The Fall of a City

The night hung heavy as ink.

Within the broken ruins of Laizhou City, scattered candlelight flickered, and few souls still lingered.

Wandering the desolate alleys were not just fearful mortals,

But also untethered spirits and restless ghosts, weeping softly in the gloom.

Li Fang stood silently before a ruined temple.

His black robes billowed without wind, the flickering soul-lights of the entire city reflected in his eyes.

He was no longer a mere man.

He was the City God—the arbiter and protector of countless departed souls.

Within the city, every pulse of life and death echoed with his will.

And at this moment, he sensed it clearly—

This city was dying.

No—

It had already died.

His ascension to the seat of City God was not a salvation, but a final inheritance—

An inheritance of rot, a corpse of a city.

Those who still wore human skins and ruled its order—

They were the very executioners who had dragged Laizhou into the abyss.

Li Fang lowered his gaze slightly.

In his palm, a black-gold sigil shimmered faintly—the Seal of the City God.

Upon it, lines from the Book of Life and Death were etched in cramped ancient script, blood energy subtly seeping from within.

In one night, he had traced dozens of threads of wrongful death.

And all of them led to a single place:

—Laizhou Prefecture Office.

—

That night, in the Hall of Affairs.

Lanterns blazed overhead, casting flickering shadows across the faces of gathered officials.

Lu Huaide sat at the head of the chamber, expression stern and eyes cold.

Li Fang stepped into the hall, the hem of his robes brushing over the threshold, sending a wave of chill into the room.

He neither bowed nor offered greetings.

He merely stood in the center, voice low and heavy with command:

"Li Fang, City God of Laizhou, by decree of the Underworld, has come to investigate the cause of this city's devastation.

Today, with all of you present, I ask:

Who has used the living as sacrifices to forge blood-curse sorcery?

Who has made pacts with darkness and defiled the purity of our realm?"

The hall fell into a deathly silence.

After a long moment, a middle-aged official in a green robe sneered and cupped his hands.

"Lord Li, what are you implying? We have governed diligently—how could we possibly go against the heavens?"

As he spoke, his fingers formed subtle seals inside his sleeves, secretly activating a soul-binding formation hidden in the hall.

But Li Fang remained unmoved.

He merely lifted a finger. A flicker of black light shimmered at his fingertip.

Snap—

All the lanterns in the hall extinguished simultaneously, replaced by cold, blue-white ghostflames that hovered in midair—

Casting the officials' faces into ghastly, twisted relief.

The soul-binding formation crumbled instantly, crushed beneath the divine force of the City God.

Li Fang stepped forward slowly, his voice reverberating:

"For thirty years the Blood Pool thrived, ghost arts flourished.

Civilians' souls wail endlessly, never at peace.

Corpse fiends rise within the city. Children vanish. Rivers of blood flow beneath our feet.

And you dare swear, upon heaven and earth, that none of this was your doing?"

With every step he took, strands of dark chains surfaced from the ground—

Reaching up like hands from Hell, binding themselves around the officials' feet.

The officials' faces grew more strained. Some clutched their sleeves tightly.

Cold sweat rolled down others' brows.

Lu Huaide finally spoke, voice steady but tense:

"Lord Li, mind your words!

The Blood Pool matter was sealed by imperial decree. It is not for you to probe at will.

And besides, this so-called curse began with the people's misused rituals. What does it have to do with the government?"

But even as he spoke, a flicker of killing intent rose in his eyes.

Li Fang's gaze sharpened.

In his hand, the Seal of the City God burned hot.

Names appeared in blood-red on the Book of Life and Death—

Lu Huaide. Qin Huaizhang. Zhao Jian. Yang Shitong…

All of them!

Officials who had sold their souls for power—

Who had conspired with dark forces, sacrificing the living to fuel evil formations.

—

Suddenly, from behind the hall's folding screen, a low chanting arose.

Li Fang turned sharply—

A group of black-robed figures emerged, holding blood talismans, preparing to activate a killing formation.

"Hmph. You dare try to trap me?"

Li Fang let out a cold snort, voice laced with divine authority:

"By the order of the Underworld, with Kṣitigarbha as witness—

By the Seal of the City God, let all evils be purged!"

The black-gold sigil in his palm shot forth, transforming into a searing pillar of light.

An overwhelming pressure descended, the wrath of the Underworld flooding the hall.

The black-robed assassins had no time to scream.

They were blown away instantly—flesh charred midair, falling to the ground as scorched corpses.

The air filled with a stench of burning flesh and blood—pungent and sickening.

Lu Huaide let out a crazed laugh, rising to his feet, voice hoarse:

"Li Fang! Do you think your petty divine title can stop us?

Know this—

The Blood Deity Pact is already sealed.

The blood of Laizhou will elevate us to immortality!"

As he spoke, he tore open his robes.

Etched on his chest was a blood-red demonic sigil, radiating thick, noxious energy.

And beneath his feet—

The very ground of the Prefecture Office trembled.

Deep beneath the city, the monstrous creature of the Blood Pool had awakened.

A deafening roar erupted from the earth, shattering the skies!

Li Fang stood alone in the hall, robes thrashing in the wind, eyes cold as steel.

He slowly drew the sword at his waist.

Upon the blade were etched the names of thousands of unjust souls, gleaming with a pale, deathly glow.

His whisper was soft—like the coldest gust of wind in the dead of winter:

"In that case—"

"—By the name of the City God, I sentence you all… to death."