X
Join our Discord server and get release updates for every novel you follow.
Join the Server“Bang-”
The trial began.
A deathly silence fell over the hall.
The tribal chief ordered the sacks covering Amy and the others’ heads to be removed.
“Shulan? Vincent?”
Amy’s first concern was Jiang Shulan. Only afterward did she notice their surroundings.
There were no electric lights in the hall, only torches. The flickering flames cast long shadows, creating an oppressive atmosphere.
A crowd surrounded them in a circle. Hatred and anger burned in their eyes.
Remembering everything that had happened, Amy hurriedly lowered her head.
They had done something wrong.
Seated at the head of the hall, the chief first gave a brief introduction to the tribe.
Hundreds of years ago, their ancestors had fled into the forest to escape war.
Life had once been peaceful and quiet until, a century earlier, a group of hikers entered the settlement. Armed with firearms, they brought endless slaughter to the tribe.
Since then, strict laws and a tribunal had been established. Any threat would be eliminated before it could take root.
Then the chief got straight to the point.
“Do you plead guilty?”
No one answered.
The chief seemed unsurprised.
“In that case, we will consider your silence an admission of guilt.”
He struck the table.
“Execute them all.”
“Wait!”
Darius immediately objected.
“What exactly did we do wrong? You kidnapped us, brought us here, demanded that we confess, yet you haven’t even told us what crime we committed!”
The chief sat motionless on his high seat.
His hawk-like eyes slowly swept across the three of them.
“Very well. Then we shall call witnesses.”
“Rest assured, the people of our tribe do not lie. But if we discover that any of you lie, your tongues will be cut out immediately.”
At first, the witnesses spoke only of small matters.
When passing a woman’s roadside stall, only Amy had stopped to ask questions, showing no compassion.
At a restaurant, Adam had called someone a country bumpkin.
As Jiang Shulan listened, he gradually realized something.
From the moment they entered the town and began their hike, every action had been monitored.
Any tiny mistake was magnified and presented as proof that they deserved death.
Darius became increasingly agitated.
“But none of that deserves a death sentence!”
“And what about the log that rolled down and killed one of our friends? If the forest belongs to you, shouldn’t you be responsible for that?”
“But because of something that may not even have been our fault,” another witness said, “you killed one of our people.”
A different witness stepped forward.
“My brother and I saw the body. We were worried wild animals would eat it and prevent the soul from resting in peace, so we wanted to bury it properly.”
His voice broke.
“But then this man suddenly appeared. He wouldn’t listen to a single explanation.”
“He beat my brother to death.”
The witness burst into tears.
“No! That’s not true!”
Adam panicked.
“We didn’t kill anyone! He’s lying!”
The chief’s expression darkened.
With a wave of his hand, a corpse was brought forward.
The face had been smashed beyond recognition.
The skull was crushed inward, leaving a massive cavity.
It was obvious how brutally the victim had been attacked.
Jiang Shulan’s legs weakened after only one glance.
Had they really killed someone?
A chill ran down his spine.
Vincent covered his eyes from behind.
Jiang Shulan couldn’t see Vincent’s expression, only hear his cold, detached voice.
“A person who kills must be prepared to be killed.”
“But…”
They had been harmed first.
‘Why had things ended up like this?’
The whole situation left Jiang Shulan deeply uncomfortable.
Then he heard the chief address Amy.
“Is what he said true?”
Amy struggled for a long moment before finally nodding.
“…Yes.”
The chief sneered.
“Rose. Tell us what happened.”
Rose immediately pointed at Adam.
“He killed Brother Muir!”
“No, no!”
Amy desperately tried to explain.
“Our friend had just died. I was devastated. Then Darius stepped into one of your traps and got hurt.”
“When Adam saw someone covered in blood, he just… he accidentally…”
“Lies!”
The chief barked.
“Cut out their tongues!”
“No! This has nothing to do with us!”
