Chapter 24#
Yu Ling died with eyes unclosed, his bloody head staring at Yu Lin with eyes nearly splitting with rage.#
Yu Ming followed Immortal Lord Chongwu through the long corridor.
He turned his head subconsciously and noticed a faint, shadowy figure hidden behind a screen. The stature and silhouette looked exactly like Yu Lin.
He closed his eyes and used his spiritual energy to probe for Yu Lin’s aura, but there was no familiar aura responding. However, his temples throbbed violently, as if portending something.
Seeing his pace slow down, Immortal Lord Chongwu turned his head slightly and glanced sideways at him. “What’s wrong?”
Yu Ming withdrew his gaze, shook his head, and said, “Nothing.”
Since the aura was incorrect, Yu Ming also abandoned the idea of walking closer to look. With Immortal Lord Chongwu beside him, if it wasn’t Yu Lin, it would be too embarrassing.
Ru Baiyu saw Yu Ming’s gaze sweep over and felt a wave of tension. Lowering his voice, he whispered to Yu Lin, “Yu Lin, did he notice you?”
Yu Lin calmly picked up his soup bowl and took a sip. “If he had recognized me, he would have come over by now. He probably didn’t detect my aura and gave up.”
“After searching for so long, even if he saw someone who looked like his junior brother, he wouldn’t come over to check?”
Yu Lin let out a soft chuckle, mocking himself. “Perhaps they are merely angry, unable to tolerate an ‘inner disciple’ like me running away and becoming a stain on the Fusheng Sect’s reputation.”
Ru Baiyu stared at him intently for three seconds and finally sighed.
He placed his palm on top of Yu Lin’s head, gently smoothing his hair.
“You, why are you so pessimistic?”
Why don’t you believe that there is always someone who cares about you and wants you to go home?
The warm touch on his head traveled down from his crown, making Yu Lin daze for a moment. In an instant, the gentle words of his senior brother and sister came to mind. He pursed his lips, turned his face away slightly, and did not argue with him.
The clamor outside the window grew louder, followed by endless footsteps. Many guests stood up and swarmed toward the door.
“What happened?”
Ru Junyao looked out the window, her eyelashes trembling slightly, and replied softly, “The hour for the escort has arrived.”
Thump.
Yu Lin’s heart jolted, and he looked out the window.
He saw three prison carts moving one after another. There were nearly a hundred people inside, wearing tattered prison robes, their heads hanging low in utter misery.
The head of the Liu family clenched his fists tightly. Filled with hatred, he glared fiercely at the commoners standing on both sides, muttering repeatedly, “Lord Suhui will come to save me… He will come to save me…”
“When the time comes, I’ll kill all of you!”
His words provoked a burst of ridicule from the crowd.
“What are you glaring at? Still acting so tough even now!”
“What a relief! Truly satisfying! Go to hell!!”
At a glance, Yu Lin spotted Yu Ling on the prison cart.
His neck was covered in dark bruises, faintly purple, looking as if someone had strangled him with all their might.
Yu Ling was covered in wounds with not a single patch of unblemished skin. His eyes were resentful and venomous, looking like a ghost from hell, utterly wretched.
Where was any trace of his former innocent and pure appearance?
Liu Yufeng stood beside him, his spine bent very low. The trace of unruliness in his brow was completely wiped away, his eyes vacant, unsure of what he was thinking.
Some of the people on the prison carts were as dead inside as he was, while others were weeping bitterly, slumped in deep regret.
In an instant, they were dragged from the clouds down to the dirt. Their former wealth and glory were like a fleeting night-blooming cereus, never to be grasped again.
“Beat them to death!”
Following the rise of a heckle, the emotions of the commoners standing on both sides of the prison carts were also ignited.
“Yes! Beat them to death!!”
“You beasts who feed on human flesh and blood!!”
The jeering rose wave after wave like a tide. Still not appeased, the commoners grabbed rotten eggs and threw them at the prison carts!
