Chapter 161: Marquis of Boping, Yang An (Third Watch)

The moment the Execution Order was signed, the document immediately changed.

All the names turned crimson, then twisted and crumbled into ash.

This was no ordinary document — it was a Fate Tablet!

Zhao Xing's signing of this order was equivalent to expelling these people from the Qi Fortune Dynasty system.

"Ah, how did I drop to the Eighth Rank Realm?"

"Pfft~ my bones, my bones are broken!"

"Silver bones degraded to iron bones, I've been stripped of my official post!"

"Hahaha, so this is my own true strength."

"Qi and blood circulation is impeded, returning fortune to the court — so this is what returning fortune to the court means?"

The criminals being escorted onto the square immediately broke into an uproar.

Some had already discovered their realm had plummeted, and even their cultivation techniques and Wu Ji had degraded.

Some even turned white-haired at this moment, their skin wrinkling.

The Qi Fortune Dynasty — this is the Qi Fortune Dynasty!

If Zhao Xing knew a Qi-Gazing technique, he would now see a wisp of 'Qi' being drawn from the 1,366 people in the square, swirling and condensing overhead.

Since the imperial court could bestow fortune, it could also take it back. Whether realm or lifespan, once one was completely expelled from the Qi Fortune Dynasty system, one would be reduced to their original form.

Usually, this process would be even more tragic. Whether martial artists or mages, the foundations the imperial court helped you lay, the houses it built for you — if you remove a single beam, or even pull out half the foundation, the final result would be far worse than merely returning to one's original form.

Therefore, if one committed a serious crime to the point of being expelled from the Qi Fortune Dynasty system, it was basically no different from death — unless, like Zhao Xing, every step was cultivated by oneself, with only the effects of Qi Fortune and lifespan extension.

In that case, even if stripped of official rank in the future, it would not greatly affect one's own strength, at least not as miserably as these criminals in the square.

"I want to see the Marquis, I want to see the Marquis!"

"Why? I'm a Seventh Rank martial general, why don't I even get a chance to atone for my crimes?!"

"I only embezzled a few tens of thousands of taels, and you're going to kill me?"

"Marquis, oh Marquis, I refuse to accept this!"

Seeing the large-scale realm regression and black hair turning white, many in the square immediately had a premonition and began to struggle frantically.

Inside the hall, Qiu Mingyi watched Zhao Xing sign the Execution Order without the slightest hesitation, and a glimmer of admiration flashed in his eyes.

The Inspectorate needs talents like this!

Executing all 1,366 people — this couldn't be done with just a little courage, but required tremendous courage.

Moreover, Zhao Xing was no hothead who signed the Execution Order on impulse.

Qiu Mingyi had set up multiple tests earlier: first asking how many were to be punished, hinting that he had the right to conceal some numbers, then saying they were Divine Might Army men who could be dealt with lightly.

It could be said that Zhao Xing signed this order without anyone to rely on.

What he relied on was only the 'Law,' and the imperial court's current wind of strict crackdown.

If Zhao Xing were a hotheaded youth, or a spineless weakling, without courage or political instinct, it would have been very hard to make this decision.

A strange light flickered in Qiu Mingyi's eyes. He rose and extended his hand, saying, "I invite the Grand Inspector to oversee the execution."

Holding the Grand Inspector's token made one the Grand Inspector. Zhao Xing had originally been a figurehead, but now Qiu Mingyi greatly admired him and actually addressed him as Grand Inspector — sufficient proof of his appreciation.

"In that case, this official will boldly take it upon himself to oversee the execution on behalf of Lord Qiu." Zhao Xing held the command arrow and stepped on clouds to arrive above the square.

Once a thing was done, it had to be done thoroughly, done beautifully.

How could ordinary minor crimes catch the eye of the military intelligence department?

Therefore, of those on the list, thirty percent committed grave crimes and seventy percent committed capital crimes!

Zhao Xing sentencing them to death was absolutely no problem at all.

