Beasts, unfilial sons, rubbish!
Forced to kneel on his knees before the gates of the Qin Manor, Qin Tianlin’s eyes were red as if filled with blood. Under the gazes of the common folk who wished they could tear him apart alive, he still held his back straight.
What was the use of that unfilial son’s confession? At worst, they would be handed over to the yamen. But from interrogation to conviction and then execution, it would take at least a year or two. Moreover, this was Xiling County, Xiling County controlled by the Ghost Fiend Gate. If the county governor didn't want to die an unexplained death, didn't want his entire family annihilated, wouldn't they have to release them?
Heh, she couldn't possibly believe that this alone would be enough to eliminate them, could she?
As long as Yan'er was still a member of the Ghost Fiend Gate, as long as that thing remained in their Qin Manor for even a day, their Qin family would not fall!
Holding the confession in her hand, Nan Shiying looked at Qin Tianlin beside her. There was no trace of panic in Qin Tianlin's eyes; instead, there was even a hidden contempt and mockery. Nan Shiying raised an eyebrow. Did he think that by obtaining Qin Shaoyang's confession, she would send them to the prefectural office?
How could that be!
She brushed off the corners of her clothes, which were stained with a bit of dust, and said indifferently, "Xuan Yi, escort the Qin family to their end."
When Xuan Yi dragged out the Qin family, old and young, one by one, Qin Tianlin finally panicked.
"What do you want?"
Qin Tianlin struggled to get up, but his severed leg tendons made it impossible for him to stand. He fell back to the ground ignominiously, only able to prop himself up on his elbows, crawling forward with all his might.
Nan Shiying walked to Qin Tianlin's side, stepped on his back, and then slightly bent down, grabbed his hair, forcing him to lift his head.
She smiled disdainfully, a hint of malice glinting at the corners of her eyes.
"You don't actually think I'd hand you over to the authorities, do you?"
She held Jin Mo's token in her arms. Even without evidence, she could execute them first and report later. What's more, she had Qin Shaoyang's signed confession in her hand.
Poison Elder slowly walked out of the Qin Manor, his merits and fame hidden.
The Ten Fragrance Soft Bone Powder he scattered worked wonders. Not even the dogs in the Qin Manor could stand up. With three people taking down an entire household, how could they not use some underhanded tactics? He had to admit, his stroll wasn't in vain; he had indeed found something in the Qin Manor.
Poison Elder walked down the steps with his hands behind his back, weaving through Qin Tianlin's distraught relatives, and came to Nan Shiying's side. He looked around, observing the dense crowd where some were cursing and others were weeping. He couldn't find a single yamen runner among them. Had all the yamen runners in Xiling County perished?
"Little Nine, guess what I found!"
Poison Elder felt that she definitely wouldn't be able to guess.
"What?"
Nan Shiying couldn't even be bothered to guess.
Boring!
Poison Elder grumbled, feeling rather unamused. "Bones!"
There was a tree inside the Qin Manor. Its trunk was so thick that it would take about five people holding hands to encircle it. The tree grew exceptionally well, extraordinarily well, unnaturally well. He dug into the soil and discovered that beneath the top layer of ordinary soil was soil soaked in blood.
The tree's roots had absorbed so much blood that they were firmly planted in the earth, red like deep underground blood vessels. Poison Elder dug down further and touched the already rotted skeletal remains. Of course, the skeletons weren't important. What was important was that amidst the sea of corpses, he found something like an egg. The object pulsed like a heart, seemingly alive.
However, in front of so many people, Poison Elder couldn't go into too much detail.
Seeing that his words held deeper meaning, Nan Shiying understood. She asked with her eyes, and Poison Elder patted his chest.
Everything was understood without a word.
A flicker of panic flashed across Qin Tianlin's face, which was caught by both Nan Shiying and Poison Elder.
Nan Shiying’s eyes were filled with a smile.