In just a moment, the carts were covered in vegetable leaves and rotten eggs, which stuck miserably to the prison robes.
As the prison carts moved, the crowd shifted along with them, as if they would follow all the way to the execution grounds and wouldn’t stop until the heads were chopped off.
Yu Lin and the others also followed the crowd downstairs, walking to the entrance of the restaurant.
Now, the commoners were excited and uncontrollable; the scene was a chaotic mess of noise. Yu Lin asked her in surprise, “Miss Ru, are you going as well?”
Ru Junyao nodded firmly. “A lot of my family’s businesses were ruined by the Liu family, both openly and secretly. If I don’t see their heads roll, I won’t be able to swallow this anger.”
Ru Baiyu smiled and told him, “She manages the family businesses. She usually takes a lot of grief from the Liu family, so it’s good for her to vent some of her anger.”
In front of the crowd was more crowd. They were squeezed so tightly they couldn’t see the path, only able to slowly approach the execution ground as the crowd shifted.
A piercing cheer rang out. Yu Lin shut his eyes at the sharp sound, helplessly covering his ears.
The execution ground was a huge circular platform that could accommodate over a hundred people. On the platform were dark red bloodstains that had dried long ago, as well as mottled traces left by wind and rain.
Following orders, the guarding soldiers had already dragged the Liu family members onto the execution ground. A dense crowd knelt on the platform, presenting a spectacular sight.
“Don’t kill me… Don’t kill me.”
A pot-bellied man was dragged along by a guard, shivering. He trembled non-stop, muttering continuously.
“Aren’t they also cowards who cling to life and fear death? What right do they have to treat other people’s lives like grass?” Ru Junyao’s eyes grew red, and she spoke softly, holding back her tears.
Yu Lin did not know the story behind this, and it was hard to ask too much. He could only silently pat her back to comfort her.
Ru Junyao forced a smile, shook her head, and let out a light laugh. “It’s fine. It’s not something that needs to be kept from you.”
“More than ten years ago, my uncle took my elder brother out to have fun, but they encountered people from the Liu family on the way. My uncle merely said something slightly wrong, which provoked them, and he was beaten and injured.”
“As they were also residents of Fuyang City, my uncle reported his name. Once they knew he was from the Ru family, they beat him even harder. Later, both my uncle and my elder brother vanished without a trace, and it wasn’t until half a month later that they were found.”
“…By then, my uncle had already passed away for many days.”
“A-Yao…”
Ru Baiyu turned his head away, unable to bear it. Their uncle had always been extremely good to the younger generation in the family, especially to A-Yao. In a matter of just a dozen days, a person whose smiles and frowns were just before them had turned into a mound of yellow earth.
“My child… My child!”
Before the words died away, a Liu family woman could be seen tightly clutching an infant still in swaddling clothes.
The baby cried out amidst the dragging, babbling continuously, but was cruelly snatched away by the guards.
“They’re going to kill such a small child too?” Yu Lin felt pity at the sight.
Ru Baiyu lowered his eyes and whispered, “Yu Lin, in Fuyang City, there were many children this small who died because of them.”
It was exactly noon, and the blazing sun rose slowly. Quite a few people had a thin layer of sweat on their foreheads, packed tightly in a circle around the execution ground.
Immortal Lord Chongwu sat calmly on the high platform directly in front of the execution ground. With a wave of his hand, the executioners lined up in neat order.
Beside them stood a woman holding a child. She had been silent earlier, but now her eyes were red as she spoke through gritted teeth to the child in her arms:
“Don’t cry. You must watch… watch how the culprit who murdered your father dies.”
Seeing this scene, a few whimpers came from the surroundings from time to time. Most of them were venting their emotions, as the deep hatred in their hearts was finally resolved, bringing them relief.
Yu Lin looked up at the surroundings and said softly to Ru Baiyu, “The Liu family has offended this many people?”
