Xuanqing Guard

Shen Hao wasn’t going to throw all his chips on the table at once; he wanted to squeeze every bit out of Ma San’s mind, piece by piece.

The Storage Bag alone could pull out a ton of information; he wanted to see what Ma San would say.

A long, oppressive silence stretched for half a stick of incense. Ma San didn’t say a word, but his eyes kept flickering, clearly working overtime in his head.

"Not talking? You think you can get away with keeping your mouth shut? Or do you think we can’t get what we need out of your buddy next door? That guy’s name is Zhang De, right? Is his name fake, just like yours?"

When he heard Zhang De’s name, Ma San’s expression visibly changed.

Shen Hao caught it all, then continued with a smile: "You don’t actually think your companion is dead, right? Heh, well, he took four arrows, then you sneak-attacked him — smashed his back, wounded him badly. He barely had a breath left in him. I’d guess pure Resentful Qi kept him going. Anyway, we spent two Middle Grade Healing Elixirs to keep him alive. Zhang De’s just next door resting. Once he’s a little better, we’ll let you reminisce together."

"But I found some Waist Tokens on both of you. Genuine, not fake, and they’re from the Ministry of War. Care to tell me how you got them?"

Ma San kept silent, but all the fake calm on his face had vanished.

"Not in the mood for conversation? Too bad, I have so much to discuss. Like, how did you, Zhang De, and Xu Qian — the dead one — first meet? How’d you get authorization for using the Military Transmission Array? Who handled it for you?"

"Talk. At the end of the road, there’s only death. Don’t think not fearing death means you’re tough. Trust me, we have plenty of ways to make you beg for death — you’ll talk then, so why waste both our time?"

Ma San wasn’t stupid. He growled, "Have you been watching us for a long time?"

"Of course. Last time’s Jingxi Action? We stirred it up by tracking you. Got your identities from your buddies, turned the case into an inspector-level major case. Catching you took a lot of effort on our part."

"Too bad. Even if you catch me, you won’t get a thing from me." Done speaking, he tried to bite through his own tongue. Even if he didn’t die, at least he’d be a mute?

Unfortunately, the interrogator watching him had already anticipated this trick, and shoved a wooden stick right between Ma San’s teeth. Bite? Without True Qi to strengthen him, Ma San couldn’t even crack it, so he couldn’t hurt his tongue.

Shen Hao shook his head; he realized that thinking simple words alone would make the guy confess was a bit naïve.

"Serve up some dishes. Let him loosen his brain up."

"Yes, sir."

The two interrogators had been waiting impatiently. Hearing Shen Hao’s order, they began the usual torture routine. After a dozen rounds of ’cold dishes,’ Ma San’s eyes started bulging, and the Iron Walnuts locking his mouth kept him quiet, only able to grunt out nasal sounds, drool dripping uncontrollably down his chin.

Shen Hao said nothing. He’d seen plenty of interrogations before and was watching Ma San’s reactions.

"Looks like this guy can’t hold out?"

One of the two interrogators answered, hunched over and respectfully whispering to Shen Hao’s side: "Yes, sir. We only finished the appetizers, took it slow, and this guy’s got snot, tears, spit all dripping down. Classic sign he can’t take it. Maybe give him a breather, ask a few questions?"

"No need, keep going. Give him a taste of the real stuff before questioning him." Shen Hao wasn’t in a hurry. He’d already tried getting Ma San to confess with words, so now he’d let him suffer enough before interrogating him again.

Another half hour passed. In between, Ma San nearly fainted several times, but was revived with cold water, and force-fed medicine to wake him up, making sure he didn’t miss any agony.

"Ma San, how’re you feeling? Anything you want to say?"

"...Kill me."

"Don’t worry, you won’t survive. But you get to pick: quick and easy, or drawn-out torment."

"You...what do you want to know?"

Ma San felt more humiliated than ever, more broken and cowardly than he’d ever imagined. He’d always fancied himself a hard man, nothing scared him, always saying: ’I’m not afraid of death, why would I be afraid of you?’

But now, the Xuanqing Guard interrogators had shown Ma San in just an hour how laughable he’d been all along.

"Let’s start with something basic. Warm you up. State your real name."

"Ma San Kui. That’s my real name."

"Ma San Kui? Tsk tsk. Now, what about the dead Xu Qian and Zhang De next door—what are their identities?" Shen Hao motioned to the record-keeper to start writing.

Even if the previous speculations matched the confession, every question needed to be logged. Not redundancy, but procedure. Make the case iron-tight.

Ma San Kui struggled a moment, then jumped when an interrogator ’accidentally’ dropped a pair of tongs with a metallic clang, finally speaking: "Xu Qian and Zhang De are from the Military. I think they’re Small Banner Officers."

"Do you know their backgrounds specifically?"

"No. I just know they’re very capable. Can get lots of Storage Bags, internal authorizations, handle all sorts of checks."

"Those documents are genuine?"

"Procedures and seals are real, but the content’s fake."

"Not afraid the officials will verify them? Won’t you get exposed?" Shen Hao pressed on.

"Not afraid. All procedures are real. We’ve got someone covering us up above. Nobody can check us."

Shen Hao asked again: "You’re pretty lucky. How’d you meet such capable people?"

How did he meet them? Ma San Kui fell silent. This question was tougher and more embarrassing than the earlier ones.

Shen Hao didn’t have the patience this time. Ma San Kui wasn’t really a tough guy; the mind games here had nothing on direct torture. He waved his hand, not even waiting for Ma San’s reaction, and the interrogators shoved the Iron Walnuts back into his mouth...

Another half hour passed before Ma San Kui got another chance to speak. This time, he volunteered: "I’ll tell you! Our Sect Leader was the one who set it up, but I don’t know who exactly. Xu Qian and Zhang De were sent by their side."

"Sect Leader? Hah, you people even have a Sect Leader? What’s his name? What Cultivation level?" Shen Hao hadn’t expected these Pseudo-Evil Sect cultivators to put together a Sect Leader—he found it amusing.