Chapter 107 The Calamity of the White Tiger's Punishment.
Ignoring everything else, Bai Yuan swung the inscribed iron chain, shattering the teeth of the two stone statues. Even so, the chain remained firmly held in the mouths of the four spirits, as if swallowed deep into their throats. As the inscriptions flowed and swirled, the stone statues symbolizing the four spirits continuously devoured the chains, attempting to restrain Bai Yuan, who refused to surrender on the execution platform, and to inflict the celestial punishment.
When the White Tiger is about to be executed, it naturally signifies that the guilty have been punished. The innocent bear countless and inexplicable crimes, numbering in the hundreds if not thousands, most of which cannot be cleared of their names. Since they cannot be cleared of their names, they are naturally burdened with guilt. Even after execution, their lingering spirits will continue to haunt them. When the White Tiger is about to be executed, the innocent will inevitably suffer punishment.
If we're really talking about it, the rules of Heaven are quite unreasonable. The saying "Heaven doesn't tolerate evil, Earth doesn't tolerate wickedness, Heaven and Earth have their own justice" is nothing but nonsense in Bai Yuan's eyes. She doesn't believe in justice, but of course, she doesn't completely deny it. Since ancient times, Heaven has its own way, humans have their own way, and even cats and dogs have their own way. No one can truly understand it; it's simply a matter of following or going against the grain.
Just as those who follow the will of Heaven prosper while those who defy it perish, if you don't plant rice in the frozen soil of the cold moon, you are clearly courting death. Thus, the world forms its own system, and people, animals, plants and trees all follow it. Therefore, the blind teachers of the pre-Qin period, who sought to understand the timing of Heaven and the advantages of the land, all advocated conforming to Heaven and Earth.
Bai Yuan, a being that is neither human nor ghost, has no passion in his heart, liver, spleen, or lungs. He never wants to think about such irrelevant things. Thinking about them will inevitably lead him to get stuck in a rut, so why bother himself with trouble?
The path she chose, which could be described as incredibly unlucky, was destined from the beginning to be an inescapable calamity.
Regardless of whether they were innocent or not, those who were guilty ultimately faced execution. When it came to the innocent, they were in the same situation as these prisoners, waiting to be executed on the execution platform.
As for how to execute her, whatever capital crimes she committed, that's the only punishment that could be inflicted upon her; the methods of execution for her were varied and unrestricted.
But on what grounds? What crime has she committed? Isn't this indiscriminate killing of innocent people?
The innocent man was firmly restrained by iron chains bearing inscriptions, and the blood on the ground transformed into a butcher's knife symbolizing execution, its blade crimson, like a sharp line of blood slicing through a neck, enough to cut flesh and break bones.
This place served as both an execution ground for those who fabricated the case and an execution ground for those who were innocent.
That's a brilliant plan.
"You think you can just set up a platform to execute me?" Bai Yuan narrowed her eyes under the crimson blade, dragging the spirit statues that suppressed the execution ground, their bases scraping heavily against the bluestone tiles. Then she lifted them into the air, her iron whip whipped out with a fierce gust of wind, meeting the blood-red light with the power to shatter rocks and split the earth.
boom--
Two of the statues suddenly collapsed, sending rubble flying.
In an instant, the iron chain, like a long snake freed from its shackles, unleashed a continuous stream of frost that began in Bai Yuan's palm and condensed along the chain, covering its surface with a hard ice shell. Several headless corpses of the innocent victims hung from the end of the chain, which then roared out and cleaved the remaining two stone elephants in half.
Gravel fell to the ground.
Then, a series of crackling sounds rose and fell as the frozen inscriptions began to expand, breaking through the ice shell of the chain and sending ice shards falling in a flurry.
Bai Yuan lashed his whip, which was once again coated with a layer of frost, like ice and fire colliding and exploding with a crackling sound.
"A mere White Tiger facing execution," ice shards and flowing light clashed, like ghostly blue phosphorescence, shattering the makeshift execution platform, "what can you do to me?"
The flagpole that had been fluttering in the wind snapped in response, and the cracked bluestone paving stones resembled a spider web, linking the seven anchored constellations together to form the White Tiger Star Chain.
