After the tongues and intestines were scalded by boiling water or shattered by hard ice blocks, small double‑pointed iron nails flew out from the computers, piercing densely into the souls’ tongues and intestines. The serpents then seized the tongues and intestines in their jaws and shoved them all back into the souls’ mouths. Tormented by excruciating pain, the souls cried out, rolled and moaned upon the ground. This cycle of punishments repeated without any rest for the condemned souls.
The punishments within this Harsh‑Speech Hell unfolded at extreme speed, dazzling the eyes. Written accounts could only convey so much. Still, I strove to relate as much as possible for all to know. Countless other punishments unfolded on‑site, yet time did not permit every detail to be described.
At that moment, one female condemned soul suddenly threw herself down and kowtowed hard in my direction. The yaksha showed her no mercy and kicked her roughly back beside the computers. Alas! Hell held truly merciless sufferings. This female condemned soul was pitiable indeed. Then the Magistrate instructed the yaksha to bring the female condemned soul over so I might interview her for my writings. The yaksha lifted her and carried her toward me.
The female condemned soul knelt before me and cried, “Xiao Yuzi, save me! Xiao Yuzi, save me! Xiao Yuzi, save me! You must be Xiao Yuzi!”
Xiao Yuzi was my childhood pet‑name. Everyone used to call me that when I stayed at my grandmother’s home. I had been away from that city for more than twenty years. Who could this woman be? Surely she must have been a neighbor from my childhood days.
I stood stunned and said, “Forgive me. We must have met before. Were you a friend of my grandmother’s? It has been far too long since an elder called me by that name. How did you come to this place?”
When my grandmother passed away, that childhood nickname seemed to vanish along with her. I never expected to hear someone address me so again here in hell. Memories of bygone days welled up, as though time flowed backward. In an instant, sorrow surged over my heart.
The female condemned soul spoke, “Xiao Yuzi! It is only natural that you do not remember me. I had very little contact with your grandmother. Our homes were not far apart, and my house stood on the path which everyone had to pass. When you were small, you always hopped and skipped along the road. I could recognize your footsteps whenever you went by. Many times as you passed my house, I would be doing chores in the living‑room and catch sight of your profile. Back then, my two daughters would often ask: ‘Why can Xiao Yuzi play every day, while we must keep doing endless housework?’ And I would lash out at them with harsh‑speech insults: ‘It is your own wretched fate and lowly lot! You were born into a poor family and live in a tiny house; you are short‑lived wretches. You achieve nothing, being girls. Had you been boys, I would let you go out and play each day. Get back to your work at once! What is there for you to envy? Xiao Yuzi merely has a family with stinking money and a big house to live in. What good is a large house if no one dwells inside? Even if she plays all day, what is so great about her? She is just another short‑lived creature like you; she will not turn into a boy.’
Your grandmother was well‑known in our neighborhood as an honest, helpful woman. She would lend others whatever she possessed, and people might even keep borrowed items without returning them. Yet after her daughters‑in‑law came into the household one after another, your grandmother had to lend things to others behind their backs, otherwise she would be scolded by those daughters‑in‑law. She endured all kinds of mistreatment from her daughters‑in‑law. At that time I thought your grandmother suffered long‑term bullying simply because she was too honest. Therefore I resolved to be far fiercer, so no one could ever bully me. Your grandmother said she became much happier after you were born. She often told others how resolute you were, with a particularly boyish disposition. I recognized you as Xiao Yuzi just now from seeing your profile. Do you still remember the incident from twenty years ago back in our hometown, where a daughter‑in‑law bit through her mother‑in‑law’s fingers?”
Ayù: “Ah! Now I recall it. So it is you, Auntie! That incident was widely‑known. I heard of it yet did not know who was involved. I was still young back then and understood little of adult matters. Grandmother told me there was strife between you and your mother‑in‑law. Apparently, your mother‑in‑law longed for a grandson, but you gave birth to two daughters in succession. I also heard that you two seemed to quarrel frequently. Yet Auntie, you were not very old. How is it that you have arrived in hell so soon?”