A Ritual
Translator: Jimminix, Editor: Choufleur
They were like two tigers facing off against each other in the colosseum. No price was too great in their bid for victory, and there could be only one victor. Jing Yi maintained an unyielding attitude throughout. He looked at Jing Rong and Ji Yunshu with eyes that had long been clouded by greed, and sneered at them, "I’m impressed, you actually managed to turn this around." The disdain was clear in his voice.
Jing Rong’s face was a mask of calmness, "You were willing to sacrifice innocent lives for the sake of winning, but you forget one thing: the truth will always prevail."
"Only if you can prove it. Be careful not to celebrate too early."
"You’d better keep those words for yourself." The ghost of a smile appeared on Jing Rong’s lips. He leaned closer to Jing Yi, and whispered into his ears, "Stop while you still can, before it’s too late."
Stop while you still can, before it’s too late. The words were like venom rapidly spreading through Jing Yi’s entire being. He tilted his head, and whispered a response, "Well I have advice for you as well. You better watch your back." And he proceeded to enter the ministry with his entourage.
Wen Shisan stopped beside Ji Yunshu as he walked past. There was no hint of his former arrogance as he stared at her. What she saw in his eyes instead was… guilt? Or is it just my imagination?
But the man quickly looked away and followed Jing Yi into the ministry.
They were followed closely by Jing Rong’s group.
A large crowd had gathered at the Ministry of Justice as Lord Li had granted special permission for the public to attend the proceedings of the case. The entrance was packed full of people. Even Gao Meng's peers and the chief of Zhang Family Village were in attendance. Lord Li wore a stern expression as he sat in the hall. He was nervous. Zhang Daqi, who had just been retrieved from the gallows, was kneeling before him.
While the man was still alive despite the tortures he had to endure, his will had long since been broken by the fear he felt when he saw the blade of the executioner. He was like a piece of meat ready to be chopped up after his close call with death. He was always at the risk of being sent back to the gallows, where he
Jing Rong and Jing Yi stood facing each other on either side of Zhang Daqi.
"His Majesty The Emperor has given me the order to reopen the investigation of this case." Lord Li’s voice reverberated in the courtroom, "But this case had already been placed in the records of the Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice. If sufficient evidence is provided, and Zhang Daqi is proven to not be the killer, then I will report the findings today to His Majesty."
The meaning behind his words was clear: Present your evidence!
"Seeing how you dared to stop an execution, I’m sure you have secured some evidence. I hope you don’t mind showing it to Lord Li and the people who have gathered here. You’ve aroused my curiosity." Jing Yi sneered at Jing Rong.
But the prince was in no hurry. He glanced at Village Chief Zhang, who shivered under his gaze, "Chief Zhang, do you know of the origin of the dried well under the statue of Buddha?"
"Its origin? No… I don’t."
"If I’m not mistaken, you told me that tiny cracks began appearing on the statue more than ten years ago, and bizarre things began to happen in your village. One or two young people would pass away from sickness every year in your village, is that correct?"
"It…it is as you say."
"Then did you know that things like this have been happening in the village even before the statue was built?"
"H-how can this be?" Chief Zhang was shocked, "That statue was built a hundred years ago!" There’s no way I haven’t heard of this! I’m the chief of the village!
"Well, it’s no surprise that you remain unaware, for the truth had been hidden with the completion of the statue." said Jing Rong.
"Eh?" Chief Zhang was shocked.
"But Your Highness," Lord Li was baffled as well, "Does this have anything to do with the case?"
"Of course it does!"
"Huh?"
Jing Rong looked at Ji Yunshu and said, "I’ll leave the explanation to Teacher Ji." His eyes were full of nothing but trust for her.
Ji Yunshu nodded and took a step forward before bowing at Lord Li, "Storytelling is a hobby of mine. So allow me to tell everyone here a story."
A story? Is this the time and place for a story? What a carefree and leisurely attitude! An old man among the crowd, who was watching the scene unfold with great interest, coughed due to his sickness.
"This story actually began before the statue of Buddha was built. Why is it built? And why is there a dried well underneath? These are questions that even Chief Zhang and the elders of the village could not answer. But I was lucky to discover a great secret hidden behind it."
The crowd waited silently for her to continue the story, "The Zhang Village a hundred years ago was plagued with strange occurrences as well. One or two youths of the village would die every year. Nobody paid much attention to this at the beginning, but when it became more serious, the villagers started thinking that it was bad Fengshui that attracted evil beings into their village. You might wonder what this has to do with the statue, and I have the answer right here."
She then pulled out a scroll that was yellow with age and rolled it open cautiously. "There are 34 words written on it - I’ll read it out for you. The Buddha’s base opens, seven bones link to the heart. Top and bottom meet in the middle, those of yin must die.Mixed with blood, within the well under Buddha, to disperse the peculiarity.
"What does it mean?" Lord Li asked.
"It is a ritual."
"Huh?"
"It means that to stop these things from happening, people of the Zhang Village must kill eight people born on the yin month, yin day, and yin hour, pierce their bones with metal rods, and one of their hearts as well. They would then be trapped under the well covered by the Buddha statue and left to bleed to death in order to stop the strange things from happening. This was also why the well and the statue were built. Strangely enough, the occurrences did stop and this scroll lost its worth… until cracks appeared on the statue ten years ago, and strange things began happening in the village once again."