Chapter 172
"Kwa-a-a-a-ak!"
It was the national interrogation room where the criminals who had conspired with Eunuch Han and had deceived the imperial court were being interrogated.
In the room, a terrible scene reminiscent of hell was unfolding, and the screams of the criminals who were being tortured by the Embroidered Uniform Guard members who were searing their flesh with red-hot irons were mixed together, making one frown.
The smell of burning meat pricked the tip of his nose as the flesh cooked on the hot iron.
But Bao Qingtian and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were not shaken at all.
Bao Qingtian had cut off the heads of countless heinous criminals, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, as an imperial institution, was specialized in torture, so they were used to making a person a cripple.
"Spare me! Bao Zheng! Although it is true that I was deceived by Eunuch Han's sweet words and had intended to kill the martial artists and had deceived His Majesty, the White Lotus Cult! Human sacrifice! I am wronged! I am innocent!"
"Bao Zheng! Head Jin! Please... please believe my words! I am truly wronged! I am an official who has been loyal to the country for 30 years! But how can you conduct such a severe national interrogation!"
"Spare me, Bao Zheng! Spare me, Head of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Jin!!"
The criminals' protests and cries continued without end.
'Hmm...'
Bao Qingtian, the person in charge of the case, also felt heavy-hearted as he heard their pleas.
Originally, Bao Qingtian was a judge who adhered to the most humane investigation possible, assuming innocence until a verdict was reached.
But he had made an exception this time, and there was Jin Won-tak's recommendation that the criminals must be tortured, and the urgency of the matter was also a factor, and above all, the testimony of the surviving members of the Eastern Depot and the physical evidence and circumstantial data that So-ah had brought were almost perfectly consistent.
Also, officials are inherently thick-skinned.
Even if evidence was presented, unless a knife was at their throat, it was clear that they would spout sophistry and deny it.
Therefore, he had broken the custom and had tortured them terribly.
And...
'These people, not only do they commit all sorts of tax evasion and corruption as if they were eating, but they are also the evil enemies of the country who suck the blood of the people and live as parasites, and the root cause of the people's suffering... it would be a hundred times better for them to die!'
Emotionally, it was his honest feeling that he wanted to kill them.
Bao Qingtian was also a human.
No matter how much he judged all matters on the basis of the national law, he was a human who wanted to kill those who deserved to die.
Therefore.
—It was No Yeong-myeong alone who tried to swallow the world with the White Lotus Cult. I know that the other officials are not related to him!
The most important witness at the center of this case.
Although he knew from the testimony of the Eastern Depot members that the other high-ranking officials, except for Eunuch Han, were not related to the White Lotus Cult, he had linked them with Eunuch Han and had interrogated them as joint principal offenders.
And.
'If not for this opportunity, those evil enemies can never be eradicated. One punishment for a hundred warnings. If I can ring an alarm bell in the court through this and guarantee the peace of the people even a little! My conscience is not important!'
Bao Qingtian had made a courageous decision to go against his conscience for the first time in his life.
Well, anyway, the other humans except for Eunuch Han were also of the same kind, and it was an unchanging fact that they were useless human trash even if they lived.
Just then.
"Kekeke. You're trying to back out now. Didn't you promise to swallow the world with me?"
Eunuch Han, who had been crippled by Jin Won-tak and had his dantian sealed, spat out a disgusting voice and clung to the other criminals.
At that.
"Shut up, you eunuch bastard!"
"How dare you, a mere eunuch, think that you and we are the same just because we are sitting together?"
"Where are you clinging to us like a water ghost? We don't even know about the White Lotus Cult!"
The criminals ground their teeth and glared at Eunuch Han with resentful eyes.
In that moment.
"Lord Bao... it seems appropriate to execute Eunuch Han as soon as possible. Isn't General Song leading the imperial army and investigating the illegal missionary activities of the White Lotus Cult, including human sacrifice? We also have a mountain of work to do."
Jin Won-tak, who was supervising the torture of the criminals, opened his mouth in a low voice to Bao Qingtian.
