In the 1960s,
The Panther King was not only tied up but also gagged. They had gone to such great lengths to capture him, and they couldn't let him commit suicide. The soldiers surrounded him, talking to each other.
Tao Yuan walked over, stood outside the crowd and said, "What are you doing surrounding him?"
The soldiers all looked over and made way for Tao Yuan.
"Sister-in-law, let's take a look at this legendary bandit leader. Do you want to take a look too? You can even kick him a couple of times. It was he who caused Captain He to be injured." A soldier said.
"A couple of kicks won't be enough for a man like this." Tao Yuan pulled out a brown medicine bottle, opened it, and poured the powder into the Panther King's nose. Then he said, "Alright, even if we untie him now, he can't escape. Lock him up in an empty room in the temple and assign someone to watch him. I'll interrogate him tomorrow."
"Sister-in-law, do you want to interrogate him?" Wang Songming said, "Although he's injured, he's still tough. He definitely won't open up easily. The violent scenes aren't good for you, sister-in-law. Let us interrogate him."
"You don't have to torture him to extract a confession. Even if you do, it might not necessarily be the truth. I naturally have my own ways to make him reveal everything he doesn't want to say."
"What method?" Wang Songming asked in confusion.
Tao Yuan smiled, did not answer him, turned and walked into the temple.
Wang Songming looked at Gu Yu and asked with a puzzled look on his face, "Do you know what his sister-in-law can do?"
"Have you forgotten what your sister-in-law does?" Gu Yu said.
"My sister-in-law is a doctor. Can doctors also conduct interrogations?"
"My sister-in-law is an expert in using medicine. She gave him some medicine to torture him or make him unconscious. He would then answer whatever she asked."
"That's right!" Wang Songming slapped his head. "Why didn't I think of this? Using drugs to torture him is definitely more effective than beating him. We don't have to worry about him not revealing the location of the hidden cultural relics. We don't need to talk about humanity with this bandit leader who has killed countless people. We should just torture him to death. It can also be regarded as revenge for the people whose families were destroyed by him."
Wen Han walked in with two lunch boxes, sat down beside Ning Haobo's bed and said, "Let's eat. I made some porridge."
Ning Haobo carefully sat up, took the lunch box, and drank the sweet porridge. If he hadn't seen with his own eyes yesterday that he ran to care for He Liyuan in front of everyone instead of his husband, then at this moment, he would have felt sweet in his heart while drinking this porridge.
After he behaved like that and proposed to her that he would divorce her after returning, Ning Haobo felt bitter from the bottom of his heart.
Wen Han lowered her head slightly, trying her best to control herself and not look at He Liyuan next to her.
After a while, Tao Yuan also came in with two lunch boxes.
When He Liyuan saw him, he immediately sat up.
"Be careful." Tao Yuan walked over quickly, put the lunch box on the bedside table, and then went to help He Liyuan.
"You eat. I'm going to eat too. I'll come get my lunch box later." Wen Han stood up and left.
Ning Haobo's hand paused for a moment, then continued to drink the porridge.
Tao Yuan sat down beside the bed, opened the lunch box and said, "I cooked chicken and vegetable porridge for you. The militia sent two chickens a few days ago, and there are still two left. Try it and see if it tastes good."
As soon as the lunch box was opened, the aroma wafted out immediately. It was such a rich and tempting aroma that you knew it must be delicious without even tasting it.
Tao Yuan scooped up some porridge with a spoon, put it to his mouth to cool it down, and then fed it to He Liyuan.
Although He Liyuan injured his foot instead of his hand, he did not refuse Tao Yuan's feeding.
"Is it delicious?" Tao Yuan asked.
"Delicious." He Liyuan nodded. It was as delicious as what he made at home.
"I'll make you some matsutake porridge tomorrow morning. The bandits have been mostly wiped out, and the bandit leader has been captured. I've asked the soldiers to go to the mountains and get some game. But since you're injured now, you can only eat light meals. You won't be able to enjoy those barbecued dishes."
"Leave some for me too, so I can eat it after I get better. You said I'll be well in two days." He Liyuan said.
"I mean, you can't walk for at least two days. I don't mean you'll be completely healed in two days." Tao Yuan said helplessly, "Don't be greedy. I'll make it for you when we get back. You can eat as much as you want."
He Liyuan nodded. When he was hurt, Tao Yuan was always very gentle with him, sometimes even coaxing him like a child. He didn't think there was anything wrong with this, and on the contrary, he quite enjoyed it.
Ning Haobo sniffed the wafting aromas while sipping his porridge, but he still felt hungry, and the porridge in his mouth became even more bland and tasteless. Those aromas were a torture for him, he could only smell them but not eat them. Even if his mind could control himself, his stomach couldn't.
After dinner, Tao Yuan sat aside and talked with him for a while, then went out to fetch water.
