Douluo: Law of Heaven and Earth

Chapter 969 Lu Qibin's Past - Extra Chapter 30: Growth?
The sect leaders who were preparing to capture Li Ming found nothing at their base, only realizing what had happened belatedly—

Li Ming ran away!

Inside the sect, Li Gong still looked dejected, but the good news was that he no longer had to stay at his post in Xingluo City and could return to the Hall of Punishments to resume his original duties.

But then a message reached his ears, causing him to stumble: "Li Ming, having colluded with Li Yang to rescue his servant Huo Xing, fled in fear of punishment, and was killed on the spot by the sect elders who were pursuing him?"

My son is dead! My daughter-in-law is dead!
now--

Even the granddaughter died?
However, he was killed by the other elders in the sect's higher-ups!
Li Ming was naturally not dead, but after the Star Crown Sect Master learned that she had left with Li Yang's servants first, he knew that whether she was dead or alive, she would never return to the sect. Therefore, in order to keep Li Gong in check, Li Ming had to "die" even if she wasn't dead!
After all, Li Gong was a stubborn person and dared not go against the entire sect. He would only blame everything on the Earth and Star Theory.

At most, he would be devastated after learning about it.

Exactly!

None of the direct elders in the sect are willing to guard the Xingluo City outpost, so Li Gong, having suffered this blow, will most likely volunteer.

As expected, Li Gong was unwilling to continue serving as an elder of the Criminal Law Hall and chose to guard the sect's residence. However, before leaving, he recommended Lu Qibin to the Criminal Law Hall.

The Star Crown Sect Master agreed.

As they were seeing Li Gong off from the mountain gate, Lu Qibin whispered, "Teacher, don't worry, I will avenge Li Ming."

"Need not!"

Li Gong shook his head. "Just focus on your cultivation. Don't overthink things, and don't associate with overly clever people. You'll only be used by them... This isn't the sect elders' fault, nor is it my granddaughter's fault. There's only one wrong one: the Earth and Star Theory. Li Yang, my eldest disciple, is also a victim..."

Lu Qibin walked Li Gong for nearly a hundred miles before stopping. After watching Li Gong's figure disappear, he clenched his fists tightly and murmured, "Teacher, I'm just honest, not stupid... You're deceiving yourself, I can see that."

Upon returning to his sect, Lu Qibin hadn't even had time to familiarize himself with the specific duties of a junior law enforcement officer in the Criminal Law Hall when he was summoned by a direct elder of the hall...

···
"The direct elders who possess the Star Crown Martial Soul are actually quite resistant to Teacher Li, and naturally, they are no exception when it comes to me, whom he recommended."

Lu Qibin sighed and watched as Zhou Qing scrambled the small metal ball Rubik's Cube that was just one step away from being solved. He said quietly, "The elder immediately took me to interrogate a disciple who had made a mistake. His methods were extremely cruel: cutting off ears, pulling out teeth, and even dripping wax into eyes!"

What do you think of this kind of criminal law?

"It's cruel."

While spinning the small Rubik's Cube, Zhou Qing replied, "Moreover, if I'm not mistaken, because the Star Crown Sect rejected the theory of Earth and Stars at the time, coupled with the so-called reward mechanism for reporting, any non-family disciples who acted slightly out of line would be reported by the other non-family disciples, right?"
Tsk!
Using the Star Crown Martial Soul as a basis for class division, causing infighting among disciples of the same class to escalate to such an extreme... Fortunately, the Star Crown Sect is in a semi-secluded state. If it were to openly appear in the Soul Master world like other sects, it would definitely become a laughing stock! Other sects also focus on Martial Souls, but they wouldn't go as far as the Star Crown Sect.

“The higher-ups of the Star Crown Sect believe in the legend of becoming a god.” Lu Qibin admitted that Zhou Qing’s perspective was indeed sharp, and sighed, “Putting all that aside, what problems do you think criminal law alone would cause?”

"Forced confessions were obtained through torture, everyone felt insecure, and people became disaffected and alienated."

Zhou Qing adjusted the small Rubik's Cube in his hand until it was just one step away from being square, then placed it back on the coffee table. His gaze toward Lu Qibin became slightly serious. "Besides, the Star Crown Sect's 'Godhood Plan' has been going on for so many years that many of the current disciples must not believe it. Otherwise, some of the direct disciples wouldn't be studying the workings of the stars in private."

“Sometimes, I really doubt if you’re even human.” Lu Qibin picked up his teacup, cleared his throat again, and marveled at Zhou Qing’s intelligence.

"Grandpa Lu, you're joking. Didn't you yourself say that I bear a resemblance to Li Yang?" Zhou Qing smiled slightly and began fiddling with the small metal sphere again...
···
When interrogating prisoners, Lu Qibin's methods were too "gentle," which led to him being looked down upon by the direct elders of the Criminal Law Hall and their disciples, who openly mocked and secretly belittled him.

But Lu Qibin held back and did not argue with them.

After witnessing so many cases of "forced confessions," he had become somewhat numb, until the sect's higher-ups prepared to interrogate Li Yang, and the Star Crown Sect Master specifically requested that he, who was in the same room as Li Yang, be the one to interrogate him!

reason?

Among the disciples of Li Yang's generation, he was the one who received the most care from Li Yang. The sect's higher-ups believed that if he were to torture Li Yang, it might be able to break down Li Yang's psychological defenses.

however.

The sect's higher-ups were mistaken. Upon seeing Lu Qibin, Li Yang didn't react much, simply smiling and asking, "Who are you?"

"Have you forgotten me?" Lu Qibin was stunned. "Even if you have, I introduced myself in the Adventurers' Guild before! And—"

Back then, you even joked about my relationship with Li Ming!

However, this was an inappropriate remark, so Lu Qibin didn't say it.

"Oh? You were in the same year as me, right?" Li Yang thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Sorry, I don't usually remember unimportant people and things. I don't have much of an impression of anyone from my year."

"My name is Lu Qibin."

"It's you." Hearing this name, Li Yang finally had a vague recollection of it. "Thanks to you, I was able to escape from the Star Crown Sect last time."

Lu Qibin was trying to convince himself that Li Yang was saying this on purpose to protect him and not because he had really forgotten him.

In fact, Li Yang did have a deep impression of Lu Qibin. In her memory, when they were studying at Xingguan Academy, she took the best care of this introverted classmate.

“Say what the elders want you to say.” Lu Qibin took a deep breath, his gaze dark. “Since you escaped by faking your death last time, you definitely didn’t want to die easily, right?”

"You've grown quite a bit."

Li Yang smiled, "That's right, you're right. I absolutely do not want to die easily. The me who has been resurrected is no longer the same as the me before!"

For some reason, seeing Li Yang's smile, Lu Qibin took a step back.

This smile is not much different from the one Li Yang had when he dared to take poison back then, but the smile back then brought him a kind of inner emotion; while the smile now seems to reveal an indescribable madness, as if he can do anything to achieve his goal!
Has Li Yang changed? Or have I grown up?

Lu Qibin was unclear about one thing, but he was very clear about one thing: he wanted to rescue Li Yang, even if it meant being used by Li Yang!

Does Li Yang like him?
It doesn't matter!
He, Lu Qibin, likes Li Yang!

That's it!

(End of this chapter)