The Lin Jiang Department's entrance was swarming with people from all sides.
The Twelve Junior Banners and the Twelve Day Patrol Envoys all shouted in unison, pressing forward with overwhelming force!
Clerk Yang's heart tightened. It's over. The other side has seized the moral high ground. If we refuse to hand him over, Fifth Master will be the one trampling the law.
His heart sank. He felt that the tide had turned.
The other side had not demanded the suspect's release. They had merely called for him to be transferred and tried, thereby claiming the moral high ground and seizing the momentum.
If Fifth Master refused to compromise now, he would simply be acting unreasonable.
On both sides of the street, besides the nearby residents, there were also merchant caravans from outside the city, as well as the various forces belonging to the households in Lin Jiang Ward.
The pawnshops, gambling dens, brothels, Salt Store, granaries, Fish Gang, and other forces all had powerful backers.
Handing the man over today would mean compromise, submission, and bowing one's head.
Then the authority of the newly appointed Banner Bearer of the Lin Jiang Department would be utterly lost!
Countless thoughts flashed through Clerk Yang's mind. His gaze suddenly fell on the old man's corpse on the ground and the girl who had cried herself unconscious.
When his gaze slowly lifted, it passed over Liang Hu and the Twelve Junior Banners.
At last, he looked toward the Lin Jiang Department's entrance in the distance.
In that instant, enlightenment dawned in his heart.
This was no accident!
"Fifth Master!"
Liang Hu strode forward with his saber in hand and said proudly, "Riding a horse recklessly through the street and causing death and injury—by law, the culprit should be handed over to the Outer Southern Prefecture Office for handling."
"After the Outer Southern Prefecture Office conducts its trial, it will determine the charges and impose the punishment."
"Without a trial, he isn't a criminal yet. You have no right to kill someone in the street!"
"If you dare draw your blade, it will be the abuse of private punishment and malicious murder."
Liang Hu stepped forward and said solemnly, "The Heavenly Supervision Department may be responsible for overseeing the entire city, but it cannot place itself above the law!"
He pointed his blade at Lin Yan and said, "You dare act recklessly today, disregarding the law and discipline. That makes you someone who knowingly breaks the law. To preserve the reputation of the Heavenly Supervision Department, don't blame me for cleaning up the—"
Before his voice faded, Lin Yan's figure blurred, and he had already arrived in front of him.
Under the clear blue sky and bright daylight, a flash of blade light suddenly gleamed!
Though Liang Hu had been prepared, a chill still rose in his heart. He immediately raised his blade to block!
Clang!
Liang Hu felt a searing pain in his palm. In an instant, the web between his thumb and forefinger split open!
His pupils contracted as he watched the blade before him snap into two pieces.
But the force behind Fifth Master's blade did not diminish. It continued to descend.
"How dare you..."
Before the words left his mouth, the blade struck his chest.
The clash of metal rang out!
The heart-protecting mirror bestowed by the Heavenly Supervision Department suddenly cracked!
Liang Hu felt his whole body go light as he was sent flying backward.
Then his entire body jolted, and he crashed heavily to the ground. When he raised his head again, the sky spun and the world blurred into darkness.
A bloody taste rose uncontrollably in his throat. He opened his mouth and spat out a spray of blood.
He fell onto his back and immediately felt himself sink into darkness.
The atmosphere in the street froze at once.
Everyone saw the Banner Bearer of the Lin Jiang Department suddenly swing his blade, sending Liang Hu flying more than two zhang backward. Blood poured from Liang Hu's mouth, and he fell unconscious.
Only then did Liang Hu's broken blade hit the ground, its crisp metallic ring echoing through the street.
The Twelve Junior Banners beside Liang Hu had been about to swarm forward, but in that instant, they all halted, their faces filled with terror.
Outsiders did not know Liang Hu's true cultivation.
But they knew it all too well!
He was a mighty inner-tempering martial artist!
Yet he had been unable to withstand even a single blow?
