Chapter 322: 331 Evidence of Crime

"What city? What township?"

The Summer Pillar of State, who was currently manipulating this sea of blooming flowers, was stunned for a moment.

He had been pouring out his heart and soul, using his emotions to drive his Sword Heart, reaching a state of greater synergy with his sword and gaining unprecedented power. Who would have thought Xing Ji would suddenly say something like that? Who wanted to talk to him about the past?

The Summer Pillar of State frowned, then suddenly felt a chill.

Looking straight ahead, a golden, round sphere suddenly appeared behind Xing Ji.

The sphere had the luster of a gemstone, with a round, dark bead embedded in the center.

One bead containing another, it looked just like... an eye.

That eye, along with Xing Ji's own pair of eyes—three eyes in total—were all staring at him.

Xing Ji's gaze was sharp, but the Summer Pillar of State did not care at all. A Sword Hero's gaze was naturally sharp; could his own gaze be considered blurry?

Only this gemstone eye staring at him made his heart sink for a moment, as if a thousand-pound weight were pressing on his chest. Even the entire tree of summer flowers seemed to falter slightly.

Immediately after, the Summer Pillar of State thought of someone.

The Gaoyuan Marquis!

Although he had never met the Gaoyuan Marquis, nor had he ever fought against her, he had long been active in Yunzhou; how could he not know the reputation of the Gaoyuan Marquis? The Turtle Bandits had also been collecting information on the Gaoyuan Marquis.

For a long time, the Gaoyuan Marquis's reputation had been associated with her "keen insight" and "far-sightedness," meaning her eyes were sharp, her vision was astonishing, and her observational skills and wisdom were beyond doubt. It was speculated that her sword was also related to such auxiliary observation abilities, so her Sword Image was very likely an eye!

It was not that the Gaoyuan Marquis was known for her powerful combat strength. But it would be foolish to underestimate the Gaoyuan Marquis's strength because of that. One must know that the Gaoyuan Marquis had almost single-handedly ridden north to Yunzhou, suppressed the Zhongtian Prefecture when it was on the verge of collapse, finished off more than one or two Sword Heroes, and then personally wiped out the Li Huo Prison, which was the most rampant source of disaster at the time. She then slowly gathered talent and built up her forces to reach the current situation. If there were no powerful strength to hold the fort, how could she have succeeded?

If the Summer Pillar of State were to say he looked down on Xing Ji, that would be a little true—what was a Sword Hero? The gap between Sword Heroes of the same realm was greater than that between a human and a dog. Xing Ji was not even ranked among the six great Sword Heroes under the Gaoyuan Marquis. But he absolutely dared not look down on the Gaoyuan Marquis, even if it were just a Dharma Artifact separated from her.

Moreover, this Dharma Artifact was imposing; his heart feeling a chill just now was certainly not a psychological effect.

He shouted: "Good, is this your reliance? If you can't beat me, you invite your superior to help you? I'm afraid a mere Dharma Artifact isn't enough. Do you want to invite that old woman over directly? The two of you against me, what do I have to fear?"

Xing Ji's brows sank slightly, and he then said solemnly: "It is not to invite the Marquis for assistance. It is to ask her to bear witness for me. I have words to ask you."

As he spoke, the luster in the yellow eyeball changed, looking as if it had blinked.

"Ten years ago, Pingming Cheng in Yunzhou reported a Yin Calamity. The location was Zhou Xiang outside the city. It was claimed that someone saw giant flowers blooming in mid-air at dawn. The commoners did not understand, and whenever they saw strange omens, they called them Yin Calamities. The Pingming Land Inspection Division arrived at noon the next day, but they saw that Zhou Xiang was empty, with no trace of human activity. However, they did not see any trace of flowers..."

The Summer Pillar of State listened, remaining silent, but showed a faint sneer.

Xing Ji's tone was more serious than ever before, his voice not loud, yet it carried very far.

Tang Zhao and the Deputy Envoy heard this interrogation almost at the same time, and both felt a stir in their hearts.

Tang Zhao gave the Deputy Envoy a look. The Deputy Envoy did not know if he saw Tang Zhao's look or not, but he did exactly what Tang Zhao wanted—he took a small cage from his side and gave it a gentle shake, causing the cage to grow larger.

That cage was a specialized capture Art Tool of the Land Inspection Division, sufficient to detain and imprison Sword Guests and ordinary Heavenly Demons. Inside was one of the two major harvests this time—the red-haired Pillar of State, Zhou Chengzhi.

The red-haired Pillar of State was trapped in an obsession and could not pull himself out; he might have remained submerged for a long time. The Deputy Envoy had knocked him unconscious and put him in the cage, which could be considered a rescue—once he fell into a coma and lost consciousness, he would not need to think about obsessions. And with the air blocked in the cage, the unconscious person would not wake up easily.

The Deputy Envoy opened a crack in the red-haired man's cage, and a breath of fresh air blew in. Zhou Chengzhi woke up groggily.

He immediately flipped up. The Deputy Envoy opened his mouth, wanting to explain the cause and effect, but Zhou Chengzhi suddenly froze, his gaze dull.

He looked up, staring fixedly at the giant flowers covering the towering tree. The shadows of the flowers were reflected in his eyes, causing his pupils to constrict.

Tang Zhao and the Deputy Envoy were both stunned. Although it was predictable, they still couldn't help but be amazed—was it really such a coincidence?

Or perhaps... this was not a coincidence?

"Because the description of the towering flowers by the commoner who first reported it was too bizarre and did not fit with any known Heavenly Demons, Phantoms, or Fierce Beasts, it was guessed that the person was suffering from delusions caused by a Phantom. As for the mysterious disappearance of the villagers, no one cared even more. After all, Zhou Xiang was originally a gathering place for refugees fleeing from the Yinhuo Township, a forgotten place. Perhaps the refugees couldn't stand the exclusion and moved away overnight?"

