Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 655 Suspected of Silencing
A criminal? Shi Chun, who couldn't lift his head, could hear this and wondered, "Are they talking about me?"

After all, someone had just grabbed my hair and lifted my face to verify my identity.

It seemed to be talking about himself, but what kind of criminal had he become? Situ Gu shouldn't have staged this scene to rescue someone. Could it be that the people from the West Niu Royal Court were brought in by the woman in red? That shouldn't be the case either, since he had cleared his name and could have simply made a call to resolve the matter. There was no need to put on such a show of snatching a criminal in front of everyone.

I usually think I'm fairly smart, but today I don't know what's wrong with me. All I can understand are these strange and incomprehensible things, and I feel like my brain isn't up to the task.

"A prisoner?" The executioner was equally curious. He tapped the blade against Shi Chun's neck and asked, "Him? You're here to take him?"

Shan smiled and pointed to the row of heads falling to the left and right, "Otherwise what? You couldn't have really come here to storm the execution ground, could you? It was a hasty thing to do, we arrived a step too late, and we were afraid of losing the clues to the case. We had no choice but to do this in a moment of desperation, please don't take offense..." He raised his finger to the gap of the large guillotine blade that was pulled up in the air, "I'll pay someone to make you a new guillotine as an apology later."

So that's how it is. The executioner breathed a slight sigh of relief. As the executioner, he had no choice but to fulfill his duties. He didn't want to confront the prison directly. As long as it wasn't a raid on the execution ground, everything was negotiable. However, he couldn't lack the proper attitude, otherwise he wouldn't be able to explain it to his superiors. Therefore, he said in a deep voice, "This is not a reason for you to trespass on the execution ground!"

And Shan immediately gave him a reason, raising the magic weapon he was holding in his hand as a sign of respect, "The judge's pen is here, as if the judge himself is here!"

The tone and the meaning seemed to be asking whether the reason was sufficient.

The executioner fell silent, slowly moving the sword against Shi Chun's neck away. He changed the subject, asking, "What did he do that warranted the Imperial Prison's intervention to arrest him?"

What? The Prison of Life? Is that the judge? Shi Chun was startled and looked up sharply at the person standing in the pool of blood in front of him. Seeing the person's smiling face, he suddenly felt that he seemed to have heard of this person when he was in the Prison of Life.

This also plunged him into another kind of fear. He knew all too well what the fate would be if he were captured and sent back to the Prison of Life to be punished. His cultivation would be destroyed and he would be left to fend for himself. It would be better for him to be a native of the Prison of Life before. Besides, he had offended so many people in the Prison of Life by fighting and killing. When he returned, his old friends would definitely make him suffer a terrible death.

That hellish place will invalidate any connections you have once you enter. It will not only ruin your cultivation, but also destroy all your relationships.

Shan smiled and said, "Knowing too much about some things won't do you any good. If you don't want to take responsibility, I advise you not to ask too many questions."

The executioner pondered for a moment and said, "You should understand that I can't make this decision. Without permission from above, I can't let you take the person away, and neither can they!" He then gestured towards the menacing royal guards around them.

Qieshan smiled and said, "I didn't ask you to make the decision. Just take me to see someone who can."

He turned and gestured to his men, "Bring the prisoner in."

Two men immediately stepped over the crossbar and unlocked the chains that had locked them to the ground.

The executioner wanted to stop it, but faced with the intimidating sight of Shang Qieshan's gleaming golden judge's pen, he ultimately remained silent.

The chains binding Shi Chun in the shape of the Chinese character "工" were still not untied. One person grabbed Shi Chun by one arm and lifted him up.

"Continue the execution." The executioner beckoned over, entrusted the execution to others, and then personally led Qieshan and the others away.

Only then did the weeping and wailing from below the stage resume, and a group of people climbed onto the execution ground to collect the body.

The young master of the south, with his head wrapped in a white cloth, was taken aback. He had never seen Qieshan before, nor had he ever seen the judge's pen. He had no idea who was blocking the execution.

Wu Jinliang, who was frozen in place, was also dumbfounded. Although he came from the prison, he had never seen anything like it before and did not know which deity had come.

