The Yellow Springs Open, Sending You on Your Way!

The execution supervisor, seated in the shade, looked up at the sun.

At that moment, he too wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

Finally, when the sun had climbed to its highest point.

The execution supervisor drew out a command token, his authoritative voice echoing through the air:

"Verify their identities!"

At the execution supervisor's command, yamen runners immediately stepped up to the condemned prisoners.

They opened the portraits and compared them one by one. After confirming everything, they went before the desk and reported loudly:

"My lord, their identities have been verified without error."

Clack!

He tossed the command token forward. It landed on the ground as he issued the order:

"At the third quarter, carry out the execution!"

It was time to act.

Liang Qisheng swept out his right hand and tore off the black robe draped over him.

With a casual flick, he hung the robe on the rack beside him.

"When Yama calls for you at the third watch, he will not keep you until the fifth!"

"The roads of the martial world stretch far; all debts of sin are wiped clean. Once the token is cast, I send you on your way!"

"May your journey be smooth..."

The Ghost Head Blade rose high, its sharp edge glinting with an icy chill beneath the sunlight.

Liang Qisheng gave a cold shout. In his mind, the techniques of the Decapitation Blade Technique he had painstakingly practiced during this period flashed continuously, transforming into data as though countless tiny figures were training with relentless diligence before merging back into one.

At last, a sharp gleam burst from his eyes.

His arms swung, unleashing the authentic Decapitation Blade Technique.

The blade carved a brilliant line through the air, sweeping past the neck of the prisoner kneeling on the ground, tightly trussed.

Sshhk!

The man did not even have time to make a sound before his eyes suddenly went dull.

Slowly, dark crimson seeped through his skin, and a red line appeared across his neck.

As Liang Qisheng stomped hard against the ground, the prisoner's body remained still, but the head that had been joined to his neck rolled directly off the platform.

Like a ball, the head rolled all the way toward the feet of the surrounding onlookers, drawing a chorus of startled cries.

...Killing a guilty man. Obtained five points of merit!

Liang Qisheng ignored the cries around him, paying no mind to the voice that rang out in his head.

He then stood beside the second prisoner, raising the Ghost Head Blade high once more.

"The Yellow Springs open, sending you on your way!"

Pfft!

The prisoner did not even cry out before his head fell away.

Blood gushed from the bowl-sized wound, splashing all around in a scarlet arc.

The blood stained the sand red, stirring the already silent scene into a fever.

"So clean and decisive?"

"He's executing all these prisoners by himself? Is that executioner really a newcomer?"

From the distant tavern, people pointed toward the execution platform, watching Liang Qisheng walk toward the third prisoner as they asked in confusion.

Many people had noticed this unusual situation.

By the customs of executioners in the Decapitation Blade lineage, executioners were generally assigned according to the number of prisoners.

It was rare for one executioner to behead several prisoners in succession like this.

After all, taking off a head with a single stroke was not as easy as it appeared. It required intense concentration.

Moreover, neither strength nor speed could be lacking.

For that very reason, ordinary executioners did not possess the strength or skill to behead several people in a row.

The situation sparked a wave of discussion among the spectators, while cheers rang out from below.

It had been a long time since they had seen such clean, decisive beheadings.

"Is Yama Gate being too careless? They actually sent only one new executioner, and had him carry out consecutive executions."

"If he botches this execution, I will definitely report them to the higher-ups. Next time, replace these people."

The execution supervisor had also noticed what was happening in the field. Displeased, he spoke.

However, to Liang Qisheng, everything the surrounding spectators said had little to do with him.

He walked straight to the third prisoner, his face cold and merciless, and raised the Ghost Head Blade once more.

"I don't want to die! Please, don't kill me!"

The deaths of the first two had shattered this prisoner's mind like a nightmare.

He broke down completely, pissing and shitting himself in terror.

Though trussed up tight, he still strained to turn his head back, weeping and wailing loudly.

"Life and death are decreed by fate, wealth and honor bestowed by Heaven. I'll send you on your way."

Clearly, this prisoner was not being cooperative.

Liang Qisheng kicked him squarely in the back, forcing him to lie prone again, and the Ghost Head Blade in his hand came slashing down.

The cries stopped abruptly, and the head fell with them.

When the surrounding crowd saw blood gushing beneath that Ghost Head Blade—

The previously silent crowd suddenly erupted in cheers.

"Good! A fine kill!"

"This young fellow's blade work is divine! One stroke of the blade—truly marvelous!"

The lively chatter plunged the entire East Street Execution Ground into a clamor.

Taking advantage of the moment, Liang Qisheng put his black robe back on and headed downstairs.

"Not bad. His blade is swift as lightning, clean and without the slightest hesitation."

"Yama Gate has arranged a fine executioner this time!"

The execution supervisor, who had initially been somewhat critical, could not stop nodding in praise upon seeing that crisp, lethal Decapitation Blade Technique.

But when he looked again for Liang Qisheng, he had already vanished.

The commotion outside had little to do with Liang Qisheng. Wearing his black robe, he made his way back to Yama Gate.

He first went to the main hall to settle the task, then returned to his room.

He took off the black robe and set it aside.

Liang Qisheng sat down and placed his belongings on the table.

"One head, ten taels of silver. This time, that makes thirty taels."

He looked at the three silver ingots on the table before him, each weighing ten taels.

Thirty taels in total—the exact payment for this job.

Naturally, the authorities had to pay silver to hire executioners to behead criminals.

The stronger the executioner, the higher the price for a beheading.

The prisoners they handled generally possessed martial skill. Like the three prisoners today, all of them were at the Skin Refining realm.

Having tempered their bodies year-round, such people possessed extraordinary physical strength. Even when trussed up tight, it was no easy task for an ordinary person to kill them with a single stroke.

Much less to be like Liang Qisheng—clean and decisive, slicing off a head in one stroke as easily as cutting melons and vegetables.

Take Skin Refining prisoners, for instance. An ordinary person lacked the strength in their hands, lacked accuracy, and struck the wrong spot. Even with a sharp blade, chopping down on them felt like hacking at dry tree bark.

If they hacked someone half to death without managing to kill them, leaving blood splashed everywhere, where would that leave the execution supervisor's and the court's dignity?

When the time came, it would be Yama Gate's people who lost face, and the Decapitation Blade Technique lineage whose signboard would be smashed.

That was why executioners, these living signboards, all possessed genuine skill.

For a beheading, the blade had to sever in one stroke—the blade fell, and the head dropped.

It truly was not something an ordinary person could accomplish.

And these were only Skin Refining martial artists. Beyond them were the still stronger Flesh Refining, Bone Refining, and Tendon Refining realms.

Unless one had the craft, even ordinary martial artists would find it difficult to cut off their heads as effortlessly as executioners seemed to.

That was why most executioners came from Yama Gate.

With this craft and the living signboards they had built up over many years, they had monopolized the trade.