Chapter 281: Interrogation

"Uh, brain-dead?"

Gao Anyu pulled out his black ruler. The pierced skull, now lacking support, caused the entire body to slam onto the table with a thud. He tilted his head and waved a hand in front of the disciple.

The disciple, however, showed no reaction. His eyes were vacant, his entire body stiff in the chair, not moving a muscle.

"What do we do now... I deliberately left a live one, and he got scared stupid."

Gao Anyu turned to look at Cao Hanyan.

"Brother Cao, how do we handle this?"

Cao Hanyan shook the blood droplets off his blade, sheathed it, and walked quickly to the disciple's side. He first sealed the major acupuncture points on the man's body, then took his pulse to examine him.

"He's suffered a Qi deviation. His internal energy has backflowed into his heart meridian; his Wu Gong is effectively half-crippled."

Having said that, he turned his wrist and placed his fingers on the man's pulse point again.

"Judging by the pulse, it looks like a case of soul-loss. It's possible our attack was too sudden and scared him into a stupor."

Gao Anyu stomped his foot, filled with regret.

"Ah, if I'd known, I shouldn't have struck so fast. It's just that they were talking so enthusiastically, I really couldn't help myself."

"Now that we don't even have a live witness, we have no justification to attack the Profound Void Sect!"

Cao Hanyan looked at Gao Anyu, unsure whether to be speechless or to offer a bitter smile.

This "Brother Gao" who had appeared out of nowhere—before he lost his memory, was he truly not from the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

The mindset of considering whether there was an excuse to kill before even checking if it was appropriate or feasible—he was truly a natural-born seed for the Embroidered Uniform Guard, yet he had been delivered right into the hands of the Guard's ancestor.

And he, of all people, was oblivious to it, still here worrying about "justification."

Isn't "justification" standing right next to you, hands behind his back, watching you?

Gao Anyu noticed Cao Hanyan's gaze, realized what was happening, turned to look at Li Miao, and scratched his head with an embarrassed smile.

"Uncle Li, my apologies, I moved too fast."

Li Miao waved his hand with a smile.

"No matter, there are plenty of ways to make him speak."

"I see your Wu Gong is quite good, Little Gao, and your lineage is considered high-level, but you lack the methods for walking the Jianghu. I was thinking about when to fill in those gaps for you; now is the perfect opportunity."

"Lift this man up, strip him clean, and lay him flat on the table."

Gao Anyu was the type to act first and ask for reasons later. Without a word, he immediately complied, stripping the disciple bare and carefully severing his hand and foot tendons to prevent him from suddenly lashing out and harming "Uncle Li," who knew no Wu Gong.

Li Miao reached out, drew the long sword from Zheng Yi's waist, and handed it to Gao Anyu.

"Little Gao, do you know what the most important thing is when walking the Jianghu?"

Gao Anyu shook his head.

Li Miao said with a smile.

"It is news, or rather, intelligence."

"The more you know compared to others, the more methods you have at your disposal. The better you understand your enemy, the greater your chances of victory. And news is not something that will be delivered to you voluntarily; this requires you to have the means to extract information from the mouths of those who refuse to speak."

"Therefore, an essential skill for walking the Jianghu is—'Interrogation'!"

Cao Hanyan's eyelid twitched, and he thought to himself: "How is this a skill for walking the Jianghu? Who learns torture while walking the Jianghu!"

"This is an Embroidered Uniform Guard method! You clearly have your eye on Brother Gao and want to groom him into an Embroidered Uniform Guard bit by bit!"

But while he dared to think it, he dared not say it, so he had to swallow his words.

He could only watch helplessly as Li Miao led Gao Anyu to the man's side, lifted his left hand, and used his fingers to make a cut on it.

"Did you see clearly?"

Gao Anyu nodded while holding the sword.

"Cut from here; it won't sever major blood vessels or damage the meridians. Even if left alone, he won't bleed to death within a day—come, you try making a cut where I marked."

Gao Anyu stepped forward and made a single strike, opening a long, narrow wound on the skin with perfect precision. Sure enough, as Li Miao said, after the wound was opened, blood only seeped out slowly.

"It's true, Uncle Li!"

He said excitedly.

"And then?"

Li Miao said in a leisurely manner.

"Then, follow this wound and peel back his skin and flesh."

"Have you ever eaten hand-shredded chicken?"

Gao Anyu nodded.

"Just follow that method, take his muscles—yes, the red ones—and tear them off one by one—"

"And then, Uncle Li!"

Before Li Miao could finish, Gao Anyu had already torn off a strip of bright red, twitching muscle, staring wide-eyed at Li Miao.

Li Miao couldn't help but chuckle.

He didn't know what kind of temperament this kid had before he lost his memory, but his current nature could be called a natural-born Embroidered Uniform Guard. If he had joined the service with him, perhaps the title of "Thousand-Household Shredder" wouldn't have been placed on him, Lord Li.

"Then stuff it into his mouth. Once it's full, use the sword hilt to push it down. Once he can't eat anymore, we move to the next step..."

"I'll talk!"

Li Miao's words were interrupted again. The disciple suddenly widened his eyes, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

"I'm awake, I'm clear-headed, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything!"

In truth, he had already regained consciousness the moment Gao Anyu cut the skin on his arm.

This "soul-loss" was, to put it plainly, just the brain "numbing up" and going into shock. If one didn't count various esoteric Wu Gong, it wouldn't be easy to cure in this Great Shu.

But if one didn't care about whether the person would relapse or suffer greater injury, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had countless ways to make the other party briefly regain consciousness.

It was just that Gao Anyu, seeing his "teaching aid" suddenly wake up, sighed and was about to return the sword to his waist, when he heard Li Miao's calm voice.

"Little Gao, did I say you could stop?"

Gao Anyu turned his head abruptly to see Li Miao holding up a finger.

"Rule number one: never listen to a single word from the other party before the interrogation is finished. Even if they want to confess, wait until the entire set of methods has been used."

"Otherwise, how do you know they aren't feeding you false information, or using lies to stall for time?"

Li Miao looked at the disciple's eyes, which were filled with terror, and said with a smile.

"You must make him answer your questions voluntarily. You must make him know that he doesn't just have to answer, but also bear the consequences of the questions, and that he must, from your perspective, supplement the information he thinks needs to be confessed."

"Do not think of interrogation as a means of torturing the other party; that is the view of an amateur."

"Interrogation is a process of turning an enemy into a companion. It is a process of letting the other party know your resolve, and letting them gradually begin to consider things from your perspective."

Having said this, Li Miao sat on a table nearby, reached out to pour himself a cup of tea, and sipped it slowly.

"Plug his mouth, and finish peeling his left hand first."

"Believe me, once his left hand is bare and his stomach is full of warmth, he will become a companion who considers everything from your perspective."

Gao Anyu widened his eyes and nodded excitedly.

"Yes!"