Chapter 123: The Interrogation

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The winter morning was unexpectedly bright. Sikong Ming had hurried through the night to Half-Wall Peak, where he found the Grand Patriarch, Tuo Manshan.

The senior leaders of the Mani Sect were there as well, along with the assassin known by the nickname Wolf Claw. Besides them, Constable Cao of the Ministry of Justice and the newly appointed Constable Zheng were also present.

The group sat in the bandit stronghold’s main hall, which had only just been cleaned of bloodstains. A bonfire blazed in the center, casting a ruddy glow over every face. Those gathered around it were lazily eating meat and drinking wine, though nearly all of them bore injuries, some light and some severe.

Tuo Manshan, Constable Cao, and Zheng Kaiyi had expended a great deal of energy fighting Constable Niu. Their eyes were still faintly bloodshot. A cornered beast fighting for its life was not to be underestimated.

Zheng Kaiyi in particular had changed completely after slaughtering his fellow officers. All his hesitation had vanished, and his temperament had become cold and detached. In the space of a year, he had barely managed to advance into the Grandmaster realm, and this battle had been his first true display of strength.

Just then, the doors of the hall flew open. Sikong Ming pushed his way inside, his expression grave. Under the wary gazes turned toward him, he said nothing. He swept his eyes around the room, glanced at the Grand Patriarch reclining against a cushion, then at the assassin tending the arrow wound in his shoulder. Finally, he leaned beside the Grand Patriarch and quietly delivered his report.

“Speak openly. That assassin was a helper invited by Brother Luo. He is no outsider!” Tuo Manshan’s expression darkened at the news, but he still forced himself to speak magnanimously.

Upon receiving his leader’s command, Sikong Ming clasped his hands and said, “Something happened at the wine shop in the Eastern Market. Someone broke in and carried off all the ‘goods’ inside. We do not know who was responsible. More importantly, the man in black was a Grandmaster martial artist. I exchanged several blows with him, but I was completely outmatched. Fortunately, he did not seem interested in pursuing me, so I managed to escape.”

The assassin snorted contemptuously upon hearing this. They had clearly told him that the only Grandmaster involved would be the Unorthodox Marshal, yet the fellow wielding the staff had also been a Grandmaster. That was why his mission had failed. If his speed had not been sufficient, he might well have died there. The Mani Sect had been far too careless in its arrangements.

“What is the condition of the cellar?” Luo Yishi asked, drawing together his thick brows as his expression sank. He was plainly displeased. The loss of those young girls represented nothing less than gold bars.

“Several brothers are dead. And Tushen is missing. He was probably captured.”

“What?”

At those words, not only Luo Yishi but even Tuo Manshan rose to his feet. Realizing that he had lost his composure, Tuo Manshan coughed lightly and sat back down.

This was no good. The loss of the girls could be endured, but Tushen knew far too much. If he revealed anything, matters would become troublesome. They had to take action. A dull, persistent pain began throbbing in his head.

The people around the bonfire each had their own thoughts. Wolf Claw had already decided not to involve himself any further. Constable Cao and the others did not care about the internal affairs of the Mani Sect and remained coldly indifferent. They had eliminated the threat posed by Constable Niu, but the Unorthodox Marshal appeared to have fled after being poisoned. Only when the Unorthodox Marshal and the few commanders who knew the truth were dead could they consider themselves truly safe. Otherwise, once their crime of assassinating their fellow officers was exposed, even the Right Chancellor would be unable to protect them. By then, they would become abandoned pawns.

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“I’ll be leaving in a few days. Brother Luo, I’ve already enjoyed the Hu courtesans, and there’s nothing left here worth lingering over. I won’t meddle in your sect’s affairs anymore. Besides, your intelligence network isn’t very reliable. You got me injured, after all. As for the Unorthodox Marshal, I can only help you this far!”

Wolf Claw finished dressing and rose to his feet. With an irritated look, he picked up the bag containing his payment and headed for the main gate.

Luo Yishi looked toward the Grand Patriarch. After receiving his signal, he hurried after Wolf Claw with a broad smile to see him off.

The sky was a murky gray, as winter skies were wont to be on snowy days.

