Sixty years of blacksmithing, a single hammer blow forging a celestial being.

When Zhang Meng heard that even his son was to be brought along, he panicked. A look of struggle flashed in his eyes, but it quickly disappeared, and he hurriedly begged for mercy.

Liu Jinhu, however, seemed not to have heard, only a faint smile on his lips, remaining silent.

The atmosphere inside the abandoned hall was extremely tense. Everyone was waiting for a result and dared not even breathe.

Before long, the sounds of a woman weeping, an old man coughing and wheezing, and a child crying in terror could be heard from outside.

When Zhang Meng heard these voices, his face turned deathly pale; they were his family members.

The group of law enforcement officers were escorting Zhang Meng's entire family to the abandoned hall.

Zhang Meng worked at the abandoned hall for over twenty years. His whole family was taken in by him and lived there for many years.

They were suddenly brought here like this today, and they were even beaten. The disciples who used to be quite polite to them were beaten up without any explanation before they were brought here.

Zhang Meng saw his wife being pushed to the ground, and he quickly went over to help her up. When his wife saw Zhang Meng, she immediately burst into tears, feeling wronged.

"Husband, what's going on? Have we broken any sect rules?"

She looked flustered and somewhat confused.

Zhang Meng's family was still immersed in the joy of moving and his son becoming an apprentice last night, but in the next day they were suddenly arrested by the people of the Enforcement Hall. Anyone would be panicked and confused.

Zhang Meng, however, dared not speak, but kept giving his wife meaningful glances.

"Alright, everyone, be quiet!"

Liu Jinhu let out a loud shout, which was mixed with spiritual power and silenced the noisy scene.

Zhang Meng's family looked at the burly man in front of them with fearful eyes, not daring to breathe loudly, and even the children stopped crying.

"Come on, tell me now, what time did Zhang Meng go home last night?"

Liu Jinhu slowly walked up to Zhang Meng's wife and asked.

Zhang Meng's wife was somewhat confused. She vaguely remembered that Zhang Meng had rushed back from outside late last night and that he smelled burnt.

Upon seeing the ruins of the abandoned hall, burned by fire, Zhang Meng's wife suddenly realized what had happened and was filled with fear.

Could the fire in this abandoned hall have been caused by Zhang Mengqian? No wonder the people from the Enforcement Hall brought them here.

Zhang Meng, you deserve to die!

Zhang Meng's wife was in a state of panic, but at this moment they were in the same boat, how could she dare to let Zhang Meng expose himself? So she pretended to recall something and said...

"Last night, Zhang Meng came back before midnight, and he was drunk. He went to bed early."

"Oh, is that so?"

Liu Jinhu smiled slightly and continued to ask Zhang Meng about his next family member.

Others either said they didn't know, or echoed the sentiment that Zhang Meng had returned a long time ago.

"Okay, okay."

Liu Jinhu wasn't annoyed. Suddenly, he picked up Zhang Meng's youngest son and held him to his chest.

"Come on, little brother, tell me, are they all lying?"

"You need to know that it's wrong for children to lie, and if they lie, they will be punished."

Although he had a smile on his lips when he spoke, it gave off an extremely sinister feeling.

Zhang Meng's youngest son had never seen anything like this before and was already terrified by the murderous aura emanating from Liu Jinhu.

In addition, he was young, and when he heard Liu Jinhu say that lying would be punished, he was so frightened that he burst into tears and quickly said,

"I'm not lying, I'm not lying. Dad came back in the middle of the night last night. I saw it with my own eyes. He didn't get back until the early hours of the morning."

These words shocked everyone, especially in the early hours of the morning!

Wasn't that shortly after the abandoned hall caught fire?

Zhang Meng had already closed his eyes, knowing he was doomed.

Liu Jinhu smiled even more broadly, touched the child's cheek, and asked him...

"Then tell me, why did they lie?"

"I don't know, I don't know, I'm so scared..."

The child burst into tears, terrified.

"Alright."

Liu Jinhu didn't make things difficult for the child. He put him on the ground and looked at Zhang Meng again.

"Zhang Meng, I'll give you one more chance to answer. If you continue to play games with me, I'll show you what I, Liu Jinhu, can do, hehe."

Liu Jinhu's tone was chilling, causing Zhang Meng to tremble. He struggled for a long time before finally letting out a long sigh and saying...

"That's right, I started this fire."

These words shocked everyone present.

"No, Zhang Meng, why did you do this?"

"Zhang Meng, how can you do this to me?"

"We've worked together for so many years, through thick and thin, and you actually want to burn us all alive?"

Manager He, in particular, was incredulous. He knew that Zhang Meng was the only one who had been in the abandoned hall the longest, besides him, and that he was also easygoing and honest. He never expected that Zhang Meng would do such a vicious thing!

"it is good."

Liu Jinhu said with a smile,

"You've wised yourself, saving yourself a lot of unnecessary trouble."

"Guards! Zhang Meng's entire family has been lying to me! Covering up the crime! Refusing to cooperate with the investigation! According to the rules of the Enforcement Hall, punish them all severely!"

"yes!"

The disciples of the Enforcement Hall swiftly pulled out a vine from their waists. Although the vine looked light, it was covered with sharp barbs and had been soaked in strong liquor, making it look extremely frightening.

"Ten lashes each, give him the beating."

Liu Jinhu's voice was no longer kind.

With a snap, the whip struck Zhang Meng's back, instantly tearing his clothes, tearing his skin, and sending blood and flesh flying everywhere!

Fortunately, he was only at the fourth level of Body Tempering, so he could barely withstand it.

His family members, however, were in a much worse state. As mere mortals, how could they possibly withstand such a powerful whip? Their screams filled the entire abandoned hall, a sound too painful to bear.

Zhang Meng gritted his teeth as he watched his family members being whipped until they bled profusely, his face filled with painful regret.

However, the only fortunate thing was that his youngest son was spared from being whipped and was let off by Liu Jinhu.

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out from outside the door.

"Father, Mother, what's wrong?"

A young man dressed in a blue robe burst into the ruined hall. He had sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and was full of youthful vigor.

It was Zhang Meng's eldest son, Zhang Xiao!

When Zhang Xiao heard that his family had been taken away by the Enforcement Hall, he hurriedly chased after them to the abandoned hall.

As soon as he entered, he saw his family members covered in blood from being beaten, while the bastards from the Enforcement Hall were still wielding whips and brutally lashing his family.

The young man's anger was pushed to the limit, and he roared recklessly:

"Stop! Liu Jinhu, how dare you lay a hand on my family! It's outrageous!"

Liu Jinhu arrogantly replied:

"When the Enforcement Hall investigates cases, this is normal procedure when dealing with stubborn and unrepentant criminals. You are Zhang Meng's son, so you must also be investigated. If you cooperate, you can be exempted from criminal punishment."

Before Liu Jinhu could finish speaking, Zhang Xiao roared, "I'll investigate your mother!"