Though a prefect was only a fourth-rank official, he was the chief official of a region and drew the attention of the highest echelons of the Ancestral Court.
Since the Ancestral Court was founded, there had never been word of a prefect being murdered while in office.
No matter how brazen the Gong and Han Houses were, at least during the few years Xu Yi served as prefect, he ought to be safe.
Xu Yi smiled. "Since everyone more or less agrees, then it's settled. Once we return to the Western Continent, I'll be counting on all of you to do your part."
At last, they had managed to persuade the contrarian. Everyone hurried to agree.
Xu Yi said, "I've always been one to speak plainly. I don't trust any of you."
The smiles that had just begun to appear on their faces froze.
Xu Yi continued, "But I'm not sure what to do about that. Fortunately, Shi Erli, our host here, is a good man. He came up with a fairly foolproof solution..."
Then Xu Yi revealed his nasty little plan: they would submit pledges of allegiance.
Gong Xian and Han Zhongjun were already dead, their bodies reduced to nothing. There was no way to whip their corpses, even if he'd wanted to.
But Xu Yi had thought of something even more vicious. To save his own life, Gong Xian had once disclosed his family background and named many important members of the Gong House.
All they had to do was publicly curse each of those illustrious names. Xu Yi could then record it all.
When it came to dirty work, Old Devil Xu always had someone else do it if he could. He never lifted a finger himself.
He summoned Miao Chunsheng to help him record the footage,