Interrogation

Interrogation

"Your subordinate obeys!"

Ren Hong immediately understood Bai Yan's meaning. With a sinister grin, he picked up the leather whip from the table beside him and viciously lashed Su Leng Huan.

"Crack!"

A crisp snap rang out, and a hideous bloody welt appeared on Su Leng Huan's body, her clothes instantly torn open.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

Ren Hong showed no mercy, whipping Su Leng Huan again and again.

Every lash tore her flesh and left it bloody.

After more than a dozen lashes, Su Leng Huan's body was dyed red with blood. Her silk dress had become tattered rags and slipped from her body.

But she was covered in blood, and no one paid any attention to the spring light she exposed.

"Crack!"

Another lash came down, striking Su Leng Huan viciously across the face. A long, bloody scar immediately appeared, ruining her beautiful features.

Yet she did not care in the slightest. Instead, she taunted them:

"Heh... heh... Is this... all you've got...?"

Her jaw had been dislocated, so her words came out haltingly.

"Not bad. She really is a tough one."

"But that's fine. I like people with hard mouths like you."

Bai Yan smiled, lifted his tea, and took another sip.

He was in no hurry and remained perfectly calm. After all, he had plenty of time to wear Su Leng Huan down.

Seeing Su Leng Huan resist to the bitter end, Ren Hong's fury burned even hotter, and he increased the force of his lashes again.

"Crackcrackcrackcrackcrack!"

For a time, the prison cell rang with the incessant sound of the leather whip.

Li Kaiyao also stepped forward, pulled a red-hot branding iron from the brazier, and before Su Leng Huan could react, pressed it viciously against her lower abdomen.

"Gahhh—!"

Su Leng Huan let out a wail, then bit down hard on her lips, swallowing the rest of her cries of pain as white smoke rose from her charred flesh.

Her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was smeared with blood. She stared venomously at Bai Yan and the others, then gave a savage grin.

"Don't... waste your strength... You'll get... nothing... from me."

"What you're... looking at now... is nothing more than... a corpse."

"My lord, these methods aren't working on her."

After dozens of lashes, Ren Hong stopped, panting heavily.

Li Kaiyao also tried the branding iron several times, but when he saw that Su Leng Huan still kept her teeth clenched, he could only withdraw in frustration.

The two men then used all kinds of torture instruments, but none had any effect on Su Leng Huan.

They had tortured Su Leng Huan into a bloody mess, leaving her barely clinging to life.

Yet she never said a word. Her bones were harder than anyone could have imagined.

Many men could not withstand such methods, yet Su Leng Huan, a woman, had endured them by sheer force of will. It was clear how powerful her determination was.

The Imperial Guard actually had many more interrogation methods, but those methods could not be used now.

Su Leng Huan had already suffered severe injuries. Now, after being tormented by Ren Hong and Li Kaiyao, both her external and internal wounds had worsened.

Her consciousness grew increasingly hazy.

If they continued torturing her like this, Su Leng Huan might well die outright.

If she died, that would truly be a case of gaining nothing and losing everything.

Looks like I can only use my unique interrogation method.

This is the perfect chance to test the power of the Talisman of Life and Death!

Bai Yan raised a hand and tapped the teacup, drawing a thread of clear water from it.

Inner force surged through his palm. His yin-yang energy abruptly reversed, and his scorching inner force instantly transformed into bone-chilling cold, freezing the water into a thin sheet of ice.

He flicked a finger, and the thin ice became a sharp arrow that tore through the air and shot into Su Leng Huan's body.

At the same time as he drove in the Talisman of Life and Death, Bai Yan also sent a stream of true energy into Su Leng Huan's body to protect her heart meridians.

This was Bai Yan's first time using the Talisman of Life and Death. He was also afraid its power would be too great and kill Su Leng Huan outright, so he used his true energy to keep her alive.

The instant the Talisman of Life and Death entered her body, Su Leng Huan's eyes bulged, and she let out a heart-rending howl.

