A Learned Elder

Curze nodded. He understood that Han Mingxuan was telling the truth.

To every noble on this planet, the Imperium of Man and everything associated with it were nothing more than garbage to be used when useful and thrown away when not.

"Next, I'll dictate and you'll write. As you do, I need you to adapt what I say to local conditions."

"No problem."

For Curze as he was now, something like this was child's play.

Over the time that followed, both Curze and the Night Haunter in his mind came to realize just how learned Han Mingxuan was.

For at that moment, Han Mingxuan was dictating an entire legal system in Chinese-or rather, several complete legal codes.

In fact, that had been Han Mingxuan's plan from the start.

On this highly autonomous gangster planet, the law depended entirely on the whims of the noble lords.

When the nobles were in a good mood, they executed one person in ten.

When the nobles were in a bad mood, they buried people alive en masse.

It was simply too barbaric.

Fortunately, Han Mingxuan had a book in his head, and he could pick whatever he wanted from it.

The book's influence had given Han Mingxuan an excellent memory. He could remember practically everything after reading it once.

So Han Mingxuan went all out.

Over the next three months, he covered everything from the Classic of Law, the source, to the comprehensive works that followed: Han Feizi, the Book of Lord Shang, the Yonghui Code, the Great Ming Code, and the Great Qing Legal Code.

[*I can hardly imagine how your young father managed to remember so much.

For an ordinary mortal, remembering so much and relating it all to you in such detail would be difficult.*]

The Night Haunter was also listening to these laws.

He could clearly sense that from the first book to the last, the entire legal system drew on a wide range of sources and continued to improve.

Whether it was used on the present Nostramo or his own Nostramo, there would not be the slightest problem.

[This is the first time I've learned that my father is so knowledgeable too.]

Han Mingxuan had no idea that Curze's admiration for him had grown yet again.

He only felt that his throat needed some proper care now.

As a Primarch, Curze found nothing difficult about it. His mind worked quickly, and so did his hands.

Not only had he done an excellent job of adapting the laws to local conditions, he had also improved upon them.

"Father, I've finished revising them. Would you like to take a look?"

And it was precisely because of Curze's inhuman intelligence, coupled with the Night Haunter's praise, that Curze respected and admired Han Mingxuan even more.

"I trust you to handle things. Besides, I'm an old bag of bones. Would you really put me through that?"

"Father, don't say that. You're still very young."

"Heh, in my eyes, you're only a little over three. You're the one who's truly young."

[Your old father really does dote on you.]

Curze said nothing, but his heart felt warm.

In the world of mortals, he was undoubtedly an oddity. He grew quickly and developed intelligence just as quickly. In fact, for as long as he could remember, he had spent no more than two years with Han Mingxuan.

Yet from the time Han Mingxuan adopted him until now, Curze believed he had received the best education.

"We've finished revising our laws. I imagine those noble lords can hardly wait."

"How are things going on your end?"

"Dad, our forces have grown another thirty percent compared with three months ago. They all came because of our reputation, hoping to become Eternal Night Justiciars."

"That's a good thing."

Things were easier to accomplish with support among the people.

"But there's one problem now."

"What problem?"

"Simply put, the Eternal Night Justiciars don't know enough."

"In what respect?"

In the world of Warhammer, only a minority of people could read and write.

"Reading and writing aren't much of a problem. What they're sorely lacking is knowledge of the law."

People had joined them from the moment they began clearing out the lowest levels, drawn by the name of the Eternal Night Justiciars.

The reason was simple.

The series of things Curze had done was an enormous boon to the entire Hive City.

What had Quintus Hive City been like before?

Gangsters, oligarchs, nobles, capitalists, and assassin organizations.

Every day brought either shootouts or murders. It was utter chaos.

The only thing young people thought about was joining a gang.

And now?

All of that was gone. Gang shootouts and murders in the streets had nearly disappeared.

Young people had witnessed the change, and their aspirations had changed as well.

These days, the thing young people said most often was:

"When I grow up, I'm going to join Lord Curze's forces and become an Eternal Night Justiciar too!"

This had undoubtedly laid a solid foundation for Curze's future recruitment efforts, but a problem had followed.

Once these people joined the ranks, they soaked up knowledge like sponges and constantly asked questions about the law.

At the time, everyone had been busy with the cleanup, and no one had been willing to ask too many questions.

Now that the cleanup had reached a stopping point, the new recruits had begun asking the existing Eternal Night Justiciars questions about the law.

And what the Eternal Night Justiciars could do was not explain the law, but explain morality.

Yes, they used moral standards to judge certain matters.

That was acceptable, but it was prone to becoming overly idealistic.

"Isn't this perfect timing? Combine the contents of these six books into one, then print copies and hand them out. The rest will take care of itself."

Curze slapped his forehead.

That was right. Dad was right.

"I'll go take care of it right now."

Before long, the latest legal code, revised jointly by Han Mingxuan and Curze, began circulating throughout the Eternal Night Justiciar Legion.

It spread very quickly and had a far-reaching impact, largely because the Eternal Night Justiciars' mindsets had also changed.

In the past, they had all been lowly people and gangsters. Now, they were heroes in the Hive City's lower and bottom levels.

That change in mindset made them eager to seize any opportunity to become better.

Everyone was eager to study the law, and once they had learned it, they could hardly wait to teach the newcomers.

Curze was delighted when he heard the news. At the very least, his forces were gradually improving.

[It's hard to imagine that such a magnificent sight could appear on Nostramo, a world of darkness and savagery.]

[The moral cultivation of people. Remember? I told you about it before.]

[Come to think of it, it really is both miraculous and absurd. I admit it, kid: in this respect, both you and your old father are better than me.]

The Night Haunter knew the world as Curze saw it. He could clearly sense the changes taking place on Nostramo at that very moment.

Perhaps the middle hive and Upper Hive were still a quagmire, but they had been effectively contained. As for the lower hive and Underhive, they were gradually improving.