"The Qin clan preyed on the common folk, disregarded human life, their crimes were numerous and unpardonable. Such wicked individuals are not fit to continue living in this world. Although their family members did not participate in the evil deeds, they received favor and thus bear the guilt of complicity."
"I originally did not wish to overstep my bounds, but the Ghost Fiend Gate has absolute authority in Xiling County. If I were to hand these two over to the prefectural office, the yamen would inevitably be threatened by the Ghost Fiend Gate. The former county governor died a violent death. Whether the assassins were the wanted fugitives or someone else, it is unknown. I do not wish for the new county governor to fall into danger, nor do I wish for imperial officials to be constrained by martial forces. Thus, I must uproot the Qin Manor myself."
"Xuan Yi!"
Nan Shiying shouted loudly, "Execute them immediately!"
Xuan Yi did not have a beheading sword. He wielded his sharp sword, which effortlessly severed a head. It was the head of Qin Tianlin’s younger brother, Qin Tianzong.
Blood splattered everywhere. One by one, heads were severed by Xuan Yi. The heads rolled to the feet of the surrounding common folk. The people did not flinch; instead, they kicked the heads back.
"Well killed!"
The common folk, looking at the heads piled up like a small hill, shouted their approval. The evil tyrants of the Qin family, who had lorded over them, had met such an end; it was truly satisfying.
Xuan Yi shook the blood droplets from his sword and walked towards Qin Shaoyang.
"No, don't kill me, don't kill me..."
Qin Shaoyang, like a maggot in sewage, struggled out of the blood with all his might.
Nan Shiying kept her word. She did not let Xuan Yi torture Qin Shaoyang. Xuan Yi swung his sword and cleanly severed his head.
His face still held an expression of terror. His empty eye sockets made his head look particularly gruesome. The common folk were startled, and then, not sure who started it, rotten vegetables, rotten eggs, and someone who had found a wooden stick from somewhere, began to fiercely strike his head, again and again.
The sight of the blood plunged Qin Tianlin into an icy abyss.
"How could you, how dare you!"
He struggled as if gone mad, lifting his head with all his might, his bloodthirsty gaze fixed intently on Nan Shiying.
The heads of his entire family, old and young, were piled together, resembling a bulging small mountain. Qin Tianlin had never in his wildest dreams imagined that his entire family would be massacred.
"Hong Gu, you're just going to watch my Qin family be slaughtered?"
Qin Tianlin suddenly roared to the heavens, his voice filled with resentment and despair.
That thing was kept in his manor. The people of the Ghost Fiend Gate must have guarded it day and night. Now, seeing his entire family slaughtered, they still hadn't shown themselves? Their Qin family, even if they were just dogs, they were loyal dogs. He had done so much for the Ghost Fiend Gate over the years, and this was the outcome?
"Hong Gu?"
Nan Shiying raised an eyebrow, squatted down, and asked Qin Tianlin, "Who is Hong Gu?"
Qin Tianlin ignored her and continued to shout, "All these years, I have never been negligent in carrying out the sect's orders, fulfilling everything you instructed with utmost dedication. Even for crimes as grave as killing the county governor, which would lead to the annihilation of the entire clan, I completed them all. Now, you discard me like worn-out shoes. Fine, fine, if that's the case, then I..."
A cold glint flashed, and a hidden weapon pierced through the air, shooting towards Qin Tianlin's neck.
A fierce light flashed in Nan Shiying's eyes. She waved her long sleeves, drawing the hidden weapon into her sleeve. She spread her arm, and the hidden weapon fell to the ground. Then she stood up, her foot on Qin Tianlin, her gaze sweeping across everyone's faces, and then looking into the distance and around her. She suddenly let out a cold laugh, "Today, I want to see who can kill someone under my watchful eye, who dares to kill someone under my watchful eye. Ghost Fiend Gate, if you are a dragon, coil for me; if you are a tiger, lie down for me. If you wish to face me in an unending battle, then I shall accompany you to the end!"