Zhang Xing had not seen the fugitive corvée laborers executed as a public warning, nor had he given it any further thought.
He had given it no further thought because that was indeed what the law prescribed. Many people found it unbearable, yet all felt that the laborers had brought disaster upon themselves... a textbook case of a semi-feudal, semi-theocratic society devouring people... Zhang Xing was no immortal. Saving that group of people had already been good enough.
As for why he had not seen it, that was even simpler.
That evening, the Intendant himself had ordered the Second and First Patrol Teams hastily recalled to the city... there was no choice. The false accusation against Zhang Sanlang over the floating ice had sparked a major upheaval at the encampment, and the two Patrol Groups, rushing back upon hearing the news, had nearly come to blows.
There was no helping it. Not only were the First and Second Patrol Teams acknowledged as the finest Patrol Groups, but more importantly, the Intendant had no sons, and Luo Fang was the eldest of his many adopted sons, while Bai Yousi's family background needed no introduction. Both also happened to be experts at condensing the core. Neither Regular Inspector dared guarantee that he could keep the situation under control, so they could only send a dispatch to the Black Tower requesting the Intendant's authoritative orders. Two more Regular Inspectors then arrived, and with two escorting each, they returned to the city in succession.
Once they returned to the Eastern Capital, the matter was still not over.
That afternoon, Zhang Xing, who had been told to take leave and go home, drafted a document openly reporting under his own name that the First Patrol Team had habitually embezzled funds in the Southern City's Copper