People were hurriedly running over from both ends of the street, in two separate groups.
Behind them were people from the Outer Southern Prefecture Office, more than twenty in all.
The person at their head wore a dark robe, symbolizing his status as a Deputy Commander of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office.
Following him were twelve Day Patrol Envoys.
The District Chief of Lin Jiang Ward had come along as well.
If the people from the Outer Southern Prefecture Office had noticed the disturbance here and come to investigate as part of their duty, that would have made perfect sense.
But the people at the far end of the street ahead, where Lin Yan's gaze was fixed, made no sense at all.
At their head was Liang Hu, the Banner Bearer of the Qing Shan Ward branch of the Heavenly Supervision Department!
Behind him came twelve Junior Banners, each carrying a saber as they strode forward.
The two groups rapidly closed in from front and back, their approach fierce and menacing.
"Bold of you! Who dares commit murder in the street?"
The Deputy Commander of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office suddenly roared, his face dark.
Among the people on both sides, murmurs began to spread.
Some of the younger ones thought that since the Outer Southern Prefecture Office had come to enforce the law, it ought to be impartial, and they wanted to step forward as witnesses.
But then they saw the twelve Day Patrol Envoys behind the Deputy Commander looking toward both sides, sabers in hand and grim expressions on their faces, their threat unmistakable.
In an instant, the entire scene fell silent.
"It's a misunderstanding!"
Just then, Clerk Yang hurried over and said, "Commander Zhao, this is Lord Impermanence, the newly appointed Banner Bearer of my Lin Jiang Department."
"Even a Banner Bearer of my Heavenly Supervision Department cannot act recklessly, disregard the law, and kill someone in the street."
Liang Hu suddenly spoke, his tone icy, as he placed a hand on his saber hilt. "I've been acting as head of Lin Jiang Ward for all this time, and nothing like this has ever happened. Fifth Master must have gotten addicted to killing—does he want to cut down anyone he catches sight of?"
Seeing the twelve Junior Banners and twelve Day Patrol Envoys closing in from all sides,
the surrounding civilians scattered, afraid of being caught in the crossfire and suffering for no reason.
As the Deputy Commander of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office slowly approached, he looked at Lin Yan.
"Banner Bearer Impermanence, known around the ward as Fifth Master, correct?"
The Deputy Commander spoke slowly and indifferently. "Should this envoy also address you as Master?"
"..."
Lin Yan said nothing. He did not even acknowledge him.
He merely lowered his head and glanced at the Young Master Liu beneath his foot.
The Young Master Liu had already awakened. Seeing the people surrounding him, his heart immediately settled, and he sneered viciously. "Go on, crush me to death if you dare! My surname is Liu..."
Before he could finish, his face flushed crimson, and he could no longer speak.
Expressionless, Lin Yan was slowly increasing the pressure of his foot, pressing down.
"Fifth Master!"
Clerk Yang saw the killing intent in Lin Yan's eyes and hurried forward, lowering his voice. "Don't act rashly."
Then Clerk Yang turned to the Deputy Commander and said, "Commander Zhao, this Young Master Liu rode his horse recklessly through the street, struck an old man to death before everyone's eyes, and even tried to kill a Young Child. It truly went too far. Fifth Master has always had a fierce temper, so..."
"Hmm?"
The Deputy Commander said blandly, "A fierce temper? A mere brute who cannot see the bigger picture? Someone like that should not hold a high position. He should remain a Junior Banner."
The Outer Southern Prefecture Office governed the southern central region of the Outer City and administered twelve wards.
He was one of its two Deputy Commanders, second only to the Chief Official, with extremely high authority.
Even in the Heavenly Supervision Department, only Han Zheng, the Banner Commander responsible for overseeing the entire southern central region of the Outer City, was qualified to rank above him.
Thus, purely in terms of status and position, he stood higher than the Banner Bearer of Lin Jiang Ward.
"..."
Clerk Yang's expression turned unpleasant as well.
But after taking a deep breath and glancing at Lin Yan, he still said, "Everyone saw it. Fifth Master was enforcing the law, and it was perfectly reasonable! Deputy Commander, if you insist on bullying him like this, and the matter reaches the Inner City later, you won't have the law on your side..."
Without realizing it, he had stopped calling him the more respectful "Commander Zhao" and changed to "Deputy Commander," faintly expressing his displeasure.
"Not have the law on my side? Does wanting to kill someone in the street put him in the right?"
