Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Interrogation by Torture
Anger flared on Marquis Tianqi’s face.
"Men! To the Security Bureau with me."
He set off for the Security Bureau without a moment’s hesitation.
Meanwhile, the same scene was unfolding at the Marquis Zhenjun Mansion.
After receiving Ye Xuan’s orders, Chen Xing rushed to the Alchemist Association without stopping.
But just as Ye Xuan had been told a few days prior, Hua Luoxuan was still in the Royal Palace and had not returned.
After leaving a message, Chen Xing and the other two hurried back to Profound Spirit Academy to find Qing Ling and Zuo Liu.
A few days ago, after taking first place on the List of Rising Stars, Zhao Wei had applied to graduate. He was no longer a student at Profound Spirit Academy, so Chen Xing could only find him through Qing Ling and Zuo Liu.
When they heard what had happened to Ye Xuan, Qing Ling and the other were stunned. ’Ye Xuan actually beat the sons of Marquis Tianqi and Marquis Zhenjun in public?’
However, they understood the gravity of the situation and immediately left the academy to notify Zhao Wei.
Having done all this, Chen Xing finally breathed a sigh of relief.
’Even though I couldn’t find Hua Luoxuan, with the Eighth Prince taking action, this matter should be resolved.’
「Security Bureau.」
Ye Xuan sat in a relatively clean and bright room.
He had been here for over two hours.
Two imposing City Guard soldiers stood at the door, watching Ye Xuan warily. Their right hands rested on the hilts of their swords, ready to draw at the slightest movement.
Other than that, no one had paid him any mind.
Ye Xuan knew that while things seemed calm on the surface, there was a turbulent undercurrent behind the scenes. With the sons of two marquises beaten, the City Guard would not handle this matter lightly. Everything depended on the political maneuvering between the two sides.
’My file must be on the desk of a City Guard officer by now,’ he thought. ’The conflict between us will be thoroughly investigated.’
Once the investigation was complete, things would definitely not be this quiet.
Knowing this, Ye Xuan didn’t waste time while he waited. Instead, he closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began to cultivate.
Now that he had the Heart Gaze Stone, he would soon be able to cultivate the Divine Spirit Gaze. Ye Xuan needed to start preparing as soon as possible.
The two City Guard soldiers at the door were dumbfounded to see Ye Xuan actually have the leisure to cultivate at a time like this.
CREAK— The door was suddenly pushed open.
The sound of footsteps followed as a City Guard officer with a pale, scholar-like face walked in, a group of City Guards trailing behind him.
The man had narrow eyes and an exquisite pattern engraved on his chest plate. A sinister chill emanated from him. He was clearly a high-ranking officer in the City Guard. His small eyes were slightly narrowed as he looked Ye Xuan up and down.
His gaze was flat and dismissive, and as it fell upon Ye Xuan, it carried a hint of malicious coldness.
"Commander Long, this is the culprit," a squad leader said with fawning sycophancy, pulling over a chair and placing it behind the scholar-like man.
The man plopped down into the chair, a humorless smile playing on his lips as he looked at Ye Xuan. "You’re Ye Xuan, a student of Profound Spirit Academy?" he asked grimly.
"That’s right."
"Heh heh, since when did students of Profound Spirit Academy become so vicious?" The scholar-like man sneered. "You’re the one who committed murder on the streets and severely injured the young masters of the Marquis Tianqi and Marquis Zhenjun Mansions? Speak. What deep-seated hatred do you have for the two young masters that you’d try to murder them in the street?"
The man immediately tried to pin a major crime on Ye Xuan.
"The ones who committed murder on the streets were the young masters you speak of, not me. I was merely acting in self-defense."
Ye Xuan stared at him, his brow furrowed. ’This tone... something isn’t right.’
"Ridiculous. The two young masters are of noble status. How could they possibly commit murder in the street? You, on the other hand, for some unknown reason, held a grudge against them and intended to do them harm. If not for the heroic intervention of their guards, the two young masters might already be dead at the hands of a thug like you," Commander Long scoffed.
"Commander Long is right! Kid, you’d better confess everything—how you came to hate the two young masters and how you planned to kill them. I’m telling you, confess and you’ll be treated with leniency; resist and you’ll be dealt with severely!" the sycophantic City Guard barked, hands on his hips and eyes glaring.
Ye Xuan shook his head. "I have nothing to confess. Like I said, the ones who attacked were the two young masters you speak of. I was only defending myself. I am not guilty."
"Insolence! Guilt or innocence isn’t for you to decide! Now confess!" The City Guard slammed his hand on the table, flying into a rage.
The loud SLAM of the table echoed in Commander Long’s ears, making him glance coolly at the City Guard, who immediately retreated in embarrassment.
Commander Long stood up, his face dark and his gaze grim. "Ye Xuan, I’ve seen plenty of your kind. I don’t have time to waste on you. Whether you confess or not, the facts are the facts. No one can change them."
