Turning Point

"I cannot say." Chen Ye glanced at the Feng Family Head's private soldier standing guard outside the cell, then lowered his voice to tell Zuo Dongxi, "But if she comes, we will live."

Zuo Dongxi scanned him up and down, as if re-evaluating a stranger.

He had not expected that a plain-looking carriage hand could be this composed, to the point of being almost abnormal.

"And if she doesn't come?"

"If she is a smart person, she will definitely come once she receives the news."

Zuo Dongxi felt as though he were in total darkness, with no leads whatsoever.

Chen Ye's unquestionable tone was like a straw thrown to a drowning man, allowing him to see a glimmer of hope amidst his despair.

"There is one thing we must stick to from here on out." Chen Ye's expression suddenly turned grave as he said earnestly, "No matter what torture they use, we must not break. We must insist that we know nothing."

Zuo Dongxi replied, "Rest assured, I will certainly hold out."

Clang.

The iron cover of the cell door was shoved open violently.

A Feng family steward, flanked by several private soldiers, ushered a middle-aged man into the dungeon.

The middle-aged man wore a crescent-colored silk robe; his frame was not tall, appearing even somewhat thin, and his temples were already more than half-white.

He carried an air of superiority, commanding respect without even needing to show anger.

He did not look at anyone as he entered, his gaze fixed on an oil lamp on the wall until he sat down and finally withdrew his eyes.

"Begin," the middle-aged man said indifferently, his tone devoid of any emotion.

"Yes."

The first to be interrogated was Feng Yanwu's personal guard.

There were no expected tortures, only routine questioning, asking them to recount everything they had seen along the way.

Su Guang, as one of the Third Young Master Feng's personal guards, was soon called out as well.

He saw the middle-aged man, his eyes steady as he bowed calmly, "Family Head!"

"Tell me, what did you see and experience along the way?" the Feng Family Head asked in a steady tone.

"Yes."

Su Guang proceeded to recount the day's events in minute detail, including Feng Yanwu getting off the carriage to boil tea and the group checking for poison.

At this moment, he suddenly remembered the teacup Chen Ye had mentioned. He looked up at the Family Head, but the moment the words reached his lips, he recalled Chen Ye's warning.

He kept his wits about him, rephrasing his statement and swallowing the mention of the teacup.

Once Su Guang finished his statement, the Feng Family Head waved his hand, signaling for the next person.

Zuo Dongxi was a man of the pugilistic world and lacked the capacity for complex deception; he simply cried out his innocence, starting from when the Feng family steward asked him to arrange the carriage, his account largely the same as the others.

The Feng Family Head had been impatient since seeing him and waved him away before he could even finish.

Finally, it was Chen Ye's turn to be interrogated.

This arrangement was made only because his status was the lowest of them all—so low that he had neither the motive nor the ability to commit such an act.

Even if he were a suspect, he would at most be an accomplice.

Chen Ye's account was much the same as the others. Having heard enough, the Feng Family Head interrupted, "I heard you were the last to check the carriage and horses. Did you discover anything amiss?"

Chen Ye lowered his head and replied, "Replying to you, sir, this matter concerns the carriage firm, so I only checked the carriage gear and the horses. I am ignorant of other matters and could not see anything... I only felt..."

"Felt what?"

"The Young Master's state of death... was extremely gruesome."

A ripple finally crossed the Feng Family Head's calm face. He shifted his gaze from the wall to look at Chen Ye.

He suddenly seemed to lose interest and waved his hand, ordering someone to escort Chen Ye back to his cell.

The interrogation concluded, and the Feng Family Head rose, unwilling to linger in this gloomy place any longer.

Before leaving, he gave a bland instruction to the attendant beside him: "Give me a result as soon as possible."

The attendant saw the Family Head off, returned to the dungeon, and sat on the long bench from before, his face as cold as frost: "Apply torture!"

The attendant was eager to obtain the desired results, and the interrogation methods were brutal.

In the dungeon, screams erupted one after another, enough to make one's scalp tingle.

From the darkness came the faint sounds of suppressed sobbing and various pleas of innocence.

But the attendant had no shred of compassion; he turned a deaf ear to these excuses and simply intensified the torture.

Some could not hold out and expired on the spot.

"One is dead. Drag him out and feed him to the dogs."

"Continue!"

Su Guang, as a personal guard, was also subjected to the finger-crushing torture.

His fingers were nearly ruined, and as he was dragged back to the cell, he instinctively glanced at Chen Ye, still not uttering a single word about the teacup.

Zuo Dongxi insisted he was being framed, and naturally, his outcome was no better.

He was covered in blood when he was dragged back to the dungeon.

Leaning against the wall with his face caked in dried blood, Zuo Dongxi said to Chen Ye in a weak, breathless voice, "The Feng Family will not let an outsider leave here alive... Whatever backup plan you have, use it now. Any later... and I fear it will be too late."

"When will your people arrive?" Chen Ye asked.

"They should... be here soon..." Zuo Dongxi's tone was uncertain.

The Feng Family's torture methods were far more severe than anticipated; even a martial artist could barely withstand them.

However, after a full day of interrogations where most of the people in the cells had been put through the wringer, the attendant had not obtained any useful information.

Thus, he had no choice but to escalate his methods.

For a time, the dungeon was filled with continuous screams and endless wailing.

By midnight, after the attendant had temporarily left, a figure in crimson walked in with graceful steps.

She was a beautiful woman wearing a crimson dress, with a voluptuous chest and full, curvaceous hips, looking completely out of place in this cold, gloomy dungeon.

She whispered a few words to the private guards, and they led her to a cell.

Seeing Zuo Dongxi collapsed on the ground, the woman's eyes welled up with pity as she whispered, "Brother Dong, Brother Dong."

Zuo Dongxi heard the woman's voice and lifted his head, revealing his blood-stained face: "Xing'er... so you have come..."

"Why did you have to get involved in the Feng Family's business... Now that you are trapped here, I fear..." The beautiful woman's voice choked with sobs as she quietly wiped away her tears.

"Xing'er, I need you to do one thing for me." Zuo Dongxi looked at Chen Ye, remembering his instructions, and struggled to move toward the cell door.

"Don't expect me to save you... I don't have that ability. The head of the family is personally overseeing this matter; no one can escape."

"No, no, it's not to save me, just pass on a message for me."

"What message?"

Zuo Dongxi glanced left and right, then beckoned for her to lean in.

The woman understood and leaned down close.

Zuo Dongxi whispered in her ear: "Go find the widow of the Third Young Master and tell her... tell her that I know who the murderer is."

The woman shuddered: "Could it be that you..."

"Shh! Just deliver the words exactly as I said; don't ask anything else."

The woman's eyes were filled with doubt and fear. Coming to this dungeon today was already a risk, and passing on this message was even more dangerous.

But knowing the gravity of the situation, she thought for a moment and nodded, agreeing to the task.

The two spoke in low voices for a while longer, feeling their sorrow becoming harder to contain.

The woman wiped away her tears and said, "I cannot stay long... I must go..."

With that, she turned and left without hesitation.

Only a long sigh from Zuo Dongxi remained in the cell.

Chen Ye looked toward the empty doorway and asked curiously, "Who is this woman?"

"A concubine of the Gao Family head." Zuo Dongxi closed his eyes: "My ex-wife..."