Long Xiao was filled with sorrow, but at this moment he still appeared behind Zhao Xing. He didn't dare look down, because those were all familiar faces.

"Long Xiao? Y-you, how are you here?"

"Grand Inspector's token? Who is this person? He's not Qiu Mingyi!"

"I know, he seems to be Zhao Xing."

"Zhao Xing? Isn't he the genius Minister of Agriculture of our Divine Might Army?"

"This — he took on the inspection mission? He's the one who wants us dead?"

"Long Xiao, you bastard, you sold out your brothers!"

"Long Xiao, quickly beg on behalf of your brothers! Have you forgotten the years we fought side by side?"

Zhao Xing turned a deaf ear, his expression unchanging. Holding the command arrow, he gave a great shout: "Silence!"

The command arrow temporarily granted him the Ritual Cultivator power of making his words law.

He now cast a Silencing Art, and the square instantly fell deathly quiet.

"As military generals, you ought to end war through martial force, defending the nation and protecting the people."

"Yet now you have committed numerous evils — burning, killing, looting, oppressing the people and harming the nation, crimes too numerous to record!"

"Though you had merits in the past, you have also enjoyed the imperial court's blessings."

"Merit is merit, crime is crime."

"Today, this official, in accordance with the Great Zhou Decree, sentences you all to death!"

"Carry it out immediately!"

Zhao Xing tossed the order token downward.

As the order token fell, the sky above the entire square seemed to collapse. The 'Qi' that had previously condensed overhead now plummeted downward like a great mountain.

Once the order token hit the ground, these people would die instantly and painlessly.

But just at this moment—

"Wait!"

A low voice came from afar, and Zhao Xing turned his head to look.

He saw a figure clad in azure armor, wrapped in the power of heaven and earth, swiftly descending upon the Inspection Bureau plaza.

Beneath the execution token, a giant azure dragon claw appeared, forcibly lifting it back up again.

"Azure Dragon Claw! The Marquis of Boping has come."

"Yang An, he really came."

Zhao Xing was quite disappointed in his heart.

If today Yang An shielded even one person, his impression of him would take a serious blow; if he pardoned everyone, Zhao Xing would have to discuss with Wei Yuan tomorrow about switching locations.

"Greetings, General Divine Might."

The Inspectors of the plaza and the people of the Divine Temple, including the soldiers who had come along, all paid their respects in succession.

Seeing this, Zhao Xing also cupped his hands in greeting.

Yang An was very young, with fair skin, red lips, a high nose bridge, and extremely handsome features. Had he not been wearing a suit of azure battle armor, military boots, and carrying a greatsword on his back, and had he changed into splendid robes, he would have looked like an elegant Young Master, completely unlike the commander of an entire army.

At this moment, everyone addressed him as 'General Divine Might,' not the Marquis of Boping.

Because the former was an official title, while the latter was a noble rank. Privately, people called him 'my lord,' but in formal settings, they had to address him as General Divine Might.

Beside him followed a middle-aged scholar with triangular eyes and a cunning, deceitful look on his face — presumably the rather famous strategist of the Divine Might Army, 'Jia Pu.'

Zhao Xing was somewhat disappointed in Yang An in his heart, and even his greeting was somewhat perfunctory.

After cupping his hands, he silently lowered the cloud layer, returned to the corridor, and stood together with Old Chen.

Chen Shijie could easily guess Zhao Xing's thoughts, and immediately said in a low voice: "Let's quietly observe the changes. My lord has never disappointed anyone."

Oh?

Zhao Xing raised an eyebrow and looked back at the sky.

Once Yang An appeared, it was no longer Zhao Xing's place to speak — the one in dialogue was Qiu Mingyi.

"Why does General Divine Might obstruct the enforcement of the law?"

"The Inspection Bureau wants to execute 1,366 of my brothers — how could Yang An not come?"

"Even if Lord Qiu insists on executing them, you should at least give them a chance to leave their last words."