With that, he tossed a sheet of paper onto the table.
"The City Guard on the scene has already written a detailed report of your violent assault, along with the testimony of several witnesses. Take a look. If there are no issues, sign it quickly. Rest assured, we at the Security Bureau will act strictly according to the kingdom’s laws and handle this impartially."
Ye Xuan took the statement. A single glance was enough to make him sneer.
The report twisted the truth completely. It claimed that he, Ye Xuan, had seen the two young masters, harbored ill intentions, and tried to attack them. It went on to say that the guards of the young masters, Chen Ming and Qin Tian, had heroically intervened, only to be tragically killed by the "thug" Ye Xuan. The two young masters themselves were also severely injured by this "thug" and had only barely survived thanks to the timely rescue by the City Guard.
"Utter nonsense!" Ye Xuan threw the confession on the table. "This statement reverses black and white. I will not sign it."
Commander Long slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Ye Xuan, this is the Security Bureau! You don’t get to run wild here! Today, whether you want to sign this statement or not, you will sign it!"
"Oh, is that so?" Ye Xuan also stood up, grabbed the confession, and instantly tore it to shreds. "I’d like to see how you’ll make me sign it now," he said coolly.
Ye Xuan’s demeanor and attitude made the middle-aged, scholar-like man’s neck flush red with anger.
"Insolence! Men, drag this person to the death-row cells! Put him to the torture! Bring him back to me when he’s ready to sign! I’d like to see how long he can hold out."
This Commander Long was a confidant of the Sixth Prince and also a Vice Commander of this Security Bureau. He had long since received orders from the Sixth Prince: Ye Xuan was to enter alive and leave dead.
"Yes, sir!"
Several City Guards immediately swarmed in, surrounded Ye Xuan, and escorted him out of the room.
Before long, Ye Xuan was taken to the execution chamber in the death-row cells. From within, periodic, blood-curdling screams could be heard.
The floor of the chamber was slick with blood, which had turned a dark brown from years of accumulation, emitting a foul stench.
Laid out before Ye Xuan were all sorts of torture instruments, spotted with rust and spattered with blood.
The entire execution chamber was like a hell on earth, suffused with a lifeless aura that inspired terror and despair in anyone who glanced inside.
"Kid, I advise you to confess sooner rather than later. Not one in a hundred who enters the interrogation room of our Security Bureau’s death row comes out alive. If you plead guilty, you might have a sliver of a chance. If you don’t, you’re dead for sure," one of the City Guards kindly advised.
"Alright, why are you wasting your breath on him? This kid’s a dead man walking. There’s no way he’s getting out of this alive. Commander Long is handling his case personally. What does that tell you? It means the higher-ups want him dead."
Another City Guard sneered, looking at Ye Xuan as if he were already a corpse.
The City Guards immediately began to lift Ye Xuan onto a torture rack.
At the same time, a burly executioner standing to the side pulled a curved blade from the rack of instruments. The blade was stained with blood. He looked up, his cold eyes fixing on Ye Xuan, tinged with a trace of killing intent.
Ye Xuan’s expression changed. He hadn’t expected the Security Bureau to be this corrupt. The killing intent in the man’s eyes was subtle.
But how could Ye Xuan not see it? They were using interrogation by torture as a pretext to kill him here.
To kill him via torture before he was even convicted... by the time the truth was investigated, he would already be dead.
’This Security Bureau is so corrupt.’
Just as Ye Xuan was contemplating how to resist...
"Stop! Who told you to use torture for this interrogation?!"
At that moment, an authoritative voice suddenly rang out.
As the voice faded, a burly man strode into the execution chamber, followed by a group of City Guards. His eyes were naturally intimidating.
The uniform he wore was identical to Commander Long’s.
"Commander Fan?!"
Seeing the newcomer, the City Guards’ expressions changed slightly. They bowed respectfully.
"Reporting to Commander Fan, this man openly committed murder on the streets and even injured the sons of Marquis Tianqi and Marquis Zhenjun. He is stubbornly resisting, unrepentant, and openly despises our Security Bureau. On Commander Long’s orders, I was about to interrogate him under torture to make him confess what happened and restore justice to the Royal City."
The squad leader among them immediately spoke up, his tone full of righteous indignation.
He knew Commander Fan and Commander Long were rivals, so he deliberately pointed out who Ye Xuan had injured, hoping to make Commander Fan back down.
"Bullshit! Restore justice to the Royal City? You pieces of trash aren’t worthy of saying that. Get him down from there immediately. I’m taking him with me." Commander Fan cursed, his expression dripping with disdain. With a wave of his hand, two of his subordinates moved to take Ye Xuan.
The squad leader’s face fell. He quickly said, "Commander Fan, that’s not a good idea. Commander Long is personally overseeing this case. Aren’t you violating the Security Bureau’s rules by doing this?"
