"Splurt!"
Another enormous head rolled across the execution ground, bounced twice, then tumbled off into the crowd.
"Ah..."
The crowd scattered, shunning the bloody head as though it were a god of plague.
Before the executions began, they had doubted. They had questioned.
Now that the slaughter had truly begun, an inexplicable dread gripped them.
These were government officials!
Could they really be slaughtered like dogs?
Could they really be killed for everyone to see?
In the end, an Embroidered-Clad Strongman serving in the human barricade stepped forward, picked up the bloody head, and tossed it back onto the platform. "Brother up there, catch!"
The Embroidered-Clad Strongman clearing away the corpses caught the dead man's head as neatly as though it were a pumpkin. "Got it!"
The spectators in the front row: ...
Up on the raised platform, Yang Ge remained utterly unaffected by this little interlude. He mechanically struck the sounding block. "Bring out the accused!"
The blood on the execution block was still steaming when another disheveled official was forced down before it.
"The accused, Song Shen, is present!"
"Verify his identity!"
"The accused, Song Shen, formerly assistant prefect of Yangzhou, began colluding with the Everlasting Peace Grain Company and the Long Wind Gang in September of last year to monopolize grain distribution, drive up grain prices, and reap exorbitant profits..."
Once he finished reading the charges, the burly Strongman stepped aside.
Behind him, Yang Ge looked at that head of graying hair and recalled his subordinate's report that morning: the man's hair had turned gray overnight...
He withdrew the hand reaching for an execution tally and shouted in a deep voice, "Song Shen, witnesses and physical evidence alike establish your guilt. What have you to say?"
Understanding his intent, the executioner bent down and removed the rag