"Exalted man, in front is the residence of the humble man."
Under the diligent leadership of the executioner, Zhou Shi and him came to a small house two intersections away from the execution ground.
Along the way, Zhou Shi noticed that all the shops and houses on both sides had their doors closed, and some even had rotten padlocks on the doors. No one had lived there for an unknown period of time.
The so-called "residence" of the executioner is just a shabby house a few steps wide, with only an earthen kang covered with rotten straw mats and a small mud stove.
"You are just a housekeeper, how come you live in such a shabby place?"
"The master knows something, so please come in."
Zhou Shi sat down on the kang head suspiciously and said:
"What do you call it?"
"My name is Shi Jinzhong."
"Shi Jinzhong, tell me about your job. I don't think you look like a serious executioner."
"This...well, although I can't say I'm very skilled, I really do this. It's just that when the old executioner Liu died, I had only been apprenticed to him for a month. I didn't learn all the skills so I took over his class. I also want to go somewhere else.
I will study under my teacher again, but I can’t live without me here in Yinling City, so I just copy the cat and the tiger, and treat the dead horse as a living horse doctor.”
Fortunately, your business will not be complained by customers... Zhou Shi then asked: "What method did you use just now? Is it from the executioner's shop?"
"Uh, no." Shi Jinzhong lowered his head and hesitated for a while, but after seeing the master's sharp eyes, he replied honestly, "Actually, before I became a disciple, I was... commonly known as a pickpocket. I learned some skills in stealing, but it was just
They were just trying to get over the wall with a straw rope. Later, I thought that this was not a serious business, so I made some connections and became the executioner's apprentice."
He scratched his head, looked Zhou Shi up and down, and said with a naive smile: "May I ask which sect the master is from? Can you accept the younger ones... No, no, no, no, teach them some skills?"
"Me?" Zhou Shi said with a smile, "Can you learn the skills in the vagina?"
"Yin..." Shi Jinzhong quickly covered his mouth, and then rewarded himself with a few big mouths, "The little kid talked nonsense and offended the master. He should be beaten, he should be beaten!"
When he was on the road, he had heard that the underworld is a business of dealing with the dead. It is extremely strange and must not be messed with!
"Okay, okay. Let me ask you again, what's unusual in Yinling City?"
"Abnormal?" He held his red and swollen face and asked puzzledly, "As an expert can see, there is nothing abnormal."
Hey, you and Budu are in the same group! Zhou Shi felt irritated and asked in more detail: "Why are there all men in this city and not a single woman?"
"The women are all at home, Master. This Yinling City is a place of execution. How can we let women in?"
"What do you mean, women don't live in the city?"
"Of course. Oh, I'm afraid I'm from the south, so I don't know. In the three hundred miles around the capital, all death row prisoners must be taken to a specific Guillotine City for execution. And Guillotine City must be the land of the sun.
, not only the anode and yin must be balanced in Feng Shui, but also no women can enter, so as to suppress the resentment of the deceased.
"Experts should know that many big cities were built on ancient battlefields, right? That's probably the truth."
This week, I finally understood that Yinling City is similar to Jiangdu City, but this place is even more extreme and cannot contain even half of Yin Qi.
But as for that, Jiangdu was built on the ancient battlefield, or Dragon Lock City, and there were no such strict requirements. Even women were not allowed to enter...
"Then where will the female family members of the citizens be settled?"
"They are all outside the city. In fact, there are only about a hundred people living in Yinling City right now. They are all widowers and elderly people. Most of the others live in the countryside.
"The government has special preferential treatment for Yinling City. They give out meat and rice every month. On execution days, they also have good wine and good cloth. You see, the people who come to the city to watch the execution are fed and clothed with good things. One day
You can live comfortably without doing anything."
So that’s it, the mystery in the restaurant has been solved.
"How many years have you worked here?"
"Three years, Tian Zuo fifteen years."
Hey, isn't this a coincidence? Zhou Shi quickly asked: "There was a case where seven baby girls were killed three years ago. Do you know?"
Shi Jinzhong's eyes widened: "Seven? Are you counting so carefully? I think it's more than that."
"More than that?" Zhou Shi said in surprise, "How many?"
"I don't have an accurate number, but it must be dozens. After all, there are thousands of families around Yinling City. Who can be sure about whether it will be a boy or a girl?"
"Wait, wait, wait." Zhou Shi felt that he was getting more and more confused as he spoke, "Please explain in more detail, how come so many babies were killed? Infant drowning has been a felony since ancient times!"
"That's true, but how do we start investigating neighborly protection? And as long as we don't give birth to a girl, every family can live in the official family. Who can resist this temptation?"
"This...could it be that no one who has given birth to a girl can even enter Guillotine City?"
"Yes, the feng shui of Yinling City is Zhiyang, and men born in Yinling City also have a Zhiyang destiny. However, if there are living sisters within three generations, the destiny will be modified. Therefore, the birth of a man born in Yinling City
The baby girl would drown immediately after birth, and when the authorities checked, they said it was a miscarriage."
"Then where do these wives and mothers come from? Does anyone dare to marry in such a ghost place?"
"Of course, and they are rushing to get married. After all, there is official food to eat, and drought and floods guarantee the harvest. Who wouldn't be greedy? If the matchmakers around them can arrange a marriage for the woman to marry into Yinling City, her reputation will skyrocket; marrying far away
Any daughter-in-law who comes to Yinling without a complete set of furniture as a dowry will be rejected by her mother-in-law."
"Oh my God, don't these wives know that their daughters will drown?"
Shi Jinzhong didn't understand why he had such a big reaction, and said: "Of course I know, and the ones who do it are usually mothers or mothers-in-law. It is said that men who do this kind of work will be stained with yin energy, which is not a yang destiny. But I
I heard the old executioner say that this is superstition, and whoever does it will not change his fate."
Zhou Shi was at a loss for words. He felt that this was more terrifying than simply drowning a baby! This was not a helpless act due to backward productivity, but a bloodbath for the sake of a comfortable life! This damn world!
"Well, Master." Shi Jinzhong saw that his fists were clenched until his knuckles turned white and the veins on his forehead popped out. Knowing that he was angry, he quickly said, "Actually, I also think this custom is very cruel. But you see, although there are no weapons in the world today,
, but droughts and floods have not stopped, and the property accumulated by three generations of farming has been lost in one famine. There are also more terrible epidemics. It is said that more and more villages have been affected by the epidemic in the past two years, and people have gone south to escape.
The refugees from the epidemic are already comparable to the years of famine...
"Being able to take root in Yinling City is a rare blessing. At least you won't be hungry or cold. Besides, as long as there are death row prisoners around the capital, Guantou City must exist. If you have one more family, it won't be too much for your family.
, then why not..."
Zhou Shi didn't hear the last part, because Budu's voice sounded in his mind again.
"What's up, Shopkeeper Zhou, don't you think the distance between them as beasts is not further than mine?"
There was sarcasm, ridicule, and a hint of sadness in its voice.