The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 40 Inducement of Confession
As Xiao Yi left the torture chamber, he turned around and saw Nie Wenjin and Meng Ye standing in the corridor not far away, talking in hushed tones. From their slightly tense posture and the serious look they unconsciously cast at him, Xiao Yi judged that they had heard the conversation inside the room.

That's good; he can now completely clear his name of being falsely accused of being Shi Deyuan.

"General, I have accomplished my mission." Xiao Yi bowed and said, "I confirm that the talisman was taken by a mole within the Imperial Guard..."

"Find out who it is."

“Zhang Mantun will surely know,” Xiao Yi said. “Could we arrange for Shi Dechong to meet with Zhang Mantun and persuade him to cooperate with us?”

Nie Wenjin pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "They are only allowed to say one sentence."

"can."

The heavy shackles clanked as two armored soldiers roughly escorted Zhang Mantun to see Shi Dechong.

These two men were also quite burly, but they appeared short next to the towering Zhang Mantun.

Shi Dechong managed to stammer out, "Iron Teeth, cooperate with the court's search," before they dragged Zhang Mantun back to the original torture chamber.

But the loud clanging of the chains hitting the ground didn't stop for a long time.

Zhang Mantun's angry roar echoed throughout the Imperial Guard's headquarters.

"Meng Ye!"

"Meng Ye!"

"I'll fuck your mother's son, Meng Ye!"

"What kind of skill is it to bully my young master? Come on, come and nuzzle me! I'll break your thin skewer in half!"

"Come on, you son of a bitch! If you don't dare to shove me, then you'd better open your ass wide and wait to see if you can take one of my shoves, which will kill your ancestors for eighteen generations!"

“Fuck!”

"..."

Xiao Yi listened and paid attention to Meng Ye's reaction.

But Meng Ye's eyes flashed with anger, and his face only showed a cold smile as he said leisurely, "General Nie, if we can't get anything out of him today, hand this man over to me as well, and I'll make sure he talks."

Nie Wenjin gave a forced smile and said indifferently, "If we can't get the information, then we'll have to trouble Officer Meng again."

"It's not hard work at all," Meng Ye said with a smile. "I really enjoy it."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding guards couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.

Nie Wenjin glanced at Xiao Yi and said, "Find out the whereabouts of the talisman."

"Yes."

"By the way, Liu Zhu threatened Zhang Mantun's family, and he confessed as well. The talisman was taken away by Shi Erlang."

"False confession."

Xiao Yi casually uttered two words and pushed open the door.

Zhang Mantun was no longer recognizable as a human. His tattered clothes were soaked in blood, his skin was covered with crisscrossing whip marks, branding marks, and various bruises and swellings. His ten fingers were twisted, one eye was swollen to the point of being a slit, while the other stubbornly stared wide-eyed.

As Xiao Yi approached, he saw his reflection in Zhang Mantun's wide-open eyes.

"Brother Mantun".

Zhang Mantun swallowed his curses and grinned like a big black bear.

He made a hoarse sound and said, "Erlang? Erlang, you should leave quickly..."

Xiao Yi shook his head with a self-deprecating smile.

Everyone here loves to act, and they're all better actors than the lead actor he's stunt for. They all want to kill him off.

He bowed to Nie Wenjin again and said, "General."

Before he could finish speaking, Nie Wenjin waved away the others and ordered the door to be closed.

With a soft "tap," only two people remained in the torture chamber.

“I already said we’re even, so why is Brother Mantun still trying to frame me?”

"You can say whatever you want, but I don't acknowledge it. You're betraying your master for personal gain..."

"Snapped!"

Xiao Yi raised his hand and slapped Zhang Mantun hard across the face.

"Don't give me that. Let me tell you, I have never regarded the Shi family as masters. Shi Hongzhao killed Li Song's entire family and treated me like a slave. I endured hardship and humiliation so that one day I could avenge them. I owe the Shi family nothing, and I owe you nothing either."

In closing, he said, word by word, "Killing only Shi Deyuan is already an act of mercy on my part."

Zhang Mantun stood there, speechless.

Xiao Yi was certain that, in Zhang Mantun's simple values, his revenge for Li Song was also a form of loyalty.

After a long while, he sighed.

"Given the circumstances that night, if I didn't kill Shi Deyuan, would he have been able to escape? Wouldn't it be better to give him a quick death than to let him suffer like Shi Dechong?"

"Young Master...you're suffering so much..."

Zhang Mantun's lips trembled; this large, burly man was about to cry.

Xiao Yi said, "Tell me who took the talisman, and they will release Shi Dechong and your family. Do you believe this? After all, Shi Dechong is already crippled."

Zhang Mantun shook his head and said, "I'll talk if you kill Meng Ye."

Xiao Yi's gaze sharpened as he stared intently at his expression.

Clearly, Zhang Mantun could not possibly believe he could kill Meng Ye. Why would he say that when Shi Dechong ordered him to cooperate and his family was in grave danger?
There's only one reason: he genuinely doesn't know who took the talisman.

Xiao Yi's mind raced, and he replied, "Okay, I agree, as long as you 'cooperate'."

Zhang Mantun was taken aback, then shook his head again.

