Lu Chen cast a puzzled look over, "What’s going on here?"

Gu Chengyu raised his brows, "I’m not fond of too much bloodshed, so I thought of another method to spare this person from physical pain!"

Yes, this method isn’t physical pain; it’s a bone-cracking punishment!

Lu Chen was taken aback by this remark. He couldn’t believe Gu Chengyu would just let this person go. Without asking any insider information and just giving up like this was impossible, especially for Gu Chengyu.

So, sparing physical pain must not be a good thing.

"Ahem! Take it easy, this person still has some use!"

He was suddenly at a loss for words. Gu Chengyu could watch a whipping from start to finish without flinching, showing he wasn’t an ordinary person.

The man in black lifted his eyelids slightly and then lowered his head in silence.

Gu Chengyu slightly curled his lips, hoping you can still be this tough later!

There were plenty of punishments in ancient times; surely one could break this person, and it wouldn’t be hard to pry open his mouth.

Not a minute had passed when the prison chief came over, sweating profusely.

Behind him followed two Government Officials, one holding two long benches, and the other carrying several green bricks.

Gu Chengyu motioned for the two to put the items down, then arranged the benches in a cross shape and said to the prison chief, "Tie the two benches together securely; if they come apart midway, you’ll be the one questioned."

Lu Chen watched Gu Chengyu’s fussing with curiosity. Wasn’t the punishment just these two things? Could there be a new trick to this?

Yet Gu Chengyu hadn’t dealt with these before; how did he come up with it?

Seeing the benches tied firmly, Gu Chengyu signaled the two to bring the man in black over and place him on the bench.

The two Government Officials glanced at each other, untied the man from the rack, and dragged him towards the bench.

"Tie ropes at the waist, chest, and leg bends. Bind him to the bench. Tighten it."

Gu Chengyu casually sat down to see how long this person could last.

Lu Chen was baffled, watching Gu Chengyu fuss around for a while. When the Officials had tied the person, he couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

Isn’t the assassin quite comfortable sitting like this? Easier than being tied on the rack earlier. Is this a break for him?

"I’ll ask you again, speak or not. When punishment begins, you might feel you’d rather die than live. Why endure such needless suffering?"

Gu Chengyu shook his head and sighed, sometimes punishment was less merciful than dying swiftly.

Yet life was cruel, living was more painful than dying, and required more courage.

Thus, seeking life was futile, seeking death was impossible!

The man only glanced at Gu Chengyu, his eyes dull, devoid of vitality.

Gu Chengyu nodded, glanced at the thickness of the bricks on the ground—it was quite thick.

"Bring the bricks and wedge them under his heels. Start with one so he can taste the tiger bench."

"Tiger bench?" Now Lu Chen figured out what Gu Chengyu was up to. He had to admit, this punishment was vicious!

No blood was shed, yet it caused unbearable pain. Truly, the name "tiger bench" was apt.

"Begin!"

Because the shins were tightly bound, the Officials exerted quite a bit of effort to wedge one brick under the person’s heel.

"Ah!" The man in black couldn’t hold back, crying out in pain. The sensation felt as if his leg bones were about to break, causing him to break into a cold sweat.

"Speak or not?" The Officials, quite instinctively, placed a brick and seeing the man’s cries, their eyes lit up and they spontaneously asked.

This torture device was indeed novel, never seen before, hence becoming a helpful tool for getting confessions from suspects in the future.

The person gritted his teeth, remaining silent. He panted heavily, as if uttering a word took great effort.

The Officials looked back at Gu Chengyu, "Sir, should we add another?"

Gu Chengyu nodded, the first brick—those who had endured the whipping generally could bear it.

He arduously parted the person’s legs and added another brick, causing the person to cry out immediately.

He panted heavily, struggling as his hands tied to the other bench fought to break free.

"Speak or not?" The Officials asked again, waiting for a moment while the person continued screaming without replying.

This time, without seeking Gu Chengyu’s instructions, they understood directly and added the third brick.

Gu Chengyu knew, success or failure hinged on this third brick.

At this thickness, three bricks were the limit; ordinary people couldn’t handle two.

As a martial artist, this person had more flexibility in his ligaments than the average person. Alas, flexibility was also limited.

If more were added, the legs could break. For one steadfast in will, if he endured all three bricks, a broken leg wasn’t such unbearable agony.

Now the man in black couldn’t scream anymore, his body trembled violently, even shaking the bench.

The Officials hurriedly held down the bench and the man. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Speak! I’ll talk!" A faint voice sounded; one had to listen carefully to hear it clearly.

Gu Chengyu gestured, stopping the Officials from adding a fourth brick. With a sigh of relief, he thought it’s good that he’s willing to talk.

"I already said, don’t suffer needlessly. Now you talk; earlier pains were endured in vain. Of course, you can choose not to speak now, but I have many punishments waiting, and this was just one."

Gu Chengyu’s gentle voice by the person’s ear made his body tremble even more.

Gu Chengyu touched his nose, was he that terrifying?

He instructed the Officials to remove the bricks, for speaking required concentration, shouldn’t they let him rest?

Once the bricks were removed, the man took a deep breath.

"Speak! Where are you from, what are you doing in Jiangnan? How many came, what is their mission? Explain everything in detail."

Gu Chengyu returned to sit by the chair, instructing Ding Shi to take notes, ready to record the person’s words.

These were to be presented to the Emperor; this was an interrogation, not his abuse of punishment.

Gu Chengyu didn’t have such a hobby either; if not to uncover insider information, he wouldn’t treat someone this way.

The death wasn’t worse than torture; actually he felt reluctant in his heart, though it didn’t show on his face!

Seeing the person about to open up, Lu Chen couldn’t help but feel relieved. It’s best spoken soon; he really couldn’t stay here.

"We are Daxing people, here in Dayan for a mission. As there was a flood disaster in Dayan’s Jiangnan, our master ordered us to come to Jiangnan, seize the opportunity to incite disaster victims, urging them to rebel, aiming to trigger internal conflict in the Dayan Dynasty."

The person spoke with difficulty, coupled with slurred articulation, speaking intermittently, causing those listening to struggle.

Upon hearing this person say they were Daxing people, Lu Chen immediately frowned.

Daxing people had arrived in Jiangnan; what were the border soldiers doing? How was it that no one knew?