Brocade Robe Unparalleled

Chapter 1 The Beginning of Hell
The cold stone wall pressed against the back of my head, and the heavy smell of blood mixed with the dampness of mold stubbornly entered my nostrils, almost suffocating me.

Lin Xuan struggled to open his heavy eyelids, his vision blurred and dim, unable to see anything clearly.

He instinctively tried to move his body, but a tearing pain suddenly exploded from his limbs and bones, making him cry out in pain.

With difficulty, I looked down and saw that his wrists and ankles were tightly bound by thick, cold iron rings.

The other end of the chain was deeply embedded in the stone wall behind him, pinning him firmly to the cold stone.

The tattered white prison uniform he wore was soaked and hardened with dark red and brown bloodstains, emitting a nauseating stench. The huge "prisoner" character on the front of the uniform was particularly glaring.

By the dim light of the torch flickering in the corner, Lin Xuan could barely make out the scene before him.

On the opposite stone wall hung three figures just like him, all dressed in prison uniforms covered with crisscrossing, bright red bloodstains.

This is where?

Lin Xuan was filled with endless doubts and shock.

His memory told him that he had just passed the civil service exam and was assigned to a remote mountain village in Guizhou to help alleviate poverty. In just two years, he helped the villagers triple their income. Yesterday, on his way to the village, he accidentally lost his footing and fell off a cliff. When he opened his eyes again, this was the hellish scene he saw.

Falling from a cliff hundreds of meters high, there is absolutely no chance of survival. Although my body is in excruciating pain, it should all be superficial injuries.

Even if he survived the ordeal, how could he end up in a place like this?

"woke up?"

A cold, hard voice suddenly pierced the darkness, followed by an even more blinding flash of fire that burned Lin Xuan's eyes, which had just adjusted to the darkness.

The footsteps rang out steadily, the soles of boots making a sticky, heart-pounding "thud" on the wet, slippery stone slabs.

A middle-aged man appeared in the firelight, his face cold and stern, with high cheekbones and thin, tightly pursed lips.

A long, old scar between his eyebrows resembled a centipede brought to life in the flickering firelight, writhing menacingly as his brow furrowed slightly.

He was dressed in a dark blue outfit covered by soft armor, and his hair was neatly tied back.

Lin Xuan looked completely bewildered.

He didn't recognize the man at all, and his attire and hairstyle were definitely not modern; he looked more like an ancient military general from a TV series.

"The centurion is asking you a question!"

Seeing that Lin Xuan did not respond immediately, a burly jailer next to him suddenly swung his whip, the tip of which lashed out with a vicious gust of wind, striking Lin Xuan’s bare shoulder with a “crack”.

A searing pain exploded instantly, the sensation of skin being torn open was incredibly clear, and Lin Xuan trembled violently from the pain, his face contorted.

The jailer grinned and raised his whip again. At that moment, the middle-aged man, known as the centurion, slowly raised his hand.

The fierce look on the jailer's face vanished instantly. He immediately put away his whip, lowered his head, and respectfully retreated to the shadows.

Chen Baihu stood in front of Lin Xuan, his gaze sharp as a hawk's, as if trying to pierce through his flesh and look into the depths of his soul.

"Lin Xiaoqi, the route of the operation a day ago was known only to the four of you."

His voice was low, yet carried a chilling edge: "The escort failed. One hundred priceless Xuan Guang armors were stolen by Nanzhao, and six of our comrades were killed... Among you, someone tipped off Nanzhao beforehand. Tell me... who could it be?"

Lin Xuan still looked bewildered. What was Lin Xiaoqi? What was escorting? What was Xuan Guangjia? What was Nanzhao?
He was a civil servant who had just started working in Guizhou. On his way to help alleviate poverty, he accidentally fell off a cliff. When he woke up, he was tied to the wall and whipped and interrogated. He had no idea what was going on. How could he know who had tipped him off?
Chen Baihu looked at Lin Xuan, his voice lowering slightly: "I am an old acquaintance of your father. If it really is you, confess now, and I can give you a quick death. But if it is discovered, it will be difficult to leave a whole corpse..."

The excruciating pain from the whip was still searing his nerves, and Lin Xuan was in so much pain that he could barely think, let alone know where to begin to "confess".

This real pain couldn't possibly be a dream.

At this moment, fragmented memories flood in like a tide, yet they are difficult to piece together.

Yong Kingdom, Sizhou Prefecture, a junior officer in the Jingbian Division... This is another memory belonging to Lin Xuan.

An absurd yet undeniable thought exploded like a thunderclap.

I...time-traveled?!
Although time travel is not unacceptable compared to falling off a hundred-foot cliff and being smashed into a pulp, having just escaped death, he has encountered another deadly predicament.

"Lord Chen, why waste words with him? Wouldn't it be more efficient to just kill all four people who know about this operation?"

Another voice sounded from behind Commander Chen, and a portly man dressed in the same official uniform strolled in. He had a fair complexion, a slightly plump chin, and a pair of small eyes that gleamed with shrewdness. He slowly scanned the figures hanging on the wall, finally fixing his gaze on Commander Chen, and said indifferently, "If any escapees get away, it could cause even greater losses later... What do you say, Commander Chen?"

