Once Yang Qing judged the youth to be calm enough to hold a conversation, he broke the silence.
"My name is Yang Qing, and as I mentioned before, I am a judge, and I am the judge assigned to your case.
What is your name, and where are you from?" Yang Qing said, his voice gentle and calming.
The youth put down the teacup on the table before him. With heaviness in his tone, he said,
"My name is Fan Cai, and I am from the Dancing Eel Creek village, which is named after the town with the same name in Jade Creek Kingdom. It's a place with a kingdom with a lot of creeks," Fan Cai jokingly said as he tried to smile, which wasn't a complete success as it couldn't hide the worry and heaviness within.
"How long have you lived there?"
"All my life really. Though I've always lived like a stranger there," Fan Cai said with a bitter smile as he moved for his teacup.
