Chapter 123: Executing the Northern Desert Wolf Demon, Collecting the Remains of Shangguan Yun'er

"If there are no other issues, we shall serve the young master his meal." Yale entered the room with a playful, mischievous smile.

Yi Rushi gave a wry smile, and Xiaocui followed her inside.

After washing up, Yi Rushi couldn't help but sigh with emotion. The willow-branch toothbrush was a torturous invention, but the herbal toothpaste made from tea leaves and poria cocos was truly marvelous.

When Yi Rushi entered the room, Yale and Xiaocui had already laid out the contents of the food box: a bowl of rice porridge, two steamed buns, and two side dishes—sautéed greens with tofu and another vegetable whose name he did not know.

This was the most delicious meal Yi Rushi had eaten since arriving here. His eyes welled up with involuntary tears; he missed his parents from his previous life.

Unaware of the reason, Yale teased him, "Even if the young lady’s cooking is excellent, it shouldn't be enough to move you to tears, should it?"

Xiaocui, clearly more mature, quietly nudged Yale to signal her to hold her tongue.

Yi Rushi had not expected such a tasty meal to have come from Tang Qi's own hands, and he found himself holding his "ugly" wife, whom he had recently wed, in much higher regard.

After the meal, Yale opened the cloth bundle again, revealing a green robe made of fine fabric.

Yi Rushi tried it on, and it fit perfectly. Suddenly, as if something had occurred to him, he asked, "How did your young lady think to send me clothes?"

Xiaocui was quick to answer this time: "It is naturally because our young lady has eyes as sharp as torches."

Yi Rushi nodded and asked no further.

As Yale and Xiaocui packed up the food box to leave, Yi Rushi called out to them, "Wait a moment, could you do me a favor?"

With that, Yi Rushi took off the green robe.

From the hour of the Rabbit (5–7 AM) until the hour of the Dragon (7–9 AM), aside from the old bailiff He Guangyou, not a single person had come to the small courtyard to report for duty.

Yi Rushi's expression darkened, and he asked in a low voice, "Uncle He, did you notify your colleagues yesterday?"

Seeing Yi Rushi address him as "Uncle," He Guangyou was naturally filled with trepidation. He nodded and said, "I did indeed notify them."

Yi Rushi thought for a moment and said, "Yesterday, one could say they were unaware that I, Yi Rushi, had assumed my post. But today, they have dared to knowingly defy their duties. Very well, very well indeed. I will write a formal document for you to deliver to the Prefect; we shall strip them of their idle positions."

Seeing Yi Rushi act so decisively, He Guangyou broke into a cold sweat. He hurried forward to dissuade him: "You cannot do that, sir. Most of them have some backing or influence behind them. I suggest you endure it for now, Master Yi."

He Guangyou wanted to say more, but Yi Rushi waved his hand to cut him off. "Say no more. Just do as I say."

In the Great Hall of Jian'an Prefecture, Du Ziteng was furious, throwing the document in his hand onto the floor. "Such audacity! Only his second day in office and he dares to dismiss so many people. Old Ma, tell me, in a few more days, will he even leave me as the Prefect of Jian'an?"

Beside Du Ziteng stood the plump, large-eared advisor, Ma Deyi.

Ma Deyi smiled and said, "Have you not yet seen the intent of that boy, Yi Rushi?"

Du Ziteng frowned and asked, "Intent? What intent could he have?"

Ma Deyi held up two fingers and said slowly, "Early this morning, the Tang Prime Minister’s residence sent two maids. Yi Rushi kept them in the courtyard for half an hour. His actions serve only two purposes."

Du Ziteng’s brow slowly smoothed out as he asked, "Are you saying that Yi Rushi is doing this to show that his relationship with the Prime Minister has thawed?"

Ma Deyi shook his head. "The Prefect is only half right. It is not that Yi Rushi’s relationship with the Prime Minister has thawed, but rather his relationship with the wife he wed."

Du Ziteng curled his lip. "That’s the same thing."

Ma Deyi continued, "That is only the first point. The second is to dismiss those bailiffs who secured their idle posts through connections, while simultaneously striking the mountain to frighten the tiger."

Du Ziteng was no fool; he immediately realized that the "tiger" Yi Rushi was striking was none other than himself.

Seeing Du Ziteng’s grim expression, Ma Deyi quickly warned, "The situation is unclear; we must not rashly turn against that boy."

Du Ziteng sneered, "Are we just going to be intimidated by him like this?"

Ma Deyi maintained his calm smile. "Isn't Yi Rushi the execution supervisor now? Why don't we make use of that?"

Du Ziteng, being quite clever, immediately grasped Ma Deyi's meaning. He chuckled, "It's no wonder they say you, Old Ma, are full of devious ideas. Since the boy likes to kill the chicken to warn the monkey, let's give him a real chicken to kill."

After thinking for a moment, Du Ziteng frowned again. "But with the year coming to an end, I can't think of a suitable prisoner for execution. Do you have a suggestion?"

Ma Deyi mused, "What do you think of that North Desert Wolf Demon we captured a few days ago?"

Upon hearing this, Du Ziteng couldn't help but praise the idea. He nodded and said, "Excellent, excellent."

