Storming the County Yamen—Tell the Truth or I'll Kill Your Whole Family!

Storming the County Yamen—Tell the Truth or I'll Kill Your Whole Family! [Thirty-ninth year, fifty-six years old.]

[You replaced "Effort Will Be Rewarded" with "Serious Punch."]

[You replaced "Eidetic Memory" with "Badminton Master."]

[On the day of departure, you told no one.]

[Dachun, Tian Wen, Shen Siqin, Xu Linglong, and your whole crowd of disciples and grand-disciples had no idea you had left Makou Town.]

[You were going to challenge the authorities. You had already prepared never to return, and did not want to drag them down with you.]

[White Cloud County was not far from Makou Town.]

[Before long, you arrived beneath the familiar walls of White Cloud County Town.]

[As time passed and the world changed, the young man once sentenced to military exile had now grown old and white-haired due to his weak constitution.]

[Though aged, with the effect of "Ginger is Still Old and Spicy," your combat strength would not decline because of it.]

[With the Flame Iron Heavy Sword on your back and a long spear in hand, your gaze was sharp. One look showed you were a Martial Artist. The soldiers guarding the city gate merely asked your name and did not make things difficult for you.]

[You casually made up a name.]

["Chen Nan."]

[Due to the effect of "Has Demonic Aura," you had already discovered from outside the city that demonic aura drifted everywhere within White Cloud County.]

[Even after entering the city, you could see wisps and threads of demonic aura.]

[Those demonic auras came in different colors, perhaps representing different individuals.]

[Some colors were deep, some pale; some dense, some faint. Perhaps they represented how long the demonic aura had lingered here, as well as the strength of the demons.]

[Before making your move, you went to Yuelai Inn and found that it had changed owners.]

[After asking the waiter around, you learned that the former proprietress had died of grief after her daughter was killed.]

[Only then did you learn that, when you were forty, Old Liu had escaped the pursuit of the eighteen sects of Sanjiang Commandery and come to White Cloud County, where she slaughtered indiscriminately with the Myriad Souls Banner.]

[The proprietress's daughter had been killed by her.]

["Even if she never married me, the proprietress still could not escape fate's arrangements..."]

[You did not dwell on it. After eating and drinking your fill, you picked up your weapons and arrived at the entrance of the County Yamen.]

["Stop! Who goes there?!"]

[Without another word, you drew your sword. A flash of sword light, and the yamen runner fell. You strode openly into the yamen.]

["Someone has broken into the yamen!"]

[To a Spirit Gathering Realm cultivator like you, these ordinary yamen runners were utterly insignificant.]

[With your long spear in hand, you unleashed the Shen Family Spear Technique and slaughtered your way through the yamen.]

[Among the constables and chief constables in the yamen were Martial Artists as well. That chief constable was close to your realm and could fight you without falling behind.]

[With the enemy holding the numerical advantage, you were on the verge of defeat.]

[But you hid a normal attack within your ultimate move.]

[You suddenly gave him two heavy punches.]

["Badminton Master" and "Serious Punch" stacked together, delivering twenty times your usual punching force!]

[The chief constable saw his great-grandmother on the spot. Your punch pierced through his liver, and he could no longer rise!]

[At a glance, you spotted the County Magistrate in official robes crawling across the ground through the chaotic crowd. You abandoned your opponents and charged straight toward him.]

[The County Magistrate hid beneath a desk, trembling like a leaf.]

["Quick, go to the Dragon Protectorate and summon the Chief Officer!!"]

[There was no time to let him call for reinforcements. You had already dragged him out from under the desk as though snatching up a chick.]

["Release the County Magistrate!"]

["You brazen madman!"]

["Where did a Martial Artist like you come from, daring to act so recklessly? Aren't you afraid the Dragon Protectorate's experts will wipe out your entire clan?!"]

[The Dragon Protectorate was different from the Monster Slaying Division.]

[The Monster Slaying Division specialized in subduing demons and exterminating evil, resolving the disasters caused by the Demon Race.]

[The Dragon Protectorate, meanwhile, was similar to the Brocade Guard—a spy organization. They had no public bases or yamen, yet they were spread throughout Dagan and were exceedingly mysterious.]

[The Dragon Protectorate's foremost task was to safeguard the imperial throne's rule.]

[Protecting local officials also fell within the scope of their duties.]

["County Magistrate, it has been a while."]

[The County Magistrate, whose neck you were gripping, looked at you in terror.]

["Friend, do we know each other?"]

["I don't know you, but I know your father. I never expected the position of County Magistrate to be hereditary. Just how many connections did your family pull?"]

["What connections? I passed the imperial examinations through my own ability!"]

["Enough nonsense. I came today only to investigate two old cases. As long as you tell the truth, I can spare your life."]

["Y-you ask..."]

[The previous County Magistrate, fat-headed and big-eared, was already dead.]

[The one before you was his son, grown into the opposite extreme—so thin that he was skin and bones.]

["More than thirty years ago, there was a Monster Slayer named Chen Yi whom your father sentenced to military exile. There was also a Junior Banner Officer of the Monster Slaying Division named Shen Qingshan, whom your father convicted of murder. Do you remember?"]

["Uh... I don't remember Chen Yi, but I remember Shen Qingshan. My father was severely wounded by him and died a few years later."]

["Why did you frame them for murder? What scheme lay behind this?"]

["Friend, don't make wild accusations. My father handled cases impartially and never wronged anyone!"]

[You twisted his arm off in one motion.]

["Aaaah!!!"]

[The Thin County Magistrate howled in agony, his entire body convulsing.]

[The yamen runners tried to rescue him, but your imposing aura forced them back.]

["Don't come any closer! Otherwise, I'll kill him at once!"]

[With that, you gripped the County Magistrate's neck again.]

["Don't waste my time. Tell me... the! Truth!"]

["Y-yes, they were framed... The real culprit paid money... W-we found someone... to take the blame..."]

[The yamen runners looked at one another, breaking into murmurs.]

[They had probably truly believed that the two County Magistrates of White Cloud County handled cases impartially.]

["No. You're not telling the truth."]

["Th-this... is the truth... If these words... get out... my official hat... won't be safe..."]

["Finding someone to take the blame is nothing unusual. But scheming against a Monster Slayer and a Junior Banner Officer—your father must have had grease clogging his brain! Speak! What was the real reason?!"]

["I... this..."]

[The County Magistrate's face and neck had turned red from your grip, and he was in extreme pain.]

[Seeing him hemming and hawing, you did not hesitate to snap his other arm as well.]