He was certain that some of the power Shekh had lost had transformed into the white walls that protected the city.
Thinking about it this way, Shi Jinzhe's gaze towards the wall became increasingly displeased.
“Are you unhappy?” Shekh asked him. “You look bitter.”
"I'm angry." Shi Jinzhe didn't want to talk about this. He shook his snake molt and wove a simple long dress. "Just put it on at the gap. Give me this one, and I'll change it into a cloak for you. Since it's your first snake molt, your defense isn't as high as it is later. Wear an extra layer."
Shekh moved a little further in. "Are you unhappy because of me?"
"Yes, I don't think it's worth it."
Shi Jin looked around but didn't find anyone on this road. The city was heavily guarded, but the population inside was pitifully small, and the buildings were very new, obviously built recently.
Shekh stepped out from behind him. “I don’t recall what you’re talking about, but I feel a connection to this wall. I feel like it’s a part of me.”
"Because this is what you created." Shi Jinzhe helped her straighten her clothes. "Come on, let's go to the city. Remember to hold my hand tightly and don't let go."
"Oh, hold on tight."
Shekh studied the two words for a moment, then tightened his grip, and a snapping sound came from their clasped hands.
She curled her fingers; this didn't seem quite right.
"Am I holding on too tightly?"
"……fine."
Shi Jin took a deep breath and pretended nothing was wrong as he repaired his broken finger bone.
"...Let's go, let's avoid people."
The two walked along the wall and turned two street corners when they suddenly heard a scream.
Shekh found a blind spot, hid behind the wall, and peeked out half of her head. Shi Jinzhe thought that there was no need to do that, that she could hear and see, but quickly remembered that her current abilities were not enough.
Helpless, Shi Jinzhe followed suit and peeked out with her.
Beside the low house ahead, an old woman was being dragged forward, while a dozen or so people dressed in ordinary robes dragged her along, swinging long sticks at those who tried to stop her.
They were a middle-aged couple kneeling and walking, clinging to the legs of the person being dragged, their faces covered in tears and snot, pleading with the other person not to treat the old woman this way.
Shi Jinzhe saw that the man was thin and bony, and when he raised his hand, his ribs could be seen protruding from his wide sleeves. The couple and the old woman were all pale and thin, clearly suffering from long-term malnutrition.
A dozen or so people kept walking and led the old woman to an open space. Shi Jinzhe and Shehe followed behind, and even when they were still far from the open space, they showed expressions of disbelief.
There stood hundreds of wooden stakes, their tops covered with a thick layer of congealed, dark red blood.
Among the more than one hundred wooden stakes, seven or eight had people strung on them.
In particular, three of them were children who were punished.
The wooden spiked neck collar was fixed to the delicate neck, and the sharpened wooden spikes would pierce the skin with the slightest movement. The three children were already dead, and had been dead for several days.
“Honey,” Shekh said. “They have honey on them.”
Shi Jinzhe's gaze swept across her face, and he saw that Shehe's expression had faded.
The three children were doused with honey, and the sweet smell attracted flying insects and flies. When the insects landed on them and sucked the honey, the itching became unbearable. Even adults exposed to high temperatures find it hard to avoid touching the honey collar, let alone children who are also being bitten by mosquitoes.
Maggots had crawled out of their skin, and the crying old woman, upon seeing the three children, forgot to even cry out.
She gasped for breath, oblivious to being dragged to the torture instruments until she was tied to a wooden stake. In despair, she wept, unable to believe that her most beloved child had become like this.
Overwhelmed with regret, the old woman's chest heaved violently, her pupils shrank, and she choked on her last breath, ceasing to breathe.
The man dragging her had a gloomy face and kicked the old woman. Shekh's fingers, which were gripping the wall, suddenly dug into the bricks, sending several pieces of stone flying out.
Several people, annoyed by the couple's noise, each grabbed one of their arms and led them to another location.
Shi Jinzhe turned his face away, pried open Sheh's fingers, and pulled and hugged her away, keeping a distance to catch up with the group.
"Think about those humans you hate, and let's first see what these people did to deserve such torture."
Shi Jin turned her head so that Sheh was facing him, and rubbed his thumb back and forth under her eyes, trying to calm her down.
"It's not that whoever is in a worse situation deserves sympathy. Let's assess the situation first. Don't hurt your hand; protect yourself first."
Shekh managed to suppress his resentment, muttering under his breath, "I hate humans."
“Okay, humans are annoying.” Shi Jinzhe agreed with her and followed the person in front to a house made of stones.
The couple was forcibly separated, and four young men grabbed his limbs, tied his wrists together, and bound heavy lead weights to his legs.
They placed a half-meter-wide guillotine on him, its rusty blade blunted and facing upwards, and the man was straddled.
Shi Jin felt uneasy looking at him. Her hand, which was clasped with Sheh's, had turned white from being squeezed so tightly. A gloomy atmosphere hung over her, and Sheh's anger continued to rise.
The torture continued; the man's hands, bound together, were hoisted up, his body suspended in mid-air, heavy lead weights stretching his legs out.
Immediately afterwards, the guillotine was slowly lifted off the ground.
The woman was pinned to the ground, and the man grabbed her chin, forcing her to watch what was about to happen.
Someone, armed with a large pair of scissors, climbed up the scaffolding high up. If he cut the rope suspending the man, the man would be cleaved in two by the large scissors below as he fell.
If all goes well, the impact will be strong enough that someone will die upon falling.
If things don't go smoothly, the rusty switch will get stuck, leaving you unable to escape.
"Please, please don't do this, please!" the wife sobbed, unable to breathe. "Let him go!"
"Please...please..." She lowered her head, her tears soaking the sand and sticking to her face.
"We didn't do anything wrong...why..."
The wife heard the sound of scissors opening. "Why... we just wanted to eat... the child just peeked at the idol, but the child doesn't understand anything..."
Her voice was hoarse and barely audible, but the person restraining her seemed to have heard such things many times before, showing no pity whatsoever, and coldly snorted, "Hidden a statue of a deity and still claiming innocence..."
"We just want to have enough to eat!!"
The wife became agitated, and with a burst of energy she didn't know she found, she shouted angrily, "Your country can't grow food because you don't respect the gods! You deserve it!!"
"Click".
!!
The wife looked up in horror at the cut rope.
As the man fell, a purple figure flashed past in her suddenly dilated pupils.
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