"Qinghe, how are you?" Feng Huixin asked his son with concern in his eyes.
Shifting his attention from Kong Min, Qinghe turned to his father to offer a greeting. But though his first impulse was to bow, in the end, Qinghe managed to curb it.
If his father truly cared for him, then bowing would only highlight their distance and seem like an insult. And if his father didn't truly care about him, then bowing would only be an insult to himself. However, by now, Qinghe was almost certain of his father's concern for him.
With a small but genuine smile, Qinghe finally responded, "Grandmaster, I am well, and I hope you are fine as well."
Feng Huixin nodded, affection warming his calm eyes. His strict staidness seemed to have noticeably softened, the heavy power hanging around him starting to unconsciously wrap around his son as if to protect him.
At the side, Kong Min felt ignored and pouted playfully, "Little Bro, where is my greeting?"
With laughter dancing in his eyes, Qinghe spoke teasingly, "Sentinel Kong, it's been a while since we last met. I hope you won't send any arrows my way this time."
Waving his hand, Kong Min gave a strained chuckle. "Don't worry, Little Bro, they were not completely mine anyway."
"What were not yours? The arrows? But weren't they made with your spiritual force?" Qinghe asked, tilting his head confusedly.
A strange expression flashed over Kong Min's face as he shook his head in answer. As various thoughts flickered in his mind, Kong Min lifted his hand and absentmindedly began rubbing the middle of his chest in a nervous tic.
Seeing this, Feng Huixin spoke up from the side, "Min-er, you used it again?"
Already knowing the answer to this, Wei Xiang cast a meaningful glance at his senior brother.
Kong Min coughed lightly to dissipate the strange tension that suddenly weighed the air as he shuffled his feet restlessly. "I borrowed a bit from him the last time I met your son, and I also finished giving him the payment for it after that. Master, you don't have to worry."
Feng Huixin nevertheless frowned lightly in concern.
However, Qinghe looked at them both with puzzlement written on his face. "Sentinel Kong, what did you borrow and from whom?"
The way Kong Min spoke of it made Qinghe think that he had borrowed the power of those green arrows from someone, but…that sounded too strange, didn't it? At least, Qinghe didn't remember ever hearing of such a thing before.
To his knowledge, unless two people were close and kept bodily contact, they couldn't pass power between them. Also, on that day when he first met and fought with Kong Min, the Sentinel had clearly not kept physical contact with anyone while forming and shooting out those arrows.
Answering his inquisitive lover in his senior brother's stead, Wei Xiang spoke, "The power of those arrows came from the Master of Land. He occasionally lends this senior brother of mine some of his power whenever he asks."
Hearing that one of the Three Masters of this world―especially the mysterious Master of Land who held sway over all of the earth―occasionally shared his power so easily when asked, Qinghe couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock.
Meanwhile, Wei Xiang turned to Kong Min and reproached in a displeased tone, "Why are you still borrowing from that bastard?"
Looking away guiltily, Kong Min replied in a light voice, "I only do it sometimes. Junior Brother, don't give me that disappointed look. You'll break my fragile little glass heart."
Wei Xiang remained unamused. "Kong Min, stop fooling around. I thought we already decided that you won't keep contact with him―"
Kong Min interrupted him with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "Alright, alright, let's discuss this another time. He is a weird fellow but…despite everything, I don't think he's all that dangerous. Let's leave it be for now and trust that I know how to take care of myself, yes?"
Wei Xiang looked at him with a complicated gaze, then sighed and shook his head. "Very well. But if you feel threatened, you will come to us."
Sensing the care in his junior brother's voice, Kong Min's face split into a happy grin.
Slapping Wei Xiang on the shoulder, Kong Min declared, "Of course I will! With such a dependable Officer Wei at my side, why would I bear with any grievances?"
Wei Xiang sighed heavily once more and massaged his forehead. Dealing with this senior brother of his was just so taxing.