Yang An landed on the plaza, and the cry of the azure dragon rang out, instantly breaking the silence spell.

"My lord, my lord!"

"I'm wronged, my lord!"

"My lord, Qiu Mingyi this cruel official harbors ill intentions — he wants to kill us!"

The people on the plaza immediately began to wail and cry.

Zhao Xing? His standing wasn't enough, and he didn't really know them — clearly, all the anger was directed at Qiu Mingyi.

Qiu Mingyi stepped through the air to the plaza, utterly unafraid, facing the might of the azure dragon head-on.

"Then let's hear what else they have to say."

Yang An nodded: "Silence!"

The plaza instantly fell silent.

A glint of surprise flashed in Zhao Xing's eyes — this was no courtesy cultivation spell, but rather achieved through Yang An's personal authority alone, with nothing but his flesh-and-blood mouth.

"Hong Tai, what grievance do you have?" Yang An first questioned Hong Tai, the highest-ranking military officer. "Speak it out, and this marquis will see justice done for you!"

Hong Tai raised his head, his lips parting, but he found himself unable to speak.

Was he wronged? He was not wronged.

The crimes were real, and the evidence was real.

How could he argue?

"Can't speak?" Qiu Mingyi sneered. "Then this official will speak for you. Hong Tai, in the tenth year of the Jingxin calendar, you were transferred to serve as the Land Register Captain of Tao County. Given the situation of the Divine Might Army at that time, the Marquis of Boping was even stripped of his post."

"You went from military to civil service — a rank of Upper Grade Seven from a Lower Grade Seven. Tao County is a fertile land; let's not even speak of favorable weather, at the very least there were no major natural disasters. You, a military agricultural officer turned civil official, needed no fighting, no day-and-night duty, and your salary even increased. Tell me, did the imperial court treat you unfairly with this transfer?"

Hong Tai stuck out his neck and said: "That was because my lord took on the blame for his brothers! My lord was forced to resign to preserve the brothers in the army..."

"Good!" Qiu Mingyi interrupted Hong Tai. "Since you know that, good."

"But how did you repay the Marquis of Boping in Tao County? Answer this official!"

"My lord, I — I know my fault..." Hong Tai did not dare raise his head.

"Know your fault?" Qiu Mingyi snorted coldly. "I don't think so."

"During your five years in Tao County, you raped fourteen women, and drove five of them to their deaths. The other nine were silenced with money."

"A year ago, the Marquis of Boping returned to the army and began rectifying military affairs."

"Fearing exposure, you went mad and killed the families of these fourteen women as well to silence them."

"You thought you had done it seamlessly, but you didn't know that there are gods watching three feet above your head!"

"You were a fine Captain of Long Water — why did you err again and again? How did you fall so far?"

"You say you're wronged — tell me, is it you who are wronged, or those women killed by your bestial nature, or those departed souls?!"

With every sentence Qiu Mingyi spoke, he took a step forward. By the end, his voice resounded throughout the entire sky, and every criminal on the plaza could not lift their heads.

Qiu Mingyi swept his gaze over the crowd on the plaza: "If any of you feel you have been wronged, speak up loudly. If there is a single misjudgment, this official will immediately commit suicide to apologize!"

Silence, deathly silence.

When Qiu Mingyi finished speaking, the execution token above the plaza suddenly plunged downward another three feet, and the Azure Dragon Claw seemed unable to bear it, tottering on the verge of collapse.

Hong Tai crawled on his knees to Yang An's feet.

"My lord, Hong Tai knows his sins are unforgivable!"

"For the sake of following you all these years, please my lord, grant me a temporary pardon, and let me die on the battlefield!"

"Hong Tai will surely die a warrior's death on the battlefield!"

Having said that, Hong Tai kowtowed heavily on the ground.

Seeing this, the others followed suit, kowtowing one after another.