He was so anxious to cut off the head of Eunuch Han, who had not only insulted the imperial court and the people, but had also used cunning tricks to drive his own younger sibling, So-ah, into a corner, that he was on the verge of going crazy.
"Hmm..."
At Jin Won-tak's words, Bao Qingtian stroked his beard.
From his furrowed brow, it was clear that he was deep in thought.
But.
The deliberation did not last long.
"Eunuch Han. The criminal, as a eunuch of the court, has forgotten his duty and has embezzled an incalculable amount of slush funds, has deceived the imperial court, and has colluded with a heretical religion to help with the human sacrifice of the people. This is a shameless act that cannot be done while wearing a human mask, and since it is a clear act of treason, no punishment other than execution can offset the crime. This judge sentences the criminal to execution."
Simultaneously.
"Bring the dog-headed guillotine!"
Bao Qingtian's trusted subordinates shouted loudly and brought the dog-headed guillotine, which was sharp and menacing, emitting a menacing light.
"A-A dog-headed guillotine! Although I have nothing to be wronged about even if I die as a cripple, a dog-headed guillotine! What do you mean by that?!"
Eunuch Han trembled.
He had lost everything and was waiting for death.
But even if he were to die, he wanted to meet a noble death worthy of his status and position.
In the first place, he was a person with great ambitions, and because of that wrong ambition, hadn't he become a criminal today!
His last wish was to die at least by a dragon-headed guillotine.
"Although it is customary for the imperial family and the members of the imperial court to be executed by a dragon-headed guillotine, the criminal is neither a member of the imperial family nor a member of the imperial court. The criminal is just a mere eunuch. Moreover, the tiger-headed guillotine is a guillotine for those who have been loyal to the country and have lived off the country's money, or for the generals who have commanded the military. For the criminal, there is only the dog-headed guillotine."
Bao Qingtian did not show mercy to Eunuch Han, who had committed a heinous crime.
"Shut up! Shut up, you brat! Kill me! Kill me with a dragon-headed guillotine! Although I was born a commoner, in my last moment, I am a eunuch of the imperial court! Are you saying you will kill me! Me! With a dog-headed guillotine?"
Eunuch Han had a seizure with a voice full of resentment.
But it was just a futile struggle.
In an instant, he was forced to put his neck on the dog-headed guillotine by the hands of the officials of Kaifeng, and.
"Strike!"
By Bao Qingtian's command,
His head was cut off.
'...!'
All the people shifted their gazes to the head of Eunuch Han, which had been cut off.
In his eyes, which had not even been able to close, pathos and futility were contained.
For the end of a powerful person who had commanded an era, it was a too miserable and tragic death.
Thus, Eunuch Han became a dew on the execution ground.
***
"Cough...!"
It could not even be called the ground.
No Yeong-myeong, who was stuck on the dirt floor, which was so deeply caved in that the expression 'underground' would be more appropriate, and could not even stand up, coughed.
At that, a black, dead blood gushed out like a fountain.
Before he knew it, his whole body was dyed with a black, bloody color.
"Old man No. How much of a demonic art did you learn for your blood to be so black? Tsk-tsk. If you had only learned the Heaven-Breaking Demonic Emperor Sword instead of the demonic art, the one who would have died in today's match would have been me, not you."
On the other hand.
So-ah, who was standing on his two feet on the ground that had been clearly revealed as the gust of wind subsided, and was looking at No Yeong-myeong, seemed to be very carefree.
"Keuk..."
Even at So-ah's ridicule, No Yeong-myeong could not answer anything and just spat out blood.
He had tried to get up.
But his internal organs were torn to shreds, and his bones were crushed to a powder that even Hua Tuo, if he were to come back to life, would have no answer for.
Moreover, since his dantian had all burst and he had become a cripple who could not operate even a handful of internal energy and magical power, he had become a shabby soul with only an empty shell left, who was no longer alive even if he were alive.
But soon...
"J-Jin So-ah."
How on earth did he squeeze out even the strength he had when he was a baby?
Or was it because his soul itself was so strong that an ordinary person could not even imagine it?
A proper voice flowed from No Yeong-myeong's mouth.
"Speak, old man No."
