The Joyful Criminal of Legend

The shadow with golden hair and red eyes curled its fingers, hooking the loop of the cuneiform rune rope, and lifted the writhing snake before him.

The scimitar in his hand slid along the fine scales of the crawling reptile, moving down until it stopped at the seven-inch mark.

As the blade tip pressed down slightly, the increasingly intense sting caused Lin Xian's heart to constrict violently, and goosebumps seemed to erupt all over his back.

The moment the sharp edge pierced the outer scales, Lin Xian's wildly scattered thoughts abruptly converged. His slender neck straightened, and he let out a series of hisses.

But then, the Sinful Snake suddenly seemed to realize something. Its body paused slightly, and then it slumped down, listless and sorrowful, as if all hope was lost.

Damn it! I can't understand the language!

I hate foreign languages!

I failed that class in my previous life, and passing the CET-4 and CET-6 became a lifelong shame. And now, in this life, it's still not letting me go!

His stifled soul could only let out a powerless roar within his slender body, using all his vile language to curse fate's entire female lineage.

At this moment, the light in the snake's vertical pupils gradually extinguished, as if accepting its fate.

However, the thief's intense reaction seemed to pique Gilgamesh's interest.

The Heroic King raised his fingertip, sketching a cuneiform symbol in the air, and playfully flicked it into the forehead of the Sinful Snake.

As the cuneiform symbol exploded in his consciousness, Lin Xian vaguely felt a communicative link being established between himself and Gilgamesh before him.

"King Gilgamesh, I am willing to pay a fine to cleanse my sins!"

"Thirty times compensation!"

Facing a desperate situation, Lin Xian hissed urgently, spitting out the long-simmered words to save himself.

The Sinful Snake's plea, accompanied by its flicking tongue, brought a hint of disdain to Gilgamesh's eyes.

"Compensation? What right do you have to negotiate with me?!"

A cold nasal sound echoed, and a sharpness like a knife emanated, sending a chilling, needle-like sensation that easily penetrated Lin Xian's snake scales, agitating his every nerve and muscle.

That power was cruel and domineering, almost extinguishing any will to resist in all things.

The ruby dagger pressed down again, and the shadow of death followed.

Who the hell wants to die a second time!

Damn it, you son of a bitch, fate!

I want to live!

Lin Xian's desperate desire to live erupted within him. The vertical pupils of his snake eyes shrunk to the size of needles. He raised his neck, flaring his scales, enduring the pain that went against his instincts, and hissed forcefully.

"Under the witness of Marduk, the King of the Gods, the King rules over all people, bringing prosperity to the nation, and letting the light of justice and righteousness shine forever in Uruk!"

"If a freeman steals cattle, sheep, or other property, and if it belongs to the gods or the palace, then he shall be fined thirty times the value!"

Gilgamesh showed a slight surprise, and a strange expression appeared on his face.

And while the Heroic King was stunned, the pressure on Lin Xian suddenly lessened. He could move slightly, and a glimmer of hope ignited within him.

Fortunately, his gamble paid off!

In fact, the first sentence Lin Xian shouted originated from the prologue of the Code of Hammurabi.

It not only represented the divine right of kings but also embodied the sacredness and legitimacy of the code.

However, to better fit his current situation, Lin Xian had made slight modifications to the prologue's content.

The crucial second sentence was the eighth article of the Code of Hammurabi, which dealt with the sentencing standards for theft.

While waiting to be cooked, Lin Xian racked his brains, desperately searching for a sliver of hope for survival in his current predicament.

However, as far as he knew, the era of the Heroic King Gilgamesh was from 2600 BC to 2700 BC.

But the Code of Hammurabi appeared much later, from 1792 BC to 1750 BC.

Although Gilgamesh and Hammurabi both belonged to the Mesopotamian civilization and worshipped the same deities, there was a gap of 800 years between them.

Lin Xian's shout of the theft penalty clause from the Code of Hammurabi in his moment of crisis was a gamble.

The Code of Hammurabi was written in Akkadian. And according to his decent historical knowledge from his previous life, customary laws often existed for a long time before the appearance of Akkadian law.

Therefore, Lin Xian could only assume that the relevant clauses in the Code of Hammurabi had actually existed as customary law in the Uruk dynasty long before, and were similar.

Of course, in his memory, there was also the Code of Ur-Nammu, which also belonged to the Mesopotamian civilization, dating from approximately 2113 BC to 2006 BC.

