Interrogation

When an institution becomes large, its internal bloat inevitably leads to decay and sluggishness. Compared to the Imperial Edict Prison and Heavenly Prison, which have been established for over a thousand years, the Black Prison's structure, which is only a few decades old, appears extremely simple.

Under the direct jurisdiction of the Black Scale Guard, the highest-ranking officer is the Minister of Justice, and the subordinate three levels of prisons: Heaven, Earth, and Human. Prisoners are imprisoned in batches according to their level of danger and social status, and are guarded by the corresponding rank of prison warden.

To prevent the prison warden from being misled and bribed by prisoners by maintaining long-term control over one place, the Black Prison implements a strict system of duty rotation and one-way information isolation.

The guards are rotated every two weeks.

Every two months, the Sikou would activate the massive mechanical array that covered the entire Black Prison, moving and rearranging the cells.

certainly,

The most important thing is the "kings don't meet" rule in the Black Prison.

Without orders, the warden is forbidden from having any form of contact with prisoners. Anyone found violating this rule will be punished, ranging from having their salary deducted to having their cultivation level revoked.

Conversely,

The prison ward will be forced to take a short "administrative leave" of one quarter to six months.

Therefore, when Xu Yuan arrived at the central office of the prefectural-level prison with the Sikou token, he was greeted not by the talking corpse from before, but by a woman.

The woman's face wasn't particularly beautiful, just average-looking, but her figure was one in a million.

He's incredibly tall and imposing.

Beneath her loose robes were bulging muscles, with her trapezius muscles standing out prominently. Xu Yuan even had to tilt his head back to look at her.

He was a martial arts apprentice.

As she was thinking this, the burly woman had already finished checking the Sikou token and bowed to Xu Yuan.

"Young master, please follow me. The Purple Orchid is this way."

The cells in the Black Prison are all named after flowers, and the Purple Orchid is where Aurenli was imprisoned.

The Black Prison was illuminated by torches. Special building materials and various formations isolated all Source Qi from the outside, Inscription Lamp had no Source Qi to power them.

The woman's imposing figure moved like a colossus through the somewhat narrow corridor, and the gust of wind she stirred up with each step seemed capable of extinguishing the torches hanging on either side.

Following behind, Xu Yuan tried to use his Spirit Sight to check the cultivation level of this muscular tyrant, but it was lower than he had expected.

This Earth-level prison warden is only Grandmaster, while the prisoners guarded in Earth-level prisons are generally at the Origin Beginning Realm. Won't this cause problems?

However, after a moment's thought, Xu Yuan felt relieved.

The prisoners held in the Black Prison are all very strong, and it's unlikely that the Prime Minister's Estate could spare a powerful individual of equal strength to be stationed there permanently. However, as the guards, the Black Prison holds an absolute advantage in terms of location and manpower. The array formations and equipment within the Black Prison, as well as its strict laws, ensure that even if the warden's cultivation is weaker than the prisoners', he can still subdue them through sheer numbers and by requesting reinforcements.

Before long, the burly woman stopped in front of a closed cell door, turned around and bowed:

"Young master, we have arrived."

Wearing a human skin mask, Xu Yuan did not reveal his identity. He glanced at the other person and said softly:

"Give me the key, then go down."

The burly woman hesitated slightly. The young man before her was too weak in cultivation. Even with the restrictions of various formations and torture instruments, Fusion Realm at the Origin Beginning Being.

"Young master, are you going to see the prisoner alone?"

"This is the order from the Minister of Justice."

Xu Yuan's answer was simple and clear.

Judging from the woman's physique, she was clearly a grassroots powerhouse from the Tian'an Martial Hall. Such people are often the most loyal to the Prime Minister's Estate, so Xu Yuan did not want his private conversation with Aurenli to affect her.

The burly woman obediently left, because in the Black Prison, the Si Kou's orders were absolute, and the Black Prison token was considered as if the Si Kou were personally present.

"Squeak--"

The iron gate was opened, and the firelight in the corridor slowly shone into the dark prison.

As the iron gate stopped, the dim light reflected on Aurenli's delicate face as she slowly raised it, half in light and half in shadow.

Their eyes met for a fleeting moment in mid-air.

"Da da..."

With soft footsteps, Xu Yuan slowly walked into the cramped cell, his tone carrying a hint of mockery:

"I heard from the prison warden that Her Highness the Princess intended to commit suicide?"

Aurenli's face was as pale as paper, making her appear extremely weak. She gently licked the blood from the corner of her lips with the tip of her tongue.

"You arrived faster than I expected, Xu Changtian."

"Dang."

Xu Yuan casually pulled a chair from his Sumeru Ring, leaned back, crossed his legs, and, with a scrutinizing look in his eyes, said to himself:

"But based on what I know of you, you don't seem like the type of person who would commit suicide."

Aurenli's azure eyes flickered in the dim firelight, carrying a mocking glint.

Don't talk like you know me so well.

"If I didn't understand you, I would be the one tied up here, not you."

Xu Yuan smiled slightly, raised his hand and snapped his fingers. With a clanging of iron chains, the woman's body was pulled and suspended in mid-air by the chains.

Xu Yuan leaned back slightly, his gaze sweeping over the other person's body with interest:

"Aurenli, stop acting in front of me. I know you've recovered your strength. Doesn't it hurt to be kept hanging like this?"

"."

A moment of silence.

The four iron chains that stretched down from the roof shattered instantly, and the slender, graceful figure landed gently on the ground.

Aurenli slowly straightened up, reaching out to touch her chest. Her fingertips nestled into her soft flesh. Aurenli didn't answer. Her four fingers covered the area around her heart, and with a pull, a soft "hiss" sound rang out as she easily ripped out the four black rods that were blocking the Source Qi.

The wound, no longer blocked, gushed blood instantly, but then healed rapidly under a flash of white light, leaving only four thumb-sized holes in the dress.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes:

"Shrink your heart, put yourself in a life-or-death situation, and you'll survive. I never expected you to have this trick up your sleeve."

Aurenli casually tossed the black stick to the ground and looked at the man sitting in the wooden chair:

"Since you knew all this, why did you dare to come see me alone?"

"Because everything you've done is in vain."

Xu Yuan chuckled, shrugged, and looked at the battle-damaged Princess Xien, covered in blood:

"If you don't believe me, you can attack me right now with whatever spell you think is strongest. I promise I won't move or fight back. And if you can even harm a single hair on my head, I'll let you go. How about it?"

"."

Aurenli glanced coldly at the open iron gate, saying nothing.

Seeing this, Xu Yuan stood up from his chair and laughed:

"Stop looking, I can guess your thought process when you do things."

"First, you try to extract information from the warden, only to find that it's impossible for you to escape from this Black Prison on your own."

"So you set your sights on me, because I'm actually very weak."

"If you want to escape, you must create an environment where I interrogate you, and then take the opportunity to kidnap me, a weak but noble blood relative of the Prime Minister, as a hostage."

"..." Aurenli remained silent.

Xu Yuan slowly stepped forward, raised his hand and gently patted the other person's exposed, fair, and flawless shoulder, whispering in their ear:

"Aurenli, we're the same kind of people. I know what you're thinking all too well."

"If you give up resistance now and tell me everything you want to know, I can promise you a decent life."