The Opening

Opening

When Lin Wen opened his eyes again, dawn had already broken.

Blades of light thrust through every crack and hole in the house. Dust motes drifted through the golden radiance, like a projection of spiritual energy into the physical world.

Lin Wen's mind was still lingering in the dream of the cultivation world. Like a puppet, he completed a simple wash, then pushed open the door and walked out.

Outside stood Li Yuchen and six hulking men. They had been waiting there for a long time.

Lin Wen still had not fully awakened. His subconscious activated the Seven Apertures Exquisite Heart for him, and he remained immersed in that dreamlike illusion—the dream he had yearned for day and night, within reach yet as intangible as a phantom. For a long while, he was unwilling to wake.

Only when clear sunlight shone into his pupils, noisy voices poured into his ears, and the faces of Imperial officials such as Huang Mingxiao, Yuan Zhimen, and Lei Tiantong appeared before him did Lin Wen's mind reluctantly return to reality.

Before him was a wooden platform built overnight. It stood one meter high, over twenty meters long, and about three meters wide, shaped like a semicircular arch and facing the wilderness outside Changle Town.

Before the platform, across the wilderness, stood a roaring sea of disaster victims. Tens of thousands had already gathered. Some among them had spontaneously stepped forward to maintain order, so the scene was not overly chaotic.

Behind the platform were all the members of the temporary command headquarters, nearly eight hundred people in total. Quite a few of them went pale and trembled when they saw the disaster victims covering the mountains and plains.

Behind them stood three thousand Imperial soldiers in neat ranks, forming a semicircle around the platform. Rather than maintaining order, they looked more like they were guarding those eight hundred officials.

When Lin Wen stepped onto the platform, waves of cheers erupted from the disaster victims. No one knew who started it, but suddenly they all raised their right hands.

"Kill without mercy!"

"Kill without mercy!"

The voices gradually fell into unison, bursting forth with unimaginable force.

Amid the deafening chant, the faces of those from the temporary command headquarters turned even worse.

Director Huang Mingxiao looked deeply worried. He feared the disaster victims' emotions would become frenzied, causing them to attack every member of the temporary command headquarters indiscriminately.

If Lin Wen did not follow their emotional demands, it could greatly diminish his prestige and might even spark a direct conflict.

If that happened, all their previous efforts would go down the drain.

He had wanted to remind Commandery Governor Lin, but Lin Wen ignored him and merely summoned Fang Yaobo, the chief judge of the Tribunal.

For some reason, Commandery Governor Lin did not display that unbelievable booming voice today. He merely took a loudspeaker from Yuan Zhimen.

"Pff, pff, hello."

The voice was loud, but it lacked yesterday's deep thunderous resonance and crystalline clarity.

"I am Lin Wen."

As always, Lin Wen's words were concise.

"The trial begins."

The crowd fell silent.

Lin Wen continued, "Fang Yaobo, chief judge of the Imperial Tribunal, take the stage."

Lin Wen omitted the words "Long Mountain Commandery," making Fang Yaobo's title seem more authoritative.

Fang Yaobo's old face flushed red as he was forced onto the platform.

"Read the case files!"

Fang Yaobo kept his head down, not daring to meet the eyes of tens of thousands. He merely picked up the loudspeaker and read the case files that he had only barely managed to piece together the previous night after plucking out the single remaining strand of hair on his head.

"Criminal: Jin Nianchuang. Charges: abuse of authority, oppression of disaster victims, embezzlement of supplies, coercion and humiliation of women, intent to incite civil unrest, and the attempted murder of Commandery Governor Lin Wen and three hundred thousand citizens..."

"...His character utterly ruined, his humanity extinguished. Therefore, he is sentenced for crimes against humanity. The facts are clear, the evidence conclusive, and his crimes unforgivable..."

The case files of the four security guards were read aloud in sequence. Whenever their detailed crimes were mentioned, the crowd would erupt. Curses, wails, and roars rang out without end.

"...The above four individuals were all executed on the spot by Commandery Governor Lin Wen..."

The massive cheers almost completely drowned out Fang Yaobo's loudspeaker.

"The bodies will now be publicly displayed for verification, to bear witness to the laws of the Empire."

The four corpses were carried up, and the bearers made a circuit of the platform under a rain of countless small stones. They had no choice but to huddle behind the bodies to avoid being struck.

The verification was completed at lightning speed. Lin Wen stepped forward and shouted, "The review begins!"

One man's voice stirred a tidal wave of sound.

"Beat those dog officials to death!"

"Give us justice!"

The cries shook the wilderness in every direction. Meanwhile, disaster victims continued streaming in from all sides, and the crowd was already approaching one hundred thousand. As far as the eye could see, people blanketed the mountains and plains.

Quite a few people backstage had gone pale and were trembling. They had never witnessed such a spectacle in their lives.

The shouts of one hundred thousand people filled heaven and earth. Before such majestic force, even immortals and gods would have to yield three parts.

The first group to take the stage was twelve officials led by Huang Mingxiao.

The disaster victims temporarily quieted down.

Huang Mingxiao picked up the loudspeaker and said, "I am Director Huang Mingxiao. For my poor management, which allowed certain scum to harm the people and run amok, I apologize to the people of Long Mountain Commandery."

After speaking, all of them bowed deeply to the disaster victims.

A divine light shifted in Lin Wen's eyes as he studied them deeply for several moments.

"All right, step down."

Huang Mingxiao wanted to say something more, but Lin Wen ignored him and turned the electric loudspeaker to maximum volume.

"Second batch."

"Send up twenty."

The sound came out somewhat distorted.

A slight commotion stirred among the disaster victims, but overall, things remained fairly calm.

The officials behind the stage all heaved sighs of relief. Many straightened their backs, their legs no longer shaking, and some even began to smile.

The second batch of twenty people soon stepped onto the platform. Like Huang Mingxiao, they bowed to the disaster victims in apology, but when they tried to leave, Lin Wen called them back.

"You, you, and you two—you, come here."

Five of the twenty were kept behind by Lin Wen.

They still looked fairly relaxed, unaware of what they were about to face.

Lin Wen had them stand at the front of the stage, directly facing the hundred thousand people.

Then came dozens of seconds of silence. Only after a faint stir rose from below the stage did Lin Wen open his eyes.

"Yu Dachang!"

The short, fat man froze for several seconds before answering, "Here."

"At 11:12 in the morning on the nineteenth, what were you doing?"

The short, fat man thought back for a few seconds. His expression suddenly changed, though he still tried his best to appear normal.

"I... I was distributing medicine to the disaster victims in the area I was responsible for."

Lin Wen stared at him. "How much medicine did you receive, and how much did you distribute?"

The short, fat man struggled to keep his voice from trembling.

"I... I received thirty-two bottles of AbbVie Johnson Type I antibiotics. I... I handed out seven bottles."

Lin Wen's voice gradually turned stern. "Where was the rest of the medicine?"

The short, fat man suddenly burst into wailing. "The roads were slippery from the rain that day. I... I was riding along a mountain road in a hurry when I accidentally fell into a ravine and lost it! I am guilty! I've let everyone down! I failed to protect the medicine, failed to save everyone! I am guilty—please, County Chief, punish me severely!"

"Bullshit!"

A furious curse suddenly rang out from below the stage.

"You clearly said the county was struggling too, that you had gone through untold hardship just to scrape together this tiny bit of medicine for everyone!"

The voice came from the crowd. No one knew who had spoken.