The Blade-Wielding Legend-Chapter 1370 - 708: Torture in the Cell (2)

The chains stretched taut, pinning him firmly in place.

The originally dignified Confucian robe on his body was now tattered, revealing a large area of frightening purple-black depression on his chest.

That was the mark of broken ribs.

"Hoo~ Hoo~"

Each weak breath carried the noise of a broken bellows.

Facing this miserable sight, "Old Knife" was clearly long accustomed.

He stopped at the iron table three feet away, unbuckled a glossy leather tool bag from his waist, and slammed it onto the table.

"Criminal Kong Hui."

"Old Knife" spoke in a low, emotionless voice, "By order of questioning, are you willing to speak?"

Kong Hui’s eyeballs moved slightly, a muffled and brief "huh" emanated from his throat, like gravel stuck in a blood-filled windpipe.

His cracked lips spread into a sneer.

"Oh..."

"Old Knife" nodded, bent down, and leisurely opened the glossy tool bag.

A thick waterproof oil cloth was uncovered, revealing an orderly array of fine steel tools inside:

Hooks of peculiar shape, thin as willow leaves, with edges glinting coldly; several hollow tubes of varying lengths, their openings ground as if interlocked canine teeth; thin flat blades with finely graduated scales on the backs; and rows of silver needles, the longest nearly matching a finger, the shortest as thin as a cow’s hair...

"Old Knife" ran his fingers over them but merely took out a small black jade bowl from the corner of the tool bag.

The bowl contained mud, viscous like paste, exuding a pungent yin energy, permeated with black and yellow grease.

"This is called ’Yellow Springs Mud’."

"Old Knife" spoke calmly, "Taken from the depths of the corpsek nourishing pond, mixed with ’Corpse Suppressing Talisman Ash’ from the ’Seven Seals of Clouds’ and vermillion, black dog blood, rumored to have been made by Han Palace sorcerers..."

"’Yellow Springs Mud Seal’, huh?"

Before he could finish, Kong Hui interrupted, sneering, "During the Jingkang years, the Jin people used this method to torture those Mystical Sect protectors who refused to submit."

"Oh, I almost forgot you were a yin criminal."

"Old Knife" had a flash of ghostly light in his eyes, "You’re also a member of the Great Song Ghost Sect, are you perhaps involved in the Jingkang turmoil?"

Interrogation, too, is a skill, and he was constantly probing for information.

"Hehe..."

Kong Hui’s eyes were murky, bloodshot, "As someone once said, Jingkang Shame? Just a bad debt..."

Spoken without intent, yet meaningful.

Outside the dungeon, Li Yan and others were listening.

As these words fell, a flash of spiritual light suddenly sparked in Li Yan’s mind.

He remembered battling Zhao Qingxu at the time; the opponent used spells, transforming into "Great Song exchange notes" to control Yin Ghosts.

It seemed those words came from his mouth.

In the cell inside, "Old Knife" attempted to probe further, but Kong Hui directly closed his eyes.

"Hmph!"

"Old Knife" let out a cold snort, his fingers smeared with mud, his fingertips instantly entwined with a trace of indistinct black resentment.

In the public sector, there are also cultivators who practice, and being invited here implies a profound Dao.

Smack!

Without warning, he flicked.

A small, viscous, icy lump of mud precisely smeared onto Kong Hui’s forehead.

This is the ancestral aperture where the cultivator’s Divine Soul manifests.

"Ah——!"

As if hot oil dropped into clear water, the nonhuman wails abruptly tore through the silence!

The mud, like a living creature, instantly eroded the skin.

Kong Hui felt an indescribable cold and filth freezing and corroding his Yin God!

As a yin criminal and former Grandmaster, his Divine Soul was naturally exceedingly strong.

But enduring the torture of ’Yellow Springs Mud Seal’ was a pain worse than death.

Even so, he did not speak.

"Old Knife" was equally a fierce man, not angry but smiling at the situation.

"Good, worthy of a Grandmaster. I shall ensure your satisfaction!"

He took out a few hollow cow hair-like silver needles, with spiral-shaped tips, the ends connected to thin jade conduits.

"This is ’Soul-Injection Needle’, piercing ’Qi Acupoint’ and ’Yin Meridian Intersection’, injecting vermillion incense ash, combined with Yellow Springs Mud Seal, leading to Yin Yang imbalance, demon possession, meridian reversal..."

