Chains clattered across the Execution Ground. The chains connected to three enormous pillars began to move, and the Metal Wall spanning them shuddered with a hum.
Below the platform, the sea of people suddenly fell silent, its tide of conversation stilled. Every gaze turned toward the platform as the Giant Execution Blade spanning it was hauled upward inch by inch, its gleaming edge, rusted fast in its groove, gradually revealing its sharpness.
The silent crowd below suddenly erupted into discussion again.
"They're raising the blade."
"The execution is about to begin."
"Whoa, they really are using the big execution blade. This will really be an eye-opener."
Amid the chatter, there were actually quite a few excited remarks-the excitement of spectators watching a spectacle that had nothing to do with them.
Others wore very different expressions, such as the group from Mount Wukang in the crowd.
Sect Master Bian Weiying had come, along with Elder Yin Huixin and Ke Yizong, Elder Ke, who had once been Shi Chun's nominal master. There was also someone who had volunteered to accompany the senior members and run errands for them, another acquaintance of Shi Chun's: Pang Tiansheng, the fat man from the Disciplinary Affairs Court whom Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang had beaten several times.
Amid the vast sea of people, Bian Weiying appeared the quietest, yet her feelings were the most complicated. Shi Chun had helped Mount Wukang, helped her rise to power, and even been her lover. Every memory remained vivid before her eyes.
They had previously persuaded him to turn himself in. Now that Shi Chun faced death, how could they be blameless?
That was also why the group from Mount Wukang had come to watch. If there truly was no one to collect Shi Chun's body, they would naturally lend