[A loss of morality! A shocking case emerges in Greenwood City: the victim faces the death penalty!]
[Does the law still need improvement? Ten years of searching for his child, and what welcomes him is not a reunion, but prison!]
[Outrageous! Should human traffickers be stripped of their human rights?! Should buyers face the same charges as the traffickers!]
[Confessions of an abducted woman, the person chained in the pigpen...]
[...]
November 8.
At half past six in the morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten. A biting chill hung in the air, and along both sides of the street, white steam billowed continuously from the steamer baskets of the breakfast stalls.
Looking at the striking headlines in the newspaper, the diners sitting around the breakfast stand felt a fire burning in their chests.
"Screw this! When the kid was kidnapped, they didn't show up. When she was being raped, there wasn't a shadow of them either. But the moment the family kills the trafficker, a whole bunch of cops suddenly appear!"
"What about Li Erniu's parents? Why aren't those two being arrested?!"
"Those two didn't break the law..."
"Bullshit! She was captive for ten years. Do you honestly believe those two old bastards didn't take part in the abuse?"
"I bet those two old bastards even put up the money to buy her!"
"Sigh, the court has no evidence."
"What a messed-up world..."
"..."
At the breakfast stand, several people sat in a circle. They read the newspaper, arguing until their faces were flushed and their necks bulged. Their glares looked as if they wanted to eat someone alive, their chests heaving violently.
The heated debate rose and fell, almost never stopping.
Lin Guodong stood in line a short distance away, turning his head to look at them as he listened silently.
The stall owner serving his food glanced up, then lowered his head again, continuing his work without pausing. He casually asked, "Professor Lin, what do you think of this case?"
Hearing the question, Lin Guodong snapped out of his daze.
He withdrew his gaze, looked at the stall owner in front of him, shook his head, and sighed.
"It's difficult."
Even though he hadn't read the newspaper, Lin Guodong knew exactly what these people were discussing.
It was none other than the trafficking case of the woman in Lijia Village, Greenwood City!
The victim, Wang Mei, had been abducted for a full ten years. For a decade, she had been chained in a woodshed and subjected to daily assaults, living a life worse than a dog's.
In order to save her, her father killed the trafficker during the rescue and was now being taken to court by Li Youcai and Liu Cui...
"You know, in the past, with cases like this, some lawyers would practically pay out of their own pockets to take them on."
Lin Guodong's tone was flat, but his words were filled with melancholy.
Lawyers worked for money, but it also depended on the nature of the case. As long as a case generated enough social pressure and public opinion, those star lawyers would gladly spend their own money to run around for the victim!
Wang Qiang's case was big enough. It had caused an uproar throughout Greenwood City, with people discussing it in every street and alley.
But even now, not a single major lawyer had stepped up to take the case.
"Because it's hard to win."
Lin Guodong lowered his head and dug into his pocket for money, speaking as he did so.
"The defendant struck first, and Li Erniu died as a result. On this point alone, there is almost no evidence favoring the defense."
"Not to mention the rest of the objective evidence that favors Li Erniu."
Saying this, Lin Guodong shook his head.
"It's difficult."
Hearing this, the owner paused his work, refusing to give up.
"I heard the trial starts the day after tomorrow. There are still two days left."
"Is there really nothing that can be done in these two days?!"
Lin Guodong's heart was a tangled mess of emotions. He didn't want to say it, but as a professional in the field, he understood the inner workings better than anyone.
Breaking his silence, he replied, "Even if there is, the chances are only one in a hundred. Calling it a miracle wouldn't be an exaggeration..."
With that said,
he didn't wait for the breakfast stall owner to speak and continued,
"Let's put it this way."
"The incident happened in Lijia Village. The police and prosecutors can only gather evidence in Lijia Village!"
"That includes testimonies, witnesses, and physical evidence. And the testimonies and witnesses..."
Where would that evidence come from? Naturally, from the villagers of Lijia Village!
What kind of evidence would they provide? Anyone with half a brain would know it would be a hundred percent fabricated to benefit Li Youcai!
