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nThe river force was massive, crashing violently on Xiao Ran’s body. However, their onslaught was futile against his defensive barrier.

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n“Go back!” Xiao Ran commanded in a low voice.

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nWith his full powers activated, he gathered all his human strength to push back against the forces of Nature.

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nBeams of golden light swirled and illuminated the night sky. His purifying spiritual force morphed into a tall wall and blocked the river waters completely.

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nAfter a few breaths,

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nthe river waters came to a stop and disaster was averted.

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nHe grabbed some soil from the surroundings to block up the collapsed exit.

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n“Go to hell!” Qian Yi seized the opportunity and stabbed at Xiao Ran’s head with his long spear, gleaming with blood red light.

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n“You overestimate yourself.”

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nRays of golden light erupted and swept in all directions, severely injuring him and causing him to fall to the ground heavily.

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nHe walked up to him, with a stony countenance.

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n“You deserved to die.”

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n10 consecutive shots of Heavenly Slave Divine Finger pierced his body.

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nXiao Ran watched indifferently as he rolled around on the ground, with no chance to live and no means to die.

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nIf not for Xiao Ran’s intervention,

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nthe river waters, following the secret passage, would have gushed out of the Prefectural Governor’s residence. At that time, the entire Horizon Prefecture would suffer. The prefecture city would be flooded and become a dead city.

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nAn hour later,

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nXiao Ran relieved his pain and looked at him again. He was lying on the ground like a dead dog, his breaths getting more and more shallow.

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nHe was not quite dead though. It would be useful to keep him alive.

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nWith the heinous crimes he had committed, even if he was displayed in public and slashed a thousand times for 10 rounds, it wouldn’t be sufficient.

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nHe carried him back the way they had come.

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nWhen he arrived at the Prefectural Governor’s residence, with such a big incident taking place on this night, the prefectural magistrate and lieutenant had already received the news.

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nOr rather, they had been observing in secret.

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nHundreds of bailiffs surrounded the Prefectural Governor’s residence like a human wall. Not even a fly could fly in.

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n“Brother Xiao.” Little Zhou was visibly agitated and could finally relax.

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n“Hmm.” Xiao Ran acknowledged with a nod of his head.

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nHe threw the Prefectural Governor to the ground.

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nHis face and body were torn and bloody. There were missing flesh here and there on his body. There was blood everywhere. His demeanor was more horrifying than the devil.

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nSome of the timid ones vomited violently at the sight.

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nThe prefectural magistrate and lieutenant were shocked. They had known Qian Yi for so many years that they could recognize him even if he turned to ashes.

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nHe had been hearty and hale just a while ago, but after not seeing him for one night, he had been reduced to this state. As they sighed with heartache, they also felt a lingering fear.

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nPreviously, they did not think much of Xiao Ran, but now, it seemed that this person was comparable to an evil demon.

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nNo wonder the Divine Sword Guards headquarters in the capital city sent the two of them here.

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nEach was more ruthless than the other. Underneath their smiling demeanors were hidden lethal knives.

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nHe bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Lord Envoy!”

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n“How come the two of you came uninvited?” Xiao Ran teased them.

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nHis penetrating gaze locked onto them, trying to see through them.

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nFacing Xiao Ran’s scrutinizing gaze, the two of them felt uncomfortable. They looked at each other and the prefectural magistrate spoke first, “The purpose of my visit here is to expose Qian Yi’s crimes.”

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nWith a few claps of his hands, one of his subordinates brought over a box.

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nHe opened the box and took out the incriminating evidence.

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n“I’ve patiently endured hardships and humiliation all these years just for this day. Fortunately, the heavens have eyes. The Imperial Court has a discerning eye and sent you here. Only then did I have the chance to offer this evidence.”

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n“Utterly shameless,” the prefectural lieutenant swore at him silently.

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nHe was a military official, in charge of the prefecture’s military affairs.

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nHis literary talent was not as outstanding as the magistrate’s. After all, that guy was a scholar.

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nHowever, he knew how to copy slavishly. He also took out the criminal evidence he had collected and handed it to Xiao Ran.

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nHe then said bitterly, “In order to obtain this evidence, I suffered so much hardship. My life was on the line several times. Fortunately, I survived and lived to see the day of your arrival.”

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nXiao Ran was dumbstruck once more.

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nWas the performance still ongoing?

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nHe flipped open the incriminating evidence and read through it. The more he read, the more shocked he became. The records were very detailed.

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nQian Yi had not only committed the crimes that were related to the Divine Sword Guards, but also some treasonous crimes such as executing his quarry’s entire family.

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nIn fact, he even had designs on the state food supplies. In the name of disaster relief, he tried to hoodwink the commoners, distributing old rice mixed with sand to make up the weight and causing countless disaster refugees to die after consumption.

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nThis matter was very controversial at that time, and he used extreme methods to suppress it.

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n“This guy deserves to die!” Xiao Ran’s expression was very chilly.

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nLittle Zhou was curious and took the evidence for a look.

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nHe was an impatient guy. After reading, he rolled up his sleeves and rushed forward to beat him to death.

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nHe only stopped after a long while.

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n“His father should have thrown him against the wall back then!” Little Zhou scolded.

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n“Lock up everyone in the Qian Residence and get the Divine Sword Guards to watch over them. Without my orders, no one is allowed to see them,” Xiao Ran ordered.

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nThe Divine Sword Guards rushed forward and cuffed everyone from the Qian Residence.

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n“Send this evidence to Qing Province at once and hand it to Lord Shen. He will report it to the Imperial Court.”

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n“Okay,” Little Zhou replied.

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nAfter arranging for someone to follow up on this task,

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nhe pointed at Qian Yi on the ground and asked, “What about him?”

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n“Lock him in the rest chamber. You watch him personally and we’ll wait for the Imperial Court’s decision,” Xiao Ran said.

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nXiao Ran then looked at the magistrate and the lieutenant, and asked,

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n“Do you know anything about the Jade Poison Scorpion?”

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nThe two of them looked confused and shook their heads.

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nThe prefectural magistrate said, “I’ve heard of the Jade Poison Scorpion. Its poison is said to be terrifying. It’s very famous even among demons, but I’ve never seen it with my own eyes.”

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nThe prefectural lieutenant nodded to indicate the same.

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n“Just now, Qian Yi sent someone to control a Jade Poison Scorpion to harm us.” As Xiao Ran said this, he observed their expressions closely.

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nSeeing that they didn’t seem to be pretending, he became doubtful. They honestly did not know either?

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n“Are you all right, Lord Envoy?”

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n“I’m fine! A mere Jade Poison Scorpion is nothing,” Xiao Ran said.

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n“I will specially write a testimonial to report this to the Imperial Court. Your contributions will also be recorded in it.”

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