It doesn't matter what the lord is.

"It is said that his realm has reached the ninth level of perfection, and he is only a step away from the tenth level. And I heard that there are very few people of the same realm who can rival him. He can beat the opponent and flee with just a few strikes of his sword."

"You're just bragging... Besides, the West Qin Territory is so powerful, there must be a lot of resources for him to enjoy. It shouldn't be easy for him to reach a higher realm. Well, in the end, what's the use of having a high realm? If you have a problem with your character, you will die soon."

"Do you think that if this person who has reached the ninth level of perfection has his head chopped off, will he be any different from an ordinary person? Can he live longer?"

"What the hell! Can a person live without a head? I think you might as well wait and see if someone will come to rescue him. After all, I heard that Ying Bai has made some friends while hanging out outside these years."

"Isn't this nonsense? Look at how heavily guarded Yuanyang City is. Who would dare to come here to rescue people? They'd be risking their lives..."

While chatting with his companions, the merchant passed the guard's inspection and entered Yuanyang City.

Behind them, a young couple in flowery cotton jackets approached the guards, and the man spoke in a half-baked Western Qin Mandarin:

"We heard that many people came to Yuanyang City today, so we wanted to come and join in the fun. Usually when we come here, nothing sells, so today we picked some fresh wild vegetables and wanted to go into the city to ask if anyone wants to buy them... Oh, by the way, this is for you, it's all very fresh."

The young man grabbed the soldier's hand with his muddy hands, forced a bundle of messy vegetables into his hands, and smiled innocently.

The soldier frowned, threw it aside in disgust, glanced at the cart the girl was holding tightly, and asked casually:

"All in the cart?"

The young man nodded, thinking that the soldier wanted more, and turned back to get it; but the soldier had already shouted impatiently:

"Stop fiddling with that shit. What are your names, both of you?"

The young man seemed to freeze for a moment, then turned around and replied with a smile:

"My name is Dove, and this is my wife, L'Oreal."

The soldier waved his hand and said unhappily:

"Come in. Damn it, why are there all kinds of people here? Even poor vegetable vendors come here to watch the show."

The rustic couple in flowery cotton jackets nodded, thanked them, and pushed the cart into the city.

It was not until they reached a deserted alley that the young man took off his wig and loosened the collar of his cotton coat.

He poured the contents of the cart onto the ground. The wild vegetables that were originally on the top were now spread out on the ground, followed by various valuable weapons and equipment.

He threw the two swords that originally belonged to the girl over, and then tied a light golden headband.

And now, there is still half an hour before the Prince Yingbai of Western Qin is beheaded.

17. I will go even if there are thousands of people against me

The punishments in Western Qin were the most severe among all the territories.

There are many types of death penalty: quartering, dismemberment, disembowelment, beheading, abandonment, rib extraction, burial, etc. Harsh punishments are designed to keep people from breaking the law as much as possible, and to make the entire Western Qin territory more solemn and dignified. In order to show these death penalty methods well and to increase people's reverence for the law, each city in Western Qin had a very large open-air execution ground.

This kind of execution ground is similar to the Colosseum, and both are equipped with a large audience seat. The only difference is that the Colosseum is low in the middle and high around, while the execution ground is high in the middle and low around. Even so, the middle is not too high, which can ensure that as many people as possible can see the scene on the execution ground. If you feel that this is not enough, you can go to the second floor of a nearby teahouse and order a cup of tea. It is higher than the beheading platform and you can see it more excitingly.

For ordinary criminals, when they are dragged up and killed, there will be at most dozens of onlookers around. Although people have the habit of being happy at the sight of prey, this thing is not art after all, and it cannot bring people any spiritual pleasure. Except for some people who really have nothing to do, not many people will come to watch it. But if some famous criminals, or ordinary criminals are sentenced to some strange death, the people around will be so crowded that no one can get through.

For someone like Ying Bai, the prince of Xiqin, the day he was sentenced to death, the nearby "Chaqingju", "Su Restaurant", and "Hongqueyuan" were already fully booked. Especially the places on the second floor with the best views, they could even be sold for more than a dozen gold coins. Some people spent a fortune just to see Ying Bai's head fall to the ground.

There were huge crowds of people, stretching endlessly.

