Chapter 1039 I Refuse to Speak
The battle in the valley ended swiftly.
After suffering ten percent casualties, the Chuǎng army completely collapsed. The remaining ninety percent of the soldiers knelt, threw down their weapons, and surrendered.
The Tongguan garrison descended from the hillside and quickly found the trembling Huang Long and the severely wounded, unconscious Chuǎng Wang in the crowd.
One of the military school cadets asked, "Wow, we've captured the Chuǎng Wang, what should we do now?"
Another cadet replied, "Why even ask? If he had been killed directly, that would be one thing. But once an enemy is captured or wounded in battle, we're not allowed to harm them further. We must bring him back, and only after a trial can we decide his fate."
The first cadet rolled his eyes. "This man has committed grave crimes. He'll likely be executed after the trial, right? Wouldn't it be better to just kill him now?"
The second cadet shook his head. "Killing someone without a trial is absolutely forbidden. Legal principles would gradually crumble due to such arbitrary actions. A world where everyone acts as judge is, in fact, a lawless one where the strong prey on the weak. Didn't your ideology class teach you that?"
"Holy hell, your ideology class was certainly better than mine."
It was fortunate that the ones who captured Gao Yingxiang were a group of new-era intellectuals who had studied the "Heavenly Books." If Old Nanfeng had been there, Gao Yingxiang would surely have gone to meet the King of Hell. But falling into the hands of these cadets, he had a chance at life.
These young people, they truly learned well! However, one day they too would face conflicts between kinship, friendship, and legal principles. He hoped that when that day came, they would be stronger than him.
The military school cadets lifted the severely wounded Gao Yingxiang onto a stretcher. They even gave him basic first aid, removing the lead bullet from his shoulder and stopping the bleeding, before carrying him to Sun Chuanting.
Sun Chuanting loudly announced that the mountain warfare exercise had concluded perfectly, and everyone was to return with utmost speed—
To Gao Family Village, the main village.
A large train chugged into Gao Family Village's East Train Station.
The original forty-two villagers, led by Gao Yiye, were already waiting impatiently at the station, gathered once again in full force.
The train doors opened, and a large group of militia soldiers, guarding a stretcher, jumped down. Lying on the stretcher was Gao Yiye's uncle, Gao Yingxiang, his shoulder bandaged with white cloth, which was already stained with fresh blood.
The original forty-two villagers immediately surrounded him, their eyes filled with complex emotions as they gazed at their kinsman.
Gao Yingxiang's gaze was equally complex.
It wasn't until he saw this group of people before him that he finally understood: the "mysterious firearm unit" that had been relentlessly humiliating the bandits actually hailed from Gao Family Village.
Looking at the bustling, prosperous, and impossibly wealthy Gao Family Village, he realized that in the years since he left home, the village had undergone an incredible transformation.
Gao Yingxiang sighed in a weak voice. "So that's how it is... I... truly never imagined Gao Family Village would become like this."
"Uncle..." Gao Yiye stood before his stretcher, her face etched with sorrow. "Your injuries..."
"Heh, good injuries, excellent injuries," Gao Yingxiang said. "How else would I have come back? If I hadn't returned, how would I have known Gao Family Village had become like this? Why didn't you tell me back at Gubai Ferry?"
The Village Chief poked his head out from beside her. "If we had told you Gao Family Village was wealthy and striving to save the world, would you have agreed to return?"
Gao Yingxiang thought seriously for three seconds, then shook his head. "I wouldn't have believed it."
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The Village Chief snorted. "There you have it then."
Gao Yingxiang let out a deep sigh.
The Village Chief added, "I had originally planned to give you twenty fierce blows after capturing you, but you're in such a wretched state now, so I won't. Just wait for the Heavenly Lord's judgment."
"The Heavenly Lord? Is that the revered figure who helped transform Gao Family Village like this?" Gao Yingxiang asked, bewildered.
Gao Yiye clarified, "No, the Heavenly Lord is an immortal deity."
Gao Yingxiang was speechless for a moment.
By then, countless people had gathered around the train station, but the militia soldiers immediately fanned out, blocking the onlookers and preventing them from getting too close.
Gao Yingxiang was the chief of the bandits. If too many people knew of his connection to Gao Family Village, the village could face extermination by association. The last time Gao Yingxiang was shown on the television screen, news nearly leaked, but fortunately, everyone present at the time was immediately interviewed and warned not to speak of it, or risk ruining their hard-won good lives.
The matter was suppressed after that.
And this time, the news certainly needed to be even more tightly controlled.
The onlookers only knew that the militia had captured someone, but they didn't know who. They only saw the militia tightly encircling the captured person, preventing anyone from peeking, and then transferring them to the main fort of Gao Family Village.
The main fort's gates were quickly shut tight. Apart from the original forty-two villagers, a group of core leadership entered, but no one else was allowed in.
Gao Yingxiang was carried up to the third floor of the watchtower and placed on the balcony.
This was the closest place to the Heavenly Lord.
Gao Yiye called out to the Heavenly Lord's silicone effigy sitting in the corner, "Heavenly Lord, Heavenly Lord, are you there? We wish to ask for your decision on how to handle Uncle's matter."
Li Daoxuan was present, but he chose not to speak.
If he spoke, he couldn't help but play favorites and bend the rules for the forty-two villagers. That wouldn't do. It was better not to appear at all and see how Gao Family Village would handle this matter on its own.
Gao Yiye turned her head. "The Heavenly Lord isn't here!"
Gao Yiyi said, "Let's ring the bell. It's been so long since we last rang the bell to summon the Heavenly Lord."
Gao Yiye looked a little distressed. "Is it appropriate to call the Heavenly Lord out for Uncle's matter? The Heavenly Lord only handles major human suffering... troubling him with our village affairs, I'm a little afraid."
Gao Chuwu chimed in, "Well... that's true, but if the Heavenly Lord doesn't make a decision, how can we make such an important decision ourselves? I'm an idiot, I don't understand anything."
The Village Chief shook his head. "Don't call the Heavenly Lord. We'll handle this small matter ourselves."
After speaking, the Village Chief turned to the group of silent Gao Family Village residents sitting nearby, as well as the core leadership who had arrived upon hearing the news, and cupped his fists. "Everyone, I am an uneducated man, with little culture or knowledge compared to all of you. All I know is that this boy, Yingxiang, has committed countless wrongs. We gave him a chance to surrender, and he refused. Now, if any of you wish to sentence him to death, we old villagers of Gao Family Village will harbor no resentment. Please, speak openly about what you think."
Silence. An eerie silence for a good while.
Then Tan Liwen spoke. "Ahem! I believe that although Gao Yingxiang was the Chuǎng Wang, he didn't commit any truly significant atrocities. The major decisions of the bandit army were mostly made by the Dashing General, and had little to do with Gao Yingxiang. His punishment could be mitigated somewhat... I think... a life sentence of Labor Reform should be sufficient."
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