Legal Aid!

A major criminal case?

Xu De frowned and glanced at Sun Hao.

Sun Hao was hardly kind enough to give him a lucrative case. Which meant... Xu De's brow furrowed. "Criminal legal aid!?"

A brilliant smile spread across Sun Hao's face. He gripped Xu De's shoulder and gave it a hard pat.

"Exactly!"

What was legal aid?

Take this example.

Suppose you were poor, got hit by a car, and needed to sue but couldn't afford a lawyer.

To make sure you had representation, the government would arrange an experienced lawyer free of charge. The lawyer, in turn, would receive only a few hundred yuan in fees.

A lawyer had virtually no right to refuse!

Of course, Xu De didn't mind taking legal aid cases. It was part of a lawyer's duty.

Ordinarily, he would have hated Sun Hao forcing this on him.

But right now...

A glint flashed in his eyes.

He hadn't forgotten that, according to the system, valuable skills appeared only in criminal cases!

Xu De raised his head and asked, "When will the client arrive? And what's the case?"

Did that mean...

He'd accepted it!?

Sun Hao was delighted.

Looking at Xu De, who clearly didn't know what he was getting into, Sun Hao couldn't suppress a smirk. "Someone will tell you about the case. They know more than the firm does."

"As for when..."

While Sun Hao was speaking, a voice suddenly rang out behind them.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Where's Lawyer Xu?"

The loud voice drew the attention of everyone working in the lobby.

They turned to see a minibus parked outside the firm. No one had noticed when it arrived.

A burly, middle-aged detective stood in the doorway, holding it open with one hand.

"It's about time. We need to go."

As he spoke, his sharp eyes swept across the room.

The cigarette between his lips burned slowly.

Seeing him there,

Sun Hao hurriedly called out, "One moment, Detective Li."

Then

he turned back to Xu De and urged him on, plainly enjoying himself. "He's here. Sign the contract, then go with Detective Li!"

He pulled a document from his briefcase and handed it to Xu De.

Xu De gave him a long look, then signed his name.

Sun Hao could no longer contain his grin.

"Haha! I won't keep you, Lawyer Xu. I hope you become one of the firm's top lawyers soon!"

Xu De had no patience for his insincerity.

Once he'd signed, he turned and walked straight toward the door.

Sun Hao had gotten his position through connections and held an ordinary bachelor's degree. Xu De had graduated from one of the country's best universities. In talent or looks, there was no comparison.

It came down to jealousy.

Xu De couldn't be bothered with him. He'd be better off taking on a few major cases and making a name for himself!

With that, he put the thought aside.

The case matters more.

Xu De stopped at the door.

He stood beside Detective Li and looked up at him.

Detective Li was smoking. When he saw someone approaching, he instinctively stepped aside to let him through.

But the man remained beside him, so he paused.

A flicker of surprise crossed Detective Li's face. He looked at the young man and asked, sounding puzzled, "You're Xu De? Lawyer Xu?"

Xu De nodded. "That's me."

"So young?"

Detective Li gave him an odd look.

But he said nothing more.

After all, this was a free legal aid case.

What more could they ask for when they weren't paying? Having a licensed lawyer show up was good enough!

"Get in."

Detective Li smacked his lips and stepped aside, revealing the minibus outside the firm.

"We're short on time and have a lot to do. We can talk on the way."

With that, he climbed aboard.

Xu De followed. Once inside, he glanced around.

The 2002 minibus was somewhat bare-bones, but overall it wasn't much different from those of later years.

Besides Detective Li, six other officers sat inside. They seemed preoccupied, giving Xu De only a glance before looking away.

There was also a middle-aged couple.

Both were about five foot five and stooped. They wore thin, worn clothes and were skin and bones, around fifty years old.

Their faces were plain, and they looked like honest farmers—only thinner.

Then

they saw Xu De board in his suit.

Their lips twitched. Wrinkles bunched across their faces like old, creased bark. They avoided his eyes, stealing occasional glances until one of those glances met his gaze.

They immediately looked down, but the sight of his polished leather shoes seemed to make them uneasy too.

They looked up again, wearing cautious, ingratiating smiles, their hands rubbing together nervously.

"Old Zhang, get going. We've got a tough fight ahead. The sooner we finish, the sooner we can go home."

Detective Li called out from his seat.

At that,

the engine rumbled to life. Before long, the minibus pulled slowly onto the road.

Detective Li took a drag on his cigarette, turned to Xu De, then glanced at the couple. "These two are your clients."

