"So how long do you think you guys have?"
"We don't know, at most about 4 months though."
"In that case we'll have to think of something."
"You guys can visit the school, right?" Siduo suggested.
"Yeah that might actually work. That being said, you two should compensate a little. This was something you caused. Nothing too big, but you did create this situation." Tie Kexin commented.
"I can teach Ma Fai how to use her fire." Siduo commented immediately.
"You can?" Ma Fai asked with others looking at Siduo with the same questioning look.
"Mm. I can. Tell me, what do you think of how you use your fire?"
"Well. For destruction no? I should still be able to make it denser, eventually making it hotter and what not."
"Yes and no. What if you make it less hot? Or use just the right amount? Fire can heal and purify as well. It should help you with pill making and blacksmithing in the future."
"You can do that? But how will you teach me that? Isn't your martial soul a Hell Cat?" Ma Fai glanced at Siduo's ears and eyes while saying this.
"I have some knowledge. If you don't believe me, we can have a test next time around. You can decide then."
"Okay." Ma Fai agreed.
"Okay, that's done. What about Val Karni?" Tie Kexin looked towards him.
"I don't really know. I can offer teachings with Mecha designing every now and then? Playing music? If anyone's interested in that at least."
"Oh? I actually am." Tie Kexin was the first to comment.
"Well then, I can teach you drums or a keyboard instrument. I'm not too good with instruments that involve strings."
"We have a piano at home. It could work."
"That would work perfectly, yes."
"Well that's settled." Tie Kexin smiled.
"This wasn't really a punishment though." Karni scratched his head.
Tie Kexin chuckled a bit. "Really, I just wanted to have some fun with you two, I didn't expect you'd get so serious immediately. But since you're offering, why should I refuse?"
Karni and Siduo blushed a little. They've been a bit too used to getting scolded by the teacher lately, so they immediately took this seriously.
They eventually left the Tie Family residence. They informed them of everything that happened and that was enough for now.
The two went back onto the train. Next week they'll be having a trial.
"Say Sisi. How do you know about fire so much?"
She looked at him for a second. "My martial soul in my previous life had a fiery attribute."
Karni's head got a bit light-headed when he heard this, he wobbled for a second, before regaining his balance.
"You've gotten better at handling this information of my past. But it's still annoying that I can't tell you much."
"You know, I do wanna try. Tell me something specific. Like your name in your previous life."
Siduo just stared for a while. "You sure?"
"You'll catch me if I fall."
She chuckled. "Fine. Fine."
She was silent for a bit as Karni looked at her.
She took a big breath. "Okay, here goes nothing. My name wa* ***** **********."
Karni almost fell. This almost happened in slow motion. It all felt so distorted this time around. Probably the worst thing that's happened so far in regards to her past. She had to support him.
"I didn't hear a single thing." Karni frowned. "Your name felt so stretched out as well. It was worse than usual. Not the headache, but the information felt more hidden."
"Honestly. I might not be able to tell it to you in this lifetime." Siduo wore a disturbed expression.
Karni chuckled. "I doubt that. You think such simple things would be hidden from me when we're both Titled Douluo?"
"So you're already sure you'll become one?" Siduo teased.
"Yeah. I really shouldn't be allowed to think differently. I have to become one."
"Mm." Siduo just looked out the window as the two kept on riding the train.
Karni now felt a bit awkward. "You really think you'll be unable to tell me?"
Siduo just nodded, avoiding his look, but Karni could tell she was a bit upset. Not at him, but not at herself either. Just upset at the circumstances around this whole thing.
Karni secretly summoned his martial soul and applied Vision Bestowal on Siduo.
She went out of her stupor. "Is that music I'm hearing?"
"Mm. For some reason, ever since I did that thing in the hideout, all of my soul skills have been accompanied by this mysterious music."
"It's calming." She smiled.
"That's great." Karni returned a smile. Siduo enjoyed the music until they arrived back in Star Luo City.
… … …
"Silence in the courtroom." The judge demanded.
"Today we'll begin the trial of the Allegedly Corrupt Elite Police Force and the death of the Elite Police Force Squad Leader, Tan Bai. May the presenting officer stand forward."
When it came to the world of soul masters, the trials involved were very different from the normal civil trials. For one, everyone had to represent themselves, as when it came to a verdict, the trial itself could be said only to be for show, presentation. The verdict was already decided as soon as all the evidence was stacked against one another. It wasn't for people to decide.
