Ba ethnic group's bewitching charm - the executioner

Chapter 30

“I still don’t understand why you’re wasting so much energy on this person?” said Bachi, who was in a wheelchair.

"Don't you find this interesting?" said the man standing to the side with his hands at his sides. "I've only ever seen dual personalities in books before, but now I have someone like that by my side. I don't want to miss this opportunity."

"But what does that have to do with our plans?"

“Turning people into devils is meaningful in itself.” The standing man actually smiled. “If you just want to avenge your people, of course you don’t need to go to so much trouble. But you don’t want your people to die silently. You want the world to know that they live in a dirty world. You also want everyone to remember the name of the Ba tribe. So, what we need to do is not just killing people.”

Ba Qi remained silent for a long time before saying, "Perhaps cooperating with you was a mistake."

"Why?" The standing man's voice was more respectful.

“You are too cunning. Although I have to admit that your plan suits my taste, I always feel that you are still hiding something from me. I have a feeling that my trust in you, just as Batu trusts Chu Yan, will bring disaster to our people.”

“Then you can kill me now,” the standing man said.

“You know I won’t, that’s why I dare to say such things,” Ba Qi said in a deep voice. “But, when all this is over, when you have no more use to me, I might really kill you.”

"That's better than dying now." The standing man seemed indifferent to death.

“You’re very frank, and that’s what makes you scary.”

"No matter how terrifying I am, you can crush me like an ant."

"It's good that you understand. I don't want any unexpected things to happen in this matter." Ba Qi stared at Yang Zheng and Yang Mei on the monitor, paused for a moment, and then said, "Has everything been arranged for Ma Nan?"

"Don't worry, Ma Nan is a smart man. He must be in that house right now, figuring out how to commit a locked-room murder. I believe it won't be long, at most before dawn, before he discovers the clues we left behind."

Ba Qi nodded: "I still don't understand. Ba Rong doesn't trust Ma Nan. Half a year ago, he only used Ma Nan as a pawn. Moreover, if Chu Yan hadn't saved him at the crucial moment, he would have died on Peach Blossom Mountain. Why would Ba Rong hide the clues to the whereabouts of the sacred object in a cipher that only he can decipher?"

This time, the standing man hesitated for a moment before slowly saying, "Perhaps there's something I forgot to tell you. Half a year ago on Peach Blossom Mountain, when Chu Yan saved Ma Nan, it wasn't against Ba Rong's orders."

"Could it be that Ba Rong never intended for Ma Nan to die?" Ba Qi asked in surprise.

The story from six months ago goes like this: Ma Nan found the whereabouts of the Ba tribe's sacred object, and Batu led his people to retrieve it, entering a labyrinth called the "Kunlun Temple." At the time, neither Ma Nan nor Batu knew that it was actually a death trap prepared by Ba Rong for the Ba people. Just as the Ba people entered the secret chamber one after another, Chu Yan suddenly led Ma Nan away from the labyrinth. Although Ma Nan didn't know what would happen next, he still followed Chu Yan, running wildly.

With a deafening roar, the "Kunlun Temple" was instantly reduced to ruins, and Batu and many of his tribesmen perished in the explosion. Ma Nan then understood the truth of the matter: his father had sacrificed himself and several of his brothers to lure and kill the Ba tribesmen. At that moment, Ba Rong appeared and told Ma Nan that Chu Yan had secretly fallen in love with him, which was why she had disobeyed her father's orders to save him.

"In fact, Chu Yan's act of leading Ma Nan out of the maze at the critical moment was entirely Ba Rong's arrangement," the standing man said. "Ba Rong had been setting up this scheme for over a decade, and when he first planned it, he didn't consider the emotional factor at all. He adopted those children with the intention of facilitating the trap. But over those years, he had developed a deep bond with the children, and once the plan was launched, it was like an arrow on a bowstring, ready to be released. In reality, he was also deeply saddened by the tragic deaths of several children at Yu Lei's hands. Therefore, he changed his plan at the last minute, arranging for Chu Yan to rescue Ma Nan."

Baqi remained silent, a chill emanating from his eyes visible behind the bronze mask.

The standing man continued, "Of course, he spared Ma Nan because after the battle at Peach Blossom Mountain, Ma Nan's life or death was no longer relevant to his plans. Moreover, Ba Rong is getting older and more cautious, and he couldn't possibly ignore unforeseen circumstances in the battle against the Ba people. Therefore, he entrusted the clues to the whereabouts of the sacred object to Chu Yan and arranged for her to save Ma Nan at a crucial moment, so that one day Ma Nan would remember Chu Yan's kindness and help her find the sacred object."

