Chapter 352: Imperial Lawyer
Chapter 352: Imperial Lawyer
The announcement of the Peak Conquest Tournament was nothing short of a seismic bombshell, sending shockwaves rippling through the community.
From the moment the tournament details were posted on the official website at midnight on April 20th, the entire gamejianghu world had been thrown into a frenzy of activity and speculation.
With the tournament announcement, players across the realm scrambled to sharpen their skills, burning the midnight oil in a desperate bid to boost their strength within the final ten days.
The result? Auction house prices skyrocketed. Services for converting real-world currency into in-game gold saw a surge in demand, prompting even non-traditional players to break their spending habits. The sales of scare boxes also spiked—after all, what better time to cash in those 3,000+ skill points than now?
Yet amidst this chaos, Feng Bu Jue vanished for three consecutive days.
By April 23rd, the morning sun had already climbed high when Feng Bu Jue’s intercom buzzed.
Feng Bu Jue rolled off the couch in a groggy tangle of limbs, shuffled to the door, and leaned against the wall. He lifted the receiver with one hand while rubbing sleep from his eyes. “Who is it?”
“It’s me, Ou Yang Jian.” A man’s voice crackled through the speaker.
“Didn’t I tell you not to bother me unless it’s urgent?” Feng Bu Jue grumbled.
“Urgent? It’s already ten in the morning! What ‘early’ are you talking about?” Ou Yang Jian barked back. “Cut the nonsense and open up.”
“Fine, fine…” Feng Bu Jue mumbled, pressing the door release while glancing at the wall clock. “Huh… I really did stay up until 3 or 4 AM writing last night…” The past three days hadn’t been idle—he’d been buried in manuscript drafts, barely logging online except for research. No, he hadn’t turned into a workaholic overnight… Just wanted to finish his obligations early so he could fully immerse himself in the tournament when May came.
Pounding footsteps echoed through the hallway.
Feng Bu Jue opened the door with a scowl. “We have a doorbell, you know.”
“The sound of knocking better conveys my irritation,” Ou Yang Jian shot back. This man, Feng Bu Jue’s rare friend and “imperial” lawyer, stood in his prime at thirty—an established family man with a successful career. His dignified features and crisp suit with slicked-back hair behind gold-rimmed glasses gave him the air of a reliable young professional.
But beneath that polished exterior? A textbook legal shark. If he’d lived in the 1960s, Ou Yang Jian would’ve been a chaos-causing thorn in society’s side. Even in 2055’s highly developed legal system, Feng Bu Jue once quipped, “You’d be wasted working for the Italian mafia as a consultant.”
Undeniably, Ou Yang Jian possessed every trait of a top-tier attorney—silver-tongued, sharp-minded, and a master of exploiting legal loopholes. Yet he had an odd habit of taking on bizarre cases or representing equally bizarre clients.
To Ou Yang Jian, laws were mere tools; morality didn’t even qualify as that—it was disposable toilet paper. He’d gladly defend serial killers or drug lords, driven by his extreme philosophy: Victory equals justice. Winning cases was how lawyers upheld their professional integrity. After all, in a world rife with injustice, understanding the judicial system’s true purpose mattered more than waving moral flags. It was a game where playing hard—and winning—mattered most.
Years ago, Ou Yang Jian became Feng Bu Jue’s legal representative during a copyright dispute, forging a friendship that blossomed from mutual eccentricity. Their dynamic? Imagine Hannibal Lecter bonding with the Joker—Ou Yang Jian calmly discussing cannibalistic recipes while Feng Bu Jue lounged nearby, lazily muttering, “Why so serious?”
“Why didn’t you tell me you changed editors?” Ou Yang Jian strode in, dropping his briefcase beside him as he claimed the sofa.
“You needed to know?” Feng Bu Jue replied, yawning as he settled across from him.
“You’ll only remember my number when you’re facing a lawsuit,” Ou Yang Jian joked half-seriously.
“Don’t be dramatic. What if I need help disposing a corpse, destroying evidence, or cleaning up a crime scene?” Feng Bu Jue countered.
“Do you have a misunderstanding about attorney-client privilege…”
“No, I just have full confidence in your ethics.” Feng Bu Jue leaned back, still bleary-eyed. “You’re the type who’d help clients launder money, hide evidence, or fake their deaths to escape punishment. True legal conscience at its finest.”
“First, I’m a law-abiding citizen.” Ou Yang Jian tapped his tablet, scrolling through files. “Second, I’d argue the lawyer you’re describing sounds suspiciously like Saul Goodman…”
“And isn’t he your role model?” Feng Bu Jue teased.
“If he’s mine, does that make V from V for Vendetta your idol?” Ou Yang Jian fired back—a rare verbal sparring partner who could keep pace with Feng Bu Jue.
“Unfortunately, I lack V’s execution skills,” Feng Bu Jue admitted. “Plus, without the Protagonist’s Grace, even enhanced physical abilities wouldn’t help pull off movie-style plans.” He shrugged. “Besides… V was a martyr willing to sacrifice himself. I’m just a…”
His sentence trailed off as Ou Yang Jian suddenly thrust the tablet forward, displaying a passage:
[They use oppressive state machinery to cage people’s thoughts; mouthpieces that control public opinion, paralyzing hearts with fear. Hypocritical party hacks preach lofty ideals while engaging in the filthiest deeds.