"Marquis, I, He Long, only embezzled a few tens of thousands of taels — how does that merit a death sentence!"

"Marquis, if we must die, let us die on the battlefield!"

"Marquis…"

Qiu Mingyi said nothing more.

Because these men had all confessed and offered no defense, what they sought was for Yang An to exercise his privilege to pardon them, to let them die a different way.

If Yang An truly did so, Qiu Mingyi had no way to interfere, because this was the privilege of the strong and the great clans — a problem left behind by history. At the very beginning when the Founding Emperor fought for the realm, first-grade powerhouses could have chosen to go to the Eight Wilds and crown themselves kings. With individual might that strong, why would they submit to Great Zhou without special treatment?

Hard to say whether these privilege systems are good or bad, but they exist.

Watching this scene, Zhao Xing also felt this trial was truly difficult to handle.

Facing pleas from former subordinates, and ones who only asked to change the manner of their death, anyone else would likely have been moved to grant clemency.

But if Yang An pardoned them, his own evaluation would inevitably drop.

Of course, at this point he would absolutely not speak up to advise again.

Everyone has their own choice. Zhao Xing's choice was a heavy sentence — not going against the imperial court's wind of strict crackdowns.

What would this Marquis Boping choose?

After a moment of silence, Yang An spoke.

"Hong Tai, Qi Shan, brothers all."

"Halting war with war — you did well. Even now, I believe you can do well. But you have forgotten the heart of defending the realm and protecting the people."

"The law of the land condemns you, and the crime leaves no room for mercy — but the crime you committed, I, Yang An, bear a share of it."

"It was I, Yang An, who governed poorly — that is why today I have lost 1,366 brothers!"

"I, Yang An, should be punished first!"

The treasured sword behind Yang An suddenly leapt from its sheath.

Under the gaze of everyone, the golden sword suddenly swept across his left shoulder and right leg.

"Puchi~"

The blade cleanly severed his left shoulder and right leg!

"Marquis Boping!" Qiu Mingyi's expression was moved.

"Marquis!"

"General Shenwei!"

From all across the square came cries of alarm!

Zhao Xing was also somewhat surprised. He had not expected Yang An to be so ruthless as to simply cut off his own arm and leg.

Although in this world there were treasures that could regrow severed limbs, and for a fourth-grade powerhouse, getting his hands on a Bone-Continuing Ginseng was no difficult matter.

Still, anyone who truly dared to do this was a ruthless man!

"Marquis! Marquis! We are willing to confess our crimes and go to our deaths!"

"The Marquis treats us as brothers; today he has severed his own limbs — it is we who deserve to die!"

"Marquis, don't!" Seeing Yang An about to stab himself again, Hong Tai and the others rushed forward like madmen, throwing themselves in the way even with their bodies bound in ropes.

"General Shenwei!" Qiu Mingyi also spoke to stop him. "Do not do this."

"Marquis." At this moment the middle-aged scholar Jia Pu stepped forward, tears in his eyes, and said: "Grant the brothers' request and see them off."

Yang An closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. Then the golden sword flew up and in an instant pierced through all 1,366 men on the square.

"From this day forth, I, Yang An, demote myself to a Bitter Soldier and am sentenced to serve in the Vanguard Camp, to slay the barbarians in atonement for my fallen brothers!"

"Until I have killed 13,660! May the soldiers of the Shenwei Army take me, Yang An, as a warning."

Having said that, Yang An's Canglong swept up, gathering the bodies of these fallen soldiers, and flew away from the Inspectorate.

"Lost brothers — what a loss of brothers. What a self-demotion to a Bitter Soldier. What a Yang An!" Zhao Xing watched Yang An's departing back, a glint of admiration flashing in his eyes. "To be able to do it to this extent — you deserve to shake the world with your fame!"

I don't know if you brothers are satisfied with this chapter, but I feel that with Yang An's character setting, his way of handling things can stand up within this era and background.

Third watch done, going to sleep! Continuing tomorrow!