Chapter 271

Actually, our mission to Prosperous City this time has already been completely completed.

We've retrieved the Golden Scale, rescued Hui Tiao, and liberated those 81 zombies—we did it!

But I know that neither I, Liu Junyan, nor Hui Moqiong could possibly just abandon our duties at this time.

Don't look at how Hui Moqiong spouts harsh words when he's angry, but his sense of responsibility is stronger than anyone's.

We are not the kind of people who can watch living beings suffer in misery and remain unmoved.

The corpse phantom suffered Heavy Damage tonight, temporarily lying low; next it will need a large amount of supplies.

And this supply is likely to be people.

Liu Junyan said, "Let everyone who can be sent out go search; the Gray Immortal Hall will interrogate Hui Cong overnight, hoping to get something out of him."

That is the agreement to cooperate.

Fang Chuanzong and the others stayed in the RV the second half of the night, guarding at the mountain's base, and overnight they set up a cordon around the area.

Liu Junyan and I were invited to spend the night at the Gray Immortal Hall.

First, Old Lady Hui and the others' kindness was hard to refuse; second, we needed to wait for the outcome of Hui Cong's interrogation.

Of course, Hui Moqiong was also invited, but he didn't go; he wanted to guard this mountain and wait for news of the corpse phantom.

Inside the tent, Old Lady Hui held Hui Tiao and cried nonstop.

The joy of recovering what was lost, plus seeing Hui Tiao's skin-and-bones appearance, caused heartache; Old Lady Hui almost cried herself unconscious.

But on the return trip, Old Lady Hui had Hui Yuemo and Hui Tiao share a vehicle; they left ahead of time, didn't meet us, and Old Lady Hui herself got into our car.

Old Lady Hui grabbed my hand and said, "Xiao Jiu, I knew you could do it! From the start I knew that the one who could successfully liberate those 81 zombies and rescue my little Tiao would be none other than you."

Now that Tiao has returned, once I have Yuemo fatten him up a bit, I'll send him to the pawnshop to report for duty; after that, the Prosperous City Gray Immortal Hall and Wufu Town Pawnshop will be one family.

I smiled and nodded: "To earn the favor of the Gray Immortal Hall is an honor for our pawnshop."

We chatted a lot along the way, but Old Lady Hui never mentioned Hui Cong.

Only after arriving at the Gray Immortal Hall did I truly grasp how large the Prosperous City Gray Immortal Hall is, as Hui Moqiong had said.

The Prosperous City Gray Immortal Hall is really huge!

Just how big is it?

The Gray Immortal Hall's land area is measured in hectares.

Besides the main hall where Old Lady Hui resides, there are four major halls and eight minor halls.

Previously, these branch halls were controlled by her children, but after a major confiscation, half of the Gray Immortal Hall now stands empty.

Old Lady Hui is also getting old, and now that Hui Tiao has returned, he must take over such a large enterprise, which is no easy task for him.

Old Lady Hui said letting Hui Tiao gain some weight before sending him to the pawnshop to report for duty was just polite talk.

After all, with such a large hall waiting for Hui Tiao to manage, where would he find the time to spend in our pawnshop?

At a critical moment, just having him show up to help would be good enough.

Furthermore, if Hui Tiao manages the Gray Immortal Hall well, it will be nothing but beneficial for us.

Hui Yuemo had prepared a room and clean clothes for us in advance.

It's only a few hours until dawn; outside it's still raining, but the raindrops have become very small.

We took a shower, but none of us slept.

Tonight, no good news came from Hui Cong's side, so nobody could sleep soundly.

Liu Junyan gently wiped the Golden Scale we had just retrieved; I sat beside him, resting my head on his deliberately lowered arm, and asked, "Āyàn, do you think Hui Cong will open his mouth?"

Liu Junyan said without hesitation, "If the people of the Gray Immortal Hall can't pry open his mouth, then I will."

I neither agreed nor disagreed: "I think Old Lady Hui won't show him mercy; first, she's tolerated Hui Cong for a long time; second, now that Hui Tiao has returned, she has an heir, and under severe torture, if Hui Cong can still endure, ordinary interrogation methods won't be effective."

"Then we'll use some special methods," Liu Junyan said.

Surely, as dawn approached, Hui Yuemo passed along a message saying Hui Cong might not last much longer, yet they couldn't get any useful information out of him.

Hui Yuemo also felt at a loss.

Liu Junyan then went with me.

The Gray Immortal Hall actually has a dungeon.

That dungeon is deep, heavily guarded, and it's quite difficult to escape from below.

Hui Cong is no ordinary person; he has some cultivation, and his disposition is more resolute than the average person's.

At this moment, he was bound to a cross-shaped torture rack, his body beaten until skin split and flesh torn, his nose bruised and eyes swollen, blood covering his entire body.

Seeing us approach, he immediately opened his mouth and spat bloody water at us, laughing wickedly.

Hui Yuemo said, "We've tried every possible physical and mental torment, even using hallucinogens and hypnosis, but nothing works on him; he seems to have long anticipated this day's arrival, showing no fear."

Liu Junyan asked, "Does he really fear nothing?"

"'No fear,' Hui Yuemo said hoarsely, 'We even threatened him with his beloved son, yet his expression didn't change.'"

Liu Junyan furrowed his brows, and I said, "Perhaps your threats didn't truly hit the mark; let me give it a try."

I strode up to Hui Cong.

Hui Cong sneered, opening his mouth as blood clots kept oozing out: "Don't waste your effort—I, Hui someone, have already gotten everything I was meant to get in this life; I seek nothing more, and you won't be able to pry even a single word from my lips."

I curled the corner of my lip and smiled: "Really?"

Hui Cong lifted his chin and snorted contemptuously.

My hands had already begun forming seals.

Among the arcane arts notes left by the Great Witch, there are several kinds of ancient witchcraft that can confuse the mind.

But I think Hui Cong doesn't need those.

I merely picked up a small dagger from the nearby torture rack and, with a backhanded thrust, stabbed it into Hui Cong's chest.

I didn't use much force; only the tip penetrated the flesh, and when I pulled it out, the tip and blade were already covered in blood.

Then I took the dagger, used its tip to draw a circle on Hui Cong's forehead, made a hand seal, and pressed my sword finger from the dagger's hilt to its tip.

The process was done in one smooth motion.

When I held my sword finger steady on Hui Cong's brow, his gaze suddenly changed.

From the initial mockery and disdain to his current stupor.

He stared straight ahead, motionless.

But soon he became panicked, struggling continuously, uttering 'ah-ah-ah' sounds, unable to speak a complete sentence.

I used the ancient witchcraft—Dream Weaving—to weave a dream for Hui Cong.

In the dream, Hui Cong will appear on the ancient battlefield, where he will personally witness our final battle against the corpse demons.

And in that battle, the corpse demons will be destroyed, and all their schemes cultivated over the years will come to nothing.

He will also see himself being cut down from his horse by us with a single slash, clinging to life.

He will beg for mercy, suffer heavenly thunder, and seek the Heavenly Lord's forgiveness for the sins he has committed over the years...