Tao Yuan used a wet towel to carefully wipe his face and neck. He then pulled up the curtain and wiped his body so that he could sleep more comfortably at night.
Tao Yuan felt that as a couple, it was natural for them to take care of each other. When He Liyuan was injured, he took care of him, and when He Liyuan was not injured, he often helped him wash his face and feet. This kind of feeling of you being good to me, I being good to you, you caring about me, I caring about you, is the emotion and way of getting along that should exist between lovers.
Ning Haobo tried his best not to listen or think about it, but the whispers from the side always disturbed his mind. When people are injured or sick, their hearts are inevitably more fragile than usual. They hope to have someone by their side. Even if they can't take care of them, at least they can show some concern and care. That would make them feel better.
Aside from his mother, he had never been cared for so attentively and attentively by anyone before. He couldn't even imagine expecting Wen Han to care for him that way. But if Wen Han didn't do anything, just stayed by his side, quietly, he'd feel better. But would she do that? Impossible. Ning Haobo curled his lips in self-mockery. He had brought this upon himself.
Although Tao Yuan disliked the Ning family, it wasn't a deep-seated grudge. Ning Haobo was injured and needed to rest. It was already evening, and he couldn't keep making noise and disturbing others' rest. This was a question of a person's quality and upbringing.
Tao Yuan whispered to He Liyuan, "You go to sleep. I'll sleep next to you. If you need to go to the bathroom at night, there's a urinal under the bed."
"I'll sleep next door with you too," said He Liyuan.
"There is a nurse on night duty next door, so there is no place for her to sleep," said Tao Yuan.
When there were wounded soldiers, there would be a doctor and two nurses on duty every night. Tao Yuan was not required to be on duty, but when He Liyuan was injured, he took the initiative to ask for it.
"Then have them move the bed over here, put it next to me, and draw all the curtains." He Liyuan didn't want to be separated from him by a wall and wanted to watch him sleep. He also knew that when he was injured, Tao Yuan would agree to his request as long as it wasn't too excessive.
Tao Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Okay, I'll go ask them to help me move the bed over."
Tao Yuan walked to the next room and talked to the two nurses, who immediately agreed.
It was just a very narrow single bed, very light, and could be easily lifted by two people. If it weren't for the quilt on top, Tao Yuan would have folded up the bed and carried it over by himself.
Because it was already night and there were wounded soldiers resting in other rooms, the three of them moved as quietly as possible.
After putting the bed in place, Tao Yuan whispered to the nurse, "If anything happens to the wounded soldiers at night, come and call me."
The two nurses nodded and went to rest in the next room. One of them would be on duty in the first half of the night, and the other in the second half, and they would check on the ward every hour.
Tao Yuan pulled up all three curtains, took off his coat, and got into bed. He and He Liyuan didn't say anything, just staring at each other. Just by looking at each other, they knew what the other wanted to say.
He Liyuan reached out and held Tao Yuan's hand. Tao Yuan shook his hand back. The two looked at each other, feeling very happy and satisfied. There is nothing more satisfying than having your loved one by your side.
Ning Haobo kept his eyes closed but couldn't fall asleep for a long time. He was very confused and he didn't even know why he was so confused, but he didn't dare to think about the reason carefully.
It was not until midnight that Ning Haobo slowly fell asleep, and then he began to have a dream. In the dream, he did not break off the engagement with Yue Ruqing, nor did he marry Wen Han. Instead, he married Yue Ruqing according to the engagement.
After they got married, he still loved Wen Han and couldn't forget her, but Yue Ruqing loved him and treated him very well. They lived in harmony without any quarrels. Then, he gradually forgot about Wen Han and fell in love with Yue Ruqing, because Yue Ruqing had always been very kind to him, caring for him and taking care of him, and they lived a happy life.
Such a happy ending made him reluctant to wake up, but a voice suddenly woke him up. He opened his eyes suddenly and it was already bright outside.
The nurse accidentally touched the medicine bottle. Seeing Ning Haobo wake up, she said apologetically, "Did I wake you? I'm so sorry, Captain Ning. I need to change your medicine."
Ning Haobo stiffened and nodded, still recalling his dream. He had clearly felt happy in the dream, but after waking, he felt only guilt and pain. Could it be that he had changed his mind about Wen Han and fallen in love with Yue Ruqing?
No, it wouldn't happen. He loved Wen Han so deeply, how could he change his mind? However, Wen Han's heart was never with him, and he no longer had the confidence to warm his cold heart. He was also a human being, and he also wanted someone who understood and cared about him. If he had married Yue Ruqing from the beginning, would he have treated her the same way he treated He Liyuan?
Tao Yuan wanted to interrogate the Panther King. Since He Liyuan and Ning Haobo were both injured, Wang Songming and Gu Yu, as representatives of the two squadrons, recorded the process and content of the interrogation.
