52: Chapter 52 Kill! Kill! Kill!

Upon hearing this description, everyone inside and outside the courtroom gasped.

Such a vicious method!

If not for Shang Youjun discovering it in time, three days later, the entire city would have suffered!

Wan'er continued, "black stone powder is expensive; one tael costs two thousand copper coins."

She paused, her gaze falling upon Liu Dashun and Sun Weiwu.

"And the amount they added was a full jin."

"One jin of black stone powder is worth twenty thousand copper coins."

There was an uproar outside the courtroom.

Twenty thousand copper coins!

What does that even mean?

An ordinary city resident working hard for a year might not even be able to save that much money.

Wan'er looked at the two gaunt, raggedly dressed men and said coldly:

"At that price, they couldn't possibly afford it."

"Therefore—"

Her voice suddenly deepened.

"There must be someone behind this directing them!"

Once these words were spoken, there was an immediate uproar inside and outside the courtroom.

"Someone directing them?"

"Who is it? Who wants to harm us?"

"Drag them out! We must drag the mastermind behind the scenes out!"

...

The city residents were filled with righteous indignation, shouting one after another to find the true culprit.

Zhou Yun's gaze fell once again on Liu Dashun and Sun Weiwu.

"You have all heard."

His voice was calm, yet carried an unquestionable majesty.

"Speak, who directed you?"

Liu Dashun's body trembled violently, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Sun Weiwu buried his head even lower, his whole body shaking like chaff.

The two still refused to speak.

The cries outside the courtroom grew louder and louder.

"Speak! Why won't you speak?"

"Someone must have threatened them!"

"No matter who directed this, they deserve to die!"

"If they won't speak, kill them!"

...

Liu Dashun's body shook harder and harder, and the expression on his face became increasingly twisted.

Listening to the repeated cries of "Kill" from outside, his mental defenses finally collapsed completely.

"Ah—!"

He cried out to the heavens, shouting at the top of his lungs.

"It was the City Lord of Han City!"

"He forced us!"

Once these words were spoken, the entire venue fell silent.

Everyone was stunned, looking at Liu Dashun in disbelief.

Han City?

The City Lord of Han City?

Liu Dashun's tears rolled down like beads from a broken string, and he wept heart-wrenchingly.

"Not only did he give us the poison, he... he also captured our families!"

"My old mother... my seven-year-old sister... are all in his hands!"

"He said... he said if we didn't do it, he would kill them all!"

"We had no choice! We really had no choice!"

He cried until he could barely breathe, collapsing onto the ground.

Sun Weiwu also started crying, his voice shrill and miserable.

Inside and outside the courtroom, there was dead silence.

Everyone was shocked by these words.

So that was it.

So they were forced.

However, the silence only lasted for a moment.

Immediately after, angry voices rang out again.

"Your family members are people, but are we not?"

A young city resident roared.

"To save your family, you have to kill everyone in the city?"

"That's right! What did we do wrong?"

"Why should we pay for your family with our lives?"

Another person shouted along.

"Flower City took you in, gave you food to eat, and gave you a place to live!"

"And this is how you repay us?"

"Even if you had difficulties, you can't trade our lives for them!"

"Kill them! You must kill them!"

The shouting rang out again, more intense than before.

The city residents' anger was understandable.

They had finally found a place to settle down, finally living a good life.

And it was almost destroyed by these two people.

Even if they had difficulties, even if they were forced, it couldn't be forgiven!

Above the courtroom, Strategist Zhu Ge's expression was very ugly.

He slowly turned his wheelchair, came to the front of the hall, and cupped his hands to plead guilty.

"City Lord."

His voice was heavy, carrying a hint of self-reproach.

"This is my oversight."

"These two were refugees who joined from near Han City; I failed to report it in time, leading to today's disaster."

"Please punish me, City Lord."

Zhou Yun looked at him but did not speak.

Lei Lie, however, was already furious.

"Han City!"

He smashed his fist against a pillar and roared.

"We have no grievances with Han City, yet they actually committed such a vicious act!"

"This is going too far!"

He turned and cupped his hands to request orders, each word like a nail:

"Please issue the order, City Lord!"

"I am willing to lead the soldiers to flatten Han City! Let them know the consequences of offending Flower City!"

He paused, then glared viciously at Liu Dashun and Sun Weiwu.

"As for these two—"

"Please let me drag them out and execute them right now!"

"Behead them!" the city residents outside the courtroom shouted along.

"Behead them!"

"Behead them!"

...

"Kill them!"

"Execute them and display their heads!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The cries of "kill" outside the courtroom were deafening, one wave higher than the next.

Liu Dashun and Sun Weiwu knelt below the hall, trembling all over, their faces ashen.

They knew their time of death had arrived.

However—Zhou Yun slowly spoke.

"I can understand the motive for you doing such a thing."

Once these words were spoken, the inside and outside of the courtroom suddenly quieted down a bit.

Everyone was stunned, looking at Zhou Yun in disbelief.

Understand?

City Lord said he understood?

Zhou Yun's voice was peaceful, yet it clearly reached everyone's ears.

"No matter who it is, if their own loved ones are threatened, I fear their hearts would be deeply conflicted."

He looked at the two shivering people below the hall; there was no anger in his eyes, only a deep sense of compassion.

"You poisoning everyone was indeed a grave mistake."

"Poisoning twelve thousand city residents, at first glance, is indeed devoid of humanity."

He paused, then changed the subject.

"But in my view, this is precisely a manifestation of human nature."

A manifestation of human nature?

Inside and outside the courtroom, everyone showed a puzzled expression.

Poisoning people, how did that instead become a manifestation of human nature?

Zhou Yun continued:

"Precisely because you are human, you have human nature."

"There is family affection, there are attachments, there are weaknesses."

"Precisely because of these, when loved ones are threatened, one will make choices outside of normal reason."

His gaze swept over the dense crowd outside the courtroom, his voice rising slightly.

"Many of the people present were also expelled by their previous City Lords, right?"

There was a commotion in the crowd.

Indeed, among these refugees, many had fled here from other cities.

Many of them had experienced the suffering of broken families and displacement.

Zhou Yun's voice rang out again, carrying a power that could not be ignored.

"Imagine this."

"If your closest loved ones were captured."

"The other party hands you a bag of poison and says that as long as you poison the city, you can trade for your loved one's life."

"You..."

His gaze slowly swept across every face.

"Would you do it, or would you not?"

Inside and outside the courtroom, there was instant silence.

No one dared to answer.

No one could answer.

Because everyone was asking themselves the same question.

Yes, what if it were me?

If the one captured was my mother?

My wife?

My child?

My siblings?

If I don't do it, they will die.

Could I... really refuse?

Silence spread, and the air began to grow heavy.