The laws that govern soul masters are both strict and loose at the same time. If the soul master posed danger, it was likely that they would simply die somewhere, killed by an organisation. Instead, in cases like this where this doesn't happen, a different approach was necessary. The rules were absolute.
The final verdict was given based on a simple point system developed by the federation. Different criminal activities and acts would count for different points. In the case of soul masters, the end result would usually mean crippling or death as a punishment. Of course, in this point system, things like self defence and assault were treated differently as well. Certain crimes would be forgiven if the rules allowed it.
A judge could never relieve one of their crimes. A judge for the soul masters was simply there to guide the process, and usually, the judge was a high level soul master to keep peace in the courtroom. This was done to take away any semblance of influence from the accused soul masters.
Despite that, it's not like any soul master above the Soul King level was capable of being judged, as usually, they'd be able to simply run away. When they stepped over certain boundaries, it was likely that a larger, evil organisation was behind them.
Really, the soul master's judged right now were, at the highest, Soul Elders with the only Soul Ancestor of the case already dead. As the results were decided, it was now time to show them to the soul masters and witnesses present. The matter of calling up witnesses was the last grade required to see the level of punishment.
The witness might believe they are innocent, or they might pretend to be. Should the latter be the case, and the system graded the accused guilty, a higher punishment is added. This was the only part of the judicial system regarding soul masters that was happening with the soul masters present.
The first person they called up was Wu Siduo.
The first question was simple. "Were you the one who killed the Elite Police Force Squad Leader, Tan Bai?" The person who asked this was the judge himself, as there were no actual lawyers for Soul Masters.
"Yes, I killed him in self defence."
"Why did you children do this by yourself?"
"Because they were police and the adults of the academy forbade us from getting involved. We speculated that someone stronger than a Soul Ancestor was involved, due to the trafficking of a 4-star railgun. This made the teachers panic. But it was only speculation, and we knew a victim of the other three police officers. Hence, we took the matter into our own hands."
"Did you suspect that the Police Chief was involved?"
"Yes, but we have no proof."
"I see, thank you."
Next, they called up Karni.
"You were the one who designed all the unregistered soul tools, is that correct?"
"Yes. If the teachers found out, they would suspect immediately, so I chose to register them after we attacked the place. It's why I'm still not officially a 4-star Designer, as the wrist watch was taken in as evidence and that's the only piece that is at the 4-star level."
"And you knew the alleged victim of the three Elite Police Officer's how?"
"From a previous incident. I felt guilty about it and so I got to know her. It eventually came to be known that they visited the mother of the man that owed them money. That's how I found out about this whole group."
"Thank you. You may leave."
It seemed that the two children didn't need to say many things. This was firstly, because they were children, and secondly, the judge was focused on the key components and statements. This was mostly done so that they may confirm their statements with the evidence later on. That was when the points would be counted.
The next person called up wasn't a person, but a group. The accused group of the three police officers. They were all called up together.
Of course, they denied everything the children said. Even accused them of killing and crippling them intentionally, as a cruel act. The three cried when talking about the deceased big brother, how the mother would be sad as well, despite them not knowing her. They said that the drugs were seized as well as the weapons.
The three went off. They were under the impression that this was a he said she said situation. In such cases, their words took priority and couldn't be judged by the point system. Usually, an additional case would be held, but that could take months. By that time, the Police Chief would be there to save them.
It was incredibly rare for this to happen, as usually when such situations arrived, there was no judgement, one of them was more likely dead already, without any evidence. The world of Soul Master's was cruel after all. Many times it becomes a he said she said situation, since grudges often come from an emotional standpoint.
Next, the detective was called up. She was there to show up all of the evidence that the children have gathered, as well as some evidence she herself gathered during the previous case. To be exact, the judge had already seen this, this was shown so that the witnesses can be sure about it as well.
There were recordings, some visual, some audio. There were also statements given by Shi Ying about her side of the story. She couldn't leave the hospital to be here in person. There was even a recording of the final fight between Karni, Siduo and the squad captain. The video ended with Siduo dealing the final blow.
The other three looked at all the evidence in shock.
There was a short intermission between this. This was everything. The judge left with the statements of the soul masters to see the final calculation of points.
