Chapter 154: Confess and Submit to the Law, End It Yourself

As soon as Lu Yuan appeared, the arrogance of the Chief Knight Williams vanished, and he became full of apprehension.

Victor, acting as Consul, stepped forward and said sternly:

"Lu Yuan, these people burned down churches and killed the clergy of the Heavenly Lord Holy Church. This is not only an unforgivable crime, but also an offense and provocation against the Holy See and the entire Holy Roman Alliance Empire. Do you dare to stand up for them?"

Lu Yuan sneered:

"Killing a few inhumane beasts—what kind of unforgivable crime is that? It is your Heavenly Lord Holy Church that claims to spread the gospel of the Lord and exhort people to be good, yet this is how you harbor filth and evil?"

"You!"

Most of the Shenluo People present did not understand Chinese and had no reaction, but Williams and Victor, feeling their faith had been insulted, were both furious.

However, before they could shout a reprimand, shouts suddenly erupted from the outer perimeter of the crowd.

"Make way! Make way! Everyone make way!"

"The Governor has arrived—!"

On the main road, amidst the seething crowd, there was another commotion, and then a group of tough-looking government soldiers was seen forcibly parting the crowd to enter the scene.

The leader, riding a tall horse, was none other than Fan Zhenxiong, the Jinjin Commander.

Behind him was a luxurious carriage. Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Governor Qi Yuanjiang, dressed in official robes, stepped down with his Staff Officer in a hurry and issued orders:

"Commander Fan, maintain order here! Do not let these people storm the Concession under any circumstances!"

"Everyone, fall back three zhang!"

Having already learned the situation, Fan Zhenxiong spotted Lu Yuan at a glance. He signaled with his eyes and then issued orders, directing a large number of soldiers to form a human wall to isolate the commoners from the Concession.

During this process, Consul Victor immediately stepped forward and shouted coldly:

"Jinjin Governor Qi Yuanjiang!? You have come just in time. These lowly commoners just burned down three of our churches outside the Concession and killed over twenty priests and nuns; only the priest of the Wanghailou Church escaped with his life. Such evil deeds are unforgivable. I want you, the Governor, to give us an explanation. If the handling of this cannot appease the Empire's fury, I guarantee that the artillery fire of the Empire's warships will cover every inch of Jinjin's soil!"

Having learned the news before arriving, Qi Yuanjiang looked at Lu Yuan, then at the blood-stained Williams opposite, his eyelids twitching wildly.

He already knew the gist of the Golden Blade Group leading the commoners in a riot to burn the churches, but he did not know why Lu Yuan had appeared here. He could not spare the time to ask for now, and with cold sweat pouring down, he said:

"The matter of burning the churches seems to have hidden circumstances. According to what this official knows, it was because someone discovered that the abandoned infants and children taken in by the Mercy Hall had died inexplicably, and then..."

"This is framing, slander, and a setup!!"

Regardless of whether the priests of the Mercy Hall had done this or not, from the perspective of the Holy See, it was impossible to admit it. Williams said angrily:

"Believers of the Lord of Heaven could never commit such devilish acts! It must be that someone wants to sabotage our spreading of the Lord's gospel to those who suffer!"

Beside them, Cao Futian could no longer bear it, stepped forward, and said sternly:

"What about the molestation of children? There are over ten young boys who have been molested by that Gao Hailou. The victims brought their children to us personally to cry and testify. How can you still deny it!"

Behind Victor, the fifty-something Shenluo foreigner named Gao Hailou immediately braced himself and shouted:

"This is defamation! This is slander! I have been preaching in the church for many years, strictly observing the Lord's teachings and commandments, and have never committed any transgression! Those victims you speak of are either harboring ulterior motives or have been bribed!"

All priests preaching in the Jin Dynasty had to follow local customs and take a Chinese name, and he was even more proficient in Chinese than Consul Victor.

Gao Hailou's desperate denials made Cao Futian laugh out of extreme anger, and the commoners present were also seething with indignation, cursing loudly. If not for the soldiers blocking them, they would have rushed over and beaten him to death.

Williams did not care at all about the seething crowd in front of him, but stared at Qi Yuanjiang and said:

"Governor Qi, you heard it too. These so-called crimes are completely groundless, yet this mob of lowly rioters burned our churches and killed our priests and nuns. You should know without me saying how much damage and negative impact this will cause to the relationship between our two countries. How do you intend to handle this?"

Qi Yuanjiang's face turned pale, cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and he could not speak.

In the imperial court, he had always leaned toward the pro-peace faction, and it was precisely for this reason that he was favored by Xici and appointed as the Jinjin Governor to sit in this coastal hub with an extremely complex situation.

However, the riot that occurred in the city today happened too quickly. By the time he received the news, all three churches had already been burned down; he had no time to react.

