Chapter 718: If You Can

"My lord, when did you return? How did I not notice?"

Liu Mengyun looked up and saw Su Yang.

She was slightly surprised.

Her office was right outside Su Yang's office door.

Logically, if Su Yang had returned, she would have noticed.

"I just got back. You were probably too focused to notice."

"Oh!" Liu Mengyun nodded and pulled a blue folder from her desk. "Good timing, my lord—there are matters that need your attention."

"Did anyone from the Southeast Military or the Treasure Pavilion come?"

"Neither did, but I expect they'll arrive soon!"

Su Yang returned to his office and reviewed the crimes confessed by the Treasure Pavilion members.

"My lord, how should we handle this?"

"The hunting teams of Sang Ling and Wujiang are suspected of murdering military personnel. Except for Sang Ling and Wujiang themselves, execute all their team members by hanging them on the walls of Xicheng. Make sure to post notices—otherwise they'll think I'm killing people arbitrarily!"

Not hanging Sang Ling and Wujiang wasn't because Su Yang was merciful.

It was because evidence needed to be preserved.

Otherwise, what if the Treasure Pavilion sued him?

The Southeast Military might also need to verify the facts.

"Understood!"

"Release all other ordinary non-beast-taming members of the Treasure Pavilion who are natives of Mount Dajiao and have committed no crimes!"

"Yes, my lord!"

"Proceed with this for now!"

"Got it!"

Just as Liu Mengyun was about to leave, Su Yang called out to her.

"Is there something else?"

"When the executions happen, call me—I'll carry them out myself."

"Uh… alright!"

Liu Mengyun was slightly surprised, but she agreed.

Su Yang was the city lord; no one could stop him from carrying out executions himself.

Suspected of murdering Mount Dajiao military personnel in the wild.

The Treasure Pavilion had truly enraged the masses.

At the very least, it had enraged the military beast-tamers.

After Su Yang's order, the military beast-tamers hooded the three hundred-odd exhausted members of the two Treasure Pavilion hunting teams and shoved them into prisoner carts.

For the past half-month, they had suffered greatly.

"What are you doing?"

"Where are you taking us!"

"Get away! We're Treasure Pavilion people!"

"…"

The beast-tamers escorting them kicked the struggling Treasure Pavilion members to the ground and sneered: "Even if you're the Son of Heaven's man, it won't save you!"

"Cooperate properly, and you'll suffer less!"

But most Treasure Pavilion members had no strength left to struggle, curse, or resist.

An hour later, Su Yang arrived at the Xicheng wall.

A sea breeze blew across the wall.

Below the wall, many civilians and beast-tamers had gathered.

Mount Dajiao was no major city.

An hour was enough time for word to spread far.

Some curious, idle people had followed the prisoner carts all the way to Xicheng.

Within Mount Dajiao, members of major factions—the Li family, the Tiger Shark Mercenary Company—had all come upon hearing the news.

Looking up from below the wall, one could see many corpses hanging from it.

They were the people from the Brother's Gambling Den executed half a month ago.

Among them were the brothers Ye Hu and Ye Long.

The corpses were badly decayed, but since they hung in midair, the stench was mild.

"I heard Su Yang is going to execute Treasure Pavilion people?"

"No way? They're Treasure Pavilion people!"

"What do Treasure Pavilion people matter? Didn't the city lord already dismantle the Treasure Pavilion?"