Chapter 330: Draw Cards

The presiding judge paused briefly to consider, then granted Hai Ye's request for a temporary recess.

Both sides rose and exited the courtroom; Master Miao Yin's party moved in haste, whispering urgently with Zhong Tian Beiji and others as they strategized.

Li Cheng's move to prevent dual charges from being tried together was a direct strike at the root— for Master Miao Yin, even if Xiao Shui was sentenced to three to ten years in prison, she would gain nothing if she couldn't seize the assets; she must find another way.

"Disgusting, truly disgusting!"

In the defendant's break room, Xiao Shui Xingjun paced back and forth, his voice filled with furious resentment, his teeth grinding with a sharp creaking sound.

Judging from his conduct during the trial, he likely didn't wear nearly so many green hats—or any at all—but his "chance encounter" with Master Miao Yin was almost certainly staged.

The thought that even the last remaining pleasant memory of her was fabricated, that he had shared a bed for years with an old woman who lied about her age, and that she had schemed to frame him—

made Xiao Shui feel physically ill, desperate to draw his sword and slash at something.

"If you feel pain, you can cry."

Li Cheng advised: "Or sit on the floor of a single bathroom, scrubbing your body violently with a showerhead and towel while continuously shedding tears to demonstrate sorrow."

"? What's this, a classic scene from early Chinese TV dramas where the female lead is swindled of her money and seduced?"

Zhang Wei's eyebrow twitched; he rubbed his palms and said to Xiao Shui Xingjun: "So far, our advantage in asset division is substantial—Master Pi Fu has confirmed Master Miao Yin falsified her age, rendering the marriage invalid."

According to the Immortal Court Civil Code, a spouse in a cohabitation relationship has no automatic inheritance rights, no legal obligations, and restricted claims to rights.

This means the other party cannot leverage marital misconduct—such as domestic violence or infidelity—to claim divorce-related damages, or falsely claim illness to demand medical expenses from the other."

In the real world, Zhang Wei was once a third-rate lawyer at a law firm (he still is, just doesn't show up often); he'd seen countless bizarre divorce cases.

There were couples who faked a divorce to bypass housing purchase restrictions, only for one party to refuse to remarry, leaving both person and property lost;

there were those who forged court documents to convince their spouse they were already divorced, then swiftly transferred assets during that window;

there were those who, after cheating, feared their spouse would refuse divorce, so they poisoned them with rat poison over years—yet the victim never died;

and there were those who, after being scammed out of all family wealth by an online lover, fearing blame from their spouse, pushed them down the stairs in advance.

Having seen so many cases of spouses turning into bitter enemies, Zhang Wei had little faith in love; despite being a high-quality single man with assets exceeding ten million (in-game currency over a thousand counted as ten million), he still hadn't found a partner.

The young ladies at the bars of Lujie, though dazzlingly beautiful—some alluring and seductive, others sweet and pure, some gentle and considerate—still didn't satisfy Zhang Wei's longing for heart-to-heart, soul-to-soul connection.

"The only three concerns now are: first, whether the other side will use some tactic to forcibly reinstate the marriage."

Yuan Zhixia said: "The Immortal Court Civil Code was amended once—it no longer recognizes de facto marriages after February 1, 3194. But if a marriage registration was later completed, the marriage's validity can be retroactively applied to the time both parties met the substantive requirements for marriage."

"You're certain you never completed the marriage registration, right?"

Xiao Shui Xingjun stopped pacing; his eyes shimmered with starlight as he instantly recalled every moment of his past hundred years, then nodded firmly: "I'm certain I never completed the marriage registration with that bitch. My cultivator ID has always been on my person—she never had a chance to steal it."

"Good."

Yuan Zhixia nodded. "Second: you have no children together, right? Illegitimate children born during cohabitation have the same legal rights as legitimate children and can claim child support."

"No."

This time Xiao Shui Xingjun answered faster, perhaps fearing the "mortals" might lack depth of knowledge about the cultivation world, he elaborated: "For cultivators, male or female, the higher their realm, the harder it is to conceive.

From the embryonic stage, parents must expend their own cultivation to nourish the child's soul and body. Thus, even a Grand Penetration cultivator aged 190 or 200 may have only one or two offspring in their entire life."

Li Cheng raised an eyebrow—well, that made sense. In nature, the more advanced the species, the harder it is to reproduce.

Reasons include complex physiological structures, energy and resource limitations, environmental adaptability, and survival strategies.

Like the Eldar in the Warhammer 40k universe, whose genetic evolution is so advanced that each exchange of genetic material for reproduction takes months and requires genetic input from multiple individuals—scenes utterly unsuitable for children.

Uh, on a side note, people like Musk or the founder of some domestic game company, who father many children with different non-marital partners, are using a lottery strategy—the more children they have, the higher the chance of spawning an SSR genius to inherit and expand the family empire.

Yuan Zhixia pressed: "Could she have secretly become pregnant and then shock everyone?"

"Impossible."

Xiao Shui Xingjun shook his head decisively: "We agreed early on—not to have children before 160. We've been counting the years carefully."

Even if, hypothetically, she stole my essence while I slept, the entire gestation process would take three to four years—she couldn't hide it from me."

"Good."

Yuan Zhixia nodded. "Final concern: does she possess any evidence of your criminal acts?"

One crime after another, one offense after another, one detail after another—every single one visible!

"What?!" Xiao Shui Xingjun's face paled; he accidentally crushed a corner of the wooden table with his grip.

"In just over a hundred years, you and Master Miao Yin raised Xiao Shui Sect from a decaying sect to the third-highest power in the mortal realm. Did you use any illegal methods throughout?"

Yuan Zhixia said calmly: "For example, discovering a spirit stone vein only to find villagers living above it—then engineering a landslide to wipe them out. Or killing to seize treasures, exterminating entire families."

Also, according to the records, Xiao Shui Sect owns dozens of commercial enterprises: banks, shops, inns, pawnshops, auction houses, brothels, airship fleets.

Have any of these involved illegal business practices, insider trading, or financial crimes?"

In the real world, aside from the relatively clean growth of new internet companies, it's nearly impossible for any traditional business model to rise from nothing to greatness without some stain.

One must inevitably skirt the edges of the law.

Yuan Zhixia said: "With two crimes not tried together, if Master Miao Yin realizes she can't seize most assets through the divorce case, she may shift tactics—abandon the divorce case entirely and instead threaten to expose your financial crimes, using the second case to force concessions in the divorce case."

"She's insane? Xiao Shui Sect was built by both of us—every business operation, legal or illegal, was handled jointly by me and her. If she reports me, she'll go to prison too!"

"A single win is better than mutual loss, which is better than a single loss. Even if she threatens you with self-destruction, you have few good countermeasures—she can't possibly be imprisoned for life."

Yuan Zhixia pulled out paper and pen, speaking calmly: "We recommend you recall every possible financial crime you've committed. Our lawyers will find ways to patch the loopholes."

"."

After a long silence, Xiao Shui Xingjun slowly nodded. Verbal explanation was too cumbersome—he simply used his Sleeve of Heaven and Earth technique to summon paper and ink, then, with precise control, directed the ink to splash across the scroll, instantly filling it with dense, intricate script.

Man, you graduated from the Prisoner's Handbook, didn't you?

Zhang Wei was stunned, watching page after page fill up, the writing continuing for a full half-minute without end.

(End of Chapter)