Their web of censorship and surveillance isolates citizens on a dark island, where human rights are powerless maidservants to authoritarian rape.
The rulers above indulge in palatial luxuries, hoarding wealth and privileges beyond law—laws they themselves created. These privileges manifest as young nobles driving luxury cars with special plates, ignoring traffic laws; as guilty men raping underage girls then accusing them of prostitution; as opulent government buildings contrasting with citizens’ shoddy hovels; as endless profits from business ventures protected by powerful patrons.
Commoners forget the taste of butter while dictators use special trains to satisfy their appetites—not just butter, but cigars, warm milk each night, and the beauties who deliver it. Everyone knows this, but dissent earns only a horror-filled black sack.]
“Remember this ‘review’ you wrote for V for Vendetta?” Ou Yang Jian made air-quotes with his fingers. “The one that got us into so much trouble?”
“That was just a movie review,” Feng Bu Jue scoffed. “I still stand by it. Those who overreacted were just guilty consciences.”
“Right. I’ve never seen a movie review end with:
[The gluttonous pigs sneer, mock, tremble, and fear.]”
Ou Yang Jian pulled the tablet back. “If you’d taken any actual action, or if this hadn’t mentioned actual movie scenes, we’d be talking through bulletproof glass right now.”
Feng Bu Jue stretched, pillow-ing his hands behind his head. “Alright, Counselor. Let’s skip the nostalgia. What brings you here personally?”
“I mentioned it coming in—your new editor,” Ou Yang Jian opened a new document and handed the tablet back.
Feng Bu Jue skimmed the screen. “Any issues with my contract with the magazine editorial office?” He wasn’t surprised Ou Yang Jian had a copy—the lawyer was present during signing. Both had obsessive-compulsive tendencies; they’d made extra copies to exchange notes.
“The contract’s fine,” Ou Yang Jian said. “You’re the problem.”
“Huh?”
“‘Huh?’ indeed. You think your history of late manuscripts just disappears?” Ou Yang Jian gestured. “Scroll down—I highlighted all your violations in different colors.”
Feng Bu Jue scrolled, scanning quickly. “So under the contract, I’d have to compensate…”
“No need,” Ou Yang Jian interrupted. “They’re dropping it—for now.”
“‘They’?” Feng Bu Jue paused. “An Yueqin?”
“You tell me.”
“You mean she contacted you?!” Feng Bu Jue’s face shifted. “Wait—how careless. I shouldn’t have given the magazine your contact info.”
“Right? I remember you only listed Wang Tan Zhi and Bao Qing as emergency contacts,” Ou Yang Jian frowned. “When did you add my details?”
“After you left, obviously,” Feng Bu Jue admitted. “I even added ‘(lawyer)’ next to your name.”
Ou Yang Jian sighed dramatically. “You know… I’m considering a third billing method for clients like you—beyond hourly rates or flat fees.”
“What’s that?”
“Protection money,” Ou Yang Jian joked.
“Pfft,” Feng Bu Jue dismissed. “With our history, money’s just formalities. Besides, shouldn’t lawyers make money as easily as drinking water?”
Ou Yang Jian barked a laugh. “Sure—if I worked at a multinational corporate firm, maybe making money would be as easy as peeing.” He shook his head. “Us small fry work our butts off for hourly wages barely better than convenience store clerks. And then there’s dealing with guys like you—earning cabbage money while sweating over white powder-level stress…”
Feng Bu Jue finished scanning the marked violations. “This ‘dropping it for now’ feels… ambiguous.”
“It’s blatant intimidation,” Ou Yang Jian clarified. “Perfectly legal, reasonable, and justified.” He grinned. “Serves you right. Satisfying, really.”
“This little girl’s got guts,” Feng Bu Jue mused, thinking of An Yueqin. “After getting roasted by me, she staged this comeback in just three days.”
“Either way, watch your step,” Ou Yang Jian packed up his tablet. “Your detective story with the cat needs at least a year’s serialization under the new editor. Play nice, don’t make life hard for yourself.”
“Just meeting deadlines?” Feng Bu Jue stood to see him out. “Easy. I execute anything if I commit.”
At the door, Ou Yang Jian turned. “Oh, I haven’t eaten since morning. Want to grab lunch?”
“No appetite yet,” Feng Bu Jue declined. “Also, need to clean up your footprints.”
“My… footprints?” Ou Yang Jian looked down. His face contorted instantly. “What IS This?!”
“Relax, it’s just cat shit,” Feng Bu Jue yawned. “You stepped in it not long after entering. I noticed too late to warn you.”
“So that’s where that stench came from…” Ou Yang Jian roared. “How were you so calm the whole time?!”
“Habit,” Feng Bu Jue replied with a shrug. “Besides… I stepped in it too. Right before you came in.”
(End of Chapter)
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