I Can Devour Spirits

The case of the Filthy Blood Sect in Xianggu County is naturally no minor affair. Anything related to this sect, whether by a larger sect or local government, has historically garnered a great deal of attention.

However, Xianggu County is quite remote.

Although the County Government Office concluded the case last year, and Shen Yanliu rushed the case files to the sect and the authorities before the end of the year,

it wasn’t until early February that the Sect Envoy arrived in Xianggu County to review this case.

Shen Yanliu and Tang Wanhong had already thoroughly reasoned through every aspect of the case, leaving no stone unturned.

The evidence chain was also meticulously assembled!

So when the Sect Envoy reviewed the case, they found no issues and highly praised Shen Yanliu’s handling of the investigation.

It was the third day of February, and the cold winds of early spring brought a chill even harsher than the depths of winter in Xianggu County.

That morning, around the Snake Hour, a large crowd gathered at a corner of West Main Street. Government constables wielding Water and Fire Sticks kept the people at bay.

The center of the street corner served as a temporary execution ground!

At the southernmost position was a small desk and a Grandmaster’s Chair.

A short distance from the desk stood five burly executioners holding large blades, their faces radiating a murderous aura.

With a shout from an officer, the prisoners from the Filthy Blood Sect case, shackled and handcuffed, were escorted in by the constables.

A mass of miscellaneous servants and maids from the residences of Luan Bao, Su Di, Wei Yutian, and Luan Jingfu knelt densely in the street center!

The entrance of the prisoners caused a stir of whispers in the crowd!

So many executions at once—such a public spectacle hasn’t happened in Xianggu County for many years!

Jie Daohan, with a grim expression, walked into the execution ground. Despite having no achievements to his name, he was the one assigned to the bloody task of executing prisoners.

Jie Daohan spat a thick blob of phlegm onto the ground, glancing up at the barely warm sun of winter. It was still about half an hour to the middle of the Noon hour. No rush!

West Main Street is the widest and busiest thoroughfare in Xianggu. Setting up an execution ground there was intended to educate and intimidate the populace.

Men, women, young, and old, surrounded the execution ground, forming a tight circle three layers deep.

Just listening to such a mass execution could send chills down one’s spine...

Not far from the tightly packed crowd, Duan Rong sat alone in a small tavern at the mouth of an alley. He had the owner warm a pot of yellow wine and ordered a dish of peanuts and spicy tofu, eating and drinking slowly.

The tavern was empty; everyone had gone to watch the beheadings. Who had time to drink here?

Duan Rong sipped a cup of hot yellow wine, letting it slide down his throat, and suddenly his Divine Sense expanded, passing through the crowd and alleys, taking in everything inside and outside the execution ground.

When Duan Rong’s Divine Sense scanned over Su Di’s dull, lifeless face, he felt a slight tug in his heart.

He had initiated the Filthy Blood Sect case in a panic to save Xiao Yu, drawing out Shen Yanliu. But the case unfolded like a stirred-up mire, and in Duan Rong’s view, the waters in Xianggu County were growing murkier.

Whether intentionally or not, the execution ground was just an alley away from the Li Yuan Shun Escort Agency...

At this moment, inside the flower hall of the County Office’s back courtyard,

Shen Yanliu sat clad in a loose scholar’s robe, drinking tea with another man.

The man, with a tall and sturdy build and rugged features, was Chu Ming, the Sect Envoy who had arrived in Xianggu County to review the Filthy Blood Sect case.

Chu Ming sipped his tea and said, ”County Magistrate Shen, by dismantling such an important base of the Filthy Blood Sect, has rendered great service to the sect!”

Chu Ming had personally inspected the Secret Chamber Mandala in Wei Yutian’s backyard. Its scale and meticulous construction were clearly labored over, far superior to the other two mandalas he had seen.

Shen Yanliu replied, ”Since I receive my salary and position, it is my duty to ease the sect’s burdens.”

Chu Ming nodded and said, ”However, after reviewing the dossiers, I have an inkling that the remnants of the Filthy Blood Sect in Xianggu County have not been entirely wiped out, have they?”

Shen Yanliu’s heart skipped a beat, surprised by Chu Ming’s sharp intuition.

”What the Envoy said aligns with my suspicions,” Shen Yanliu said. ”Rest assured, Envoy, I have been managing affairs in Xianggu County for many years and have cultivated many loyal hidden guards. Some traces have surfaced through this Filthy Blood Sect case, and these people have already begun their infiltration.”

Chu Ming smiled slightly at this and said, ”It seems County Magistrate Shen has long been prepared. Then I’ll toast you with tea, wishing you more great successes!”

Shen Yanliu raised his teacup and said, ”Thank you for the auspicious words, Envoy!”

On the execution ground, it was almost the middle of the Noon hour.

The five executioners had already positioned themselves behind the first row of prisoners, awaiting orders!

The Clerk glanced at the Sun Dial, then folded his hands in salute to Jie Daohan, saying, ”Chief Constable Jie, it is now the middle of the Noon hour!”

Upon hearing this, Jie Daohan leaped from his chair, standing in front of the desk, and shouted, ”Executioners! Carry out the sentence!”

Jie Daohan’s shout echoed, and Su Di’s lips noticeably trembled. In that instant, a cold flash of a blade severed her delicate neck...

As Su Di’s head flew off, a blur of varying faces in the crowd passed by. Her head rolled to the ground, her eyes capturing a final scene of a crack in the bluestone pavement, with a blob of thick phlegm nearby...

After executing one row, the executioners stepped back a few steady paces, then continued to execute the second row. Heads rolled neatly one by one, blood flowed profusely, and the heavy scent of blood spread through the chill of the air...