Chapter 37: The Second Death

Chapter Warning: Death, violence.

A soldier cladded in silver armor cleared his throat loudly: "Hear ye! Hear ye!" Five soldiers stood with a straight stance on top of a high platform where everyone around the marketplace would clearly hear their words.

By their call, everyone froze and stood silent, the crowd looked at each other and quickly compressed near the soldier who is about to share the order of the palace.

Whilst the soldier was solemnly pronouncing the news to the people, they would gasp but still stay silent at the news, just murmuring to their acquaintances about what the soldier just shared to them.

The day continued and the soldiers dismissed the people's attention, immediately leaving after they've done their job.

[On the Ramiya market, a district in the kingdom.]

A man clears his throat and taps the paper scrolls together up in the air. He sucks in his breath and yells: "Execution at the capital! Buy the latest paper for five coppers!" It was the newsboy, a hawker and ear for news. His business is to publish and distribute the latest stories that was going around the Kingdom.

Their nostrils fumed, "The hell, thats expensive!-" the man scrunched his nose but his wife by his side kept tugging his clothes and tiptoed to see the papers of the man selling it but the newspaper man tilts the scrolls away from her sight.

She whines: "Come on! We have to stay updated to the present news!" Beaten by his wife's words, he sighs and nods, tossing five coppers which the boy caught quickly. Together, they immediately rummaged the whole thing and excitedly read its contents.

The word kept on travelling in all four directions, just as how quick the coronation news spread was also the same period of time the same person be pronounced to his death.

"Have you heard?! The King's gonna be hanged in the afternoon!"

"What?"

"Hey! Don't call him that anymore!"

"Most people are already in the capital! Lets watch the execution!"

"Hurry up!!"

"Yeah! Let me just close the store!!"

The moment the maiden was unlocked, the person inside fell out of balance and roughly slumped down the ground with a loud thud, bumping his head that pushed the thorns on his scalp deeper. His body shook and yelped from the newly felt heavy pain on the side of his head.

Jian Li sprawled away, his hand was tied together in front of him while his legs was so tired and suspended that he could barely move it. He couldn't stand up so he tried to crawl away like a dying fish out of the water.

"Oye~ aren't you a man? Behave like one little boy! Oi oi! Where are you going boy-ya? The execution platform is over there!" Jian Li couldn't care less from the man's insults, all he wanted was a way out of this mess. He wanted to escape and flee from his own kingdom.

But the soldiers wouldn't let a dangerous man roam around freely on all fours. Without mercy on the feeble boy slithering the ground, a hand chopped the back of his neck, immediately sending him to sleep as he was carried away to the next location by two soldiers.

When Jian Li woke up, the back of his neck felt tremendous pain. His knees shook and was unable to support him. Both his bleeding wrists are now tied behind his back and his skin's complexion looked even paler and his cheekbones are already showing from his hunger.

Even though it was the afternoon, the skies looked gloomy once again, fitting the events that are about to go down.

Jian Li looked around where he was: he was standing on top of a high birch wood plank platform with two ominous columns, and one hanging knotted rope giving him sinister chills. When he looked down the platform, he saw hundreds of people staring at him increasing the foreboding feeling inside of him. Glancing left and right, although his head felt fuzzy, he could still recognize the palace officials and nobles around the kingdom being present on this special day of his.

His stomach churns and his neck sweats.

Gigantic, hooded men loom behind him quietly. They were called merciless for their gruesomeness and menacing figures of the Jian forces. These black hooded men that had covers on their faces were the hit-men or executioners that brings death to people while remaining anonymous. When Jian Li met eyes with the man behind him was like sinking into the devil's cold gaze, he would feel how many deaths he have seen and how many lives he had ended inside his black soulless eyes.

He was expressionless, showing Jian Li a point black face as he stare him down. Merciless still, even for hotshots like Jian Li.

A soldier jolted to see a golden carriage, he immediately tapped his foot loudly to alert other soldiers beside him and prepared another gasp of air to shout as the person inside the carriage went down. "Your Highness the Crown Prince Jian Morfran has arrived!" Technically, as both his brothers were down, Morfran will be taking the throne instead, the crown will be automatically his, as the rightful heir of it.

When the Royal Advisor's carriage finally came, to the venue, people started chanting:

"Purge! Purge!"

"Purge him!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill! Kill!"

Jian Li felt a crack inside him, his knees would bend him lower. To hear his beloved people say those words were hurtful like striking him few more wounds on his small body.

