Xuanqing Guard-Chapter 40: Rising Power

That night, the lights in the entire Li City Xuanqing Guard Garrison never went out, not until dawn.

The common folk, who had spent a whole night both curious and uneasy, finally ventured out of their homes, carefully, piecing together from their neighbors’ "small talk" that the yelling and killing from last night came from the south of the city.

Some busybodies even braved their nerves to head south to catch the excitement, thinking they’d be stopped, but to their surprise, nobody did—so long as you didn’t try to crowd into the Viscount’s Mansion, you could gawk all you wanted outside.

And what was there to see?

The whole Viscount’s Mansion had pretty much been razed to the ground—what more could you want to see?! You have to understand, this had always been the kind of place ordinary people had to bow and scrape just walking by. A genuine Noble Family, the young master still holding the post of General Flag in the Xuanqing Guard, and the patriarch inside was none other than an Eighth-Grade Viscount—their standing, unique across all of Li City.

Tell me, who in Li City doesn’t know the Viscount Li’s Mansion in the south of the city?

And yet, such a lofty house, reduced to rubble overnight.

Listen to what those down-to-earth constables outside the Government Office were saying: the Li Family committed rebellion, not only privately possessing restricted military arms but also the audacity to assassinate a Xuanqing Guard Hundred Households Officer. Well, evil gets its due, right? The whole clan, old and young, surely won’t live past today!

It didn’t matter if people already hated the Li Family or not—seeing the mighty get uprooted was always a crowd-pleaser for ordinary folk. At the very least, it made for juicy gossip that could last ten days to half a month.

All sorts of wild rumors flew, and in less than half a day, the whole city was buzzing.

The commoners were just in it for the spectacle; after all, the Jingjiu Dynasty’s laws had always been lenient with those at the bottom. As long as you didn’t slander the Court itself on purpose, you could say what you wanted for some amusement. But those so-called "important people" in Li City? They were scared shitless.

Besides being a Noble Family known to all, the Li Family was also one of the city’s wealthiest, their various businesses spanning over a dozen trades—relying on their connections and status.

Now the Li Family had been swept away into dust, and rumor had it, for rebellion!?

Rebellion is a crime that implicates nine generations—who knows what else might come to light and drag others down with them? 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The Li Family had their hands in almost every business in Li City, and these "big shots" all had some connection, or even depended on these industries to survive. Who could truly avoid dealing with the Li Family?

And now, not only was the city’s Teleportation Array only allowing entry, not exit, but all main roads out of the city had been blocked as well—same, you could only get in, not out. That’s a dangerous setup!

So how could they not be anxious?

But with the Xuanqing Guard involved, even these "big shots" were rattled. Only a few had connections within the Xuanqing Guard, and since this was life-and-death, they couldn’t afford to hesitate; early in the morning, they personally waited at the Garrison’s gate, hoping to catch some news to set their minds at ease.

But last night things had moved fast—everyone in the Li City Xuanqing Guard Garrison had been required on duty, or, like those in the Jia Flag, thrown straight into the dungeons whether they’d done anything or not.

So, these frantic "big shots" ended up wasting their morning for nothing.

It wasn’t until afternoon that the latest, most reliable update came out of the Xuanqing Guard—instantly spreading through Li City’s upper tier.

"The Li Family is indeed guilty of rebellion. Hundred Households Tang Qingyuan and the Black Banner Camp Commander were both nearly assassinated last night."

"It wasn’t just the Li Family that fell—over three hundred people in the Jia Flag division of the Li City Xuanqing Guard weren’t spared. Those who fought back were filled with arrows, others went straight into the dungeons for trial."

"The Li Family’s case was personally handled by Hundred Households Tang; the lead investigator is the newly established Black Banner Camp Commander, Shen Hao—even last night’s operation was directed by this Shen Hao himself."

"So far, there’s no word that the case involves any other Li City families."

That last bit of news was the only thing comforting those "big shots" who’d spent half a day in dread.

Curse the Li Family all they wanted for being scum—one name burned itself into their memory: Black Banner Camp Commander Shen Hao.

It was only now these "big shots" realized that this new, previously dismissed Black Banner Camp was anything but ordinary. In fact, it wasn’t even under the authority of any Trial Hundred Households, but reported directly to the Hundred Households.

"Crushing this rebellion is an immense accomplishment. Looks like Shen Zongqi is bound for great things! Time to make friends with him."

This was the most natural thought in these "big shots’" heads.

A new rising star in power, right here in Li City—what, you’d pass up the chance to cozy up? Not likely.

Funny, really—on one side, the old nobles had only just perished, corpses still warm; on the other, a new power-holder immediately took root in everyone’s hearts.

...

Shen Hao, unaware that he’d so carelessly become Li City’s newest big shot, was currently in the Interrogation Chamber, watching Li Bing suffer on the Cross Pillar with great interest.

The custom here is to start the prisoner off with three appetizers to "warm them up": a wash (dry-scrubbing with bamboo brushes), a massage (coarse salt rubbed in), and an aperitif (chili oil poured up the nose).

Only then comes the main course.

The main course is split into the "three ways above" and the "three ways below." To be precise, there are eighteen "above" dishes, and another eighteen "below."

All told, there are thirty-nine punishments here.

Of course, this wasn’t invented by the Li City Xuanqing Guard—it was all taught by the command office of the Jingjiu Dynasty Xuanqing Guard. It’s said, since the Xuanqing Guard was founded, you could count on one hand the number of people who survived all thirty-nine punishments without talking.

Li Bing was clearly a tough man too; though some mocked him as an "old master’s soldier," he was definitely no pushover. He’d even handled a good number of real cases, had been through life-and-death tangles more than once.

But even for someone as tough as Li Bing, once his True Qi was sealed, this gauntlet of punishments would quickly break him down, body and mind.

In the slang of the Torture Department’s executioners, this is called "activating the brain."

Only after getting the prisoner’s brain "activated" do they move to the Q&A phase, ensuring every answer comes quick and honest—the only thing the poor bastard can hope for is a quick death at the end.

"Commander, what we’re using now is the ’Iron Chain Loop’—one of the lower three main dishes. Goes in from the rear gate, then adds a special ring to lock in place. In and out, everything inside and out gets cleaned up. And once we add the hot wax, it’s sealed tight."

"Wax? You mean like, you can use it as a candle?"

"That’s right. After the lower three get wax-sealed from the rear gate up through the intestine, and then the upper three open up the esophagus and stomach, also with low-temperature wax, top and bottom connect, and finally the whole body gets a wax coating so you can even use them for illumination.

Heh, there’s a trick to it, called Human Wax. Ordinary folks can’t pull it off, not skilled enough for the craft. But I can—Commander Shen, if you want, I can whip one up right now, not a hassle at all."

It wasn’t just the city’s "big shots" treating Shen Hao as Li City’s new power; even the Torture Department’s executioners were kissing up to him. Except, the way they buttered people up was a bit much for regular folks to stomach.

"Ahem, human wax? That’s downright disgusting, just the thought of it ruins my appetite. And Li Bing can’t be allowed to die yet, nor crippled—make sure he keeps breathing, got it?"

"Understood. Rest assured, Commander Shen! I’ll make sure every question on the interrogation list gets answered—no exceptions!"

"Good, carry on. Li Bing’s pretty tough, make sure he gets plenty of pain. But warn me in advance before you do any of that disgusting shit, so I can step out—I’d like to save my appetite for later."