Chapter 52: Watching An Execution Is Like Watching A Grand Play

Li Chaosheng carried his blade and hurried to the county magistrate’s office with Wang Er.

On the way Li Chaosheng asked Wang Er, “Is the old man feeling better?”

Wang Er quickly cupped his hands and said, “I almost forgot to thank you, my virtuous younger brother. If it were not for you, my old father-in-law would likely have been killed by that mad dog. My wife was talking the other day about preparing good wine and dishes and inviting you to our home to eat.”

“Ha ha, your wife is being too polite.”

The two chatted and had already arrived at the county magistrate’s office, where the clerk was waiting. Li Chaosheng’s status was different now. His Excellency the Magistrate personally told the clerk that from now on, when he saw Li Chaosheng it would be like seeing him.

The clerk did not know what had happened during those few days, but he understood that Li Chaosheng was not the same as before.

“Brother Li has arrived,” the clerk forced a smile and said to Li Chaosheng.

Li Chaosheng glanced at the clerk and said, “Second Sir, you are too polite. By the way, the criminal?”

“Oh, the criminal is still held in the jail. Yesterday His Excellency the Magistrate sentenced him to be beheaded. We will hold one more public hearing shortly, then send him to the execution ground.”

“All right, fine. I will go to the execution ground first to make some preparations, burn some paper money, and offer a blessing for the condemned.”

As Li Chaosheng spoke, the clerk nodded and said, “Brother Li is kind. The yellow paper money has already been prepared for you, Brother Li. You may help yourself.”

The clerk pointed to the yellow paper money and incense candles placed on a nearby chair. Li Chaosheng took them, cupped his hands to the clerk and said, “Then I will go to the execution ground to prepare.”

“Brother Li, go on by yourself.”

Li Chaosheng nodded and headed straight to the execution ground.

The execution ground was set up at the vegetable market entrance, essentially the county’s central spot, similar to today’s commercial center, the busiest place. People had already gathered, filling the area with a jostling crowd. Each person brought sunflower seeds and small stools, pointing and chatting excitedly.

In an age with few entertainments, going to the execution ground to watch a beheading was the best pastime. A folk saying went: watching a beheading is more thrilling than watching a play. Plays were fake, but beheadings were real.

Li Chaosheng arrived at the execution ground. Beside it was a small room, not large, reserved for the executioner to make preparations. Entering the room, Li Chaosheng untied the white cloth wrapping the ghost-head blade, placed the blade on the rack on the table, and saw on the wall behind the rack a poem written: The ghost-head long blade strikes the bold, the cold-faced butcher subdues ghosts and gods. If one lives upright and stands straight, one need not fear being subject to this same blade.

After placing the blade, he found the earthen basin under the table, lit the yellow paper money and the incense, pressed his palms together, and began to pray.

“Amitabha, Boundless Heavenly Lord, Holy Mother Mary bless us, bless us… win a big prize, win a big prize!”

Meanwhile, in the office, the county lord held court. Constables escorted a tall, thin man in a white prison robe to stand before the hall. The lord announced the man’s crimes while the clerk recorded them. After finishing the record, the identity was confirmed.

At that moment the county lord called out to the tall, thin man, “Zhao Baili!”

This was a call of identity. If the criminal answered, his identity was confirmed and half his life was considered gone. If he stubbornly refused to answer, it did not matter. The attendants could answer for him.

“Here!”

As soon as the word “here” left his mouth, the county lord dipped his brush in cinnabar on the charge sheet handed over by the clerk, drew a hook mark outward with the brush tip, and with force flicked the brush away. All the attendants stepped aside. It was said that if that brush fell on someone, they would have bad luck for a year. But the moment it touched the ground, the attendants rushed to snatch it up. People said that if they took the brush home to start their children’s education, the child might become a top scholar.

With the brush deciding life or death, there was no pause. The attendants stepped forward and bound the tall man’s limbs tightly in many places: a loop at the neck, two at the shoulders, two at the elbows. Once secure, they used a bamboo pole to lift the paper that listed the charges and stuck it behind the criminal’s neck, then escorted him away.

At this time the white tiger gate at the office’s entrance was opened to march out the criminal. There were six gates at the entrance. The middle two were the main gates through which the County Magistrate and other officials entered. On each side were two gates called Left Green Dragon and Right White Tiger. The Left Green Dragon gate was open year-round, and attendants, constables, and the executioner normally used that side. The Right White Tiger gate stayed closed most of the year and was opened only briefly on the day of an execution to escort the condemned.

Escorting the condemned, they paraded through the streets. Attendants beat gongs to clear the way while others loudly read the criminal’s name and the crimes committed, and the procession marched grandly toward the execution ground.

Not far from the execution ground stood a small bridge. It was narrow and short, so an ordinary person could cross it in a single step. It spanned a shallow drainage ditch and was called the Two Realms Bridge, with a saying: Cross the Two Realms Bridge and you become a person of the netherworld.

The little bridge was built of bluestone, and on both sides masons had carved a couplet:

The first line read: Cross this bridge and you will no longer be a person of the living world.

The next line read: Walk this path and in a moment you will lose your old homeland.

As for the horizontal inscription, it was the phrase the attendants were about to shout: May you finish well!

The attendants dragged Zhao Baili to the Two Realms Bridge. Wang Er and Li Chaosheng were already waiting on the opposite side. At that moment the attendants shoved Zhao Baili and shouted together, “Handed over!”

On this side Li Chaosheng and Wang Er each grabbed one arm and pulled Zhao Baili across the Two Realms Bridge, shouting, “Received!”

These two phrases were important. If the attendants on one side shouted “Handed over” while the executioner on the other side did not shout “Received,” and something happened to the criminal, that is, if he escaped or died, then the responsibility would fall entirely on the attendants who shouted “Handed over.”

Li Chaosheng took hold of the criminal. Zhao Baili’s body was as limp as rotten mud, utterly lifeless. Li Chaosheng practically carried him to the execution ground. With a kick to the back of his knees, the man collapsed with a thud into a kneel. Half his life was gone already.

People need vigor and spirit. In his years as an executioner, Li Chaosheng had seen all kinds of criminals, but no matter how great a hero a man was, none failed to tremble at the execution ground. Those who could meet death boldly were extremely rare.

Li Chaosheng had seen many braggarts who acted tough outside and would challenge anyone, always full of grievances. But when paraded to the execution ground, many wet themselves on the spot. Li Chaosheng was no longer surprised by this.

The criminal kneeled facing the populace. The people pointed and whispered, faces alight with excitement, like a crowd watching a horror film together. Even though it was brutal and terrifying, they could not help but stare. The scarier it was, the more they wanted to see.

It was said that many townsfolk had nightmares after watching a killing, yet when another execution was held they still came again and never missed it, becoming die-hard aficionados of the art of beheading.

Li Chaosheng stood to one side of the execution ground, since the County Magistrate had not yet arrived. Suddenly a woman rushed through the crowd with a big, slow fellow beside her, crying and wailing. Li Chaosheng inquired carefully and learned that she was that eldest daughter of the Sun family, and also Zhao Baili’s wife.