Execution at the Third Quarter of Noon Tomorrow

Execution at the Third Quarter of Noon Tomorrow

"You..."

Slap!

Just as Xu Haoyu was about to speak, Zhou Shan backhanded him with another hard slap.

"If you dare say one more word, I'll slap you once." Zhou Shan said coldly, "I'd like to see how many slaps you can take. Go on, keep talking!"

Though Zhou Shan had held back his strength, both sides of Xu Haoyu's face still swelled rapidly.

At once, Xu Haoyu felt a burning pain across both cheeks.

Xu Haoyu was beside himself with rage. Fire practically blazed from his eyes as he looked at Zhou Shan.

He was the Xu Family's second young master. Since childhood, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? He had been pinned down and slapped twice across the face; even his parents had never hit him.

Xu Haoyu ground his teeth, wishing he could swallow Zhou Shan alive and flay him alive.

But when he saw Zhou Shan's raised hand, he forcibly swallowed the words that had reached his lips.

A wise man did not fight when the odds were against him.

The situation was unfavorable to him right now, so it was better to say less.

Once his father pulled some strings and fished him out of prison, he would surely take brutal revenge on these people.

"Two slaps and you've already gone cowardly?" Zhou Shan mocked. "What a spineless wretch. Take them away!"

The Black Armored Army escorted Xu Haoyu and the group of young masters out of Moon Lake Villa and back toward the county town.

"Look, isn't that the Xu Family's second young master, Xu Haoyu?"

"The Black Armored Army arrested Xu Haoyu."

"Not just Xu Haoyu—there's also the Hundred Herbs Gang's young gang leader, the East City Li Family's young master, the Datong Merchant Guild's third young master... All those spoiled young scions in the city have been arrested."

"This Commandant Zhou really isn't afraid of poking a hole in the heavens!"

"You've got that wrong. In Qingyang Commandery today, the Black Armored Army is the heavens. The imperial court is falling apart, the Vajra Sect has been destroyed, and no force remains that can contend with the Black Armored Army."

"Then Commandant Zhou is an upright magistrate who sees the blue sky!"

"That's right. This upright magistrate is standing up for us."

"..."

When Zhou Shan entered the county town, the people along the streets saw the Black Armored Army escorting Xu Haoyu and the other spoiled young scions. It caused a huge stir, and the surrounding onlookers discussed it animatedly.

Yet these commoners mostly praised Zhou Shan and the Black Armored Army.

This showed just how little support Xu Haoyu and the other spoiled young scions had in Luyang County.

"He Yong, spread the word. At the third quarter of noon tomorrow, Xu Haoyu and the other spoiled young scions will be executed."

After returning to the Commandant's Office, Zhou Shan spoke calmly.

"My lord, must we move so quickly?"

He Yong was shocked upon hearing the order.

Although Xu Haoyu and the other spoiled young scions had been arrested, imprisonment and execution were entirely different matters.

If they were merely thrown into prison, there was still room to turn things around. But executing them meant offending every upper-class force in Luyang County to the bitter end, until one side died.

Even merely spreading the news would leave no room for reconciliation.

"They're just a pack of clowns. What is there to fear?" Zhou Shan said calmly. "Do as I said."

His cultivation had now reached the peak of the Aperture-Opening Realm.

Even if all the forces in Luyang County joined hands, they posed no threat to him.

Besides, this was one of the Dark Division's plans from the start—to lure out the Vajra Sect remnants. So long as the Xu Family contacted those remnants, the Dark Division could follow the vine to find the hiding place of the Vajra Sect remnants.

Even Zhou Shan did not know how many Dark Division experts lay hidden within the city.

"Yes, my lord!"

He Yong accepted the order and withdrew.

Very quickly, news leaked from the Commandant's Office that Xu Haoyu and the other spoiled young scions would be executed at the third quarter of noon tomorrow. Upon hearing it, the citizens immediately spread the word, and the news swept through the entire county town with the speed of thunder before one could cover one's ears.

"At the third quarter of noon tomorrow, Xu Haoyu will be executed."

