Social Death

"Looks like..."

"You could use a little help."

Xu De gave her a gentle smile. His fitted black suit made him look straight-backed and composed.

The people before him seemed dazed by his almost soothing voice.

The female lawyer stared at Xu De, blinking in surprise.

"Miss Wang Mei, I'm the defense lawyer handling Wang Qiang's murder case."

"My name is Xu De. You can call me Attorney Xu."

Xu De introduced himself.

"Your name is Xu De?"

The female lawyer beside him frowned. She studied him for a moment, then raised her brows and asked tentatively,

"The model lawyer of the moral world?"

At the sound of her voice, Xu De turned and saw a beautiful female lawyer who looked vaguely familiar.

Seeing him frown, she gathered her hair into a bun with both hands and stared at him with wide eyes.

Xu De's brow cleared, and surprise flickered in his eyes.

Wasn't she the kindred spirit he had met while "feeding the savages"?

When she saw that he recognized her, Lin Yue smiled warmly. A moment later, her smile froze.

Xu De suddenly asked in surprise,

"Are you the Nine Heavens Flying Dragon, Jade-Faced Thunder Lord Who Enlightens All Beings, Subdues Demons, and Grants Longevity?"

Lin Yue: ?

In an instant!

A blush rose along Lin Yue's slender, pale neck. It burned hotter as it climbed to her ears, leaving her earlobes scarlet.

Her heart skipped a beat, but she forced herself to sound calm.

"This is a courthouse. How about..."

"We talk somewhere else?"

Xu De smiled and let the teasing drop.

The matter at hand came first. As for how to resolve it, he already had a plan.

"All right."

Meanwhile.

At the Yang Teng Law Firm in Greenwood City.

Inside the reception room.

Li Youcai and Liu Cui sat in chairs, wailing as they wiped away tears that weren't there.

"Attorney Chen, you have to help me!"

The lawyer in front of her was named Chen Wei. Liu Cui poured out her grievances to him with sobs in her voice.

"My son was only in his thirties! He was still a child! He can't just die like that!"

Li Youcai stood beside her without a word, his shifty eyes constantly sizing up Chen Wei.

The lawyer before them was in his thirties.

He was thin, with gaunt cheeks and prominent cheekbones. Something about his face was unsettling.

"Rest assured. Now that we've signed the contract, our firm will put our client's interests first!"

Chen Wei put the contract away and answered with a broad smile.

Only then did Li Youcai and Liu Cui relax.

Someone had taken Li Erniu's case.

Chen Wei would attend the trial as the victim's legal representative and fight for Li Youcai's interests.

This was the fourth law firm Li Youcai and Liu Cui had approached.

The first three had turned them down with various excuses. Chen Wei knew exactly why: they thought the case was too dirty.

That was right.

Many lawyers couldn't stomach representing the family of a human trafficker in a trafficking case to go after the victim. Their consciences wouldn't allow it.

And Li Erniu's case was worse than most...

But Chen Wei was different!

He didn't care whether Wang Qiang lived or died.

He cared only about money and his win rate!

Why would he turn down a criminal case handed to him on a silver platter, one he was certain to win?

As for whether Wang Qiang deserved to die, that had nothing to do with Chen Wei. Even if his maneuvering got Wang Qiang sentenced to death, he wouldn't mind.

After all, he wouldn't be the one dying.

As for what they wanted...

"You want to secure custody of your grandson, correct?"

Chen Wei grinned, narrowing his already small eyes to slits.

"Yes! We can't let that ungrateful wretch snatch him away!" Liu Cui nodded like a pecking hen.

She had two demands: first, Wang Qiang had to die; second, Wang Mei had to give in and hand over custody to Li Youcai.

If they could achieve the second, she was willing to give up the first.

"No problem."

Chen Wei nodded and agreed at once.

As he saw it, the case gave him plenty of room to maneuver. All he had to do was use Wang Qiang to pressure Wang Mei, and she would have no choice but to submit.

What?

Was it too cruel to make Wang Mei, who had been abducted and held captive for ten years, lose her child as well?

If it brought him money and another win, Chen Wei would happily take on a whole pile of cases like this!

"Does the defendant have a defense lawyer yet?"

Chen Wei asked another question.

Liu Cui nodded, her eyes darkening as she muttered viciously, "Yes!"

"No idea which heartless person decided to bully an old couple like us..."

Chen Wei asked, "When did the lawyer take the case?"

"I found out at the police station yesterday," Liu Cui said.

Yesterday...

Wang Qiang's family members were Wang Mei and Sun Hong, so his defense lawyer would most likely need to contact them. And Wang Mei had only recently finished the custody case. Judging by the timing, she had probably gone to the police station to prepare for Wang Qiang's case.

Chen Wei considered this silently.

The lawyer should also be at the police station, meeting with them!

From a lawyer's perspective, the defense had almost no chance of winning. The defense lawyer surely knew that too.

That made this the perfect time for Chen Wei to speak with him!

Or rather...

To kick him while he was down!

A calculating gleam flashed in Chen Wei's eyes. He stood, gathered his things, and headed out.

"I'm going to have a word with him."

At three thirty that afternoon.

In the lobby of the Greenwood City police station.

Wang Mei and her mother, Xu Hong, went to find the relevant officers and hand over the court's ruling.

Xu De and Lin Yue, meanwhile,

sat side by side on a public bench in the lobby. They looked at each other, neither saying a word.

After a long pause, Xu De spoke up. He clicked his tongue and looked her up and down.

"Well, I never expected Your Lordship to have so many identities. Besides being a Lord of Longevity, you've been hiding the title of Law True Lord."

"Quite a surprise."

At that,

Lin Yue's face visibly reddened, the blush climbing from her neck to her ears. She still tried to remain composed as she replied,

"My father is a law professor at a university. His mental health hasn't been good these past few years... He moved into a Taoist temple for some peace and quiet."

"So I live at the temple too. At most, I recite scriptures and work on my peace of mind. I haven't become a Taoist priest!"

So that was it.

Xu De understood. Law was a rather extreme field.

Depression was common among its leading figures. It wasn't unusual for them to become monks or Taoist priests, or even adopt a foreign religion.

"So has Your Lordship come down from the mountain to vanquish demons and defend the righteous?"

Xu De smiled as he teased her.

"I'm just taking a few cases. And..."

Lin Yue couldn't take it anymore.

She lowered her head and covered her burning face with her slender, pale fingers, leaving her bright-red earlobes exposed. Her mortified voice reached Xu De through the gaps between her fingers.

"I'm not a Taoist priest."

"I made up that grand title as a joke. I was wrong. I'm sorry..."

Xu De nodded to show he understood.

"Of course, Law True Lord. I understand, Law True Lord."

Lin Yue: ...

Lin Yue despaired. A little part of her had died... a social death.

That "Nine Heavens Flying Dragon, Jade-Faced Thunder Lord Who Enlightens All Beings, Subdues Demons, and Grants Longevity" title had just slipped out.

She swore she'd forgotten it the moment she said it. It was so long she couldn't recall it at all.

So how, more than twenty days later...

Could he still remember it so clearly!?

And now he had added Law True Lord to it...

"Forget it. Let's talk about the case."

Lin Yue took a deep breath and pushed down her embarrassment. Pretending not to care, she looked at Xu De with a serious expression, though her face was still red.

"Wang Qiang's case..."

"Do you think you can win?"