"After I die, can she leave this place?" Shen Lang sighed faintly. He didn't care about his own life or death. Three hundred years of suffering and torment might make death a release for him. Furthermore, even without external interference, in his current state, he only had an hour or two left to live at most. However, he couldn't let Su Hongzhu go and didn't want her to suffer any more tragedies because of him.
"Impossible." However, Xu Lin shook his head. "Afterwards, I will escort her to the Mingjian Division prison." If Su Hongzhu resisted, he would not hesitate to kill her. After Shen Lang, the culprit, died, not everything would disappear. Someone had to bear the burden of this disaster. Although Su Hongzhu was not the mastermind or an accomplice, the matter started because of her and would end because of her, otherwise how could the innocent deceased civilians be accounted for? This karma ultimately needed someone to bear it. If Su Hongzhu was not taken back, under the investigation of the enraged imperial court, how many people with ulterior motives would take this opportunity to secretly harm their usual enemies? Too many people had died in this disaster, and the entire Qianyu City was filled with the smell of blood. They shouldn't let those unrelated to the matter be exterminated and their families annihilated in injustice.
Hearing this, Shen Lang's gaze darkened. He naturally knew the reason. Although he was unwilling, he was powerless to change anything. "Do it," he said softly, then looked at the woman beside him with affection. Even though she was a骷髅 under the illusion technique, he felt no strangeness in his heart. The love that had accumulated for three hundred years was still so pure.
"No!" Su Hongzhu shook her head and pleaded with Ji Yuan, "He's at the end of his rope, with only an hour or two left to live. Why can't you even wait for this little time?" An hour or two. To her, Shen Lang was already at his limit. At this moment, even a child could threaten his life, and he had no hidden trump cards. Why couldn't they wait a moment longer? Why did they have to kill him immediately?
"Every moment he lives is unfair to the innocent deceased civilians..." Ji Yuan said in a deep voice. If he could, he wouldn't want to kill his former friend like this. But Shen Lang had committed so many evil deeds, and countless innocent people had lost their lives directly or indirectly because of him. Since he had sown the seeds of evil, he naturally had to bear the consequences.
"I..." Su Hongzhu opened her mouth, as if she wanted to continue begging. But she had only spoken one word when a blur of movement flashed past her eyes. In her sight, a white jade flying sword pierced through the young man's forehead, and the sound of him falling to the ground was heard. The familiar aura in her memory suddenly vanished. Su Hongzhu's eyes were vacant, and she knelt on the spot for a long time, motionless. Even though her face was filled with grief, not a single tear flowed from her eyes. After all, she was no longer Su Rou from three hundred years ago, but merely a 骷髅 now. With a tragic smile, the illusion technique on her body dissipated silently, revealing her true form as a white skeleton, covered with strands of flesh and blood. Her crystalline bones contained immense vitality and life force.
"I advise you not to try to perish together." As her pale, crystal-clear finger bones moved slightly, Ji Yuan's voice suddenly rang out. He looked at Su Hongzhu, who had removed her illusion technique, and said with a sigh, "Shen Lang... he endured three hundred years of pain, persisting for so many years like neither human nor ghost, just to have you transform into a 骷髅 and reappear in this world." If you still have the feelings for him in your memory, then live on as much as possible, carrying his longing and love with you." Once imprisoned in the Mingjian Division prison, she would inevitably suffer countless pains and torments. All of this would be considered repayment for some of the sins she owed. Although Su Hongzhu was not solely responsible for the disaster today, she was not unrelated to it. In the depths of fate, a sin would be counted against her. However, the laws of the Great Yu Dynasty were not entirely iron-blooded and ruthless. In the hundreds of years since its founding, many similar incidents had occurred. Many ghosts, after cleansing themselves of their sins, would, under the supervision of the imperial court, either become local deities to protect the people and repay karma, or join government offices similar to the Mingjian Division, traveling to pacify unrest and accumulate merit. Therefore, what awaited Su Hongzhu in the future was not necessarily annihilation, but perhaps a long road of atonement and redemption for her sins and karma. But in any case, there was still a glimmer of hope, so that the man's three hundred years of hardship would not end in a mere fleeting appearance.