Seeing this scene, Qinghe felt amused. If he didn't know better, he would definitely mistake Wei Xiang to be the exasperated senior brother and Kong Min to be the troublesome junior brother.
As if abruptly remembering something, Kong Min suddenly turned to Qinghe and exclaimed, "Ah! I almost forgot! It's about that Black Fang member I said we were going to interrogate. Little Bro, I think you are already acquainted with him?"
Qinghe blinked as he tried to recall how he could have become acquainted with someone from Black Fang, then his eyes cleared in realization. The only possibility was that this prisoner was the boss from the Black Fang base who had tortured him before and stabbed him with his sword.
"I suppose you could say that I have met him," Qinghe finally replied.
At the side, Wei Xiang narrowed his eyes as a slight smile bent his lips, but he didn't say anything.
Feng Huixin didn't yet know that this prisoner was the one who had hurt his son, so he only looked once at Wei Xiang askance before turning around and saying, "It's better if we start soon."
As Feng Huixin started walking, Qinghe and the Sentinels followed behind. They passed through several passages, all of which seemed to look the same, and also glimpsed several prisoner cells on the way, both empty and occupied.
The space under the walls, floor, and ceiling of these cells, as well as the prison bars at the front, were lined with a generous amount of spirit-suppressing material, along with layers and layers of other spells and talismans stacked over it, all to prevent even the slightest chance of escape. But from the outside, none of these measures were visible.
After a few minutes, the group finally arrived near a cell that had an entire corridor to itself.
Through the thick and closely set vertical bars of the cell, they could see a figure inside. He wore disheveled black robes and sat cross-legged at a small distance from the black bars.
Qinghe was at first surprised to sense that there was no spirit-suppressing material or any other form of spiritual defenses present in this cell, but then he understood why.
The person inside the cell seemed to have had his soul sealed.
Since the restrictions currently on his own soul had also been borne out of a Soul Sealing spell, Qinghe sensed it with particular clarity.
And since the prisoner now had the spell cast on him, it meant that he couldn't use spiritual energy at all and that his strength was reduced to a mortal's, so just a regular secure cell would be enough to fully contain him.
As the large group silently made their way towards him, the prisoner looked up blankly.
His eyes curiously studied the predominantly black-clad crowd of Sentinels with a sneer. Since he had never before been visited by the Grandmaster, he didn't recognize Feng Huixin. But when he saw Wei Xiang, a flicker of recognition and fear sliced across the prisoner's eyes as his body let out an involuntary shudder.
As he quickly retracted his gaze and looked away, his eyes landed on the only white-robed person in this sea of black who also just happened to be standing beside Wei Xiang.
But unexpectedly, this was actually someone the prisoner had met before.
Seeing that enchanting face and recalling that this was the person due to whom he had ended up being captured, a hint of vicious hate twisted the prisoner's face.
Opening his mouth, he spoke in a roughened voice that rose and fell erratically. "Oho, here comes the beauty I tortured the last time. I truly didn't expect that you'd have the ability to land me in such a predicament. By the way, what did you give these Sentinels to allow you into such a restricted area? Let me guess, did you use that face to bewitch these serious officers and fuck your way in? Tell me, how many people did you need to 'convince' using that delectable-looking body of yours, hmm?"
Wei Xiang immediately whipped his head towards the cell as the prisoner's hoarse laughter rang out wretchedly.
Meanwhile, Qinghe remained unruffled in the face of such provoking, looking as sedate and unconcerned as ever. It was as if no amount of filthy words could reach him enough to even stain the very edge of his robes.
At the side, Feng Huixin felt fury igniting within him that someone would dare talk to his beloved son in such a way, especially someone who seemed to have tortured him!
But he was forced to tamp down his own rage due to uncertainty. Feng Huixin truly did not know enough about this grown-up version of his son to discern whether any interference at this point would be appreciated. But seeing Qinghe's calm expression, Feng Huixin reluctantly decided to stand down for now.
