Murong Feiyan, however, was left lost in the clouds by the Easy Origin Hall physician's words. She thought to herself, What medical skills could he possibly have? A righteous intervention? Him? I'd believe he threw his weight around to bully people, but healing the sick and saving lives? Only if the sun rose in the west!
Hu Xiaotian crouched before one of the prisoners and regarded him with a sinister expression. This was the prisoner whose throat he had stabbed with a bamboo tube the previous night. The prisoner clearly recognized Hu Xiaotian as the culprit, too, and, consumed with hatred, glared viciously at him.
Hu Xiaotian sighed. "Nothing comes easy these days. You became burglars to make money, but isn't losing your life over it a little more than it's worth?"
The two burglars exchanged a glance, then both glared fiercely at Hu Xiaotian. The one with an uninjured throat and a full beard said, "If you're going to kill us, do it. Spare us the nonsense!"
Hu Xiaotian chuckled. This burglar had been particularly defiant the night before. He clearly had some backbone; even after all this time, he showed no sign of softening. Hu Xiaotian said scornfully, "You broke into the Minister's Residence at night intending to murder me. Killing you ten times over wouldn't be excessive!"
Listening beside him, Murong Feiyan sighed inwardly. This fellow is spouting nonsense again. These two burglars are guilty, but their crimes don't warrant death. He's deliberately making things sound terrifying.
The burglar sneered. "You think I grew up being scared by threats? Under the Great Kang Code, our crimes don't warrant death, do they?"
Hu Xiaotian clicked his tongue admiringly. "So you know a little law. You're not legally illiterate! That makes things even more troublesome. Breaking the law knowingly adds another degree to your guilt. You might have had a chance to live before, but now there's only a dead end ahead."
Knowing that Hu Xiaotian was trying to intimidate him, the burglar snorted and shut his mouth.
Hu Xiaotian said, "I just feel sorry for you. Burglars who understand the law are a rare sight these days. I don't know either of you, but I can tell you must be outstanding figures in the burglary world. You're not only young, handsome, and highly skilled in martial arts, but well versed in the law, too. Only by studying and understanding the law can you know how to slip through its loopholes. You may be thieves, but you're different from ordinary burglars. You have brains. With your intelligence, you could have made a name for yourselves in the business of theft, perhaps even achieved something truly great. What a pity that your boat capsized in a little ditch this time. Even I feel deeply sorry for you."
Listening beside him, Murong Feiyan hardly knew whether to laugh or cry. Hu Xiaotian was far too good at twisting arguments and spinning nonsense. His theories were unlike anything she had ever heard or seen. He was actually praising the two burglars, and from the sound of it, he even regretted that they had failed and been captured.
The two burglars simply remained silent.
Hu Xiaotian continued, "Burglars as clever as you shouldn't have let yourselves be used. You thought you were brave and loyal, but what you didn't know was that someone tipped me off before you sneaked into my house last night. Otherwise, how could I have discovered you the moment you entered?"
Murong Feiyan blinked. He had advance warning? Why didn't he say so last night? So this little scoundrel really was withholding information. I'll settle accounts with you later!
The two burglars' eyes filled with surprise as well. Hu Xiaotian was making it all up, but his lies sounded extremely convincing. They themselves had wondered why their operation had been exposed before it even began. They had only just poked the bamboo tube through the window paper and were about to blow in the knockout incense when someone slapped the tube back into one of their throats. Why had the other side always been one step ahead? So that was it: someone had tipped him off beforehand. They must have been sold out.
Hu Xiaotian said, "I know being betrayed doesn't feel good. To tell you the truth, I don't feel good about it either. That person deliberately tipped me off so I would gather every servant in the residence to catch you. Then, while all our attention was focused on you, he stole our family's treasure and burned down the Elegant Gathering Pavilion. In that respect, we're all victims."
Both burglars pressed their lips together. They were behind bars, and it now seemed they really had been set up. Getting out would be harder than hard.
Hu Xiaotian said, "Why don't we make a deal?"
The bearded burglar said, "Spare us your honeyed words. You're only trying to trick us. Do you really take us for three-year-old children?"
Hu Xiaotian said, "Everyone who knows me knows I'm the most reasonable of men. I'm not making things difficult for you, just spelling things out. If the mastermind behind this case isn't found, the Hu Family won't let the matter rest. I'm sure you know who my father is. The Capital Prefecture will have to give us an answer. If they really can't find the mastermind, the only possible outcome is that they'll pin everything on you. And don't imagine they can't make you confess. Constable Murong here knows eighteen hundred methods of torture and a hundred and seventy-two ways to die. Getting the truth out of you would be easy!"
