"Young Master Xun is dead?"
Yu Chengxuan placed the letter in his hand over the candlelight, watching the paper being consumed by the flames and turning to ash.
Young Master Xun had died at the hands of a brother and sister. Based on the description in the letter, Yu Chengxuan could roughly guess who was responsible. Had she left the city? The direction indicated she was heading towards Changming Mountain?
Yu Chengxuan’s thumb rubbed against the fan ribs.
"Mei!"
He suddenly called out.
A human silhouette appeared on the hitherto empty rafter. In the next second, the silhouette materialized into a specific form—a person lying on their side on the rafter, a pure white mask covering their face.
The person descended gracefully, as light as a wisp of breeze. Upon landing, they knelt on one knee at Yu Chengxuan's feet.
Yu Chengxuan reached out and removed the mask. Beneath it, a face identical to his own was revealed.
"Stay at the posthouse in my stead!"
"Yes, your subordinate obeys!"
Yu Chengxuan donned the mask and quietly left the posthouse.
...
"Speak, who ordered you to administer the poison!"
In the Ji Yang Army camp, the sound of whipping was incessant. Old Hei was tied to a wooden stake in a cross shape. This was already the second round of interrogation. He remained stubborn, refusing to speak.
Qin Qiancheng sat to the side, Huan Heng standing behind him, observing the soldiers’ coercion.
Qin Qiancheng attempted to pry open Old Hei's mouth, to learn the name of the mastermind from him.
Huan Heng's gaze fell on Old Hei, then shifted downwards, and he subtly glanced at Qin Qiancheng.
Old Hei was beaten until his skin was torn and flesh exposed. The soldier performing the punishment was panting, his hands and feet growing weak. He stopped and walked in front of Old Hei, tearing off the seal from his mouth and then removing the cloth strip stuffed inside: "How is it? Still not talking?"
Old Hei lowered his head, his neck seeming to have lost all support. His head nodded rhythmically. He moved his lips, his mouth emitting a sound like the puffing of a bellows: "I, I..."
"What?"
The soldier brought his ear close to Old Hei's mouth, trying to hear what he was saying.
Old Hei suddenly opened his mouth and fiercely bit down on the soldier's ear. The intense pain caused the soldier to let out a scream. The soldier thrashed Old Hei's body with all his might, but no matter how hard the soldier tried, Old Hei refused to let go.
Seeing this, a cold glint flashed in Huan Heng's eyes. He stepped forward and threw a punch, a heavy blow to Old Hei's stomach. Old Hei felt a sweetness in his throat, followed by a bitterness that shot straight to his brain. He gagged and spat out a mouthful of bile. The bile, mixed with blood, sprayed across half of the soldier's face.
Huan Heng grabbed the soldier's arm and hurled him backward. He raised his hand, clamped down on Old Hei's jaw, his eyes radiating a cold light like a blade. In his rage, he laughed: "Good, very good!"
"Your mouth is truly stubborn!"
"Guards, bring me a bucket of hot water, and prepare a wire brush." Huan Heng ordered directly, bypassing Qin Qiancheng. Soldiers outside the tent responded, and Xiao Jia quickly brought a bucket of boiling hot water, also holding a wire brush.
Xiao Jia, carrying the wooden bucket in one hand and the wire brush in the other, saluted Huan Heng and then walked to Huan Heng's side, placing the bucket at his feet. He then presented the wire brush with both hands: "General!"
Huan Heng took the wire brush and turned to Qin Qiancheng: "General, I see this man is very stubborn. If we don't get serious, I fear he won't speak!"
Qin Qiancheng grunted. He paid no mind to Huan Heng's presumptuous behavior, merely admonishing him to be mindful of the extent, lest he kill the person. As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Old Hei. His voice was sinister, like a hellish ghost: "Your household registration is on record. If you honestly reveal the mastermind, your family might have a chance to live. But if you resist, do not blame me for sending your entire family to hell."
Huan Heng's hand, holding the wire brush, tightened slightly, a dark current surging in his eyes. Xiao Jia lowered his head, his gaze focused on his nose, his nose on his heart, as if he had not heard Qin Qiancheng's threat to Old Hei.
Old Hei cried out with a whimper. He wanted to bite off his tongue, but his jaw was held tightly by Huan Heng, preventing him from closing it. Despair flickered in his eyes.
Huan Heng re-inserted the cloth strip into his mouth and sealed it again. Then, he picked up the bucket and stepped back. With a "whoosh," he poured the entire bucket of boiling water over Old Hei. Old Hei's eyes immediately widened, his bulging eyeballs filled with ghastly bloodstains. His violent struggle caused the entire wooden stake to tremble, and the taut ropes left deep indentations on his body.
However, all this was just the beginning.
The boiling hot water seeped through his remaining undergarments, causing his skin to blister. The blisters burst and stuck to the clothes. Huan Heng forcefully tore, and the fabric of the clothes pulled away his skin.
Old Hei emitted pained whimpers, his eyeballs seeming to bulge out of their sockets.
After Huan Heng removed Old Hei's last layer of clothing, he used the wire brush to vigorously scrub, directly scraping off the flesh. Strands of meat hung from the wire brush, resembling finely shredded chicken prepared by a sous chef before stir-frying.
"Ugh~"
Xiao Jia was close by. He could even see the bloody froth on the strands of meat. He suddenly thought of Dongpo Tower's famous dish—Shredded Pork with Beijing Sauce!
Thinking of it, he gagged again!
"Old Hei, if you want to speak, nod!"
Huan Heng had a very upright appearance, exuding an unyielding righteousness. But at this moment, Xiao Jia felt that he had been blind before.
Old Hei's muscles were taut, the veins on his temples bulging. His peripheral vision fell upon Qin Qiancheng, who was still sitting quietly behind the low table, holding his tea and looking down. Old Hei's eyes were filled with fear and despair. He rolled his eyes and nodded towards Huan Heng.
Huan Heng threw the wire brush to Xiao Jia, tore off the seal, and removed the cloth strip: "Who ordered you to administer the poison?"
"It... it was... the Regent!"
Huan Heng's expression immediately turned grim. Qin Qiancheng, with his back to Huan Heng, did not notice the expression on his face. Old Hei, now left with only half his life after the torture, was breathing as faintly as a thread, and did not notice the change in Huan Heng's expression.
Upon hearing the words "the Regent," Xiao Jia quickly looked up at Old Hei. In his peripheral vision, he saw the coldness in Huan Heng's eyes, lowered at the corners. He could only hope that Old Hei would not regret his actions in the days to come.
Qin Qiancheng stood up and strode to Huan Heng's side, grabbing Old Hei by the neck.
"General!"
Huan Heng put an arm around Qin Qiancheng.
"You intend to stop me?"
Qin Qiancheng's eyes widened in fury, the killing aura accumulated over years of battle bursting forth. The sharp, oppressive aura made it difficult for Huan Heng to breathe.
"General, this is a witness!"
"This is a treacherous individual spewing nonsense and disrupting order!"
"General!"
Huan Heng refused to yield. He looked at Qin Qiancheng and said with some indignation, "You are loyal to the Regent, but how does the Regent treat you? For Nan Shiying, he disregarded your years of loyalty and support, and has twice made you..."
"Enough!"