Chapter 525: Torture and Extortion (Part 2)
Tick-tick...tick-tick...
From the initial crisp sound like pearls falling on a jade plate, to the softness like the blending of water and milk now, how long has this dripping sound lasted?
Is it two hours? Or three hours?
Although someone would come down with a lantern to check every quarter of an hour, Shopkeeper Wu couldn't remember how many times that person had come down.
Because whenever he recalled these details, he felt as if his head had been hit by a club. It was numb, sore, and there was an unforgettable itch that made him want to scream and split his head open so that he could scratch it with his hands!
But he couldn't do anything.
Not only were his limbs tightly bound, but even his tongue was pressed against his jaw by a flat copper tube like a soup spoon.
When Manager Wu thought of this copper tube, his chest, which had been filled with shortness of breath and stuffiness, began to churn again.
This time, he no longer cared about his random thoughts and was busy concentrating on suppressing the nausea that was surging in his stomach - because his previous experience had proved that the consequences of vomiting would only be his own fault!
After finally suppressing the urge to vomit, Shopkeeper Wu finally had some free time to think about his current situation.
I'm probably going to die soon, right?
Numbness in the limbs, chest tightness and shortness of breath, nausea and retching, splitting headache - even the only ear that was still functioning normally was ringing wildly.
All of this made Manager Wu extremely certain that his death was near, and the sound of blood dripping behind him was the death knell urging him step by step towards hell.
Click… click…
At this moment, a burst of tiny sounds seemed to come from a very far distance. Then, a dim light came into the eyes of Shopkeeper Wu.
Is it time to come down for a visit again?
How many times has this happened?
The eighth, ninth, or tenth time?
Shopkeeper Wu really couldn't remember clearly, but he had a feeling in his heart that this might be the last time he would see the light in his life!
Therefore, no matter how dizzy he felt, he still tried his best to keep his eyes open, staring greedily at the dim light.
"If you want to live, just speak up."
It was not until a man's voice came into his ears from a close distance that Manager Wu suddenly realized that the person had arrived in front of him.
If you want to live, just speak up!
If you want to live, speak...
If you want to live...
if……
The man should have only said one word, but Shopkeeper Wu's mind was full of "echoes"!
What follows is a violent conflict between the desire to survive and the will to believe.
This kind of conflict was not the first time, and Shopkeeper Wu had already found a way to resist. He desperately recalled the scene of his parents and relatives being slaughtered by the government troops, recalled the grace of the Holy Church that saved his life, and recalled...
However, this time the desire to survive is much stronger than ever before!
Coupled with the waves of severe pain in his head, which tore those long-lost memories into pieces, he could hardly bear it and wanted to succumb to the fear in his heart and beg for mercy like a wild dog.
In desperation, Shopkeeper Wu had to use his trump card in his heart.
Juan'er didn't give in to these lackeys. How could a man like me be inferior to a weak woman like her? !
No!
no way!
I am a man...
“Heh… Heh…”
Just as Shopkeeper Wu was desperately suppressing his desire to survive, a vague groaning sound suddenly reached his ears.
Then there was a surprised voice: "Why, you want to confess?!"
Did I moan accidentally?!
This was the first thought that popped up in Shopkeeper Wu's trance, but he soon realized that it was not the case, because in addition to the vague sound, what came into his ears was the rustling sound of the shaking iron chains.
Shopkeeper Wu had heard this kind of noise countless times when trying to break free for the first time - but the problem was that he was not struggling at all!
Is it Xu Juan? !
Could it be that she actually...actually wanted to betray her brothers and sisters in the Holy Church? !
"Okay, okay, I'll take you out and stop the bleeding."
The surprised voice sounded again, instantly confirming Manager Wu's guess, and then a surge of rage rose from his chest.
He didn't even know what he was angry about. All he could think of was one question: How dare you betray the Holy Church?!
So he had no more scruples, and began to sob and struggle excitedly, wishing he could bite the copper chewing ball in his mouth into pieces and swallow it. Even if it would rupture his intestines, as long as he could question Xu in person, he would die without regrets!
Unexpectedly, the noise behind him suddenly became intense, as if Xu was afraid that his struggle would cover up his own pleas for mercy.
This bitch, this damn bitch!
Shopkeeper Wu screamed in his heart, and suddenly he was hit on the back of his head. His already fuzzy consciousness suddenly stopped...
I was in a daze and didn’t know how much time had passed.
