81: Chapter 81 Settling Accounts in Court

"I am Wu Xi. I am here to accuse King Xianlian of kidnapping my five friends."

As soon as these words were spoken, a burst of uproarious laughter erupted.

"To think someone actually came to accuse the King of kidnapping!"

"The King's whole business is kidnapping! Hahahaha!"

The laughter swept through the entire courthouse like a tidal wave. King Xianlian also laughed.

"Interesting, truly interesting. That's right, I am the one who kidnapped those five living people. What do you want? Do you want me to release them?"

He licked his lips, revealing a mouthful of yellow, pointed teeth. In his view, this young man would either cry and beg for mercy, scream curses, or throw himself at him in a desperate fight.

Everyone who came here looking for their people was like that.

Wu Xi shook his head. "No."

"No?" King Xianlian blinked, thinking he had misheard.

"Then why are you accusing me?"

Wu Xi picked up the ebony abacus in his hand. Click, clack, the beads were flicked upward one by one.

"Of these five friends of mine, one is a carpenter with ancestral skills who can earn three silver coins a day."

"One is a blacksmith who can forge blades capable of cutting through iron like mud, earning five silver coins a day."

"One is a teacher, well-versed in astronomy and geography, who earns two silver coins a day."

"And two are merchants who have traveled across the land, together earning one tael of silver a day."

"They were kidnapped by you for five days. During these five days, they were unable to work. How much income was lost?"

Wu Xi's fingers moved rapidly across the abacus, clicking the beads with every number he spoke. The sound was crisp and resonant.

"The carpenter's three coins times five is one tael and five coins. The blacksmith's five coins times five is two taels and five coins."

"The teacher's two coins times five is one tael. The two merchants' one tael times five is five taels."

He looked up at King Xianlian. "That adds up to a total of ten taels of silver. This is for lost wages."

Wu Xi interrupted him and began fiddling with the abacus again.

"They were forcibly kidnapped and brought here, living in constant fear every day, suffering immense psychological trauma."

"According to the rules, the compensation for mental anguish is ten times the lost wages."

"That comes to one hundred taels of silver." King Xianlian's face began to flush red.

"Besides that, there is the cost of meals," Wu Xi continued, his tone unchanged.

"They ate five days' worth of meals at my place, three meals a day. I won't overcharge you; following the standard of high-end banquets in the mortal realm, that's one tael of silver per meal."

"For five people, that's fifteen taels a day. Five days equals seventy-five taels."

"Then there is the accommodation fee. My house might be dilapidated, covered in spiderwebs, and drafty, but it's still a place to shelter from the wind and rain. Following the standard of top-tier rooms in mortal inns, that's two taels of silver per room per day. Five people, five rooms. Five days equals fifty taels."

Click-clack.

"And there are fees for air, water, and electricity."

Wu Xi said this with a straight face, without the slightest hint of joking.

Wu Xi kept talking incessantly, the beads of the abacus clattering non-stop.

The ghost guards on both sides were dumbfounded; they had never seen such a way to extort money! This was even more ruthless than they, the ghosts, were!

"Bullshit! That is absolute bullshit!" King Xianlian finally lost his temper and slammed his hand on the table.

Crack! A loud noise erupted.

The official desk, crafted from thousand-year-old sunken wood, split in half from the middle. The entire courthouse shook violently, and dust fell from the rafters in showers.

All the ghost guards were frightened and fell to their knees with a thud. They buried their heads in the ground, not daring to even breathe loudly.

"You are extorting me! This is blatant extortion!"

King Xianlian pointed at Wu Xi's nose, his voice like thunder, making ears ring.

"I am extorting you?" Wu Xi raised an eyebrow.

"I am charging reasonable fees. You kidnapped my people, delayed their work, and consumed your own resources. Shouldn't you pay for that?"

"They ate my food and drank my water; I haven't even asked you for money yet!"

King Xianlian jumped up in anger, pointing at Wu Xi, spitting everywhere.

"Oh?" Wu Xi's eyes lit up suddenly.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

This was the first time he had smiled since entering the courthouse.

"You want to ask me for money? Perfect, I was just about to settle that account with you."

Before he finished speaking, his fingers landed on the abacus once more. Click-clack!

"You say they ate your food and drank your water, and you are right."

"But did you ever ask them if they were willing to eat? If they were willing to drink?"

Wu Xi's voice suddenly rose a few notches.

"They originally ate white rice and drank clear spring water. It was you who forcibly kidnapped them and brought them here. You forced them to eat your things and drink your water."

"This counts as forced sales! According to the rules of the mortal realm, not only can you not charge them, but you must also compensate them for their mental anguish!"

"Furthermore, is the stuff you have here even fit for human consumption?"

Wu Xi frowned, a look of utter disgust appearing on his face.

"I heard that the food here is made from rotten meat and maggots. The water is filled with the resentment of lonely ghosts."

"My friends ate these things, suffered from vomiting and diarrhea, and their whole bodies itched. Their bodies have suffered great damage. They might even develop chronic illnesses later on, shortening their lifespans."

"You must also pay for these medical expenses."

"Let me calculate: one hundred taels of medical expenses per person. For five people, that's five hundred taels."

Click-clack! Wu Xi's fingers suddenly stopped.

"Adding the previous lost wages, mental anguish fees, meal fees, accommodation fees, air fees, water fees, electricity fees, property management fees..."

"The total is eight hundred eighty-seven taels, five coins, and twenty-five wen."

"I'll waive the small change; just give me eight hundred eighty-eight taels."

"Give you my ass!" King Xianlian was so angry he was fuming.

He stomped his foot with a loud thud. Several bluestone slabs cracked under his feet as he pointed at Wu Xi's nose and cursed him out.

"Are you tired of living, kid? How dare you come here and act wild!"

"Let me tell you, those five people are in my hands right now! I can dispose of them however I want!"

"I'll drag them out right now and behead them! I'll dig out their hearts and livers to drink with my wine!"

"Let's see what you can do about it!"

Saying this, he roared at the ghost guards below the hall: "Guards! Drag those five living people out! Behead them!"

The ghost guards knelt on the ground, looking at each other, not daring to move.

"Go ahead and behead them," Wu Xi said indifferently.

"That way, I can settle the account for their lives with you."

"These five friends of mine are all priceless treasures."

"That carpenter has ancestral skills and can make wooden birds that fly."

"That blacksmith can forge blades that cut through iron like mud, even capable of cutting the ghost guards' iron chains."

"That teacher is well-versed in astronomy and geography, can divine the future, and knows the past and the future."

"Those two merchants have traveled across the land, know countless heroes, and with a single wave of their arms, can rally thousands of people."

"If you kill them, the loss will be massive." Wu Xi's fingers landed on the abacus once more.

"I won't ask for much. Ten thousand taels of silver per person; five people equals fifty thousand taels."

"If you kill them now, you can immediately pay me the fifty thousand taels."

"I would even have to thank you, saving me from having to haggle with you."

"Good, good, good!"

"I've certainly seen it all today!" He turned around abruptly and roared at the ghost guards below the hall:

"Go! Bring those five living people up here!"

The ghost guards, as if granted amnesty, scrambled away.

Before long, the sound of iron chains dragging on the ground came from outside.

Five people, bound tightly with ropes, were escorted in by the ghost guards.

They were all in rags, their eyes unfocused. Clearly, they had suffered quite a lot.

Seeing Wu Xi standing in the hall, their eyes suddenly lit up.