His face pales, seeing how the people's faces change drastically to being calm to enraged. Seeing hundreds of angry faces makes him see a black cloud of aura on top of them. His hand trembles behind him, his eyes would shrink and his mouth remains opened in shock. 'Just how, how did it turned out to this.. was those wishes of "long live" even meant for me?

The time slowed for Jian Li but their faint cheers of him remained buzzing inside his mind. He was left in a daze, staring to the cloudy sky to avoid tears.

He exhales, getting dizzier. 'Until when, how much time does it ever take to allow one to be their king and to label the same person as traitor?' He would think inside his head, not feeling the grip of the two executioners on his small arms as they lead him in the middle of the platform.

Keeping his head up to the skies, he wanted to avoid seeing his people's faces. He deeply inhales: ''How would that even happen? What is within one's mind? Was my perceptions to my people wrong? Perhaps i didn't understand them right? How? Where is my mistake?' As he exhaled, his head clears and finally felt a rough rope around his neck.

He chuckles to see Deverus' smiling face while his back faced the people. "Any last words sir charlatan?"

"...." His mouth didn't move but his eyes spoke instead. 'I can't even speak at this rate.'

Jian Li's neck was connected to the thick hanging rope but he doesn't tremble. Maybe he just still doesn't fully get his situation right now.

Deverus' black coat flaps as he turn around to face the impatient crowd. He inhales air and blasts it away: "I, the King's advisor Hakan Deverus, officially release the order of the execution of the condemned prisoner, the proclaimed Jian Li King of Jian, be faced by death from his crimes against the Kingdom." As soon as Deverus confirms his words and other officials not saying a thing but a nod, he exits the platform and only left Jian Li and the two executioners to remain there.

The crowd roars but Jian Li stayed quiet to observe them, observe their faces. He absolutely has no idea how to escape from this, it was a full on dead end.

The floor board creaks behind him and the two huge men began going to their positions.

"Papa? What's about to happen? Why is the king there? Is there a show?" A kid tugged his father's clothes, he immediately jolted not noticing his son's presence beside him. Children must not see an execution.

"Hey!" He covers his eyes immediately as in any moment, the person his child adores and idolizes will be killed.

The hitman in control of the platform looked over Deverus' gesture of command and when the official gave it, he nodded and glanced at Jian Li one last time.

Jian Li's heartbeat began beating louder and faster, he can feel it pounding and punching his ribs. He's about to die.

"I pray for you." The executioner mutters under his breath and finally turned the lever.

The trap under Jian Li's feet fell open leaving his body to drop to four to six feet that was enough to break his neck by the fall.

With a rumble and Jian Li's body disappeared in the people's eyes, the rope dangles and quivers.

"Uuurkk!! Urggg- koff koff!! Kuhh!!" His eyes watered and his feet wriggled, wanting to find the ground but he was stuck in the air. Jian Li was suspended by the neck, the weight of his body body tightens the noose around his neck, strangling him to suffocate to death.

The person dangling from the rope stopped on moving and choking. After a while, the people observed the rope stood tautly straight.

Deverus stares down Jian Li's body beside Morfran. "It's done." After ten to twenty minutes of leaving Jian Li's body hanging on the platform, the people started making their way home one by one.

After four hours of the execution, the nobles went back to their mansions, the Crown Prince also made his way back the palace leaving two hundred soldiers on the site and Deverus.

From the under the platform, Deverus stares up on Jian Li. His head was bowed to the side, and saliva drips down his lips, his eyes was closed and the thorn crown landed under his foot, maybe it fell down from his drop.

Deverus stared at him for five minutes, thinking how devastating sight this is for a King.

He turns around, commanding the two hooded executioners. "Take his body down and rid of it."

They both bowed: "Yes sir."

One of them cut the rope from above while the other catches Jian Li's falling body. The hitman was shocked at how light a boy can be.

The hitman that was carrying Jian Li's body shuddered from head to toe. "S-sir Deverus!!"

The man being called looked back from a distance, annoyed with it. "What?" Deverus answers.

"He's still alive!" The hitman shouted with alarm in his voice.

Deverus' heart leaped. "....what?"

The hitman laid Jian Li down the concrete, holding and checking his body. "His neck... It isn't dislocated!" The way how the two men bickered loudly piqued the curiosity of other nearby soldiers. They formed a circle around Jian Li's body along with Deverus, they all hawked down Jian Li nervously when the executioner confirmed:

"He still has a pulse!"