Xuan Yi and Thirteen listened, their bodies growing cold. Ji Jinmo said nothing, merely instructing Thirteen to relay Nan Shiying's words to Jia Huan.
In the dungeon, Jia Huan, upon hearing the Consort’s instructions, was bewildered.
Could this… truly flay a person alive?
Xuan Thirteen, in relaying the message, did not spare the Jade-Faced Gentleman. The Jade-Faced Gentleman’s complexion immediately turned a deathly grey upon hearing that the Consort of the Prince’s Manor would have the manor’s servants treat him in such a manner. Others might not understand why, but he knew perfectly well.
The other party intended to skin him alive.
"No, no, I’ve told you everything, I’ve told you everything, I…"
"Noisy!"
Jia Huan seized the Jade-Faced Gentleman’s chin. Seeing his terrified reaction, he promptly dislocated it, preventing him from biting off his tongue later.
Desperate whimpers emanated from the Jade-Faced Gentleman’s throat. Watching the man struggle frantically, Jia Huan and Xuan Thirteen exchanged a look.
They couldn't help but wonder.
Had he heard of such a torture before?
The two gave it no further thought. Following Nan Shiying’s instructions, they buried the man in the earth. Jia Huan picked up a drill, carefully controlling his strength, and made a large hole in the crown of his head.
The excruciating pain almost caused the Jade-Faced Gentleman to faint. However, this was merely the beginning. As molten mercury was poured in through the hole in his skull, the sensation of his brain being churned by an iron pestle, and his flesh and skin being gnawed by ants, was a torment beyond human comprehension. The Jade-Faced Gentleman’s eyes widened, his bloodshot eyeballs nearly falling from their sockets. He let out screams like a trapped beast, each one more horrific than the last. The惨烈 screams echoed throughout the entire dungeon, lingering in the air for three days.
The prisoners confined in the cells cowered in the corners, their hearts filled with dread. The screams reminded them of the torments they had previously endured.
Let alone the prisoners, even Xuan Thirteen and Jia Huan were struck pale by the Jade-Faced Gentleman's current state. The screams lasted for a full quarter of an hour, until the skin on the Jade-Faced Gentleman’s face began to peel away from the gaping hole in his head, revealing raw, bloody flesh.
He was still alive, but his skin was completely stripped off.
Xuan Thirteen and Jia Huan looked at each other, seeing the fear in each other’s eyes.
Thirteen carefully dug the Jade-Faced Gentleman out. Looking at him, his flesh and blood exposed like a silkworm shedding its cocoon, even the bloodthirsty Xuan Thirteen felt a slight wave of nausea.
“Consort…”
Truly ruthless!
Jia Huan swallowed, finding the Consort’s cruelty astonishing, yet also developing a great interest in this method of torture.
“Thirteen, how many other ways does the Consort know to torment people?” Jia Huan asked, tilting his head to Xuan Thirteen, his eyes gleaming.
Xuan Thirteen couldn't help but step back slightly, looking at Jia Huan with a hint of dread.
Are you a pervert?
Seeing Xuan Thirteen’s expression, Jia Huan couldn't help but wave the drill in his hand, a sinister grin on his face as he bared his teeth at him. The dim candlelight in the dungeon flickered, casting shifting shadows across Jia Huan’s face. Xuan Thirteen shuddered inexplicably.
“Thirteen, Xuan Wu is away recently. Would you like to take his place and help me in the dungeon?”
Normally, Xuan Wu would escort prisoners into the dungeon and interrogate them alongside Jia Huan. Now that Xuan Wu had been dispatched by the Master, Jia Huan was without assistance. Seeing Thirteen, he thought that this fellow’s timid nature meant he should spend more time in the prison.
“Get lost!”
Xuan Thirteen cursed at Jia Huan. Wasn’t it better to be by the Master's side? Who would want to stay in such a place? Not to mention Jia Huan’s perverted nature, the very smell of blood mixed with excrement in the dungeon made Xuan Thirteen want to vomit.
This hellhole, whoever wanted to stay could stay.
Jia Huan tutted. The unearthed Jade-Faced Gentleman lay on the muddy ground. The fine sand and dry grass within the dungeon were as sharp as scythes to him at this moment. Even the occasional gust of wind was a form of torture.
“Let me die, let me die!”
He wailed in agony. This feeling of being flayed alive, with his flesh and blood exposed, was more cruel than lingchi.
However, neither Xuan Thirteen nor Jia Huan showed him any pity. When he had peeled the faces off those young girls, did he care about their pleas? Did he ever consider sparing them?
He was merely being made to experience the torment of being skinned alive. What right did he have to beg for death?
Even if the Consort had not given the order, Jia Huan and Thirteen had no intention of giving this man an easy death. Jia Huan picked up the skinned hide of the Jade-Faced Gentleman and handed it to Thirteen. “Here, take this to the Consort.”
Xuan Thirteen pinched the skin with his fingers, looking somewhat disgusted.
…
Looking at the bloody human skin in Thirteen’s hand, Nan Shiying couldn't help but twitch her lips. She had only asked Jia Huan to skin that piece of garbage, not to be presented with this stinking hide.
Ji Jinmo frowned as he looked at the bleeding human skin. Her chambers, while not lacking in many things, were certainly not short on bloodstains on the floor.
The blood of Nan Manor’s maids, Qin Yurou’s blood, Qingyuan’s blood, and now the blood of this Jade-Faced Gentleman.
“Discard it. Feed it to the dogs.”
Nan Shiying waved her hand in disgust, instructing Thirteen to throw the human skin into the dog kennels.
Speaking of feeding dogs, Xuan Thirteen’s eyelids couldn't help but twitch. Just how much did the Consort like to feed people to the dogs?
Xuan Thirteen acknowledged the order and walked out, carrying the human skin.
Lü Wan gave Xuan Thirteen a somewhat disdainful glance. As she crouched on the ground wiping up the blood, she couldn't help but curse, "This Thirteen, couldn't he have processed the item before bringing it? Wrapping it in a cloth would have been better. He’s unnecessarily soiled the floor!"
"Exactly, exactly!"
Bai Zhi chimed in.
After cleaning the floor, Lü Wan opened the window of the outer room slightly. The cold wind that swept in dispersed the thick smell of blood. Once the smell had mostly dissipated, she brought in an incense burner.
After closing the window, the fragrance immediately spread, a blend of the woody scent left by lightning-struck pearwood and the fragrance of pear blossoms.
It was even pleasant.
Ji Jinmo suddenly recalled an event recorded in the Historical Records, where the Empress of Great Yuan’s favorite flower was the iris. Taking advantage of the fragrant air in the room, he asked, “What is your favorite flower?”
Nan Shiying looked up at him curiously. Without hiding anything, she replied directly, “Iris!”
Ji Jinmo’s hand, which was fiddling with his prayer beads, tightened slightly. His deep pupils instantly contracted, but in the next second, they returned to their original state.
A myriad of emotions surged in his heart, a thousand turns and a hundred twists, unsure where to land.
He looked at Nan Shiying’s face, so close to him, yet a sense of apprehension suddenly arose in his heart. It wasn't that she might be a hundred-year-old lonely soul, but rather the fear that she, like a free wind, would one day leave him, roaming this world, with no destination and no return.