This thing was only four to five hundred years apart from Gilgamesh's era.

Unfortunately, its content was incomplete, and the key clauses regarding sentencing for theft were not comprehensive.

However, the period when the Code of Ur-Nammu was promulgated also proved that, even before the appearance of both codes, certain sentencing for theft had already been customary.

This gave Lin Xian the courage to break through his biological instincts and ask Gilgamesh to pay a fine.

However, even so, if the laws of the two sides had no connection at all, he would lose his last chance to struggle.

Moreover, if he unfortunately angered Gilgamesh, he might die even faster.

"My King, I am not trying to negotiate, but rather to accept punishment through legal judgment to cleanse my sins."

"I committed theft during the day, and in accordance with Sumerian tradition, I am willing to pay a thirtyfold fine."

Seeing Gilgamesh's expression soften, Lin Xian humbly nodded, indicating his sincerity.

He vaguely recalled that fragments of the Ur-Nammu Code stated that if theft occurred at night, due to the greater threat posed to the master, the thief could still be executed.

Therefore, Lin Xian naturally wouldn't forget to emphasize the time of his crime.

Under the threat of death, this sinful snake frantically spun its walnut-sized brain.

Amidst the intense psychological pressure, Lin Xian's nerves surprisingly transmitted a subtle sense of excitement.

He felt that his previous twenty-plus years of mundane life experiences couldn't compare to the thrill he felt at this moment, the feeling of truly being "alive." Yes, "alive"!

Every inch of his muscles, every nerve cell, was operating wildly for this sole purpose, exerting its utmost effort.

The jumbled knowledge he had superficially acquired in his past life flooded his mind, converging into defense strategies to deal with all sorts of potential changes.

At this moment, the Heroic King, having recovered his senses, appraised the reptile with great interest, a slight curve forming on his lips.

He was actually hearing a snake reciting the laws of Uruk? Fighting for its own chance to live!

Interesting! How incredibly interesting!

However, compared to the hollow and boring word "forgiveness," Gilgamesh preferred "pleasure."

That's right, this Heroic King was the legendary pleasure-seeker.

The king with golden hair and red eyes curled his lips into an ominous arc, his cold whisper directly targeting a loophole in the snake's reliance on legal judgment.

"If I recall correctly, those are rights only afforded to free men?"

Lin Xian paused, then slowly raised his head.

"King Gilgamesh, I was born within Uruk's borders and thus belong to your people…"

"I have never been enslaved, nor am I a slave; I possess inherent rights to freedom…"

The Heroic King seemed intrigued. With his right hand, he summoned a gem-encrusted throne from a golden vortex, leaned back, propped his chin with his hand, and opened his mouth to interrupt the slender figure's self-defense.

"But you are a snake…"

"Does your wisdom, by chance, only benefit humanity?"

"The Morning Star in the heavens, all creation on earth, all belongs to the King!"

"Therefore, whether it be the living beings of the sky and earth, or the animals of the forests and seas, they will all be one with Uruk. Where your majesty's radiance reaches, that is the land of Sumer's joy."

Lin Xian looked up and met Gilgamesh's gaze. His soul, deeply influenced by his past life's education, surprisingly carried an air of neither subservience nor arrogance.

"Indeed, all creation on earth, the Morning Star in the heavens, all nations and peoples of the world, all belong to me!"

"Hahahaha, you are far more interesting than Uruk's judges."

"Those fools, after studying the law for decades, still can't match the eloquence of a snake. They should just smash their heads against a wall and die!"

"As a reward for amusing the King, a thirtyfold fine? I grant it!"

The Heroic King on the throne burst into laughter, his mood clearly uplifted.

But as Lin Xian took a slight breath, Gilgamesh summoned a golden goblet from his treasury, gently swirling it. The crimson nectar swayed with the movement, and the atmosphere abruptly became tense.

"Since everything belongs to the King, what will you use to pay the thirtyfold fine?"

"Furthermore, the value of the Immortal Herb cannot be measured by ordinary treasures."

As the Heroic King drained the goblet, golden vortexes began to form behind his throne, one after another.

Weapons of all kinds—swords, halberds, sabers, and spears—emerged from them, their edges pointing directly at this primordial serpent. His crimson eyes remained as chilling as ever.

"If your offering does not satisfy me, I will slice you alive into pieces and stew you in a pot!"