Courtyard Houses: Longevity Since the War of Resistance

earth!

I stomped my foot. Below the cement floor was a layer of compacted soil, and below that was the black soil of Northeast China. The soil here is thick, freezing solid in winter, and loose and damp when turned over in summer, making it perfect for burying things.

I walked to the wall, where a Japanese entrenching tool leaned against the wall. The iron tip was polished to a high shine, and the wooden handle was oily, indicating it had probably been used quite a bit. I picked it up and weighed it in my hand; it felt comfortable.

The first one was Shiro Ishii. He was slumped in the corner, his eyes half-open, his gaze frighteningly empty, and dried white foam hanging from the corner of his mouth. I went over and grabbed his arm, but he didn't react much; his body was limp, as if his bones had been removed.

I dragged him to an open area in the middle of the hall. The cement floor there was cracked; after prying open a few sections, I found yellowish-brown soil underneath. With a wave of my hand, a rectangular pit appeared, about the length of a person and half a person deep.

I dragged Shiro Ishii to the edge of the pit. He seemed to understand now, but he didn't want to resist anymore. After being tortured so many times, he could only wait and see when I was done playing with him.

I kicked him, and he rolled into the pit. The bottom was uneven, and he lay on his side, his face rubbing against the dirt. I jumped into the pit, straightened him up so he was on his back, and then I started filling the pit with dirt.

The first handful of soil fell and landed on his feet. He twitched his toes. The second handful of soil covered his calves. He kicked his leg, but had no strength.

The third layer, the fourth layer… the soil piled up to his thighs, to his waist, to his chest. With each layer added, his breathing became more difficult. The soil pressed against his chest, making it increasingly difficult to rise and fall.

His eyes were fixed on me, red-rimmed and bloodshot. His mouth was open, and he was inhaling dust, which made him cough, and the coughing made him feel even more suffocated.

I filled the soil evenly, slowly and deliberately. The soil reached his neck, leaving only his head sticking out. His face turned a deep purplish-red, and the veins on his neck bulged as if they were about to burst. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

I stopped what I was doing and squatted down by the pit, watching him. His eyes were practically bulging out of their sockets, staring intently at me. There was fear, despair, and something else in his eyes that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

After watching him for about half a minute, his struggles lessened, and he was exhaling more than inhaling. Only then did I pick up the shovel, scoop up the last bit of dirt, and cover his face with it.

The soil completely buried his head. There was a slight movement below, but it quickly disappeared.

I didn't get him out right away. I let him suffocate a little longer.

The second one was Kitano Seiji; he was lying not far from the pit, so I pulled him over. This time, we didn't dig a pit.

I found a rope, tied it tightly around his ankles, swung the other end over the roof beam, and pulled hard. He was hoisted upside down, more than a meter off the ground.

He was hanging upside down, blood rushing to his head, his face quickly turning red, and he was making muffled noises. I used a shovel to dig a small hole in the ground directly below his head, about a foot deep and slightly larger than his head. Once I finished digging, I pulled on the rope and lowered him down, positioning his head directly in the hole.

Slowly, his head went into the hole, his neck stuck at the entrance. I loosened the rope, and he was stuck headfirst into the ground. Only his shoulders and upper body were still outside, his legs dangling helplessly in the air.

The blood was all trapped in his head, making his brain feel like it was about to explode. The air in the earthen cave was limited, and he soon couldn't breathe. He twisted his body like a pretzel and kicked his legs wildly, but it was no use; he couldn't pull his head out.

For Shizuka Ikari, this time I found a large earthenware jar. I laid the jar on its side and stuffed his head inside. The jar opening wasn't big, and his shoulders were stuck, so he couldn't move in or out. Then I stood the jar upright, and he stood inside, with only his calves and feet sticking out.

I picked up a shovel and started filling the vat with soil. The soil poured in through the opening, landing on his head and shoulders, slowly burying him. He made muffled cries inside the vat, the sounds buzzing and barely audible.

The earthen jar was filled, burying him completely inside. I placed a stone slab over the rim. He couldn't see or move inside, and the air was dwindling. The feeling of being slowly suffocated in a confined space was more agonizing than being buried alive.

I dragged Masuda Tomosada and Yoshimura Hisato together, found a thick hemp rope, and tied them up back to back, very tightly.

I dug a shallow pit next to them and had them sit side by side in it. Then I started filling it with soil.

The soil buried them up to their thighs, then their waists, then their chests. Bound together, they couldn't move, only able to lean against each other. The soil pressed down harder and harder, squeezing their chests until their breaths were muffled and labored.

Yoshimura Hisato started crying, his face streaked with snot and tears. Masuda Tomosada gritted her teeth, but her face was as white as paper, and beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.

I filled the soil under their necks and stopped. I let them sit there, feeling the soil slowly stealing their body heat, compressing their chests, waiting for the last bit of air to run out.

Fifth, I chose a young guard named Watanabe. This guy had a fierce look on his face; the information said he was the most ruthless when dealing with disobedient cases. I dragged him to the wall and made him stand with his back against it.

I didn't use a shovel anymore. I stuck my hands into the soil next to the wall and dug hard. The soil was cool and a little damp. I dug a hole, stuffed one of his arms in it, and then pushed the soil over it, compacting it. His arm was buried in the soil next to the wall, and he couldn't pull it out.

Next came the other arm, which was also buried in the soil beside it. Then came the two legs, which were buried in the pits dug at their feet.

He was now completely pinned to the wall, his limbs buried in the ground, only his body and head sticking out. He looked like a human-shaped tree planted in the ground.

He twisted and turned, trying to break free, but the soil was firmly buried, and the more he moved, the deeper he sank. The dampness from the soil seeped into his flesh, icy cold. He could feel insects crawling into his skin.

There was another nurse named Mieko. She was responsible for injecting drugs into the experimental subjects and recording their reactions. I grabbed her hair and dragged her to a corner of the hall. There were piles of discarded experimental animal carcasses there, already somewhat rotten, mixed with the soil, emitting a foul odor.

I dug a hole and pushed her in. Not completely. I buried her body, leaving only her head sticking out. Then I piled up pieces of rotting animal carcasses around her head.

The stench of decay assaulted her nostrils. Maggots swarmed on the corpses, some crawling onto her face. She screamed and shook her head, but couldn't escape. The earth pressed down on her body; she couldn't move, and could only watch and smell the rotting matter.

Time passed little by little.

I patted the dirt off my hands and looked at these creatures being swallowed by the earth in various poses. That's about it.

I raised my hand. A familiar ripple swept by, and they lay on the ground once again, unharmed.

The five elements are complete.