As the world's number one power today, with the Holy See even overriding imperial power, the destruction of churches and the killing of priests and nuns were of the utmost severity. If not handled well, it could very likely trigger a war between the two countries.

Although the imperial court had been recuperating and sharpening its weapons over these years, putting Great Strength into casting Firearm and Cannon and training the New Army, in hopes of one day reclaiming past shame and face from the powers.

But the Jin Dynasty had just suffered a crushing defeat against the Rizhao Army in the first half of the year, and Shenluo was the current number one power, far stronger than Rizhao. If a great war were to start, the imperial court would likely still be unable to resist, and he, as Governor, would be the biggest scapegoat!

While Qi Yuanjiang was forcing himself to stay calm and his thoughts raced, just as he was about to speak, Lu Yuan on the side suddenly said calmly:

"You Shenluo People are certainly skilled at glib talk and turning black into white. Let's put other things aside for a moment—if it can truly be proven that Gao Hailou committed the evil act of molesting young boys, what do you say?"

Seeing Lu Yuan suddenly speak, Williams stared at him fixedly:

"If such an act truly occurred, we would not need you; we would personally send him to the stake and let his soul repent in hell!!"

Lu Yuan smiled slightly: "Very well, then let me ask him personally whether he has done it or not."

Whoosh!

Subconsciously, a sudden gale swept through the scene, and his figure vanished into thin air before everyone's eyes.

What?

Everyone on the Shenluo Concession side was suddenly shocked, unable to believe what was happening before their eyes. The very next moment, a scream rang out. Williams, Victor, and the others turned their heads in sudden terror, only to see that Lu Yuan had somehow bypassed them, appeared beside Gao Hailou, and grabbed him by the neck like a hawk catching a chick, lifting him up!

Gao Hailou, now in Lu Yuan's grasp, was terrified to the point of madness, yet his body reacted as if frozen, unable to put up the slightest resistance.

Williams, who reacted the fastest, stepped forward in shock and anger to stop him:

"Scoundrel, let go—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Lu Yuan just turned his head abruptly to look at him, his eyes glowing with a dark light. Williams immediately let out a shrill scream, clutching his head and staggering backward as if a sharp blade had been thrust into his brain, blood instantly streaming from his nostrils.

Everything happened so fast that "in the blink of an eye" was not enough to describe it. Victor and the surrounding Shenluo soldiers with guns were all alarmed and turned their muzzles.

However, Lu Yuan merely flicked his sleeve. The air was instantly compressed by unimaginable force, and a visible gale of energy swept outward like a tsunami!

Woo— woo— woo...

The nearly solidified gale roared and crisscrossed. Victor and even the elite Shenluo soldiers around him felt as if they were caught in a level-ten storm. Unable to stand under the impact of the gale, and unable to even open their eyes, they were instantly knocked over!!

Thus, Qi Yuanjiang, Cao Futian, and even the commoners at the front of the crowd watched in horror as the group of Shenluo soldiers fell to the ground like rolling gourds. Under the gale, the entrance to the vast Concession was filled with howling winds and flying sand and rocks, like a natural disaster!

With just one glance, Williams, this so-called Chief Knight, was sent reeling as if suffering a heavy blow; with just one flick of a sleeve, dozens of soldiers were knocked over. Such god-like, unbelievable means instantly left everyone present with their gazes frozen, dumbfounded.

And in the midst of this chaotic scene, Lu Yuan laughed heartily. A gale rose, his figure flashed, and he swept out from the Shenluo side, carrying Gao Hailou back to the open space in the middle.

Not until his figure stood still did Williams, bleeding from his nose and mouth, along with Victor and the soldiers, finally recover, feeling both terror and fury:

"Bastard, what do you want to do!?"

"Release Gao Hailou, or we will not spare you!"

"Wait until my Holy Roman army presses upon the border; by then, not only will you have to pay for your crimes with death, but the entire Jinjin will be reduced to ruins!"

As they spoke, their hundreds of soldiers pulled bolts and loaded chambers one after another, and even two machine guns had their safeties disengaged, aimed at Lu Yuan in the center of the field, waiting only for a command to spit fire and harvest thousands of lives.

Of course, this was merely a threat; unless it was a last resort and their lives were threatened, no one dared to actually open fire.

After all, Lu Yuan was a legendary figure who had defeated two Grandmaster-level powerhouses, possessing unimaginable prestige in this Jinjin. If they really opened fire, not to mention whether they could kill the opponent, such an act of completely tearing off the mask would result in thousands of commoners swarming up and tearing them to pieces.

Under such a tense, hair-trigger, and sinister situation, Qi Yuanjiang finally reacted amidst his shock, looking at Lu Yuan with a trembling voice:

"Master Lu, do not be impulsive, do not be impulsive!"

"Diplomacy is no small matter. Release this person, and we can talk about anything slowly!"

