Chapter 317: Interrogation

"Uh, are you stupid?"

Gao Anyu pulled out his black ruler. The pierced head lost its support, and the entire body slammed onto the table with a *thud*. He tilted his head and waved a hand in front of the disciple.

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

"What do we do now... I deliberately left one alive, 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 all over the disciple's body, then gripped his pulse to examine him.

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

After saying this, he flipped his wrist and placed his fingers on the other man's pulse again.

"Judging by the pulse, it looks a bit like soul-loss syndrome. It's possible we struck too suddenly and scared him into a stupor."

Gao Anyu stomped his feet, filled with regret.

"Aiya, 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 living captive, we have no reason to strike at the Kongming Sect!"

Cao Hanyan looked at Gao Anyu, not knowing whether to be speechless or to smile bitterly.

Was this "Brother Gao" who appeared out of nowhere truly not from the Embroidered Uniform Guard before he lost his memory?

The mindset of considering whether there was an excuse to kill before even considering whether 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 ancestor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

And he, of all people, didn't even realize it, still thinking about "reason" here.

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

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, I'm sorry, I struck too fast."

Li Miao waved his hand with a smile.

"No matter, there are plenty of ways to make him open his mouth."

"I see that your Wu Gong is quite good, Little Gao, and your lineage can be considered brilliant, but you lack many methods for traveling the Jianghu. I was just thinking about when to make up for that 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 another word, he immediately complied, stripped the disciple clean, and even meticulously severed his hand and foot tendons to prevent him from suddenly rising and harming "Uncle Li," who knew no Wu Gong.

Li Miao reached out, pulled 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 traveling 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. The more you understand your enemy, the greater your chances of victory. And this thing called news will not be delivered to you voluntarily; this requires you to have the means to extract information from the mouths of those who do not want to speak."

"Therefore, an essential method for traveling the Jianghu is—'Interrogation'!"

Cao Hanyan's eyelid twitched, and he muttered to himself: "Since when is this a method for traveling the Jianghu? Who learns torture while traveling the Jianghu!"

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

He dared to think it, but he dared not say it, so he had to swallow the words back.

He could only watch helplessly as Li Miao led Gao Anyu to the man's side, lifted his left hand, and drew a line across it with his fingers.

"Did you see clearly?"

Gao Anyu nodded while holding the sword.

"Slice it open from here; it won't rupture the main blood vessels, nor will it damage the meridians. Even if you leave it there, he won't bleed to death within a day—come, you try slicing it open exactly where I drew."

Gao Anyu stepped forward and delivered a sword strike, slicing a long, narrow wound into the skin with perfect precision. Just as Li Miao had said, after the wound was opened, blood only seeped out slowly.

"It's true, Uncle Li!"

He said excitedly.

"And then?"

Li Miao said unhurriedly.

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

"Have you ever eaten hand-shredded chicken?"

Gao Anyu nodded.

"Just follow that method, take his muscles—yes, just those 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, pulsating muscle, staring at Li Miao with wide eyes.

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 truly be called a natural-born Embroidered Uniform Guard. If he had entered 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 ram it down. Once he can't eat any more, we'll proceed 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.

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

In fact, from the moment Gao Anyu sliced open the skin on his arm, he had already regained consciousness.

This "soul-loss syndrome," to put it plainly, was just his brain being "numbed" and stressed. If one didn't count various exotic Wu Gong, it would be truly difficult to cure in this Great Ming.

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

However, when Gao Anyu saw his "teaching aid" suddenly regain consciousness, he sighed and was about to put the sword back into his waist, but he heard Li Miao's faint voice.

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

Gao Anyu turned his head abruptly and saw Li Miao holding up one finger.

"First rule: never listen to a single word from the other party before the interrogation is over. Even if the other party wants to confess, you must wait until the entire set of methods has been used before listening."

"Otherwise, how do you know the other party isn't telling you false information, or using false information to stall for time?"

Li Miao looked at the disciple's eyes, which were filled with fear, 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 questions, but also bear the consequences of the questions, and also stand from your perspective to supplement the information he thinks needs to be confessed."

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

"Interrogation is a process of turning an enemy into a companion. It is a process of letting the other party know your determination, and letting the other party gradually begin to consider things for you."

After saying 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 stripping his left hand clean first."

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

Gao Anyu widened his eyes and nodded excitedly.

"Yes!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 318 =====