[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber":3,"chapter-my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-chapter-892":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","My Life as a Rising Force in the Red Chamber",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2311690,4515,"Chapter 892","my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-chapter-892",892,"\u003Cp>The Ministry of Justice’s official precinct, the prison dungeon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The interrogation chamber reeked of acrid blood, chilling to the bone, mingled with the heavy aroma of ginseng decoction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two odors blended into an eerie, terrifying horror, leaving one suspended between life and death—death preferable to life, life worse than death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Chunjiang endured brutal torture; whenever he neared death, his vitality ebbing away, the jailers would halt the punishment and force-feed him ginseng decoction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They used only genuine old ginseng, never substitutes; the decoction also contained other drugs that instantly stimulated the suspect’s blood and qi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This strange life-sustaining ginseng decoction was a secret prison formula, its potency fierce—no matter how severely tortured, a few sips could restore vitality.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for condemned prisoners under torture, this decoction was anything but beneficial, for the best outcome for such prisoners was to lose consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unconsciousness could sever the agony of the flesh, granting the body respite—but this peculiar decoction prevented the tortured from fainting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even under the harshest tortures, a single cup of this decoction would revive the prisoner fully, restoring blood and qi, sharpening every sensation of pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The endless torment inflicted by punishment was amplified vividly upon the flesh; for the condemned, this decoction was more terrifying than any instrument of torture…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Chunjiang was forced to drink the decoction; moments later, his dazed consciousness ignited like oil catching fire, blazing clear and sharp, his entire body wracked with agony, life worse than death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hearing became acute—he heard every word Yang Hongbin spoke, without omission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Duan Chunjiang heard his own secrets revealed to Yang Hongbin, his weak eyes flickered with terror, sharply caught by Yang Hongbin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Hongbin continued: “Any spy, in every action, every word, lives on the edge of life and death; their daily gestures and speech are never without purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To gather intelligence or transmit secrets, one person alone can never succeed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Connecting accomplices, relaying orders up and down, forming alliances left and right, weaving networks—these are daily necessities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this world, anything you have ever done, no matter how carefully you concealed it, leaves traces; with diligence, they can be traced back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just now, someone spoke of your trivial affairs; though fragmented, I discerned much of your background.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For instance, on Lotus Street in the southern city, there’s a grain merchant named Ma Bai; all your grain comes from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when other grain merchants in the city tried to bribe you for business, you refused outright, sticking only to Ma Bai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You frequently meet Ma Bai to settle payments; you owe him four hundred taels for grain, still unpaid, yet he never presses you for repayment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Chunhe Street, there’s a five-fortune tavern, open barely a year; rumor says its food and wine are delicious, and you often go there for a drink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, you’re close with the tavern’s shopkeeper, for he too is from Datong—familiarity among fellow provincials is understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even when you visit Hui Niang’s home, you often have the tavern send wine and dishes; this shopkeeper knows you inside and out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On Yongcun Street, there’s a roadside eatery selling fried and roasted yellow cakes stuffed with premium pork sauce; you buy two pork cakes there every morning for breakfast.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when you were in Datong, you ate only mutton or beef, never pork, deeming it foul-smelling, low-grade, inferior meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Human tastes are formed over long years and rarely change; why, after arriving in the Divine Capital, did your palate suddenly shift so drastically?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There are many such things I know; each of these individuals has, for various reasons, maintained close ties with you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you were an ordinary person, such matters would be commonplace; but as a Mongol spy, they are extraordinary, warranting thorough investigation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You’ve been here less than half a day; your accomplices haven’t yet noticed—you’re merely said to be out arranging business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I still have ample time to apprehend and interrogate them; determining whether they’re your accomplices won’t be too difficult.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A simple check of their records—when they came to the Divine Capital to make a living—if their arrival dates closely match yours, then suspicion is strong…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Hongbin spoke slowly, radiating confidence and certainty, his eyes calm and steady as he observed Duan Chunjiang’s shifting expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Duan Chunjiang’s gaze flickered, his chest rising and falling slightly—his composure already fraying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Hongbin’s lips twitched slightly, his gaze growing brighter…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued: “I will interrogate these people with torture; I don’t believe their bones are as hard as yours!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I can be certain: among these people, there must be your accomplices; once one breaks under torture, they’ll confess everything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once I capture one, they’ll name more; eventually, I’ll trace the vine to its root and uncover all your accomplices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once one confesses, a second, then a third will follow; I’ll learn everything I want to know, down to the smallest detail, without omission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The palace has already issued an edict: with the war situation urgent, starting today, all nine gates of the Divine Capital are sealed—you won’t escape, not one of you.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether you speak or not is irrelevant to me; your refusal to confess, even unto death, is merely a joke…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Duan Chunjiang’s bound body, though covered in wounds, instinctively twisted slightly, his eyes flashing anger and panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Hongbin’s gaze held contempt and cruelty as he continued: “If your accomplices confess honestly, I’ll let them die quickly, leave them whole.