A Family of Hopeless Romantics, Except for the Evil Little Junior Brother-Chapter 205: A Body of Righteousness
Looking at the corpses scattered all over the village.
Zhang Haoran couldn’t help but sigh.
Fortunately, there was still one survivor—a little girl hiding in the cellar.
Zhang Haoran didn’t know where to send the girl. These days, there weren’t really any orphanages.
So he could only take her to the Demon Suppression Bureau for now.
The little girl huddled in Zhang Haoran’s arms, trembling.
Capital, the Marquis’ Residence.
After confirming that the perpetrator was Hou Tianlai—
The next day, Zhang Haoran led a team to arrest Hou Tianlai.
The deputy whispered, “Sir, the Marquis’ Residence isn’t easy to mess with.”
Zhang Haoran replied calmly, “Not easy to mess with? So what, we just don’t do our job? If our Demon Suppression Bureau fears everything, then we might as well do nothing.”
The deputy nodded.
He had already heard of this Zhang Haoran before working under him.
A man of integrity, righteousness flowed through him.
Truly worthy of the name Haoran.
Word was, some esteemed Confucian scholars in court appreciated him greatly.
“Hey, stop right there—who are you?”
“Demon Suppression Bureau, official investigation.”
“Demon Suppression Bureau?”
Zhang Haoran said in a deep voice, “Your young master, Hou Tianlai, is suspected of practicing heretical arts and massacring a village.”
“Demon Suppression Bureau, huh?”
The gatekeeper crossed his arms.
“What kind of crap is the Demon Suppression Bureau? Do you even know where this is?
Our Marquis’ Residence, and you want to arrest our young master? You outta your mind?”
“Move aside!”
The gatekeeper seemed to have received some order—he purposely blocked the way and wouldn’t go report it.
“I’ll have you know—our lord’s sister is the Imperial Concubine in the palace. If you know what’s good for you, scram!”
Zhang Haoran’s hand rested on his sword hilt, eyes narrowing slightly.
“This official will say it one more time. Move.”
The servant sneered and turned to the others guarding the gate.
“What, he gonna chop me up or something?”
Seeing this, Zhang Haoran’s adjutant got nervous that the commander really might do it. He quickly said:
“Move it, you ignorant fool! Hurry up and go tell your lord!”
The gatekeeper snorted, stretched out his neck.
“Go on, slash right here! If you don’t, you’re my dog! What, no law anymore? You think you can act up at our Marqu—”
Swish~
A flash of cold steel.
Blood splattered.
A head rolled on the ground like a watermelon.
“Anyone else wanna see how fast my blade is?” Zhang Haoran gripped the bloodstained blade, his voice cold.
The rest of the gate guards panicked and turned tail, bolting into the residence.
Zhang Haoran didn’t waste another word and strode straight in.
“Have the crossbowmen ready. On my command—if Hou Tianlai tries to run, turn him into a pincushion.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Murder! Murder!”
Cries rang throughout the Marquis’ Residence.
“Who dares be so bold, causing a scene in my Marquis’ Residence!?”
It seemed they had already anticipated the Demon Suppression Bureau’s arrival. Several figures rushed out from within almost simultaneously.
“Demon Suppression Bureau, stand back all unrelated personnel!”
“Demon Suppression Bureau? And you harm my household staff? Today, I will go to your bureau and press charges. What, you think the Marquis’ family has no one to stand up to you!?”
An elder at the front scolded furiously.
With the pressure released from his aura, everyone felt the tension.
Zhang Haoran replied steadily, “Obstructing justice will be punished as an accomplice. Where is Hou Tianlai?”
“You expect to take my son away without saying another word? It won’t be that easy.”
“Show him the Recording Stone!”
The deputy immediately brought out the Recording Stone.
It showed footage of Hou Tianlai’s fight with the Demon Suppression Bureau on that night.
The elder paused and said, “And how does that prove my son wasn’t framed? Even if that’s my son, it just shows a friendly spar—there’s no direct evidence that he was the killer!”
Zhang Haoran: “You’ve said enough. The rest of the evidence isn’t for your eyes right now. Where is Hou Tianlai?”
The elder scowled. “None of your business!”
Zhang Haoran stepped back half a pace and told his deputy, “Call them in.”
“Yes, sir!”
The ground trembled slightly.
The sound of heavy hooves thundered closer from afar.
Meanwhile, a group of guards in black heavy armor, wielding pitch-black crossbows, surged in like a tide.
The crossbows had a unique design, all-black, covered in intricate runes.
The cultivators of the Hou family glanced at each other—all of them could sense the overwhelming force gathering outside the residence.
Never in a million years had they imagined the Demon Suppression Bureau would come so heavy-handed.
The elder’s eyelid twitched—he immediately brought up their biggest backer.
“You dare surround my Marquis’ Residence without authorization? Think we’re nobodies? I’ll inform the Imperial Concubine, and the emperor himself will demand answers!”
Zhang Haoran sheathed his sword and said casually:
“Obstructing law enforcement, harboring a criminal—you’ll all be taken in.”
“You dare!!”
The elder roared.
“Crossbows ready.”
Zhang Haoran’s voice drifted out, soft but firm.
“You...”
The elder’s face turned pale, then flushed.
Looking at the dense row of crossbows, he couldn’t help but feel fear.
Would they really fire!?
The deputy wiped the sweat from his brow. Judging from the current situation, he really had no idea how this would end. He quickly said:
“Head of the Hou family, this is Thousand-Man Commander Zhang Haoran himself. He’s only here to bring Young Master Hou Tianlai back for questioning. Please reconsider—don’t act rashly.”
Zhang Haoran?
That name had become quite famous in the capital.
He’d investigated several major cases already.
Even someone from the prince’s estate had been brought down.
Word among the people was, he was upright, with righteousness flowing from him.
Even the current Prime Minister—an esteemed scholar—held him in high regard.
The moment they heard his name, the others in the Hou family immediately dropped all thought of resisting.
Everyone turned their eyes to the elder who had spoken earlier.
Hou Tianlai was his son, not the whole family’s.
The elder clenched his teeth. “My sister is the current Imperial Concubine. You dare touch me!?”
Zhang Haoran asked, “Was that recorded?”
“It was, sir.”
Besides the Recording Stone, there were two scribes recording the entire exchange word-for-word.
“First warning!”
Zhang Haoran declared loudly.
“Second warning.”
The elder clenched his fists, glaring at Zhang Haoran.
Ever since his sister entered the palace, he’d never been humiliated like this.
Even the Capital Prefect treated him with courtesy.
Sure, his sister wasn’t favored as much anymore, and the Hou family had toned things down—
But never to the point of being manhandled by a mere Thousand-Man Commander.
“Fire!”
“Wait—” The elder shouted, shocked.
A dense and sharp volley of crossbow bolts cut through the air.
Swish swish swish—!!
The heavy crossbows released wave after wave of powerful “twang”s, like thunder threatening to burst eardrums.
The elder turned pale with fear—there was no way he could take those bolts head-on.
But to his sides, chains had already been set in place.
These were the Demon Suppression Bureau’s special demon-binding chains.
The bolts tore through the defensive magic robe he wore, then continued with incredible speed and force—
Piercing through his body.
In the blink of an eye, he had been turned into a pincushion, filled with countless bolts.
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