In front of the County Office.
Bodies lay neatly arranged on the ground.
The County Magistrate's body had been pieced back together, cleaned up, and placed at the head of the row.
Several officials in their uniforms were inspecting the bodies one by one.
"Most of them were killed with a single, clean strike," one man said.
"We made inquiries. The one who did this was a patrol guard. He was alone, yet he blew up the County Office and killed so many people. Quite the savage," another replied.
"But he did it because of the things the County Magistrate had done," said a third.
The officials fell silent.
For years, the County Magistrate had never reported the destruction of the surrounding villages and towns.
They had assumed everything was normal. Who could have guessed that a thorough investigation would reveal the Five Elements Seals issued from above had been secretly withheld by the County Magistrate and never distributed to the villages and towns.
By now, several villages no longer existed.
At the thought, the officials all looked toward the County Magistrate's body.
A coroner sighed. "One slash split him in two. What a fast blade, what a vicious blade intent..."
"You're wrong," an official said.
"My lord, may I ask where I was mistaken?" the other man asked respectfully.
But the official said nothing.
He was an expert on cold weapons and a Holy Chosen hidden among the people. Though he had temporarily lost his strength, his discernment and experience far surpassed those of ordinary people.
He reached out and gently traced the seam where the County Magistrate's body had been pieced together.
This was indeed a wound made by a blade.
But it had nothing to do with blade intent.
The weapon the man had used... probably hadn't