Chapter 9 Death Row Inmates: These people died from torture and murder; their souls must be restless...
The death row cell also contained many instruments of torture used to inflict punishment on prisoners. Lu Bing picked up a rusty shovel from the wooden shelf and casually flipped through it, easily unearthing a handful of white bones from the shallow mud.
Two constables, carrying shovels, followed Zhou Yaren's instructions and dug in two different prison cells. As expected, they unearthed a pile of bones, some of which were still wearing shackles.
Hei Zi looked up at Zhou Yaren: "These people are actually—still wearing shackles."
Lu Bing threw down the shovel, picked up the lantern, squatted down, and carefully examined the battered bones of the dead: "This person's knuckles are deformed, and his lower leg is broken; this person's sternum is pierced by an iron nail, and his coccyx is shattered, so it should be..." Lu Bing looked at each one, carefully considering his judgment, "...he should have suffered torture before he died."
Kuroko's face turned pale instantly: "Torture?"
Prisons have their share of horrific cruelty, and it's not uncommon for people to be tortured in death row. They've seen it all before while working in the government. But seeing this pile of bones buried under the death row sent chills down their spines.
The constable stared at the pile of bones in the shallow pit, his hands gripping the shovel trembling slightly: "So these people were all prisoners who were once held here?"
No one could give him a definitive answer to the question, but everyone knew the answer was pretty close to the truth.
Zhou Yaren pondered for a moment: "Did he die by execution?"
Upon hearing the word "execution," Lu Bing's lips moved, and he hesitated before saying, "Probably."
Zhou Yaren nodded as if she understood: "No wonder there is so much resentment here."
The constable's eyes widened: "What grievance?"
Zhou Yaren didn't explain much, but simply asked him with concern, "Do you feel cold here?"
The two constables shivered; it was really cold, and a chill seemed to seep into their very bones.
Perhaps it was psychological, or perhaps not, but a chill ran down his spine again. Hei Zi froze, as if he were in a coffin, afraid to turn around. His eyes darted around a few times before suddenly stopping, his gaze fixed on a niche in the dark high wall. He suddenly stammered again, "Prison... Prison... Prison God..."
Lu Bing looked up.
Another statue of the prison god silently stared at them in the dark and damp underground death cell.
"How could this be..." Lu Bing said in disbelief, "How could there be two statues of the God of Hell in a death row cell?"
Under normal circumstances, a temple dedicated to the prison god would be placed on one side inside the prison gate of the county prison, and the statue of the prison god would not be moved directly into the cell.
Zhou Yaren then asked, "Is there anything else?"
This question had a significant impact. Lu Bing, carrying a lantern, circled the death row and actually counted seven statues of prison gods in all directions: "Seven, seven statues of prison gods."
He was so shocked that he even stuttered a little when he recited the numbers.
Zhou Yaren stared at the silver-gray on the ground, the entire area of which had been sprinkled with talisman ash, along with the eight divine statues: "It's clearly an array."
Lu Bing: "What kind of formation?"
Hei Zi: "Was it set up by those Taoist priests back then?"
The constable said, "So the time when the yamen was haunted and people were banging on the grievance drum... it wasn't that simple, was it?"
Of course, it wasn't that simple. Back then, such a huge uproar caused panic in Beiqu County. Even the old Taoist priest from the Ancestral Temple couldn't quell the unrest, so they invited the head of the Taihang Taoist sect to come in person. But afterwards, neither side revealed the cause and effect to give the people an explanation. Presumably, the truth behind it cannot be made public. For example, countless people who died from torture were buried in the death row.
Such news, which was extremely detrimental to the government, absolutely could not be leaked, so the Taoist priest and the government officials concealed the matter.
Zhou Yaren said, "These people died from torture and murder, so their souls must be restless. If they died unjustly, their resentment would be even deeper. These seven statues of the prison gods are meant to suppress the wronged souls buried here."
The group stared at Zhou Yaren with their mouths agape, listening as he continued, "This is actually a grave for convicts, a large-scale burial site. The resentment underground is so heavy, yet the courts above are holding hearings. Naturally, they can't handle the injustices in the mortal world properly, and trouble is bound to happen sooner or later."
The constable shuddered violently upon hearing this.
Zhou Yaren asked one more question: "You work in the county government, didn't you know about this?"
They were working in the current county government office, not in the ghost government office. The three of them immediately waved their hands in denial, shaking their heads like rattles, as if they knew absolutely nothing about it.
