Execution Performance, an Old Scholar's Final Wish

Execution Performance, an Old Scholar's Final Wish

It was noon. Though the Hanging Bridge area by the Weishui could not compare to the bustle of Skybridge, it lacked no liveliness.

After the wind and snow had finally ceased, everyone seemed to have agreed to come out for the market.

"Candied hawthorns! Fragrant and sweet candied hawthorns!"

"Rice osmanthus cakes! Steaming-hot rice osmanthus cakes!"

"Eat slowly, don't choke. Honestly, you child..."

"..."

Yu Chen walked through the crowd. The clamorous sounds around him reached his ears with a clarity so sharp that it felt unfamiliar.

Even the soft rustle of pedestrians' boots crushing the snow around him was crystal clear!

It was likely one of the benefits brought by the Primordial Realm.

Muttering to himself, Yu Chen blended into the crowd and headed toward Brightlink Vegetable Garden near Hanging Bridge.

As a restaurant in the Hanging Bridge district, Brightlink Vegetable Garden was naturally not as delicious as the packed Spring Breeze Restaurant—but accordingly, its prices were not nearly so frightening.

Though he had no intention of using the silver he had saved over the years to pay tribute to the officials serving along the exile route, Yu Chen, accustomed to thrift, could not bear to go to Spring Breeze Restaurant and feast to his heart's content.

When he arrived at the vegetable garden, voices thundered within.

Yu Chen ordered two roast chickens, a plate of sliced pig's head, and a bucket of rice. Half an hour later, he had cleaned every last bit from the dishes.

Then, beneath the horrified gaze of the waiter, he wiped his mouth, rose to his feet, and stepped out the door.

As he passed Hanging Bridge, he heard the storyteller beneath it, his voice rising and falling with dramatic flair.

"Now then, Knife-Face and Big Strong, those two rogue scoundrels, turned wicked after drinking, cruel beyond measure, and in the end took a life!"

"Pursued by the authorities, the pair fled in panic, only to find themselves upon Qingfeng Mausoleum!"

"You must know that the poor foolish woman was buried on that very mausoleum!"

"Like headless flies, the two ran wildly through the woods, never realizing that wronged souls and vicious ghosts had long fixed their eyes upon them!"

"That night, the moon was dark, the wind howled, and all creation lay silent!"

"Suddenly, every torch went out. In the pitch-black darkness, a bone-piercing chill descended."

"The two scoundrels heard only shrill, mournful cries echoing through the mountains!"

"Give me back my life! Give me back my life! Give me back my life!"

The storyteller's face twisted fiercely, his voice hoarse, raising goosebumps all over the surrounding spectators!

"The two scoundrels trembled from head to toe. Looking up, they saw a female ghost with disheveled hair, a blue face and fangs, eyeless sockets, and nails three feet long, lunging to kill!"

"The two may have been bastards, but when had they ever seen such a sight?"

"Their spirits were shaken from them, their courage shattered, and they fled for their lives—only to go completely mad!"

Bang!

With a slap of the wooden clapper, the storyteller spoke with righteous severity, awakening the world!

"As the saying goes, Heaven's justice shines bright; good and evil are repaid in kind. Such was precisely the case!"

The performance was lifelike and vivid, leaving the surrounding townsfolk utterly entranced!

One after another, they generously loosened their purse strings and offered money.

It was not much, but enough to keep him fed and clothed.

At last, the storyteller checked the time, put away his clapper and folding fan, and prepared to pack up his stall.

Just then, as though remembering something, he addressed the crowd again. "According to the government notice, today at noon, those two rogue scoundrels will be beheaded publicly at Zhengtong Execution Ground. If you have the time, go see how those life-taking villains lose their heads!"

As soon as the words fell, the crowd broke into heated discussion.

Yu Chen, who had happened to be passing by, was startled as well.

Knife-Face and Big Strong were going to be beheaded?

The yamen had handled this quite efficiently this time, hadn't they?

As he muttered, his feet turned, and he headed for Zhengtong Execution Ground.

The execution ground lay at the boundary between Skybridge and Hanging Bridge. It was only two quarter-hours away on foot—not far at all.

Yu Chen had nothing to do anyway, so he happened to want to take a look.

—Having witnessed that foolish woman's miserable state with his own eyes, anyone would loathe Knife-Face and Big Strong, those two rogue scoundrels. Yu Chen was naturally no exception.

Watching the heads of such people fall would surely be immensely satisfying.

What surprised him, however, was that he encountered an acquaintance on his way to the execution ground.

Well, not exactly an acquaintance. They had merely met once.

With the road icy and slippery in the cold weather, a young man hurried along and crashed into Yu Chen with a bang, tumbling head over heels.

Yu Chen looked down and saw a broad-faced, tall, sturdy man, frantic and flustered. Wasn't he the old shoemaker's son?

