Chapter 80 - 79: Judgment

Chapter 80: Chapter 79: Judgment

The Black Shark Gang had truly been annihilated.​

And the Dragon King—who had terrorized the river for over a decade and struck fear into the hearts of the three mountain regions—had truly been captured alive.

It was an ending that not even outsiders could have imagined.

Even the two captured Black Shark Gang spies felt their throats go dry.

A chill ran down their spines, as if they had fallen into a nightmare from which they could never awake.

Meanwhile, Zhao Laosuan and his fellows stood on the cold stone ground outside the Water Patrol Office.

Gazing at the dark figures chained and kneeling inside the government office, the scene still felt utterly surreal.

That was the Dragon King, after all.

The three counties of Lou Mountain, Yin Mountain, and Xiao Mountain.

How many dozens of encirclement campaigns had they launched, each one more grandiose than the last?

But in the end, hadn’t every single one ended in a hasty retreat, leaving even more bloodshed in its wake?

And yet, the Water Patrol Bureau, which had been established for a mere seven days, had somehow managed to wipe out the Black Shark Gang just like that.

"You can kill him now."

A clear voice spoke from the side, snapping Zhao Laosuan back to his senses.

Zhao Laosuan followed the speaker’s gaze to the man tied to a separate pillar, his face ashen. It was Master Liu.

This was the man who had stormed into his home, radiating the Evil Qi of the Black Shark Gang.

The man who had tried to force him to marry off his sixteen-year-old daughter to the Dragon King as a bride who would never return.

Now, Master Liu had lost all of his former arrogance.

His body trembled like a leaf in the wind, and a dark, wet patch spread from his crotch.

Zhao Laosuan said nothing. He simply, slowly, drew the dagger he had sharpened countless times from the back of his waistband.

The blade glinted with a cold, snowy light.

"You... You stay away! Zhao Laosuan, back then... back then I was just following orders..." Master Liu’s voice was sharp and distorted with fear.

Zhao Laosuan remained silent, closing the distance step by step.

His eyes were bloodshot, his breathing heavy.

Then, he violently thrust the dagger forward.

SQUELCH. The sickening sound of a blade sinking into flesh.

Master Liu’s pleas for mercy were cut short, replaced by a shrill, agonized scream.

But Zhao Laosuan couldn’t hear it.

The second stab, the third... a dozen more. Each one deep, each one deadly.

Warm, salty blood sprayed onto his deeply lined face.

But all he felt was years of pent-up foulness being furiously purged from his chest with every thrust.

With the final blow, he nearly drove the hilt into the other man’s heart before stopping, gasping for breath.

Master Liu, no longer recognizable as a man, slumped to the ground.

The other Black Shark Gang spy, who had witnessed the entire thing, felt his legs give way.

He lost control of his bladder, and the thick stench of urine filled the air.

Zhao Laosuan yanked out his dagger and wiped the blood on the corpse.

He turned, knelt before Lu Jing’an with a THUD, and kowtowed three times, his forehead striking the ground heavily.

"Thank you, Director, for allowing me to avenge this bitter feud!"

Lu Jing’an nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the other Water Bandits kneeling in the courtyard.

Their faces were drained of all color. His voice was not loud, but it reached every ear with perfect clarity:

"I am weary today. Your matters will be dealt with tomorrow."

"Director Lu! Director! What about us? We know our crimes, we came to surrender!" one of the Water Bandits cried out impatiently.

Before Lu Jing’an could react, Zhao Laosuan lunged forward like a tiger and kicked the man to the ground.

"You blind piece of shit! Didn’t you hear the Director?

Say one more word and I’ll flay you alive right now!"

The Water Bandit instantly fell silent as a cicada in winter, kowtowing ceaselessly.

A nearly imperceptible smirk touched the corner of Lu Jing’an’s mouth.

Without another word, he turned and left, the hem of his ink-blue greatcoat swishing neatly in the morning breeze.

’Rules are rules.’

’They were given a chance and didn’t take it. Now that their backer has fallen, they think they can surrender to save their own skins?’

’There’s no such easy bargain in this world.’

He needed these men to be his enforcers, but he couldn’t let them think they were indispensable.

More importantly, he had to make everyone understand that on the Canglan River, a new set of rules had been established.

Those who followed them would find a path to survival beyond their wildest imaginings.

Those who defied them could only kneel and wait for the one holding the ruler to decide when the blade would fall.

Chen Xuan personally escorted Lu Jing’an back to the Lu Residence in the west of the city.

He then led his elite troops back to guard the prison at the Water Patrol Bureau.

「The next day.」

Before dawn, outside the two newly lacquered, vermilion doors of the Water Patrol Bureau, a crowd of reporters from every news agency had gathered, packed shoulder to shoulder.

Cameras like long rifles and short cannons, notebooks, and the clamor of expectant voices shattered the morning tranquility.

The Black Shark Gang was destroyed, and the Dragon King was captured.

This was a major event, enough to shake the entire province!

It wasn’t until the sun was high in the sky, at nine o’clock sharp, that a black car pulled to a steady halt.

The door opened. A gleaming military boot stepped out first, followed by the upright figure of Lu Jing’an.

Lu Jing’an was once again in a crisp uniform. Beneath the brim of his cap, his features were handsome, yet they carried an unquestionable authority.

The reporters instantly swarmed forward like a tide, their questions exploding like a string of firecrackers.