Both Ming Shanzong's group and Li Hongjiu's side watched in bewilderment, as even a single slash could produce an unexpected result.

Normal people wouldn't come into contact with someone like Qieshan who only comes out to do business and doesn't make friends with ordinary people.

Due to the distance, no one could hear what the executioner on the platform and Qieshan were talking about.

But those closer to the stage heard it, and the news quickly spread to the back.

Grandma Qi, kneeling on the ground, turned her head to look at Shi Chun's figure being dragged away. Just as she was wondering what was going on, she was also lifted up. She was shocked and felt somewhat unwilling and regretful. Amidst the sound of drums, she was escorted to the execution platform.

The ninety-nine grooves were punched into a gap, but it wouldn't affect the execution later; just removing one would suffice.

The drumbeats stopped, and with a single slash, Granny Qi, head bowed and face full of bitterness, trembled as the guillotine struck the ground, revealing her true form. The Bai clan below the stage erupted in wails of agony.

In the next round, all the imprisoned disciples of the Extreme Fire Sect were brought to the execution platform. Despite the Extreme Fire Sect's connections and power, they were unable to get the people out. Helpless, the fellow disciples below could only bid them farewell with sorrowful faces.

The disciples, facing certain death, couldn't understand how arresting Shi Chun had turned into a crime punishable by beheading.

He also hoped that he could experience the same unexpected exemption that Shi Chun had just received, but reality was cruel and it did not happen.

The guillotine fell, revealing the various sizes and forms of demonic cultivators...

Inside the hall, the group of people in front of the mirror shifted their gazes slightly. A woman in palace attire came to report, "Your Majesty, the executioner reports that Qieshan, the prison warden, has been ordered to arrest the criminal. Right Assistant Marquis requests Your Majesty's decision. Qieshan, escorting the criminal awaiting execution, is already waiting outside the palace."

"What the hell is going on?" Queen Xin snorted, but still relented, "Let them come over."

She also wanted to see what was going on.

"Yes." The woman in palace attire quickly withdrew.

At this moment, the Demon Queen spoke calmly, "Since this involves the Prison of Life, I won't show my face. Please go behind my sister and avoid her."

She actually didn't want to see Shi Chun.

Queen Xin glanced at her, unsure of her meaning, and remained silent.

The Demon Queen took this as tacit approval, turned around in her black robes, and slowly entered the inner hall, standing beside the doorway separated by a wall. Dao Zhen, who hadn't greeted her, remained where he was, but he glanced at the message on the mother-child talisman in his hand, and then transmitted his voice to the Demon Queen, who was hiding behind the hall: "Your Majesty, Wu Jinliang, who was mixed among the people watching the execution, has been secretly controlled by someone whose identity is unknown. It's not appropriate to act in public; we can only wait until after the event to seize the opportunity to take him back."

The Empress was quite surprised that someone would steal something so easily. She transmitted her voice and said, "Find out who it is while you're at it."

"Yes," Daozhen replied.

Before long, the woman in palace attire led in a group of people, who were Qieshan's group who had left the execution ground.

As the group entered, the executioner respectfully bowed and greeted her, "Your Majesty."

Shi Chun, who was thrown down, knelt down firmly. There was no other way; he was still bound in that way and hadn't been untied yet. Without anyone to help him up, he had to kneel down.

There are advantages to not speaking at this time. There's no need for formalities. I darted around with my eyes, focusing on Queen Dongsheng. It was quite an eye-opener. I never thought I would have the chance to meet such a person in my life. She was just so-so-looking.

He naturally saw Yin Luo and Yin Xu as well. Dao Zhen had seen them before, but he didn't know who they were.

Others could no longer see his true face; during the execution, his face and body were splattered with blood from those around him.

Anyway, he looked quite undignified at that moment.

Yin Xu felt an itch to see him, but was also curious as to why Sheng Yu had intervened.

She also knew some things; their Qingqiu Fox Clan was probably one of the few clans in the cultivation world with a relatively good relationship with Sheng Yu.

Daozhen, tilting his head, looked at Shi Chun with great interest.