The other man rubbed his knee and looked up, evidently recognizing Yu Chen as well.

Yet inwardly, he wondered how Yu Chen, who looked so thin and slight, had managed to knock him stumbling like that.

After his brief confusion, however, the square-faced youth did not dwell on it. He simply assumed that his footing had slipped.

"You're... the gravekeeper from Qingfeng Mausoleum?"

Compared to the crazed look he had worn when they first met, the square-faced youth had returned all the silver and resolved never to gamble again. Though the fright Yu Chen gave him last night had left dark circles beneath his eyes, his whole spirit was far more clear and at ease.

He looked... unburdened.

In response to his greeting, Yu Chen nodded and turned to leave.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but the square-faced youth seemed to hear him mutter something about how a prodigal who turned back was worth more than gold.

But after shaking his head, he did not think much of it and went home.

He had made up his mind to wash his hands in a golden basin and become a new man.

By the time he reached the execution ground, it was exactly noon. Thus, Yu Chen had no chance to hear the charges read aloud. He saw only two executioners wielding gleaming broadswords spray a mouthful of strong liquor over their blades before raising their hands and bringing them down. With a crack, heads fell to the ground!

Two dazed, wretched heads rolled across the snow. Only then did bright red blood spray forth, leaving another trace upon the dark-red ground of Zhengtong Execution Ground.

Then came the fervent cheers of the townsfolk, resounding throughout the execution ground.

They had gotten what they deserved. By law, they should be beheaded. The villains had met their end, as the people wished!

Yet amid that incomparably clamorous sea of voices, Yu Chen suddenly felt dazed.

Fifteen years ago, it had also been a winter this cold, also here at Zhengtong Execution Ground, and two heads like these had rolled across the snow.

—They had been Yu Chen's parents.

That year, Yu Chen had been just over four years old. He lost his father and mother and became the descendant of criminals.

By the time Yu Chen came back to himself from his daze,

more than half the people at the execution ground had already left. Only a sparse dozen or so townsfolk remained, unwilling to depart.

—Most of them had been bullied by Knife-Face and Big Strong, those two rogue scoundrels, and after seeing this scene, they could not bring themselves to leave for a long while.

Only when men from the yamen came to collect the corpses, loading the two half-bodies and heads onto a cart to be sent to the Corpse-Stitching Office, did the crowd finally disperse.

Yu Chen, too, blended into the crowd and left.

From beginning to end, he did not say a single word, as though he had merely watched an execution performance.

Passing through the Hanging Bridge market, Yu Chen bought some rice and some meat.

—Today had been an indulgence. He could not bear to eat out every day. Cooking for himself and eating at home would last much longer.

Rice in his left hand and meat in his right, the young gravekeeper deliberately pretended to struggle so as not to attract attention. He walked through the market, preparing to leave the county town and return to the mountain.

Then, from not far away, he suddenly heard funeral music, weeping and pleading, unbearably desolate and sorrowful.

Turning his head, he saw a funeral procession winding through the streets and alleys. Yellowed joss paper drifted like flying snow, while fluttering silver banners howled and snapped in the wind, stirring endless grief at parting.

At the head of the procession, a young man dressed all in white, wearing mourning hemp and filial garb, held a portrait of the deceased in his hands, his eyes rimmed red.

Yu Chen looked closely and saw an elderly man past fifty in the portrait, unsmiling and stern-browed, every bit the image of a strict teacher.

Yu Chen froze.

He knew this man.

He was the most respected schoolteacher at the public academy in the Hanging Bridge district. Though he could not be said to have peach and plum trees blooming across the world, everyone in Weishui County knew of him.

Of course, Yu Chen knew him not because he had attended the public academy. As the descendant of criminals, he had not possessed that qualification.

It was because this teacher had shown him kindness.

After his parents were beheaded and he was left wandering the streets, this schoolteacher had passed by and given Yu Chen food more than once.

It was not some immense kindness, but Yu Chen had always kept it in his heart.

What a pity. Good people did not live long.

Yu Chen sighed helplessly in his heart and was about to withdraw his gaze and continue onward.

—As for that schoolteacher, he was highly respected and his Household lacked no money, so naturally he would be buried at Bright Moon Mausoleum.

But at the instant Yu Chen turned around, the corner of his eye caught a flicker of ghostly light.

From within that heavy coffin, a thin yet upright figure came toward him.

That face was exactly the same as the one in the portrait held by the young man!

Together with the mournful funeral music and waves of joss paper, even the warm winter sun seemed to turn gloomy and sinister, making the scene all the more eerie!

Amid the sorrowful sounds and the beating of gongs and drums, the ghostly figure spoke faintly, "Leave innocence behind in this world... Leave innocence behind in this world..."

(End of Chapter)