Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 376 Public Execution

Three days later.

Caishikou is the largest execution ground in Donghai City. It is usually deserted, with only a few stray dogs wandering around. Occasionally, a crow will land on the execution rack and caw a few times, which is quite unsettling.

Today is different. It's still dark, but the square is already packed with a sea of ​​people.

The child rode on the adult's shoulders, craning his neck to look ahead, shouting, "When does it start?"

The old man, leaning on his cane, stood shakily at the back of the crowd, tiptoeing to peek inside.

The young woman, holding her child, squeezed into the crowd, her face showing both fear and excitement.

"I heard they're going to execute you by slow slicing today?"

"That's right! Over three hundred people, all executed by slow slicing!"

"My God, how long will that killing go on?"

"Kill them until nightfall! These human traffickers deserve to be torn to pieces!"

"That's right! My neighbor Aunt Wang's daughter was kidnapped by the Hai Sha Gang, and we haven't heard from her since..."

"Sigh... What a tragedy..."

At the very front, a high platform was erected.

The platform was wide, with a row of wooden stakes on it, and people were tied to the stakes.

Liu Dahai, the leader of the Hai Sha Gang, was tied tightly to the central wooden stake, his mouth stuffed with a rag, his eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out of their sockets, his face flushed purple, and his body trembling.

Behind him, there were rows and rows of people.

Hall masters, incense masters, protectors, leaders... they were all densely packed together, binding the entire high platform.

Some looked ashen-faced, heads bowed, waiting to die.

Some were trembling all over, and their crotches were soaked.

Some were crying, crying as if their own mother had died.

There were also a few tough guys who stuck their necks out, cursing under their breath, but their voices were trembling.

On either side of the high platform stood two rows of executioners.

He was shirtless, with a red cloth tied around his waist, and carrying a cloth bag in his hand—inside was not a large, cleaver, but a knife used for slow slicing.

There were more than a dozen of them, big and small.

The smallest one is like a willow leaf, so thin it's translucent.

The head executioner's surname was Zhao, and he had been performing the death by a thousand cuts for thirty years.

Today, the higher-ups issued a decree: Liu Dahai, 3,600 cuts, not a single cut less.

Zhao Yidao looked at the executioner's knife in his hand and sighed.

Lin Chen didn't come.

He's too lazy to come to these kinds of occasions.

Yan Da supervised the execution on his behalf.

The third quarter of the hour of Si (9:45 AM).

The sun rose and shone on the high platform, casting long shadows of the people tied to the stakes.

Yenching University stood up, unfolded the dossier in his hand, and spoke in a low voice, but it was clearly heard by everyone.

"Liu Dahai, the leader of the Hai Sha Gang, colluded with evil cultivators to abduct 573 women and children, resulting in 219 deaths and injuries. His crimes are heinous, and according to the law—he should be executed by slow slicing!"

"Liu Er, Wang Mazi, Zhang Tiezhu, and thirty-six others, leaders of the Hai Sha Gang, are to be executed by slow slicing for their crimes!"

"The 334 members of the Hai Sha Gang, including its leader and protectors, are hereby beheaded for their crimes!"

"All male members of the Liu clan aged sixteen or older shall be executed! Males under sixteen and all females shall be exiled three thousand li!"

The people were silent for a moment.

Then, it exploded.

"Nine generations? Even nine generations of relatives are implicated?"

"My God, this is going to uproot the entire Liu family!"

"Serves them right! These human traffickers deserve to be childless!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The shouts were deafening, and the ground trembled.

Zhao Yidao walked up to Liu Dahai, took out the smallest willow-leaf knife from his cloth bag, and waved it in the sunlight, the blade gleaming brightly.

Liu Dahai trembled violently, the rag in his mouth was soaked with saliva, and he made a "woo woo woo" sound. His eyes were wide open like copper bells, and the whites of his eyes were full of blood vessels.

Zhao Yidao glanced at him, his face expressionless.

The first knife.

The knife cuts down from the chest, slicing off a thin piece of flesh, as thin as paper, so translucent it's almost translucent.

Blood beads seeped out and trickled down her belly.