At noon, the sun was high in the sky, and the white sunlight filled the world.

The messy-haired Xiqin prince Xiaobai was brought up. There was an iron ring on his mouth, which crossed his upper lip, tongue and lower lip, making him unable to speak. His hands and neck were fixed with heavy shackles. The nails on his wrists were not removed, and the steel cable on his scapula was also wrapped tightly. Although the nails on his ankles were removed, it only allowed him to move at a slow speed. He used to run thousands of miles without fear, but now every step he took was difficult.

Someone in the crowd shouted:

"You must be punished for betraying Xi Qin!"

Everyone shouted loudly.

The one who was in charge of chopping off Ying Bai's head today was the highest executioner of Western Qin, "Ghost Blade" E'mian. His realm was also the ninth level of perfection, and he had been in this realm for quite a long time. The Twelve Dragon Binding Prisons only held those extremely vicious criminals, and the knife in E'mian's hand never killed unknown people.

It is rumored that the obsessions of people with extremely high spiritual realms may turn into resentment and attach to this land after death. Ordinary people cannot see it, but over time it will affect the feng shui fortune of this land.

But those who were beheaded by the evil face would not have such an opportunity, their souls would be shattered. Those who were injured by the machete in the evil face's hand would suffer extreme pain every night, even if the wound healed. Those who were killed by the machete would not leave behind any injustice, but would disappear directly between heaven and earth.

There are two people in charge of supervising the execution today.

The first one is the Lord of Xi Qin, and the second one is Mr. Ting Chao.

The lord of Western Qin sat upright, looking at the guests from all directions with an expressionless face, as if he was looking down on the mountains and rivers thousands of miles away.

Mr. Tingchao was still holding a sword, sitting cross-legged on a chair. He didn't sleep this time, but he didn't look very energetic. He leaned his head to look at Xiaobai who was brought up, and yawned quietly. He still looked handsome in his middle age, with a calm smile on his angular face. He didn't have any airs of superiority, like the boss behind the counter of a coffee shop who only listened but didn't talk.

The Lord of Xiqin, Mr. Tingchao, and Ghost Blade Evil Face, it was a big deal to see one of these three at ordinary times, but now they were all gathered here. Not only that, there were also the elites of the Xiqin Anbu organization, the elites of the Xiqin patrol team, and the elites of the Xiqin Lord's guards... Different people had different clothes, different auras, and different positions, but they all guarded the execution ground to prevent anyone from having the courage to step forward.

With such a luxurious lineup, not even an ant, let alone humans, can get close to the execution platform.

The crowd was still shouting, indignant, with passionate voices and sarcastic smiles.

The two men escorting Xiaobai pushed him down in front of the execution platform and forced him to kneel down.

A head of the judicial institution stood in front of everyone with a document and loudly announced Ying Bai's guilt.

With each sentence read out, there was more cheering from the audience.

The people are in an uproar and their morale is high, as if declaring that all evil must be eradicated.

"All the people of Western Qin are proud of Western Qin. They are proud of the laws of Western Qin, the political orders of Western Qin, and the army of Western Qin. However, Crown Prince Yingbai openly ignored the laws and spread the secrets of Western Qin to other territories. The circumstances are serious and the crime is unforgivable. Therefore, Crown Prince Yingbai is sentenced to beheading. I hope that those present today will abide by the laws of Western Qin in the future and not let this scene happen again."

After he finished reading, a voice from below said loudly:

"Kill this traitor!"

One person raised his arms and shouted, and thousands of people's voices followed one after another.

Ying Bai, who was covered in wounds, looked at these people calmly, with no sadness or joy in his eyes.

If an ordinary person was misunderstood like this, his eyes would certainly be filled with infinite resentment before his death. From a respected prince to a death row inmate at the end of his road, it took less than a month. Ying Bai could have promised his father to follow the same path as the current Xi Qin and plunge into the abyss. But in the end, he was unwilling to live in the mud and did not want to see the "weirdness" happening to the people of Xi Qin getting worse. From a certain perspective, he knelt here to be executed in order to protect the people below the stage, but the people below wanted to nail him to the pillar of shame in history for various reasons.

Perhaps, in the stories told by every household in the future, he will be the sinner of Western Qin.