"The laws of heaven are just and impartial, yet they leave a glimmer of hope for all things. If one day you can condense a body of merit, perhaps you can use it to ask heaven for a chance for a trace of his true spirit to reincarnate." Thinking about it, Ji Yuan couldn't help but tell a well-intentioned lie. After all, Su Hongzhu herself was not wrong. She was a woman with a pitiful background, who, after a disaster, was revived by the man she loved using a demonic secret art that defied the rules of heaven and earth and harmed others. Fundamentally, only Shen Lang was at fault.
Hearing this, Su Hongzhu suddenly looked up, and the illusion technique transformed her back into human form. She then looked at Ji Yuan with eager anticipation. Seeing him nod slightly, she suddenly smiled, and her brows were not charmingly attractive, but radiant and sunny. At this moment, even the chilling ghost aura on Su Hongzhu seemed to have weakened considerably.
*Bang!!!* Suddenly, the black and white light barrier in the sky collapsed, disintegrating on its own after the main array controller died. Although it had been less than a day, everyone felt as if the sunlight falling on them was a long-lost sensation. A wave of fatigue quietly swept over their minds. After several brushes with death, they suddenly relaxed. Even though they were cultivators who had reached the Innate realm, they couldn't help but feel an urge to fall asleep.
At this moment, a sound of hurried footsteps was heard, and the faint shouts of countless people could be heard. Ji Yuan and the others instinctively turned to look and saw dense figures emerging from the street corner in the distance. A rough count revealed at least two hundred people. And leading them was the long-lost Chief Constable of Qianyu City, Liu Hongsheng, known for his chivalry.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan understood immediately. The other party, seeing that the situation was decided, the enemy had been eliminated, and there was no more danger, wanted to reap the rewards. Since the county yamen and the city guards had ceased to exist due to Shen Lang's schemes, and there were no officials here, the merit of quelling the disaster and saving the city's populace would naturally fall upon him. After all, the final account of what happened would be whatever the Chief Constable said it was. At most, they would share some of the hard work and ask for some imperial rewards and commendations, which would be considered a satisfactory explanation for those who had truly contributed. Even if they were resentful and went to the prefectural city or even the provincial capital to lodge a complaint, no one would likely believe them. Who could they blame? They were mere commoners. Even with cultivation, they were not officials. Even from twenty feet away, Ji Yuan could see the joy on the Chief Constable's face.
"Fame without substance," he shook his head, suddenly feeling quite bored. Gangs like the Sando Association could risk their lives for the common people they knew. Since they collected protection fees, they would bravely step forward even in the face of almost certain death. But this Chief Constable, who had enjoyed a reputation for chivalry for hundreds of miles, had disappeared at the moment of true crisis, only to arrive late with a group of minor gang members after everything had settled down. However, when he thought of the constables who had escorted the injured away, he felt that the world was not entirely boring. There was Liu Hongsheng, who sought fame and profit but was actually a profiteer, and there were also unknown minor constables who, despite their low martial arts skills, were fearless in the face of death.
*Clang!!!* Just as he was sighing, a flash of blade light suddenly streaked out, landing in front of Liu Hongsheng, who was already several feet away. A deep gash was cut into the ground by the blade qi. "Mingjian Division investigation, any unrelated personnel who dare to approach... kill!" Xu Lin raised his head, sheathed his sword, and took out a token engraved with the words "Mingjian Division" on the front. This token held the power of life and death. In emergencies, it could even be used to dispatch up to five hundred soldiers from a garrison.
"I am Liu Hongsheng, Chief Constable of Qianyu City. I have brought a group of martial heroes to eliminate demons and monsters here." The middle-aged man with a heroic face clasped his fists, speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly, and even with a hint of readiness to die. But who was Xu Lin? As a second-class Blade Wielder in the Mingjian Division, despite being only in his early twenties, he was already full of worldly experience and had encountered all sorts of people in his nearly ten years of travel. With just one glance, he could see through Liu Hongsheng's intentions, otherwise he wouldn't have swung that sword earlier to block their progress. Therefore, after hearing this, Xu Lin merely said one word coldly: "Scram!" With just one word, the killing intent contained within it made dozens of gang members' faces change color, and they instinctively took several steps back. Even Liu Hongsheng was so shaken by the fierce killing intent that his vital energy trembled, and his face turned a little pale. He wanted to say something more, but seeing the killing intent in the other party's eyes and the Mingjian Division token in his hand, his momentum weakened considerably and then completely dissipated.