So-ah, who said that, was actually, even at this moment, his heart was pounding as if it would burst.
What if No Yeong-myeong were to revive again?
What if he were to use his sorcery?
Although he knew it was impossible, he was anxious, and at the same time, he was also feeling a sense of relief that the Taishan Reversal had been a complete success.
Above all.
'I'm also seriously injured. The power of awakening has been released, and it's not an internal or external injury that can be recovered overnight.'
So-ah's own condition was also not good.
If he had not been wearing the soft-armored mail, he might have been stuck on the ground with No Yeong-myeong and would not have been able to get up.
But even in the midst of that, So-ah unfolded his acting divine art, pretending to be calm and composed, and not losing his composure.
Because the match was not over yet...
"Cough...! I underestimated you. If I hadn't... I wouldn't have been defeated so futilely..."
Regret was in No Yeong-myeong's voice.
"The past time does not come back. And don't be mistaken. You didn't lose because you were careless. It's just that you were weaker than me, old man."
"Kekeke... I can't even say that you're arrogant anymore. In the past, this old man lived without a doubt that he was the number one of his time. My sworn brother, Go Eung, and I were called the Twin Demonic Old Freaks and ruled the Black Path, and all the masters of the Nine Great Sects were afraid of this old man. But I enjoyed my first defeat in my life at the hands of the God of War... Moyong Cheon, and today, I have been defeated by you brat once again... my ambition to rule the world has also become a midsummer night's dream..."
Seeing No Yeong-myeong, who was murmuring frankly, So-ah sensed that his death was not far off.
Originally, a person like No Yeong-myeong would not ramble on about his opponent.
Because on the crossroads of life and death, where one either kills or is killed, one strike is more important than a hundred words for a martial artist...
But No Yeong-myeong was currently crying out his regrets.
That meant that his mental power and will were as precarious as a flickering lamp.
"So, you vicious old man. You should have lived a good life. If you hadn't joined hands with the dregs of the Blood Cult and had only done bad things, you would have been revered by the younger generation of the martial world while being treated as a reclusive master, an old senior."
"Kekeke. If I had lived a good life. Would it have been different? In the end, I was defeated by a twenty-two-year-old brat."
A black shadow was cast on No Yeong-myeong's face.
That shadow was clearly the turbid shadow of death.
"Jin So-ah... just remember one thing. No matter how strong you are, the Central Plains will eventually fall into the hands of the Blood Cult... no one can stop the Cult Leader. Not you... not your dead master or the old Heavenly Demon... you won't be able to stop the Cult Leader."
"Don't be so delusional, old man. Don't you still get it? The world is wide and there are plenty of strong people. Just as you didn't know you would be defeated by me, that brat of a Cult Leader probably doesn't know now either. But the world is all about cause and effect, and the benevolent are invincible. The fact that your last years are miserable will be the proper procedure."
So-ah looked at No Yeong-myeong with a pathetic look in his eyes.
Of course, he actually felt that way.
He thought, how could he spout nonsense even at the moment of his death after committing bad deeds all his life?
But No Yeong-myeong, even in his last moment of crumbling, muttered some puzzling words.
"A human... is just a human. A human cannot defeat a god... on the day the Blood God descends, the world will become a world of blood..."
In that moment.
"Keu-e-e-e-e-uk!"
No Yeong-myeong, who was murmuring as if he were reciting his last words, twisted his whole body and screamed.
Since his internal organs were torn to shreds, his blood could not flow, and as a result, his bodily metabolism had completely stopped, and the extreme pain that occurred had attacked his whole body.
"Goodbye, old man. Go to hell and sizzle your body for about 30,000 years."
So-ah, watching No Yeong-myeong die like that, showed his character of not sparing his blessings.
Simultaneously.
[Brother Woo-chi. Now it's the start of part 2.]
[Of course.]
He sent a telepathic message to Jeon Woo-chi...
The moment he heard that telepathic message, Jeon Woo-chi.
"Taishang Laojun, as urgent as the law, I obey the command."
Muttered a low spell and took out the Heavenly Will Brush.
"Come on! You monster bastards!!”
(End of Chapter)