Chapter 3: The Trial of Demoness Jima (Part 2)
The next morning, a sorrowful atmosphere spread throughout the camp.
A group of despicable and cunning green skins suddenly attacked the marching “Journey to the West Team,” shouting something about “Long live Mao Er Ge.”
Fortunately, Jima, the cherished figure in everyone’s hearts, had foreseen the attack five minutes prior and ordered everyone to prepare their formation.
Even so, the green skins took nearly one-sixth of their lives.
“May their souls find comfort,” Jima said with a sorrowful expression as she stood with the team leaders, observing a moment of silence for the bodies lying on the ground.
One team leader said, “Madam, you did nothing wrong; there’s no need to be overly sad.”
Jima replied, “If I had sensed it sooner, perhaps things would have turned out very differently.”
“You’ve done enough; otherwise, we might have lost nearly half our people to those vile green skins.”
Jima raised her “compassionate” eyes towards the other soldiers who were mourning. They were the ones with the poorest equipment and the worst discipline. Many of them had only weapon experience from working on farms.
Naturally, their casualties were also the highest, with various injuries among them.
“We must honor the dead; we cannot simply leave their bodies in the wilderness or burn them,” Jima said. “We should send some individuals to return the bodies to their hometowns.”
“But our ‘Journey to the West’ trip—”
Jima interrupted, “If the gods grant us blessings, we will surely have fellow travelers joining us along the way.”
“You are right, my lady.”
Jima could feel her authority increasing after this battle, and she smiled slightly, continuing with her suggestion, “Let’s raise some money together for the families of the deceased.”
Everyone agreed with Jima’s proposal.
Someone brought over a piece of cloth, laid it on the grass, and people began tossing coins onto it.
Jima held an old small treasure chest and placed it on the pile of coins, opening it to reveal it was filled with old gold coins—dull in color and covered in scratches. This immediately captured the attention of nearly everyone.
The freckled maid gasped, “Isn’t this your dowry?”
The nearby squire team leader exclaimed, “Madam, this cannot be right! How can you, a frail woman, sacrifice your dowry?”
That was fifty gold coins, which represented one-twentieth of my current wealth! You all need to be a bit more moved.
“Compensation is the final solace for the injured and the deceased; what is my dowry compared to that?” Jima forced a smile, “I believe I will try to convince my future husband not to take a dowry.”
The squire team leader, moved to tears, said, “Madam, you truly are a noble, kind, and charismatic leader. Let’s raise money for your dowry together.”
“No need; rather than gathering a dowry for me, it’s better that everyone contributes a bit more effort.”
Those with money generously opened their purses, preparing a substantial sum for compensation.
Jima collected the compensation and distributed it fairly, without keeping a single cent for herself. She also appointed a group to take the bodies back home, performing divination on site to assure them that the likelihood of encountering further danger on the road was very low, without dissent.
Thus, the entire team was reduced by half; all the useless members had left the group, leaving behind only qualified warriors.
Jima watched as the useless ones departed, carrying the bodies away.
“Report, the spoils have been collected.”
The wagons were filled with the crude weapons of the green skins, with their heads hanging at the front.
“I propose we sell the weapons in the next town to gather funds for maintenance tools to fix our weapons and armor,” Jima said. “If there’s any money left, we can buy some equipment to distribute.”
A few team leaders nodded in agreement, saying, “Alright.”
“I’m not strong but I can do some math; how about I keep the money?”
They replied in unison, “No problem.”
Jima took the opportunity to finalize the submission of all spoils, and everyone discussed the distribution plan with little disagreement.
“Since everything has been settled, let’s depart.”
“Madam, before we set off, please do a divination to see if there will be any more ambushes.”
“My divination can only foresee the next hour,” Jima responded, “Bring me my crystal ball.”
After a decent divination session, she declared that there would be no bloodshed in the next hour, and citing fatigue from the divination, she climbed onto the only wagon that could carry people for the “Journey to the West Team.”
Out of respect for Jima, people laid down the best mats and cloth inside the wagon, transforming it into her exclusive vehicle.
Jima comfortably lay on the mat as the wagon began moving, shaking about, but it was much better than riding a horse. She adjusted her feather pillow and stretched, leaning back to take a leisurely nap.
Now, the annoying sounds of quarrels were gone, and their speed had noticeably increased.
…
…
“…Demoness Jima is surely a dangerous devil, causing many to die mysteriously because of her.”
“Agreed.”
“I agree too.”
The judge on the left said, “We should strongly order George to arrest Demoness Jima.”
The judge on the far right asked, “What charges?”
“Endangering public safety.”
“The charge stands, but there is one problem,” the right judge said. “The situation in Marin City has developed to this extent; everyone shares the responsibility. Blaming it all on Demoness Jima is obviously unfair.”
“More importantly, when it comes to innocent casualties, Demoness Jima must bear primary responsibility, no matter how tense the situation is,” the left judge reminded. “Speaking of which, I want to refer to the case from seventy-four years ago involving the cannibal mines.”
Seventy-four years ago, an earthquake caused a mine near White City to collapse. Five trapped miners voted to kill one weak companion, dismembering and eating him to survive until rescue. This sparked significant controversy during the trial, with two factions emerging: one declaring innocence and the other guilt, both arguing and attacking each other.
In the end, the four surviving miners were found guilty but were lightly sentenced to twenty years of labor.
“That’s right. But the problem is that the incident did not occur within our legal jurisdiction,” the far-right judge said. “The laws of the Sanctum do not provide assistance to the same victim, Demoness Jima, so naturally, the laws of the Sanctum cannot punish her. Has everyone forgotten this happened abroad?”
“But she is connected to the Sanctum.”
“How many merchant caravans come and go from the Sanctum every year? Should our laws regulate them as well? If we send someone to judge her this time, how should we deal with others in the world who are even guiltier than her? Ignoring them would be condoning their actions, and if we punish her, we lack the ability to do so,” the left judge stated. “From both an idealistic and realistic standpoint, this is absurd.”
After ten minutes of debate, the judgment was announced: due to the inherent dangers of Demoness Jima and her values, White City forbids her entry; any violation would be considered an act of war.
Notices plastering Jima’s bust were posted in the busiest areas of White City. The good news was that the artist’s skill was commendable, causing many to stop and look at the notice. The bad news was that one-third of the notices were stolen and hung in thieves’ homes.
Naturally, a stern letter also reached George.
George, just waking up, still wore a smile from dreaming of Jima. He opened the letter and slapped his forehead:
“Just as I suspected, Marin City has indeed been burned by Jima.”
“Should we be on guard against the demoness? We can’t let her travel with us?”
George shook his head: “Only I can see through her tricks; since she is so dangerous, she must be kept by my side. However, the questions we ask must be carefully designed, and we can never let her go lightly just because she pleads for mercy.”