If not for the Heavenly Supervision Department's heart-protecting mirror, Liang Hu would likely have been cleaved in two just now!
Most of them were not highly cultivated. If they swarmed forward, they would all surely die in this street.
"Save Banner Bearer Liang!"
Someone shouted. The Twelve Junior Banners hurried backward, lifted the unconscious Liang Hu, and quickly withdrew.
The atmosphere here grew even heavier and more murderous.
Commander Zhao's expression became much graver, and he felt an even deeper fear of this "reckless brute."
Lin Yan's blade once again lowered, pointing toward Young Master Liu.
But his gaze remained fixed on Commander Zhao ahead.
"The Outer Southern Prefecture Office must conduct the trial before guilt can be determined and the law enforced. I know the rules."
"Since that's the case, as the Deputy Commander of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office, you have the authority to hear this case."
As his voice fell, Lin Yan kicked Young Master Liu over. He rolled to Commander Zhao's feet.
Commander Zhao lowered his head slightly and looked down.
Young Master Liu's face was bloodless, his expression filled with terror.
"At this very moment, in this very place, the witnesses and evidence are all present. The killer and the victim are gathered here."
Lin Yan strode forward and raised his long blade.
The tip of the blade pointed straight at Commander Zhao's face.
"In front of everyone, you will hear this case!"
"Give the people justice, give Gao Liu City justice, and give the laws of this land justice."
"Most of all, give this grandfather and granddaughter true justice!"
As Lin Yan spoke, the twelve Day Patrol Envoys around him surrounded him, their blades pointed at him. Yet they exchanged glances, not daring to step forward.
Lin Yan's expression remained unchanged as he took half a step forward.
He slowly extended his blade.
Until the blade lay against the Deputy Commander's cheek.
"As the Deputy Commander of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office, if you handle this case unfairly and bend the law for personal gain, according to the rules, according to the law, according to the authority of the Heavenly Supervision Department..."
Lin Yan patted his cheek with the long blade and said coldly, "I'll cleave you in two with one stroke!"
"Bastard! Even if you are the Banner Bearer of the Heavenly Supervision Department and not under the jurisdiction of my Outer Southern Prefecture Office, you—"
"Life is short. I'll only count to three. Finish hearing this case."
"Impermanence, do you know what consequences today's matter will bring?"
"When I finish counting to three, if the case isn't finished, I'll cleave him in two, then cleave you in two while I'm at it."
"Impermanence! I am the Deputy Commander of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office!"
"Three!"
"Guilty of a capital offense!"
Commander Zhao blurted out the words at once.
Looking at the blade before him and feeling its icy chill,
meeting the gaze of this Killer Star,
he could not stop his heart from trembling. He could no longer maintain his imposing air.
"Zhao Yuan, you were raised up by my Liu family. I'm one of the Liu family's people, I..."
Young Master Liu immediately roared, his eyes bulging with rage. Then he shouted at Lin Yan, "You can't kill me! I carry the Liu bloodline... I haven't committed a capital crime... It's only some lowly commoner, some old thing already halfway into the grave. How can you make me pay with my life..."
Lin Yan did not respond. He simply reached down and hauled up Young Master Liu, whose trousers had been soaked.
Then he pressed the blade against Young Master Liu's throat.
Immediately afterward, Lin Yan pressed his left hand against Young Master Liu's head and shoved him forward.
"Young Master Liu, this is the case judged by Deputy Commander Zhao of the Outer Southern Prefecture Office. I am merely enforcing the law. Take a good look at his selfless, impartial face!"
Before his voice faded, Young Master Liu's face was pushed in front of Commander Zhao.
The two faced each other, their very breaths spraying across one another's faces.
The blood vessels in their eyes, the expressions on their faces, even the hairs on their skin were all clearly visible.
Splurt!
Lin Yan pulled hard, cleanly and decisively.
The blade slit Young Master Liu's throat.
Blood splashed across Commander Zhao's face.
Before you continue