"Since they are fellow colleagues from the Mingjian Division, I will lead my men to cordon off the area to prevent any rascals or ordinary civilians from intruding!" Although he felt a little humiliated, he still clasped his fists, but he did say some perfunctory words. However, Xu Lin didn't even look at him. He turned and walked to Su Hongzhu's side, then took out a silver bracelet from his embrace. This bracelet was bright silver all over, as if made of metal, densely engraved with runes, and a spiritual light flowed on its surface, making it a spiritual artifact of good quality.
"Wear it," he said coldly, tossing the bracelet to Su Hongzhu. Hearing this, she picked up the bracelet that had fallen in front of her and, in silence, without any hesitation, put it on her right wrist. As soon as she put it on, countless runes spread out from the bracelet, passing through her illusion technique and branding themselves on her true skeletal form. This was the Mingjian Division's Demon Locking Ring. Once worn, it could not be broken without a specific incantation, unless one possessed Golden Core cultivation. Furthermore, the Blade Wielder holding the bracelet could instantly restrain the wearer's cultivation and physical strength, and even directly shatter the wearer's soul after performing a secret technique.
Seeing Su Hongzhu put on the Demon Locking Ring, Xu Lin nodded with slight satisfaction, then slowly walked towards Ji Yuan. Looking at the young Daoist in front of him, he felt a thousand emotions. Who would have thought that a cultivator of the first realm could possess such an anomaly, with such a vast and heavy sword energy converging into a river, capable of defeating even a second-realm cultivator holding a spiritual artifact. Regardless of Shen Lang's condition at the time, after using the secret technique, he possessed genuine second-realm strength, coupled with a complete spiritual artifact. Even he himself was not entirely confident in defeating him under such circumstances. This alone was enough to earn his respect. But what truly made him admire Ji Yuan from the bottom of his heart was that under the temptation of demons, by merely listening to others' words, he was able to successfully condense a Dao Heart. Although this Dao Heart could not increase a cultivator's cultivation or enhance their techniques, it was an opportunity related to the fundamental principles of the Great Dao. Some cultivators in the third realm, even after exhausting their three-hundred-year lifespan, were still unable to condense their own Dao Heart, which showed its preciousness. Xu Lin also knew that a Dao Heart was a crucial element for both martial artists and cultivators in their future advancement to the Great Dao. Without it, one could not form a Golden Core or a True Body!
"This matter here is yours to handle. Take all the credit you want. We don't get involved in officialdom, so it's useless to us." Ji Yuan saw the other party lost in thought and immediately guessed what he was thinking. So he smiled and said, "However, while you're taking the credit, don't skimp on the benefits, otherwise we won't let you off easily." Hearing this harmless threat, the coldness on Xu Lin's face lessened a bit. He chuckled and solemnly promised that all the benefits would be given to them without fail. Even if he had to bankrupt himself and exhaust all his resources, he would deliver them one by one. However, it would take about a month or two, as this disaster was not small in scale, affecting an entire county, and its aftermath would extend to the entire prefecture. He didn't know how many people would be inadvertently implicated. But these had nothing to do with Xu Lin. The Mingjian Division, to which he belonged, was considered a separate system within the imperial court, involved in officialdom but not influenced by it. This ensured that the credit and benefits could be finalized in about a month.
"You handle it as you see fit. I won't be leaving Qianyu City anytime soon anyway." Ji Yuan shrugged and sheathed his long sword. He wasn't worried that the other party would renege on the deal after taking the credit. After all, the monks can leave, but the temples cannot. At worst, he would just go to the Mingjian Division in the prefectural city. As for the others present, they had no objections to his decision. As he said, none of them were involved in officialdom, so what use would they have for this credit? It was better to have more tangible benefits.
"Since there are no major issues, we will take our leave." Ji Yuan scanned the surroundings and finally cast a deep glance at Shen Lang's corpse. He sighed, then said to Jiang He, "Ask those few constables to come over later. Fellow Daoist Xu is unfamiliar with this place, so he'll need some people to help him." Jiang He immediately called out, "Okay!" Xu Lin naturally had nothing to say. Although he knew that Ji Yuan's intention was to share some credit with those constables, he did indeed need manpower.
A moment later, after confirming that everything was indeed settled, Ji Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and then looked at his fifth senior brother. "Junior brother?" Guo Tao asked with a confused expression, thinking Ji Yuan had something to instruct him. But he saw Ji Yuan suddenly smile. "Senior brother, catch me. I think I'm going to faint..." He said with a smile, but halfway through, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted, falling straight backward.