Mass Beheading!

Mass Beheading!

The next day.

Early in the morning, Lu Changsheng checked in at the Demon Suppression Department office, then left and headed back toward his own courtyard.

He walked along the bustling, noisy street, surrounded by crowds of people.

Just then, the far end of the street suddenly swelled with a tide of people.

Large numbers of people emerged from their homes, carrying baskets filled with steamed buns. It was rather strange.

"What happened?"

Lu Changsheng casually tugged on a middle-aged man ahead of him, his face full of confusion.

When the man felt someone pull him, anger rose in his heart and he was about to lash out. But when he turned around, his face immediately broke into a smile.

"So it's Lord Lu. They say there's a beheading up ahead. I'm just going to watch the excitement."

Naturally, he knew of the famous Lu Changsheng, and his tone was exceedingly ingratiating.

After all, it was extremely rare for a commoner to enter officialdom, and he envied him greatly.

"Thank you."

Lu Changsheng smiled faintly.

Then, with his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly walked forward.

Seeing the Flying Eagle Uniform he wore, the surrounding commoners stepped aside one after another, their faces filled with awe.

Before long, Lu Changsheng arrived near the execution ground.

He suddenly spotted a familiar figure amid the crowd.

It was Yue Shulan.

She wore a white scholar's robe, her long hair tied up. She looked valiant and dashing, clearly dressed as a man.

Yet the high swell beneath her chest still made her easy to identify.

At this moment, Yue Shulan also noticed Lu Changsheng and slowly approached from the street corner.

"Such a sight is quite rare today. Would Brother Lu do me the honor?"

She smiled sweetly, her voice gentle.

Lu Changsheng nodded with a smile, and the two headed directly toward a tavern by the street.

Before long, they rented a private room by the window.

From their seats beside the window, they could take in the entire execution ground at a glance.

At the center of the execution ground, a large group of men had been forced to their knees. Their hair hung loose and disheveled, their bodies covered in wounds. They looked utterly miserable.

More than twenty people were to be beheaded today.

Even in the history of all Changping County, this was an exceedingly rare occurrence.

"Brother Lu didn't know?"

Seeming to notice the confusion in Lu Changsheng's eyes, Yue Shulan asked.

"Miss Yue must be laughing at me. I've devoted myself to martial training and rarely pay attention to matters beyond it."

Lu Changsheng took a sip of hot tea.

Waves of warmth rose from his stomach.

"These people are members of the Black Mountain Bandits and the Scent Worship Cult. They've already been locked in the dungeon for half a year."

Yue Shulan's gaze was distant.

"Does Brother Lu know some of the secrets behind this?"

Lu Changsheng shook his head and quietly looked at her.

Yue Shulan did not keep him in suspense. She told him everything about how County Magistrate Du Wentao's entire family had been slaughtered decades ago.

"It is said that, apart from Magistrate Du, another person went missing back then—namely the County Magistrate's younger sister. She has never been found, and the matter has become an unsolved mystery."

An inscrutable look surfaced in Yue Shulan's eyes.

"Ever since Magistrate Du took office, he has spared no effort in cracking down on the Black Mountain Bandits. I heard that among those being beheaded today is even a Bone Forging martial artist, a core figure of the Black Mountain Bandits."

Hearing this, Lu Changsheng followed her gaze out the window.

A burly man in black had his clavicles pierced, while two executioners held him firmly to the ground.

His muscles and bones were robust, his temples bulging high. Though his body had suffered terrible torture, he still carried the bearing of a formidable expert.

At the sight, Lu Changsheng fell silent.

A Bone Forging expert, pinned to the ground like a chick—it stirred something deeply within him.

At that moment, his resolve to train in martial arts grew even firmer.

Time slowly passed.

Soon, it was noon.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

A middle-aged man in white armor walked out from behind the execution ground, followed by a squad of armored soldiers with orderly steps.

The middle-aged man was tall and imposing, his features stern and resolute, his face radiating righteous integrity.

When his eyes moved, they seemed to flash with lightning, an intimidating sight.