The judge returned shortly after the results.
"This is the final question for the young lady. Why did you kill the man when he appeared incapacitated after the attack made by Val Karni?"
"Because I was scared that there would be a repeat of a previous incident. During this fight, I almost died, and I panicked. I couldn't cripple him, but if he woke up, one of us might end up dead. I couldn't risk it."
The judge nodded. Writing down some final things on the paper. "With that, you will be getting no charges for the death of Tan Bai. But you will have to pay 10000 Federation coins for the invasion of privacy and breaking and entering into the building without a warrant or knowledge of an official organisation."
Next she called up Karni.
"You will have to pay a total of 30000 Federation coins for designing illegal soul tools, but considering the usage, you won't have to pay any reparations for the damages. Your other crimes are the invasion of privacy and breaking and entering. Additional 10000 Federation coins will be paid for this."
This was a light sentence, and this was largely due to the fact the two were children. They didn't need to do much else than pay money. Throwing children in jail wasn't good either, especially when it was considered that they did a good deed. They had to pay money more as a technicality of needing a punishment for their actions.
Next, the three officers were called up, and they were already looking pale. They didn't know the children gathered so much evidence on them. It was literal months worth of evidence.
"The three of you have been found guilty of everything accused. You will have to pay the victims back a total of 200000 Federation coins for the damages as well as pay to the local government a total of 15 million Federation coins for illegal trafficking. Finally, you will be sent to 5 years of prison, before being released back into public. As for how you pay all of this, you may decide amongst yourselves."
It was more so of an announcement than anything else.
When Karni and Siduo heard the verdict, the two smiled. Punishment? They might as well not have gotten it. They would get back the money from these three anyway.
As for Teacher Ye crippling the other three? Nobody actually knew that she was the one who crippled the three. Even if they did, there was little they could do to punish her as she was a Soul Emperor. The judge himself was one as well. Soul Emperors couldn't really be judged by normal means anyway. It was up to soul masters in the government and organisations in it to take care of such things. Organisations like Tang Sect, the Spirit Pagoda, certain parts of the military, as well as Shrek Academy.
The trial was final. With the amount of evidence that Karni and Siduo gathered, it was hardly a question of who was in the right. As for who would be supported in case the trial would have continued. It might not have been as simple as the three thought. Karni and Siduo were geniuses that the Federation would be more than willing to protect. They were only 10 after all. There was so much still left for them to do.
Unfortunately, the Police Chief wasn't proven to be involved. Everyone knew it, even the judge, but this system was only based on evidence and the Police Chief was also close to a breakthrough to a Soul Sage! Unfortunately, as is with any government, and especially one built on power hierarchy, the system can never work perfectly.
All that the Star Luo City Academy could do now was quietly protect the two children when the Police Chief returned. Hopefully, she will at least be put on a watch list by multiple organisations.
… … …
Karni was standing in front of the door to Grandma Ying. Today was the day. He was going to tell her the truth. He was going to confess his wrongdoings. All he had to do was open the door, but he was scared.
He just stood there for a while, absent minded. Repeating the words he wanted to tell her over and over in his own head.
"Come in." His thoughts were interrupted. Looks like he still made sounds outside of the door. She knew he was there.
He walked in, clear worry on his face.
"I thought it was you. You know there was a shadow of you right?"
"Oh." Karni didn't realise.
"So everything is really over huh." The grandma finally says. Her face felt like it aged throughout the last few months.
"Yeah." Karni answered with a quiet voice.
"So… what did you have to tell me that's making you so nervous."
"I…" He didn't know how to begin. Should he just rip the band-aid off? Should he start in a roundabout way?
"Karni. It's okay. Just tell me."
He took a big breath. Right. No matter what he says, it won't change her reaction by much. Whatever will happen, will happen anyway.
"I was the one. On that day of the incident. Your son… It was me who did that to him. I was so scared back then, but I was also afraid to tell you everything. When he was in front of me… I… I couldn't stop, all I thought was that he killed Sisi. I kept remembering the giant hole and my single focus was to defeat him, so she'd be safe, so I wouldn't be left alone. So I hit… Until she pulled me back. By the time I knew what I did, it was too late."
The two just sat there, in silence. Grandma Ying seemed to be on the verge of tears, hearing him tell everything. It hurt. She thought she knew, and she was correct, but it still hurt.