The Panther King was tied to a wooden frame, his head hanging weakly, the cloth in his mouth removed. Because Tao Yuan had drugged him, even if he wanted to commit suicide, he didn't have the strength to do so.
Wang Songming and Gu Yu were already prepared. When they saw Tao Yuan walk in, they stood up and greeted him, "Sister-in-law."
Tao Yuan nodded to them, then said to the soldier next to him, "Lift his head up."
The soldier grabbed the Panther King's hair and made him lift his head up.
The Panther King looked at Tao Yuan, grinning with disdain in his eyes, and said, "Are you out of troops? You sent such a weakling to interrogate me. Send a man here instead! Use whips, salt water, branding irons, whatever you want. Use them to treat me. Even cutting my flesh is fine. I can handle it!"
"All of this is past history," Tao Yuan said. "Besides, even a thousand cuts wouldn't be enough to deal with someone like you. How can what you said be enough for you?"
"Bah, you're asking a guy to interrogate me, but he even speaks so softly, how boring." The Panther King said disdainfully, "Switch the man who captured me here and let him interrogate me."
"My husband's leg was injured by you and he needs to rest well. I can take care of such a small matter as interrogating you." Tao Yuan said.
The Panther King grinned and said, "You think you can get words out of me? Hahaha, that's really interesting. You look so pretty. If I hadn't been caught, I would have snatched you away to be my wife and slept with you every day."
Wang Songming slammed the table hard, stood up suddenly and shouted angrily, "How dare you talk to our sister-in-law like that? You don't want to live anymore!"
"Since I was captured by you, I have never thought about living. Come on! Kill me! If you kill me, you will never find those artifacts!"
"You..." Wang Songming pointed at him and wanted to curse, but was pulled down by Gu Yu to sit down. The angrier he was, the more he fell into the trap of the Panther King.
Tao Yuan raised his hand, signaling him to be patient. Then he opened his medicine box, took out a herb, and waved it in front of the Panther King. "What is this? Do you recognize it?"
The Panther King was shocked, but he didn't show it on his face. He still said with disdain, "It's just a piece of broken grass. It's all over the mountain and everywhere."
"This is the most precious treasure of your Iron Armor Village, the Heart-Blocking Grass. How can it be just a piece of broken grass?" Tao Yuan said slowly, "You use this grass to find out where the gold, silver and jewels are hidden. Am I right?"
Shanjia Wang was even more shocked. Even the brothers in the village didn't know about the Heart-Blocking Grass. How did he know about it? Moreover, those who had been used on by him were killed by him. It was impossible for the news to spread.
Tao Yuan took out another small iron box, opened it, and placed it before the Pancake King. "You should be more familiar with this, right? The deadly centipede. A bite will kill you within three minutes. It's also a specialty of your Tiejia Village. If I grind this centipede into powder, mix it with the Heart-Bewitching Grass, and let you eat it, what do you think will happen?"
"It seems I underestimated you. Even though you know a lot, there's one thing you definitely don't know," said the Panther King. "As the village chief, I've been eating this mind-boggling grass since I was a child to train my willpower. It's no longer effective on me."
"Really?" Tao Yuan pulled out a red plant that looked like both a flower and a grass from the medicine box. "What do you think if we add this heartburn leaf?"
Heartburn leaf! It was actually heartburn leaf! Even the heartburn leaf that was so hard for him to find was actually found by him!
Tao Yuan went to pick these things yesterday. In order to find them quickly, he also used the system function. If he didn't torture him well, he would be sorry for walking on the mountain road for several hours.
The Panther King stared at Tao Yuan, his eyes no longer showing any disdain, and his face no longer showing any arrogance.
When Wang Songming saw the expression on King Pancake's face, he couldn't help but look at him with a smug look. He wanted to see if he dared to speak wildly and insult their sister-in-law. He would be in trouble soon.
"To tell you the truth, the medicine I gave you yesterday will make your bones and muscles weaker and weaker. Not only will you never be able to stand up again, but you will also be as soft as mud, unable to use any strength at all."
"Let him go, bring a chair and let him sit down." Tao Yuan said to the soldier.
"Sister-in-law, what if he..." The soldier hesitated, but he was worried that the Mountain Armor King would hurt Tao Yuan.
"Do as my sister-in-law says." Gu Yu said.
The soldiers had no choice but to untie the Panther King, fetch a chair, and force him to sit down.
Tao Yuan looked down at him condescendingly. "Even if I let you escape now, you can't leave. If you still expect someone to rescue you, then let me tell you, it's just what I want. I've even prepared traps for them. You're not the only one who can set traps. I'll let you see with your own eyes how powerful my traps are."
Tao Yuan knew that there must be bandits hiding in the mountains, and he would not let any of them go.