Xiao Yi suddenly grabbed his cheeks and said coldly, "Still not going to talk? Do you think I don't know who sent them? Was it Guo Wei?"

Puzzle appeared in Zhang Mantun's eyes.

"It seems not."

Xiao Yi recalled the intelligence he had seen in the Shi family study, reciting the names one by one.

At the same time, for each name he said, he would point to a number with his finger and gesture to Zhang Mantun to look at his finger. "Wang Yin?"

"Murong Yanchao?"

"Guo Congyi?"

"Gao Xingzhou?"

"Fu Yanqing?"

"..."

After mentioning ten people in a row, Zhang Mantun's eyes gradually showed a sense of realization.

Xiao Yi lowered his left hand and used two fingers of his right hand to press on Zhang Mantun's neck, reminding him that it was the second person's name—Wang Yin.

This is his deduction.

Wang Yin was the second most important figure in the Imperial Guard, the most likely to have taken the talisman, and also the most threatening.

However, it had to be said by Zhang Mantun himself.

“Brother Mantun, your eyes have already told me who it is.”

"Pooh!"

Zhang Mantun spat out a mouthful of blood and, in a hoarse, broken voice, roared, "So what? Once General Wang sends troops into the city, we'll slaughter all of you bastards!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yi secretly cheered in his heart.

This burly man may seem reckless, but he can still grasp the message when it matters.

"Ha, it really is Wang Yin. He sent someone to take the talisman? Why is there no movement?"

"You're trying to trick me?" Zhang Mantun feigned anger and roared, "You monkey, you dare to trick me!"

"Wait."

Having obtained the result he wanted, Xiao Yi asked no more questions and pushed open the door to leave.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw Nie Wenjin's gloomy face.

"General, the interrogation has yielded... a bad result."

Xiao Yi stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, and, with a touch of weariness, recounted the interrogation process in detail.

"Wang Yin".

Nie Wenjin uttered these two words.

For him, this was the worst news.

Wang Yin was the highest-ranking general of the Imperial Guard, stationed in the capital region. If he obtained the seal, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Meng Ye's face was grim, and he muttered to himself, "How do we know that Zhang Mantun isn't deceiving us and trying to make us fall out with Wang Yin?"

Xiao Yi said, "If Officer Meng can determine the truth of his confession, please..."

Meng Ye glared at him hatefully, then turned to Nie Wenjin and said, "If it is really in Wang Yin's hands, what do you intend to do, General? Send troops to demand it?"

Nie Wenjin didn't answer, but raised his hand to signal him to be quiet.

Xiao Yi said, "General, Meng Ya's official statement just said that a full-scale attack is the worst possible strategy, which will inevitably lead to chaos in the capital region and interference from other garrisons. However, perhaps we can outsmart them."

"Outsmart? How do we outsmart them?" Nie Wenjin asked in a deep voice.

Xiao Yi did not answer immediately, deliberately showing a thoughtful expression.

“Wang Yin’s men have taken the talisman, but they haven’t made any rash moves. I think we can still try to win him over.”

How to win them over?

"Send Shi Dechong."

"What's the use?"

“Send a team to pretend to rescue Shi Dechong and go to Wang Yin to test the whereabouts of the talisman and his attitude. If he wants to raise an army in the name of the Shi family, kill him or find an opportunity to take back the talisman; if he hands over Shi Dechong to show his loyalty to the court, send someone to appease him and make him hand over the talisman.”

Nie Wenjin immediately shook his head and said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to gain Wang Yin's trust."

Xiao Yi said, "I can go."

"you?"

“I am a former servant of the Shi family, and I have a token: there is a jade pendant belonging to Shi Erlang in the firewood pile in Slaughter Pig Lane. Moreover, I am confident that I can convince Wang Yin that it was Zhang Mantun and I who rescued Shi Dechong.”

"Are Shi Dechun and Zhang Mantun willing to cooperate?"

“I can persuade them.”

Nie Wenjin frowned even deeper and muttered to himself, "Is it feasible?"

"General, you can prepare for both possibilities. But this method has the lowest cost, and even if it fails, what loss will there be?"

The biggest loss is nothing more than the escaped prisoners, but when it comes to vying for power, who cares about a few prisoners?
Nie Wenjin paced back and forth a few steps, then asked, "What are the chances of success?"

Xiao Yi hesitated for a moment, and after a few breaths, he slowly spoke.

"If the general can grant me a future, I will do my utmost, even if it means dying!"

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I have offended Su Fengji, and it was he who framed Li Gongsong. The enmity is deep. Now that he is in power, I am filled with anxiety. If I could serve as a guard by the general's side, protecting him, that would be the greatest fortune."

When Nie Wenjin saw that he had made a request, his expression softened a bit.

"Want to be my bodyguard?"

"Yes. If I am fortunate enough to gain the general's favor and protection, I will certainly retrieve the talisman for the general."

That being said, it didn't stop Xiao Yi from switching allegiance to Guo Wei as soon as he left the city.

Everything he said tonight was true, except for one thing: he believed that Guo Wei was the one with a bright future.

Therefore, based on the facts, Nie Wenjin could not have guessed that he wanted to escape.

"Good, since you have the ability, why should you be relegated to the position of a mere soldier? I appoint you as the squad leader and send a squad with you."

(End of this chapter)