On the execution platform
The dark basement, with its cold and damp air, was like a venomous snake with nowhere to go, winding around my ankles and then soaking my whole body.
Raindrops fell with a "drip" onto her pale, pretty face. The girl in the corner fluttered her eyelashes and slowly opened her eyes.
It was very dark here, which was Zhu Qinghe's first impression after waking up. She carefully moved her feet and was surprised to find that her ankles were not tied up.
This wasn't the first time she'd been knocked unconscious and taken hostage. She'd gotten used to it after a while, and after checking her whole body, she found no injuries except for some pain in the back of her neck.
This realization struck her as odd. Were the people who kidnapped her completely unafraid of her escaping, or did they have absolute confidence in themselves?
Before she could even process what was happening, a sickeningly loud sharpening sound began to emanate slowly. It was as if a rough sickle was being pressed hard against a whetstone, each strike like a devil's long, black claws relentlessly probing her eardrums, repeatedly stabbing at her fragile nerves in the darkness.
Zhu Qinghe shuddered, covered her ears in discomfort, furrowed her brows, and gasped for breath.
A feeling of fear and vulnerability suddenly rose in her heart. The person who kidnapped her was very likely the murderer who took Xu Yishu away. He was so bold as to kidnap her right in front of Shen Wumei.
If Shen Wumei doesn't arrive in time, she might very well be silenced by him.
Now she finally understood why she hadn't been tied up; the killer was certain she wouldn't escape his grasp. This arrogant, conceited man, who despised the authorities, was definitely the most dangerous kind of criminal.
The slow, chilling sound of sharpening knives suddenly stopped. In the darkness, Zhu Qinghe heard a low, rough laugh, followed by the sound of footsteps approaching slowly.
"The little prey is awake?" The man's tone was casual and amused. Zhu Qinghe tried her best to shrink back, but behind her was a cold mud wall. As she rubbed against it, she could feel the rough, large exposed clods of sand and gravel on the wall, which made her back ache.
The man stopped in front of her, seemingly squatting down, and grabbed her chin with his large hand, almost squeezing her face out of shape.
Zhu Qinghe opened her eyes and tried to look over, but it was too dark. At most, she could only see a long pig-slaughtering knife in his other hand, which reflected a cold, ruthless glint of despair.
With a slight turn of the blade, a pair of inorganic eyes, like those of a wild beast, were finally revealed. In a fleeting glance, Zhu Qinghe could only make out that the person opposite her was wearing a Nuo opera mask commonly seen in the market. The large eye sockets on the mask had been cut open, revealing two pools of deep black ink. In her intense fear and tension, Zhu Qinghe could almost hear her own heart pounding so hard that it was about to burst her eardrums.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" The man pinched and played with her chin as if he were fiddling with some object, almost crushing her jawbone.
"Weren't you quite the talker in front of that guy surnamed Chen just now?" The man's tone was filled with strong dissatisfaction.
Zhu Qinghe forced out a sentence from her throat: "Did you kidnap Xu Yishu?"
“Little prey, you’re wrong. What you’re doing is kidnapping, because you still have value to me. As for that woman,” he leaned closer to Zhu Qinghe’s earlobe, “it’s just harvesting.”
His tone was affectionate and tender, but Zhu Qinghe felt a chill run through her body. She suddenly felt a strong smell of blood spreading around her, as if her feet were being soaked in thick, warm blood.
"You killed her?" Zhu Qinghe asked, her voice trembling with despair.
"How could that be?" the man said with some amusement. "Without an audience, where's the fun?"
"But now that you're here, the ceremony can begin." The man grabbed her arm, dragged her to the other side, and roughly released her. Zhu Qinghe's back hit a hard, strip-shaped object, and she curled up in pain.
The man turned to light the lamp, and the dim candlelight gradually illuminated the low stone platform in front of Zhu Qinghe.
She had just bumped into this stone platform, but she was no longer paying attention to that. The platform was about three feet high and could only accommodate one person lying on it.
At this moment, lying on the bed was a pale-faced girl with her eyes closed. She was dressed in rich clothes, her skirt was spread out in a gorgeous manner, and the pearls on her clothes still shone brightly in the warm candlelight.