Shopkeeper Wu was in a trance, and he felt some warm liquid sliding down his tongue and soaking his dry throat.
He swallowed twice subconsciously, but his teeth bit into something hard.
This should be a gimmick put on themselves by those bastards of the Dragon Guards.
However, the copper tube pressing on the tongue had been pulled out.
etc!
Xu Juan seems to have...
Shopkeeper Wu suddenly opened his eyes, and the first thing that caught his eye was a dazzling light.
He subconsciously narrowed his eyes and saw the person holding the lantern hurriedly take half a step back. Although he couldn't see clearly, the Kirin-shaped fertility bellyband wrapped around her fair and well-proportioned figure allowed Shopkeeper Wu to instantly confirm her identity.
"Juan'er..."
Shopkeeper Wu uttered these two words in a dry and unclear voice, and then Xu seemed to be frightened and turned around and ran out the door.
"Juan'er!"
Shopkeeper Wu shouted again with all his might, and Mrs. Xu finally stopped, but she did not turn back. Instead, she turned her back to her husband and uttered three words in a stammering voice: "I'm... I'm sorry."
Before he could finish his words, the man had already escaped.
well!
Shopkeeper Wu, who fell into darkness again, could not help but let out a long sigh to the sky, but he no longer had the initial anger, and was left with only despair and relief - he himself was in such a situation and he almost couldn't bear it and wanted to confess, let alone his wife being a weak woman?
Forget it, forget it!
At worst, I can sacrifice myself for her and pay off some of her sins.
Just as he was thinking this, he saw the door curtain being lifted, and another person walked in with a lantern. Leading the way was a burly man like an iron tower, and it was none other than Mr. Sun, the 'God of Justice' who was famous in the capital.
But after Sun Shaozong entered the room, he tiptoed over a stool, sat down in front of the bed, and asked with a smile: "Manager Wu, your wife has chosen to abandon the dark and join the light, but I don't know what you think now."
"Pooh!"
Since his wife had already betrayed the Holy Church, it was useless to keep silent. Shopkeeper Wu no longer had any scruples and immediately cursed: "Don't be so proud, you thief. Even if I die without a burial place, I will never acknowledge a thief as my father!"
"Now this pseudo-dynasty is facing internal and external troubles. Who knows, one day you will become a prisoner of my Holy Church. By then, I will be in the underworld, waiting to see how you can neither live nor die!"
Hearing that he was still so stubborn at this time, the two Dragon Guards who followed him in couldn't help but show their anger.
Sun Shaozong, however, kept smiling and shook his head slightly, saying, "Manager Wu, since your wife has already agreed to confess, what's the point of you rejecting her like this?"
"snort!"
Shopkeeper Wu sneered and said, "If that's the case, why do you need to ask me again?!"
As soon as these words came out of his mouth, some doubts flashed through his messy mind - since Xu Juan had already agreed to confess, why was this henchman surnamed Sun still interrogating him?
Then Sun Shaozong said, "Of course, we need to check for omissions and confirm the authenticity of the confession. Although your wife may not dare to make up stories, the more certain we are, the better. Otherwise, if we alert the enemy, wouldn't all our efforts be wasted?"
This explanation is quite reasonable.
Shopkeeper Wu grinned, revealing the bronze ball gag that was covered in saliva, and asked ferociously, "Do you think I will let you do whatever you want?"
“Tsk.”
Sun Shaozong smacked his lips, changed to a lazy sitting posture, shook his head and said, "If I were you, I wouldn't be so hasty to make a decision. At least I should consider the current situation first."
Situation?
What situation am I in now?
Manager Wu sneered in his heart and tried to turn his head to the side to show that he didn't want to listen to Sun Shaozong's subsequent nonsense. At the same time, he considered the possibility of committing suicide by banging his head against the wall.
"first."
Regardless of whether he cooperated or not, Sun Shaozong's calm voice was still clearly heard: "Whether you choose to confess and be lenient, or resist and be strict, the White Lotus Sect will get the news that you have betrayed - even if they don't believe it at first, as long as your wife participates in a few operations of our Northern Pacification Division, this matter will most likely be confirmed."
"Shameless! You damn..."
Shopkeeper Wu turned around suddenly and was about to curse, but a copper tube was forcibly stuffed into the ball gag, fixing his tongue firmly on his lower jaw .
"Anyway."