"Did Chu Yan tell you all this herself?" Ba Qi asked in a deep voice.

The standing man paused for a moment, shook his head, and said softly, "I heard those words from Ba Rong himself."

“Ba Rong’s most valued adopted son is Ma Nan. Even Ma Nan doesn’t know about his plans. Would he tell you personally?” Ba Qi asked suspiciously.

The standing man sighed: "Of course, Ba Rong wouldn't tell me in person. However, during that time, Chu Yan was with Ma Nan, and Ba Rong would contact her by phone whenever he needed to."

"You happened to overhear Ba Rong and Chu Yan's conversation?" Ba Qi said in a deep voice. "I'm afraid there's no such thing as a coincidence. Ba Rong is such a cautious person, and his phone call with Chu Yan is such a confidential matter. How could you have been so careless as to let him overhear it?"

“That’s right.” The standing man coughed, as if trying to cover up his embarrassment. “I admit, I started paying close attention to Ba Rong’s movements back then. Although he never said anything to me, I still discovered that Ba Rong was a man hiding secrets, so I couldn’t help but notice him.”

Ba Qi slammed his hand heavily on the armrest of the wheelchair and said sternly, "Ba Rong has treated you well, but you are ungrateful and have started to plot against him long ago."

The standing man sighed again: "Although I knew about Ba Rong's plan, I didn't get involved at all, and I never did anything to wrong him until he died. I was just curious about him and happened to learn his secret. Now that I think about it, if it weren't for my curiosity, perhaps your Ba people would never have found your sacred object."

Baqi remained silent for a long while. Although he disliked this man intensely, he had to admit that his words made sense. At least for now, the Ba people still needed his help to retrieve the sacred object.

“Alright, they’ve said everything they needed to say.” The standing man pointed to the monitor and said, “Now, I’m going to let them sleep. We need to rest for a bit. Then, we’ll put on the real show.”

Baqi waved his hand, and the standing man slowly retreated. The Ba chieftain in the wheelchair rested his hand on his forehead, as if deep in thought, or perhaps utterly exhausted. After a while, he slowly turned his wheelchair to the door, locked it from the inside, and then turned to a mirror, staring intently at the狰狞 mask reflected in it.

The mask was slowly removed, revealing a face even more ferocious than the mask itself.

He had no hair, and seemingly no skin either; crimson veins covered his entire face. Anyone who saw this face would surely think he was a ghost from hell.

If it weren't for the tragic deaths of his father and clansmen, he would never have interacted with anyone. Now, the rise and fall of the entire Ba tribe rests on his shoulders. Therefore, he has no choice but to wear the bronze mask and walk through the city.

His only hope now is to return to his tribe's homeland as soon as possible, carrying the souls of his deceased clansmen and the stolen sacred objects from his tribe. That is the true home of the Ba people.

At this moment, Yang Zheng and Yang Mei, who were on the monitor, had already slumped onto the bed and had obviously fallen asleep again.

Yang Zheng thought he was still dreaming, because he remembered sitting on the bed with Yang Mei. Now, all he was surrounded by was darkness. Thick and solid.

He slowly sat up, his hand touching the cold blue brick floor. Suddenly, he had a strange feeling that he had returned to the room where he and Luo Bin had once stayed together.

Indeed, he quickly solidified his judgment—he had returned to where he started.

"Luo Bin!" he called Luo Bin's name softly, the sound echoing in the empty room before fading away. In the silence, he felt a sense of despair. He couldn't help but muster all his strength and let out a loud roar.

The lights suddenly came on, and the sudden brightness made him dizzy.

Slowly opening his eyes, he knew his judgment was correct; this was indeed the room where he had first woken up. The walls were bare, the floor and walls made of blue bricks. The iron door leading outside was tightly closed, and behind another door was the bathroom. Only a television set hung from the ceiling at the far end of the room.

He was alone in the room, with only his long shadow at his feet.

Yang Zheng felt like he was going crazy—

The executioner brought him in, but never showed himself, merely toying with him repeatedly. What was he trying to do?

The air in the closed room seemed to freeze. Yang Zheng stood motionless in the center of the room. But his heavy breathing revealed his growing anger. After an unknown amount of time, he let out a low roar, his eyes turning bloodshot and flashing with the ferocity of a ravenous beast.

He started pacing back and forth in the room, getting faster and faster until he was practically running.

At this moment, he was eager to destroy something; if the executioner stood before him, he would tear him apart without hesitation. However, the room was empty, and his fist, which had gathered its power, had no target to strike.