Chapter 48: Crow Lord

As soon as Rayan stepped onto the stage, the crowded council chamber erupted like a boiling pot.

The villagers below were buzzing with conversation, exchanging doubtful glances.

Having a fifteen-year-old boy preside over the village council was truly inconceivable, but no one dared to object, especially since the village chief, Olivia, had personally acknowledged that Rayan was a noble from the Maple Snow Kingdom.

Rayan sat down calmly in the center seat on the platform, his gaze slowly sweeping over the crowd. Some avoided his gaze, others looked defiant, and still others whispered and pointed.

He could no longer rely on chopping down the big tree at the village entrance to intimidate these people, who were much older than him; Rayan felt he had to take things one step at a time now.

He nodded at Olivia, "Let's start."

"Silence!"

Olivia tapped the floor with the heel of her boot again and loudly declared, "The village council is now in session!"

The first to be brought before Rayan was a young man in dirty clothes, his hands tied behind his back, his face bruised from punches and kicks, yet a smug smile hung on his lips.

"What crime have you committed?" Rayan asked.

"He stole from us! And it's the third time now!" the villager next to him said angrily.

Rayan glanced coldly at that villager, authoritatively stating, "I was asking him, not you."

The villager pouted and turned his head away, clearly disgruntled.

The accused thief chuckled, "Sir, I didn't steal, I just took them, at most you could say I borrowed them, and I will return them in full once I've made my fortune."

The crowd immediately stirred, and Olivia had to tap her boot on the floor again to call for quiet.

Rayan shifted his gaze to that villager, "You say he has stolen three times, what evidence do you have?"

"What more evidence do you need?"

The villager's eyes bulged with frustration, looking as if he wanted to spit, "When we caught him, village chief Olivia was at the scene, and as for saying it's three times, this is his third time being tried for it, isn't that enough?"

Rayan asked Olivia, "Is this true? The third trial? What were your decisions the first two times?"

Olivia nervously adjusted her blouse, "I locked him in the dungeon, one month the first time, three months the second. He's not a local villager, has no property, and can't compensate, so it had to be done that way."

"Three months and Dusty Village provided his food and drink?" Rayan asked.

Olivia frowned slightly, "But we restricted his freedom, preventing him from stealing during those three months..."

"Mercy only brings more thieves. My judgment is settled—"

Rayan's face was devoid of any smile; he reached for the sword handle behind him but then realized he shouldn't let a thief's blood stain his weapon and lowered his hand. He noticed a fish fillet knife at a villager's waist, so he said, "Give me your knife."

The villager looked suspiciously at Rayan and reluctantly handed over the fish fillet knife.

Rayan beckoned the thief with his finger, "Come here, turn around."

The thief swaggered to the front, showing his bound hands.

"One finger for one theft, three fingers for three thefts. The judgment takes effect immediately."

After saying this, Rayan grabbed the thief's wrist and harshly cut off one finger.

The thief immediately screamed like a slaughtered pig, struggling to free himself from Rayan's control, but Rayan had already gathered his Fourth Tier Battle Qi and firmly held the thief.

Rayan calmly cut off the second finger, then the third, ignoring the thief's pleas for mercy. The severed fingers and blood fell to the ground, stunning all the villagers present.

"Alright, pick up your fingers, you're free now."

After cutting off the fingers, Rayan broke the ropes binding the thief and didn't utter a single threat or warning.

The thief, pale and trembling uncontrollably, dared not even meet Rayan's gaze, picked up his fingers, and bolted from the council chamber, vowing never to return to Dusty Village in his lifetime.

Rayan casually said, "Next."

The council chamber fell silent, not a soul dared respond.

Rayan curiously said to Olivia, "Isn't there a next one?"

Olivia, coming out of her shock, stammered, "There is... but what you just did, although effective, was too cruel."

"Hmm."

Rayan nodded in acknowledgment, suddenly remembering he hadn't returned the fish fillet knife to the villager from earlier, so he turned to the stunned villager and said, "If you don't mind, I'll keep using this knife for a bit longer."

"No, no, no, no problem at all, sir!" The villager's attitude changed completely, "You can use it as you like!"

"Excellent, let's continue then."

This time, there was no need for Olivia to stamp her foot; the council chamber was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The next up were a pair of neighbors glaring at each other. Having seen Rayan's first judgment, their demeanor towards him was much more respectful.

"Sir!"

