The flaying punishment in the Star Era actually evolved from the lingchi on Blue Star. However, flaying is even more brutal than lingchi.
Lingchi, also called "lingering death," involves slicing pieces of flesh off a person's body one by one until most of the flesh is removed, then disemboweling and beheading to kill the criminal. The phrase "death by a thousand cuts" refers to lingchi.
According to legend, lingchi required exactly three thousand six hundred cuts on the criminal's body to be considered complete. Flaying, meanwhile, builds upon those three thousand six hundred cuts with a series of psychological hypnosis techniques, tormenting the criminal both physically and mentally.
Du Xixi wasn't familiar with flaying, but upon hearing about it, she realized it wasn't a light punishment. Coupled with the slight change in Mo Ying's and Chen Yin's expressions upon mentioning "flaying," Du Xixi felt that this punishment was fitting for that damned traitor.