But even so, Xiaobai did not look at those people with any dissatisfaction or resentment.

There was only a little compassion in his eyes, the kind of sympathy for a moth flying into a flame. When the abyss expanded, no one could survive. The last thing he thought of was that thanks to Lid's visit to the Twelve Dragon Prisons, the situation had a glimmer of hope. Xiaobai prayed that Lid had returned to Yunyang. He felt that Lid was a smart man and should understand the priorities here.

The wounds on my body started to hurt again.

But fortunately, I will be relieved soon.

"farewell."

He heard the rough and hoarse voice of the evil face of "Ghost Blade" and lowered his head silently.

Evil Face took a cup of wine, gargled it in his mouth, and sprayed it on the knife in his hand. The strong wine flowed along the blade, and Evil Face raised the knife high and looked at the Lord of Western Qin.

The Lord of Xi Qin said calmly:

"In the next life, don't be born in Xi Qin...Execution!"

Evil Face took a deep breath, aimed at Xiaobai's neck, and chopped it down fiercely.

Almost at the same moment, Mr. Tingchao suddenly restrained his cynical smile and swept his eyes across the audience below.

Two sounds of breaking through the air rang out almost at the same time!

A pitch-black copper stick swirled and smashed towards the head of the Western Qin lord, without any mercy, intending to crack his head open.

Another sharp sword was thrown straight at the machete in the evil-faced ghost knife's hand.

Mr. Tingchao chose to stop the former. He drew his sword, his clothes fluttering in the wind, and the sword in his hand hit the copper stick, sparks flying. The copper stick was blocked back and landed steadily in the hands of a young man wearing a bamboo hat.

On the other side, the machete in Evil Face's hand was knocked out of his hand, fell on the empty execution platform, and rolled to the feet of the Western Qin lord with a clang. The crowd automatically separated to the left and right, and those who wanted to distance themselves from the matter quickly moved away, leaving only a young couple still standing there.

The Anbu organization, patrol team, and Xi Qin guards all gathered and surrounded them from the outside. They were not worried about the safety of the Xi Qin lord because the lord was protected by Mr. Tingchao.

The Lord of Western Qin did not look at the Prince of Southern Chu, Xiang Hei, whom he had seen many times, but looked at the person on the other side.

There, Reed smiled at him, pulled out a handy long sword from his waist, raised his hand and swung it, nailing the evil face's hand that was about to pick up the machete to the execution platform.

"If you don't want to die, get out of the way."

Reed only said this, then strode towards the execution platform.

18. I don’t care whether it’s ten levels or not.

"No one ever listens to the mist and rain, but I see the new moon shining in the empty courtyard. I am too lazy to comb my hair and let the butterflies go. Who can I tell about my life?"

In the empty courtyard, a lazy woman looked at the blue butterfly resting on her fingertips and hummed a strange song softly.

The butterfly's antennae moved, and the woman laughed and whispered:

"Did anyone come to save Xiaobai? That's good, it means Xiaobai has a good relationship with people outside these years..."

She slowly stood up from the wooden corridor, stepped lightly on the soft ground, and said slowly:

"But, is it too late?"

The butterfly flew away and the air whistled. Although there was no wind, the leaves in the yard rustled.

It seemed as if many invisible things were rushing out of this small courtyard and flying towards the outside world.

The woman smiled, as if time had left no trace on her face, and she was still charming. Her eyebrows and eyes were somewhat similar to those of Xiao Hei and Xiao Bai, but her smile was very unique, like a deer raising its head in the forest in the early morning, or a whale at the bottom of the deep sea.

……

At the execution ground, Lide and Xiaohei simply exchanged glances. There was no need for tedious conversations between smart people, and many things were self-evident. Xiaohei's eyes were filled with gratitude. He was not a person who liked to hide his emotions. Lide was willing to risk his life to come to Xiqin to save Xiaobai, and he would never forget this kindness.

But now, he couldn't stop to thank Reed.

Moreover, for Xiao Hei, this trip also involves huge risks, and he cannot guarantee that he will have the chance to thank Lid in the future.

All he can do is buy as much time as possible!