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for you, it’s different—you think refusing to confess lets you slip away? Do you imagine death alone will end it? How naive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Three Judicial Offices must jointly adjudicate such major cases; procedures are complex, documents and approvals take years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To reach the autumn execution date, it’ll take at least half a year; if delayed, a year is common.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During that year, I won’t let you rest—you’re the principal culprit in the military grain leak case; eight hundred soldiers of Donggang Garrison, forty thousand innocent souls of Xuanfu Garrison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter how I torment you, I’ll feel perfectly at ease; the senior officials of the Three Judicial Offices will turn a blind eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll subject you to torture daily, feed you premium ginseng decoction daily to keep you alive; to prevent suicide, I’ll sever your hand and foot tendons, cut out your tongue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We’ll make you endure every torment, make you wish you’d never been born, make you regret ever coming into this world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Make you pay the price for your deeds—and your foolish stubbornness!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Hongbin’s words, calm and quiet, echoed through the interrogation chamber, carrying bone-chilling cruelty that left all present shivering.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even the embroidered uniform guards, hardened torturers themselves, felt a chill in their chests; Duan Chunjiang’s broken body on the rack trembled uncontrollably.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Duan Chunjiang shattered instantly, beginning to curse: “You’re a high-ranking official of the court—how can you be so cruel? You’re worse than an animal!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Duan Chunjiang finally speak, Yang Hongbin smiled triumphantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He spoke coldly: “Do you expect me to observe human decency toward a beast like you? You refuse a merciful death—I’ll grant you a glorious one!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He continued: “Even if you survive until autumn execution, hoping for a quick death is a daydream.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You, a traitor of grave state crimes, burdened with too much blood debt, so stubborn and unyielding—don’t dream of a single sword to the neck; you don’t even deserve beheading.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I’ll petition the Three Judicial Offices for the ultimate punishment: lingchi—three thousand six hundred cuts before death, your bones ground to dust, your spirit never reborn…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The nearby embroidered uniform guards, though accustomed to cruelty and bloodshed, shuddered at the mention of lingchi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For they understood better than others what lingchi meant—it ranged from eight to three thousand six hundred cuts, a horror beyond words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In nearly ninety years since the Great Zhou’s founding, only a handful of criminals have received lingchi—all monstrous in their crimes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Hongbin’s reference to three thousand six hundred cuts meant the ultimate lingchi, requiring three days to complete.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even after the final cut, the condemned wouldn’t die immediately; save for the internal organs, the body would be little more than a skeleton, finally beheaded—its brutality indescribable…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After speaking, Yang Hongbin rose slowly; as he reached the chamber door, he said: “Continue the torture—use all your skills; just don’t let him die!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The embroidered uniform guards nodded hastily in response; once Yang Hongbin exited, they all exhaled in unison.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One said to the lead guard: “Brother, this Yang Wen is refined, looks like a scholar—how can he be more cruel than us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just now, my legs went weak. The Ministry of Justice has a monster like him—why do we still have to play the villain?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lead guard replied: “You ignorant fool—he’s a scholar, so he doesn’t dirty his own hands—he makes others do it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When scholars turn cruel, they’re a hundred times more heartless than us; our idea of tormenting people is laughable compared to this man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more they read, the colder and blacker their hearts become; their methods of torment are endlessly inventive—we couldn’t dream them up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We only know brute force; look at his methods—truly eye-opening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I truly admire how Yang Wen tortures people—I just can’t learn it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>My life’s been wasted—if I ever fell into his hands, I’d slit my throat without hesitation, rather than be slowly carved to death.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the guard spoke, he glanced back at Duan Chunjiang, his eyes filled with contempt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sneered loudly: “This beast walked straight into the blade—trying to play hero before Yang Wen? He’s asking for a slow death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Keep up the tough act—keep resisting—let me see three thousand six hundred cuts, three days and nights of torment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I could witness it once, I’d die content.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another guard said: “Brother, your taste is too dark—what’s so interesting about that? So foul.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The lead guard cursed: “You worthless piece of shit—we’re in this line of work.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without Yang Wen’s brains and methods, we’re stuck relying on our own skills—three thousand six hundred cuts without death—how skilled must that be? Not watching would be a crime.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the rack, Duan Chunjiang had lost all courage to curse; his body trembled uncontrollably, his groin soaked through—all his defiance vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He could no longer suppress his boundless terror; his mental defenses shattered—he screamed incoherently: “I confess, I confess everything…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The embroidered uniform guards, though cruel by nature, felt a chill at Duan Chunjiang’s plea, thinking of Yang Hongbin’s methods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had used all their strength to torture the prisoner, yet failed to break his silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yang Hongbin merely opened his mouth—and the prisoner wet himself, sobbing and begging to confess—this Yang was truly horrifying…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the dungeon corridor, Yang Hongbin paced slowly, appearing leisurely, as if strolling through a tranquil garden.\u003C\u002Fp>",1807,"2026-06-20T12:19:58.587Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","3e3849468eaa013004ccfe93e9f6cccba1e54cf6c0afefbd3ba31133a8bfc275","my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-chapter-893","my-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-chapter-891",920,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmy-life-as-a-rising-force-in-the-red-chamber-cover.jpg"]