Chapter 97: I'll teach you: hang him up and pour in water—or mustard oil; that should work better than water

For a moment, Long An stared blankly at everything before him, appearing quite at a loss.

"This is a Fifth-Rank Secret Martial Artist?"

A trace of doubt and faint disappointment surfaced in Qin Jiang's eyes; it seemed he had somewhat underestimated his own strength.

"Correct. The top five of the Gold Masks in the Golden Jade Pavilion are all Sixth-Rank Secret Martial Artists, while the sixth through tenth are all Fifth-Rank."

"This Jin Qi's strength is among the upper tier even for a Fifth-Rank Secret Martial Artist; he isn't far from the Sixth Rank," Long An said, his voice unconsciously becoming more respectful.

Qin Jiang nodded, tossed Jin Qi aside, and flicked his hand, sending out a streak of green fire to seal the other man's Qi pulses and meridian nodes.

"Take him down and interrogate him; I've already shattered the meridians throughout his body. Right, arrange for people to go down the well."

After speaking, he leaped directly down the well opening; he had realized Jin Qi was trying to escape the moment he landed, and hadn't had time to find anyone else.

Landing on solid ground, Qin Jiang looked around. It was a massive square space, surrounded by cages used to hold people, with figures in black lying everywhere.

These people all belonged to the Golden Jade Pavilion; he had used his internal energy to knock them unconscious earlier because he was busy chasing Jin Qi.

He checked the cages one by one along the perimeter, but after a full circuit, he found no trace of Qin Hong.

Frowning slightly, the sound of landing echoed behind him; it was the Black Armored Army.

"Fourth Master! Any orders?" the leading Black Armored General asked.

"Take all these Golden Jade Pavilion people back for interrogation. As for the others left in the cages, question them one by one: where they are from, what they do, and if they know why they were captured," Qin Jiang said.

"Yes!"

The Black Armored General raised his hand, directing the soldiers behind him to bind these people up and send them to the surface.

That night, in the Long Family dungeon, inside a high-grade steel cell.

Qin Jiang sat on a chair, toying with a golden mask in his hand, watching Jin Qi, who was kneeling half-way on the ground opposite him with his mask already removed.

He was a young man—or at least, he appeared to be a young man.

But in reality, Secret Martial Artists could control their own facial features, though very few chose to do so.

"Is your mouth that stubborn?" he asked.

Long An, standing to the side, had a slight change in expression. "Fourth Master, don't worry. Give me one more night, and I will definitely pry his mouth open!"

He was known as the 'Human Butcher'; killing was no problem for him, but when it came to forced interrogation, he was good at intimidation, but not at extracting specific information.

Looking at Jin Qi before him, a surge of anger rose in his heart; he didn't want to lose face in front of Qin Jiang.

"Heh heh... Long An, you're still as useless as ever. If it weren't for this guy, I would have captured you alive! If there is a next time, I will make you taste this physical suffering too!" Jin Qi kept his head slightly lowered, his eyes filled with disdain.

If not for capsizing in the gutter this time, how could a mere Fourth-Rank Secret Martial Artist like Long An be acting so arrogant here! "Next time? You still want a next time?! Watch me whip you to death!"

Immediately, Long An picked up a whip soaked in salt water from the side and prepared to lash out, but Qin Jiang raised his hand to stop him.

"Enough, you only know how to hit. I'll teach you how to do it: hang him up, then pour water—or mustard oil—into his nose; that should work better than water."

It had to be said, the punishments in this world were still too backward; many methods had yet to be developed.

Long An's whipping hand froze in mid-air, his eyes looking at Qin Jiang with a hint of shock, which then turned into excitement.

This... just thinking about it made him, a Secret Martial Artist, feel uncomfortable all over. How did the Fourth Master come up with such a brilliant method? A moment later... "I'll talk! Ah! Stop pouring! Stop pouring! I'll really talk! Ask me! I beg you, hurry up and ask!!"

The hanging Jin Qi wailed in agony, snot mixed with mustard oil and chili oil sliding into his eyes, making him feel as if he were going blind! Long An, standing beside him, had no intention of stopping, his eyes filled with excitement.

Although such methods would not pose a life-threatening danger to a Secret Martial Artist, they could cause the victim extreme pain.

Qin Jiang had no intention of stopping either; it had only just begun, and there was no guarantee the other party wouldn't lie. He had to wait until the man felt despair before stopping. After all, this method was not lethal; it was meant to break psychological defenses.

After several more hours, Jin Qi had become weak and listless, every breath accompanied by a cough, and even the force of his coughing had diminished significantly.

"I'll talk, I'll talk, I beg you, please ask me, I really, really..."

Before he could finish, he passed out directly.

Qin Jiang nodded slightly; it was about time. Just as he raised his hand to call a halt...

Long An was quick-witted and instantly understood Qin Jiang's intent, directly picking up a small wooden stick from the side.

He fiercely dipped it into a plate of a gelatinous mixture of mustard oil, chili oil, Sichuan pepper oil, and more, and shoved it directly into Jin Qi's nostril! "Ah—!"

The shrill scream echoed through the steel dungeon, causing all the prisoners in the entire dungeon to tremble.

They had been listening to screams for half the night; the wailing had never ceased—it was pure mental torture!

Not to mention them, even Qin Jiang felt his scalp tingle, and he quickly waved his hand. "Enough, enough, don't break him; stop for a while."

Long An was stunned. That's it?

He pinched his earlobe, glanced at Jin Qi who had passed out again, and casually pulled the two wooden sticks out of the man's nostrils, tossing them aside in disgust.

He really couldn't take much play; he couldn't even hold out as long as some of the death-row prisoners.

"Get two buckets of water and splash him awake."

A moment later, accompanied by a splash of water, Jin Qi opened his eyes in a daze.

Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing? Just as he was still confused, he suddenly saw the person standing before him, and the devil-like figure behind him.

"I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything..."

Although his eyes were full of terror and he wished he could fly out of here, he was now exhausted from the torture.

Especially the mental torture—when that stick covered in mustard oil was shoved into his nostril, he felt as if he had returned to his childhood.

He saw his great-grandmother who would secretly give him candy; the past flickered like a shadow puppet show.

"Tell us everything you know."

Long An spoke. Years of experience told him that at this moment, one shouldn't ask questions, but rather let the other party speak voluntarily; there might be unexpected gains.

Jin Qi caught his breath. "Is there water? It's too choking, cough, cough, cough..."

He coughed softly, and what he coughed out was not droplets, but a red, bright-yellow oily substance.

"Hey, you, do you want to be hung up again?" Long An said viciously.

"Give it to him," Qin Jiang said.

If the other party's words could satisfy him, he wouldn't mind giving him a decent way to die.

Long An snorted at Jin Qi, turned to grab a bucket of water, grabbed Jin Qi by the hair, and poured it into his mouth.

After a while, Long An threw the bucket aside. "Speak!"

Jin Qi shook his head, shaking off the water stains on his face. "In Ning'an City, the ones cooperating with our Golden Jade Pavilion are your own people in Ning'an City—if not a Prominent Family, then a Noble Clan."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 98 =====