Indeed, the incident occurred more than ten years ago. At that time, those people probably had gap-mouthed mouths and hadn't even grown all their teeth yet. They were also the ones kept in the dark. Even if they later joined the government, it was impossible for them to bring up the top-secret old case again. The fewer people who knew about it, the safer it would be. Otherwise, once the news was leaked, it would have been known to everyone.
Are there any long-serving, knowledgeable individuals still working in the county government?
The three continued to shake their heads, and in the end they were all somewhat bewildered and puzzled, and began to wonder who had worked in the county government the longest.
The words "insider" kept flashing through Zhou Yaren's mind, and his long eyebrows furrowed slightly, because he remembered that the porter had mentioned in the dilapidated temple: "Suddenly one night, the county magistrate and several yamen runners hung beams in the county yamen's courtroom."
Afterwards, the imperial court appointed a new county magistrate to take up his post in Beiqu. However, just a few days after taking office, one day, after finishing a murder case and striking the drum three times to signal the end of the proceedings, the magistrate stood up from his armchair. Before he had taken a few steps, he inexplicably fell backward... The back of his head slammed against the corner of the three-foot-long judge's table, and he died on the spot.
Then came the third magistrate, who was killed instantly after being struck by the plaque inscribed with "A Clear Mirror Hangs High" in the courtroom after his judgment... Three magistrates died in succession, who would dare to disbelieve in such an omen...
These people died one after another, all of them suddenly, so suddenly that it was bizarre and eerie.
Zhou Yaren carefully considered confirming the matter with Lu Binghe and the two constables, whether so many officials and constables had really died in the county government back then, or whether it was just a fabrication by the porter. After the three of them nodded in confirmation, Zhou Yaren subconsciously had a bold guess.
He said, "Is it possible that some of those who knew the truth had hanged themselves, some had accidentally bumped into the case, or some had been unfortunately hit by the plaque, and were all already dead?"
He began to speak slowly and in a low voice, which sent chills down everyone's spines.
“Ya, Ya-ren…” Lu Bing stared at him blankly, “Don’t scare me, I know about this now too.”
The two constables were almost in tears: "I...we are too..."
Qin San, who had been huddled in a dark corner trembling while they were digging up the remains, stared at Zhou Yaren's profile with horrified eyes after hearing these words.
Zhou Yaren realized she had misspoke and immediately said, "I just said it casually, there's no basis for it."
Lu Bing and the others were quite frightened by his casual remark, their faces turning pale: "Don't talk nonsense. If you have any evidence, then we're all doomed."
Zhou Yaren: "..."
It wasn't entirely without basis, but I still wanted to reassure Lu Binghe and his group: "Weren't all the Taoist priests who came to suppress the evil spirits safe and sound?"
Hei Zi, thinking himself clever, said, "You yourself said they are Taoist priests, so of course Taoist priests have ways to exorcise evil spirits and protect their lives."
Another constable nodded vigorously, "That's right. If they have the ability to seal off this cursed government office, of course they have ways to save their lives. Shouldn't we also go up the mountain to get a life-saving talisman when we go out?"
“You’re right, let’s make some demands. Should we go to the Ancestral Temple or the Taihang Road? It would be best if we could also have a Taoist priest perform a ritual for us. What if, since so many dead people are buried here, they’ve already seen us, and if they want to take our lives, they’ll find us without hesitation?” Hei Zi finished speaking and turned to seek Lu Bing’s approval, “Isn’t that right, boss?”
Lu Bing: "..." You're kidding me.
The constable was still pondering: "The Temple of the Ancestor of Humanity is nearby, but the temple is relatively small, and the Taoist priest's skill level certainly can't compare to that of the Taihang Taoist priest, but the journey to the Taihang Taoist priest is quite far..."
Zhou Yaren was surprised that these people were so logically consistent, even convincing themselves of their own reasoning. He couldn't help but offer a suggestion: "Let's go to Taihang instead."
The constable agreed: "I also think going to Taihang Road is more reliable. The Taoist priests there all have great supernatural powers. I feel more at ease going to them."
Lu Bing looked at Zhou Yaren in surprise: "You're really letting them go?"
“Hmm.” Zhou Yaren nodded. “Since you’ve become suspicious, you can go and seek some psychological comfort.”
To prevent young people from constantly thinking about this and becoming suspicious and fearful all the time, then they won't be able to live a normal life.
