"What?" Du Huoguan turned his head, looking towards the Warden, instinctively sensing that the Warden had uncovered some clue.
The accuser, who had been standing firm, suddenly started bleeding from the corners of his mouth and nostrils.
He felt an unusual lack of pain in his body as if he had lost sensation in his internal organs, suspecting that it was the effect of his own paralyzing poison needle.
However, the rest of his body still had feeling.
Realizing he was overthinking, he found he could no longer breathe.
He looked up at Shi Chun, disbelief flooding his eyes.
Earlier, when their arms clashed, he could tell that their cultivation levels weren’t far apart.
How could his defenses not stand against even a single strike?
Thud! The drum sounded again, the sixth time.
As if the drum sound was a signal, Shi Chun had already kicked off, charging forward like a falling star.
He spun in mid-air, landing a fierce kick with piercing eyes and wild hair swirling about him.
Fearing that the opponent might not die in time, he delivered another urgent kick.
Crack! The accuser’s head spun two and a half times on his neck, revealing the back of his head to Shi Chun, eyes wide open, unwilling to rest in peace as his body trembled, on the verge of collapse.
Thud! The seventh drumbeat rang out, signaling the accuser’s reluctant downfall.
The city guards, who had been holding their drumsticks, slowly lowered them, clearly seeing no further need for drumming.
Shi Chun let out a slow breath.
Had he been perceptive to the news, knowing that the bodies he personally dealt with that night had already been brought here by the city guards, he "might" have refrained from using the deadly move just now.
In his mind, only the force behind Shen Youkun would know about the incident that night, and even if there was secret collusion with the city guards, they couldn’t openly expose those bodies here.
Destroying evidence seemed most likely.
With no insider knowledge, he couldn’t imagine how the bodies had ended up here, no matter how hard he contemplated.
But that was merely a "maybe."
In reality, he had no choice now.
To kill an opponent of similar cultivation within ten breaths without resorting to lethal moves was impossible.
As the accuser’s body slowly collapsed, the skull-and-blood mark on his back faded away, having been drenched by subcutaneous bleeding, revealing a large fresh red mark.
Seeing this mark, from behind the window, Du Huoguan was slightly astonished, his face showing a trace of disbelief.
"It really was him!"
During the interrogation in the prison, Shi Chun, who had long lost the dignity of a hairpin, now with disheveled hair, glanced around.
It dawned on him—besides the city guard counting with drum beats, there was no one else present.
No judge? Was the drummer doubling as the judge?
From behind the window, Du Huoguan had already turned back towards the Warden.
The final result explained the previous process.
He finally understood the Warden’s intention in watching this duel.
Hadn’t he reported before that Qi Yueru had every reason to suspect Shi Chun as the murderer of her son and brother?
Now he naturally understood the Warden's reasoning.
Since there was suspicion, why not confirm it? Check if the style matched that of the murderer.
As for why they drummed and counted to ten, without weapons and in barehanded combat, it was now blatantly clear.
It was to give Shi Chun no escape, to force his hand into releasing his killing techniques.
Du Huoguan was about to say something, but the Warden raised a hand, slicing through the air with his index finger like a sharp blade.
The windowpane before them showed no damage, not a ripple of disturbance felt; yet, in the arena where the corpse lay bleeding, a crack appeared seemingly out of thin air.
Like a glowing thread, it expanded into a fissure.
The process was silent, until a fragrant breeze erupted from the fissure, prompting Shi Chun to whirl around in shock to see the anomaly.
Tap! A sound reverberated throughout the city, though not loudly, clear enough for everyone within the city to hear.
Many within the city turned their heads, unable to discern where the sound came from, as if it was knocking right beside their ears.
In the prison, Wu Jinliang, nursing his wounds in a corner, paused and stood up.
He had no idea a duel was happening.
Shi Chun, wary of the space fissure, scanned around, searching for the sound's origin.
Only Du Huoguan noticed the sound source.
The Warden had placed a hand casually on the windowsill, tapping with his fingertip.
Each thud resonated rhythmically, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, each beat seemingly striking at the heart of every listener, prompting an involuntary synchronization of their heartbeat, unsettling and uncomfortable.
Thankfully, the tapping soon ceased.
Shi Chun was about to catch his breath, when suddenly, he gawked at the space fissure.
It burst wide open, looking like a giant vertical eye, as though torn from within by sharp claws.
Inside, there was a glint of dazzling blood light, pouring out a magnificent demonic aura, vast enough to sweep across heaven and earth, with Shi Chun right in its path.
Who could withstand such a shock? Certainly not Shi Chun.
Rules were abandoned when it came to saving his life, and he turned to flee.
But as soon as he sprang about a foot high, he couldn't move.
The engulfing demon force held him midair as if by an immense invisible hand.
It was like experiencing the grip of an immobilization talisman once more, but Shi Chun knew it was pure demon force, strong enough to crush him to bits in an instant.
Fear gripped him, hard to avoid panic and dread.
As if misfortune loved company, the pain like a splitting head and a spine being gnawed by countless insects returned, and a vision appeared once more in his right eye.
Meanwhile, the demon energy pervaded every corner of the city, seeping in rapidly.
Determined to avoid suspicion, Ba Yingshan, who had been hiding in his room, couldn’t restrain himself anymore and dashed out, aiming to rise above them to assess the situation.
Yet hardly leaving the roof, a mighty force from above slammed him back to the ground.
Ba Yingshan was shocked but realized the great demon holding him back had shown mercy.
Otherwise, it could have ended him effortlessly.
He glanced around quickly, finding he was not the only one grounded; many city guards trying to jump for a look were pinned down too.
Not just them, but everyone in the city was brought down just as they tried to rise; the demon energy forbidding any to breach its bounds.
On the second floor of Bowang Pavilion, followed by the inflowing demon energy, Old Tan suddenly turned towards the inner city with a puzzlement, "What great demon dares cause trouble here?"
Lan Qiaoyan, similarly looking back, appeared serious.
After pondering briefly, she shook her head, "It’s probably the 'Warden’s' doing."
Panic echoed among the crowds within the city.
Wu Jinliang quivered fearfully in his cell as he looked around; the atmosphere felt icy.
Shi Chun was the most terrified of all.
“Hehe... Hehe…”
A woman’s light laughter, like tinkling bells, erupted behind him, the scent in the air growing cloyingly thick as if someone was breathing warm air over his neck.
Shi Chun could not fathom what was happening; even more terrifying was his body being slowly turned in midair, compelled to witness a sight he didn’t want to see.
Out of the torn space fissure emerged the head of a gigantic fox—it was as big as a human, its demonic red eyes eerily glowing with a sinister light.
Its blue fur gleamed, smooth and flowing like waves, exuding a terrifying, overwhelming presence.
The creature regarded Shi Chun keenly, seemingly assessing how best to consume him.
Shi Chun, never having witnessed such a scene, forced a fawning smile, gambling on a chance at appeasement.
(End of Chapter)