Chapter 272: Vanished Without a Trace
West Street was lined with restaurants, inns, silk shops, gold and silver stores, antique shops, and more—always the busiest place in Qingzhou City. The Lantern Festival was held here every year, and those coming to do small business also flocked to this area. Yet beyond commerce, there was a large open space at the entrance of West Street. Whenever executions took place after autumn, the area would be packed tightly, with all the good seats in the restaurants along the street booked up. Some wealthy villagers even came to the city just to watch the executions.
When the announcement was made this time, the doors of the restaurants were almost trampled through. Not only were all the seats on the second and third floors taken, but some people also made special requests—setting up private booths with screens, bringing their own dishes and porcelain, or even wealthy merchants who rented entire floors. When they learned that many women would be there to watch the executions, even the most experienced shopkeepers were astonished.
Only the elders who had experienced the Jingnan Campaign disdained such enthusiasm for spectacles. Beheading one person might be bloody and exciting, but beheading ten was grotesque, and beheading a hundred… those onlookers better not come in upright and leave sideways! Thus, while some rushed to join the crowd for chaos, many decided to stay indoors that day. Some shopkeepers also decided not to open their doors after careful consideration.
Though it had only been a month, the fervor for petitions seemed like a thing of the past. According to the authorities, the White Lotus cult deceived people in the name of the Buddha Mother, and anyone who followed them would be severely punished. As a result, some hid tablets of the Buddha Mother in secret places at home, but most chose to forget and avoid the issue—after all, good people shouldn’t clash with the authorities. Some former believers even happily brought their families to watch the executions, forgetting that they had once been among those who worshipped her devoutly.
On the day of the execution, soldiers cleared the streets early and set up defenses, placing checkpoints everywhere. Near the execution ground, in addition to the elite troops dispatched by the Shandong military command, 500 elite soldiers from the capital were also stationed in the city, with heavy troops stationed at the city gates. By noon, the scorching sun had baked the ground hot, leaving many onlookers exhausted. It wasn’t until the bound prisoners were brought in one after another that the crowd regained its energy, filled with noisy murmurs.
“How long is the queue… How many people will be executed today?”
“I don’t know, do I? This time over four hundred people are to be killed—I wonder if the government’s executioners are enough!”
“The last time we watched the lingchi execution, it lasted three whole days. Can over four hundred people be killed in one day this time? In my opinion, it will take ten days—there will be plenty of excitement to see during those ten days!”
“I think we’d better go back. With so many people having their heads cut off at once, the bloodshed will be immense; who knows what kind of ominous atmosphere might arise…”
The last suggestion was quickly drowned out by the noise of the onlookers. Apart from executions after autumn, how many times a year could one witness killings in the summer? If they missed this spectacle, when would they get another chance? Thus, discussions, laughter, and children’s crying turned the execution ground into a noisy marketplace.
For Zhang Yue, who was now sitting on the platform in front of the execution ground, the detailed descriptions of executions during the Roman Carnival in the novel *The Count of Monte Cristo* came to mind naturally—those who enjoyed watching executions weren’t just the common people of the Ming Dynasty; it was the same everywhere in the world. Yet even so, there were various ways to execute people, and Zhu Di insisted on publicly beheading these over four hundred people. Even though the Ministry of Punishments dispatched forty executioners from various places and the military, along with four more from Qingzhou, it would still be difficult to finish the executions in one day.
The sun was high in the sky. At first, the prisoners with bare heads cursed loudly, but after kneeling under the scorching sun for a while, they became dizzy and hung their heads low. The onlookers were full of energy, even shouting loudly for the dying men to leave final words.
The prisoners waiting to be executed below were tied up like zongzi. Some struggled desperately on their knees, some resigned themselves in silence, some reluctantly responded to the crowd’s shouts, while most just glanced at the crowd, hoping for someone to come and rescue them.
“Eunuch, it’s already two o’clock in the afternoon!”
Despite the canopy on the platform, it was still extremely hot. Lu Feng had already drunk three cups of tea, ignoring the dignity of being an imperial envoy and simply fanning himself. Hearing the young eunuch say it was only two o’clock, he grumbled irritably. Seeing Zhang Yue still sitting calmly, he licked his thick lips. He was quite excited about the impending massacre, his palms sweating with anticipation.
This was killing—over four hundred people! Once he returned to the palace, he could surely boast about it greatly!
Zhu Zhanflat, open, honest, frank, sincere, candid, straightforward, unconstrained, at ease, relaxed, the heir of the Han Wang family, slumped on a soft couch, squinting at the prisoners on the execution ground. His fists clenched and unclenched repeatedly. Years of careful planning had been aimed at using such a group of ordinary people to carry out certain tasks, but in the end, they were uprooted, and even the best plans turned to nothing. Moreover, Qiu Changtian seemed to have disappeared without a trace. If not for the fact that Hainan was too far away and keeping the Qiu family around could serve as a check on this man, he would have blamed everything on the remaining members of the Qiu family.
