Chapter 657: Questioning

Following Guo Zhi inside, Zu An looked around at the so-called imperial prison.

This was not a professional dungeon, but merely a temporary holding facility for prisoners within the palace. There was one floor above ground, but many more below.

As they descended the winding staircase step by step, the sunlight vanished, and Zu An could feel the cold, damp atmosphere of the prison.

The surrounding walls were neatly constructed from huge stone blocks, on which faint magic arrays were subtly carved.

These arrays prevented people from digging tunnels to enter from outside and also blocked earth-element cultivators from using earth evasion techniques.

Observing the various torture instruments along the way, some of which still bore faint dark red stains—evidently the blood of prisoners—a sense of oppression hung in the air.

Guo Zhi led Zu An further down. Just then, a cry from inside announced that someone wanted to confess.

Guo Zhi’s face lit up with wild joy, and he immediately rushed inside, forgetting to even greet Zu An.

Zu An frowned and quickly followed him.

At that moment, he vaguely heard angry curses from others inside:

"Spineless coward, I spit on you!"

"How can you face all those fallen brothers like this?"

"Your master painstakingly taught you for all these years, and this is how you repay her?"

Mixed in were various obscene curses, as all of the person's direct female relatives were "greeted" repeatedly.

Guo Zhi snorted, grabbed a leather whip from nearby, and lashed it out. "All of you, shut your mouths!"

Their voices indeed quieted down. Having been tortured daily for days, they were already weak. Their previous outbursts of curses were born of momentary indignation, but now that their surge of anger had dissipated, they could no longer utter a word.

Guo Zhi then instructed his subordinates to take one of the prisoners to an adjacent interrogation room, and Zu An, curious, followed along.

Guo Zhi glanced at him but said nothing. This person had been introduced by the Crown Princess; if she trusted him, then he was one of their own.

Zu An, meanwhile, looked at the blood-stained young man before him, and his expression immediately turned peculiar. It was an old acquaintance.

This was Gu Yueyi, Qiu Honglei's senior martial brother, whom he had met previously in Mingyue City.

Gu Yueyi also saw him at that moment, and his expression instantly became extremely complex.

Guo Zhi, standing nearby, let out a heavy grunt. "You just said you wanted to confess. Now you can."

Gu Yueyi's eyes darted around, and he immediately pointed at Zu An. "He..."

"What about me?" Zu An walked out with a smile, casually adjusting his clothes as if brushing off dust.

Gu Yueyi's gaze fell upon the jade pendant at Zu An's waist, and in an instant, his expression showed a mixture of shock, fear, and pleasant surprise. It was hard to imagine one person displaying so many emotions in a single moment if one hadn't witnessed it firsthand.

"What's wrong with him?" Guo Zhi asked, a hint of suspicion in his voice.

Gu Yueyi collected himself. "Who is he, and why is he here?"

Guo Zhi then let out a sigh of relief and stated directly, "You don't need to concern yourself with who he is; he's someone trustworthy. Hurry up and tell me what you want to confess!"

Gu Yueyi then murmured, "Oh, I just wanted to say, please stop beating us. We've already said everything there is to say. The one who ordered us was truly Prince Qi."

Guo Zhi was so angry he laughed instead. "Are you fucking playing with me?"

He had never expected the prisoner to call him out specifically just to say that, and in a fit of rage, he swung the whip, making Gu Yueyi shriek.

"But we really have confessed! Master Guo, why don't you believe us?"

"You're still fucking playing me!"

"Ah... ah..."

Watching Gu Yueyi scream continuously and constantly glance in his direction, Zu An knew it was time. He lightly coughed and stepped forward, saying, "General Guo, why not let me try handling these scumbags?"

"You?" Guo Zhi was skeptical. He had interrogated them for days without obtaining any useful information, and he had just been made a fool of. He truly doubted Zu An could have any methods.

"Trying won't cost them any flesh," Zu An said with a sincere expression.

Guo Zhi remembered the Crown Princess's purpose in sending Zu An. He handed over the leather whip in his hand. "It's fine. Feel free to beat them, thoroughly... train them. Losing a bit of flesh won't be a problem."

Zu An's eyelid twitched. Could this guy not break his sentences so strangely?

After Guo Zhi left, Zu An had the jailers carry the almost lifeless Gu Yueyi back to the outer cells. Inside, several people were tied to wooden racks, enduring the tortures inflicted by the jailers.

One of them, a tall, slender man with faintly reddish hair, was none other than the Fire Rogue he had encountered on the journey to the capital.

