Chapter 37: Manifesting Holiness Before Others! (Part 2)

"You bunch of animals—!"

Chu Deshun was overcome with anxious rage; his eyes were bloodshot, and ignoring his own frail and sickly body, he lunged at Zhao Hailong as if to perish together with him.

However, as one of the Protectors of the West Hall, Zhao Hailong's Martial Arts prowess was extraordinary and had already reached the Tendon Changing level; he merely gave a ferocious laugh and backhanded him with a slap, sending Chu Deshun flying almost horizontally before he crashed to the ground.

"Uncle De!"

Xu Lang, who was kneeling to the side, hurriedly stepped forward to support him, only to see that half of Chu Deshun's cheek was severely swollen, and he was continuously spitting out broken teeth and blood, looking utterly miserable.

Seeing this tragic sight, all the onlookers outside the hall who still possessed a conscience felt a sense of sorrow; some showed expressions of unbearable pity, while others were filled with righteous indignation but dared not speak out.

Zhao Hailong was a Protector of the Qinglong Gang, with hundreds of ruffians and thugs under his command; no one dared to provoke him for no reason.

Everyone knew his beastly acts were surely true, yet under Tian Ming's protection, he could openly escape punishment and invert black and white; in this world, who could do anything about it?

With accidents happening one after another in the hall, Tian Ming was exceptionally annoyed at this moment:

"Chu Deshun, how dare you show contempt for the court and act with such reckless violence in this official hall! Do you have no regard for this official at all!"

"Indeed, this person dares to show contempt for the majesty of Magistrate Tian; he deserves to be severely punished!"

Zhao Hailong sneered, turned his head, and said loudly:

"Furthermore, this old thief slandered my reputation without any proof; I want to counter-sue him for the crime of false accusation. I ask the Magistrate to uphold justice for me!"

Counter-sue?

Do you still want any face?

Faced with such a shameless countenance, let alone the crowd of onlookers outside the hall, even Tian Ming, who had taken bribes and was deliberately showing bias on the bench, felt his skin twitch slightly.

Clearly not wanting to waste any more time on this farce, Tian Ming frowned in displeasure and said:

"Zhao Hailong, do not cause any more trouble. Although Chu Deshun acted inappropriately in the hall, it is understandable given his deep love for his daughter; let this matter end here."

Zhao Hailong shrugged: "Since the Magistrate has spoken, this commoner will naturally obey."

Tian Ming nodded and immediately struck the gavel, announcing:

"The case of Chu Deshun accusing Zhao Hailong of defiling his daughter Chu Ling is dismissed for lack of evidence. This official declares Zhao Hailong not guilty!"

Although many of the onlookers outside had already anticipated this result, there was still a great uproar.

Among these people, the gentry and wealthy households shook their heads and sighed repeatedly, while those who were fellow commoners cursed in low, angry voices, though none dared to be the first to stand out.

On the bench, Zhao Hailong was not at all surprised by the result; he cupped his hands and laughed arrogantly and triumphantly:

"Magistrate Tian is wise and sagacious, with eyes like torches and divine judgment; you are truly worthy of being the parent-official of our East City!"

To the side, Chu Deshun, who had been sent spinning by the fierce slap and had lost teeth, heard the verdict and was overcome with rage, his whole body trembling.

With a *pfft* sound, he suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, then pushed Xu Lang away and wailed in heart-wrenching agony:

"Inverting black and white, grievances that cannot be cleared—what kind of world is this, what kind of world!"

"My poor Ling'er, Father has failed you!"

"Heaven, why do you refuse to open your eyes? If there is truly justice and retribution, why do you let this heartless, wolf-hearted villain remain at large!"

His wailing was so shrill that it was like a cuckoo weeping blood; those who heard it were shocked, and those who listened shed tears. Even the bailiffs in the hall, who were accustomed to such matters, felt a sense of sorrow.

"Audacious!"