Zhang Yue’s actions were trivial, but what was deadly was how precisely Du Zhen carried out his tasks. Even knowing it would offend the Han Wang family, he ignored it and was even willing to risk his own life. Thinking of this, he glanced at Zhang Yue, who was sitting there with a solemn expression, and sighed again.
If it weren’t for his father, who only knew how to fight and speak wildly and insisted on regaining some face, why would he have come to such a place? Who would want to watch their efforts turn to dust, with no chance to fight back at all?
At least hundreds of people surrounded the execution ground, all kept at bay by fully armed soldiers. From the windows and railings of the restaurants around, heads peered in. At that moment, whether noble or humble, everyone’s eyes were fixed on one thing: the executioner’s knife. Many discussed the quality of the executioner’s skills, how far his blood could spray, and whether he might hesitate at the last moment. Yet almost no one cared about those about to die.
On the Swallow Building diagonally across from the execution ground, all the elegant private rooms on the third floor were booked. Thanks to the owner’s thoughtful arrangement, each room was separated by four screens, ensuring privacy. Thus, most of the guests were women from wealthy families, and the place was filled with soft chatter and laughter. By the railing on the east side, two women in light blue gauze dresses were looking down at the execution ground. One had a pale face, while the other clenched her fists tightly. Suddenly, she turned her head and asked in a barely audible voice, “Is there really no way to save them?”
“How can we save them? Didn’t you see when we first arrived? The authorities are on high alert, waiting for us to fall into their trap!”
“But even if we don’t take action, should we just watch them walk into the trap? They’ve spread word that it’s the new sect leader who rescued Bin Hong. If you don’t step in this time, no one will follow you as the sect leader anymore.”
“Am I the one who ignores them, or are they the ones who ignore the bigger picture? If Bin Hong hadn’t suddenly raised his flag at Xieshengzhai, how would the authorities have been alerted? How would our best stronghold have been destroyed? Stop talking about establishing our own kingdom—those fortresses have been burned and ruined by the soldiers. Now we can no longer stay in the mountains of Qingzhou, and even Putai has started to hunt down believers. What’s the point of being a so-called sect leader anymore? Even if they wanted to save Bin Hong, they should have taken action by now. Do you see anyone around? It’s not that I underestimate them; at most, they’ll make a fuss afterward. But after seeing this brutal execution today, ordinary people must be terrified!”
Tang Qingshuang turned pale at these words. After a long while, she finally managed to say, “Then, Third Sister, what are you doing here?”
“I want to see that dog official sent by that traitor emperor! If I had known he was such a cruel man, I should have killed him back at the Meng family… It’s a pity. I didn’t want to kill in front of my master, and now such a scourge remains! Besides, I want to understand how people from our sect ended up connected to the Han Wangfu. Although Yue Changtian has disappeared without a trace, I know he’s involved in this. To figure it out, I’ll have to investigate slowly.”
At the mention of Yue Changtian, Tang Qingshuang’s face lost all color, filled with extreme regret. She had given him everything without reservation, yet he had ruined everything in an instant. Had all those tender moments been fake, just to deceive her? Or did he see it all as a game, aimed at weakening the power of the White Lotus Sect?
When the prison officer reported that it was three o’clock in the afternoon, Zhang Yue casually drew a token from the tube and threw it down expressionlessly. Thinking of what would happen next, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
As the token hit the ground, the crowd grew restless. When the executioners, bare-chested and wielding guillotine knives, stepped forward, the tension reached its peak.
Countless eyes stared fixedly at the gleaming knives and the arcs they traced in the air. In an instant, the blades descended, spraying blood high into the air, splashing across the execution ground at varying heights. The swift movements didn’t cause a single cry of pain; instead, the crowd erupted with screams, gasps, exclamations, cheers, and boos… Some timid people even collapsed to the ground, drawing laughter from those around them.
It was the first time in his life that Zhang Yue had witnessed a execution. All he could see was a red veil before his eyes, and his heart seemed to be pounding out of his throat. Meanwhile, Lu Feng, who was standing beside him, exclaimed after seeing the blood, “These are all skilled men selected for this task—what swift knives!” The corpses and severed heads were quickly cleared away one by one. Dozens of buckets of cold water were poured onto the execution platform. Before the bloodstains could be cleaned up, soldiers brought another group of people tied with ropes and forced them to lie down in the still-wet blood. Most of the prisoners had already collapsed from shock after seeing the blood, but some tried to resist frantically, only to be kicked to the ground by the executioners, whose eyes were now red with bloodlust. By the time another forty-some heads fell, the noise in the crowd had diminished significantly, and a thick smell of blood filled the air. After four or five executions, Zhu Zhan Tan could no longer bear to watch—after all, he wasn’t a butcher like his grandfather and father. So he ordered his guards to stand in front of him, deeply regretting that he hadn’t let one of his younger brothers take his place this time. Lu Feng, who had seemed calm earlier, was now as pale as a dead man, trembling violently. A few eunuchs nearby were too terrified to move, with one even wetting himself in fear. Most of the officials from Qingzhou Prefecture who had come to watch the execution could also hold on no longer. Even the military officers from Shandong Province looked shocked, their expressions grim. The crowd had lost all its initial excitement and stood quietly, their expressions frozen at the moment the knives swung, their eyes unblinking. The women in the restaurants had long moved away from the windows and railings; the timid ones had even fainted. In all the seats facing the execution site, few still had the courage to stand and watch. Even among those who remained, fear replaced excitement in their eyes. Watching an execution once might be thrilling, and watching it a second time might still be exciting, but after three or four, five executions in a row, what remained was deep fear and horror.