"Director Lu, how did you manage to crush the Black Shark Gang in just seven days?"

"Where is the Dragon King now? Will there be a public trial?"

"What are the Water Patrol Bureau’s plans moving forward?"

Guards in front of the bureau had already stepped forward, linking arms to form a human wall that held back the excited crowd.

Lu Jing’an paused on the steps, turned, and calmly surveyed the scene. He raised a hand, pressing down on the air.

The clamor gradually subsided.

"Please, everyone, be patient."

His voice was clear and resonant, carrying a strange, calming power.

"All of your questions will be answered shortly."

「Ten o’clock in the morning, in the main courtyard of the Water Patrol Bureau.」

A high platform had been constructed overnight in the courtyard.

Lu Jing’an stood upon it, his posture as straight as a pine tree.

Below the platform, the bandits of the Black Shark Gang were bound with thick ropes.

Tied together in a line, they knelt, covering the ground.

Every one of them was disheveled and filthy, completely listless.

More townspeople, having heard the news, had rushed over, packing into every corner of the courtyard.

The hatred in their eyes was so intense it was almost tangible.

The sound of the reporters’ camera shutters clicked incessantly, like a heavy downpour.

Suddenly, a reporter adjusting his lens shuddered.

He stared intently at a scar-faced man cowering in the crowd of bandits, his eyes instantly filling with bloodshot veins.

He let out a feral roar and, in a sudden move, hurled his expensive camera at the man!

"BANG!"

The camera shattered on the scar-faced bandit’s head, sending shards of the lens flying.

Blood immediately gushed from the bandit’s temple as he cried out in pain.

Guards quickly moved to restrain the reporter.

The reporter’s chest heaved violently. He turned and shouted hoarsely at Lu Jing’an on the platform:

"Director Lu! I’m sorry!

But I... I couldn’t help myself!

I’d recognize that bastard even if he were burned to ashes!

My wife and son were on a boat back to her family’s home when he and his men attacked them!

My son was only three years old... They never came back!"

His voice choked with sobs, every word a drop of blood.

The crowd was infected by his grief and rage, and a wave of suppressed sobs and angry curses rose up.

Lu Jing’an watched quietly. After a moment, he spoke:

"He, and everyone else here, will not escape death today.

However, before the execution, any aggrieved parties with grievances to air or grudges to settle...

...may step forward. Right your wrongs, and avenge your hatred."

As his voice faded, there was a brief, deathly silence.

Then, the crowd surged forward like a bursting dam, rushing toward the kneeling Water Bandits!

Stones, rotten vegetables, the soles of shoes... someone even pulled out a pair of scissors they had been carrying...

Cries, curses, pleas, and the sounds of beatings all blended into a chaotic roar.

The bandits, who had once lorded over the river and treated human life as worthless as straw,

were now curled up like shrimp, trembling and screaming incessantly amidst the people’s fury, which had been building for more than a decade.

By the time the crowd was persuaded to part, nearly all the Water Bandits were bruised and bloodied.

They were beaten beyond recognition, and the air was thick with the mixed scent of blood and dust.

Perhaps it was because of this thunderous display of power, or perhaps it was the brief catharsis of being allowed to take revenge,

but the subsequent question-and-answer session with the reporters was unexpectedly peaceful, even tinged with a measure of awe.

All the questions revolved around the establishment of the Water Patrol Bureau and the details of the operation. No one dared to question or provoke him any further.

「Afternoon, at the execution ground.」

It was a deserted riverbank on the outskirts of the city, now packed with a sea of people.

In rows of ten, they were dragged to a clearing on the mudflats and forced to kneel, facing the churning Canglan River.

"Ready—Fire!"

Volleys of rifle fire rang out in succession, echoing between the river’s surface and the mountains.

Row after row of dark figures collapsed at the sound, their blood seeping into the black sand.

Every gunshot was met with thunderous cheers from the spectating crowd.

The thick smell of gunpowder and blood filled the air.

Finally, it was time for the last few.

The Dragon King was brought forward alone.

Even as a condemned prisoner, his imposing frame and the hideous scar on his face still retained a trace of his former ferocity.

He was forced to his knees but struggled to lift his head.

His cloudy gaze pierced through the crowd, locking precisely onto the upright figure on the execution platform.

He grinned, revealing blood-stained yellow teeth.

His voice was as hoarse as a broken bellows as he muttered to himself:

"Such a beautiful pair of legs... a shame they’re not mine..."

"BANG!"

The gunshot was exceptionally crisp.

The Dragon King’s words were cut short as a flower of blood blossomed between his eyebrows.

His stunted body crashed to the ground, his final gaze still staring blankly at the sky.

Several of his Hall Masters also ended their sinful lives in the ensuing gunfire.

[A Divine Soul, available for Refining/Repair, has been detected. Collect?]

Lu Jing’an recited silently in his mind:

[Collect]

This was the other reason Lu Jing’an had come here.

The infamous Black Shark Gang, which had run rampant on the Canglan River for over a decade, had now vanished like smoke, becoming nothing more than a bloody footnote in the annals of history.

Lu Jing’an ignored the shouts of the reporters trying to catch up with him from behind, getting directly into his car and driving away.

...

「Back courtyard of the Water Patrol Bureau.」

At that moment, another group of people was kneeling on the cold ground, filled with apprehension.

They awaited Lu Jing’an’s final judgment.