The Messenger (I)

The quiet front yard became even quieter. No one answered Ning Que's question. An official failed to grip his pen and it fell slightly to the ground into the rain water.

In the human world, killing captives was a very serious issue. Human beings had walked away from bloody massacres ever since the end of the primitive times. Throughout the Tang history, no one except for Xiahou had ever done so.

Even the virtueless Shangguan Yangyu found Ning Que's words absurd and hard to swallow. He seemed pale and could not help showing his disagreement. 

The autumn rain was still pattering and the peculiar silence remained. It was an irritating silence so Ning Que broke it.

"Why so serious? Is that so hard to decide? Then I'll make the decision myself." He looked at Shangguan and said, "Ask the prefectures to kill one third and see how it goes."