Ita Era

Chapter 142 Right or Wrong
The old general drew his sword from his waist and stared at Ding Shi like the Grim Reaper.

Ding Shi put away his electric scooter, approached the fire, and stood about 5 meters away from the veteran. He smiled and said, "Wow, you know what? I admire soldiers the most."

The veteran, without showing any emotion, countered with, "Is that so?"

Ding Shi dared not meet the gaze of the old general, who exuded a chilling aura. He lowered his head and looked at his toes as he replied, "Of course, even if you are a rebel."

The old general asked, "What about the rebels who killed innocent people and claimed credit for their crimes?"

Ding Shi: "It must be that those common people are ignorant. They saw that the soldiers wanted their heads, so they didn't obediently hand them over."

The old general asked, "And treason?"

Ding Shi said, "Look at what you're saying. My great shrimp has changed dynasties countless times. Those who died were called traitors, and those who lived were called royal troops."

Veteran: "Are you stalling for time?"

Ding Shi said, "Besides stalling for time, I haven't thought of any other way to change the date of my death in front of the old general."

The old general pointed his broadsword at Ding Shi: "Give me your life."

Ding Shi turned around and ran away.

"You cowardly scoundrel!" the old general scoffed, took two quick steps, mounted his horse, and charged after Ding Shi, brandishing his saber.

Ding Shi took out his official sword, drew it from its sheath, and leaned against the roadside, facing the old general sideways.

The veteran immediately increased his horse's speed, and Ding Shi quickly moved with a crab-like gait, continuing to retreat.

Then Ding Shi disappeared.

Only when the veteran charged into the darkness did he realize something was wrong.

Ding Shi delayed because he kept his eyes closed and didn't look at the firelight. The old general's eyes had adapted to the darkness, but the show-off lit the torch. Now, led into the darkness by Ding Shi, he couldn't see Ding Shi, or even the road.

The old general reined in his horse, and Ding Shi appeared like a ghost from the right. He was not skilled in swordsmanship, but he raised his official sword high, channeled his inner strength, and brought it down with a slash that seemed determined to cut the old general and his horse in two.

One force can overcome ten techniques. What golden armor, what Athena? As long as the force is there, it can be chopped to pieces.

The veteran general, a man of countless battles, knew he was in trouble once he lost the initiative. When Ding Shi suddenly appeared, he decisively dismounted. As soon as he landed, horse blood splattered all over him.

Ding Shi looked at the official sword that had cut halfway into the horse's body and thought: "Can't it be cut through?" Then the horse ran away, taking the official sword with it.

Grass!
Ding Shi hurriedly took out the blank Heavenly Book and thrust his horse-slaying sword straight at his chest. The Heavenly Book unfolded and blocked the tip of the sword, but the enormous force pushed Ding Shi backward step by step, and he was pushed against the mountainside by the roadside.

Seeing the wordless book activated, Ding Shi was shocked. This thing could be used as a shield during its cooldown period. However, during its usable time, he could only draw one bamboo stick.

A blue bamboo skewer was drawn.

Ding Shi moved his body as much as possible. With no Heavenly Book to block him, the sharp horse-slaying saber cleaved down and completely severed Ding Shi's left shoulder.

The pain had not yet arrived, and Ding Shi crushed the four large blue characters in his palm: Vanished without a trace.

Ding Shi vanished instantly. Thank you, System; thank you, Ita; thank you, aliens.

Ding Shi pulled out the dagger, bit the back of his hand, afraid that he would make a sound because of the pain.

The veteran general remained alert, slowly retreating towards the torchlight. Suddenly, a warm human body pressed against him, and a cold dagger pierced through his armor, sinking into the veteran general's abdomen. His broadsword was too long to be effective, and by the time the veteran general pushed Ding Shi away, Ding Shi had already stabbed him a third time.