"Not just Xu Haoyu. The Hundred Herbs Gang's young gang leader, the East City Li Family's young master, the Datong Merchant Guild's third young master... Every one of those scoundrels and human scum will be beheaded."

"Those people should have died long ago. Even dying ten times, a hundred times, would not be enough."

"What a great relief! What an absolute delight!"

"..."

Once the news spread, all the commoners clapped and cheered.

At first, they had thought that Xu Haoyu and the others had merely been arrested and would only spend a few days in prison. They had never expected this commandant to be so decisive as to execute them all.

This was hatred unto death, with no end but death!

Aside from the ordinary people, some of the city's small and mid-sized factions had originally held grievances against Zhou Shan. They thought he only bullied the weak while fearing the strong, using their smaller factions as targets while not daring to touch major forces like the Xu Family, the Hundred Herbs Gang, and the Datong Merchant Guild.

They had not expected Commandant Zhou Shan to be so ruthless. He had barely arrested the young masters of these major forces before directly announcing their execution tomorrow, without dragging his feet in the slightest and leaving no room for compromise.

"Alas, an arm cannot twist a thigh. Let's wait and see."

Some factions sighed.

Faced with a Black Armored Army commandant like Zhou Shan, who showed no regard for personal ties, these factions had no solution at all. Their old experience was completely useless. For now, they could only restrain their subordinates, make them obey the law, avoid violating it, and wait to see what happened.

They believed that with Zhou Shan acting like this, he certainly would not remain in Luyang County for long. Their businesses would suffer, and the silver paid to the Guiyuan Sect would also be affected. When the time came, the Guiyuan Sect's higher-ups naturally would not agree to it and would take the initiative to reassign Zhou Shan.

A man like this was best suited for suppressing bandits and killing enemies on the battlefield. He was not suited to governing a county.

Xu Family, study.

After learning that the Black Armored Army had arrested his younger son Xu Haoyu, Xu Hongtao's face was livid. It was clear that he was in a terrible mood.

The bad premonition he had long harbored had finally come true. The Black Armored Army was moving against the Xu Family.

"Master, Master, this is bad." Shangguan Yun rushed into the study in a panic, tears streaming down her face. "The whole city is saying that Yu'er will be executed at the third quarter of noon tomorrow. Is... is that true?"

"What? He'll be executed tomorrow?"

At these words, Xu Hongtao's already ugly expression darkened further, as though water could drip from it.

If Xu Haoyu had merely been thrown into prison, he could still find a way to get him out. But this Black Armored Army commandant, Zhou Shan, did not play by the rules at all. He had skipped the interrogation entirely and directly pronounced the sentence of execution.

"Yu'er is really going to be executed? What are we supposed to do now?" Upon learning that Xu Haoyu was to be executed, Shangguan Yun immediately lost her usual composure. She stepped forward and seized Xu Hongtao's hand, saying in a panic, "Master, you must save Yu'er. I can't live without Yu'er.

Master, say something.

If nothing else works, I'll immediately write to my father and ask him to send people here."

"Qingyang Commandery is too far from the provincial capital. By the time your letter reaches the provincial capital, Yu'er will already have been executed." Xu Hongtao said darkly. "Don't panic yet. Let me calm down and think alone. I will find a way to save Yu'er."

"Master, if... if it truly comes to it, ask the Vajra Sect people for help." Shangguan Yun said. "Master, you've done so much for them. Now it's time for them to help us."

"If necessary, I will contact them."

Xu Hongtao nodded.

He was not surprised that Shangguan Yun knew about his connection with the Vajra Sect.

After all, they had been husband and wife for so many years and slept beside one another. This secret could never have been concealed from Shangguan Yun.

Not long after Shangguan Yun left the study, Xu Hongtao pondered for a while. Then he took out brush and paper, wrote a letter, placed it in an envelope, and summoned a servant. "Deliver this letter to the Hundred Herbs Gang's leader."

"Yes, Patriarch."

The servant accepted the letter and immediately headed for the Hundred Herbs Gang.