55: Chapter 55 Thank you, Lord Xie, for granting me death!

They cried until they could barely breathe.

In that moment, pain, regret, and self-reproach sliced through their hearts like thousands of knives, nearly tearing their Soul apart.

Why?

Why?!

Why had they been so foolish as to commit the act of poisoning?!

Images from the past few days flashed through Liu Dashun's mind.

The warm, smiling faces of the citizens when they first entered Flower City.

The fragrant spirit rice and Demonic Beast meat when they received their food.

The patient attitude of the stewards when their accommodations were assigned.

And the words spoken by the old citizens—

"In our Flower City, there is no execution line!"

"The City Lord is the Destined City Lord!"

"Follow the City Lord, and you will have food, drink, and hope!"

These scenes flashed by one after another, like sharp blades stabbing viciously into his heart.

Flower City had been so good to them.

The City Lord had been so good to them.

Yet what had they done?

They had actually tried to poison everyone in the city!

Even after they had committed such a wrong, the City Lord, despite the cries for execution from the entire city, had insisted on granting them a shred of dignity.

Not only did he not let them die like dogs, but he also promised to rescue their families!

With such a City Lord...

Why had they done that?!

They were truly bastards!

Animals!

Their crimes were unforgivable!

Liu Dashun wished he could slap himself twice.

No, two slaps were too light.

He wished he could rip out his own heart and let everyone see what was really inside it!

Sun Weiwu felt the same way.

He was trembling all over from crying, his tears unstoppable.

Regret gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake, making him wish he were dead.

But for some reason...

Amidst this overwhelming regret, there was no resentment left in their hearts.

No resentment toward fate.

No resentment toward the City Lord.

In its place was a feeling called "reverence."

That emotion surged in like a tide, completely occupying their hearts.

Everyone watched this scene, complex emotions rising in their hearts.

The two poisoners were crying like this, and they should have felt satisfied.

But for some reason, looking at their heartbreaking appearance, they couldn't conjure up a single thought of schadenfreude.

Instead... they felt a bit sad.

"The City Lord is benevolent!"

Someone shouted first, not knowing who.

The voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the silent courtroom.

Immediately after, a second voice rang out.

"The City Lord is benevolent!"

Then a third, a fourth...

More and more voices joined in, gathering into a wave.

"The City Lord is benevolent!"

"Long live the City Lord!"

The shouting became louder and more uniform.

Finally, it converged into a roar like a landslide or a tsunami—

"Long live the City Lord!"

"Long live the City Lord!"

"Long live the City Lord!"

The sound shook the heavens, making eardrums tremble.

Outside the City Lord's Mansion, a dense crowd of people all knelt on the ground, kowtowing toward the direction of the courtroom.

Tears filled their eyes, but their faces wore heartfelt smiles.

As expected of the City Lord!!

Outside the courtroom, standing in the first row of the crowd, Shang Youjun quietly "watched" all of this.

His eyes remained tightly closed, unable to see anything.

But in his sensory world, it was a different scene at this moment.

He "saw" it.

He "saw" Zhou Yun.

That young City Lord, standing on the courtroom dais, his posture tall and straight.

And all around him...

Was a cluster of dazzling light.

No, not light.

It was a scorching sun.

A true scorching sun!

The radiance was so hot, so dazzling, that Shang Youjun couldn't help but squint.

Although he was blind and didn't need to squint at all, the light was simply too intense, so intense that his senses could barely withstand it.

Warmth.

Vastness.

Tolerance.

Selflessness.

These words flashed through Shang Youjun's mind, yet none of them could fully describe everything he felt at this moment.

The City Lord...

What kind of person is he exactly?

An unprecedented emotion surged in Shang Youjun's heart.

It was a longing.

A longing to open his eyes and see the appearance of this City Lord with his own eyes.

A longing to serve him.

A longing... to follow him forever.

Just then, Shang Youjun's attention was drawn to something else.

The two poisoners.

Liu Dashun and Sun Weiwu.

They were kneeling in the center of the courtroom, and the colors on their bodies were changing.

Shang Youjun clearly "saw"—

The gray that had originally shrouded them was rapidly dissipating.

Gray...

Light gray...

White...

Light yellow...

Yellow...

Orange...

The colors were becoming brighter and warmer.

It was as if the haze had dispersed, and the sunlight was shining upon the earth once again.

And the source of all this was that brilliant "scorching sun" on the courtroom dais—Zhou Yun.

His light shone upon those two, dispelling the darkness and despair on them.

In its place was hope, gratitude, and...

Red!

Shang Youjun's pupils constricted violently.

He "saw" that the colors on Liu Dashun and Sun Weiwu finally settled on red!

It was a color even hotter and more intense than orange.

It was...

Shang Youjun had never seen this color before.

In his memory, even the most loyal people only reached the color orange.

But now, these two people who had once tried to poison others...

The color on them had actually turned red?

What did this mean?

His heartbeat grew faster and faster.

The longing to regain his sight grew increasingly intense in his heart.

He wanted to open his eyes.

He wanted to see this City Lord with his own eyes.

He wanted to know the true appearance of that scorching sun.

But...

His father's words rang in his ears once again.

"Youjun, only by blinding these eyes can you continue to live well."

Shang Youjun took a deep breath, forcing that urge down with immense difficulty.

Wait a little longer.

Just wait a little longer!!

On the execution grounds, the blade flashed.

Liu Dashun and Sun Weiwu knelt in the center of the execution platform, their hands tied behind their backs.

The executioner stepped forward, carrying a large blade, the sunlight hitting the edge and reflecting a blinding cold light.

"The time has come—"

The supervising official shouted loudly.

"Execute!"

The executioner raised the large blade, the light of the blade tracing an arc.

At that very moment—Liu Dashun and Sun Weiwu looked up simultaneously, their faces streaming with tears, yet without a shred of fear.

They shouted loudly:

"Don't be foolish! Don't be as muddled as we were!!"

"Thank you, City Lord, for granting us death—!"

The voices resounded across the execution grounds, lingering for a long time.

"Thud!"

"Thud!"

Two muffled sounds.

Two heads rolled onto the ground.

Fresh blood gushed out, staining the execution platform red.

The execution was over.

The citizens dispersed in twos and threes, the sound of their discussions rising and falling.

"Finally dead, they should have died long ago!"

"Hmph, they got off easy!"

"The City Lord is wise; he never goes soft on those who deserve to be killed!"

"It's a pity, that City Lord of Han City is the one who truly deserves to die!"

The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only a few City Guards on the execution grounds to clean up the aftermath.

However, at the edge of the crowd—Strategist Zhu Ge sat in his wheelchair, his expression somewhat grave.

His gaze watched as the two headless corpses were carried away, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.