Two stabs per second—that's the standard speed for a gang assassin. They don't aim for vital organs, because those are usually protected by ribs, and veteran assassins have breastplates. They stab the abdomen, leaving ten or eight wounds; even a god couldn't save them then.

A gust of wind swept across the back of the neck, and the old general barely dodged two inches, the dagger piercing his shoulder. He whirled around, swinging his sword horizontally, but missed. The good news for the old general was that the dagger was still embedded in his shoulder; Ding Shi had lost his weapon.

Ding Shi, who had been crouching and hiding, channeled all his primal energy and delivered a powerful upward hook punch to the old general's groin. A searing pain instantly shot through the old general's entire body, and even though he barely managed to hold on, the knife in his hand had lost its power.

The old general bowed, and Ding Shi casually pulled out the dagger stuck in his shoulder and stabbed it into the old general's temple.

After dealing with the old general, Ding Shi glanced at the still bleeding severed arm, took out some wound medicine sold by the county doctor, poured it on the wound, and barely stopped the bleeding. He still needed to rush back to the county to find Doctor BUG for treatment.

"My lord?" Daya, who had come upon hearing the voice, approached and asked.

"Stand over there and wait for me." Ding Shi touched the corpse.

One horse-slaying sword, one thousand taels of silver notes, and some junk such as tinderboxes.

Ding Shi put away the silver notes and the horse-slaying sword, and gestured for Daya to come with him. Daya tightly gripped the blood-stained corner of Ding Shi's clothes and followed him toward the county town.

Ding Shi is not afraid of being disabled; he can repair his severed limb by spending 100 units of Yin Virtue at the Ghost Market. However, in this instance, he can only face the challenge with his one-armed body.

The outline of the city gate was in front of us, but four soldiers leading horses blocked the way, including a young general in bright silver armor.

The bright moon shone high in the sky. The young general waved his hand, and three mounted soldiers mounted their horses and drew their sabers.

Ding Shi pushed Da Ya to the side of the field, making her run to the side until she reached the mountainside. He then drew his horse-slaying sword with one hand, the tip pointing directly at his opponent.

On the way here, Ding Shi had already called for reinforcements, but apart from Su Su, the others were either not in the county town or couldn't get away, so now he could only rely on himself.

There were no shouting matches, no nonsense; two horses led the way, two horses followed, charging towards Ding Shi.

Ding sheathed his sword and ran into the field, trudging along, his steps uneven. Then he stopped, for Daya was right in front of him. The girl was too thin; her physical condition wasn't good.

The cavalry pursued into the paddy field, but then the horses ran into trouble. The combined weight of the horses, the cavalry, and their heavy armor made the paddy field unbearable. With one hoof strike, half of the horse was gone. In addition, the uneven hardness of the paddy field caused the first horse to lose its footing and fall straight to its side, pinning the cavalryman to the ground.

Ding turned back and charged. Seeing this, Cavalry B abandoned his horse and rushed over with his sword. Cavalry C and D did not ride into the field, but C dismounted and entered the field with his sword.

Ding Shi had never used such a long-handled horse-slaying sword before, but he was empowered by the Force. Although the soldiers did not possess the Force, they had the strength honed through long-term training, indestructible armor, unwavering courage, and absolute confidence in victory.

Ding Shi arrived at cavalry A's position first and used the length of his saber to stab cavalry A twice. Cavalry B then arrived and used the back of his blade to lift Ding Shi's saber.

The two fought back and forth in the mud. Ding Shi was very strong, and every time their weapons clashed, Cavalry B's hands went numb.

Ding Shi, with a mindset of quick victory, saw that the opponent had shown an opening and did not hesitate to stab Cavalry B through the neck with a single stroke. He pulled to the left, and a large amount of blood gushed out. Cavalry B then fell to the ground.

A javelin flew from C's hand toward Ding Shi. Ding Shi's feet were stuck in the mud and he could not pull them out. He could only raise his horse-slaying sword and strike with the back of the blade facing upwards. The javelin pierced above Ding Shi's chest, passed under his armpit, and tore off a piece of flesh.