Lu Bing stared at him for a full half minute, then said impatiently, "What are you so suspicious about? It's all because of what you said about those who knew the truth hanging themselves or banging their heads against the table. They're basically all dead. You just blurted out something like that and scared us half to death. Can you give us a straight answer on whether we'll end up like that and die? If we do, I'll have to go to that ancestral mountain and the Taihang Road too."
Zhou Yaren sighed helplessly: "It's not certain. I was just saying it casually. Don't take it seriously. Let's check what happened."
Lu Bing stared at him for a moment: "So what you just said, you weren't serious?"
Zhou Yaren: "..."
Didn't he say it was uncertain?
Maybe!
It's not necessarily true!
Anything is possible!
Lu Bing: "..."
Lu Bing stared at him silently for a while, then realized that the other party was blind and there was no point in staring at him. His heart sank instantly.
Zhou Yaren reminded him: "Under normal circumstances, how do you deal with those who die in prison?"
"What do you mean we'll handle it..." Lu Bing suddenly jolted, then realized what he meant. "We will... no, the jailers will drag those who died violently in prison out of the death row cells..."
Zhou Yaren raised an eyebrow slightly and murmured the word repeatedly: "Death row cellar".
"Yes, it's right where we came in through the prison gate. Next to the Temple of the Prison God, there's a death row cell, specifically used for..."
Before Lu Bing could finish speaking, Zhou Yaren interrupted softly, "I know."
He knew what death row meant; in prisons, many prisoners died every year from illness, starvation, or torture.
It's what people mean when they say you come in upright and leave horizontally.
However, most people don't know that a body lying horizontally cannot be sent out through the main gate of the county government office. It can only be dragged out through the death row cell. If the deceased has relatives, the family members will wait outside the death row cell to take the body back for burial. If the deceased has no relatives, the body will be carelessly dumped in the mass grave outside the city and hastily buried. Because it is buried too shallow, it may be dug up and chewed by wild dogs or pecked by crows.
Lu Bingdao said, "Anyway, no matter how the jailers handle it, they can't just bury the prisoners' bodies in the county government's death row cell." Even if they accidentally kill the wrong person, they will quietly drag them out of the government office and dispose of them, so that these people won't rot and stink in the prison. After all, the jailers work in the government office every day, but the ground is full of corpses. No one has that kind of mental fortitude.
So the question arises, Zhou Yaren asks: "Who would have buried these prisoners here, and for what purpose?"
"What purpose?" Lu Bing didn't quite understand. "What purpose? You don't think they—these people were deliberately buried here, do you?"
"The county prison has become a graveyard for prisoners, which leads to the county government office becoming a ghost town." The two are inevitably related, and Zhou Yaren can hardly help but suspect that Taihang Dao may know the inside story. Should he write a letter to inquire about it?
Hei Zi suddenly pointed at the pit and asked, "What's that?"
This drew everyone's attention. Lu Bing squatted down and used the sharp corner of the shovel to dig through the bones Lu Bing was pointing to, picking out a greenish copper coin.
Hei Zi: "Copper coins?"
"Why doesn't this look like a copper coin from our Da Duan?" Lu Bing leaned closer to examine it. The coin was round with a square hole and covered with a layer of mottled green rust. He carefully examined the small seal script engraved on the coin and read, "Half, Liang".
"Qin Banliang?" Zhou Yaren turned to him. "Qin coins?"
Lu Bing asked in bewilderment, "How come there are copper coins from the Qin Dynasty here?"
Hei Zi pondered for a moment, then saw Lu Bing dig out two more coins: "The Qin Dynasty... must have been over a thousand years ago."
The four of them were all huddled together studying the pile of unearthed corpses and Qin coins. Completely ignored, Qin San had somehow moved further and further away until she was completely out of the light source. She slowly stood up in the shadows, but as soon as she took a step, she heard the man in blue say, "Don't run around."
We've been discovered!
Qin San sprinted away, her bound hands gripping a piece of iron she had picked up from the ground. She frantically rubbed the hemp rope against it, accidentally cutting her fingers in her haste. Her taut nerves seemed to numb her senses, so she didn't feel any pain. She just panted heavily as she ran, cutting the hemp rope binding her hands.
Finally, she saw a ray of silvery light shining in from the low cave entrance. Qin San, his eyes bloodshot, rushed straight toward the beam of light...
A note from the author:
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