Taking the cue from their Grandmaster, the other Sentinel's also decided not to act yet, though their expressions showed varying degrees of anger, the most noticeable being Hou Yu's wrathful expression. He really, really wanted to take away that cute person from this vile-mouthed prisoner! But seeing how everyone seemed to have decided to not butt in, he barely managed to control himself.
Suddenly finding himself the focus of so many fierce glares, the prisoner let out a jittery laugh. More infuriating words began tumbling out of his mouth as if in a nervous reflex as he defiantly stared back at the person he feared the most, "What, Sentinel Wei? I bet you had a go at him too like the rest of them, didn't you? So are you jealous now? Jealous that I saw more of your boy toy than you ever did? That's right! You would have only seen his skin till now, but I saw much farther into the depths of him! I cut him up and saw his muscles, veins, organs, and all the way down to those white, white bones! Everything about him is so pretty that I could hardly hold myself back from―"
The prisoner abruptly cut himself off in the middle as he beheld Wei Xiang's furious appearance. His eyes had turned a brilliant gold as he began to stalk towards the cell, his expression promising violence.
But before Wei Xiang took a couple of steps in that direction, the prisoner completely lost his nerve and began screeching, "No, no, stay away, stay away! I'll kill myself if you come near me again, you monster, you inhuman beast! I-I…I'll swallow my tongue and choke on it! Don't you dare fucking get any closer!"
But since the cells were equipped with spells that would prevent such self-harming behavior, this threat held no weight at all.
And yet, Wei Xiang suddenly stopped, not because of the prisoner's words, but because he could feel his little lover's finger's lightly gripping the back of his robe as if asking him to stop. And so Wei Xiang halted, and with great effort, he pushed down all the rage boiling in him like torrid magma.
Sensing his beloved's agreement to go no further, Qinghe also let go of the robe.
Bringing his temper back under control, Wei Xiang slowly walked to the wall opposite to the cell and leaned back against it, his arms folded and his posture casual. His expression turned sharply amused, a corner of his mouth quirked up in a mocking half-smile. But with just a look, one could clearly feel the vast magnitude of the rampaging emotions hidden just under that seemingly uncaring façade.
On the other hand, with his eyes wide and his body trembling violently, the prisoner pressed his lips together and stared at Wei Xiang like helpless prey watching the movements of a vicious and hungry predator.
Though he didn't know why his tormentor had suddenly changed his mind and backed away, the prisoner knew better than to provoke this Sentinel Wei any further.
Seeing all this play out, though Qinghe felt warm at the open care his lover, father, and the Sentinels were showing him, he didn't feel much else. He neither hated nor liked this person who had once tortured him gleefully, but if the prisoner did not reveal the information the Sentinels sought from him, Qinghe was afraid that he would nevertheless have to hurt him.
"What have you been able to extract from him?" Qinghe asked his father.
Feng Huixin seemed surprised at being addressed by his son, but he quickly replied, "I haven't taken part in the interrogation till now, but he seems to be surprisingly tightlipped. We haven't been able to get much from him."
Then turning to Wei Xiang, Feng Huixin asked, "Xiang-er, are there any new developments?"
Qinghe blinked, feeling startled. So his lover had been the one in charge of interrogating this prisoner? Well, that at least explained his obvious terror while facing Wei Xiang.
Of course, Qinghe didn't know that not only had Wei Xiang regularly delivered to this prisoner and his subordinates the ruthless punishment he'd promised so long ago while standing among the ruins of the Black Fang base, he had also brought along the twins to witness it a few times as they'd asked to back then.
But Wei Xiang didn't intend to remind Qinghe of all that now.
"No, he didn't give up anything else of worth. It seems that conventional means won't work on this one," Wei Xiang responded to his master with a shrug.
Standing beside him, Qian Ming spoke up, "Senior Officer Wei, if even someone as merciless and sadistic as you can't get much out of him, then I don't think he'll be useful to us. Can't we just throw this trash into the detention facility and let him rot his life away there?"