"Damn it!" Ding cursed in pain, threw down his knife, grabbed the spear, and used his Force to throw it back. C nimbly dodged into the muddy water, and the spear flew over his head.

C stood up again and reached for the spear on his back, but a cleaver flew towards him, piercing his chest like a startled swan.

It's just throwing things, right? Anyone can do that.

Ignoring his injured left shoulder, Ding Shi took two steps forward, crouched down, and groped in the mud to pull out Cavalry A's saber. He stabbed Cavalry A in the neck, then took two steps forward to face the young general. The young general also held a saber, and the two were ten paces apart. The reason the young general was behind was because he had removed his heavy, bright silver armor. Now he wore only a short-sleeved shirt, his muscles taut and strong, his eyes cold and sinister. It was clear that he was a battle-hardened soldier, his strength no less than that of an old general.

Ding Shi had been using the Force continuously, and his physical strength and Force were somewhat depleted, so he tried to buy time with words, saying, "You once guarded the frontier and are a hero, so why are you now helping shameless people to buy and sell women?"

The young general stared at Ding Shi quietly for a while before answering, "Our bodies and hair are given to us by our parents. His father sold them for 50 taels of silver, and the Vice Minister bought them back for 50 taels. How can that be called shameless?"

Ding Shi said, "A ghost marriage violates the laws of my Great Xia Dynasty."

Young general: "The law does not prohibit marriage between the living and the dead, but only human sacrifice. You eat the emperor's food, hold your positions without doing anything, wave the banner of the law, yet commit immoral acts. How can I tolerate you?"

The young man's words were not without merit. The law does not prohibit marrying or finding husbands for the dead, but it does prohibit live sacrifice.

But isn't the defining characteristic of ghost marriages living sacrifices?

Ding Shi had considered this point, but if the Wang family really performed a human sacrifice, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop them.

Since the law can't win against you, let's talk about morality: "How dare you talk to me like that? You're the private army kept by the Vice Minister."

The young soldier said, "I am a servant of General Wang. After being wounded, I went to Wang's manor to recuperate, which is perfectly legal. We fought for our country and never expected to be betrayed by you, you villain. Today I will take your life to avenge the spirits of my brothers."

Ding Shi scoffed, "You are fighting for General Wang, not for the country. Don't try to glorify yourself."

The young soldier said, "General Wang kills enemies for the country, and we kill enemies for General Wang. We do not seek the worship of the people, nor do we boast of being loyal to the emperor and loving the country. What wrong have we done?"

The more Ding Shi argued, the more he felt he was in the wrong.

According to modern law, Chen Ergou cannot sell his daughter, but in feudal society, not only daughters could be sold, but in some dynasties, wives could even be sold.

Ding Shi felt as if he had fallen into a feudal abyss.

The case of Daya's disappearance should have been investigated openly, tracing back to the Vice Minister's family, and the case closed once the circumstances were clarified. Perhaps, I could have stayed to attend Young Master Wang's funeral and prevent Daya from being sacrificed alive.

The strategic idea of ​​rescuing Daya was flawed from the start.

Furthermore, punishing and detaining Chen Ergou is also a mistake, because Chen Ergou legally bought and sold his daughter. Although Zheng did not sell her daughter, she may be punished for filing a false report.

Oh my god! Black and white are reversed, and I, who was wholeheartedly upholding justice and the law, have become the villain.

He not only neglected his duty, but also killed many soldiers who fought for their country and bravely intervened when they saw him abducting women. Although they fought for the royal family, they had at least protected the people and land of the Great Shrimp Kingdom.

It's so hard to balance, what should I do?

