Minister of Law Breaks the An Family, Vermilion Bird Forces Back a Half-Saint

Qing'an Prefecture lay in Luozhou. The Grand Canal running through Great Xuan began in Luozhou, and the section passing through Qing'an Prefecture was known as the Qi River.

Blessed by the Qi River, Qing'an Prefecture's commerce flourished. It was one of Great Xuan's most famous cities that never slept. Even now, though it was already midnight, the entire prefecture remained ablaze with lights, filled with song and dance.

Suddenly, the people still carousing in the taverns and entertainment houses froze, feeling the buildings tremble faintly.

"An earthquake?" someone wondered, looking toward the wine cup on the table.

Ripples spread across the wine inside.

At that moment, rhythmic, muffled thuds began to sound. At first, they seemed to come from outside the city, but soon they were right beside everyone's ears.

Someone opened a window and looked down at the street. At once, he sucked in a cold breath. Even an entertainment-house girl who came over to tease him had her mouth quickly covered by someone who reacted in time!

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

"Clang!"

It sounded like steel striking the ground. Because the rhythm was perfectly uniform, the impacts merged into a tremendous resonant wave that shook the surrounding area.

They seemed to see a torrent of steel. Everywhere they looked was black armor, each suit engraved with mysterious runes. Every step of that armored army seemed to stomp directly upon everyone's heartbeat.

"The Jiashan Army!" A well-traveled scion of a great clan blurted out, then immediately felt a chill run down his spine.

What was happening? This army was still around?

The Jiashan Army was a special force established during Emperor Wu's reign. At full strength, it had numbered ten thousand. It was later assigned to the Department of Deviations as its law-enforcement army, taking its meaning from "heavy armor like