With a warehouse full of supplies, I stood alone as king in this chaotic world, gun in hand.

"I will remember your merit in this purge of the Serpent Spirit Society! I will also give you another task: arrest all those who are related to the Gao family by marriage and imprison them." Bei Chenyan ordered.

"Your Highness, I accept your command." Zhu Yi was somewhat flattered. "It is my honor to be able to share Your Highness's burdens, but I dare not take credit for it."

He only wanted to save his own life, but he didn't expect the Crown Prince to remember his merit.

In any case, his life was saved!

"Go!" Bei Chenyan took out his Crown Prince's token and gave it to Pei Xing. "Junior Brother Pei, you go with him."

"Alright!" Pei Xing happily accepted the token.

This is the crown prince's token; holding it allows him to use his power to his advantage.

Liu Wei and the four officials stood to one side, watching the Crown Prince issue orders to Zhu Yi and the constables without mentioning their names, as if they didn't exist, and they felt very uneasy.

After Pei Xing and Zhu Yi left, only five officials, including Liu Wei, remained in the main hall.

Bei Chenyan then turned his gaze to Liu Wei and the other four officials.

Liu Wei remained calm, while the four officials were trembling with fear.

Bei Chenyan placed his hand on the table and tapped it intermittently, but the tapping sound was like a tapping on the heart of the officials, making them anxious and fearful that he would utter a single word and their heads would roll.

Liu Wei hesitated for a moment, then walked to the center of the hall and knelt down. "Your Majesty, I am guilty and beg for your punishment."

The other four officials also knelt down.

The snake spirits in Nanyang City are rampant, and the officials bear an unshirkable responsibility for this.

"Liu Wei," Bei Chenyan finally spoke.

"Your humble servant is here." Liu Wei kowtowed to the cold ground, a thin layer of sweat appearing on his forehead and back.

They had interrogated many prisoners before, but this was the first time they had knelt here like prisoners, waiting to hear the judge's final verdict.

Bei Chenyan spoke slowly: "Effective immediately, I hereby appoint you as the Vice Prefect of Nanyang Prefecture."

Upon hearing this, Liu Wei suddenly raised his head, thinking he had misheard. "Your Highness..."

Bei Chenyan continued, "Once I return to the capital, I will report this matter to Father Emperor. Your official appointment document and seal may take a while to arrive, but your authority and salary will be effective from today."

"Thank you, Your Highness. I will never forget your kindness in promoting me!" Liu Wei kowtowed three times.

"I am entrusting Nanyang Prefecture to you. Before the new prefect arrives, I hope you will manage Nanyang City well and not disappoint me," Bei Chenyan said.

"Your Highness, rest assured, although my abilities are limited, as an official responsible for the well-being of the people, I will do my utmost to protect them until my dying breath!" Liu Wei said.

Located on the border of Nanyang Prefecture and Nanjiang, it would be virtually impossible to completely wipe out the members of the Serpent Spirit Society. As soon as one group was killed, another group would come. The more people they killed, the more frantically the Serpent Spirit Society would retaliate.

Even if the Crown Prince pulls out all the Snake Spirit Society members in the city with this massive operation, once they leave, other Snake Spirit Society members will sneak in to retaliate.

The officials were the first to suffer; they were no match for the Snake Spirit Society.

He might not be far from death!

Nangong Wu picked up a large bag and placed it in front of Liu Wei. "Inside are secret letters and ledgers that we searched from the Lu family, the Gao family, and five liaison points of the Serpent Spirit Society. This is evidence of collusion between Lu Rui, the Gao family, and the Serpent Spirit Society. You should investigate it carefully."

The courtyard where Lu Rui lived, the study in the Gao family's house, and the five contact points of the Snake Spirit Society all had underground tunnels. These tunnels were all interconnected, eventually leading out of the city.

The fact that Lu Rui's courtyard had a secret passage was something Zhu Yi told them later. Because of their sudden appearance and their sudden accusations against Lu Rui, coupled with their leniency towards Zhu Yi, he revealed everything he knew. As a result, all of Lu Rui's confidants were arrested, and the things discovered in the government office were not leaked.

"Yes! Your Majesty, I will immediately arrange for a city-wide search for any remaining members of the Serpent Spirit Society, as well as anyone with close ties to Lu Rui and the Gao family, and also investigate the situation in the secret passages," Liu Wei said.

Nangong Wu shook her head, "You don't need to worry about the secret passage."

Upon hearing this, Bei Chenyan couldn't help but ask her, "What do you want to do?"

"Leave twenty guards behind to check the secret passage first, then blow them all up," Nangong Wu said.

Such a complex network of underground passages must absolutely not be left standing.

"Alright." Bei Chenyan stood up and said to the officials, "You all go about your business. I'll go and rest first."

"Respectfully seeing off His Highness the Crown Prince!"

Liu Wei and several officials bowed and saw them off.

Bei Chenyan added, "Remember, these secret letters and ledgers are crucial evidence of Lu Rui and the Gao family's collusion with the Serpent Spirit Society. Don't lose them after you've read them."

Liu Wei and the four officials responded.

Bei Chenyan took Nangong Wu's hand and said, "Let's go back and rest for a while."

Once they were out of sight, the officials straightened up, wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads with their sleeves, and felt that their lives had been saved!

"Congratulations on your promotion, Lord Liu."

Several officials congratulated Liu Wei.

Liu Wei shook his head, showing no joy on his face, picked up the bag, and placed it on a table.

"This is a task assigned to us by the Crown Prince; we must complete it successfully!"

Several officials immediately stepped forward to help examine the letters and ledgers.

This time, Nanyang City was plunged into an unprecedented panic.

The Crown Prince suddenly appeared and immediately executed the city's highest-ranking official, the Prefect. His body was hung on the city gate, and more than a thousand people were executed and their homes confiscated. Their bodies were all laid out on the streets; they were all people who colluded with the Serpent Spirit Society.

The Crown Prince's swift and decisive actions demonstrated the court's zero-tolerance policy towards the Snake Spirit Society.

Wei Yang and his guards did not return until 9:00 AM.

"Your Highness, from last night until now, we have killed over a hundred remnants of the Serpent Spirit Society. These people attempted to escape Nanyang City but were killed by our men. However, a dozen or so escaped, and soldiers and constables are still searching house to house," Wei Yang reported.

"In addition, based on the list of people provided by Zhu Yi, we sealed off sixteen more mansions, all of which belonged to the most prestigious families in Nanyang City. All the people arrested have been imprisoned."

"Leave these matters to Liu Wei to investigate. Kill those who deserve to die, and sentence those who deserve to be sentenced," Bei Chenyan instructed.

"Yes! I'll go find Liu Wei right away." Wei Yang cupped his hands in greeting and left.

"Now that the city is under control, let's head to the border of southern Xinjiang and get things done as soon as possible so we can come back sooner," Nangong Wu said.

"There's no need to rush. You didn't sleep a wink last night. Rest for a day, and we'll go tomorrow." Bei Chenyan felt a pang of heartache when he saw the dark circles under her eyes.

"I just didn't sleep all night. I'll feel at ease once I finish this." Nangong Wu stood up. "Adelin, pick ten people to go with us. The rest of you stay and search those underground passages."

Upon hearing this, Sun Xunzhen and Pei Xing immediately stood up.

"Fifth Senior Brother, let's go too."