"I thought you were going to say that." Her tears finally fell. "Though I hoped it wasn't true."
"I'm sorry." It was all he could say.
"I'm sorry too. I… I can't forgive you, even though… a part of me wants to. But… I can't. I'm sorry that I can't, I can't forgive you for what you did to my boy." She couldn't face him when she was saying that.
Karni didn't know how to answer, but he… he was crying now too. He didn't blame her at all. If anything, he was okay with that.
"I'm sorry that my son put you through everything too. I'm sorry that I raised him this way. I always taught him to admire soul masters, and when I got injured myself, I couldn't stop him from following their ways. I wasn't really the best mother. I'm sorry. About everything."
He didn't think she was going to say that. If anything it caught him completely off guard. Why… Why was she the one that was apologising so much? It was him who did this in the first place!
She stared him in the eyes now. Sad, but sure of herself. "I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive my son. For what he did to you two."
"I… It's not mine to forgive. He didn't do much to me. Only to Sisi. I…"
"I understand." She looked away in shame. Of course. Just like he couldn't ask her to forgive him, she shouldn't have asked him either.
"I heard that the two of you killed a person when you caught the thieves."
Karni nodded. "She… We did. We had no choice, because he was a Soul Ancestor."
"I'm sorry you had to go through so much because of me."
"I'm the one that was supposed to apologise for everything." Karni laughed in a self-mocking manner.
A small and teary smile appeared on the aged face. "You did the best you could with the situation. If my son didn't do all those things, none of this would've happened."
"But I could've stopped. I could've stopped, but I panicked. I should've stopped. If Siduo hadn't stopped me, then he probably wouldn't be alive any more. Even now, I sometimes wonder if I put him in a worse state than death. If… if I would've just…"
"Stop. It's me who's keeping him in that state, not you. My son almost killed a 10 year old, maybe he would've killed more people. I knew he was doing these things to a degree, but I still encouraged him once."
Karni was silent.
"When I was young, I admired soul masters a lot." She suddenly looked into the air, remembering a time long gone. "It was the stories you know? The legends, the amazing things they did, the miracles they performed. I was just like him. Hanging out with a group of them. And then… They did this to me. For fun. And neither me nor my son knew how to live differently after that."
"Soul masters did this?"
"Mm. I still admire them, but I also hate them." She looked at him. "I feel great affection for them, but I also can't forgive them. Karni, you've become like a grandson to me. And I might never forgive you, but… I can't bring myself to hate you either."
"How? I'd absolutely despise you. When I think about my own mom I… I would break down completely."
"But it was you who caused me not to break down. You were there. Always. Helping me, being by my side, I can't imagine how you must've felt when I talked about my son, knowing that it was you. I don't know how I'd be able to handle it if I killed someone by accident."
"I just helped fix the thing I caused."
"Yet it was caused by me too. He was stealing for me, to keep up with the bills, because I raised him to follow soul masters. He could've taken any other way, and those would likely be filled with hardship too, but he could've taken those options Karni."
He was silent. Even with all of that, he still couldn't get rid of his own guilt.
Grandma Ying was looking at his expression. "See… this is why I can't hate you. Some part of me wants to. No. I… I really want to hate you for what you did to my baby. But I just can't."
"I'm getting old, Karni. I don't want to hate any more. And while I can't forgive. I can… accept. Even if it's hard. I know it sounds hypocritical. I don't want to hate but also want to…. I can't really explain it.
Karni could only nod. He didn't really know what to say. He thought he had so much to say, but at the end of the day, she did most of the talking.
"Mm. Now please. I… I wish to be left alone a little. I'm sorry."
"If you need me I…" He thought that he shouldn't be the one saying it, but she really didn't have anyone else besides him. "I'll be just a call away."
Karni left her alone. It was a short visit, but at least he finally said it. To think she already realised it was him. He wasn't as secretive as he thought.
"To accept." Karni thought to himself. Maybe he didn't need to forgive himself. It might be a fruitless attempt. But maybe, just maybe, he could accept everything. Someday. Even if he didn't know how or when.
He went home for the day, and visited the next morning. He saw that the receptionist had an odd look on her face.
He got scared, did something happen?
"Hello Val Karni. I'm sorry. You can't visit today. Shi Ying's position worsened, and we need to keep an eye on her for a while."