Chapter 346 : The Special Arrangement (1)
For seven agonizing days, the wails and cries of tormented prisoners echoed from the depths of the dungeon, relentlessly piercing the silence of the night.
Even the seasoned guards, accustomed to the grim sounds of suffering, couldn’t suppress their flinches as they stood vigil at the palace gates.
The air crackled with an aura of dread, a palpable testament to the horrors unfolding within the dungeon’s depths.
Xie Jianshen’s instructions were clear -- make the prisoners taste the fires of hell on their bodies, but ensure their survival. Death, he declared, was a merciful escape, an indulgence these traitors did not deserve. He reveled in the power he held, the authority to inflict pain and suffering upon those who had dared to defy him.
As the seventh day drew to a close, the dungeon’s symphony of screams had been replaced by an eerie silence. The prisoners, their bodies battered and spirits broken, were no longer able to muster the strength to cry out in agony. Their senses, dulled from the relentless torture, were barely able to register the world around them. Their existence, once a vibrant thread in the tapestry of life, had frayed and withered, leaving behind mere shells of their former selves.
One by one, the prisoners were forced to crawl on their hands and feet onto the platform, their bodies too weak to stand. Their eyes, vacant and devoid of hope, stared blankly into the distance, as if seeking solace in a world that had abandoned them.
Perched atop a watchtower, Xie Jianshen watched the execution process unfold below, his figure silhouetted against the darkening sky.
His hand rested casually against the sturdy railing, his gaze sweeping across the scene with an impassive detachment. His eyes, devoid of any hint of compassion, coldly observed the prisoners as they met their demise one by one, starting from the lowest rank.
Once the traitorous Wuyang Palace staff succumbed to death by means of decapitation, the more prominent prisoners were ushered toward the execution platform.
The next one to be decapitated was an eunuch.
A flicker of recognition passed across Xie Jianshen’s eyes when he saw the eunuch.