Swift to Solve the Case, Ridding the People of Evil

As the Strongmen carried the chests out, every one of them was beaming. Wang Meng sidled up to Su Fei and lowered his voice.

"Commander Su, after this assignment, the brothers are probably all going to make a fortune."

Su Fei patted his shoulder and gave a low chuckle.

"This is what everyone deserves. Come, let's return to the Thousand Households Office and report in."

The group escorted the confiscated goods back to the Qingzhou Thousand Households Office.

When they reached the gates of the Thousand Households Office, a thunderous burst of gongs and drums rang out.

Su Fei reined in his horse and looked up, only to see the open ground before the Thousand Households Office packed with people.

At the front, more than thirty men and women held plaques wrapped in red silk, with over a dozen children following behind them.

Those children were the very children Su Fei had rescued.

Their parents had brought them here to thank Su Fei.

Several men beat bronze gongs while two old men played suonas.

"It's Commander Su! Commander Su is back!"

Someone in the crowd recognized Su Fei and shouted, setting off a wave of cheers.

The man at the front held a plaque in both hands and hurried to Commander Su's horse.

With a thud, he dropped to his knees. The men, women, old, and young behind him also fell to their knees in unison, startling Su Fei into quickly dismounting.

"Commander Su, you were the one who found our children. You are the savior of our entire families."

A sallow-faced man choked back tears as he raised the plaque above his head. The red silk slipped away, revealing eight large characters: "Swift to Solve the Case, Ridding the People of Evil."

"If you hadn't pulled our children out of the fire pit, we wouldn't have been able to go on living for the rest of our lives."

A small child broke free from an embrace, ran to Su Fei's feet, and held up a piece of malt candy wrapped in lotus leaf with his little face tilted upward.

"Commander Su, this is sweet. It's for you."

Su Fei bent down and accepted the malt candy. It was warm in his hand; clearly, the child had kept it tucked against his chest the whole time.

He stroked the child's head and looked at the faces around him, every one filled with gratitude. The parents' eyes were red-rimmed, some still bearing the dark shadows of sleepless nights, yet all of them looked at him with the smiles of those who had survived a catastrophe.

"Fellow townsfolk, please rise quickly!"

Su Fei helped the person before him up, then said to the crowd.

"Capturing criminals, protecting the people, and guarding Qingzhou are the Imperial Guard's duties to begin with. Why mention it?"

"A duty? But to us, you are a living Bodhisattva!"

A white-haired old woman approached with a cane, trembling as she stuffed a cloth bundle into Su Fei's hands.

"This is a peace talisman this old woman embroidered overnight. Commander Su, carry it with you. May you have peace year after year and rise step by step."

Inside the bundle were ten small brocade pouches sewn from red cloth, each containing a peace talisman.

Seeing this, the people around them also began handing over the gifts they had prepared in thanks.

Hearing the commotion.

The Imperial Guards inside the Thousand Households Office all ran out. Captain Li stood within the gates, stroking his beard with a smile as he watched the scene.

Commander Feng stepped beneath the eaves and looked at Su Fei surrounded by the people, a trace of approval flashing through his eyes as well.

"Everyone, please rise. I'll accept the plaque and your goodwill, but I cannot accept these gifts."

Someone in the crowd grew anxious.

"If Commander Su won't accept them, then you think we're poor and look down on us."

The people around them echoed the sentiment, while the children crowded around him and began shouting playfully, "Commander Su, accept them!"

Su Fei looked at the crowd before him and could only say.

"Alright, I'll accept all of your goodwill. But let me say this: Qingzhou City's peace is not my achievement alone. It is the work of the Imperial Guard standing united, from top to bottom."

"Good!" Thunderous cries of approval erupted from the crowd. The gongs and drums sounded again, their tune even more jubilant this time.

Su Fei had the Strongmen carry the plaque into the Thousand Households Office, while he held the bundle of peace talismans and watched the people gradually depart.

He had only solved a case, yet so many people were grateful to him.

Three days later, at noon beneath brilliant sunshine.

