Chapter 239 157: An Accident! Silencing! A Near-Death Escape!

Drums.

They are a very special kind of musical instrument.

In ancient times, they were indispensable for any joyous occasion, like dragon and lion dances, or wedding processions.

At the same time, they were also taken onto the battlefield.

Music gives people strength. That isn't a metaphor—it's a statement of fact!

Music can stir human emotions, and emotions are triggered by an overabundance of certain substances in the body. For instance, music can cause a rapid secretion of dopamine, making people excited and giving them unstoppable momentum!

But that raises a question.

With so many drums, could they all exist just to make noise?

Of course not.

And so...

some extremely special drums came to be.

"Sister Drum!"

Out in the snow, Xu Huo had no mind to brush the flakes from his hair or shoulders. He looked at Li Jianye and weakly uttered two words.

'Sister... Drum?'

Li Jianye still didn't understand. He furrowed his brow, lost in thought.

But Xu Huo continued to explain.

"Sister Drum. At first, the name might sound a bit rustic and simple."

"It almost evokes a sense of family."

"But in reality, this thing..."

Xu Huo paused, a flash of anger in his eyes.

"Is utterly vicious!"

Those two words perfectly summed it up.

How vicious?

It's a drum made from human skin, originating from a legend.

According to the legend, certain people would select a pure young girl, flay her, and craft her skin into a drum. They would then beat it as an offering to the gods.

Viewed that way, it only sounds a little vicious.

Let's get into the details.

First, just how pure did this chosen woman have to be?

She could not see filth, hear profanity, or engage in sexual acts!

Essentially, she had to be deaf and blind. But how many people are born both deaf and blind? And she had to be female, and then be found by these people...

That's right, not many.

Besides, the people who needed these things wouldn't make just one drum, so the probability was even lower!

So, a second word came into play.

And that is...

"Voluntary."

"The young girls chosen by them would 'voluntarily' be skinned to be made into drums."

Xu Huo said, explaining slowly.

Since Zhang Liang had already sent someone to inform Wang Tao, there was no use in rushing. He might as well use the explanation to calm his own heart.

"When they were just learning to talk, they 'voluntarily' had their eyes gouged out."

"At the same time, their eardrums were voluntarily ruptured. From then on, they were a 'chosen, pure, and voluntary maiden!'"

They would live their entire lives this way.

They couldn't see, couldn't hear, and no one would speak to them. Their freedom was stolen, and they lived their whole lives in darkness and chaos.

Then...

"Once they reached about eighteen years of age, they would be flayed alive to be made into a pure Sister Drum, to commemorate the gods!"

Xu Huo's words left Li Jianye stunned, a dazed look on his face.

'This stuff... really exists!?'

As for why it's called a Sister Drum...

The legend says the one who was skinned was a woman's older sister. After her sister was taken away, she searched for her relentlessly.

She searched for a long time without success, until one day, the sound of a drum echoed from the horizon. It was the drum made from her sister's skin, and so it came to be called the 'Sister Drum'.

There's also a song called "Sister Drum," but it too was based on the legend.

"So you're saying..."

"This is human trafficking?"

Li Jianye paused before asking in a low voice.

"Trafficking?"

"Tsk. Back when these things were common, a human life wasn't even worth a handful of barley."

A trace of sorrow appeared on Xu Huo's face.

He took a deep breath.

Hundreds of years ago, in the places where the Sister Drums were made, only three types of people were considered human.

These three types controlled one hundred percent of the wealth!

That's right, one hundred percent.

Why do I say that?

After all, as long as other people existed and drank even a mouthful of water, it wouldn't be one hundred percent.

But what if...

the wealth they controlled included people themselves?

Everyone besides them was considered property. If you had a child, there was a birth tax. If you ate a meal, there was a meal tax. You were burdened with a lifetime of debt from the moment you were born.

And if you wanted to get married...

Well, you needed their permission to marry.

If your wife was beautiful, she had to go and serve them before the wedding. If they wanted you dead, you died.

"Then... what about Human Skin Thangkas?"

Li Jianye's lips moved as he finally broke the silence.

"According to legend, some high-ranking monks, after reaching nirvana, would voluntarily offer their own skin to be inscribed with characters and made into a Dharma Artifact to suppress demons."

Xu Huo took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"Of course, the most heinous criminals in prison could also be used."

In other words, only the extremely good and the extremely evil were qualified.

But then again...

The number of Human Skin Thangkas far exceeds the number of high-ranking monks who have entered nirvana.

"The most heinous..." Who could possibly be more heinous than those "three great benevolent ones"? Naturally, no one.

So were they going to offer themselves up?

Of course not.

So...

"The same kind of people used for Sister Drums were also the material for Thangkas."

Xu Huo pointed at the six bloody corpses lying in black body bags on the ground.

Li Jianye fell silent.

Looking at the rules for their creation—either extremely good or extremely evil—it seemed plausible on the surface.

Indeed, many people use this restriction to refute the dark nature of the Thangkas.

But that raised another question.

If they could only be made from high-ranking monks or heinous criminals...

then how do you explain the several Thangkas from a hundred years ago, made from the skin of people around eighteen years old?

An eighteen-year-old high-ranking monk? Or an eighteen-year-old, one of the world's most extreme criminals?

If the person didn't meet the requirements... then why were they made into a Thangka?

Of course.

If it was just about these objects, Xu Huo wouldn't be afraid.

But what these two things symbolized...