Murong Feiyan shot him a fierce glare. What utter nonsense! Since when did I know so many methods of torture?
Hu Xiaotian added, "Would you like to sample all eighteen hundred methods before you die?"
The two burglars had already gone pale. When the pale-faced, beardless burglar met Hu Xiaotian's icy gaze, he was so frightened that he dropped onto his backside.
Hu Xiaotian stopped threatening them and stood up. "Think it over. Will you take the blame for someone else, or tell the truth honestly? Which road you take is up to you." He turned to leave.
A hoarse voice asked, "If we tell you the truth, can you guarantee we won't die?" It was the burglar whose throat Hu Xiaotian had injured.
The bearded burglar roared, "Don't believe him! He's just trying to scare us!"
Hu Xiaotian suddenly spun around and drove a vicious uppercut into the bearded burglar's jaw. The heavy punch knocked him unconscious. It caught Murong Feiyan completely off guard, and by the time she tried to stop him, it was already too late. Hu Xiaotian turned toward her, secretly gave her a meaningful look, and said, "Drag him out and kill him!"
Murong Feiyan immediately understood what he meant. They might be constables, but they had no authority to execute prisoners at will, especially when these two had not even been tried. Hu Xiaotian's real intention was not to kill anyone, but to terrify the other burglar.
With matters at this point, Murong Feiyan could only play along. She summoned two constables and had them drag the unconscious burglar out. Of course, they did not actually kill him; they took him to another cell and locked him up. The burglar with the injured throat was already terrified. Seeing his companion felled with a single punch and then dragged away frightened him so badly that his soul nearly fled his body. His inner defenses collapsed completely.
Hu Xiaotian looked at him coldly. "Whether you live or die hangs on a single decision!"
The burglar said in a trembling voice, "You have to promise you won't kill me..."
Hu Xiaotian sneered. "Talk or don't. Suit yourself!" He turned to leave, and the burglar cried desperately, "I'll confess! I'll confess!" "Zhao Zhenghao approached us. He said we were to kidnap you for a ransom. He also said he had someone inside your residence..."
Murong Feiyan had to admire Hu Xiaotian's quick wit and eloquence. By alternating soft words with hard threats, he had frightened the burglar into revealing everything he knew without even bringing out the instruments of torture. She glared at the burglar. "Where can we find Zhao Zhenghao?"
The burglar answered shakily, "I don't know... I... I only know he has a friend named Mo Shaoqi, a horse dealer on Camel Street... You might find some clues if you look for him."
Hu Xiaotian and Murong Feiyan walked out of the cells. At some point, the sky outside had cleared. Coming abruptly from the dark cells into the bright sunshine, their eyes struggled to adjust, and they squinted almost simultaneously.
Murong Feiyan raised her slender hand to shield her forehead from the light and glanced at Hu Xiaotian. "You've got quite a few tricks, frightening that burglar like that."
Hu Xiaotian smiled casually. "Nothing special. You're a constable, yet you don't even understand the most basic principles. Those two burglars had to be held separately. Keeping them together not only let them communicate, but also gave them psychological support and allowed them to keep watch on each other. Breaking through their defenses was twice as difficult as it would have been if they were alone. What happened last night made it obvious they'd been betrayed. They'd already realized that themselves; they just didn't want to admit it. All I did was help them face the reality of their betrayal, then turn their resentment toward the mastermind behind it. After he'd done them so much harm, why should they keep his secrets?"
Although Murong Feiyan said nothing, she genuinely admired his brains. Having witnessed the entire process of him breaking through the burglar's defenses with his silver tongue, she had gained a deeper understanding of his sinister cunning. Her eyes adjusted to the sunlight, and she looked at Hu Xiaotian's brightly smiling face. "Did someone really tip you off beforehand?" she asked quietly.
Hu Xiaotian shook his head. "It was just a ploy to trick them into telling the truth."
"Oh," Murong Feiyan said, still doubtful. "What exactly was stolen from your house?"
Hu Xiaotian smiled. "After knowing me this long, haven't you realized I never tell the truth?"
Murong Feiyan was nearly beside herself with anger. "Withholding information..."
Hu Xiaotian said, "I've done you such a huge favor. Shouldn't you be thanking me instead of repaying kindness with malice? We may not be friends yet, but that doesn't rule out becoming good partners. Shouldn't we head to Camel Street as soon as possible and find that Mo Shaolin? If we're lucky, we might even solve this case today. You can have all the credit."
Murong Feiyan said, "When I'm investigating a case, the thing I hate most is interference from people who have no business in it!"
Before you continue