Sun Shaozong's voice was still calm, as if he had not inserted the copper tube himself: "You are destined to be labeled as a traitor. Every member of the White Lotus Sect who knows about this will despise you. Everyone who has anything to do with you will be retaliated by the White Lotus Sect."
"certainly."
Sun Shaozong smiled: "If you are willing to turn from darkness to light and make enough contributions, our Northern Pacification Office may come forward to help you protect your relatives and friends."
Before he finished speaking, he heard the wooden bed creaking and shaking, the iron chains rattling, and even the ball gag making a rattling sound from being bitten by Manager Wu.
Sun Shaozong gave a wink, and the Dragon Guard beside him immediately stepped forward and pulled the copper tube out of the ball gag.
"Pooh!"
Then, Shopkeeper Wu spat and roared, "My family was killed by you scoundrels seventeen years ago..."
The brass pipes returned to their positions and the roaring stopped abruptly.
"cough!"
Even Sun Shaozong, who was so cunning, felt a little embarrassed after such a misunderstanding. He cleared his throat and continued, "The more this happens, the more Manager Wu should cherish the only family members left around him."
"Besides, your parents in heaven would not necessarily want you to die in vain and bear the infamy for it."
Hearing the words "full of infamy", Shopkeeper Wu struggled fiercely again, but Sun Shaozong did not give him a chance to speak this time, and continued: "In fact, think about it from another perspective. If you abandon evil and join the light and make meritorious contributions, and are rewarded by the court in the future, and return home with your virtuous wife, it would be a kind of comfort to the ancestors of the Wu family."
All right.
Even Sun Shaozong himself felt that this explanation was a bit far-fetched - but there was nothing he could do, for who could have imagined that Shopkeeper Wu was such a bitter and vengeful person?
I have to find some words to smooth things over.
What followed were what Sun Shaozong originally wanted to say to him.
"I know that you might be thinking that death is the end of everything, but can death really be the end of everything?"
"Let's not talk about others, let's talk about your wife first."
"I, Captain Yang, have said that even in the face of threats to insult your wife, you would grit your teeth and refuse to say a word - but what if your wife offered herself voluntarily, or was half-hearted?"
Shopkeeper Wu struggled violently again, so much so that Sun Shaozong had to order his men to hold him down tightly before continuing, "You probably want to refute me, thinking that your wife would never be so shameless, right?"
"But don't forget, she is no longer the same as before. In order to survive, she did not hesitate to betray her accomplices and your Maitreya King..."
Sun Shaozong leaned forward slightly and looked directly into Shopkeeper Wu's bloodshot eyes: "She is even willing to sell out your husband!"
After a pause, until he saw a hint of fear and uneasiness in Shopkeeper Wu's anger, Sun Shaozong sat back calmly and continued in a calm tone: "After going through all this, how can you guarantee that she won't sell her body in order to continue living?"
"A woman from the White Lotus Sect, without the blessing of a man, but still quite pretty..."
"You should also know that the people in the Northern Pacification Office are not all pure and simple gentlemen. Possessing a widow of the White Lotus rebel party may be a way for them to vent, or to adjust their mood, or perhaps to seek revenge."
"The purpose is not important. What is important is that because of your background and your weakness, they will not have many scruples."
"Faced with the pressure that comes one after another, Madam, you either choose to die rather than obey, or compromise like you did today and sell your body half-heartedly."
"Given her choice today, I think the latter is more likely - what do you think?"
"Of course, she will regret it, cry, and even silently say your name under different men."
"As time goes by, she may get used to actively using her body to exchange for something, or maybe she has always been half-hearted."
"Until one day, she will come to your grave with a big belly, light incense and pray, saying that after the child is born, she will let him take your surname Wu."
"How is it? Are you touched? Do you feel that she still cares about you deep in her heart?"
"Haha, but the reason why the child has the surname Wu is probably because even Madam Zun herself can't figure out whose father the child is!"
Having said this, Sun Shaozong finally stopped and winked at the lieutenant colonel of the Dragon Guard beside him.
"You beast, you are a donkey among dogs..."
The moment the copper tube was pulled out, countless dirty words gushed out of Shopkeeper Wu's mouth, and there was even scarlet blood mixed in his saliva.
Sun Shaozong remained calm, and only replied with a smile when Shopkeeper Wu ran out of breath: "Go ahead and keep scolding until you feel satisfied - then, think carefully about whether you want to return home with your wife in glory, or die meaninglessly!"
After saying this, he didn't even look at Shopkeeper Wu, but stood up and walked out the door.