Although this insignificant person had a minor reputation, he was powerless to resist under the manipulation of a powerful figure like the Empress, who could control everything. In other words, she could be played with however she wanted and manipulated at will. Just when it seemed she was about to be played to death, this unexpected turn of events occurred.

Qieshan and his group did not bow, because Qieshan held up a large, golden pen as a sign of respect, saying, "Under the Judge's pen, there is no distinction between high and low, noble and lowly. With the Judge's pen on our shoulders, Your Majesty, please forgive us for not being able to bow."

Queen Xin clearly scoffed at this nonsense, thinking to herself, "You guys are too disrespectful to face that jailer."

She couldn't be bothered with this; they were fundamentally incompatible, and arguing about it would only cause her trouble. She immediately adopted a stern demeanor and said, "I don't care what kind of judge's pen you have, or even a dog-judging pen. In the execution ground of the Eastern Victory Royal Court, you think you can openly take away a criminal with just a broken pen? Has Officer Du lost his mind? If you can't give me a satisfactory reason today, you're not leaving. You'll be going to the execution ground with this lousy-looking guy!"

The guy with the dog-blood face was naturally referring to Shi Chun.

Shi Chun was truly terrified. He neither wanted to go to the execution ground again, nor did he want to be taken back to the prison. The former meant immediate death, while the latter was worse than death.

He must have done something terrible to deserve this choice.

And Shan was not intimidated by the queen, and still answered with a smile, "Of course we have to give Your Majesty an explanation. This Shi Chun is involved in a case in the prison and needs to go back for interrogation. Afterwards, Dong Sheng can deal with him however they want."

The case of the prison? Shi Chun's eyes darted around again, and he vaguely realized something.

"What a sudden case!" Queen Xin laughed in exasperation. "So things can be done so haphazardly. If you want, you can just make up any reason and take someone away. Will the Eastern Sheng Royal Court use the same tactics on the Prison of Life and Death in the future?"

With a broad smile, Shan said, “Your Majesty, please calm down. This case is not something we came up with on a whim. It was filed years ago. Both the Heavenly Court and Dongsheng should be able to find it. If Dongsheng can’t find it, then someone must have tampered with it. The Prison of Life can find the receipt.”

Your Majesty, although the Prison of Life doesn't concern itself with external affairs, it still needs to cooperate with the Eastern Victory Royal Court within the framework of the Heavenly Court, right? To put it another way, there should at least be a proper order of things. You can't just find a pretext to rush and kill the people involved in the case just because you know what case the Prison of Life is investigating. That's not appropriate, is it?

"Your Majesty, if you insist on this, then I have no choice but to alarm the King. If the Holy King also insists, then I have no other option but to alarm the Judge and file a complaint with the Heavenly Court."

Upon hearing this, Shi Chun understood. It was indeed that incident from back then.

After so much time had passed without any reaction, he thought the matter was over. The fact that it could still be brought up made him vaguely uneasy about his right eye's special ability.

Just as he was about to be beheaded, the execution was suddenly stopped because of this incident, which even he found incredibly coincidental.

He didn't think there was anything fishy going on. He was 100% certain that he didn't have that much influence in the prison, and even the only connection he had, Lan Qiaoyan, probably didn't have that kind of ability. It could only be a coincidence.

"..." Queen Xin, her face contorted with anger, froze.

She was clearly a prisoner suspected of storming the execution ground, but how did it suddenly become that she was suspected of trying to silence her, and that she was in the wrong?
Regarding Shi Chun, there is a case involving prison, which was filed several years ago. We have been investigating Shi Chun for so long, how come we have never heard of it?

There's no reason for the other party to tell this lie to my face. Is someone deliberately hiding something from me?

She immediately turned to look at the woman in palace attire beside her, her gaze cold, the question clearly in her mind.

The Demon Queen, who was at the rear, also looked puzzled, as she had the same doubts and had never heard of such a situation.

The woman in palace attire in the front hall quickly shook her head and said, "Your Majesty, I have never heard of such a thing."

Queen Xin coldly looked at Qieshan.

He smiled and said, "This humble servant is not in a hurry; we can wait."

Queen Xin immediately turned to the woman in palace attire beside her and snapped, "Investigate!"

(End of this chapter)