Chapter 369: Bohai Prefecture

Chapter 369: Bohai Prefecture

Qi Xuansu and Liu Hu had just arrived in front of the city gate when they saw many standing cages in the open space not far away, each with a prisoner restrained inside.

The prisoner’s head, with a metal collar clamped around the neck, protruded from the circular opening at the top of the standing cage. Their hands were shackled on either side of their necks. A gag was forced into their mouths, with ropes tied tightly behind their heads to secure it in place.

Many Green Phoenix Guards were standing around the cages, armed with sabers, guns, and crossbows.

An excited crowd had gathered around.

From time to time, the Green Phoenix Guard would push the crowd back behind the designated line. The people in the front row would retreat, but there were just too many people behind them, so the crowd continued to surge forward.

Watching public executions was a custom that had been passed down for thousands of years.

There was even a temporary wooden platform built to supervise the execution.

According to the rules of the previous dynasty, civil officials were always responsible for supervising executions. However, the Great Xuan Dynasty handed this responsibility to the Green Phoenix Guard.

The person in charge of the execution this time was a Green Phoenix Guard major. He stood with a saber in hand, his face as unfeeling as a rock as he looked up to the sky.

He was waiting for three-quarters past noon, the best time for killing due to the peak yang energy from the sun at its zenith.

At the moment, it was not yet noon. The sky was blue, and the sun was still rising. Many in the crowd also followed suit and looked up at the slowly rising sun.

The Green Phoenix Guard responsible for the execution did not use a saber because the Imperial Court had reduced the number of beheadings and dismemberments as punishment. Since there was also an increase in criminals, cage hanging became popular.

This cage hanging meant that the floor of the cage could be removed by a mechanism at the rear. So, the executioner only needed to pull the handle behind the cage, retracting the floor and causing the prisoner to fall. As such, the prisoner’s neck would be stuck at the circular opening on top of the cage until they suffocated to death.

Death by shooting was a punishment reserved for the military.

Qi Xuansu did not expect to see such a scene when he first arrived in such a prosperous town. Letting his curiosity take over yet again, Qi Xuansu walked toward the crowd.

He saw an old man sitting on a rock by the edge of the crowd, fumbling with his hookah.

“Sir, why is it so lively here today?” Qi Xuansu asked the old man.

The old man did not even raise his head as he said impatiently, “Can’t you see? They’re all waiting for a public execution!”

Qi Xuansu probed further. “I know it’s a public execution, but who is being executed?”

The old man finally took a puff of shisha. “Wokou.”

“The pirates?” Qi Xuansu was startled.

“Please wait a moment.” The Daoist priest quickly turned around and went behind the screen to the back hall.

After a while, the superintendent of this branch came out. She was a fourth-rank Jijiu Daoist master who looked to be in her forties.

Qi Xuansu did not waste any time explaining and merely spread the set of imitation armor on the floor.

The superintendent only glanced at it before looking away. “The objects from the Eight Tribes are not valuable. This armor is also incomplete and damaged, so it’s considered scrap metal. I can only offer you 300 Taiping coins, nothing more.”

Qi Xuansu had expected this. The real big ticket item was Wang Baoyue’s arm cannon.

Thus, he unwrapped it, revealing the arm cannon.

The superintendent initially had a nonchalant attitude. But after seeing the thin metal tubes that resembled the meridians of the human body, she narrowed her eyes, and her expression became serious.

“May I ask where did you get this?” The superintendent asked.

Qi Xuansu replied honestly, “I teamed up with a friend from Tiangang Hall to kill a pirate. This was removed from the pirate’s body.”

The woman was not at all shocked. Instead, she kneeled down and examined the prosthetic arm carefully.

The surface of this prosthetic arm was originally covered with a layer of skin-like material, making it look like a real arm. However, Wang Baoyue’s body and clothes were completely incinerated by the flames in the forest outside Wannian County, so the original metal body of the arm cannon was revealed.

The superintendent held the arm cannon and inspected it thoroughly. She murmured, “Using metal to replace a human limb and integrating firearms into it. Not only that, it can connect to one’s internal organs, using the body’s essence to replace projectiles. What a novel and admirable idea!”

Qi Xuansu said, “I haven’t asked for your name yet.”

The woman returned to her senses and replied, “My name is Su Yan.”

Qi Xuansu immediately thought of another superintendent of Huasheng Hall with a similar name—Su Ran.

Thinking of this, Qi Xuansu expected that Su Yan was most likely from the Qingqiu lineage of the Taiping Sect.

Although the Holy Xuan originally decided that the Quanzhen Sect would be responsible for creations, everything in the Daoist Order was intertwined. There were also many Zhengyi Sect and Taiping Sect disciples who participated in innovation projects.

Knowing her identity, Qi Xuansu felt a little guilty and coughed slightly. “Superintendent Su, how much do you think this thing costs?”

Su Yan looked away from the prosthetic arm and faced Qi Xuansu. “Although the Western Arcane Alchemy is rare, the Daoist Order doesn’t lack samples. I can only offer you 2,000 Taiping coins within my authority.”

Qi Xuansu was not satisfied with the price, so he asked, “Can we barter?”

“Yes.” Su Yan answered happily, “You can exchange any items of equal value. I will also offer you our internal discounts on those items to top it off.”