Due to her personality, Bai Yuan has always been reckless and disregards the consequences. She is used to taking tough measures and will always choose to confront things head-on. Therefore, she is willing to hurt herself. Even when facing Bai Hu, who is capable of restraining her, she will smash the execution platform.
On a clear night, the seven western constellations flashed dimly, reflecting the star chains on the execution platform. Suddenly, countless inscribed chains of torture exploded, rushing towards the innocent and grappling with him.
Bai Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously wanted to take half a step back. However, in this small execution platform, there were exploding chains of torture on all sides. Each exploding inscription was like a sharp thorn, like a net woven from thorns...
"This is the sign of the White Tiger residing in Chen, devouring corpses." Li Liuyun stood by the window, observing the celestial phenomena at night.
Lin Mu sat on the windowsill, legs curled up, holding the astrolabe made by Li Liuyun in his hands, looking at the night sky with great humility. He had not yet learned this lesson in Taihang. Seeing the stars twinkling dimly and unclearly, he asked, "Senior brother, what does this constellation mean?"
Of course, it wasn't some formal teaching session. Li Liuyun had just looked up and suddenly noticed something unusual about the stars, so he went to the window to observe them.
Li Liuyun frowned slightly. This astrological sign inexplicably reminded him of the salt certificate scandal of today: "The White Tiger residing in Chen (辰) is an omen of official disasters and executions."
Lin Mu was slightly taken aback, clearly recalling the execution scene from earlier that day. He suddenly realized, "The Heavenly Net is in Chen, and the Earthly Net is in Xu, which is the so-called Heavenly Net and Earthly Net. The White Tiger residing in Chen, does that mean being trapped in the Heavenly Prison?"
Li Liuyun nodded: "The calamity of shackles. Chen is also a cemetery in the mountains and forests, with unburied corpses." He turned his gaze to the direction of Fengling Ferry, pondered for a moment, "Today, all the criminals executed at the ferry were beheaded and displayed to the public, which corresponds to unburied corpses... The White Tiger is one of the Four Symbols, one of the Seven Mansions of the West, and is in charge of weapons and executions. Therefore, execution grounds are generally set in the west, and the execution platform is also nailed with stakes from the Seven Mansions of the White Tiger to suppress evil." Just like the guillotine used for beheading is also shaped like a tiger's head, beheading the guilty, so, "The White Tiger devours the corpse, also called the White Tiger devours the sin."
Upon hearing this, Lin Mu immediately sat up straight, as if he could see an unusual glimmer of light appearing in the direction of Fenglingdu.
The inn and the ferry crossing are at least ten miles apart. Across the undulating rooftops, one can still glimpse the beacon towers standing high in the mountains.
Flagpoles fluttered on the beacon towers, and after nightfall, a windproof phosphorescent lamp would be lit, its light guarding the key to the three rivers, a tradition that has never ceased throughout history.
Under the lamplight, a slender figure stood swaying on the beacon tower, as if it could be blown away by the cold wind on the river.
This person wore a white mask with squinting eyes and a long hemp robe, looking very much like a shaman dancing in a sacrificial ceremony. He looked down at the scene at the Fenglingdu execution ground in a very eerie manner.
The net woven from inscribed chains spread out in an instant, like thorns drawn from a bloody field, gleaming with a faint runic light. It was violently broken by Bai Yuan, but it also drew several bloodstains on her body.
The "thorns" that symbolize the endless cycle of death and death, as the smiling man watching the execution ground speaks, utters a single word in a low, breathy voice: "Strangle."
The execution order was given.
The thorns twisted and turned, then suddenly tightened around Bai Yuan's neck.
Unjustly accused and subjected to torture, his hands and feet bound, he was thrown backward onto the execution platform, unable to break free.
When a person is on the verge of death by hanging, their face often turns from red to purple due to suffocation, their eyes bulge out, and their tongue protrudes.
But Bai Yuan's face grew paler and paler with each passing moment, and even gradually became covered with a thin layer of frost, with grains of white frost like salt stains condensing on his eyelashes.
Her bloodied fingers dug fiercely into the floor tiles, and countless images of wrongfully murdered people flashed before her eyes, each one horrifying.
The feeling of being about to die was certainly not pleasant; the deafening cries of injustice and the wailing of ghosts nearly drowned her, and not a single wronged soul found peace.