Commander Zhao spoke slowly and evenly. "Very well. For the sake of Commander Han, I won't pursue his crimes of injuring someone and killing a horse in the street, or even attempting to kill someone... Release him!"
Clerk Yang hurriedly turned and looked at Lin Yan, his face showing some anxiety.
"Release him?"
Lin Yan's gaze grew even colder as he spoke slowly. "A man rode recklessly through the street, someone died, and you want me to release him?"
He pointed toward the old man's corpse on the ground, and toward the girl who seemed to be trembling from the cold, having cried until she could no longer speak.
"The old man had one son, Zhou Ji, who died defending the city the night before last."
"Today, this father who lost his son while protecting Gao Liu City was struck to death in the street and treated like a blade of grass."
"Today, this daughter who lost her father while protecting Gao Liu City nearly had her head split open by a whip."
"Zhou Ji died defending the city, his body left incomplete. Everyone sitting safely in the city today has him to thank for that."
"Releasing him is simple enough."
Lin Yan's gaze was icy as he spoke slowly. "Have this old victim personally forgive him."
Everyone present changed color.
Have the dead speak and forgive the Young Master Liu?
Wasn't that making it clear that he absolutely would not release him today?
Before the grim-faced Commander Zhao could speak,
Lin Yan spoke again.
"Or have every citizen in the city bury their conscience and tell me together to release him?"
"..."
The atmosphere fell silent, and an invisible tension gathered like drawn swords.
Commander Zhao's face turned livid, his eyes filled with frost.
"Looks like you, Deputy Commander, don't have much prestige either."
Lin Yan said indifferently, "So you have no prestige at all, yet you think a single sentence from you can place you above the law?"
Before his voice had even faded, the tip of Lin Yan's saber was already pointed at the Young Master Liu's head, his gaze fixed straight ahead.
"Zhao, if you enforce the law impartially and command respect, this envoy will honor you as 'Commander Zhao'!"
"But today, before this envoy, you want to trade on your seniority, flaunt your authority, disregard the law, and trample on human life and dignity. What are you?"
"Forget one Deputy Commander—even if the Chief Official of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office stood here today, before the gates of my Heavenly Supervision Department, and dared obstruct my investigation, he would still have to find out whether this envoy's blade was sharp!"
As Lin Yan's saber pointed forward, the atmosphere froze to the breaking point.
Especially the twelve Day Patrol Envoys, whose sabers were already being drawn slowly from their sheaths.
A chill spread across the street.
Clerk Yang gave him a long, deep look, then inhaled and retreated half a step, standing at the Banner Bearer's side as well.
"There are more and more people on this street."
Just then, the District Chief of Lin Jiang Ward hurried over and said in a low voice, "Commander Zhao, these aren't merely residents of Lin Jiang Ward. There are also many merchant caravans from outside the city!"
"If word gets out that the law is treated as nonexistent, it will damage the reputation of the Prefectural Governor's Mansion."
"It will also make it difficult for me to govern the ward in the future."
"Everyone is watching. Why not use another method to save him?"
After he finished speaking, he saw Commander Zhao glance at him indifferently.
The District Chief's heart trembled. He hurriedly retreated half a step and dared not say another word.
Commander Zhao swept his gaze across the scene before finally speaking slowly.
"This envoy came here precisely to enforce the law impartially."
"This man rode recklessly through the street and accidentally struck an old man. According to the rules, he should be handed over to the Outer Southern Prefecture Office for trial."
"The Heavenly Supervision Department has the authority to supervise all parties within the city, but it does not have the authority to try criminals."
"Pursuing criminals and thieves, conducting trials, and passing sentences are the duties of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office."
Commander Zhao's tone remained calm as he said, "The Heavenly Supervision Department is responsible for supervising the enforcement of the law. If you refuse to hand him over today and treat the law as nonexistent, then you will be knowingly breaking the law. No one can protect you!"
As his voice fell, he gave a slight wave of his hand.
The twelve Day Patrol Envoys drew their sabers and pointed them at Lin Yan.
Commander Zhao then glanced unobtrusively at Liang Hu.
Liang Hu understood. He slowly took one step forward and said evenly, "Fifth Master, don't trample on the law. You should follow the rules and hand him over!"
The twelve Junior Banners of Qing Shan Ward drew their sabers in unison and shouted sharply.
"Hand him over!"
"Hand him over!"
"Hand him over!"
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