With his usual frown, Rue Xu disagreed. Trying not to meet anyone's gaze, he refuted, "He is the best lead we have to gain information on Black Fang right now. None of the others seem to know anything important. If there is a chance we can get anything at all from him, then we should at least give it another go."
Hou Yu pointedly nodded. Yes, someone who talked bad about that cute person needed to be hurt more!
Wei Xiang showed a helpless smile, "Even if you say that, there's nothing more I can do. It seems that this one is close enough to the leader of Black Fang that he has been trained in keeping his mouth shut when normal means of interrogation are used. But if we can find some unconventional means, he might open up."
Listening to all this, Qinghe showed a conflicted expression.
Then firming his resolve, he finally interjected, "I think I have a way of making him talk, but it will only be temporary. And I'll need to spend some time conversing with him beforehand to condition him appropriately for it."
Though the others all looked at Qinghe with curious eyes, Wei Xiang only looked worried.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
Smiling as usual, Qinghe reassured his lover, "I'll be fine. It's not like I'll be the one getting hurt."
Qinghe then turned to his father. "Grandmaster, may I?"
Feng Huixin felt a little lost when faced with his son's clearly expectant look in this sort of circumstance.
On one hand, he still saw Qinghe as his little son and was obviously averse to letting him do something like interrogating a prisoner. But on the other hand, he had to acknowledge that Qinghe had grown up to be a capable man of his own who had experienced a lot. Feng Huixin did not want to seem like he was being a controlling father or belittling his son's capability in this situation. In the end, he could only vow to himself that he would stop Qinghe if he noticed something going wrong.
And so, after a while of contemplation, Feng Huixin finally nodded.
Having gained the necessary approval, Qinghe turned and walked towards the cell and stopped a bit away from the bars.
Within the cell, after having calmed down again, the prisoner showed an expression of open disdain towards this white-robed cultivator. In an attempt to frighten him, the prisoner spat, "Do you think the Black Fang will let you get away so easily after what you did to one of our territories? Even if they haven't figured out that you were the one behind it, it won't be long before they find out and come hunting for you!"
But these clearly threatening words did not elicit the fearful reaction he expected.
With an unmoved expression, the white-clad cultivator only looked at him with an unfathomably deep gaze.
"I have no fear of your organization. They cannot do anything to me. But if I cooperate with the Sentinels, it will only be a matter of time before the entire Black Fang organization is brought to heel," Qinghe responded in a deliberately cold and expressionless way.
Growing incensed, the prisoner shouted, "Don't think that we of the Black Fang are that easy to deal with!"
Qinghe raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "'Black Fang' is really such an appropriate name for your organization. After all, what is a black fang if not just the rotten tooth of an animal? All we need to do is to pull it out by the root to halt the spread of decay."
The prisoner felt veins popping up on his forehead. How could this person keep infuriating him so?! Even when he had been torturing him back then, this white-robed cultivator had been this way! And how did he make the name of such a distinguished and feared criminal organization sound so ridiculous?! He wished he could just tear this cultivator part, or better yet, get to torture him for a few more rounds!
In a voice that quivered with anger, the prisoner warned, "You should be careful what you say. You think you're powerful because you have a few Sentinels to do your bidding? Ha! Do you know who I am? I'm Jian Huan! I have the backing of the leader of the entire Black Fang, Yuan Sheng himself! And just in case you're ignorant enough to not know, let me enlighten you—he's an expert at tenth realm with two hundred thousand years of experience under his belt! Can any of your pet Sentinels compare?"
Then randomly pointing at a certain Sentinel, the prisoner Jian Huan shouted, "Can that pretty face compare? I bet he can't!"
Qinghe felt like laughing, but he forced himself to maintain a cold and calm face. "If you are speaking of him that way, then I presume you do not know who the person you are pointing your finger at is."
