My Wife Is A Sword Immortal-Chapter 65 - 54 Tell Them Directly_2
Chapter 65: Chapter 54 Tell Them Directly_2
A pristine Jade Hand fluttered its fingers as it fiddled with a jadeite Jade Ruyi.
The owner of the hand spoke with a voice that was chillingly clear.
A brocade-clad man, his face as pale as jade but now drained of color from fear, knelt on the ground, trembling. His head heavily pressed against the marble floors of the pavilion, he felt the terrifying woman’s gaze resting upon him. Scared out of his wits, the man immediately began kowtowing forcefully, crying out in terror as he knocked his head on the floor, “Immortal, spare my life! Immortal, spare my life! I didn’t lie… That day at noon, Teacher Qingxi and I took shelter from the sun in Zuiweng Pavilion, and those three scholars were already there. I overheard the scholar saying, ‘We should head back to the Academy early, or else the teacher will punish me by making me copy books again.’ Then, his handsome companion laughed and said, ‘The Mountain Master adores Zhao so much, he wouldn’t bear to punish him. Ziyu, stop pretending to complain. As for me, sneaking out to have fun with you, I’ll probably get scolded when we go back.’ Later, the scholar who seemed to be called Zhao Ziyu lay down on the chair and fell asleep, and his handsome friend considerately fanned him. I don’t know what their relationship was, but after that, Lin Wenruo showed up at the pavilion with a zither in hand. At that time, we didn’t realize it was him…”
Lan Yuqing’s mouth curled slightly, and her hand momentarily ceased its motion as she impatiently said, “Enough, enough, I know already. Don’t repeat yourself. How many times must you say it? Whether you’ve lied or not, I will find out soon enough.”
The brocade-clad man immediately closed his mouth and dared not make a sound, head bowed and unable to see his expression, but his body shook continuously as his forehead pressed hard against the cold floor tiles.
Lan Yuqing surveyed the interior and exterior of Zuiweng Pavilion. At this moment, a group of blue-clothed Daoists stood guard outside, while only she and the kneeling brocade-clad man were inside.
...
According to the brocade-clad man, the spot Lan Yuqing now occupied was exactly where Lin Wenruo had played the zither.
Lan Yuqing let out a cold laugh.
Suddenly, five blue-clothed Daoists quick-stepped up the mountain path, their positions forming a square, with a rotund Daoist in the center.
Lan Yuqing stood up, stepped over the man still performing forceful kowtows, and strolled outside the pavilion.
Lan Yuqing met with the five newly-arrived Daoists. She glanced at the sweaty, rotund Daoist, who quickly bowed in salute. Lan Yuqing paid him no heed and turned, leading the five men to an open space quite far from Zuiweng Pavilion. On the way, one of the Daoists followed closely behind her, quietly reporting something.
About a quarter of an hour later, Lan Yuqing returned to Zuiweng Pavilion alone, her movements graceful and composed.
Lan Yuqing glanced at the brocade-clad man, who hadn’t seemed to move since she left, and said leisurely, “Your name is Li Shiqian, is it not?”
“That is indeed the humble name of this lowly one.”
“Hmm, your family is one of the owners of Baiyongyi Trading Company in the city, with a total of a hundred and sixty-two people, including servants, and you have two concubines living outside, one of whom is pregnant with an illegitimate child… hm, that makes it a total of a hundred and sixty-six people with you… I’m advising you for the last time, it’s not too late to come clean now.”
Li Shiqian shuddered violently, raised his head, his face tear-streaked and forehead swollen, and cried out miserably, “Immortal, I truly haven’t deceived you, everything I said is the truth, you can investigate. If there’s even the slightest discrepancy, I am willing to be struck by lightning!”
Lan Yuqing’s smile overflowed, “Stop pretending; the people I sent to investigate have already returned. Although you all played your roles well and the logic was seamless, there is no wall in the world that does not leak. Fake is fake, and my people have still discovered something curious. Guess who betrayed you? Stop pretending, I already know everything.”
Lan Yuqing cocked her head, her curiosity piqued as she asked, “What exactly did Lin Wenruo promise you to get your loyalty? Surely he didn’t offer to give you all of his eighteen beautiful concubines?”
