Departure

The command arrow landed on the ground. An executioner baring a body full of muscles lifted a bowl of strong liquor, took a mouthful, and sprayed it onto the blade of his cleaver with a "pfft." Then he took a small sip himself.

"His Majesty wants you dead. It has nothing to do with me. Have a good journey!"

By custom, the executioner murmured these words beside the Zuyue Emperor before carrying out the sentence. But the other man wore a wooden expression now, utterly unresponsive to the outside world.

The executioner raised his great saber, every muscle in his body tensing. He held the saber aloft for a breath, then swung it down with a savage expression. As the saber light flashed, blood sprayed forth, and a huge head rolled onto the platform.

"Ah..." "Aah..."

All the commoners, princes, and nobles watching below felt their hearts leap, some instinctively stepping back. As they watched the head of the former emperor fall to the ground, they felt fear and confusion, but also an expectation that could not be ignored.

At the rear of the raised platform, the Old Commander nodded to a civil official beside him. The latter steadied himself and stood up, carefully taking a yellow silk imperial decree from in front of the table with both hands. Then he walked forward step by step, stopping beside the still-bleeding corpse. With steady hands, he slowly unfurled the decree before the countless people and nobles of Zuyue below.

Though he was called a civil official, this Great Zhen official actually possessed martial arts as well. He took a deep breath, circulated his true qi, and spoke. His resounding voice spread throughout the Imperial Palace square and beyond.

"Emperor Shao Receives the Mandate. From this day forth, wherever the blades of