Her hairpins were disheveled and swaying precariously. Her once arrogant face was now pale and frail, making her all the more pitiful.
It was Xu Yishu. Zhu Qinghe put her finger to her nose and found a faint breath. Thank goodness, she was still alive.
Zhu Qinghe subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, but when she looked up and saw the pervert wearing the Nuo opera mask, she felt a tightness in her chest.
The man spent a long time picking and choosing by the stone platform, then took out a small knife about half a palm long and as thin as a cicada's wing. He then took out a silk handkerchief and carefully and gently wiped away the dust on it.
Zhu Qinghe stared at him in horror. What was he going to do?
The man seemed to sense her confusion. "Little prey, what do you think about me using this knife to peel off her face?"
Zhu Qinghe's brow twitched, and she pressed her palm firmly onto the rough stone bed. She tensed her mind and tried her best to calm herself down: "I don't think this is a good idea."
Her voice was still trembling, but a smile slowly bloomed on her face. Although her lips were pale and quivering, she continued, "Look, you can't use her face after you cut it off."
"How about this, whatever kind of face you want, I can make it for you."
"Oh?" The man seemed genuinely interested in her words. "You can make human skin masks?"
"Mm." Zhu Qinghe nodded sincerely, hoping to change his mind. Unfortunately, the man stared at her intently through the mask for a while, "I really am becoming more and more reluctant to part with you."
He sighed softly, picked up a ball of rope from beside his feet with his index finger, and walked towards her. Zhu Qinghe glared at him warily: "What are you going to do? I... I won't run away, please don't—"
Begging for mercy was useless. Before long, Zhu Qinghe was securely tied to a sturdy wooden chair. She watched the man walk to the stone bed, her heart filled with anxiety. Why wasn't Shen Wumei here yet?
If this continues, she and Xu Yishu will both die here today.
"Sigh, I originally wanted you to see it up close," the man sighed regretfully, "but I was afraid you'd get hurt if you weren't obedient, so I had to tie you up. You'll understand my good intentions, won't you?"
Zhu Qinghe felt disgusted by his pretentious and nauseatingly sentimental tone, and seeing that he had already picked up the skinning knife, Zhu Qinghe's heart tightened, and she just wanted to stop him as soon as possible.
"Wait, do you know who she is? You'll be in big trouble if you really hurt her."
The man, however, didn't care at all: "Of course I know who she is, because she's the one I'm looking for."
Zhu Qinghe was taken aback: "You have a grudge against her?"
"What grudge could I possibly have against her? But she hurt the girl I like, so she has to die."
Zhu Qinghe's heart skipped a beat: "So you were ordered to do this? It was the girl you liked who made you kidnap Xu Yishu and then kill her."
The man didn't answer her further: "Little prey, don't try to trick me into revealing anything."
"You should worry about yourself. Do you think your Lord Shen will come to your rescue before I finish with this woman?"
"If he doesn't come, you can come with me."
Zhu Qinghe forced a stiff smile: "Brother, you're joking. Don't you have someone you like?"
“Yes, that’s true,” the man shook his head regretfully again, “Then let’s kill them together. Speaking of which, you’re much prettier than this woman. I’m sure you’d be quite beautiful even if you peeled off her skin.”
Zhu Qinghe felt her whole body stiffen. The impending danger and fear tormented her nerves like a persistent ailment. Her wrists were chafed raw by the rough hemp rope as she struggled.
The man raised the small knife, and Zhu Qinghe felt short of breath: "Wait—no—"
The man ignored her, the blade plunging into her fair, delicate skin. The person on the stone platform awoke in pain. Xu Yishu, seeing the狰狞 mask before her, let out a piercing scream: "Aaaaaaahhhhhh—it hurts so much—help me—"
Zhu Qinghe closed her eyes tightly, wishing she could cover her ears so she wouldn't hear the desperate, shrill cries for help.
Xu Yishu struggled desperately, but how could a young girl compare to a strong and healthy man? Her voice was hoarse from shouting, but she still couldn't escape.
She pleaded, trembling, "Please, let me go! My family has a lot of money. I'll have my parents give you all the money, okay? Please let me go, please! Waaaaaah!"
The man said calmly, "So what if you have money? Does having money give you the right to trample on other people's hard work and lives?"