The tall, thin neighbor spoke first, "It's like this, I was playing dice with this bastard, and he refused to pay up after losing, and accused me of cheating with the dice!"

"Sir, he's the villain claiming to be the victim!" The shorter neighbor's face was flushed, his fists clenched tightly as if he was ready to punch the taller one.

Rayan asked the tall man, "Did you cheat?"

The tall man raised his right hand, swearing, "Absolutely not."

"Cheating at gambling, one finger. Lying to me, off with your head. Now, show me the dice."

"Ah? The dice?" The tall man's eyes went blank as if he suddenly couldn't understand what dice were. He swallowed hard, "Maybe... I, I lost them."

Rayan had heard enough. "Step forward so I can cut off your finger, or stand there and wait for me to chop off your head."

"Sir—"

The tall man's lower lip trembled, "Have mercy, sir, I'm a villager here..."

Rayan glanced at Olivia, then coldly said to the tall man, "Alright, I'll only cut off the first joint of your pinky, and you can choose which hand."

This grace was clearly not enough for the terrified tall man; he suddenly fell to his knees, "I have money, I can pay a fine instead—"

Rayan, expressionless, stood up from his seat, "Finger or head?"

"Finger! Finger!" The tall man, realizing he could not escape, shakily extended his pinky toward Rayan.

Rayan swung the fish fillet knife without mercy, and the tall man screamed in pain and fainted.

"Drag him away, give the pinky to his family."

As soon as he spoke, villagers came forward to carry the tall man away.

The shorter man excitedly shouted, "Sir, you are truly just, a true nobleman!"

"Don't thank me yet, we're not done." Rayan's face remained impassive, "What was the stake of your bet?"

The short man looked guilty, "Nothing much, just a few silver coins."

"A few silver coins worth bringing to the village council?" Rayan's voice was merciless, "Lying to me, off with your head. Did you think that threat was only for him?"

The short man suddenly broke out in a cold sweat, hastily confessing, "Sir, I'll tell you! We bet our houses and fish ponds. If it weren't for your keen insight, I might have lost my house and pond."

"Had it not been for your greed, why would you need my keen insight?" Rayan's gaze was as hard as stone, "Your family almost paid the price for your greed, so I'll punish you to whip yourself twenty times—Miss Olivia, do you have a whip here?"

Olivia was taken aback, embarrassed, "No, no."

"Then we'll use a rope instead, but the count will be increased." Rayan threw the rope that had bound the thief at the short man's feet, "I punish you to whip yourself with the rope forty times, it doesn't count unless it draws blood, are you convinced?"

"I am convinced." The short man bowed his head humbly, picked up the rope, "Thank you, sir, you are the embodiment of justice."

"You may go. Next."

After the short villager left with the rope, the subsequent disputes suddenly became much simpler.

A couple who had been constantly arguing declared they loved each other deeply, until death do them part, two villagers who had fought over trivial matters also declared their deep love, until death do them part, and a group of siblings fighting over inheritance also declared their love for each other, until death do them part.

Rayan, finding them to be making trouble out of nothing, had each person take a rope and whip themselves ten times. Those who received the rope wore expressions of escaping a great danger, as if they had been granted a grace instead of a punishment tool.

Soon, all the longstanding disputes in Dusty Village were resolved. The fish fillet knife was only used twice at the beginning and was not needed again. Although Rayan's judgments were harsh, every villager felt the justice.

Rayan turned to Olivia, who looked utterly dumbfounded, "Miss Olivia, didn't you have something to say?"

"Huh?" Remembering the line she had prepared, "So nobles are just like us," Olivia shivered suddenly, her back tensing as if an invisible whip was lashing her. Her face flushed, she stammered, "I, I have nothing to say."

"Is that so?" Rayan stood up from his seat, revealing the first smile since he entered the council chamber, "That's too bad, because I am about to leave, and you won't have another chance."

This was a blatant provocation!

The blush on Olivia's face spread down to her slender neck, feeling more embarrassed than if Rayan had pinned her against a wall, yet she was powerless to respond.

Rayan called over Liam, took the basket containing the Wrathclaw Lobster, and walked out the door with a relaxed demeanor.

As he reached the village entrance, he suddenly heard someone in the crowd shout, "Lord! He is the lord we need! Crow Lord!"

As he walked through the village entrance, all the villagers of Dusty Village followed, chanting in unison:

"Crow Lord! Crow Lord! Crow Lord!"