And the police and prosecutors had no choice but to hold their noses and record this evidence.
"That's why this case is so difficult, and why no one is willing to take it."
Lin Guodong let out a long sigh.
Cross-examination required genuine evidence, but the defense couldn't produce any. Shrewd lawyers wouldn't let themselves take on such an impossible risk.
"This..."
The breakfast stall owner's lips moved. He looked at his former junior high classmate and finally sighed as well, saying nothing more.
He handed the breakfast to Lin Guodong, then turned away to silently knead his dough.
Lin Guodong turned his head and glanced at the diners at the tables.
The customers were still filled with righteous indignation.
He shook his head, looking away, and turned to leave with his tofu pudding and flatbread, disappearing into the distance.
The weather in November was rather biting.
Lin Guodong walked down the street wearing a thick, bulky coat. He stopped and started, turning past several intersections.
A short time later.
Lin Guodong stood in front of a Daoist temple. He walked into the courtyard, finally stopping before a guest room where he raised his arm and placed his hand on the door.
Creak.
The door opened at his touch.
"You're back?"
A gentle voice came from inside. Looking up, he saw a mild-mannered middle-aged woman walking toward him to close the door.
"Yes."
Lin Guodong nodded, placing all the breakfast he held onto the table.
"Eat while it's hot."
His wife, Su Xin, glanced at him, then slowly turned her back to him. As she set out the breakfast, she asked,
"Are you in a bad mood? What's wrong?"
"Sigh."
Hearing this, Lin Guodong didn't hold back. He immediately sat down on a chair and let out a long sigh.
"It's that case in Lijia Village. You have no idea how massive the public uproar is out there right now."
"At the breakfast stand, the wet market, the supermarket... Just on my way back from buying breakfast, I ran into crowds discussing it at least five times!"
As the wife of law professor Lin Guodong,
Su Xin was also in the legal field. She naturally knew about the case and said gently,
"What are your thoughts? Maybe you could contact the local lawyers' association and try taking on the case..."
At her words, he fell silent.
As everyone knew, the legal field... produced a lot of depression!
Lin Guodong wanted the justice system to be better, wanted society to be more stable, and wanted the people to be happier. But... reality always dealt him a heavy blow, leaving him feeling lost.
Take the simplest thing with the greatest contradictions: marriage.
First, when divorcing, the court decided based on 'whether the affection has broken down.' This meant that even if the relationship was completely shattered, as long as one party refused to let go, getting a divorce was very difficult.
It seems unreasonable, doesn't it?
But if you were a man, and without this law, you were tricked into marriage, and the woman swiftly divorced you the day after the wedding, with the court immediately declaring the divorce valid.
What would await you then? Your assets would be split at lightning speed!
Therefore, a divorce buffer period was needed.
Thinking about it this way, does it seem reasonable again? No.
Now, imagine you are a woman suffering from domestic violence. You can't take it anymore and want a divorce. But because this law exists, the man firmly insists that the affection hasn't broken down, making a quick divorce impossible.
Like this, doesn't it feel unreasonable once more?
But if you tried to break it down further, attempting to perfect the law, not only would it fail to plug the holes, but the loopholes would actually grow larger.
Lin Guodong, an idealist, had lost himself at this double-edged, maddening crossroad.
Thus, he decisively moved to the Daoist temple to rest for a few months, allowing his state of mind to return to a peaceful equilibrium.
"Forget it."
Lin Guodong remained silent for a moment and shook his head.
"I am merely an academic. To take on a case using the title of a professor from a top-tier university would be irresponsible to the client."
Hearing this, his wife Su Xin didn't offer empty platitudes.
The wrinkles at the corners of her eyes curved slightly as she softly consoled her husband.
"So you know you're a theoretical professor?"
"The lawsuit our Yue is handling seems to involve the Lijia Village case. Why don't you offer her some theoretical guidance?"
Lin Guodong paused slightly.
He had a daughter named Lin Yue. She was also in the legal profession and had become a lawyer after graduation.
Recently, she had taken on the custody case for the child of the victim in the Lijia Village trafficking case. And custody would inevitably involve the family's attitude toward the defendant following Li Erniu's death...