Liu Dahai's body tensed up suddenly, veins bulging, and he let out a muffled groan, like a pig being held down during slaughter.

Zhao Yidao placed the piece of meat on the plate next to him.

One, two, three...

The knife cut away piece by piece, and the meat fell off one slice at a time.

Liu Dahai's cries changed from muffled groans to screams, then to roars, then to moans, and finally even the moans stopped, leaving only a "hoarse" sound from his throat, like a broken bellows.

But he is still alive.

Zhao Yidao's hands were very steady. After thirty years of practice, he knew how to cut without killing the person.

Knowing where to cut first, where to cut last, where there's more flesh, where there's less tendon, and which cut will cause excruciating pain without making someone faint—these are all matters of expertise.

Three hundred dollars.

Six hundred dollars.

Nine hundred cuts.

The sun rose directly overhead from the east, then shifted westward from overhead.

Liu Dahai's body was completely raw, with no intact skin left; it was all red and looked like a skinned fish.

But he was still breathing, and his eyes could still move as he watched his flesh being cut off piece by piece and placed on a plate.

Three thousand six hundred dollars.

After making the final cut, Zhao Yidao wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a step back.

Liu Dahai is not dead yet.

He opened his mouth, trying to say something, but his tongue was long gone, and he could only make "ah ah ah" sounds.

Zhao Yidao glanced at Yan Da.

Yenching University nodded.

Zhao Yidao picked up the largest execution knife and plunged it into Liu Dahai's heart.

Liu Dahai's body stiffened abruptly, then went completely limp.

died.

Below the platform, there was complete silence.

Then, some people started clapping.

The applause grew louder and louder until the whole street was clapping, like thunder.

"good!"

"Well done!"

"Human traffickers deserve this fate!"

Zhao Yidao stepped aside, wiped the blood off the knife, and put it back into his cloth bag.

next.

The gang leader, Liu Er, was dragged up and tied to a wooden stake.

He was paralyzed, unable to stand, his crotch was soaked, and he was shouting:

"I was wrong, I know I was wrong, please, please give me a quick death!"

Yan Da glanced at him and said indifferently, "Too late."

Zhao Yidao drew his willow-leaf knife again.

Liu Er's screams echoed throughout the entire Caishikou market.

One after another, one after another.

The executioners took turns, and when they got tired, someone else would take their place. The person who was taken off would sit on the side drinking and eating meat, their hands and faces covered in blood, looking like a demon who had just crawled out of hell.

They fought until sunset.

Thirty-seven people were executed by slow slicing, and three hundred and thirty-four people were beheaded.

The blood on the high platform flowed like a river, running down the platform and into the soil below, turning the yellow earth black.

The stench of blood in the air was so strong it was almost overwhelming; even a single breath made my throat taste sweet.

All eighty-nine members of the Liu clan, all males aged sixteen and above, were brought before the authorities.

Among these people was Liu Dahai's father, who was over seventy years old, with white hair, and could barely walk. He had to be carried up by two soldiers.

There was Liu Dahai's son, who was only seventeen years old. He was fair-skinned and looked like a scholar.

When he was brought up, his legs were weak, and he cried as he walked.

"I know nothing! I wasn't involved! I'm innocent!"

There were also Liu Dahai's nephews, uncles, brothers... some were cursing, some were crying, and some had gone mad, their eyes vacant, like walking corpses.

Yan Da looked at these people and remained silent for a moment.

Then he waved.

The executioner raised his large, guillotine-like blade and struck them down one by one.

The head rolled to the ground, scattering bones everywhere, and blood gushed from the cavity, spraying high into the air.

The old man, who was over seventy years old, had his eyes open and his mouth agape when his head hit the ground, as if he wanted to say something.

The seventeen-year-old boy still had tears on his face when his head was severed.

As the common people watched, some clapped and cheered, some turned their faces away, unable to bear to watch, and some whispered among themselves:

"This...this practice of punishing nine generations of relatives, isn't it too cruel?"

Someone nearby immediately retorted, "Ruthless? Do you know how many people the Sea Sand Gang has harmed? They've profited from human suffering, why shouldn't they be implicated?"

The man was rendered speechless by the rebuttal.