"Lawyer Xu, ask whatever you need to now. There won't be time later."

"All right."

Xu De nodded, walked over to the couple, and offered his hand.

"What are your names?"

At the question,

Wang Qiang seemed startled by the courtesy. He hurried to his feet, bent forward, wiped his hand on his clothes, and only then shook Xu De's hand.

"I'm Wang Qiang... She's Sun Hong. She can't speak..."

His voice was rough, as if something were caught in his throat.

Sun Hong gave an embarrassed smile.

"Mr. Wang, I'm Xu De. I'll be handling your case."

Xu De shook his hand.

Wang Qiang's palm was coarse, like sandpaper or tree bark.

After they let go, Xu De looked at Detective Li. "Could you tell me the details of the case?"

"You don't know the details yet!?"

Detective Li stared at him, then clicked his tongue.

Hearing that,

Wang Qiang and Sun Hong clasped their hands tightly.

"There's still time to tell me," Xu De replied, showing no sign of nerves.

"Tsk... I suppose there is."

Detective Li clicked his tongue, took another drag, and switched which leg was crossed over the other.

"My name's Li Xiang."

"This is... an abduction and trafficking case."

An abduction and trafficking case?

Xu De frowned. "How old is the case? It can't be easy to solve."

Li Xiang raised an eyebrow at him, apparently surprised he knew how difficult such cases were.

Then he answered, "It happened in Yang City ten years ago. Wang Qiang and Sun Hong's fourteen-year-old daughter was abducted and sold. They heard nothing about her for years."

"Not long ago, the Greenwood City police happened to catch a human trafficker."

"During questioning, they discovered he was the ringleader in this case and had kept a list of victims. As soon as they released the information, the family came forward."

An abduction case from ten years ago!?

That made it a 1992 case. And Yang City was in the south of the Eastern Kingdom, far from Greenwood City...

"You searched for ten years!?"

"And there are twelve hundred kilometers between the two cities? How did you get here?"

Surprised, Xu De turned in his seat to look at Wang Qiang and Sun Hong behind him.

They shifted uneasily, drawing their feet in worn cloth shoes farther beneath their seats.

"Hard to believe, isn't it?"

Li Xiang smiled, then grew serious.

"The girl's name is Wang Mei."

"She was sold as a wife to someone in Li Family Village, deep in the remote mountains outside Greenwood City. She's twenty-four now and has a six-year-old child."

Xu De paused, frowning.

From the sound of it...

"She hasn't been reunited with them? She's still with the buyer!?"

Ordinarily, no one would bring in a lawyer before a reunion.

So why had they called him!?

"No. The police went twice. They saw her, but couldn't bring her back."

"At her request, an agency has already hired a lawyer to prepare a custody claim."

Li Xiang sighed and shook his head.

Then he drew hard on the last of his cigarette, his gaze sharpening as he said in a low voice, "This time... we brought some 'equipment.' We'll see if we can get her out."

He paused.

"As for you..."

"Your main job is to bring charges against the buyer for his involvement in the trafficking, then represent the victim in the proceedings."

"If anything happens during the rescue, remember it. We may need it later."

"And help mediate if any disputes come up."

A lawyer wasn't essential at the scene of a rescue. But across the whole process of protecting their rights, earlier involvement would better safeguard the family's and the young woman's legal interests.

Besides...

They were headed to a hostile, remote place. Without a lawyer present, Wang Qiang and the others might find themselves at a disadvantage later.

"All right. I understand."

Xu De nodded.

He turned to speak with the uneasy Wang Qiang.

The scenery rolled past outside.

First the asphalt gave way to concrete. Dust began to rise around them, and tall buildings gave way to low ones.

Then the concrete became a dirt road, and the buildings turned to mud-walled houses with tiled roofs.

At last...

The dirt road gave way to a rugged mountain track. The minibus jolted so hard it threatened to shake everyone's insides loose. Outside the windows, a desolate landscape stretched as far as the eye could see!

Eleven thirty in the morning.

Brrrr!

The minibus suddenly lurched, jolting its weary passengers awake.

Then...

Everyone looked up at once and instinctively turned toward the windows.

Outside stood a barren mountain, not a blade of grass in sight.

On its slopes... a few dark specks were just visible halfway up, like stains on a painting.

And those specks were...

A village.

Xu De narrowed his eyes, his gaze sharpening.

Just then, the voice of Old Zhang, the police officer at the wheel, rang in his ears.

"We're at Li Family Village!"