Chapter 46: Colluding with Evil Spirits—Zero Tolerance (Third Update)

Today, Lin'an City was much more bustling than usual.

Because today was the day of the Zhao family's executions.

The Zhao family.

They could be considered a prestigious and influential clan in Lin'an City.

Zhao Fang had been in power for twenty years, during which the Zhao family had reaped many benefits, and their influence had developed extremely rapidly.

In the eyes of the common people of Lin'an City, the Zhao family was the heavens themselves.

But things were different now.

The Zhao family had been stripped of their property and exterminated; they no longer possessed the prestige of the past.

Seeing numerous bailiffs driving the members of the Zhao family toward the execution grounds in prisoner carts immediately drew the attention of many citizens.

Within the crowd, there were also some figures from the martial arts world, silently observing it all.

"That newly appointed County Magistrate is not simple!" Cui Cheng suddenly sighed.

Standing beside him, Zhao Yue's beautiful face showed confusion. "Why do you say that, Senior Brother?"

"There was quite a commotion last night. The yamen brought out several corpses today, and many people died. If I'm not mistaken, the ones who ambushed the yamen last night must have been experts from the Eternal Life Alliance. Zhao Fang was a member of the Eternal Life Alliance; now that the Zhao family is being stripped of their property and exterminated, the Alliance won't just sit idly by. If the Eternal Life Alliance had truly succeeded yesterday, there certainly wouldn't be members of the Zhao family being executed today."

Cui Cheng remained calm as he watched the prisoner carts escorting the Zhao family members.

"To be able to wipe out an entire village of demons and monsters, their strength is likely in the middle or late stages of the Pulse Connection Realm. Even so, they suffered losses at that man's hands. The Eternal Life Alliance has demons backing them, but those currently in charge of the Alliance are also demon-men. They aren't fools. After losing a demon comparable to a mid-to-late Pulse Connection expert, the experts they sent this time must be at least at the late stage of Pulse Connection, or perhaps even the Xiantian Realm. Even so, they failed to break the prison. This County Magistrate's strength is definitely not as simple as it appears on the surface."

From certain details, Cui Cheng could connect many more things.

If he were a demon-man of the Eternal Life Alliance, after knowing Shen Changqing's strength, he would certainly not send weaklings to their deaths.

Thus, Shen Changqing's true strength could be imagined.

Zhao Yue looked at Shen Changqing, who was riding a horse at the very front, her eyes revealing a look of shock.

"Do you mean, Senior Brother, that this Lord Shen is likely a Xiantian expert?"

"Even if he isn't Xiantian, he certainly won't be far off. I thought that since the Demon Suppression Division is currently tied down by demons in various places, they wouldn't be able to dispatch too many experts to a small place like Lin'an City. It seems I was wrong. The foundation of the Demon Suppression Division is incomparable to any martial arts sect."

Cui Cheng spoke with emotion.

The strongest member of his own Guiyuan Sword Sect was merely at the Xiantian Realm. Even though he was already in the late stage of the Pulse Connection Realm, the time required to break through to Xiantian would definitely not be short. Furthermore, it involved the matter of providence and opportunity.

In the martial arts world, the total number of Pulse Connection Realm warriors was quite large, but once one reached the Xiantian level, the numbers dropped drastically. Any Xiantian expert held a significant status in the martial world.

Therefore, after realizing that Shen Changqing might be a Xiantian expert, Cui Cheng's internal vigilance rose significantly.

Hearing this, Zhao Yue nodded in understanding, looking at Shen Changqing's retreating figure with a changed expression.

***

East City, Execution Grounds.

In front of the execution grounds, a sunshade canopy had been erected. Shen Changqing sat inside, while Shi Qingsheng stood by waiting.

The prisoner carts transporting the Zhao family had now stopped beside the execution grounds. There were over twenty carts, each carrying six or seven people. There was no other way; the yamen only had so many carts, so they had to be squeezed in.

"Bring them down!" Shen Changqing waved his hand, issuing the order immediately.

Upon hearing this, the bailiffs in front of the carts opened several of them and forcibly dragged the people out. Some wailed and refused to move, while others were numb, allowing themselves to be dragged out by the bailiffs.

Standing on the execution grounds with a heavy wooden collar, Zhao Li's gaze suddenly caught sight of Cui Cheng in the crowd, and a sliver of hope rose in his heart. But when he noticed Cui Cheng averting his eyes, that hope vanished without a trace.

Glancing at the location of the prisoner carts, Zhao Li turned to look toward the canopy.

"Lord Shen, the Zhao family knows their sins are heavy and has no objection to the Imperial Court's judgment. However, some clan members are innocent. I wonder if your Lordship could show mercy and grant them a way to live."

After speaking, Zhao Li knelt down decisively.

Shen Changqing's expression was indifferent. "This official acts according to the law. The Imperial Court's decree states the extermination of nine generations; therefore, the nine generations shall be exterminated. I presume those being executed today are not just the ones present; the various Zhao family branches in other regions will suffer the same fate. You must know, conspiring with demons is an unpardonable crime."

"If you want to blame someone—blame Zhao Fang for conspiring with demons and betraying humanity!"

"If you want to blame someone—blame them for being members of the Zhao family!"