Several large hunters stepped forward carrying gleaming knives.
“The houses outside are dangerous!” Amy cried. “They collapse whenever it rains!”
The hunters paused.
Realizing her words were having an effect, Amy continued pleading.
“Darius is a construction engineer. He can build houses for your tribe. He can contribute.”
“And I…”
“I can have children. I can help the tribe grow.”
“As for Adam, he-”
“You.”
The chief pointed at Darius.
“The Black man. You are useful to us.”
As for Adam, his tone was merciless.
“He killed someone. He must pay the price.”
“Vincent!”
Seeing the chief already deciding everyone’s fate, Jiang Shulan hurriedly pulled Vincent’s hand away from his mouth.
His thoughts were in complete disarray.
“Amy and Darius are innocent. And this isn’t entirely Adam’s fault.”
Amy and Darius had done nothing wrong.
Although Adam had killed someone, from Adam’s perspective, his girlfriend had been crushed to death by a log, his best friend had been injured by a hunter’s trap, and he had acted violently while trying to protect the people he cared about.
Yet the hunter claimed they had only been trying to help.
No one would deliberately kill their own brother just to frame someone else.
Vincent lowered his gaze to him.
In his deep brown eyes was a coldness that seemed to see through everything.
Or perhaps nothing at all.
Then he asked slowly,
“Then whose fault is it?”
There was no accusation in his voice.
Only genuine curiosity.
Jiang Shulan thought for a moment.
Then his eyes became unusually resolute.
“It’s the director’s fault!”
[Jiang Shulan, sometimes I truly admire you.]
Vincent had no idea what he meant.
Still, he didn’t argue.
He simply smiled.
“Whatever Baby says is right.”
“Then I’m going to do what I think is right.”
Jiang Shulan stood on tiptoe and planted a loud kiss on Vincent’s cheek.
His eyes sparkled.
“Will you help me?”
“Of course.”
“I can help too.”
William abruptly squeezed himself between them and lifted Jiang Shulan into his arms as though carrying a doll.
They were so close that Jiang Shulan once again suffered a direct hit from William’s beauty.
His eyelashes were long, seemingly gold like his hair.
His green eyes gleamed with mesmerizing light.
His neck was elegant, his shoulders slender, his figure perfectly proportioned.
If William couldn’t effortlessly carry him with one arm, Jiang Shulan might actually have felt protective toward him.
[System, can you stop giving the BOSSes such beautiful character models next time?!]
William was delighted by his reaction.
He peppered kisses across Jiang Shulan’s face.
“Baby, I’ll do anything you want.”
“Anything.”
“…Then put me down and protect me later.”
“Of course.”
Vincent and William were both curious about what he intended to do.
“I object! I disagree! I refuse to allow this!”
As he approached Amy, Jiang Shulan raised one hand and shouted:
“I have objections to this trial!”
The chief stared at the brothers in both confusion and anger.
Normally, the two men were feared by everyone in the tribe.
Yet somehow, they had been completely wrapped around the finger of a young outsider whose thigh was probably thinner than the chief’s arm.
Standing before the three prisoners, Jiang Shulan forced himself not to look at the corpse nearby.
“If this is truly a court, then it should follow proper laws.”
“If neither side is satisfied with the verdict, then we can take this case outside.”
“The legal system out there is far more developed. Many people would participate in the proceedings to ensure fairness and justice.”
“Nonsense!”
Seeing that neither brother intended to stop Jiang Shulan, the chief had no choice but to intervene himself.
“How could outsiders possibly judge the affairs of our tribe?”
“But we are outsiders!”
“Not once you stepped into this forest!”
The chief would not allow an outsider—especially one so young—to challenge his authority.
“Then this isn’t a court at all!”
Jiang Shulan raised his voice.
“This isn’t justice. This isn’t a trial.”
“It’s just a performance designed to give you an excuse to kill people!”
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, Jinho's Story is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : Jinho's Story
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