When I saw this dagger, I was really surprised! When you were on the shore You weren’t so stupid when you were on the other side!”
"That man scolded me? He even spat on me!" Acton took the dagger and defended weakly. Ijilianbod snorted coldly: "Then you cut his neck? Now you are working as a guard for the Grand Governor. Whether it is a guard or a training, not to mention scolding, even whipping, right? Why not? To watch you kill someone?"
"How is this the same? It was my superior who was scolding me and beating me in the army, but that person was not my superior. Besides, he cursed me for no reason at all, and even spat at me. I had to endure him for a long time before I took action. If it was in my hometown , I have already taken action!”
"You also know that this is not your hometown?" Ijilianbod snorted coldly and pondered for a moment: "Is there anyone else present at the time who can testify for you?"
"Yes, there were two companions with me at the time. They all witnessed everything that happened. They can testify for me!" Acton replied.
"Fortunately, you're not that stupid!" Although Igillenbod's tone was cold, Acton could still feel the kindness hidden underneath. Obviously, although this noble man had been scolding him since he entered the door, he still couldn't I just want to help myself.
"Do you know what kind of punishment I will receive?" Acton asked cautiously.
"When Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty entered Guanzhong, he made three stipulations: the first of which is that the murderer must die! If you kill someone, life for life is the most common punishment! Unless——"
"Unless what?" Acton asked quickly.
"Unless the Governor doesn't want you to die!" Igillenbod smiled: "But I don't know why he needs to spare your life. After all, there is nothing special about you, and the law is the most important thing for the country. Tool!"
Acton sat down again, trembling uncontrollably. Everything that happened was like a nightmare, but he was definitely not in a dream at this time.
Ijilianbode looked at the young man on the ground, and finally decided to say a good word for him: "I will go back to see the Governor later, don't do stupid things, maybe things will turn around!" After that, he turned and walked out of the wooden door. It closed behind him.
The next morning, when the sun shone through the window again, Acton woke up from his drowsiness. He didn't know when he fell asleep. He stood up and something slipped from his arms and made a sound. Acton lowered his head and saw that it was the dagger. He picked up the dagger and took it out of its sheath. The sharp blade showed a cold light. He used this knife to cut the man's throat. He still remembered the scene at that time. Blood spurted out from the wound. The murdered man lay on the ground, twitching all over, and died in a few breaths. If you point the blade at yourself, it won't hurt much. Wouldn't it be nice? Although they are all dead, it is better than being beheaded in front of everyone!
Acton stood in front of the window, the blade approaching his throat several times, and then leaving several times. It seemed that there was a voice in the dark reminding him that there was still hope for living before that moment; if the Governor really wanted to If you kill yourself, you won't let that noble man come to see you late at night.
The movement outside the door interrupted this dangerous tug of war. Acton put the dagger into its sheath and hid it, standing against the wall. The door opened, and what came in was a fat man with a dark face, a thick waist and a loud voice.
"Acton, come with me!"
"Where to go? What to do?" Acton asked.
"This is an order!" The fat black-faced man sneered: "Your instructor has not taught you what to do when faced with an order for so long?"
Acton suppressed the anger in his chest. He didn't like this fat man with a black face. His smile reminded him of a bobcat that corners its prey. It always plays tricks on its prey until the prey is frightened and exhausted before finally killing it. I often hunt prey, but I try to minimize the pain of the prey. After all, deer, wild boars, and mohe people are all part of the mountain forest. It is normal to hunt animals for survival, but killing prey is another matter.
"Tie his hands!" The fat man with black face said: "If he dares to resist, beat him!"
Acton suppressed the anger in his chest and allowed the soldiers to tie his hands behind his back. The rope cut deeply into his muscles, causing bursts of pain. However, Acton did not show anything. He knew that this would only Make the other person more proud. He looked coldly into the eyes of the fat man with a black face. He might not be able to resist, but at least he could prevent the other person from getting happiness from him.
"Fishskin Tartar!" the fat black-faced man spat. The eyes of this young man made him very uncomfortable. If possible, he would dig out the other person's eyes, but he knew that now was not the time, so he waved his hand. :"Walk!"
The soldiers escorted Acton across a wooden bridge and passed under a solid oak gate. The river under the bridge was raging, stirring up countless waves and washing away the foundation stone of the rampart. They walked through the second doorway, which was even larger than the first, and the stones were covered with green moss. With his wrists tied, Acton stumbled across a muddy yard. The guards escorted him up the steps to a large room.
As soon as he climbed the steps, the fat man with black face asked Acton to take off his straw sandals so as not to stain the smooth wooden floor. Acton also did as he was told. He took small steps carefully and bowed slightly. He had not forgotten the etiquette he had learned a few days ago.
Wang Wenzuo sat behind a long table, with several thick stacks of books placed on the table. To his right stood Igilian Bod, and below him knelt two old men and a woman. The woman was holding a child in her arms. A baby, with a slightly larger one kneeling next to him, was looking curiously at Acton, who was walking up with his hands tied behind his back.
"Bring some soft cushions, I don't want to damage their knees! And -" Wang Wenzuo pointed at Acton: "Let go of the rope on his hand as well. Before I pronounce the sentence, he is not a criminal yet. !”
