Plot

Staring at the man wearing a silver mask with black long hair, Bai Shuixian collected his thoughts before saying, "Yes, everything I said to Teacher Chang is the truth."

"How are you so sure? Where is your evidence?" the man asked with a bit of ridicule in his voice.

A little turned off by the man's tone, Bai Shuixian retorted with the same tone, "Then, how do I trust you? How do I trust that you are not one of their dogs?"

The man that initially thought to only use Bai Shuixian as an introducing point of bringing down the Bai family, finally understood what Teacher Chang was telling him.

'This child is much smarter than you think, Chen Shi,' Chang Xianliang said. 'Do not joke around and do not look down on him. He can do much more damage than one can think if you were to get on his bad side.'

Chen Shi blindly trusted Chang Xianliang's words like the ones of a prophet. Though when he met the boy, he had a little mistrust. He could only blame it on Bai Shuixian's age and size. How can there be a child so threatening to an experienced adult?

With a little more clarity on Bai Shuixian's personality, Chen Shi answered, "I do not like being people's dog. I refuse to bow to the Emperor himself even if I do not have as much power as the Bai family."

"I know. If I did not know, I would not have told Teacher Chang to tell you to meet me," Bai Shuixian said.

Relaxing in the carriage, Chen Shi asked, "Though I know you are trustworthy, I still need evidence in the end. Without it, I cannot report to the emperor."

Though Chen Shi did not bow to the emperor, he held a deep respect for him. Not only that, but a case going against the Bai family was also too huge for him, so much so that he could not arrest the family by his own men. The action taken against that family could only be commanded by the emperor.

"I naturally have evidence. Only an idiot would go villainizing a person of authority without having something backing them," Bai Shuixian answered as a-matter-of-fact. "But before I tell you where the evidence can be found, I want to request for something."

"Of course, what do you want?" Chen Shi replied with a positive tone. "As long as you give me the evidence. I will do everything in my power to help you."

Looking at Chen Shi straight in his eyes, he requested, "Please do not arrest the women of the family, nor punish them for the deeds done by the men. They are innocent."

Though a little surprised by his request, Chen Shi quickly accepted his request, "Of course! That can be done as long as there are no records or evidence of the women helping the men."

"Thank you, Magistrate Chen," Bai Shuixian thanked. "Now then, we can move onto the important topic."

Starting from the closest place to the farthest, Bai Shuixian told Chen Shi where all the evidence was. Though he hid many more details from him. The information that he did not tell was too incriminating.

If the empire did not have the extermination of the nine generations of a family as a punishment should certain crimes be committed, Bai Shuixian would probably have told Chen Shi. However, the crimes of the Bai family went far above that threshold. Perhaps, even erasing their whole genealogy wouldn't be enough for the Bai family to pay for their crimes.

After spending an entire evening, explaining all about the inner workings of each location and person, Bai Shuixian finally stopped talking and drank a full glass of water the magistrate offered him. The depth at which he spoke surprised Chen Shi. He would never think that the Bai boy would have such a good memory and such a good tongue.

He would explain everything step by step, leading and linking unrelated things that would then make sense as he details. It requires the person to be really knowledgeable about the subject to be able to talk with such clarity.

Chen Shi did not know why the boy would ask for the fall of his own family, but he knew for sure that the family must have gotten on his bad side one way or another.

Having received not only a detailed oral explanation of the crimes the Bai family committed but also a document with even more things listed, Chen Shi was already impatient to be on the move. Not only that, but the emperor has also long wanted to get rid of the Bai family, as the empress begged him.

Bai Shuixian would not have minded writing the list while his conversation with Chen Shi as it would be safer and prevent information from being leaked, but he had a reason as to why he decided to separate all the evidence he had. Though the document was equally incriminating, it had important things that were missing. Talking to the magistrate one-on-one, he was able to give out the secret details not exposed in the document.

Chen Shi knew that he was only an outsider, but he was still a bit curious. After all, it is his job to be curious about people's doings. Now, it was a legitimate child of the Bai family asking for the downfall of the family.

With his curiosity at its peak, Chen Shi asked Bai Shuixian, "If I may ask, why do you want to destroy your own family?"

Bai Shuixian paused for a moment to think before saying, "No reason."

'Huh? Wha? Nobody would believe that,' Chen Shi thought with his brows twitching from Bai Shuixian's answer.

Since his curiosity was not killed yet, Chen Shi quickly followed with another question when he saw Bai Shuixian was about to leave the carriage, "Then, what will you do after the arrest of the family?"

Hearing that question, Bai Shuixian paused in his steps. He had not given it any thought. He did not own the body and was merely a host.

Even if he was the owner of the body, Bai Shuixian did not feel that he had the right to designate the fate of the little girl. Not only that, but his role in this body was alsoto protect the owner and hold onto the traumatic memories of the little girl.

Though, thinking about it now, he really should have something in mind. The little girl was smart for her age, but she was still weak as she barely learned anything about the world. Her lack of knowledge makes her smartness useless. The person that he was trying to protect, might even end up dead again.

He may not be able to choose the future of the little girl, but he had a say in the decision making as long as it could protect her.

Not wanting to be reminded of the image of the little girl's dead body again, Bai Shuixian responded, "New name. New life."