Chen Baihu's face was stern, and he said in a cold voice, "I will not let a traitor go, but I will not wrong an innocent person either. How to handle this matter is my own business, and I don't need to trouble Deputy Baihu Wu with it."

Deputy Commander Wu twitched the corners of his mouth, revealing a forced smile: "This humble official was only trying to give you a friendly reminder..."

Chen Baihu ignored him, his brows furrowed, as if he had made up his mind.

He reached into his robes and took out a palm-sized, shimmering silver mirror.

This mirror is only the size of a palm. Its surface is as smooth as a calm water surface, reflecting people clearly. The back of the mirror is engraved with intricate and mysterious patterns. These patterns flow faintly in the firelight. Just one glance is enough to make one's mind sway, as if one is about to be drawn in.

Wu, the deputy commander, only glanced at it, but felt somewhat disoriented. Startled, he blurted out, "The Mirror of Inquiry!"

After regaining his senses, he looked at Commander Chen and said in a sour tone, "Commander Chen really values ​​Commander Chen, even giving you the Mirror of Inquiry. Even for the elders of the Jiuli tribe, it is not an easy task to forge a Mirror of Inquiry. Don't you think it's a pity to waste such a treasure just to catch a traitor?"

Chen Baihu did not answer, but simply looked down at the silver mirror in his hand, his fingertips gently stroking the cold back of the mirror.

The Mirror of Inquiry – a wondrous object forged by the Jiuli tribe using secret spiritual rune techniques. No matter how resolute an ordinary person's will is, they must speak the truth before the Mirror of Inquiry.

While these treasures are useless against truly powerful individuals, they are more than sufficient for interrogating a few minor officers.

The imperial court spends a large sum of money every year to purchase the "Heart-Questioning Mirror" from the Jiuli tribe, which is used exclusively for crucial interrogations.

The Jingbian Division is stationed on the southwestern border of Dayong. It is responsible for suppressing the unruly southwestern tribes and guarding against the infiltration of Nanzhao spies. Interrogation is a regular occurrence, and there is an annual quota for interrogation.

A mirror that asks questions gives people three opportunities to speak the truth.

After three uses, the Heart-Questioning Mirror will become just an ordinary silver mirror.

This case has only four suspects and three chances, that should be enough...

The cold, damp torture chamber crackled with the sound of torches, and the air was thick with the stench of blood and despair.

Holding the Heart-Questioning Mirror, Chen Baihu walked to the side of a burly man opposite Lin Xuan, channeled his true energy into the mirror, and the spiritual patterns on the back of the silver mirror flickered. The mirror surface instantly lit up with a soft yet irresistible white light, enveloping the man.

The moment the light shone on him, the burly man's pained expression froze, his eyes becoming empty and blank, like a puppet whose soul had been taken away.

Commander Chen asked in a deep voice, his voice particularly clear in the silent cell: "Zhang Hu, did you leak this operation? Are you a spy for Nanzhao?"

The burly man had a blank expression and empty eyes. He slowly said, "No."

Upon hearing this, Chen Baihu's solemn expression softened somewhat, and he gently waved his hand: "Put him down. From today onwards, Zhang Hu will rest for half a month and receive half a year's salary as compensation."

Two constables immediately stepped forward, unlocked the chains, and helped the exhausted Zhang Hu down.

Zhang Hu forced a fist salute, his voice hoarse and weak: "Thank you, sir..."

Chen Baihu nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to the thin young man hanging on the wall. He activated the Mirror of Inquiry again and asked, "Chen Bao, did you leak this operation to Nanzhao?"

Illuminated by the light of the Mirror of Inquiry, the gaunt young man's expression also became blank. He slowly shook his head, his tone flat and even: "It wasn't me..."

In an instant, everyone's attention turned to Lin Xuan and the last person.

Among Chen Baihu's men, only four junior officers—Zhang Hu, Chen Bao, Lin Xuan, and Hong Tian—knew the route taken yesterday.

Now that Zhang Hu and Chen Bao have cleared their names in front of the Mirror of Inquiry, the traitor must be either Lin Xuan or Hong Tian!
Hong Tian had already fainted during the interrogation. After a moment's thought, Chen Baihu walked straight towards Lin Xuan.

Lin Xuan's back was already soaked with cold sweat that had suddenly surged out.

Although he didn't know what the glowing mirror was, the fact that the two people answered his questions like puppets under the light, and Chen Baihu's trust in the results, undoubtedly showed that the mirror had a function similar to a lie detector.

If he has a clear conscience, then it's nothing...

The problem is that some new memory fragments have just appeared in his mind.

In the scene, in a dimly lit corner, he furtively pulls a letter from his pocket and trembles as he hands it to a figure shrouded in a wide black robe, whose face is obscured. His voice trembles as he speaks:

"This is the route for escorting the Xuan Guang Armor. You said you'd let me go after this..."

(End of this chapter)