章節 283: Learning Experience
Xu Lanyi entered the enforcement office which was a formidable building that took up most of a city block. The walls were solid stone mixed in with inscription arrays. There were no windows at all for the three-story building and only one entrance that was heavily guarded.
"Welcome, Executor Tang Xiang!"
The guards greeted them as they walked past. They all wore purple robes over heavy armor and carried what could only be described as head-chopping axes.
Xu Lanyi didn't say anything, her senses alert. She held her composure but still remembered to be alert. Chen Wentian mentioned that they should be courteous to representatives of the four major powers.
Tang Xiang's House of Axes was a branch sect of the House of Armament. It was one of the powerhouse sects backed by a Spirit King. Only such a clan could adequately control the chaotic situation of the Old District.
The pair of women walked with their prisoner through several corridors and courtyards and finally entered a small room. To one end of the room was a metal contraption with dangling shackles and a strong spiritual aura. The tables on either side contained an interesting assortment of tools and what looked like knives and medical instruments.
"Come here, you criminal!" Tang Xiang said harshly.
She secured the man on the contraption and locked in his arms and legs so that he couldn't move. Whatever runic inscriptions on the metal frame activated and Xu Lanyi could sense that the man's spiritual energy was suppressed. The man who was a peak of the Mind Focusing Realm could only let out the strength at the Body Refinement Realm and he could not escape.
"Criminal, what's your name?" Tang Xiang asked.
The man shook for a few seconds before gathering his wits. He glared at the two women in front of him and spat. A mouthful of spit and blood almost landed on Tang Xiang's face but she blocked it with her spiritual energy.
"Go to hell." The man said and then went silent.
"Good… good… I was going to go easy on you since I have a guest…" Tang Xiang muttered.
She turned to Xu Lanyi with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Sister Xu, I sincerely apologize for this but I have to take of this case. Could you wait outside at the pavilion we passed by?"
Xu Lanyi understood what was happening and nodded, "Sister Tang, understood. I take my leave."
She backed away and then left the room. The door was closed behind her and she heard some muffled sounds of Tang Xiang who began to speak to the thief.
Xu Lanyi kept walking a short distance and sat down on the benches of a shaded pavilion. She looked back at the closed door to the room in the distance and could not sense or hear anything. She was reminded of the crime and punishment department of Black Rock City when she and her sisters had stayed there for many months.
Tang Xiang was a part of something similar and soon enough, a man's wretched screams erupted. It was loud enough to make Xu Lanyi shiver. It sounded like a pig being slaughtered. No doubt he was being tortured to within an inch of his life.
Xu Lanyi didn't think the man's purported crimes warranted death. She found the subject interesting but only partly. She was interested in turning wrong into right and helping those being oppressed by criminals and evil people. However, the thought of punishment and torture was uncomfortable. She knew that senior sister Wu Qianyu liked those things but it was not for her. She cared more about helping those that wronged rather than seeking retribution from the perpetrators.
"Nooooooo!" One final, horrifying scream rang out, and then there was silence.
A spiritual signal shot out from the room and soon, a pair of guards rushed up.
The door opened and Tang Xiang stepped out with a cheerful expression. She dusted off her sleeves and pointed inside. The guards bowed and went in. They came out just as quickly, dragging the bloodied criminal.
"Take him out and chain him to the Silver Hawk Square for two days. Here are his crimes." She said and handed them a small piece of paper.
"Yes, executor!" The guards saluted and took the man away.
Xu Lanyi extended her spiritual sense as they were doing so and frowned. The man now had some frightening injuries, far more than what she felt was warranted for the crime.
"Sister Xu, is there anything wrong?" Tang Xiang had arrived.
Xu Lanyi stood and smiled stiffly, "Nothing… well, if I may ask, why was the punishment so harsh for that man?"
Tang Xiang shrugged, "Hands cut off for thievery. Tongue cut off for insulting an executor. Genitals cut off for assaulting an important female guest of the four kings. I think it's just?"
Seeing that Xu Lanyi was still uncertain, Tang Xiang explained further, "It's actually not up to me. The crimes and their respective punishment are determined by the master of the House of Axes. We as disciples simply follow it. Though, we are free to interpret how painfully we are to carry out those punishments… Sister Xu, I know of your background. Ten Thousand Flower Valley is a small sect and perhaps there is no need for such things. But I have to assume that there were similar things at Glacier Palace in your past?"
Xu Lanyi nodded but did not elaborate. She was reminded of those years that she wished to forget. Beatings for having accidents were common. Imprisonment for simple mistakes was meted out left and right. Although she never did anything truly bad, such punishment left its mark on her that could not heal with time.
This situation was a learning experience for her. She decided that if Ten Thousand Flower Valley expanded to the point of needing a department for crime and punishment, she would do her best to make sure it was fair and just to the victims as well as the accused.
"Sister Tang, let's talk about something else." Xu Lanyi said, "I am, after all, still in the midst of the Golden Feather Hunt."
"Ah, yes. My apologies." Tang Xiang looked bashful, "I got caught up and forgot. The case of the shadowy disappearances, where to start…"
She snapped her fingers, "The day is still early. I will show you around the district and show you where the shadow took the cultivators. If we are able to uncover any clues together, the credit for the challenge will naturally go to you."
"Alright, let's do as you say." Xu Lanyi nodded.
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