Spirit Mansion

"I only played a few worthless women to death, yet you dared throw me into the county jail and even torture me! You're dead! Not just you! Everyone in Yangguan County will be buried with me!"

An uproar broke out-

Hearing the young man's wildly arrogant words, the villagers from outside the town merely felt a little afraid, but those who lived within its walls were already terrified.

"A Spirit Mansion... Young Master Shen actually has a Spirit Mansion!"

"Someone with a Spirit Mansion can enter an Immortal Sect to cultivate!"

"No wonder he's so utterly unrestrained. If an Immortal Sect really takes a fancy to him, our Yangguan town can't afford to offend an immortal!"

Discussion rippled through the crowd, and Lu Mingyue was even more astonished.

What? Hadn't I transmigrated into an ordinary ancient world? Had I come to a world of immortal cultivation instead?

That Spirit Mansion thing...

Bang!

"Insolence!"

Just then, the county commandant slammed his court block down on the table. Only after silencing the discussions at the marketplace did he turn to the wildly laughing young man and speak in an icy voice.

"You little villain, what a devious mind you have!"

"When this county's constables arrested you, you never mentioned a Spirit Mansion. Now that death is upon you, you bring up possessing one. It seems you intended from the very beginning to entrap me, Qin, and all these innocent people. You truly are a vicious creature!"

Hearing the county commandant's rebuke, the young man was about to burst out laughing again, but the commandant cut him off with a wave.

"Unfortunately for you, a Spirit Mansion is an immortal root. Whether you cultivated it later in life or were born with it, you should have entered an Immortal Sect to cultivate at the earliest opportunity!"

"The one thing you should never have done was dare commit crimes that treated human lives like grass here in Yangguan County after learning you possessed a Spirit Mansion!"

"Now, having never entered an Immortal Sect, you are merely a criminal under this county's jurisdiction sentenced to beheading. Even if I cut off your head, what Immortal Sect would come all the way to Yangguan County for a dead man?"

"I may be only an ordinary mortal, but even I know that the road to immortality is fraught with hardship, and every moment counts!"

"You have not joined an Immortal Sect. Even with a Spirit Mansion, you are nothing more than a mortal!"

"And now, you will soon be a dead man!"

By the time Commandant Qin finished speaking, the young man's expression had changed. The terrified people around them gradually quieted down, their earlier panic fading.

"Executioner!"

Seated high on the execution platform, Commandant Qin suddenly shouted sternly.

"Here!"

A burly, bare-chested man strode forward to Shen Yulang's side. Though his body trembled a little, he gripped the large saber in his hand and answered loudly.

"Behead him!"

"Yes!"

Commandant Qin gave the order without hesitation. The burly man picked up a bowl of strong liquor beside him, took a trembling mouthful, and spat it over the broad blade. Then his gaze settled on the back of the young man's neck.

"No! I have a Spirit Mansion! I'll definitely become an immortal cultivator someday! You can't kill me! My Shen Household is an established clan in this county..."

Only now did Shen Yulang finally grow terrified, twisting his body as he tried to escape.

Unfortunately, under the commandant's piercing stare, the two constables pressed his body down and secured him to the execution block despite their fear.

As for the Shen Household, it had been placed under heavy guard by the county office's constables ever since his arrest. At this point, not even a servant could set foot outside the residence.

"One stroke severs all affairs behind you; on the road to the Yellow Springs, do not turn back!"

The executioner raised his voice, tightened his grip on the beheading saber, and chanted the farewell verse before the execution.

"No! Don't kill me! I don't want to die..."

Squelch!

Amid the young man's terrified pleas for mercy, the long saber fell, and his large head finally rolled to the ground. Terror and despair still lingered on his face, his eyes wide open as though unable to close in death. The sight instantly frightened the surrounding people into stepping back.

"Reporting to the commandant, the execution is complete. The criminal has been beheaded!"

Perhaps because Shen Yulang was dead, the executioner put away his long saber and his trembling body steadied. He picked up Shen Yulang's wide-eyed head, placed it on the execution block, and bowed to the commandant on the raised platform.

"Gather up the criminal's remains. Hand them over to the Shen Household for burial tomorrow between seven and nine in the morning!"

Commandant Qin spoke impassively, then left the noisy marketplace with his constables.

"Old Lu, come over. This place is yours to handle."

Before leaving, one constable beckoned to Old Lu and casually tossed him a small piece of silver.

After a moment's thought, he rummaged inside his robe and tossed over another piece.

"Rest assured, sir. This humble one will see it done properly."

Lu Mingyue bent at the waist and lowered her head, respectfully seeing the constables off before looking at the two pieces of silver in hand.

There was not much silver: one piece weighed two taels, the other three.

Clearly, the constable had originally intended to pocket the three-tael piece.

Such things were commonplace, and Old Lu knew it perfectly well.

After all, this was only what the county office paid.

Once Old Lu had sewn Shen Yulang's remains together and tidied his appearance, the Shen Household would naturally give him another payment.

So he did not mind the portion of the reward the constable pocketed.

But...

"Grandpa, why did he give us two rewards?" Lu Mingyue asked quietly beside him.

Old Lu came back to himself, stroked the little tufts of hair on his granddaughter's head, and looked toward the young master of the Shen Household, whose head and body lay apart in the marketplace.

"Because Young Master Shen had a Spirit Mansion!"

"Grandpa, what is a Spirit Mansion?" Lu Mingyue had wanted to ask for some time. Now that Old Lu had brought it up, she was even more curious.

"A Spirit Mansion is the legendary immortal root that lets people cultivate immortality. Some people have it when they're born, while others apparently can acquire this sort of immortal root after they grow up..."

Old Lu explained in a low voice, then pushed the handcart forward, took the bundle off his back, and handed it to Lu Mingyue, interrupting her thoughts.

"I don't know much about these things either. Let's take Young Master Shen's remains back first. We can't leave him here."

"Oh!"

Lu Mingyue did not ask any more questions. First, she unfolded the black cloth her grandfather had packed in the bundle, then helped him lift the young man's body onto the handcart. She was unwilling to pick up his head, however.

Although this was not the first time she had accompanied her grandfather to collect a corpse.

But the young master of the Shen Household had died with his eyes wide open, his face still twisted with resentment. It really was rather frightening.

"You little girl, didn't you say you wanted to be like your grandpa someday? Why are you getting scared now?"

Old Lu chided Lu Mingyue with a smile, picked up the young master's head, and placed it on the handcart. Then he gathered up the black cloth they had spread out earlier and tied a knot at each end. Sure enough, no blood dripped out.

Old Lu fetched several more buckets of water from the well and washed the execution site clean. Only after making certain no bloodstains remained did he push the handcart and head home with Lu Mingyue.