"This is ’Broken Vein Evil-Attracting Knife’, derived from Miaojiang’s ’Heart-cutting Gu’ and Taoist ’Breaking Evil Talisman’. This knife is not for cutting flesh but specially to sever veins, slightly easing the pain of demon possession, but when the blade falls, it’s like hundreds of ghosts devouring the soul..."

One round after another of cruel tortures was used, unheard of by Li Yan and others.

Just looking at it made them feel terrified.

However, Kong Hui was still unwilling to confess.

His Divine Soul was strong, and various Enchantment Techniques were useless against him.

Seeing that he was about to be tortured to death, Li Yan frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "Stop for now, I’ll handle it."

With that, he pushed the door open and entered the cell.

"Old Knife" glanced at him, seemingly dissatisfied, but said nothing and stood aside.

The bloodied Kong Hui slowly raised his head, bursting into a violent cough, with blood and saliva splattering.

He looked at Li Yan, his voice hoarse, "Kid, are you here to collect my soul?"

Li Yan replied calmly, "You’re dreaming. Don’t think I don’t know that if you’re sent to the Netherworld, there’s a way out for you. Let me tell you honestly, both Lu Sheng and Wang Xuanmo are already scattered souls. I don’t want rewards, and I won’t let you have a good time."

"Heh, fool..."

Kong Hui used a tone mixed with schadenfreude and intense venom, hissing lowly, "Many years ago, I had the chance to be a living Yin messenger, but I threw away the Hook Paper without hesitation. Do you know why?"

"Why?"

"It’s a road of no return. Alive, you have no autonomy, and dead, you’re not at peace."

"Do you know where the Yin Department Soldiers you summon so easily are coming from..."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan’s heart was instantly chilled.

He had considered this matter before.

Throughout history, few succeeded in achieving Ascension.

Yet, the number of Yin Department Soldiers was indeed considerable.

Could it be that living Yin messengers are enslaved after death?

But further questioning of Kong Hui was fruitless as he refused to answer.

Li Yan’s eyes flickered, and he asked, "Are you truly willing to serve Jianmu?"

Kong Hui looked outside at Wu Ba, full of murderous intent, and laughed mockingly, "I set the trap to kill Wu Qu. Will you let me go?"

Li Yan was silent for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

"That’s it."

Kong Hui laughed crazily, "I’ve reincarnated several times and lived long enough, not bound by Heavenly Rules, unconstrained by Human World laws. This heaven and earth are all illusions. To have enjoyed it thoroughly once is worth it!"

"I don’t think it’s worthwhile for you!"

Li Yan said sternly, "Last night, when I entered the Nine Gates Yin Ruins, Zhao Qingxu sold you out to escape."

Kong Hui sneered, "Trying to sow discord is useless on me."

Li Yan smiled, "Without his guidance, how could we have found those polluted places?"

"If Zhao Qingxu wasn’t guilty, why didn’t he inform you when the Nine Gates Yin Ruins had an incident?"

"Furthermore."

Li Yan looked at Kong Hui, "We didn’t find the Earth Official’s Absolution of Sins Treasure Decree on you. I remember you had a copy, but in the Nine Gates Yin Ruins, I saw Zhao Qingxu had two copies, which is why we didn’t catch him."

"You... weren’t foolish enough to give your protective treasure to him, were you?"

Li Yan was nine parts truth and one part bluffing to deceive.

But this indeed struck a nerve with Kong Hui.

He was already possessed by demons, and his eyes, filled with bloodshot, were full of madness. "No, I trusted his lies mistakenly."

"Zhao Qingxu? Hehe... he’s hiding much deeper than I ever did..."

"He’s... He isn’t human! A fierce ghost from the Treasure Vault!"

"With ’notes’, he has debts..."

"This Great Xuan... will eventually... be turned into a mess of accounts by him!"

The laughter was mad yet intermittently weak, like the lament of a dying beast.

"What is he really after?!"

Li Yan couldn’t pause, asked sternly.

This matter with Kong Hui was already exhausted, he muttered to himself, "Why would he sell me out?"

"There’s no reason... Thus, the years of effort in the Capital are destroyed."

"He has betrayed Jianmu, unless there’s something..."

Saying this, he suddenly raised his head, "I know, he’s plotting something at Qiankun Academy!"

"What thing?"

Pei Zongti heard, his expression instantly turned grim, entered and inquired.

Kong Hui lowered his head, laughed self-deprecatingly:

"I don’t know, only know it’s a key item for Human Dao reform!"