"Ahhhhhh—!!"

Su Leng Huan's body convulsed violently. Both hands clutched the chains binding her with all their strength, and her fingernails broke amid her furious struggle. Blood meandered down the iron chains.

The sight of her miserable wails made Ren Hong, Li Kaiyao, and the others' scalps prickle and their entire bodies turn cold.

They had no idea what their lord had done. They had only seen Bai Yan raise a hand, and Su Leng Huan could no longer endure it.

The two of them had tortured Su Leng Huan in every way imaginable, yet none of it had worked.

But Bai Yan had merely raised his hand, and Su Leng Huan was already suffering worse than death.

Such terrifying methods filled them with dread.

"Kill... kill... kill me!"

"Ahhhhhh!!"

Su Leng Huan had bitten through her lips. She used every ounce of her strength to force those words from her mouth, only to be swallowed once more by even more violent pain, producing a scream that no longer sounded human.

A trace of supplication appeared in her venomous eyes.

This was the first time Bai Yan had seen a pleading look in Su Leng Huan's eyes since entering the cell.

Su Leng Huan was enduring unimaginable agony, feeling as though she were being cut apart by a thousand blades. Even being sentenced to lingchi would be no worse.

Bai Yan said expressionlessly:

"This is a technique I learned by chance. It is called the Talisman of Life and Death."

"Once the Talisman of Life and Death takes effect, each day is more agonizing than the last. The unbearable itching and pain will intensify for eighty-one days."

"Then they will gradually lessen. After eighty-one days, they will intensify again, repeating in endless cycles without rest."

Hearing Bai Yan say this, Ren Hong, Li Kaiyao, and all the Imperial Prison guards around them felt a chill shoot from their heels to the crowns of their heads. Their bodies trembled faintly out of their control.

If the Talisman of Life and Death was truly as terrifying as Bai Yan claimed, then it was the most frightening method in the world.

This was only the beginning, yet she was already suffering like this. If the torment continued to build, just how horrifying would it become?

Compared with the Talisman of Life and Death, the Imperial Guard's interrogation methods were utterly insignificant.

"You must have personally experienced its effects by now."

"With me here, you won't even be able to die. You can only endure the Talisman of Life and Death's torment indefinitely."

"If you want release, tell me everything you know."

Bai Yan rose to his feet and demanded sternly:

"Speak! What is your identity in the Demonic Cult? Who is your superior? Who serves under you? How many other Demonic Cult strongholds do you know?"

"What is the purpose of your infiltration into Yongtang? Do you have any other infiltrators within the Imperial Court?"

Tortured to the point where she would rather be dead, Su Leng Huan finally could not hold out any longer. She spoke haltingly:

"I'll talk... I'll talk... Just remove... the Talisman of Life and Death... first..."

Bai Yan struck Su Leng Huan with one palm, temporarily relieving her pain. He then pushed her jaw back into place and shouted:

"Speak!"

Su Leng Huan panted heavily and rasped:

"I'm Ghost Venerable's subordinate... Tian Qiao Xing..."

"My subordinates have already gone into hiding. I... I don't know where they are..."

"I don't know... the locations of the other Demonic Cult strongholds either..."

"Ghost Venerable?"

"He's one of the Six Great Protectors of the Demonic Cult, right?"

Bai Yan narrowed his eyes.

If he could capture one of the Six Great Protectors, that would truly be a very big fish.

"Yes..."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know..."

"You don't know? And you still dare to lie!"

Bai Yan's eyes turned cold. He gave Ren Hong a meaningful look, and Ren Hong immediately stepped forward, seized Su Leng Huan by the hair, and forced her head up.

"You're one of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Gangs, a grandmaster hall master of the Demonic Cult. How could you not know where the Protector's headquarters are?"

"Looks like you haven't suffered enough. Do you want to taste the Talisman of Life and Death again?"

"I... It's true! I really don't know!"