Acton's hands were untied, and he couldn't help but let out a groan. The soft cushion made his knees feel a lot more comfortable. He looked curiously at the strangers beside him. Why were they here, with him? Does it matter?
"Acton! They are the parents, wife, and children of the person you killed!" Wang Wenzuo pointed to the strangers kneeling on the ground: "Thanks to you, the parents lost their son, and the wife lost their son." You have lost your husband and your children have lost their father. Is there anything else you want to say now?"
Actun was kneeling on the ground. His wrists had been torn by the rough ropes and were in burning pain, but he didn't feel anything at all at this time. Wang Wenzuo's words were like a hammer hitting his head, making him buzz. He shook his head: "I have nothing to say!"
"Very good!" Wang Wenzuo turned his eyes to the other people: "This is the child who killed your family, but before that, your family called him a fish-skin Tartar and a dog, and even spat at him. He did this The only reason is that the child was a Mohe. The child turned around and left, but he chased after him and continued to scold him, and then he was killed. I have sent people to verify this with the people around me, and it is true. What do you think? Did you say that?"
The two old men had been struck down by the tremendous pain of losing their son. Facing Wang Wenzuo's questioning, they only shook a few times and fell to the ground crying. The woman was better. She raised her head and said, "Grand Governor, I I don’t know what to do, so please give me a fair verdict!”
"Okay!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "According to Tang law, your family insults people for no reason, so they have to be whipped. But he is dead now, so the execution cannot be carried out and can only be done; and Acton, you can do it. Murder kills, and the murderer dies, so he must be beheaded. Do you think this sentence is fair?"
"Fair!" Acton was filled with despair when he saw the family members of the deceased. He bowed his head and confessed. Not to mention the other family members of the deceased, they all agreed and saw that the case was decided within a few minutes.
"Well, very good!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "The murder case has been adjudicated, and the civil case will be adjudicated next. Acton, the man you killed was the son of his parents, the woman's husband, and the father of two children. In these days, Everyone has to rely on the dead to support them. Now that you have killed someone and there is no one to support them, you have to compensate them for their losses, lest this family cannot survive because they have lost the breadwinner of the family. Do you think my judgment is correct?"
Acton was stunned. He didn't expect Wang Wenzuo to suddenly come up with this, and felt that the other party was right: "The governor's verdict is right, but I have nothing on my body and I am a dying person. There is no money to compensate them for their losses!”
"Not bad!" Wang Wenzuo's eyes turned to the woman: "You also heard that this Mohe boy is still a half-grown child and is not officially a member of the army, so he has no military pay, no wealth, and no ability to compensate you for your losses! You might accept it?"
"He really has no money, so what can he do!" The woman smiled bitterly: "It's also my fault for the bad guy's unscrupulous talk. Not only did it cost his own life, but it also caused the death of others. I can't blame others!"
"He has no money now, but that doesn't mean he will never have money!" Wang Wenzuo pointed at Actun: "He is fourteen years old now. He will be able to join the army in two years, and then he will get military pay. If you are willing to spare his life, , I can advance his twenty-year military salary to you as compensation!"
Wang Wenzuo's words gave hope to the woman's eyes. She looked at the child in her arms and beside her, then at the old man beside her, and whispered: "Can we allow the little people to discuss this for a while?"
"Of course!" Wang Wenzuo pointed to the corridor nearby: "You can go to the side to discuss first, and come back after the discussion is completed!"
The family thanked Wang Wenzuo and retreated to the corridor. After a while, the woman came back. Her eyes were red and she had obviously cried again. She kowtowed to Wang Wenzuo: "Grand Governor, the old man is old. The child is young, so for the sake of the living, the villain has no choice but to torture the dead!"
"I understand!" Wang Wenzuo nodded: "Don't worry, you can avoid the death penalty, but you can't escape the living penalty. Even if Actun doesn't need to be beheaded, he still can't escape with eighty whips!" At this point, his eyes turned to Ah On Kedun: "Akdun, your military salary for the next twenty years will be transferred to this family. In addition, you will be whipped eighty times. If there are any repeat offenders in the future who will be severely punished, they will all be beheaded. What do you think of this sentence? Is it fair?"
"Fair, fair!" Acton thought he was certain to die, but he didn't expect to escape. In his ecstasy, he didn't care about the twenty years of military pay and eighty whips, and kowtowed repeatedly.
"Okay, let's execute him immediately!" Wang Wenzuo said.
Acton was immediately dragged down, his shirt was stripped off, he was whipped eighty times, and he was dragged up in a bloody mess. Wang Wenzuo let the victim's family read it, and then had the verdict written down on a wooden board. He walked around the street three times with Actun before returning for treatment by the doctor.
Although the eighty lashes were quite severe, they did not injure the muscles and bones. Acton's body was still strong and he gradually recovered after lying on the bed for two days. That day he saw Igillenbod coming and threw a short knife in front of him: "How come you don't even want the knife I gave you?"
When Acton saw Igilianbod, he knew that the other person had spoken kind words for him in front of Wang Wenzuo, so he saved his life. He struggled to stand up and salute, but was held down by Igilianbod: "That's all, I have to kowtow and wait." You can go back to your health when you are well! You don’t have to thank me, this sentence was made by the Grand Governor and has nothing to do with me!”
(End of chapter)