Ru Baiyu nodded, disgust in his voice. “They are simply heinous, rotten to the core.”
The hour had come.
“The Liu Family of Fuyang City, colluding with demonic cultivators, exploiting the commoners, and committing slaughter without end.”
The spiritual-energy-transmitted voice rippled across the vast area, echoing in every corner of the execution ground.
Immortal Lord Chongwu looked down with disdain. With a clack, a simple wooden plaque was thrown into the center of the execution ground.
“Execute.”
The executioners on the platform raised their blades, the silvery slaughtering knives reflecting the sunlight. As the plaque landed, nearly a hundred heads fell in response.
Blood splattered across the entire ground, proclaiming their ridiculous fate.
The entire platform was dyed red with fresh blood. The blood dripped along the surface of the platform onto the ground, seeping into the dirt.
Immortal Lord Chongwu’s clothes were untouched by dust. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the platform.
Of the nearly hundred people, only Yu Ling remained kneeling on the platform. His body had tensed instinctively when the wooden plaque fell, and he trembled at the sound.
In an instant, the smell of blood diffused, spreading around his nose. He clenched his teeth tightly, looking up to stare at Immortal Lord Chongwu on the platform, his eyes filled with hatred.
The hem of his robe was stained with the blood of his closest kin, bright red and viscous. The blood blended together, making it impossible to tell whose was whose.
The snow-white prison robe was covered in dust and bloodstains. The pampered young master of the past had fallen to such a state.
As the heads of the Liu family fell, a loud roar followed, and the surroundings erupted into chaos.
“Good!!!”
“Well killed!!”
Following that, one voice after another rang out continuously. Long-suppressed grievances spread across the entire platform, with rising and falling sobs constantly echoing.
Then, another majestic voice transmission echoed over.
“Yu Ling of the Fusheng Sect, Liu Yuyan of Fuyang City.”
“Harming fellow disciples, showing contempt for elders.”
Yu Ling knelt on the high platform with his eyes half-lowered, the deafening curses ringing in his ears. His breathing was heavy as he raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, to scan the surroundings.
In the crowd, his gaze locked onto Yu Lin’s.
He froze suddenly, and then burst into wild laughter. He stared intently at Yu Lin, his face contorted, and said viciously, “You’re next… do you believe it?”
Yu Ling gritted out every single word with extreme weight, as if venting all his hatred, his fierce gaze looking as if it wanted to devour Yu Lin’s flesh and blood.
Having finished speaking, he chuckled deeply, mixed with a hoarse cough, as if he were going to cough up his internal organs.
“Execute.”
At the command, the wild laughter came to an abrupt halt.
Yu Ling died with eyes unclosed, his bloody head staring at Yu Lin with eyes nearly splitting with rage.
The pronunciations of Yu Ling and Yu Lin were too similar, and the voice was transmitted ethereally into his ears. Hearing it shook his heart, making him take a step back instinctively.
The sticky red covering the entire ground sickened him. The greasy meat from lunch churned violently in his stomach; his face was pale, and he felt like vomiting.
The cheers around him rose wave after wave, vibrating his eardrums to the point of pain.
“Yu Lin, what’s wrong?” Ru Baiyu turned to look at his pale face and asked with concern.
Yu Lin shook his head out of instinct. He felt dizzy, and Ru Baiyu’s voice sounded to him as if separated by an invisible barrier, extremely muffled.
A wave of coldness spread straight up his back, making his whole body shiver and freeze.
Immortal Lord Chongwu remained expressionless, lowering his eyes to look at Yu Ling’s head. He frowned at the fiercely savage expression Yu Ling wore right before his death.
He looked in the direction Yu Ling was staring when he died, and his gaze locked with Yu Lin’s in the crowd.
Yu Lin looked into his eyes, feeling as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. His pupils shrank instinctively, and he retreated backward.
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