The stars in the sky seemed to be about to crash down. Bai Yuan convulsively raised her chin and, like the wailing ghosts who wished to drown her, burst out with a roar that shook the mountains and rivers!
The roar was accompanied by the wailing and screams of countless ghosts, which made Zhou Yaren's scalp tingle and his hair stand on end. The scene before him further agitated him, causing his blood to rush to his head and his eyes to bulge.
Bai Yuan's hair was completely white, and she tore open the "thorns" that were strangling her neck, the barbs hooking and sticking to her flesh, almost tearing off a layer of skin from her neck. The iron chains binding her body clanged and exploded, countless chains densely binding countless wronged souls in various dead states. They howled and wailed, struggling wildly, tearing at Bai Yuan's flesh and bones with each blow, almost breaking her into pieces.
"Innocent!" Zhou Yaren's voice trembled uncontrollably. Without bothering to understand the situation, she rushed straight to the execution ground.
Amidst the frantic struggle of countless wronged souls, every bone in Bai Yuan's body cracked and popped. Clearly, these people had died unjustly in life, and none of them wanted to face execution on the spot again.
Bai Yuan staggered a few steps in agony, being pulled along by the vengeful spirits, barely able to maintain her balance. When she caught a glimpse of a figure rushing towards her, she suddenly turned her head, and several ice spikes flew out, piercing directly in front of Zhou Yaren's feet.
He was stopped by an icicle.
Bai Yuan could no longer hold on and collapsed to her knees, her knees slamming heavily against the jagged iron chains. But compared to the excruciating pain of having her bones torn apart, kneeling on the chains was nothing. She gritted her teeth and said, "...Don't come any closer!"
Bai Yuan looked up and, through his half-closed eyelids, witnessed the string of stars that seemed to come from the sky crashing down rapidly, transforming into a ferocious tiger shadow in mid-air!
"Star Fiend Power." Bai Yuan exhaled a breath of frosty air, suddenly feeling extremely tired. "White Tiger Devours Sin."
Punishment originated from Heaven. Sages created the Five Punishments in response to Heaven's wrath, and this formation draws upon the power of the stars to amplify the severity of punishment, using celestial phenomena to punish the guilty.
As expected, the person who orchestrated this scheme had made thorough preparations beforehand and had no intention of letting her go easily; they were determined to kill her.
Is this the end of her long and troubled life?
The moment this thought crossed her mind, Bai Yuan felt a sense of relief, realizing that she had no attachment to this world.
After all, all that could be seen was a miserable fate, filled with killing and treachery, and there was nothing worth staying for.
But when Bai Yuan turned around, she saw the man in green rushing toward the execution platform, the long wind he stirred up turning into a sharp blade, slashing at the chains and shackles that bound her!
Zheng—
Several sharp arrows shot through the air, but they actually clashed and deflected the wind blades.
Zhou Yaren was suddenly startled, listening to the howling wind all around him, the whooshing sound shooting towards him one after another!
At the same time, the beacon tower high above resounded with the clanging of metal, the crisp sound hitting Zhou Yaren's ears directly.
His eardrum suddenly vibrated, instantly disrupting his hearing—this was specifically targeted at him!
Zhou Yaren's expression changed drastically. The flying arrowhead grazed the skin of his neck, drawing a thin line of blood.
On the execution platform, the tiger-like shadow and the mighty force of punishment descended straight down...
Zhou Yaren bravely unleashed her wind blades, but they were all blocked by the arrows.
Distracted by the collision of iron, he could not hear clearly and naturally could not avoid danger. A sharp arrow pierced his shoulder blade, and another arrowhead pierced his knee.
A sharp pain suddenly struck.
Fortunately, he wasn't completely blind. He could still see Bai Yuan. Even with Lian Tie's interference, Zhou Yaren was able to accurately throw out dozens of wind blades, slashing at the chains binding Bai Yuan!
Who would have thought that Fenglingdu, this execution ground, was actually set up specifically to clear the name of the innocent?
The person who set up the execution ground had made ample preparations to deal with him.
Zhou Yaren certainly remembered the sound of metal clashing; he had heard it the first time he set foot in Beiqu, and it belonged to a mirror polisher. If he remembered correctly, before Sun Xiuniang died, she had sought out that mirror polisher to polish a worn-out mirror; perhaps, it was this bronze mirror that he had picked up that had been polished.
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