The executioners could barely hold on any longer, let alone those doomed victims under the scorching sun—many of them fainted. Even though many of the executioners were experienced death-row prisoners from the army, their movements became stiff and weary as time went on, and their once-sharp knives seemed less lethal than before. The four local executioners from Qingzhou even felt their legs weaken; they could only continue the slaughter thanks to the strength of the liquor and the intense sunlight.
“Sir… Sir Zhang…” Lu Feng finally turned his head stiffly and saw Zhang Yue still sitting upright as before. He felt both admiration and fear. But at that moment, he had no time to worry about others, so he forced a smile and said, “I suddenly feel a bit unwell. I’ll step away for a while. It shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Go ahead, Lord Lu.”
Hearing Zhang Yue’s flat voice, Lu Feng felt a sudden surge of panic and instinctively decided to stay away from this execution envoy. At that instant, he completely forgot that he was also an execution envoy. Taking advantage of the fact that no blood had been shed yet, he rushed into a nearby restaurant that had already been requisitioned, gasping for air before angrily ordering the owner to bring liquor. After gulping down a large bowl of strong liquor, he finally regained his senses. Just then, a scream came from outside.
“Damn it!”
At the sound, Lu Feng’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to the ground. The owner had shrunk half in size, and several clerks had hidden behind the counter. Seeing this scene, he felt he wasn’t too ashamed—no one could remain calm after witnessing what was happening outside!
When this seemingly endless massacre finally ended, everyone still alive let out a sigh of relief, but soon some began to vomit uncontrollably. Qingzhou had never seen such killings before, nor perhaps had all of Shandong or even the whole country during peaceful times. Almost no one still had the appetite to watch. The first person dragged their stiff legs back in panic, followed by a second, then a third… By the time the last corpse was cleared away, almost all the onlookers had left, and the restaurants in the area were also empty.
The empty streets were filled only with countless soldiers wearing long knives at their waists. At that moment, Lu Feng finally sneaked back, his injured leg still uncooperative. Only when he saw the officials who had witnessed the execution leave with grim expressions did he feel a bit better. Noticing Zhang Yue rise from his seat and nod at him, he immediately adopted a solemn posture but stepped forward to Zhu Zhan Tan first.
“Is Your Highness doing well?”
Zhu Zhan Tan had just swallowed a pill. Hearing this question, he snorted coldly, “The Emperor sent you to oversee the execution merely to assert his authority over the common people. Yet you abandoned your duties halfway—how casually you take on such an important role! Someone, prepare a carriage for us to return to Le’an. Today, I’ve truly seen enough!”
Without even glancing at the embarrassed Lu Feng, he gave Zhang Yue a meaningful look and said, “Lord Zhang remains as steady as a mountain. This massacre in Qingzhou has terrified everyone there, and even the entire Shandong region will be shaken. It seems Lord Zhang will now have to bear the title of ‘butcher’ as well. In these peaceful times, such killings have never happened before. Though the Emperor is decisive and merciless, you are after all a civil official. This title of ‘butcher’ will follow you for life. On top of that, your teacher offended countless military officials—you’ve really lost more than you gained!”
Watching Zhu Zhan Tan leave with his entourage, Lu Feng cursed inwardly. Then, with a forced smile, he stepped forward and said to Zhang Yue, “Lord Zhang, although we’ve completed our task, with so much bloodshed, the people must be terrified. Shouldn’t we stay for a while longer before leaving? It would also allow us to report to the Emperor.”
After ten mass killings, Zhang Yue had long become numb, so he didn’t bother paying attention to Zhu Zhan Tan’s sarcastic words. Seeing Lu Feng regain his energy, he knew well his nature and casually replied, “Eunuch Lu, your consideration is excellent. Let’s stay at the Qingzhou posthouse for a few more days. This way, any issues can be resolved promptly, avoiding further complications upon our return. However, I have some matters to discuss with Lord Ling from the government office. Eunuch Lu, you may make decisions on your own for anything else.”
This was exactly what Lu Feng had hoped for. His eyes lit up as he readily agreed. The brutality of the killings had long been forgotten; he was now focused on using these extra days to accomplish what he had promised that night.
Taking advantage of Lu Feng leading the way and a few eunuchs leaving, Zhang Yue, who was a few steps behind, immediately ordered Hu Qi behind him, “Keep an eye on him. Use whatever methods are necessary to record every move he makes in Qingzhou, especially any financial transactions.”