When the old bailiff He Guangyou returned to the small courtyard with a bitter face, Yi Rushi saw his expression and asked, "What? Did the Prefect not approve my document?"

He Guangyou shook his head and sighed. "He approved it, but Prefect Du also sent a document back to you."

With that, He Guangyou handed the Prefect's document to Yi Rushi.

Yi Rushi took it and saw that it was an execution order, commanding him to supervise the beheading of the North Desert Wolf Demon at the vegetable market at high noon today.

A wry smile touched the corner of Yi Rushi's mouth. It seemed Du Ziteng was no saint; this was a warning.

The old bailiff He Guangyou lowered his voice and said, "Usually, executions are held after autumn—as the saying goes, 'Reward in spring, punish in autumn.' There is no precedent for executing prisoners near the end of the year. Furthermore," He Guangyou looked at Yi Rushi meaningfully, "the fact that your very first execution is a North Desert Wolf Demon clearly indicates there is something amiss."

When Yi Rushi heard the implication in He Guangyou's words, he quickly asked, "What? Is there a problem with executing a North Desert Wolf Demon?"

The old bailiff sighed. "I will not hide it from you, Master Yi. Not only is there a problem, but it is a massive one."

He then explained the nuances to Yi Rushi: an execution supervisor was traditionally a military officer, or at least a veteran of the battlefield, because the job required immense nerves. After all, one was killing a man, not a pig.

When a pig is slaughtered, its miserable squeals are chilling enough; when a human is beheaded, the supervisor must witness a living head fly from the neck, with a fountain of blood spraying from the severed arteries. The yellow earth within several yards would be stained blood-red. More eerily, some headless corpses would discharge urine and feces, and the entire execution ground would be filled with the stench of blood and filth. A person with even slightly weak nerves would faint on the spot.

Seeing Yi Rushi’s pale face, He Guangyou added, "Strange things tend to happen during the execution of a North Desert Wolf Demon. Just be careful, Master Yi."

Though his heart was uneasy, when noon arrived, Yi Rushi donned his official robes and headed to the vegetable market execution ground.

Before long, a prison cart from the Jian'an Capital Prison slowly rolled toward the market, surrounded by a squad of heavily armored soldiers, as if fearful of the slightest mishap.

Soon, a burly man, nearly a zhang tall, was dragged from the cart. Two massive hooks pierced his shoulder blades, his fur garments were stained with blood, and his face bore numerous burn and whip marks. His hands were locked firmly in heavy iron chains, hanging limply as if broken, and his ankles dragged long chains ending in an absurdly large iron ball.

Yi Rushi quietly asked He Guangyou, who stood beside him, "Is all this necessary?"

He Guangyou watched the Wolf Demon with vigilance and lowered his voice: "Even like this, I can still sense the danger radiating from him."

The Wolf Demon walked slowly, his cold gaze piercing through the crowd and landing on Yi Rushi, making his scalp tingle.

"Kneel!" A soldier shouted, striking the Wolf Demon's legs with heavy clubs, forcing his massive frame to the ground.

Yi Rushi read aloud the Wolf Demon's crimes according to the Northern Liang statutes. It turned out the Wolf Demon had frequented the trade routes of the North Desert, and no caravan he encountered had survived, all having become his feast.

By now, many people had gathered outside the execution ground, as witnessing such an execution was a rare event.

A woman holding a yellow umbrella caught Yi Rushi's attention. She wore a black dress, and her hair was tied in a simple bun with a wooden hairpin. Her face was quite ordinary; what made Yi Rushi notice her was her gaze.

Those around her were filled with hatred, disgust, or the frantic curiosity of spectators, but she remained calm.

At this moment, He Guangyou reminded him, "Master Yi, the time has come."

Yi Rushi looked at the execution token, dropped it, and declared softly, "The hour of the Horse has arrived. Execute!"

The executioner had been waiting for a long time. Seeing the token drop, he took a mouthful of wine, sprayed it onto the blade, and with a single stroke, severed the Wolf Demon's head.

Yi Rushi watched as the head did not fly off, but rolled slowly to the side. Then, the massive body collapsed. Hot, crimson wolf blood sprayed out, quickly staining the ground red.

"Well done!" The crowd cheered, but soon dispersed, having had their fill of the spectacle.

Yi Rushi felt less afraid than he had expected. The lifeless Wolf Demon slowly revealed its true form—a giant wolf of shocking size.

As the crowd thinned, the woman with the yellow umbrella remained standing there, dazed.

Thinking she had been frightened out of her wits, Yi Rushi hurried over and asked, "Did it scare you?"

The woman shook her head and asked in return, "Will the government claim the Wolf Demon's body?"

Yi Rushi was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.

The woman bowed to Yi Rushi and said, "I am Shangguan Yun'er. Might I ask if I may collect the Wolf Demon's remains?"

Yi Rushi frowned. "Oh? And why is that?"

Shangguan Yun'er glanced at the wolf's corpse in the distance and said slowly, "I just feel he is somewhat pitiful."

Yi Rushi nodded. "Please do as you wish, Miss Shangguan."