"Aaah... I was wrong... stop, please... aaah... I'll talk... I'll tell you everything... aaah..."
The disciple let out one harrowing scream after another, squealing like a pig being slaughtered. Tears and snot poured down like floodwaters bursting through a dam, splattering all over the ground.
The pain seemed to reach into the depths of his soul and burrow into his marrow, an agony no man in the world could withstand.
"Hm?"
At the sight, contempt stirred in Ying Ming Hao's heart. The corners of his mouth lifted into a mocking, disdainful smile. "Why are you already on your knees begging for mercy?
"Looking at you, I'd hardly call you a real man!
"I thought you'd be so brave and fearless, but who knew you couldn't even endure three blows from a rod!"
With that, Ying Ming Hao lightly waved the bloodstained iron rod in his hand. Every disciple around him paled in horror and instinctively covered his vital parts-his crotch.
Seeing that the disciple still hadn't spoken, Ying Ming Hao grew even angrier and viciously kicked him several times. His eyes bulged with fury, his face brimming with indignation, as though any further delay would prompt him to inflict even crueler punishment.
The disciple dared not hesitate another moment. Enduring the pain wracking his body, he struggled to push himself up from the bone-chilling ground and answered shakily:
"S-Senior Brother, it really was Senior Brother He-that fellow He Congyun-who ordered us to come make trouble for you! As for why, we junior brothers truly know nothing!
"That's everything we know. Please show mercy, Senior Brother Ying..."
Ying Ming Hao rubbed his chin and fell into thought. He seemed to have heard of He Congyun before, but couldn't quite remember. The name felt familiar, yet he couldn't place it right