Looking at it this way, Lin Yue had to be overwhelmed right now.
After all, she was still young. It was normal for her to find it tricky.
"But... she hasn't asked me about it these past few days."
Lin Guodong hesitated.
Su Xin replied, "The kid hasn't been out of school for long. She probably just doesn't want you to see her struggling."
Lin Guodong thought for a moment and found it made sense.
"Then I'll give it a try. Helping even a little is better than nothing."
Having made up his mind,
Lin Guodong didn't dawdle. He stood up and walked outside.
Watching his retreating back, Su Xin smiled. She unhurriedly sat down on her chair and began to eat her breakfast with slow, deliberate bites.
...
Guest room.
Knock, knock, knock.
Lin Guodong knocked on his daughter Lin Yue's door, but there was no answer from inside for a long time.
'Is she not home?'
He raised an eyebrow, questions popping up in his mind, and then applied a little force with his hands.
The next second...
Creak.
The door opened.
A simply decorated bedroom appeared before his eyes. Lin Yue was currently sitting at her desk, reading a book intently. As she read, her face displayed an expression of absolute existential doubt.
Seeing his daughter at home, hesitation flickered across Lin Guodong's face.
"What are you doing?"
He leaned in and asked softly.
"Why have you been looking so out of it these past two days?"
When he got closer and saw the book in Lin Yue's hands clearly, Lin Guodong's eyebrows shot up.
To his surprise, what she was reading was the supreme, ultimate manual of Dongguo: the Criminal Code!
If he remembered correctly, two days ago, after going out early in the morning, she came back and locked herself in her room, studying this book for several days straight.
Looking at her expression... she must have encountered a difficult problem!
"Ah?"
Hearing his voice, Lin Yue finally snapped out of her daze.
She turned her head, breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing it was her father, and recalled the question he had just asked her...
Lin Yue hesitated for a moment. Finally, with a look of existential crisis on her face, she said, "Dad, I... I ran into a tricky problem, and I've been thinking about it for the past two days."
Sure enough.
She really did have a question!
Seeing this,
a smile appeared on Lin Guodong's face, and he mentally prepared himself to provide an answer.
After all, although his daughter wasn't a world-class lawyer, she was still a top student who had graduated from a premier domestic university!
Without a doubt, Lin Yue was a genius, yet even this genius had questions...
What kind of question could this be?!
"It's fine, you can ask Dad."
Lin Guodong pulled out a chair, sat down beside Lin Yue, and spoke softly.
Hearing this, Lin Yue displayed a rare, strange expression. She paused and asked, "Are you sure you can answer it?"
Lin Guodong was taken aback, but then he laughed.
"If it were anything else, I might not be, but when it comes to the legal field... in all of Dongguo, your dad is absolutely top-tier!"
Lin Guodong was very confident.
This confidence stemmed from his ability and status!
He was a law professor at a top-tier university, a man dedicated to the academic circle. He had mentored several PhDs himself!
The papers he published were featured by authoritative international institutions and cited by countless people!
Even when it came to amending judicial laws, he held the authority to offer his opinions. He was absolutely a titan in the academic legal field, standing at the very pinnacle of the profession's pyramid!
Now, it was merely a student's question. How could he not be able to answer it?
"Then I'll ask,"
Lin Yue spoke hesitantly.
Lin Guodong nodded. "Ask away."
At his words,
Lin Yue took a deep breath. She furrowed her brows, remained silent for a while, and finally spoke word by word:
"Dad, tell me..."
"Is stealing a child actually illegal?"
Lin Guodong: ?
Lin Guodong paused. He looked at his daughter, freezing on the spot.
This was something in the legal field... No, even an illiterate person would understand this. It was the most basic of basics, absolute common sense... How did such a question come out of the mouth of a Shuimu University graduate?!
She had even flipped through the Criminal Code for days without finding an answer, and came to ask a professor like him!
The next second, Lin Guodong's face filled with astonishment as he exclaimed, "Are you delirious?!"