plumnovel Chapter 1 The Last Wish
Chapter 1 The Last Wish
"die."
The vermilion brush fell.
The crimson character for "slay" is so powerful that it penetrates the paper and seeps into its texture.
Ling Qingxuan closed the file, his voice calm:
"Yu Liang, a criminal, has made false statements about the fate of the nation and spread heresies to mislead the public. He shall be executed at noon three days from now."
In the corner of the cell, a figure in a haystack convulsed suddenly.
Yu Liang raised his head, his face covered in tears.
Like a mangy dog with its spine broken, still struggling in the mud.
He scrambled up the iron bars with both hands and feet, his fingers gripping the rusty metal bars tightly.
"Master! Master Ling!"
He pressed his face between the iron bars, his features contorted into a grotesque and comical shape, just to get a little closer to those spotless official boots.
"I was wrong! I'm nothing but a fart! I shouldn't have talked nonsense!"
"Please... I'll kowtow to the Grand Secretary and just let me go!"
Ling Qingxuan took half a step back.
The silver embroidery on the flying fish robe gleamed coldly in the dim torchlight, untouched by the mundane world.
She is the youngest inspector in the Suspended Mirror Bureau.
She's seen tough guys and soft guys alike.
But this is the first person to trample their dignity into the mud just to survive.
"Three more days."
Ling Qingxuan turned away, not wanting to look at him any longer, "Save your strength for the journey."
"I'm not reconciled! I don't want to die—"
Yu Liang howled, his forehead slamming against the iron bars.
Nobody saw it.
Hidden beneath the sobs, the thumb and forefinger of the left hand, tucked into the cuff, twisted rapidly together.
The sensation was wonderful.
In the void, countless invisible lines trembled.
He caught the least significant one.
A sharp pain struck.
The skin on the back of my left hand evaporated out of thin air.
The bright red muscle fibers were exposed to the air, then melted and disintegrated.
In an instant.
All that remains are bare bones.
Yu Liang masked his excruciating pain with even louder, more mournful cries.
A sharp flick of the finger bone!
"Bang!"
The jailer kicked him in the broken bone of his hand.
"Shut up!"
Yu Liang huddled in a ball, trembling, and looked up with a forced smile:
"My lord... could you grant me a few wishes?"
Ling Qingxuan stopped.
The Suspended Mirror Bureau does indeed have a history of providing "end-of-life care".
To demonstrate the boundless grace of Heaven and uphold the dignity of procedures.
In the past, death row inmates would either beg for a last meal before their execution or wish to kowtow to their parents.
"allow."
Yu Liang stared longingly at Ling Qingxuan, his eyes filled with the greed and absurdity of a commoner.
"I want to eat Zhang the Butcher's wontons in the south of the city! A big bowl, extra pepper! I'd rather die of spiciness!"
Yu Liang swallowed hard, his eyes gleaming. "I've never eaten anything good in my life, and I'm craving this."
Mud can't support the wall.
Ling Qingxuan nodded.
"And... I have a dilapidated hut in Lost Dog Lane in the east of the city, and there are three copper coins under the bed."
Yu Liang's voice grew softer and softer, as if he also felt ashamed.
"That's my savings for my funeral. I beg you, sir, to send a kind person precisely at 9:45 PM to help me turn the coins over."
"It must be exactly 4:45 PM! The characters must face upwards for good luck, ensuring a good rebirth in the next life."
The two armored jailers looked at each other in bewilderment.
Flipping copper coins?
Do we have to flip it at the exact moment?
Is this madman scared out of his wits?
"Oh, right, right!"
Yu Liang slapped his forehead and pointed to a skinny, one-eyed rat in the corner.
"It's fate that this rat is with me in jail. Could you leave it some food? It looks so hungry."
He squeezed out a few tears.
The jailer's mouth twitched.
Wontons, flipping coins, feeding mice.
In Ling Qingxuan's view, this was nothing more than a helpless and ridiculous sense of ritual when a humble life faced death.
Like a drowning person grasping at a straw.
Meaningless.
"Granted."
Ling Qingxuan lifted his foot and walked away.
"The last one!"
Yu Liang seemed to have mustered all his courage, his voice trembling.
"When the execution is in three days, could... could the executioner be allowed to delay for a quarter of an hour?"
"I...I've always been afraid of pain since I was little, and I want...I want to live a little longer, to bask in the sun a little longer..."
"The law is absolute, no bargaining allowed!" the jailer shouted.
Ling Qingxuan did not turn around.
Silence is a form of refusal.
"Sigh...that's true, what am I anyway?"
Yu Liang chuckled, then prostrated himself on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly. "Thank you so much, sir! You're truly a living bodhisattva!"
……
The iron gate slammed shut.
Darkness once again engulfed the cell.
The footsteps disappeared completely at the end of the passageway.
The cell was deathly silent.
Yu Liang slowly straightened up.
The humble, fearful, and fawning expressions on their faces vanished like the tide.
He leaned against the damp, cold wall and raised his left hand, which was now just bones.
The finger bones are clearly visible.
It exudes an eerie artistic feel in the darkness.
"Three copper coins can buy the life of the current chief minister."
Yu Liang's lips parted in a grin.
He laughed silently.
Those eyes were deeper and more unfathomable than the imperial prison itself.
"This deal is fair."
……
At 3:45 PM, the night was as dark as ink.
In the capital city of Daye, thousands of lights shone.