Seeing that Chu Deshun still dared to curse him, Zhao Hailong felt annoyed and cupped his hands toward Tian Ming:

"Magistrate Tian is our blue-sky official; are you accusing him of being blind? You old thing, you really have a lot of—"

Before he could finish his sentence.

*Swoosh! *

Suddenly, a huge bloody gash ripped open across the throat of Zhao Hailong, who was in the middle of speaking!

It was as if he had been slashed by an invisible blade; half of his neck inexplicably split open, and a surging rain of blood erupted from the wound like a tide!

Terror, pain, disbelief.

In the blink of an eye, the arrogant and wanton expression on Zhao Hailong's face completely froze, his eyes filled with immense horror, and then his body went limp as he knelt to the ground, his head striking the floor heavily.

This!?

Zhao Hailong knelt on the ground, and in an instant, a pool of blood spread out. Such a horrifying scene plunged the court into instant dead silence; everyone's gaze was frozen, and their breathing stopped.

Even the onlookers outside the hall suspected they were hallucinating; they blinked fiercely, unable to believe their own eyes.

"This, what is going on!?"

With such a bizarre and incomprehensible event occurring, it was the Assistant Magistrate Tian Ming who reacted first, retreating in terror from behind the desk:

"Zhao, Zhao Hailong!?"

However, his terrified question had barely fallen.

Suddenly, there was another *swoosh*!

In an instant, Tian Ming felt a sharp pain in his throat and instinctively reached up to cover his neck, only to touch a huge bloody gash and blood spraying wildly from it!

"Hhh—"

Before he could say a single word, he opened his eyes wide, filled with indescribable fear, and slumped over the desk, spreading a shocking pool of scarlet blood.

"Ah—!"

"Dead, people are dead!"

"Ghost, ghost, there's a ghost!"

At this moment, seeing Tian Ming's death, all the bailiffs in the hall and the onlookers outside were driven mad with fear.

Inside the hall, every bailiff was terrified out of his wits; even though their legs went weak from the extreme fear, they scrambled out of the main hall on their hands and knees.

Those watching outside, whether bold or timid, were all scared out of their minds, wailing and howling as they ran away, wishing they had grown two extra legs.

If there was anyone who remained relatively calm, it was only Chu Deshun.

At this moment, the hall was filled with a thick, bloody stench; the corpses of Zhao Hailong and Tian Ming, their necks half-severed and faces full of terror, lay before him, and Xu Lang, the witness, had also fled in terror, leaving only him prostrate on the ground.

Yet after such an unbelievable scene, he felt no fear; instead, he rubbed his eyes violently in disbelief, and upon confirming it was real, he began to tremble all over, filled with inexplicable, wild joy:

"Those who commit many injustices are bound to bring about their own destruction; this is Heaven opening its eyes."

He suddenly knelt toward the outside of the hall, kowtowing like a pestle pounding garlic:

"Thank you, Heaven, for sending down divine punishment to strike dead these two beasts and uphold justice for my daughter!"

"Heaven has eyes, Heaven has eyes!"

Chu Deshun's voice, filled with grateful, ecstatic joy, echoed all around, and the group of people who had almost run out of the yamen suddenly stopped in their tracks.

Heaven has opened its eyes!?

Looking back, they saw Chu Deshun safe and sound in the main hall, and everyone, regardless of age or gender, looked at one another, their hearts filled with shock and uncertainty.

Among the crowd, there were those with clear consciences who, after a moment of hesitation, mustered their courage and carefully walked back.

Then, someone with sharp eyes glanced into the courtroom and let out a startled cry:

"Look, what is that!?"

Chu Deshun, who was in the midst of his ecstatic joy, could not help but turn his head upon hearing this.

Subsequently, he immediately saw that on the bluestone floor in the center of the main hall, one stroke at a time, large characters written in blood appeared in an eerie and inexplicable manner:

Corrupt and lawless, twisting black and white; committing rape and plunder, evil deeds abound; those who act thus deserve to die!

The killer is Qingyike!

(End of chapter)