# Chapter 100: Who Writes Justice
"This is the second thing I need you to do." White Lotus's voice was ethereal, seeming to speak at Jiang Wang's ear and yet burrow into his heart, interrogating his very soul. "Save that innocent water-clan."
Jiang Wang's hand went to his sword.
He burst from his hiding place, his body and blade forming a single vertical line that split the air. In an instant he was before the black-robed man.
The man had been abducting water-clan from the Clear River long enough to stay alert. He was already forming a hand seal.
A watery shield sprang up before him.
Jiang Wang's sword pierced through it in a single stroke. He pressed forward. Purple qi soared to the heavens.
To save himself, the black-robed man hurled the sack from his shoulder at Jiang Wang.
In the past, a strike as fierce as this could not have been pulled back. But after his recent rounds of sparring with Zhao Lang, Jiang Wang had gained full command of the Purple Qi from the East Sword Art's killing methods. He dispersed his sword momentum in an instant, caught the sack with his free hand, spun several times in the air to shed the impact force, and kept his guard up.
The black-robed man, however, had already taken the chance to flee far away.
Anyone caught doing such things on the Clear River would be executed on the spot by the Clear River Water Army, and no one could save them. He dared not linger.
Jiang Wang did not give chase. He cut the sack open with a single stroke of his sword and saw, within, an unconscious shell-maiden, her body almost completely bare.
In appearance she was entirely a human beauty, save for two shell-valves covering her chest.
Jiang Wang immediately untied his outer robe and draped it over her. He checked her breath—she was still alive. He formed a hand seal, condensed a ball of water vapor, and pressed it against her face.
The shell-maiden woke with a start. Seeing Jiang Wang, she was alarmed. Then she felt the garment covering her and relaxed slightly.
"Miss, do not be alarmed," Jiang Wang said in a gentle voice. "The man who took you has been driven off. You can return to the Clear River now."
The shell-maiden clutched the robe to herself. Her eyes held a mix of startlement and sorrow. Her voice was soft and sweet. "This humble one is called Xiao Shuang. May I ask my benefactor's honored name?"
"My name is not important. I only wish you to know that among humans, not everyone is evil. Some will harm you, but others will save you. The night is deep and the dew heavy. Please return quickly, so your family does not worry."
The water-clan were all born with Dao meridians. They were by no means weak creatures at anyone's mercy.
Xiao Shuang studied Jiang Wang's face a moment longer. Then, still wrapped in the robe, she transformed into a stream of water and plunged back into the surging Clear River.
"There—the beauty has gone!" White Lotus appeared before Jiang Wang, waving a hand theatrically before his eyes. She did not care what he was thinking.
Jiang Wang collected himself. He noticed that White Lotus was holding a black-robed man by the collar.
"This is—?" Jiang Wang frowned.
White Lotus met his gaze directly, her beautiful eyes brimming with laughter. "I should tell you, the business of abducting water-clan is not something just any force can manage. You've shown your face tonight and let him escape. His backers will have your full history dug up within a day. Then not only will you be at their mercy—your brothers, your friends, your little sister..."
She smiled and tossed the man to the ground. "So now you face a choice."
Before she had even finished speaking, Jiang Wang's sword had already slashed across the man's vital points.
"I had no choice."
He sheathed his sword, his expression hard. "That's what you wanted to tell me, isn't it?"
"No," White Lotus laughed. "What I wanted to tell you is that behind this man stands the Office of Inquiry. Stands the Zhuang court. The very place you look up to!"
She was almost too delighted to conceal the joy in her voice.
Jiang Wang's face was like stone.
"I don't believe it," he said.
"Then explain this. Why was the Zhuang court, centuries-old ally, so terrified of a water-clan uprising that the moment the Clear River Water Army stirred, nearly the entire city garrison of Qinghe Commandery mobilized to face them? Leaving such a gaping hole that the Little Grove Town massacre became a reality?"
White Lotus pressed on. "Because they know exactly what they've done. They know that if solid evidence fell into the Water Estate's hands, a full-scale war would become a real possibility!"
Jiang Wang was silent.
"Zhuang court—what does it look like in your heart? Bright? Majestic? A father figure?"
"Do you really believe that before the Little Grove Town incident, the entire Office of Inquiry mobilized just to hunt down the Swallow-Heart Human Demon?"
"The real main force was all 'protecting' the dire beasts..."
Jiang Wang could no longer remain silent. His voice was hoarse. "You sound like a demon. You're dragging me step by step into an abyss."
"Don't blame me. I'm not dragging you at all. From Jade Scales Peak to here, you made every choice yourself, didn't you?"
"You know me well. You give me the illusion of choice, but you know I have none." He looked at her. "Who are you really? What is your real purpose?"
"I am—" White Lotus's voice grew grave, as if she would finally answer. But then she laughed, light and teasing. "Your lifesaver."
"I'm grateful you saved me. But honestly, I wish you hadn't." There was pain in Jiang Wang's voice—the pain of a collapsing faith. He was tearing down the value system he had built and gestating a new one.
The process was agonizing.
"And who would look after your sister, then?"
"My brothers would take good care of her."
"You're too naive! No one in this world can guarantee they'll take care of another. Not even you, let alone your sworn brothers. How did Fang Pengju die? Have you forgotten?"
"Your view of the world is too dark," Jiang Wang said heavily.
"Heh." White Lotus snorted softly. "I'm just not naive."
"I'm done here. I'm leaving." Jiang Wang did not want to argue any longer. He had never won a verbal battle with her.
"Before you go, think about one more question." Her voice followed him. "If the people who sacrificed Little Grove Town did so to save the many common folk who live under such conditions—to save them from their miserable fate as 'food' for the dire beasts—would they still be evil?"
She watched his back, waiting for his reaction, waiting for the shift in his emotions. "Would that be... another kind of justice?"
Jiang Wang stopped. He whirled around, his hand pressing hard on his sword, his hair flying in the wind.
"Those damned bastards! No matter what reason they dress it up in, no matter what excuse they drag in, it has nothing to do with the word 'justice'! White Lotus, I owe you a life. But if you're one of them, you can take this life back!"
For a moment, the wind and the moonlight held their breath.
White Lotus blinked, then let out a charming laugh. "What are you saying? I'm on your side."
"Some things are not a joke, White Lotus," Jiang Wang said very seriously.
"I know, I know." She nodded dismissively. She was about to say something more when she suddenly struck out with her palm—a gentle surge of qi that spun Jiang Wang in the air and pushed him a full ten zhang away.
"Don't look back. Go!"
Jiang Wang, still airborne, dared not turn his head.
He had already sensed the terrifying pressure descending upon him—like a mountain crumbling, like a flood bursting its banks.
But even as he fled with his back to the scene, he could see the white light that erupted behind him. It blazed with incomparable ferocity, blinding in its brilliance.
In that instant, it drowned out all sound and swallowed all sight.
Even facing away, even glimpsing only the afterglow—
It burned his eyes, and tears streamed uncontrollably down his face.