Xu Yao could not help turning to look at Chen Chong.
Chen Chong’s face was like iron. Bloodshot veins streaked his eyes, and a faint rattling wheeze sounded from deep in his throat, yet his lips stayed sealed, refusing to utter a word.
The others all held their necks stiff, staring blankly up at the platform.
Behind Li Keshi, Liu and Wang of the Black Mountain County Demon Suppression Inspection Office exchanged a glance, expressions of reluctance and pity visible on their faces.
Li Keshi waved his hand.
A black-robed man stepped forward at once, unfurled a scroll of documents, and read aloud: "Upon verification... the circumstances described by Kang Hu and Yu Sen are true. The landslide sector has also been inspected and simulated with demon-slaying drills. Calculating from their departure time, it was indeed impossible for them to arrive at the designated spot before drawing their blades. What Kang Hu and Yu Sen stated is entirely factual, without exaggeration. Verifiers: Zhao Shang, Zhao Li, Qiu Hu. All willing to testify!"
Only at this moment did the Fifth Brigade captain finally take a sudden stride forward, falling to his knees with a thud. Kowtowing like pounding garlic, he pleaded hoarsely, "My lord, my brothers were truly without a choice! It was a natural disaster, not a human error! It warrants clemency! Please, my lord, show mercy and spare their lives! We are willing to give up everything to redeem them! We are willing to have all our merit points wiped clean, for everyone to start over from probationers! We only beg my lord to show mercy this once!"
This burly, thickset man had always been formidable and commanding; yet now, kowtowing repeatedly before so many people, weeping aloud with tears streaming down his face, he begged without a shred of dignity left.
In the distance by the main gate, the two mothers and their young sons cast themselves to the ground at the same time, prostrating completely, as faint sounds of bitter wailing drifted over.
The muscles on Li Keshi's face twitched in a spasm of pain.
Behind him, Liu and Wang from Black Mountain County also stepped forward immediately, dropping to their knees. "It was a natural disaster, not human error. Your humble subordinates beg my lord to show mercy!"
Li Keshi's dark face contorted. "You two... are kneeling as well?"
With a rustle, all eleven brigades in the compound dropped to their knees in unison.
Chen Chong knelt at the very front: "We beg my lord to show mercy!"
Li Keshi fell silent for a moment.
With a dark face, he said, "I said just now: now that I have come, pleading is useless..."
He let out a long sigh and continued, "The iron law of the Demon Suppression Bureau dictates that whenever negligence occurs, the culprits are beheaded for public display, their families are registered as criminal households, and the entire squad is penalized; in severe cases, the whole squad is beheaded alongside them.
"Today, there were extenuating circumstances, and the entire force has pleaded together on their behalf. This official shall shoulder the blame and face Lord Gu of the southeast to answer for it during my report. Pledging Qi'an Prefecture as guarantor, mercy can be granted. But—!"
Li Keshi’s eyes flicked toward the two pairs of mothers and sons kneeling far away by the gate. A flicker of anguish passed through his gaze before he swiftly looked away, his voice heavy: "...Kang Hu and Yu Sen cannot be saved.
"The rules were personally laid down by Lord Bai. Even our King of Great Qin cannot change them!
"However, the rest of Kang Hu's squad shall be spared the death penalty. Their merit points will be cleared, and they must atone through meritorious service. Everyone in the Fifth Brigade shall atone through meritorious service, and for the next three years, no merits below Class A shall be permitted. Kang Hu and Yu Sen will be beheaded, but their heads will not be displayed to the public. Their families are exempt from punishment and will remain as they always were.
"With Qi'an Prefecture standing as guarantor by name, this matter will certainly be entered into the southeastern chronicles, reported up to the Mountain and River Prison, and proclaimed across the realm."
They still had to be beheaded!
Xu Yao's heart shuddered, his eyes widening in disbelief. He could hardly comprehend it: was it truly so unforgivable?
He suddenly felt that the rules of conduct he had lived by in the mountain village for so many years were utterly alien compared to the outside world, creating a jarring sense of rupture.
Yet everyone was already thanking him in unison: "Thank you, my lord!"
Kang Hu and Yu Sen's eyes were blood-red as they kowtowed in gratitude.
Throughout the entire process, not Li Keshi nor anyone else mentioned the matter of being drunk the night before, suffering diarrhea at dawn, and delaying for half a double hour.
It was as if everyone had collectively gone deaf when Kang Hu and Yu Sen spoke of it earlier.
Because everyone understood: adding that detail would only make the severity far worse.
Beside them, a group of burly men said with red eyes, "Brothers, go in peace. Rest easy about your families. So long as we younger brothers have a bite to eat, our sisters-in-law, children, and elders will not suffer the slightest hardship! If we break this oath, may we never be born human through thousands of kalpas and ten thousand lifetimes!"
"The oath is sworn; Heaven and Earth bear witness! If we break this oath, may we never be born human through thousands of kalpas and ten thousand lifetimes!"
The sunlight blazed dazzlingly.
Three quarters past the hour of the horse had arrived!
A black-robed man stepped forward holding a long horn.
