Proud Feather

Chapter 134 Punishment
The man's expression changed slightly, and he vehemently denied it: "It wasn't me!" He then warily scanned them, "Who are you? What do you want with me?"

Jiang Shijun waved the portrait in his hand, a half-smile on his face: "It's no use denying it, we recognize you anyway!"

As he spoke, he sat down in a chair and instructed the three guards: "He's not being honest. Teach him how to answer."

"Yes!" The young man was very excited. He ordered his men to hang him upside down and tie him to the roof beam, and then brought a bucket of water and placed it below.

"Release!" he commanded. His two men quickly loosened the ropes, and the man plunged headfirst into the bucket, swallowing a lot of water with a "glug glug" sound.

Seeing that it was almost time, the young man waved his hand again: "Pull!"

The rope tightened, pulling the person up again.

Hanging upside down is torturous enough, let alone being choked by a lot of water. As soon as he came out, he couldn't help coughing. But coughing upside down was even more uncomfortable, and tears and snot came out all over his face.

After he finished coughing, he said again, "Let go!"

The man's head was shoved back into the bucket.

After two or three such incidents, a person will be so exhausted that they can barely breathe.

Qingcha glanced at her worriedly and mouthed silently, "Princess, should we go out first?"

Chu Ling calmly picked up her teacup and shook her head.

She had seen even the bloodiest scenes, so what was so unbearable about a mere torture?
The guard finally stopped, and the young man held a whip to his throat: "Still being stubborn?"

The man stared blankly, unable to utter a single word, and shook his head with difficulty.

The young man raised his hand, signaling the guards to put the person down.

After a long while, the man finally caught his breath, and fear filled his eyes as he looked at them: "You...you are from the Imperial City Guard..."

He remembered this interrogation method used by the Imperial City Guard!

Jiang Shijun smiled coldly, letting him misunderstand. Or rather, he chose these people to set a trap so that he would misunderstand that they had worked in the Imperial City Guard, then went to the Beijing Garrison, and were recruited by the Crown Prince.

"Good to know! Are you willing to admit it now?"

The man's cheek muscles twitched as he said, "What does my lord want with me? Asking about the Immortal Abode is none of my business! I just often go there to drink..."

"Is that so?" Jiang Shijun's face darkened, and he demanded, "Speak! What is your name, and who are you?"

The man replied in a low voice, "My name is Ge Dahai. I used to work for a security escort agency. After I made enough money, I didn't want to live a life of danger anymore, so I opened a stationery shop in the capital. Now I'm just a businessman."

"A businessman?" Jiang Shijun snorted and gave a look to the person next to him.

The young man understood, grabbed his hand and looked at it, then tore off half of his clothes, revealing a strong and smooth upper body without any injuries.

He scoffed, "A bodyguard? You don't even have any injuries, how could you be a bodyguard? Judging by your hands, you usually practice with a staff, right? Who's a house guard?"

Ge Dahai's eyes flickered, and he chuckled dryly, "No, I'm just lucky..."

Unfortunately, no one believed him. Jiang Shijun raised his chin and said, "Continue!"

So the three of them grabbed Ge Dahai again, took out needles, and slowly inserted them into his fingernails.

They inserted it skillfully, causing little damage, but the pain was unbearable.

Ge Dahai cried out in pain.

After inserting the needles into all ten fingers, they took out a comb and slowly combed his skin layer by layer.

"Ah..." Ge Dahai tried to call out again, but his mouth was covered.

So they slowly combed his back, arms, chest...

Ge Dahai finally showed fear and shook his head desperately.

The iron comb stopped on his chest. The young man's eyes flashed with malice as he asked, "Will you talk or not?"

He nodded repeatedly. Only then did the young man put away the iron comb and remove the gag from his mouth.

Jiang Shijun said leisurely, "If you still don't tell, they have more than a dozen ways to torment you. Do you want to try them?"

Ge Dahai's face was covered in snot and tears. He had tortured others before, but this was the first time he had tasted it himself and knew how painful it was.

He dared not deceive him any longer and said, "Sir, I do come from a wealthy family, but I only did a few things on behalf of my former master, nothing more..."

"Former master? Who was your former master?"

Ge Dahai opened his mouth.

"Speak!" Jiang Shijun shouted in a low, stern voice.

Ge Dahai whispered, "My former master was no ordinary person. Please come closer, sir. I will only speak to you."

Jiang Shijun stared at him for a long time before finally slowly getting up and leaning closer.

Ge Dahai leaned over: "My former master was..."

The next moment, he suddenly sprang up and bit down on Jiang Shijun.

"Be careful, sir!" the young man shouted in time, thrusting his palm between them.

Ge Dahai, however, acted on purpose, seizing the opportunity to charge at Jiang Shijun with all his might. Although he was bound, Jiang Shijun was too close, and if he were to be injured, it would be troublesome. The three guards quickly went to his aid.

In the chaos, the knife at the young man's waist came loose. Ge Dahai's eyes lit up, and he charged at the blade with all his might, seemingly intent on dying!
"No!" The young man was startled and quickly tried to grab it.

Ge Dahai, however, was determined to die and pounced even faster.

The two collided, and Ge Dahai fell backward, landing squarely on the screen.

"Bang!" The screen fell over.

Ge Dahai lay on the ground and saw a pair of boots.

The lambskin boots are exquisite and small, adorned with pearls and jade, clearly not for ordinary people.

Ge Dahai froze, then slowly raised his head and met a beautiful yet aloof face.

The young lady before him was no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in a fur coat and adorned with necklaces. Although her attire was different, he had seen this face before in the crowd at Wenxianju.

“Princess…” he murmured.

Qingcha grabbed him and twisted his arm hard. With a scream, Ge Dahai's arm was dislocated.

She kicked the man back and said to the young man, "Hold on tight! If you frighten the princess again, I won't show any mercy!"

The young man, his face filled with shame, said, "Yes! I will never make such a mistake again!"

Ge Dahai was completely stunned.

He had only guessed about the guards' identities, but upon seeing the princess, he had no doubts.

She's a princess! She's a princess!
If it's the princess, then it's only natural to use the Imperial City Guard. So, who is the one who really wants to arrest him...?

He shivered.

Chu Ling had been observing him. Even if this person wasn't her second brother's confidant, he must be someone she trusted, otherwise such a deadly item wouldn't have passed through his hands.

She had initially worried that if her second brother found out about their father's protectiveness of him, it would cause trouble. Now it seems that's not the case...

Then a thought struck her, and she said, "Ge Dahai, you would rather commit suicide than confess. Just who is your master that you would protect him like this?"

Ge Dahai's eyes flickered, but he dared not speak.

Chu Ling said calmly, "You won't talk? It's alright. We already know what you look like. We'll investigate slowly. By the time we find out, your master might die an even more gruesome death."

(End of this chapter)