Chapter 354: Chapter 137: Can a Demon Suppression Guard Execute Zhang Yunpeng? If Not, I’d Rather Not Be One

His voice rang out, "My fellow people of Cyan Yang Ancient City! This calamity was a disaster the likes of which our city has never before witnessed! Fortunately, we were blessed by the heavens, and more importantly, we had a young hero like Young Hero Chu, who stepped forward with righteous courage to turn the tide, pulling us from the jaws of death and saving our entire city from annihilation!"

"On behalf of all the people of this city, I thank Young Hero Chu!"

He cupped his hands slightly in Chu Fan’s direction, making a great show of respect.

But the expected chorus of agreement and gratitude never came. Instead, an eerie silence fell over the crowd.

Everyone’s gaze followed his and focused on the pale-faced youth whose clothes were stained with blood.

Chu Fan slowly raised his head. His gaze was calm, yet it held a bone-chilling cold that seemed to pierce one’s very soul.

He walked toward Zhang Yunpeng, one step at a time.

The false smile on Zhang Yunpeng’s face froze. An inexplicable chill rose from the depths of his heart, and he forced a laugh. "Young Hero Chu, you..."

Before he could finish, Chu Fan suddenly struck!

There was not a single wasted motion. Just one palm strike, as fast as lightning and as heavy as a mountain!

"BAM!"

Zhang Yunpeng had no time to react. His Protective Primordial Qi shattered like paper, and the palm struck him squarely in the chest.

He was sent flying backward like a kite with a snapped string, spitting up a torrent of blood in mid-air before crashing heavily to the ground!

"AHH—!"

The entire crowd was in an uproar! 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Everyone was stunned into silence by this sudden turn of events!

Why would Chu Fan attack Lord Zhang, who had just been thanking him moments ago?

Although the crowd had their complaints about Zhang Yunpeng and resented him for turning a blind eye to the Moon Worship Sect’s recent activities, he was, after all, an imperial official—the magistrate who was supposed to care for them all...

Just as everyone was filled with doubt, Chu Fan’s voice, like a clap of thunder, clearly reached every person’s ears...

"Thank me? Zhang Yunpeng, you are the Cyan Yang County Magistrate, yet you’re just a dog planted here by the Moon Worship Sect! You personally activated the ’Nine Nether Spirit Locking Array’ to slaughter the entire city! You released the Resentful Spirit! How dare you claim to represent the people of this city? What right do you have to thank me?!"

These words, like a giant boulder dropped into a calm lake, sent a thousand waves through the crowd!

"What?! The County Magistrate is one of the Moon Worship Sect’s people?!"

"He activated the Grand Array? He released the Resentful Spirit? This... How is this possible!"

"I knew it! The Moon Worship Sect was running rampant before, and the Government Office didn’t make a sound! So they were in it together all along!"

"I heard about that, too! Back when the news broke that the Seven Stars Gang was sending Blood Nourishing Realm disciples to the Moon Worship Sect, Constable Lu wanted to investigate Seven Stars Castle, but Zhang Yunpeng stopped him!"

"No wonder... No wonder the Government Office did nothing when the Blood Saber Sect was annihilated and the Seven Stars Gang was forced to disband! It wasn’t that he didn’t dare to intervene—he was the mastermind!"

"I thought he was just a coward, afraid of getting into trouble. I never imagined he was the mastermind behind it all!"

"That damned beast... He was going to use everyone in our city as a sacrifice!"

Now, all their previous doubts and all the strange occurrences were explained!

After a brief moment of shock, boundless rage erupted like a volcano!

"Beast! Zhang Yunpeng, you animal!"

"You’re the one who killed my parents! I’ll kill you!"

"You damn official! And to think we trusted you! You were going to sacrifice the entire city!"

The crowd was in a frenzy. Countless people with bloodshot eyes surged forward, roaring, wishing they could devour Zhang Yunpeng alive!

If not for Cao Feng, Wang Kaishan, and the other late-stage Spirit Awakening Realm Martial Artists holding them back, the scene would have descended into utter chaos!

Clutching his chest in agony, Zhang Yunpeng struggled to his feet. His face had lost all composure, replaced by panic and viciousness.

He shrieked, "Slander! This is blatant slander! Chu Fan, don’t you dare make baseless accusations! I am an imperial official, tasked with governing this region! How dare you frame me as you please!"

"Even if I have done wrong, my fate should be decided by imperial law! What right do you have to carry out a private execution?!"

He brought up the imperial court and its laws in a last-ditch effort to save himself.

These words indeed made some of the more rational people hesitate—killing an imperial official was a monstrous crime!

Besides, there were three people from the Demon Suppression Bureau present.

Would they help Zhang Yunpeng, or Chu Fan?

Just then, a middle-aged man in a brocade robe with a steady aura emerged from the shadows at the edge of North City. He said in a deep voice, "That’s right! Zhang Yunpeng is a member of our Qing Province’s Zhang Family. Even if he is suspected of colluding with the Moon Worship Sect, he should be escorted back to the Demon Suppression Bureau to be interrogated and sentenced by the imperial court. Who are you, a mere brat, to pass judgment?!"

"If you dare touch him, the Zhang Family will not let you off!"

The Qing Province Zhang Family!

That was a powerful and prestigious clan in the Qing Province region!

Zhang Yunpeng was actually a member of the Qing Province Zhang Family?

Rumor had it that the Zhang Family of Qing Province had a major figure in the imperial court!

Many of the angry citizens grew fearful, daring to be angry but not to speak.

Chu Fan slowly looked up, lightly tossing and catching a pitch-black token in his left hand. "Sir, can a Demon Suppression Guard execute Zhang Yunpeng? If not, then this title is worthless, and I might as well not have it."

The "Sir" he spoke of was, of course, the Demon Suppression Envoy, Yue Mankong.

Before Yue Mankong could respond, the crowd was in an uproar once again!

"Chu Fan is a Demon Suppression Guard? He’s actually a member of the Demon Suppression Bureau?!"

"Does it even matter if he’s a Demon Suppression Guard or not? Even if he isn’t, even if he’s still just that young fisherman from before, he’s the one who saved all of our lives!"

"Hmph, the Zhang Family might be powerful, but would they dare to touch someone from the Demon Suppression Bureau?"

"But... for someone from the Demon Suppression Bureau to kill a member of the Zhang Family... that probably isn’t so easy, right?"

"That devil Zhang Yunpeng has killed who knows how many people, and he wanted to use Cyan Yang Ancient City for a blood sacrifice... If he doesn’t die, it’s an offense against heaven itself!"

The crowd remained incensed, but now even Cao Feng and the others didn’t dare to speak rashly.

Just then, Ding Jian of the Demon Suppression Bureau, who had been almost forgotten, spoke up. "Execute him!"

He stood up, his gaze like lightning. It swept over the middle-aged man from the Qing Province Zhang Family before finally landing on Chu Fan. His tone was decisive and absolute. "Even if the sky falls because of this, I will bear the full responsibility!"