Chapter 191: Interrogation

“Heh heh,” Liu Chen let out a dry laugh. “Jian Changsheng, I don’t know how you escaped from prison, but if you don’t want to suffer the pain of soul-shattering evidence extraction again, you’d best release me now. I’ve been missing for so long that the Guild must have noticed something is wrong. A large number of people are already on their way; once they arrive, you won’t be able to escape, even if you had wings.”

Jian Changsheng stared coldly at Liu Chen. He hadn’t expected the man to be such a tough nut to crack. At this rate, extracting useful information from him wouldn’t be easy.

Meanwhile, Chen Ling slightly opened his eyes. He glanced at Liu Chen, who was pinned against the tree trunk by Jian Changsheng. An invisible heart-serpent materialized from his brow and swiftly moved towards Liu Chen.

“Don’t worry,” Jian Changsheng said unhurriedly, drawing a dagger. “They won’t catch me... We have plenty of time.”

As he spoke, the sharp dagger plunged directly into Liu Chen’s body. Jian Changsheng twisted it forcefully.

“Aaaahhh!!”

Excruciating pain tore at Liu Chen’s nerves. He screamed in agony. At the same time, Jian Changsheng’s demonic growl echoed in his ear:

“Speak! How many people did you send to capture me this time? Where are they ambushed? Did you use those outsiders?!”

Jian Changsheng fired off several questions, but Liu Chen showed no intention of answering. He gritted his teeth against the intense pain, determined to resist to the very end.

Chen Ling knew this man was a tough nut to crack. It would be difficult to extract useful information from him using conventional methods. So, with a flick of his finger, the heart-serpent wrapped around Liu Chen began to bite rapidly.

Suddenly, Liu Chen felt his heart calm down. The fear that Jian Changsheng’s threats and torture had instilled vanished completely at that moment. He could clearly feel the pain in his body, but he had no intention of yielding; he was strangely calm.

“Speak!!” Jian Changsheng roared again.

“You want to get information from me... No way!” Liu Chen gritted his teeth and replied.

Jian Changsheng was enraged. He slapped Liu Chen’s face repeatedly, almost breaking all of Liu Chen’s teeth. Liu Chen’s cheek muscles visibly swelled red, making his face resemble a pig’s head.

Liu Chen remained unafraid, lifting his head and shouting: “If you’ve got the guts, kill me!!”

“Do you really think I won’t kill you?!”

Jian Changsheng tossed the dagger aside. He then punched Liu Chen with a backhand. Even though he had held back most of his strength, most of Liu Chen’s ribs still broke. Liu Chen collapsed to the ground from mid-air like a piece of trash.

Liu Chen’s wails echoed through the dense forest. Jian Changsheng had no intention of letting him go. He swiftly moved, straddling Liu Chen, and then rained down punches on Liu Chen’s face like raindrops.

“Are you going to talk?”“No!”“Are you going to talk?!”“No!!”

Jian Changsheng gritted his teeth, his punches growing more brutal with each blow. He silently cursed the strangeness of it; he’d never thought Liu Chen was this tough when he was with the Yan family.

After a dozen or so punches, Liu Chen was covered in blood. Jian Changsheng was about to continue his interrogation when a voice suddenly spoke from nearby.

“That’s enough.”

Jian Changsheng’s fist stopped mid-air. He looked back to see Chen Ling leisurely standing up, dusting off his coat. “If you keep hitting him, he’ll die.”

“Not hit him? How will he confess if I don’t hit him?” Jian Changsheng frowned.

“Such crude interrogation methods as yours are quite rare.”

Jian Changsheng’s expression turned grim. He glanced at the dying Liu Chen beneath him, then snorted and stood up. “Then you try. I’d like to see what sophisticated methods you have.”

Chen Ling did not refuse. He walked directly to the blood-soaked Liu Chen and slowly came to a stop.

By this point, Liu Chen was semi-conscious from the beating. Through the one eye he could still open, he saw an unfamiliar young man approach to interrogate him. He spoke hoarsely and weakly: “If you’ve got the guts... kill me...”

“I’m not like that idiot. I won’t kill you, nor will I hit you,” Chen Ling said slowly. “However, from now on, you’d best answer whatever I ask... Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what might happen.”

Seeing this, Jian Changsheng’s brows furrowed even deeper. He couldn’t be serious about using such ridiculous threats to interrogate him, could he? He wasn’t sure what trick Chen Ling had up his sleeve, but the other man genuinely didn’t seem to intend to lay a hand on Liu Chen. His hands were even still in his pockets, as if he weren’t interrogating a prisoner, but taking a stroll in his own garden.

“First question,” Chen Ling said calmly. “Who ordered you to dispose of the body?”

Liu Chen was about to force out a cold laugh. The heart-serpent wrapped around him opened its mouth wide. All the “fear” that had been stolen from him rushed back into his mind. This was the fear that Jian Changsheng’s punches had instilled, now completely re-accumulated and amplified, surging into Liu Chen’s mind like a rushing tide!

Liu Chen’s pupils instantly constricted!

In that moment, Chen Ling, in his eyes, seemed to transform into a brutal, merciless, trembling demon. He evoked the most primal and extreme fear within Liu Chen’s heart, causing Liu Chen to uncontrollably tremble in the pool of blood!

Liu Chen found strength from somewhere. He struggled to crawl out of the pool of blood. Then, with a thud, he knelt before Chen Ling, kowtowing as he answered:

“It’s... it’s the Young Master! He made me do it!!”

Jian Changsheng was dumbfounded. From his perspective, Chen Ling had merely asked a casual question, yet Liu Chen was kowtowing frantically like a madman, as if he had encountered something terrifying. When he had interrogated Liu Chen, the man had been as stubborn as a rock. How did he become such a coward the moment he saw Chen Ling? What methods did this guy use?!

“Who is the Young Master?” Chen Ling asked again.

“Yan Xishou!”

“Were you also involved in the organ trade in the seven major districts previously?”

“This... maybe? I’m not sure.” Liu Chen hesitated.

Seeing this, Chen Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly. He slowly stepped forward and grabbed Liu Chen’s collar, his voice chilling to the bone:

“You’d better think carefully.”

“I... I truly don’t know! I was just ordered to dispose of that body! I’m just an errand boy cleaning up messes! I really don’t know anything else!”

“Then, how many hearts has the Constellation Guild handled recently?”

“Roughly... three or four?”

“Who bought them?”

“These items aren’t sold... Most of the time, they’re obtained through favors or other exchanges of interest. This time, it seems the Vice President of the Silvermoon Guild, whose child was ill, pleaded with the Young Master for one... As for where the others went, I’m not sure.”