Because no one had considered constructing a prison, Tushen, captured from the Mani Sect, had been tightly bound and propped against a wooden cross in an empty room of the abandoned workshop. After resting for the entire morning, Wu Yueling was feeling much better, though she was still unaccustomed to moving about at night.

When she entered the room where Tushen was being held, Wu Yueling brought Hua Chuer and Cen Shen with her. Tushen had long since awakened. Seeing the three of them enter, he twitched the corner of his eyelid, but felt no alarm. They were merely two women, while the man did not look particularly fierce either.

“Awake?” Wu Yueling walked over and sat down beside a chair. In a calm voice, she said, “I hear you’re a minor leader of the Mani Sect. You must know quite a lot. Hurry up and tell us everything.”

“Hmph. You’re a fine-looking woman—much better than the merchandise in the cellar—ah!”

Tushen’s lecherous eyes roamed up and down Wu Yueling’s body as he leered maliciously. Hua Chuer answered him with a punch that knocked out several teeth and left his mouth caved in.

From Gongsun Lingyun and the captive girls, Wu Yueling had learned of their suffering and the bestial conduct of the men who had guarded them. She had never intended to use ordinary methods, nor did she plan to show her opponent any kindness.

“This princess will ask you one final time. Tell us everything you know about the Mani Sect. Understood?”

She merely adjusted the sleeve of her robe, her eyes never once turning toward the man bound to the cross. Her voice remained flat and emotionless.

Cen Shen could not understand the princess at that moment. What kind of growth had a woman endured to reach such a state of mind?

Only now had he learned the truth about the Mani Sect. The place they had stormed the previous night had been one of the sect’s cellars, where several young girls who had already been sold into slavery were being held. It seemed that the girls’ plight was what had driven the princess into such fury that night. What angered him even more was that two children from the Gongsun family had also fallen victim to the Mani Sect.

Tushen bared his teeth, blood running down onto the short beard at his chin. He had originally wanted to curse and roar with all his might, but Hua Chuer’s watchful glare made him think better of it, and he fell silent.

At worst, he would endure a few rounds of torture. If they killed him outright, so be it. Yet once he experienced what came next, he decisively chose to betray his leader.

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When the man still refused to speak, Wu Yueling merely swept him with a cold glance. She then summoned several militia officers and left, ordering them to proceed according to plan and notify her only after he had confessed everything.

Cen Shen remained behind to carry out the punishment. Various strange implements were brought out. Looking at Tushen with a trace of pity, he said slowly, “I advise you to confess. I’m afraid you won’t be able to endure what comes next.”

“Hmph. I’m not afraid of death. What else is there to fear? At worst, twenty years from now I’ll still be a hero!”

Tushen hardened his expression, utterly unafraid of the man before him.

Cen Shen sighed helplessly and gave an order.

“Strip him and cover him with salt!”

Tushen was stripped completely, leaving him wearing nothing but his undergarments. Salt was scattered over his chest. Tushen thought, What of it? Is this not merely flogging? Did they think he would be afraid?

“Sprinkle on chili powder as well!”

Tushen’s heart lurched. A terrible premonition surged through him. He had no idea what chili powder was; the only thing it brought to mind was a dish of scrambled eggs with chilies. As the red powder drifted toward him, he inhaled it through his nose and sneezed violently. The whip followed immediately after.

Half an hour later, Tushen’s chest was drenched in blood, his flesh torn and hanging open. He himself was already in unbearable agony, two veins bulging and writhing like earthworms on either side of his forehead.

It hurt far too much. Salt during a flogging was one thing, but these bastards had added chili powder!

Before long, a bucket of hot water was carried in. Tushen, his face twisted in agony, watched as the seemingly mild-mannered man poured salt into it, followed by a generous amount of red chili powder.

He immediately began to weep and beg for mercy, shouting that he would confess.

Compared with his earlier attitude, it was a complete reversal.

When the princess returned, Tushen suddenly felt that the beautiful young woman was nothing less than a poisonous serpent in human form. On the spot, he revealed every piece of intelligence he possessed concerning the Mani Sect, including the location where Gongsun Jixuan was being held.

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