Lu Yuan, however, could not be bothered to look at him; he simply tossed the Priest Gao Hailou, whom he held in his hand, casually onto the ground, and said in a voice like thunder:

"Gao Hailou, someone has testified that when you were preaching at Wanghailou Church, you coerced believers and molested the young boys in their homes. There are over ten victims. Is this true or not?"

At this moment, Gao Hailou sat blankly on the ground, his gaze chaotic, and he said dully:

"Yes, yes, I have committed the sin of lust."

Boom—

Hearing Gao Hailou admit it, a massive uproar suddenly erupted from the surrounding crowd, and the sounds of angry curses shook the heavens.

And completely unable to imagine that Gao Hailou would change his tune so easily, Williams and Victor also had their expressions change wildly, and they rebuked angrily:

"Gao Hailou, what are you saying!?"

"In front of so many people, do not spout nonsense!"

Lu Yuan ignored these two and continued to ask indifferently:

"Gao Hailou, exactly how many families have fallen victim to your poisonous hands? Tell the truth about the time, location, and the situation of the victims of your evil deeds!"

Gao Hailou knelt on the ground and began to weep bitterly, saying intermittently:

"The Lord of Heaven is above; I have committed the unforgivable sin of lust."

"At Wanghailou Church, there are a total of three hundred and seventy-eight local believers in Jinjin. I once had sinful thoughts about the children of fifteen of these families, and I put them into action."

"These believers were all very devout people. I required them to bring their children to the church for worship every Sunday, and I proposed to baptize them personally, then fed them sleeping drugs to violate them."

"My soul has committed an irreparable mistake under lust and sin. I want to repent to the merciful Lord, wishing he could..."

While Gao Hailou was repenting with tears and snot, Williams on the opposite side was already pulling his gun with a twisted expression and roaring:

"You deserve to die!"

Bang, bang, bang!

The muzzles bloomed with tongues of fire, yet under the advance sensing of the Sprout Sensing Technique, Lu Yuan blocked in front of Gao Hailou ahead of time, and a layer of golden light bloomed upon his body, blocking all the incoming bullets.

At the same time, he flicked his finger, and a thunderous golden radiance erupted like lightning, instantly slicing off the barrel of the gun in Williams's hand and even two of his fingers!

With his hand dripping with blood, Williams immediately let out a painful roar. This shocking scene stunned everyone present once again. Fan Zhenxiong was the first to react and shouted angrily:

"Audacious! You dare to kill to silence witnesses!"

At his command, the firearm soldiers under his command instantly surged out to block in front of Lu Yuan, all aiming their guns at Williams and his party.

Victor supported Williams in shock and anger, but because it was their side that opened fire first, he did not dare to order a collective volley.

Seeing that the two sides were about to have an accidental discharge, Qi Yuanjiang felt his scalp go numb and shouted repeatedly in terror:

"Do not fire, do not fire!"

Yet still, no one paid any attention to the Governor's shouts. Lu Yuan did not look at Williams again either, only looking at Gao Hailou indifferently:

"Your crimes are unforgivable. Since you have confessed, give the Jinjin commoners present an explanation."

As his voice fell, Gao Hailou raised his head, streaming with tears and snot, and shouted:

"I, Gao Hailou, have committed monstrous sins and deserve to die!"

"Such an evil person should no longer live in this world. I wish for my soul to fall into hell and repent for eternity!"

Saying this, he picked up a sharp stone from the ground and smashed it fiercely against his own head.

Bang!

With the first heavy blow, his head was immediately broken and bleeding, with fresh blood flowing down, yet he seemed to feel nothing at all, shouting intensely in his mouth:

"I deserve to die!"

"I am guilty!"

"I deserve to die!"

"I am guilty!"

Every time he shouted, the stone in his hand smashed heavily against his own head, his movements swift and firm.

And until after four or five consecutive heavy smashes, his skull was already fractured and his flesh was mangled; one could even see his brains flowing out. The scene was a bloody mess, too horrible to look at.

Yet even so, he still seemed unaware and unfeeling, neither crying out in pain nor stopping. Kneeling on the ground facing the crowd, he smashed his head fiercely. After several more times, he completely smashed his head to pieces before swaying and collapsing to the ground.

With merely a few words of judgment from Lu Yuan, Gao Hailou seemed to have become completely possessed, smashing himself to death alive with a stone.

Such an evil, bloody, and even terrifying scene left the entire crowd—whether it was the Jinjin commoners or the foreigners from the Holy Roman Concession—in complete silence. Everyone felt their hair stand on end, and a cold chill continued to spread.

"This, this..."

Qi Yuanjiang, who was closer and lived a life of luxury, was the first to be unable to bear this mangled scene, retreating in terror:

"Crazy, crazy!"

"This person must be crazy!"

(End of chapter)