Tao Yuan threw a medicine bottle to the soldier and said, "Mix the medicine in it with a bowl of water and let him drink it. First ask him where the cultural relics are hidden, and then I will let him enjoy it."
"You don't have to give me this drink. I'll tell you whatever you want to know. I'll also tell you where the cultural relics are hidden." The Panther King looked submissive.
"Oh? I'm so sorry, but I'm not interested in anything you say while you're sober." Tao Yuan said expressionlessly, "Besides asking where you hid the cultural relics, I also want to know if you have any relatives. Although we're no longer in a feudal dynasty and the law no longer contains the provision of implicating relatives, as long as they have done anything unclean, I will definitely not let them go."
The Panic King's face changed drastically. He glared at Tao Yuan fiercely and wanted to stand up and kill him. If he had the strength, he could have strangled Tao Yuan to death with just two fingers, but he had no strength at all.
Tao Yuan looked at him and smiled. "What? You want to kill me? I've already given you a chance, just try it. But I have to warn you, the more you try to use force, the faster your bones will soften."
"Sister-in-law, the medicine is ready." The soldier came in with a bowl.
Tao Yuan took out silver needles from his medicine box and inserted them into several acupuncture points on the Panther King. Then he said to the soldier, "Give him the drink."
The soldier poured the bowl of water into his mouth without spilling a drop.
Tao Yuan took out his pocket watch and looked at the time. It would take at most an hour. No matter what he asked him, he would tell him.
Half an hour later, Panic King's eyes gradually became hazy, and his expression became somewhat dull. Tao Yuan took out his pocket watch and waved it in front of him. Just in case, he wanted to hypnotize him.
"What's your name?" Tao Yuan asked.
"Nickname, Pancake King, real name, Wang Jiashan." Pancake King's eyes followed the pocket watch.
"Who do you respect the most in your heart?"
"I, mother."
"What's your mother's name?"
"Call: Wang, Mei, Ying."
"What does your mother look like?"
"When I was young, I was beautiful. Now, I'm old."
"When was the last time you saw your mother?"
"More than a month ago."
"Now, you've returned to more than a month ago. Your mother is sitting right in front of you. Do you see her?"
"My mother?"
"Yes, the one sitting in front of you is your mother. Look carefully, isn't that face your mother? Your mother is asking you a question, answer her quickly, she is worried about you, answer her quickly."
"Mom, what are you saying? I can't hear you clearly."
"Where did you hide the cultural relics?" Tao Yuan put away his pocket watch and said in a low voice.
"Mom, have you forgotten? I'm hiding in the small tiankeng. The big tiankeng is fake. If the soldiers go looking for it, they will definitely think it's hidden in the big tiankeng. They won't be able to find the small tiankeng. I've buried explosives in the big tiankeng to kill them."
Wang Songming and Gu Yu looked at each other, feeling extremely angry. Stealing cultural relics was already a serious crime, and he actually wanted to blow up soldiers like them.
"Mom is old and has forgotten the location of the small tiankeng."
"Or, how could I have forgotten the small tiankeng that my mother took me to? It's right under the cliff behind the village. They definitely won't be able to find it."
"Tell me in detail how to get there. I want to go and see it."
"Enter through the secret passage, and then..."
Wang Songming quickly wrote down the route he mentioned.
"Mom is old. When will you get married and give me a grandson?"
"Mom, don't you already have a wife? You also have a grandson, who is studying in school."
"Really? Then tell me what I did when I was young. See if you still remember."
"How could I not remember when you were young..."
Tao Yuan and the Panther King asked and answered each other, and Gu Yu and Wang Songming recorded quickly. They wrote down every word the Panther King said.
Tao Yuan asked him questions for two hours, asking everything he needed to, short of asking about his eighteen generations of ancestors. But he probably didn't even know who those ancestors were. His maternal grandfather was a bandit who gave birth to his mother. When his mother was young, she was also a murderous and robbing bandit. She had kidnapped someone else's husband and brought him to the mountains, where she gave birth to him.
When his mother grew old, she changed her name and moved to the city. His wife and son, hiding among the common people, led normal lives, going to work and school. They also helped him with internal and external affairs, and even killed people. His son, only thirteen or fourteen years old, had helped him kill people, which made him very proud.
After the interrogation, Wang Songming and Gu Yu went to report the content of the interrogation to He Liyuan and Ning Haobo, and then waited for instructions.
Tao Yuan said to He Liyuan, "There are still some bandits hiding in the mountains, and there are also those hiding in the county town. We can't let any of them go. The bandits hiding in the mountains will definitely find a way to rescue the Panther King. I will have the soldiers set a trap and hang the Panther King until they come to rescue him. Even if they know there is a trap, they will definitely find a way to take the risk and come here."
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