Inside Chen Village's dungeon.
The seriously wounded Mingye was tied to a wooden frame, while several people from Chen Village interrogated her.
"Speak! Who sent you?"
Though Mingye had been beaten black and blue, she kept her eyes shut and said nothing, impervious to everything they tried.
Chen Mu had a terrible headache. Runes were his specialty, but when it came to interrogation, he was at a complete loss.
Mingye had clearly received professional training. She paid no heed to the pain inflicted on her body. If he hadn't used runes to seal her movements, she would very likely have killed herself already.
Just as Chen Mu was at his wits' end, Landuo stepped forward.
"Boss, if nothing else works, leave her to me!"
"To you? What can you do?" Chen Mu asked.
Landuo chuckled and raised his voice.
"My soul-refining method can refine beast souls, so naturally it can refine human souls too. I can try refining her soul into a puppet. The damage will be severe, but what if she manages to retain a sliver of memory?"
Chen Mu had also learned Landuo's soul-refining method and knew perfectly well that it was impossible to retain memories after such refining. But hearing Landuo say this, he immediately caught on and nodded.
"If there really is no other way, that's all we can do!"
As soon as Chen Mu spoke, Mingye, who had kept her eyes closed and remained silent, finally reacted.
As an assassin, interrogation was her specialty as well as killing. How could she not know about soul refining?
And Chen Village's mechanical puppets were so formidable that no one would believe its runemasters couldn't refine souls.
Although she didn't believe Landuo had mastered the technique of refining a soul to read its memories, she had no desire to have her soul refined.
The pain of soul refining was hundreds, even thousands of times worse than physical injury. She had seen people undergo it with her own eyes and knew full well how horrifying it was.
"I'll talk! When I'm done, give me a quick death!"
Her tone was indifferent, as though she were talking about someone else.
Chen Mu couldn't help feeling some admiration. In his previous life, he had grown accustomed to the complexities of the human heart, but he had never met anyone so resolute in their purpose.
Unfortunately, someone so devoted to death could hardly be made to serve me. Keeping her at my side would be like keeping a ticking bomb.
Only by killing her could I be truly at ease.
"All right! I promise."
Mingye glanced at Chen Mu, seemingly pondering it. After a moment, she slowly spoke.
"The one who sent me was Tuoba Ziying!"
As soon as the words left her mouth, everyone's expression changed.
"So it was him! I never thought that even after eight years, he still wouldn't let us go."
Chen Hongjie muttered to himself, his face full of shock.
Chen Mu, however, was puzzled and questioned Chen Hongjie.
"Third Uncle, what exactly did we do to offend the Flame Blessing Tribe back then?
"They captured my parents, but that still wasn't enough for them, and now they want to kill my master?"
Chen Hongjie shook his head, his voice somewhat desolate.
"Neither the old patriarch nor I know exactly what happened.
"All I know is that eight years ago, Second Brother returned from an expedition and said he'd offended a powerful tribe.
"He had intended to go out and gather information, but he never expected them to find him as soon as he reached the market. Your mother was captured along with him.
"The old patriarch thought the village was doomed, but to his surprise, they only made a few threats and never sent anyone again afterward.
"Later, the old patriarch made inquiries and learned that they were from the Flame Blessing Tribe.
"The Flame Blessing Tribe was far too powerful. Back then, it would have taken them no more than the flick of a finger to wipe out Chen Village. So the old patriarch and I could only pretend it had never happened and never mentioned it to anyone."
His own brother had been captured, and he had been powerless to help. The pain had nearly driven Chen Hongjie mad back then.
It was also a major reason he still had not married or had children.
Chen Mu thought for a moment, then turned to Mingye.
"Are the man and woman you captured eight years ago still alive?"
By the end of the question, his voice was trembling slightly, for fear of hearing an answer he didn't want.
"So you're Chen Haoran's son."
Mingye had heard the conversation between Chen Mu and Chen Hongjie and learned who Chen Mu was. Her voice held a note of melancholy.
"Don't worry! Chen Haoran isn't just alive, he's doing very well."
At this point, she had nothing left to hide, so she told him everything about Chen Haoran joining the Flame Blessing Tribe.
As it turned out, Chen Haoran had injured Tuoba Ziying and the others while competing for treasure in a ruin. Later, Tuoba Ziying had used the Flame Blessing Tribe's influence to find Chen Haoran and capture both him and his wife.
In the end, Chen Haoran handed over the treasure he had obtained in the ruin and offered to join the Flame Blessing Tribe of his own free will, begging its leader at the time not to harm the people of Chen Village.
The Flame Blessing Tribe's leader held Chen Haoran in such high regard that he agreed to his request and ordered everyone in the tribe not to take revenge on Chen Village. Only then was the village kept safe.
Chen Mu listened quietly to everything Mingye said. The knuckles of the hand gripping the furniture turned slightly white, clearly showing that he was not as calm inside as he appeared.
A ruin? A treasure?
Chen Mu thought of the copy of the Acala Heart Sutra he had found in his parents' room. That cultivation technique was very likely the treasure his father and Tuoba Ziying had fought over.
Only after a long while did he calm down and let out a long breath.
"Thank you!"
He meant it sincerely. If not for Mingye, who knew how much time and effort it would have taken him to gather such detailed information?
"There's no need. Just keep your promise."
Mingye's tone was still icy.
Chen Mu pressed his lips together and nodded, then walked over to Mingye.
Clank!
The chains fell from Mingye, and the sealing talismans on her were removed as well.
"Go, before I change my mind!"
For the first time, Mingye's expression shifted. She looked at Chen Mu in surprise.
"Aren't you afraid I'll come after you for revenge?"
Chen Mu shrugged.
"I am! But there's no direct conflict between us.
"You revealed information about the Tuoba Lineage, so I doubt you can return to them. There's nothing to gain from coming after me again.
"If you still insist on killing me, then come ahead!
"If I could catch you once, I can catch you a second time. But next time, I'm afraid you won't be so lucky."
Seeing how confident Chen Mu was, Mingye couldn't help feeling a little bewildered.
She forced herself to calm down, lowered her head, and silently walked toward the dungeon entrance.
As she went, the people of Chen Village stepped aside of their own accord, and someone even opened the door for her.
She kept walking, passing through the cells and out of Chen Village's gates. Only when she had entered the depths of the forest did she stop.
Blue sky and white clouds, green mountains and clear waters-everything seemed to her as though it belonged to another lifetime.
"Hmph! He actually dared to let me go. Is he looking down on me?"
She muttered to herself, indignant, and glanced back in the direction of Chen Village, an inexplicable irritation rising in her heart.
Next time, I'll definitely kill you!