West Courtyard.

Feng Zhi was clearly the most vigilant.

When the first scream was heard, he knew something was wrong. Unlike his father and brothers, he did not try to resist. Instead, he immediately blew out the lamp, nimbly pushed open the hidden door behind the bookcase, and slipped into a secret tunnel leading outside the mansion!

However, just as he entered the tunnel and before he could close the hidden door, a cold voice rang out behind him:

"Young Master Feng, why are you in such a hurry to leave?"

Feng Zhi felt a chill run down his spine!

Turning his head, he saw a burly man standing behind him, the short knife in his hand gleaming with a chilling light.

Seeing this, Feng Zhi also closed his eyes in despair.

The killing did not last long.

After the key figures of the Feng family were targeted and eliminated, the Feng family guards were left leaderless and quickly collapsed under the fearless attack of the Zhuang people and the premeditated assault.

Those who resisted were beheaded, while the rest either knelt down to surrender or scattered and fled.

As the darkest hour before dawn passed and the first faint ray of sunlight struggled to pierce the clouds, the Feng Mansion, which had once suffocated the people of Heyang, had become a giant slaughterhouse.

The stench of blood was so strong it was nauseating, permeating every corner. Exquisite pavilions and towers were splattered with dark red blood, and expensive flowers and plants were trampled into a mess.

Corpses lay scattered haphazardly throughout the courtyard, corridors, and rooms. The bodies of Feng Wanjin, Feng Biao, and Feng Zhi were deliberately dragged to the bluestone plaza in front of the main hall and laid out together, silently recounting the downfall of this powerful family.

The militia members who participated in the operation silently cleaned up the battlefield and carried away the corpses. Their faces showed no joy of victory, only a sense of satisfaction at having avenged their great grudge.

Liu Dazhu stood beside the corpses of the Feng family father and son, holding a blood-dripping knife. He watched the first light of dawn appear in the east and exhaled a long, long breath, as if all the hatred and humiliation that had been building up for years were finally released with that breath.

Old He appeared quietly behind him, patted him on the shoulder, and whispered, "According to plan, withdraw, clean up the traces, and do not leave any clues pointing to the county magistrate."

Liu Dazhu wiped his face vigorously and nodded emphatically.

As the first rays of sunlight illuminated Heyang City, the gates of the Feng residence remained tightly shut, and the interior was deathly silent. Only the thick, lingering stench of blood could be faintly detected.

Meanwhile, in the back hall of the county government office.

Li Ru slowly opened his slightly closed eyes, then walked to the window, pushed open the window frame, and took a deep breath of the cool morning air.

A faint smell of blood wafted into Li Ru's nostrils, causing the corners of his mouth to involuntarily turn up slightly.

Outside the window, it was dawn.

Li Ru straightened his brand-new official robe, carefully smoothing out every wrinkle, then walked to his desk and picked up the bronze seal that represented the power of the magistrate of Heyang County.

A cold sensation came through.

He looked down at the seal of the magistrate of Heyang County, his expression complex and unreadable.

"Your Majesty," he whispered to the void, towards the direction of Luoyang, in a voice only he could hear, "I... have not failed in my mission; this malignant tumor in Heyang... has been eradicated."

He gripped the bronze seal tightly, his knuckles turning slightly white from the force.

"Your subject should also go... to confess his sins."