The area around the execution ground had long been packed so tightly that not even water could pass through.

The people stood on tiptoe and craned their necks, staring at the figure bound hand and foot atop the center of the platform.

Wan Mengchang, once the incomparably glorious leader of the Golden Saber Society, now had disheveled hair, a prison uniform smeared with grime, and eyes full of unwillingness.

Quite a few rotten vegetable leaves still lay scattered on the ground nearby. It seemed that beating a dog that had fallen into the water was something people in every world enjoyed.

Seeing that the time was nearly upon them, the Execution Supervisor picked up his teacup and took a sip to moisten his throat.

"The time has come."

The executioner stepped forward with a demon-headed saber slung over his shoulder.

He spat into his palm, gripped the saber hilt tightly with both hands, and fixed his gaze on Wan Mengchang.

The Execution Supervisor spoke.

"Wan Mengchang, you harmed children, harvested their essence and blood to refine pills, and colluded with the Blood Sea Cult, a major demonic sect. Today you face the law. Do you have any last words?"

Wan Mengchang's throat bobbed, and his cracked lips moved.

"I refuse to accept this. I only wanted to break through to a higher realm. What did I do wrong?"

The Execution Supervisor showed impatience.

"Stubborn to the bitter end. Execute him!"

Upon hearing the order, the executioner raised his demon-headed saber.

The blade flashed.

The next instant, blood spurted from Wan Mengchang's neck like a fountain, dyeing the execution platform before him red.

When that white-haired head rolled off the high platform and the body collapsed to the ground.

The crowd first fell deathly silent, then erupted into earth-shaking cheers.

"Good! Well killed!"

"Thanks to Commander Su of the Imperial Guard for ridding the people of evil."

Su Fei stood at the back of the crowd. Once he saw that Wan Mengchang was dead, he left.

He did not join the crowd in cheering.

From the silver seized at Wan Mengchang's residence, as the Commander leading the team, he alone had received five or six hundred taels.

He had only been an Imperial Guard for a few days, yet he had already nearly accumulated a thousand taels of silver.

If this were his previous life, he would be a millionaire without question.

At this rate, it was time to consider moving into a larger residence.

Once news of Wan Mengchang's execution spread throughout Qingzhou City, the people all clapped their hands in delight.

The moment Su Fei returned to the Thousand Households Office, he received a new assignment.

He was to track down a group of unorthodox individuals who had drifted into Qingzhou Prefecture.

The Four Demons of the Northern Region.

It was said that mountain folk had discovered traces of them on a barren mountain outside the city.

Captain Li ordered Su Fei to investigate and verify whether the lead was genuine.

The Four Demons of the Northern Region were notorious.

Thus, Su Fei did not bring his Strongmen with him. He chose to investigate alone.

When he reached that barren mountain, Su Fei searched the area and found traces that people had indeed lived nearby, but no one remained.

They must have left.

Having come up empty-handed, Su Fei was not discouraged.

Toward evening, as Su Fei passed through a stretch of woods on his way back.

More than twenty figures suddenly sprang out.

All of them wore black and covered their faces, each holding a refined steel hand crossbow.

They aimed them at Su Fei.

Su Fei examined them.

These were actually Gale Crossbows in the standard issue of the Great Xuan army.

Even their manufacturing materials were controlled.

Ordinary people had never even heard of such things, yet the other side had produced more than twenty of them. Their origins were clearly far from ordinary.

The black-clad man at the front had no intention of exchanging pleasantries with Su Fei and directly shouted in a low voice.

"Fire!"

The mechanisms clicked.

More than twenty crossbow bolts shot out with whooshes, flying toward every part of Su Fei's body.

Like a torrential downpour about to fall upon a person, in such a situation.

Ordinary True Qi Realm martial artists could not resist at all and would be shot straight into a sieve.

Even Xiantian Realm martial artists would suffer grievous injuries.

With bad luck, they would simply croak on the spot.

Su Fei calmly circulated his true qi.

A powerful surge of Xiantian True Essence erupted.

He unleashed the Dragon Catching Skill at the Perfection Realm.