This man is powerful. No wonder he is the commander of the Black Armored Army and the county lieutenant of Changping County.

Lu Changsheng's heart tightened.

Aside from Qin Ruobing, this was the strongest martial artist he had ever seen.

His strength likely far surpassed Bone Forging.

Clearly, today's execution supervisor was this county lieutenant. He was also known as Changping County's guardian deity and was held in the highest esteem.

"I heard that before Wei Shaoxuan became county lieutenant, he was once our colleague."

Yue Shulan smiled and revealed some events from the past.

"But later, due to an injury and certain other reasons, he left the Demon Suppression Department office and became a county lieutenant."

Lu Changsheng's expression shifted slightly upon hearing that. He had not expected the man to have such a history.

Though Changping County was not large, it held quite a number of hidden secrets.

Back when he was merely a commoner, there had naturally been many things beyond his reach.

"The hour has come! Commence the executions!"

At that moment, a clerical official shouted loudly, his ringing voice echoing across the entire grounds.

On the execution ground, a group of executioners took huge swigs of strong liquor and fiercely sprayed it over the steel blades in their hands. Under the blazing sun, the blades gleamed brightly.

"Execute."

The executioners raised their blades and brought them down, slashing straight at the condemned prisoners before them.

"Thud..."

A mass of heads rolled toward the edge of the execution ground. Blood gushed across the earth, dyeing the enormous blue-stone paving all around crimson.

More than twenty people lost their heads in an instant.

For a time, the scene was exceedingly bloody.

Yet the surrounding people were unafraid. They surged forward in a swarm, encircling the entire execution ground.

They hurriedly took the steamed buns from their bamboo baskets, dipped them in the blood on the ground, then put them back into their baskets.

"The blood of these martial arts experts can cure every illness..."

The crowd chattered endlessly, each afraid of being a step too late.

Before long, all the blood on the ground had been cleaned away, and the scene descended into utter chaos.

"The world is filled with ignorant fools."

Yue Shulan smiled lightly.

Lu Changsheng said nothing. Instead, his heart felt somewhat heavy.

This large-scale execution seemed to have pulled back the curtain on something.

The Black Mountain Bandits and the Scent Worship Cult would never let this rest. They would likely launch a frenzied retaliation next.

There would not be many peaceful days ahead.

This was also the County Magistrate, representing Changping County's official forces, formally declaring war on the Black Mountain Bandits.

Their Demon Suppression Department was naturally part of it as well.

"Brother Lu, great turmoil is about to rise. Improve your strength well. I hope that years from now, you and I can still drink and talk together."

Unease also appeared on Yue Shulan's face, as though she knew something.

A sense of urgency surged in Lu Changsheng's heart as well.

Though his current strength was decent, it was still far from enough.

Once the two sides began their great conflict, even Muscle Refining martial artists would be nothing but cannon fodder. He had to begin improving his strength with all his might.

Afterward, the two spoke for a little longer before Lu Changsheng rose to take his leave.

Night was silent as water.

Lying in bed, Lu Changsheng split off a thread of consciousness and began sinking it into the pangolin's body.

Cangyun Mountain Range.

Within an underground river.

Lu Changsheng controlled the pangolin with his consciousness as it lay sprawled atop a cold stone platform.

The waters around it rushed fiercely, while the stone platform was littered with the corpses of countless piranhas.

These past few days, he had allowed the pangolin to move about freely.

Each day, aside from exploring the underground river, it would go ashore in search of a way out.

When hungry, it ate fish to fill its stomach. When thirsty, it drank mountain spring water. Its days were rather carefree.

Seeing that Lu Changsheng had not come ashore for a long time, the colony of ground rats by the bank had gradually left.

After all, those ground rats needed to eat as well. They could not keep watch over him here forever.

He had explored this underground river for quite some time.

He had also roughly mapped out its direction.

Lu Changsheng guessed that this underground river likely connected to a mountain lake. As long as he followed it downstream to its end, he should be able to reach it.

He had already gathered nearly all the spiritual herbs in the underground river, so he planned to scour the lake next.