"After all, that was a chaotic period in Yunzhou. The Land Inspection Division was full of people who just muddled along and held sinecures, and they did not investigate to the end. This case of the disappearing village became a cold case, and to this day, no one remembers it."

The Summer Pillar of State said calmly: "No one remembers? Don't you remember?"

Xing Ji said in a deep voice: "Of course I remember. At that time, I was also one of the casual members of the Land Inspection Division investigating. Of course, I was also one of those Land Inspection Division members who didn't do their proper work. Although I had suspicions at the time, I didn't investigate thoroughly; I just remembered the legend of those flowers. Now that I see your Sword Technique, I remember it. Was it you who released those flowers back then? Those missing villagers..."

He paused and said: "Were they eaten by the flowers?"

"Eaten? They were just liberated."

The old Pillar of State's expression was indifferent, unaware that beneath his feet, a red-haired young man's expression had changed drastically.

"I would have forgotten about this if you hadn't mentioned it. After all, it's been ten years; who keeps remembering things? Since you still remember, you must be brooding over it? Actually, there's no need. The number of decent commoners harmed by your government is countless; why pretend to care about those mongrel monsters? What is the meaning of living as refugees from Yinhuo Township? After being polluted, they lose the possibility of life blooming. Life has already withered, arriving at autumn and winter ahead of time. Not only do they wither quickly, but they fall into the mud, are polluted and stinking in the muddy water, are trampled and ravaged over and over again, and ground into dust. Does such a life really have meaning?"

The Deputy Envoy had to use a lot of effort to suppress Zhou Chengzhi's hysteria. He had to threaten: "If you don't want to listen, just pass out. Anyway, it wasn't meant for you to hear in the first place."

Zhou Chengzhi finally quieted down a little, still panting heavily.

Xing Ji said: "Meaning or no meaning, it is not for you to decide. Nor is it for a filthy person like you to sneer and talk about others being polluted. Why are you beating around the bush? You admit it was you, right? Why? A Sword Hero like you slaughtering civilians? Did this village stand in your way? Or are you involved with the Demon Sect, playing some kind of Sacrifice ghost trick? Or..."

After all, there were really few reasons for a Sword Hero, who was at least a big shot, to trouble Yinhuo Township. He pondered for a moment and said a reason he had just thought of: "Or was it for some matter, and you had to kill to silence them?"

Zhou Chengzhi suddenly quieted down.

The old Pillar of State said: "Hmm? Why? How would I know? Things done ten years ago have long been forgotten. Maybe there was a reason. But what does this have to do with you? Does the business of my Dawai Chao need to be reported to you in every detail? Since when did you care so much about Yinhuo Township?"

Xing Ji said: "In an interrogation, one naturally asks for the motive. But if I can't ask it out, it doesn't matter; at most, it's a bit of a pity. Anyway, you have confessed to your crimes. As for the crime of treason, you naturally won't deny that either, right?"

The old Pillar of State scoffed and said: "What treason? Just a fake dynasty. When we return to the legitimate succession, you will all just be a group of thieves."

Xing Ji said: "Good, you also admit to the crime of rebellion. The crime of attacking Zhuoyu Villa and snatching the Treasure Sword goes without saying; I can testify to that, you cannot argue."

The old Pillar of State sneered: "Is it a crime for us to take back our own things? Truly a trumped-up charge."

Xing Ji raised his voice, pointed at him, and shouted: "Sheng Wubing, what other crimes do you have to confess? Colluding with fierce demons, killing and robbing, rape and plunder, bullying men and women, swindling and cheating, pickpocketing on the street, eating without paying... have you not committed these crimes?"

The old Pillar of State was furious, his beard trembling with anger, and he raised his sword: "Junior, how dare you be so rude?"

Xing Ji said solemnly: "It seems you don't intend to confess, which will make it difficult to clear up some unjust cases. However, for you personally, it is enough."

As he spoke, he bowed to that eyeball.

Behind him, the Tongzhiling for the Summer Pillar of State automatically unfolded, flapping in the wind. Lines of blurry handwriting suddenly became clear, as if rewritten by a hand.

"The Tongzhiling has been issued."

"Suspect Sheng Wubing has been brought to justice."

"In broad daylight, the case is being tried in court."

"No torture has been used."

"Three charges, the criminal has confessed without reservation."

"The witnesses and evidence are all here; let us confront them face to face."

"The trial is concluded."

"Pronouncing the sentence—"

He spoke word by word, his voice calm and rippleless, while the gemstone above his head, resembling an Eye Bead, quietly looked down upon everything.

Sheng Wubing, however, could not help but feel a wave of panic, and suddenly his Sword Essence erupted, his Momentum increasing sharply—

"Splendid as Xia Hua—!"

Countless Xia Hua suddenly withered, and even the large trees submerged by the flowers began to decay; their bark turned to dust as if weathered, and the cicadas let out shrill, mournful cries as they fell, their life force burned to the extreme. Only one enormous flower stood out, shrouding the world above the clouds like a sun. Countless petals opened and pressed down toward the top of Xing Ji's head.

Xing Ji acted as if he did not see it, his voice steady and solemn, possessing an unquestionable majesty:

"Sheng Wubing is guilty of heinous crimes and his evil is full; he is hereby sentenced to death—immediate execution."

The enormous petals reached the top of his head.

"Mark the scroll—carry out the execution!"

He slashed through the air as if holding a vermilion brush.

On that Tongzhiling, a huge red checkmark appeared over the name of Sheng Wubing.

At the same time, a flash of bright red streaked through the Void.

Pfft—

Fresh blood sprayed wildly!