You accuse him of keeping a private army, but they claim it's for healing injuries. What kind of injuries? Even a bump or bruise counts as an injury. You accuse him of forcibly buying women, but it was their fathers who sold them; you could even say the 50 taels were a dowry, since the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues state that the father guides the son and the husband guides the wife. You accuse him of human sacrifice, but they haven't even done it yet. What makes you think they would commit human sacrifice?
From a feudal perspective, Daya was already the wife or concubine of that dead young master, and he was either eloping with a commoner or kidnapping a commoner.

Suddenly, Ding Shi had a flash of inspiration: "You openly attacked officials appointed by the imperial court, that is treason." They were servants, commoners, while he was an official. When commoners attacked officials, that was treason.

The young man calmly replied, "You did not explain or reveal your identity."

Ding Shi: "Then you have no law enforcement power. No matter what I do, you have to report it to the county government."

This time, the young man didn't refute. They indeed didn't have law enforcement authority. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Hand the person over to me, and I'll return him. As for your grudge with our Wang Family Army, we'll settle that in the future."

This is a good idea.

Ding Shi turned to look at Daya, who was as thin as a rake. He saw her eyes, which were unusually large because of her frailty. Those eyes reflected the moonlight and were filled with hope.

Ding Shi said, "Da Ya."

Daya: "My lord, I'm here."

Ding Shi asked, "Would you like to marry a dead person?"

Daya firmly replied, "I don't want to."

Ding Shi turned around, raised his sword at the young general, and said, "Sorry, she doesn't want to."

The young man said, "She has no right to refuse; otherwise, she would be violating moral principles and would be a traitor."

Ding Shi: "Some birds cannot be caged, for every feather of theirs is imbued with the radiance of freedom. I do not know if she is such a bird, but the strong save themselves, and the saint saves others. Today, I have decided to be a saint. Come!"

It's enough that she doesn't want to. As long as her freedom isn't built on the bones of others, she should be respected, and she shouldn't be bound by morality, ethics, or social norms.

Not only in feudal society, but even in modern society, isn't benevolence and morality everywhere?

As long as the saint does not die, the thieves will not stop!
The two quickly approached each other and then began to fight.

Ding Shi was exhausted, and his Force equivalent was less than 30%. Although he could overpower the junior general with his strength, he could not turn his advantage into a victory.

The young general's swordsmanship was skillful; if it weren't for the difference in strength, he would have already defeated Ding Shi.

Both sides quickly realized this and began to fight desperately. Fighting desperately meant risking their own lives to kill the other, which was the only way to defeat the other, provided that the other side did not fight desperately.

After a few exchanges, the young general's knife pierced Ding Shi's abdomen. Ding Shi then sliced ​​the young general in half, from his right neck to his left armpit.

"Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit..." Ding Shi endured the pain and the disgusting feeling of the knife sliding through his flesh as he pulled the young general's horse-slaying sword out of his abdomen.

After a while, Ding Shi said to Daya beside him, "Let's go."

Back at the roadside, Daya hoisted Ding Shi onto her shoulders, with most of his weight resting on her. She walked slowly and laboriously towards the city gate, towards hope.

Under the city gate.

Daya looked up and shouted to the soldiers guarding the city gate, "I am the sister of Wang Meng, the county magistrate. Wang Meng's whole family is dead. I have come to deliver the news of his death."

There was no response from the city gate or the gate guards.

Ding Shi took out the official seal of the scribe from the inventory. "Little girl, how can you talk nonsense? I can't beat Wang Meng right now."

Following Ding Shi's instructions, Daya shouted, "The magistrate beside me has been injured by the bandits and needs urgent medical attention. Please, gentlemen, open the door and offer him five hundred taels of tea money."

The city gate guards shouted, "Open the city gate!" What did five hundred taels mean? The main thing was to save lives.

Ding Shi instructed, "Go to the county government office and find Magistrate Yu Yuan or Assistant Magistrate Chu Yu, and tell them everything you know."

The city gates opened, and two soldiers ran out. They checked the seal, collected five hundred taels of silver, and carried Ding Shi towards the clinic. Another soldier led Da Ya to the county government office.

(End of this chapter)