Chapter 119 Wei Li, where are you going? ...
In the past, each family would punch holes in the slaves' ears and hang copper plaques on them. The front of the plaques was engraved with the family crest, while the back indicated the slaves' purpose, such as for animal fights, burial, or other purposes.
Just like how people tag cattle and sheep's ears to indicate ownership.
Zhao Xiheng slowly turned around. Marquis Chen?
Marquis Chen had long been stripped of his title and exiled because he had been keeping slaves without permission.
Judging from the timeline, Wei Li was very likely the last batch of beast-fighting slaves in Marquis Chen's household.
The tragic state of those people suddenly reappeared before Zhao Xiheng's eyes.
She was only seven or eight years old at the time. After hearing a report that Marquis Chen was keeping slaves in the mountains outside the city for animal fighting and amusement, she took her people there.
The scene I witnessed is still unforgettable to this day.
People moved the fence in front of the cave, and light finally shone into the dim cave. The smell of blood almost knocked her over.
On the ground lies a sheep with its chest ripped open, and kneeling beside it is a boy gnawing on the sheep's liver.
The stray dogs tucked their tails between their legs and barked at him. The boy bared his teeth and made whimpering noises to scare them away.
In the corner huddled a group of boys about his age, all with disheveled hair and faces covered in mud.
The ground and corners were littered with white bones, piled together with human and wild animal remains, making it difficult to collect a complete corpse.
She was so frightened that it took her a long time to find her voice. The scene was like hell on earth. After returning to the palace, she developed a high fever.
So, back then, Wei Li grew up and survived in such a place?
He...he...he...he...
"What else? Tell me everything in one go." Zhao Xiheng took a deep breath, turned around and said to him.
Luo Haoran smiled, and was pleased to see the fear and astonishment on Zhao Xiheng's face. "You also find it hard to accept, don't you? It seems that little brat Wei Li really didn't tell you anything. If it weren't for me, you would have been kept in the dark for the rest of your life."
“I told you to keep talking, to tell me everything that happened to him in the past. What else?” Zhao Xiheng stared at him intently.
Luo Haoran clicked his tongue, finally feeling a sense of joy at turning things around.
"This is just the tip of the iceberg."
"Do you know how I met him?" Luo Haoran said with a lilting tone, laughing, "It was among a group of slaves. At that time, the Prince of Zhenbei's mother had just died, and Pingzhou was suffering from a severe drought. The Prince of Zhenbei wanted to find some slaves to be buried with his mother, and also to find human sacrifices to pray for rain."
Pingzhou was newly established, and the emperor was far away, so he couldn't really control this place.
"I was ordered by the Prince of Zhenbei to gather runaway slaves and people displaced by war. Wei Li, the moment I saw him in the crowd, I knew he was the most suitable choice for human sacrifice."
Who would have thought that Wei Li, who is now in a high and mighty position, was once so humble and lowly? Luo Haoran became more and more excited as he spoke.
“You know what? His eyes are like those of a gyrfalcon, a wolf, and a deer, full of wildness, just like the animals worshipped in this land. I think he is the most suitable chief sacrifice.”
"What about his tattoos?" Zhao Xiheng felt increasingly uncomfortable as she listened, her breath and heartbeat twitching with pain, and she didn't even have the energy to utter a single curse in her mind.
"Oh! I forgot, look at my memory. There are so many ethnic groups on this land. To let Heaven know that each of our ethnic groups is sincere, of course we need to mark the offerings. The tattoos on Wei Li's body are the totems of various ethnic groups, such as the birds of the Evenki, the gyrfalcons of the Mohe, the white horses and blue oxen of the Khitan, as well as wolves, deer..."
However, due to continuous development and evolution, everything has become very simplified. It's a real pity that the little rascal didn't die from the pain.
To make it more aesthetically pleasing, the tattoo artist gathered the tattooed elements together, twisting them into a long, continuous tattoo that ran from his neck, around his back, and down to his lower abdomen.
Luo Haoran chuckled, "You didn't expect that, did you? Human sacrifices involve tattoos, just like the pigs, cattle, and sheep used for sacrifices. Human sacrifices are just livestock."
"We used a shamanic ritual to pierce and bleed Wei Li's limbs. The blood filled the totems carved on the stone slabs, and Heaven was finally moved by our sincerity and sent down sweet rain. But that little brat Wei Li is stubborn and resilient. He bled for three days and didn't die even after the ritual ended."
The Prince of Zhenbei was greatly surprised, believing him to be an unfinished offering from Heaven. Therefore, he adopted him as his son, and only then did the boy gain a proper identity.
"But so what? Once a slave, always a slave. His despicable past can never be washed away. He was once a sacrificial animal, and he will always be a beast. How can he be worthy to stand with humans? You are a princess, born noble. How disgusting he is! Can you imagine what he looked like when he was tied to the altar with roasted cattle and sheep? Can you imagine what he looked like when he was tearing at wild beasts for a bite to eat?"
Luo Haoran's voice was hoarse from speaking, but he continued to provoke Zhao Xiheng, "No, you can't imagine. In the world you live in, no matter how destitute you are, you will never have the chance to come into contact with people like this. No, I mean, to come into contact with such beasts, neither beasts nor humans. If you call him a beast, he does have a human body; if you call him a human, he was raised as a beast."
"Little princess, you actually had a child with this inhuman creature, don't you feel any pain?"
Whatever Luo Haoran said, Zhao Xiheng could only passively accept and listen. Every word poured into her ears, making her feel like her emotions were about to explode inside her.
She couldn't immediately figure out which emotion to let spread first.
She wanted to see Wei Li, right now.
Luo Haoran was still talking eloquently behind her, while Zhao Xiheng lifted her skirt and hurriedly ran out.
"Hey! I'm telling you all this, shouldn't you be grateful and let me go?" She left Luo Haoran's babbling behind.
As she emerged from the dungeon, the sunlight fell upon her, clearly carrying warmth, yet she shivered with cold.
"Madam, something terrible has happened!" a maidservant cried out as she ran from afar, panting. "Our lord has taken his weapons and armor and is about to leave!"
The young lady's 100-day celebration is just around the corner, where is the lord going? He doesn't look like he's up to any good.
"Where is he now?" Amidst a jumble of emotions, pain and sorrow finally took over, choking Zhao Xiheng so much that tears welled up in her chest, making it hard for her to even breathe.
"We've reached the main gate, but Vice General Chen is blocking our way, preventing our lord from proceeding." Everyone is well aware of Wei Li's current situation; we absolutely cannot allow him to act impulsively.
When Zhao Xiheng arrived at the gate, she saw Chen Ruojiang lying on the ground, clutching his chest and spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Wei Li strapped a pair of crescent blades to his horse's back. He was clad in silver armor, but looked haggard, as if he was about to lead his horse out.
"Wei Li, where are you going?" Zhao Xiheng called out to him from behind, tears streaming down her face.
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