Jian Huan simply sneered, "Whoever he is, he can't be stronger than my leader. Or what? Are you saying that you somehow managed to get a demigod to fuck you? Or better yet, the Grandmaster himself?! Don't be so conceited!"
Both father and son looked at each other with almost the same expression of mild disgust showing in their eyes.
The Kong Min who had been silent up till now suddenly burst out into raucous laughter.
In a voice strained from still giggling, he said, "Oh, this is too…really, so oblivious! You…Jian Huan, was it? How can you be a member of Black Fang and not even recognize the face of your enemy leader?"
The prisoner looked confused for a second before the words sank in. His face abruptly paled. "No…are you joking?"
His laughter giving way to chuckles, Kong Min exclaimed with all due drama, "Of course I'm not joking! I would never! But the cute little righteous cultivator you accused of sleeping with that―pardon me for saying this Master―'pretty face', as you put it, is actually the Grandmaster's son. And guess what? The person you just pointed at is our one and only great Grandmaster himself!"
Both Qinghe and Feng Huixin looked at Kong Min helplessly. Would it hurt him to not give them such a weird introduction?
Jian Huan looked at Feng Huixin with terrified eyes.
Then his gaze slid to Qinghe as he spoke incredulously, "T-That… If you're the Grandmaster's son...then wouldn't that mean that…you're a…deity? That's impossible!"
Neither confirming nor denying it outright, Qinghe tilted his head as he asked evenly, "What's so impossible about that?"
"You let me torture and stab you! Would you have let my sword near you if you had that much power and ability?!" Jian Huan screamed frantically as if to convince himself.
Qinghe's face remained placid as he replied, "Oh? And do you not remember what happened to your fake heavenly sword? I think it was called…Soul Sucker, wasn't it?"
"It's Soul Devourer!"
Waving a hand dismissively, Qinghe continued, "Whatever it was called, you do remember how it ended up, don't you?"
Jian Huan recalled how his treasured sword had turned pure white after absorbing a bit of this cultivator's soul, then shattered as if unable to contain that much power. For even a fragment of his soul to contain that much raw energy…it was entirely possible for such a soul to be heavenly in origin.
His face paling further until it look ghastly, Jian Huan looked at Qinghe with wide eyes. It couldn't be…that this person truly was a trueborn deity?!
Answering the unvoiced question, Qinghe silently nodded.
"Then…how can you… you were clearly so weak…" Jian Huan mumbled disconsolately.
In a cold voice tinged with aloofness, Qinghe responded unconcernedly, "Are you still unable to figure it out? I was only acting weak at that time, but I was always in control. Everything you did, I let you do. Everything that happened panned out exactly the way I planned."
Hearing this and seeing Qinghe's dispassionate appearance as he spoke of it, Jian Huan felt horror creeping into him as his mind churned disbelievingly.
So even when he had this person completely trussed up and had his cultivation sealed so thoroughly, even though he had a building full of people from Black Fang to support him, some of whom were actual cultivators with decent levels, and even though he had been able to torture this cultivator and wound him so terribly with his sword, despite all of this, everything had still been under this man's control the entire time?!
This was beyond terrifying!
How could a man manipulate all those events and calculate everything to such an extent?!
Seeing Jian Huan's expression beginning to twist with shock and fear, Qinghe sighed inwardly. The truth was hardly as he had painted it just now, but he couldn't let this prisoner know that.
After all, the entire reason for Qinghe conversing like this with Jian Huan was to remove the impression he had of him as that of a powerless person, and to replace it with the notion that Qinghe was someone to be feared.
And looking at Jian Huan's face, it seemed to have been successful.
The reason why Qinghe had to do this was simple. It was so that during interrogation, the predominant emotion the prisoner would feel would be fear of him.
This sort of fear would make him more frantic and help break down his mental walls. It would also act as a deterrent against lies or misdirection. And feeling fear like this during an interrogation would mean placing power over himself in the hands of the interrogator.
So now that this conditioning had succeeded, it was time to finally begin interrogating the prisoner.