"My Lord—"

Zhao Li looked anxious, wanting to say more.

Shen Changqing waved his hand directly, cutting him off. "High noon has arrived. Execute!"

With the command, bailiffs stepped forward to forcibly pin Zhao Li down. The prepared executioner took a mouthful of wine and spat it directly onto the bright blade before swinging it down.

*Swish—*

The long blade fell, and the head was severed from the body.

The bloody scene caused the onlookers to scream in terror, and simultaneously caused the members of the Zhao family to turn pale.

"Father!"

Zhao Mingye cried out in grief and indignation. Even now, he could not believe that the once-prosperous Zhao family would one day have its members decapitated one by one on an execution ground.

With Zhao Li's death, Zhao Mingye wanted to struggle and rush forward. But as soon as he took a step, he was pinned down by the bailiffs on either side and forced to kneel on the ground.

"Execute more!" Shen Changqing commanded coldly.

The executioner proceeded. Immediately, another head fell.

"No, I don't want to die—"

"Why? Zhao Fang was the one who conspired with demons! Why kill us? I refuse!"

"I am just a servant of the Zhao family, I am innocent!"

One by one, they cried and screamed, wanting to live, but it was of no use. The long blade fell, and heads rolled. For a time, blood stained the execution platform red.

Whenever someone was decapitated, bailiffs would carry the body away and discard it to the side. The thick scent of blood made many people feel intense discomfort.

"This Lord Shen is truly ruthless!"

Watching the Zhao family members being continuously executed, even Cui Cheng felt a bit nauseated. However, looking at Shen Changqing sitting in the canopy, his expression had not changed from beginning to end; even his gaze was like a stagnant pool of water.

From this, one could see how much this County Magistrate disregarded human life.

Standing to the side, Zhao Yue's beautiful face had long since turned deathly pale. Looking at the falling heads and smelling the thick scent of blood, she felt her stomach churning with an urge to vomit.

"S-Senior Brother, perhaps we should go back!" Zhao Yue tugged at Cui Cheng's sleeve, her voice trembling.

Cui Cheng looked at his junior sister's pale face and shook his head. "Just watch. If you want to walk the martial world, you will eventually have to face these things. Adapting now will be good for you."

Although he also felt unwell, he had no intention of leaving. In these chaotic times, corpses could be seen everywhere. If one could not endure even these scenes, how could one walk the martial world in the future?

Hearing Cui Cheng's words, Zhao Yue could only endure the discomfort in her heart.

On the other side of the crowd, there were also two youths watching the scene at the execution grounds.

"After we return, make sure to investigate Lord Shen's information thoroughly. He might be a powerful obstacle to our acquisition of demon essence blood!" Xiao Bo's voice was low, his expression solemn.

"Senior Brother, what does he have to do with our Heavenly Blade Sect acquiring demon essence blood? Is the Imperial Court going to intervene as well?" Standing beside him, Xiao Qu had a look of confusion on his face.

"Whether the Imperial Court intervenes or not, there is no guarantee that Lord Shen won't have ideas regarding the demon essence blood. The experts of the Eternal Life Alliance only caused a small commotion in the yamen last night; this man's strength is unfathomable. As the saying goes, know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be defeated. It won't hurt to know more."

Xiao Bo shook his head slightly and explained patiently.

In his estimation, the battle at the yamen last night should have resulted in the Eternal Life Alliance wiping out everyone in the yamen. After all, having failed the first time, the Alliance would certainly have come prepared for the second attempt.

But even so, the Eternal Life Alliance had still failed. Although some people in the yamen died, the fact that the Zhao family members were being executed today was enough to explain everything.

At the execution grounds, the members of the Zhao family were being decapitated one after another. Some were direct descendants of the Zhao family, while others were merely servants; no matter how they cried and screamed, they could not avoid the fate of having their heads fall.

Shen Changqing sat there, silently watching it all. In his eyes, no one in the Zhao family was innocent. Those servants and guards had all signed indentures of servitude; in principle, they were members of the Zhao family. When the Zhao family was at its peak, they served the family and enjoyed many benefits; now that the Zhao family had fallen, they naturally had to bear the corresponding karma.

Time passed bit by bit. One by one, members of the Zhao family were brought to the execution grounds to be decapitated. There were only a few executioners, and to ensure every strike resulted in a head falling required a significant expenditure of strength. Because of this, some executioners had to take brief rests.

It took nearly two hours before all the members of the Zhao family had been executed. A large number of corpses were piled together, a gruesome sight. With the massive amount of blood poured onto the execution grounds, it was no different from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

"Reporting to the Lord, all one hundred and eighty-seven members of the Zhao family have been decapitated. I wonder what we should do next!" Shi Qingsheng reported in a low voice. Upon closer inspection, one could see that his face was also deathly pale.

Shen Changqing nodded slightly, stood up from his seat, and walked out of the canopy to look at the pile of corpses.

"The Zhao family conspired with demons and betrayed humanity. According to the laws of Great Qin, they have all been decapitated and put on public display. Now, I issue my command: all the corpses of the Zhao family are to be cremated completely. No remains shall be left behind."

"At the same time, I hope others take this as a warning."

"Whoever conspires with demons and betrays humanity shall have their nine generations exterminated. There shall be no leniency!"