Another man had a full beard, and even imprisoned, his brows held an imposing aura; he was likely Sun Lühen, the elder of the sect mentioned by Yun Jianyue.

Others lay scattered in distant cells, covered in blood and their condition unknown.

Zu An felt a degree of admiration. Although he had previously criticized members of the Demonic Sect for being selfish, these individuals had endured severe torture yet had not betrayed Yun Jianyue. It seemed they still held their own beliefs.

"Traitor! You dare to return? Even if I become a ghost, I won't let you off!" Sun Lühen, upon seeing Gu Yueyi, became so agitated that he lunged forward, causing his chains to rattle as if he might break free at any moment.

"Still not behaving!" A nearby jailer immediately lashed him with a whip. Sun Lühen cried out in pain and dared not struggle further, only glaring fiercely at Gu Yueyi.

Gu Yueyi, standing to the side, hesitated as if wanting to speak but ultimately said nothing, glancing at Zu An and the nearby jailer.

Zu An looked curiously at the whip in the jailer's hand. Faint magic arrays shimmered on it, suggesting it was similar to Xiao Zhao's Whip of Wailing, capable of amplifying pain. No wonder even a tough man like Sun Lühen was struggling to endure.

At this moment, the Fire Rogue also slowly opened his eyes. Upon seeing Zu An, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes. "You... you..."

"What 'you, you'? Haven't you ever seen someone so handsome?" Zu An swung the leather whip Guo Zhi had given him, directly lashing it, cutting off the Fire Rogue's unspoken words.

Then he turned to the nearby jailers and said, "You all may leave. I want to speak with them privately."

"Yes, sir!" These jailers had already received orders. Hearing him, they exchanged glances and all withdrew.

After the jailers left, the Fire Rogue spat out a mouthful of bloody foam. "Hmph! You bastard, who would have thought the tables would turn and I'd fall into your hands today? Kill me or butcher me, do as you please!"

Rage value from the Fire Rogue +999!

He clearly believed that since he had pursued Zu An on the journey to the capital, the latter would now seize the opportunity for revenge.

At this point, Gu Yueyi quickly interjected, "Mr. Fire, you've misunderstood. He's not an enemy; the Saintess sent him."

He had just recognized the jade pendant on Zu An's person as Qiu Honglei's personal item, which was why he had temporarily changed his mind.

"The Saintess?" The Fire Rogue was momentarily stunned. He recalled that during their pursuit, there had indeed been something unclear between the Saintess and this man, and he was momentarily indecisive.

Sun Lühen, bound to the central wooden rack, glared at Gu Yueyi, furiously shouting, "You wretched boy, what nonsense are you spouting? 'Saintess'? I've never even heard of such a thing!"

Zu An couldn't help but smile. "Elder Sun is indeed as fiery as his name suggests. Even in this situation, he's unwilling to reveal anything."

Hearing his name called out, Sun Lühen's breath hitched, and he stared intently at Zu An. "Who exactly are you?"

The Fire Rogue said, "Zu An, the young man who possesses the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra'."

Sun Lühen suddenly understood, having also heard about him.

Zu An leisurely pulled over a stool and sat down. "It's true that Honglei asked me to come. Considering our past acquaintance, I'm here to deliver a message for her."

Gu Yueyi's eyes flashed with jealousy upon hearing Zu An speak so intimately. He had always admired his beautiful junior martial sister, but she had always been cold towards him, yet now she had given her personal jade pendant to this man.

However, remembering that his future fate depended on this man, he hastily suppressed the discomfort in his heart.

"What message?" Sun Lühen asked curiously.

Zu An replied, "Do you know why, even though you insist Prince Qi is the mastermind, they still refuse to believe you? Ultimately, you only accuse Prince Qi without providing further details. How could these people dare to submit such a flawed confession? I'm here to teach you how to refine those details..."

"So that's it!" Sun Lühen exclaimed with emotion. "No wonder they never believed anything we said and tortured us every day. I prided myself on my tough bones, but I almost couldn't hold out."

The Fire Rogue then asked curiously, "What kind of details? How should we explain?"

Zu An then proceeded to teach them the narrative of how Cheng Xiong used his son, Cheng Gang, and the courtesan Shuangyue from the Imperial Entertainment Bureau to transmit intelligence.

The others nodded discreetly, but only Gu Yueyi asked the most pressing question: "Young Master Zu, it's fine if we say this, but after we do, we'll lose our value. The people in the palace might just execute us. Do you have a plan to save us?"

As he spoke, his eyes gazed at Zu An intently.