Li Shiqian was frightened to the point of wetting himself, screaming wretchedly that he was wronged.
Lan Yuqing leisurely stepped in front of him, leaned over, and whispered in his ear with a smile, “That’s right, you must know the consequences of offending me, don’t you? It’s not just as simple as your whole family of a hundred and sixty-six people dying together. The process of ‘going down’ might be a little bit uncomfortable. Ah, you’d better speak up. I’m just curious what he promised you that got you so devoted. Really…”
The smiling woman, who had been jilted at the altar on her wedding day and kicked out of the house by her childhood sweetheart whom she had waited for ten years, smiled colder and colder, and from her mouth slowly squeezed out two words, “Worth it?”
Li Shiqian knelt on the ground begging for mercy, loudly proclaiming his innocence, his voice hoarse from shouting, his head banging on the floor with dull thuds echoing in the hall.
“I haven’t had much to do recently, so I studied an interesting method from an ancient book. Have you ever heard of the ‘hot pot mouse’? Hmm, it’s quite entertaining. It’s very simple; a cauldron is turned upside down on a person’s stomach, and a few lovely mice are placed inside. Charcoal is lit under the cauldron. I heard that when the cauldron gets red-hot, they’ll desperately try to burrow a way out to escape. Alas, poor little creatures.”
“Also, also, I know another amusing one. It was originally intended for Lin Wenruo to taste, but it’s not a problem to let you experience it in advance. This device is called the skull crusher, similar to an iron cap worn on your head, with a crank on top that controls the tightness. As the crank turns, the chin rest will gradually tighten until, at a certain point, your teeth will be crushed, your jaw shattered, and finally, your skull will crack open with a snap. If I’m in good spirits, perhaps I’ll tap on your iron cap with a small hammer and play a little tune to cheer you on…”
“There are many more such interesting ancient methods. Don’t worry; your family of a hundred and sixty-six is enough for me to try them out one by one. Hey, are you going to talk or not?”
“So, if you confess, I assure you that your family will be released, as for you, you must die, but I can grant you a swift death.”
Suddenly, Li Shiqian, who had been kowtowing forcefully, became motionless, maintaining the position of kneeling with his forehead touching the ground. A smear of blood seeped out from the contact surface between his slightly warm forehead and the cold floor tiles, still scalding hot.
Lan Yuqing squatted down, staring at the man beneath her feet, “Speak.”
“Small… small… this lowly one, hasn’t lied…” the man’s voice was hoarse.
Lan Yuqing’s expression was icy, “My patience is limited, I will count to three, if you don’t confess by then, I will leave.”
“One.”
The man remained still.
“Two.”
The man lifted his head, his eyes vacant as he looked at the woman in front of him, his lips trembling slightly.
The woman stopped counting, leaning in to listen.
It was vaguely… injustice…
The woman lost patience.
“Three.”
The silence within Zuiweng Pavilion was profound, only the muffled breathing of a certain man could be heard.
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The woman’s eyes narrowed.
It seemed like a long time had passed, yet it also seemed like merely an instant.
Lan Yuqing suddenly rose, “Congratulations, you’ve passed the test.”
Her mouth curled up, finding it uninteresting.
“Your reward.” She carelessly tossed the small jadeite Jade Ruyi towards the man, where it rolled into the still-warm blood.
Li Shiqian lunged forward, his elbows propping him up, head hanging down, his expression unseen. He took deep breaths, his gaze catching sight of that profoundly green Jade Ruyi. A tear escaped the man’s eyes.
“Tell me in detail about that Zhao Ziyu who dared to insult me by saying I am unwanted. What does he look like? I must remember him well, so as not to accidentally pass by him one day.”
Li Shiqian fiercely wiped away the tear.
He felt immense gratitude for his Zhongnan Country that had given birth to that shade of green, and profound hatred for the four hundred and eighty Daoist Temples that leech upon his country.
“This lowly one obeys, it is an immense honor to serve Chongxu Temple!”
Li Shiqian said excitedly.
