mourning and such attire was inauspicious. At the same time, his hands were tied behind his back, and he was at once dragged out of the yamen.
Ah Q was lifted into a wagon without a canopy. A few persons with short coats were sitting with him. The wagon started off without delay. Preceding it were a company of soldiers and local militia, shouldering rifles, while on either side were multitudes of gaping spectators. What was behind, Ah Q did not see; but he suddenly asked himself whether it might not be that he was going to have his head cut off. While in this perplexity, darkness veiled his eyes and a buzzing sound passed through his ears; he seemed to have fainted and yet did not faint altogether. Although he was distraught at times, yet there were other times when he felt composed and reasoned that people, born between heaven and earth, found, as a part of their allotted destiny, times when they could not avoid decapitation.
He still recognized the street and was filled with mild surprise: why didn't they proceed in the direction of the execution grounds? He did not know whether he was on parade or being used as an example to warn the multitudes; but even had he known, matters would not have been