Lid and Xiao Hei climbed onto the execution platform almost at the same time, and the guards who blocked the way were instantly knocked to the ground. Alaiya stabbed several guards who were struggling to get up, and then followed her master closely. Xiao Hei took the biggest trouble on his side, holding a copper stick and running straight towards the Lord of Xi Qin. He did not intend to fight Ting Chao one-on-one. Instead, he planned to find a way to hold the Lord of Xi Qin hostage, or at least use the Lord of Xi Qin to cause some trouble for Ting Chao.

What Lid wants to do is very straightforward, which is to snatch people.

He leaped to Xiaobai's side, with a dagger in his hand. After saying "bear it", Lid directly cut off the iron ring on Xiaobai's mouth and pulled it out of his flesh. Before he could stop the bleeding, Lid suddenly tilted his head as if he had eyes behind him, and the heavy machete chopped through his original position.

Lid took a look and saw that the "ghost knife" Evil Face now held the knife with his left hand, because his right hand had disappeared, and only the broken face was still bleeding. It was obvious that Lid had nailed his right hand to the ground, and Evil Face directly chose to pick up the machete and cut off his right hand, and after regaining his freedom, he attacked again.

Lid said to Alayya directly:

"Buy me some time."

Alayya nodded, unsheathed two swords at the same time, blocked the attack of Evil Face, and his knuckles kept bleeding. Alayya's realm was the eighth level of perfection. Although he was basically invincible at the same level and had a good chance of winning against ordinary ninth level players, there was still a clear gap between him and the top masters like Evil Face who had been famous for a long time. In other words, now that Evil Face had lost a hand, his realm had dropped by who knows how much. If it were him in the past, Lid would never dare to let Alayya go up and fight hard.

Alaiya knew very well that the realm of the evil face who lost his dominant hand had dropped by at least half a level, and now it was estimated to be only a little over the ninth level. But his combat experience was still too sophisticated, and he had to be handled with caution. At this moment, the most urgent task was to remove the mess of restraints on Xiaobai first, so someone had to buy time for Lid, and now that person could only be her.

Alayya took a deep breath, and red and white sword energy surged out of her body, like the shape of wings.

Lid pulled out the two nails on Xiaobai's wrists and found that Xiaobai's dry lips kept opening and closing, like a fish struggling to breathe in water. While removing the chain on Xiaobai's scapula, he put his ear close to Xiaobai and heard Xiaobai say in a weak voice:

"Let my brother...be careful..."

Lid didn't stop his movements and looked directly at Xiao Hei, just in time to see Xiao Hei in a tough fight. Tingchao's sword energy was so rich, like the boundless sea, protecting the Lord of Xi Qin tightly. He even had the leisure to chat with Xiao Hei with a smile:

"Your brother is too seriously injured. Even if you rescue him, he may not live long."

Xiao Hei swung his stick at his sword, but was knocked back a few steps, spitting out blood and saying:

"I just know that even if he dies at five o'clock, I can't let you bastards reach three o'clock in the morning."

Lid narrowed his eyes. He instinctively felt that Tingchao didn't kill him, but even so, Xiaohei was still no match for him. There was indeed a huge gap between the two of them. While thinking about a way out, Lid said to Xiaobai:

"He's fine for now. Ting Chao probably held back."

Xiaobai opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he had suffered too much torture, and he only had time to say the word "I" before his whole body went limp. But it was also good this way, because he had been too tense, and it was difficult for Lid to help him untie the restraints. Now that his body was forced to relax, Lid immediately pulled out the chain on his scapula, and at the same time reached out to smash the shackles that were holding him.

Just then, Alayya staggered back a few steps to Reed's side because of the full-strength attack from Evil Face.

Lid suddenly lifted up Xiaobai, threw it to Alayya, and said loudly:

"Substitute!"

Alaiya put the two swords back into her waist and carried Xiaobai on her back. Lide put one hand on the chest of the evil face who rushed over, and with a little force, the Bajiquan directly shook his internal organs. Lide grabbed his collar and threw him off the execution platform. From the corner of his eye, he saw Xiaohei being hit by Mr. Tingchao and flew backwards. He just reached out to catch him, and the two stood side by side.

Lid lowered his voice and asked:

"Is Merlin here?"

This question is irrelevant and even seems to have nothing to do with the current situation.

But Xiao Hei didn't even need time to think and said bluntly:

"No news from him. But I think he should come."