South of the city, a wonton stall.
"Add more pepper! That death row inmate wants to burn himself to death!"
The jailer urged impatiently.
The waiter, Xiao Liu, was sweating profusely with anxiety.
He carried the silver he had saved for three years, and he had to rush back to Qingzhou overnight to deliver the betrothal gifts to his fiancée, Su Xiu.
Haste makes waste.
Hand trembled.
Half a can of pepper powder was poured into the boiling pot.
A pungent white smoke instantly rose up, swept away by the draft and heading straight for the upscale tea shop next door.
Inside the tea shop.
An old tea master is selecting the finest "pre-rain Longjing" tea for the Grand Secretary.
"Achoo!"
A thunderous sneeze.
The old tea master's hand trembled.
A hard, needle-like tea stalk that should have been removed was quietly mixed into that priceless tribute tea.
……
At the fourth quarter of the hour of Xu (7:45 PM), in the east of the city.
A captain, pinching his nose, squeezed into the alley of stray dogs, his face full of gloom.
"You want to flip it again? You've got a lot of trouble."
He found the three copper coins under the dusty bed.
Time's up.
He flipped the coin over sharply.
The characters should face upwards.
"Clatter!"
The crisp sound of copper coins striking the ground was particularly jarring in the quiet alley.
Above the roof beam.
A flock of roosting wild pigeons were startled by the strange noise.
"Coo-coo—Puff-puff!"
The flock of pigeons suddenly burst from their nest, swarming out of the broken window, a dark mass sweeping across the alleyway.
The alley entrance is a steep slope.
A lard vendor was struggling to push his cart uphill.
I was startled by the flock of pigeons rushing towards me and instinctively turned my head to avoid them.
The cart is out of balance.
"Splash!"
The heavy oil drum tipped over.
Slippery lard flowed freely down the bluestone path, covering the entire slope.
The vendor was terrified and was just about to pack up when...
The sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar.
"Imperial Physician Wang, emergency! All bystanders, please move aside!"
The carriage sped over, its wheels pressing down on the layer of lard that hadn't yet dissipated.
……
At the same time, at the Grand Secretary's residence.
Bright lights.
The Grand Secretary who had written the word "kill" in vermilion ink was sitting upright in a grand chair.
The student respectfully handed over the freshly brewed pre-rain Longjing tea.
"Has that madman named Yu Liang been dealt with?"
The Grand Secretary took the teacup and gently blew away the foam.
"Inspector Ling went in person and will be executed in three days."
"Um."
The Grand Secretary nodded slightly, his expression indifferent.
The life or death of an ant is not worth his time.
He picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
The tea went down my throat.
The hard, needle-like tea stem slid down his throat with the flow of water.
If nothing unexpected happens, this is just a normal bout of discomfort.
As long as Physician Wang arrives within fifteen minutes and applies acupuncture to the acupoints, there will be no major problems.
The Grand Secretary frowned slightly, about to cough.
Suddenly, the butler's panicked shouts came from outside the door.
"Master! Something terrible has happened!"
"Physician Wang's carriage overturned in the east of the city! The person inside has lost consciousness!"
The Grand Secretary's pupils suddenly contracted.
Startled, he couldn't catch his breath.
A tea stalk got stuck in his trachea.
I can't cough it up, and I can't swallow it down.
His face instantly turned a deep purplish-red, and he gripped his neck tightly with both hands, his fingernails scratching his skin.
The armchair overturned.
This powerful figure, who held immense influence in the court, bounced violently on the expensive carpet like a fish out of water.
My vision started to blur.
In a daze.
He seemed to see a pair of eyes.
A pair of eyes that seemed to come from the depths of the imperial prison, filled with mockery and coldness.
I watched silently as he breathed his last, separated by layers of emptiness.
The Grand Secretary's residence was in complete chaos.
Screams, cries, and countless footsteps mingled together, tearing the mansion, a symbol of the pinnacle of power in Daye, to shreds.
"Imperial Physician! Quickly, fetch another imperial physician!"
"Master! Master, wake up!"
Nobody knew that this was just the beginning.
A butterfly flapped its wings in the south of the city, and a storm swept through the east.
At the eye of the storm, he lay in the mud deep within the imperial prison.
……
Imperial Prison.
A steaming bowl of wontons was placed at the cell door.
Yu Liang used his left hand, which was now just a skeleton, to pick up the bowl and swallowed it in large gulps.
The scalding broth and the spicy pepper stimulated his taste buds, as well as his rapidly fading vitality.
"Delicious! It's fucking delicious!"
He ate until he was covered in sweat and tears streamed down his face.
In the corner, a blind rat was gnawing on a rotten piece of steamed bun.
After eating and drinking its fill, the mouse scurried into a crack in the wall.
It followed the damp tunnel known only to it, descending all the way to the depths of the imperial prison's foundation.
There, there was a main beam that supported the weight of the entire Immortal Prison, and it had become slightly rotten due to the dampness.
The mouse gritted its teeth and bit down on the most vulnerable spot.
Inside the prison cell.
Yu Liang finished the last sip of soup and let out a satisfied burp.
He turned his head and looked at the dark iron window, as if through the many obstacles he could see Ling Qingxuan, who was in a state of panic, the Prime Minister's mansion in complete chaos, and the world that was about to collapse.
He raised his skeletal hand and gestured towards the void as if raising a glass.
"Adults."
"The game has only just begun."