The horn sounded mournful and eerie, like a tune summoning departed souls, and the entire space seemed to sink into a desolate abyss.
The moment everyone collectively bowed their heads,
two men in black stepped forward, reaching for their blades.
Li Keshi stepped forward to stop them, saying in a low voice, "These were my brothers from back then. I will see them off."
Then he strode forward himself. With a sharp clang, white light flashed as his long blade was drawn from its sheath.
He was actually going to carry out the execution personally.
The midday sun reflected off the blade in a blinding sheen of white.
Li Keshi looked at the blade, his eyes reddening. He took a breath and spoke word by word, "Kang Hu, Yu Sen, my two brothers. Twenty-two years ago, you two enlisted to earn a soldier's rations under my command. We fought hundreds of battles, surviving near-death a hundred times over. Twelve years ago, I saw you leave the army; ten years ago, I sent you to the Mountain Protection Brigades. Brothers for over twenty years, and today your life's return journey has come. As your elder brother, I cannot save your lives, but I don't want anyone else to see you off. Thus, the only thing your elder brother can do is send you two on your way with my own hands.
"In your death, your brother cannot accompany you down that path; but as your elder brother, I shall repay you with a lifetime of pain, and keep you company through it!!
"Bring wine!"
Two bowls of wine were brought up.
Kang Hu and Yu Sen drained them in one gulp.
Li Keshi raised his long blade, threw his head back, and let out a hoarse, roaring howl: "Kang Hu! Yu Sen! Have a safe journey, my two brothers! Eighteen years from now, we shall meet again as comrades!"
"Thank you, Boss! We entrust our affairs after death to Boss and all our brothers!!"
Kang Hu and Yu Sen roared in response, closing their eyes.
The long blade fell, and blood surged skyward.
Everyone stood in a daze.
Li Keshi stood upright in his black robe atop the platform, head bowed, motionless. The long blade in his hand was smeared with grim red blood, its tip pointed down as drops of blood dripped from the point.
Xu Yao's mind felt as if it had been struck by a resounding sledgehammer. He suddenly understood what Liu Zhen had said before: if a mountain demon fled, and even a single one appeared in a jurisdiction, the accusation of dereliction of duty would come down, and the brothers would all have their heads chopped off. If you went out on a mission and were crushed to death by hailstones, as long as your teammates completed the mission, that was a sacrifice, making you a meritorious hero whose family would be cared for. But if you were negligent and let a mountain demon escape, you were a criminal; even if you were beheaded, your entire family would be dragged down with you, and your children would bear the curse of your ruined name for their whole lives!
He had thought that after explaining so many reasons, so many causes, and so much helplessness, they would be granted clemency and have their lives spared. Only now did he realize how wrong he was.
Looking at the two corpses already covered in white cloth, Xu Yao's body stiffened slightly. He felt a tremendous impact—an overwhelmingly immense shock!
For the first time in his life, he felt the power of the law so vividly and directly.
It was also the first time he had seen death so directly. Men who were speaking just moments ago had their heads separated from their bodies with a single stroke of the blade. The scent of blood rushed into his nostrils as Xu Yao stood rooted in place.
Chen Chong's words echoed in his mind: *This is the lesson you must go through!*
No wonder! No wonder!
No wonder Uncle Chen said that even if no one else came, he had to bring Xu Yao to watch!
Yet the impact of this lesson was so colossal! The price was also so staggering!
It directly shattered the casual philosophy of human relationships Xu Yao had known for so many years in the mountain village, where everything could be smoothed over with a simple 'it's no big deal, just let it go.'
"Murderer! Give me back my father!"
A shrill, broken cry rang out. Two children around six or seven years old charged forward frantically, howling as they rushed at Li Keshi,
ignoring the gleaming blade.
Their eyes burned with wild fury as they bolted toward him. The onlookers moved to stop them, but Li Keshi halted them: "Let them come."
As he said those words, his previous ironfaced, impartial demeanor as an adjudicator vanished completely. The gaze with which he watched the two children rush over was filled with sheer helplessness and sorrow, his body frozen still like a statue of clay and wood.
Like a whirlwind, the two children charged up to Li Keshi, weeping and shrieking, fighting him with every ounce of strength in their small bodies—kicking, punching, even biting. One of the children held a mourning stick and whipped it fiercely across Li Keshi's face.
Given Li Keshi's cultivation base, merely circulating his energy in defense would have been enough to shatter the children's fragile bodies. Yet he did not circulate any energy to resist, letting the two children beat him.
The stick lashed heavily across his cheek with a crack, leaving a swollen welt.
Only then did the two mothers rush forward, pulling the children tightly into their arms and apologizing in utter terror: "My lord, forgive us... forgive us..."
Li Keshi touched the struck area on his face and sighed softly. "Do not say you are sorry. Children seeking vengeance for their father are not wrong."
He glanced at the two children, wanting to smile, but in the end could not muster it. He said softly, "These two boys really have strength. My two sisters-in-law... it will be hard on you to raise them well. When they grow up... they will do great things."
Chapter 43