Xu Yishu was going crazy. She broke down crying and screaming, "What are you saying? I didn't—"
"What did you do at Zhushi Academy on the tenth day of the seventh lunar month?"
Xu Yishu was stunned. After a long while, her body began to tremble violently. Zhu Qinghe saw that her face was ashen, like a corpse, and her eyes were filled with fear and regret.
"You're that young scholar's...?"
“That’s right, I came to find you for him.” The blood-stained blade pressed against her cheek again. “Miss Xu must have already forgotten, after all, what does the life of a poor scholar mean to you?”
Tears streamed down Xu Yishu's face as she frantically shook her head, "I...I really didn't mean to, I didn't know he would die—"
“Yes,” the man said in a chilling tone, “that day, when the wind lifted the sedan curtain, that young scholar only glanced at you by chance. Perhaps he was inexperienced and had never seen such a beautiful girl before. After looking at you for a while, you felt offended.”
“How could a pampered young lady tolerate such rude prying? So you ordered your guards to beat him to death.”
Xu Yishu was already sobbing uncontrollably: "I'm sorry—I really didn't mean to—I didn't expect him to die, I really didn't know."
“It’s alright,” the man gently wiped away her tears, “I will peel off your face and bury it with him, which will be enough to atone for your sins.”
Xu Yishu was utterly desperate; she knew that she was really going to die here today.
Faced with death, she finally realized that no matter how wealthy her family was, or how fawning and obsequious the people around her were, in this moment of isolation and helplessness, nothing she had ever cherished and was proud of could help her.
In the midst of excruciating pain, she desperately turned her head to one side and saw a girl tied to the stool. She recognized the girl; her eyes were closed, her face was covered in tears, and her body was trembling violently. Her simple dress, under the candlelight, somehow exuded a sense of holiness.
Under the devil's knife, she saw a glimmer of light and hope. She desperately reached out, a broken cry escaping her throat: "Help...help me—"
Zhu Qinghe heard the cry for help. Her eyelashes were wet with tears as she opened her eyes and saw the weak and helpless girl under the butcher's knife, like a pure white lamb being sent to the altar. Her once arrogant eyes were now filled with fear and despair. The girl was pleading with her for help.
Zhu Qinghe desperately rubbed her feet against the ground, but the ropes binding her were getting tighter and tighter, almost suffocating her. Never before had she been more aware of her uselessness.
She cried desperately, what could she do? She couldn't save her, what could she do? Was there anyone who could save her?
Blood dripped onto the ground, spreading into a small pool of dark red blood. The person on the stone platform had stopped struggling. The man threw away the bloodstained knife in his hand and twirled the object in his hand with satisfaction.
"Ah—it's still intact. It's truly a work of art. He'll be very happy."
After expressing his feelings, he looked at the person who was not moving on the wooden chair and asked in a puzzled tone, "Why did you stop shouting? Weren't you shouting so enthusiastically just now? Could it be that your voice is hoarse?"
He walked up to Zhu Qinghe, reaching out to touch her face, but she dodged away in disgust: "Get away—don't touch me—"
Her voice was hoarse yet fierce, and her eyes held undisguised disgust. The man's hand froze in mid-air.
"You hate me? What gives you the right to hate me?" the man suddenly roared wildly.
"She deserved it. She abused her wealth and did whatever she wanted, and many innocent people were killed by her."
"Even so, do you have the right to kill her?" Zhu Qinghe looked at him. "Why don't you report it to the authorities?"
"Report to the authorities? Hahahaha—" The man seemed to have heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. "Do you know how rich the Xu family is? They can just casually send a box of silver to the government and they can pretend that nothing happened."
Zhu Qinghe shook her head: "At least Lord Shen wouldn't."
The man said dismissively, "He's just a constable; he won't even be involved in the final trial. Even if he's innocent, what about the others? How can you vouch for them?"
"Because you distrust the government, you took matters into your own hands?" Zhu Qinghe asked.
"What's the problem?" The man didn't think he had done anything wrong. His mask was stained with splattered blood, and he exuded a ferocious and evil aura like a wild beast.
"Since Heaven is unjust, then I will presume to take the lead and judge the world on behalf of justice and fairness."
“You’re absolutely insane,” Zhu Qinghe murmured.
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