Empreinte de main en sang

Chapitre 37

Fortunately, the detective didn't make him wait too long; the television hanging in the corner suddenly showed a picture again.

This time, he saw Ge Hua, the household registration police officer.

The police officer was visibly panicked, tears and snot streaming down his face. He seemed to be muttering something, but no sound could be heard. He sat in a chair, his hands and feet bound, unable to move. His eyes were fixed on one direction, filled with terror.

Yang Zheng was familiar with this scene. Not long ago, he had seen the same scene on his laptop in a room at the Duguang Hotel. The only difference was that the person strapped to the chair was now a household registration police officer.

Yang Zheng felt his blood boil and immediately stood up, rushing to the television. Although he guessed that the executioner must have had a reason for showing him this scene, he still couldn't control his anger.

This is the man who just violated Yang Mei. It would be incredibly satisfying to watch him die.

"Don't you just want to kill this man right now?" A man's voice suddenly rang out in the room.

Yang Zheng looked around but couldn't find the source of the sound. He could only tell that the sound must be coming from some kind of sound transmission device hidden in the room. The sound was from the man who had called him from his room at the Duguang Hotel.

—He is the criminal investigator.

"I want to know what you're up to!" Yang Zheng shouted.

“I just want you to answer my questions,” the detective said. “If you don’t cooperate, I’ll have to send this policeman back to the room where Yang Mei was.”

"Are you even human or a beast? Do you know what that means to a woman?" Yang Zheng's anger flared up again. "If you want to deal with me, then stand in front of me like a man!"

The detective didn't reply. The television screen flickered, then suddenly returned to the scene of the police officer abusing Yang Mei. Yang Mei was still screaming and struggling desperately. The police officer on top of her had a ferocious, beast-like gaze, his body pressing down on Yang Mei, as heavy as a mountain.

Yang Zheng couldn't help but groan. Some blood-red light shot out from his mind, and his body began to tremble slightly. This time, he truly and clearly felt that some power was about to break free from his body.

"Stop, stop!" he yelled, his voice already hoarse.

The scene returns to the moment when the police officer is strapped to a chair, and the detective's voice echoes in the empty room again: "Now, you know how to talk to me."

Yang Zheng nodded, panting, but the anger in his eyes intensified.

"My question is, do you want to see that policeman die right now?"

“That’s right, he insulted Yangmei, I wish he would die soon.”

"Alright, now I will grant your wish."

Another man appeared in the scene, wearing a mask with the word "Detective" written on it. The police officer struggled more, but his body slumped into the chair.

The masked man put a black bag over the head of the police officer, tightened the rope at the top of the bag, wrapped it around the officer's neck several times, and then tied a knot.

Yang Zheng stared at the screen, somewhat confused about what the masked man was trying to do.

"Death is an art; only a butcher would wield a knife and kill indiscriminately," the executioner's voice came through the microphone. "Not long ago, I happened to buy a book in a bookstore about various cruel tortures in ancient China. While it broadened my horizons, I also discovered that the cruelty inherent in human nature was vividly displayed through the various cruel acts of punishment. Chinese history is, in fact, a history of punishment; the various cruel tortures revealed the most barbaric and tyrannical nature of the rulers."

Yang Zheng was speechless because he didn't know what the speaker meant by those words.

"I have also discovered that, in the national character of the Chinese people, in addition to the cruelty, the opposite of kindness also occupies a very important position in traditional culture. For example, the core of Confucianism is 'benevolence,' and 'benevolent governance' is the political system that Confucianism idealizes. Cruelty and kindness constitute different aspects of traditional Chinese culture, showing the complexity of human nature in the Chinese people. Today, when I look at you, I suddenly realized that this issue can actually be broken down into smaller parts, and it can also be specifically manifested in a person."

Yang Zheng immediately understood that the judge was actually making a veiled reference, implying that there were two opposing forces within him.

"Alright, I've said too much already, and I'm afraid you're already impatient," the executioner said. "Now, I'll show you another kind of punishment from ancient China."

Yang Zheng stared intently at the screen, his breathing becoming more rapid. Subconsciously, he felt a strange craving for the impending killing, especially since the person about to die was a man he deeply loathed.

The masked man in the scene—Yang Zheng still guessed he wasn't actually a criminal investigator, but someone like himself who wanted to be an assistant to the investigator but had been brought here—left for a while, then reappeared with two items in his hands. Yang Zheng looked closely and saw that they were a hammer and a chisel.

The chisel was pressed against the police officer's head, specifically the top of his head, while the hammer was raised high, about to fall...

"What you see now is called 'Zaodian' (凿颠). According to the Book of Han, during the reign of Duke Xiao of Qin, Shang Yang implemented reforms and introduced various forms of corporal punishment, with Zaodian being one of them. Later, Shang Yang's reforms failed, and he himself met a tragic end, being torn apart by five horses. However, most of the cruel punishments he invented have survived, including Zaodian." The executioner spoke eloquently, like a professional guide, providing commentary on the impending slaughter.

Yang Zheng stared intently at the masked man, waiting for the hammer to fall. The executioner's narration made this already unusual method of murder even more alluring.

Yang Zheng held his breath, which had been rapid, for fear of missing the moment when blood splattered everywhere.

But the hammer did not fall for a long time.

Yang Zheng remained motionless, as did the masked man in the image. The air seemed to stand still, even time itself seemed to freeze. The force of that anticipation brought Yang Zheng to the brink of extreme tension.

"Are you very anxious now, and wondering why the hammer hasn't fallen yet?" the executioner's voice rang out again.

Yang Zheng remained silent. Silence here, of course, implies acquiescence.

“Because I don’t want you to miss your chance,” the executioner continued.

"What opportunity?" Yang Zheng's voice trembled slightly.

"A chance for you to kill that policeman with your own hands."

Yang Zheng's body trembled, and for a moment, he felt a surge of impulse. However, he wasn't so impulsive as to lose his mind. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Actually, from the beginning, you wanted me to kill this policeman, which is why you gave him the opportunity to humiliate Yang Mei."

"Does any of that matter? This policeman raped the girl you love, and that's the reality you have to face. You're a man, and you can't even protect the girl you love. I want to help you, so I'm giving you a chance to get revenge."

"If I want revenge, you are my greatest enemy, and the police are just pawns you set up."

“That’s right. If I were you, I would also think of killing me. But you may never have that opportunity, so why not kill the person who raped Yangmei? At least that way, you can find some relief for yourself.”

“Under other circumstances, I might kill him, but now, I will not follow your orders.” Yang Zheng swallowed hard, his eyes fixed intently on the household registration police officer on the television.

“I think I said I would never force you to do something you don’t want to do,” the executioner said.

"It's good that you remember."

"Then I have no choice but to keep the policeman here and let him go and talk to Yang Mei some more."

"You dare!" Yang Zheng shouted angrily, "If you let that beast get close to Yang Mei again, I will definitely not let you off."