Zhao Bo's pain and all-over itching were unbearable. He screamed and scratched his body until he bled.
His clothes were stained with blood, but he didn't care. He scratched at his skin, making himself even more miserable.
"Bring out the antidote! I'll talk, I'll talk!" Uncle Zhao shouted, but no one responded. He felt as if ants were biting his body, and his whole body was unbearably itchy. This pain and itching were unbearable for him.
After a while, Uncle Zhao felt his heart pounding very hard, and his vision began to blur. He felt as if his body was being burned by flames, and gradually, he lost consciousness.
When Uncle Zhao woke up, he was already lying in a bed. The surroundings were very dark, with only a single lamp casting a faint light. He still felt a stinging pain on his body, like being bitten by ants, but it wasn't as itchy as before.
"How's it going? Is the medicine working? Can you handle it? Tell me first, who are you? Who's behind you? If you don't tell me, I'll let you experience different kinds of pain." Li Xi patted the dust off his sleeves.
"I'm doomed," Uncle Zhao knew he probably wouldn't be able to leave this place again. His meridians were completely destroyed, and he could no longer use his martial arts.
Even if he could go back, his master wouldn't keep him around anymore.
He never dreamed he would end up like this. Zhao Bo's eyes were filled with grief and indignation. He looked up at the cage above him, then glanced around at his surroundings, and slowly closed his eyes.
He knew perfectly well that he had no way out and could only accept his fate.
"My name is Zhao Kuang, and I'm from Liuyang County. Our Red Lotus Sect is one of the most mysterious and powerful organizations in the martial arts world. Our members are spread all over the country, but none of us know each other's identities. Our existence has always been hidden in the shadows, which is why the imperial court has never been able to find us," Zhao Kuang answered truthfully.
"Then who is your cult leader? And who is behind the cult leader?"
Li Xi believed that it was impossible for a cult organization to exist without someone with a powerful background. Otherwise, the imperial court would have been unable to eradicate them completely for over a decade.
"I don't know. The cult leader always appears in a black robe and wears a mask. No one knows his identity." Zhao Kuang's body was covered in scars, a shocking sight.
"Huh? Are you kidding me? If you don't know who it is, how did you manage to contact them? A sixth sense?" She felt like she'd been tricked, and her hand instinctively wanted to slap the person.
“We all have a token,” Zhao Kuang quickly explained, fearing that the woman in front of him might do something irreversible in a moment of impulse.
He carefully took out a round token from the pocket of his waist. It was completely black and had the character "Lotus" engraved on it.
"This is our identity token. Only those who possess this token can enter the Red Lotus Sect. As for the identity of the sect leader, we truly do not know. He always appears extremely mysterious, dressed in a black robe, wearing a mask, and his voice is also specially processed. We have never seen his true face."
Zhao Kuang's words stunned the woman. She took the token and examined it carefully.
"Then how can you trust him? What if he's a fraud?" the woman asked Zhao Kuang with suspicion.
"It's not that he's deceiving us, it's that we're deceiving ourselves. The first lesson of joining the sect is absolute loyalty to the leader. If you don't even have that much trust, why join the Red Lotus Sect?"
"What makes you do such heinous things for a cult?!" Li Xi exclaimed in disbelief.
"The believers initially joined to improve their livelihoods, and some even gained official positions and wealth through the Red Lotus Sect, which lured many disciples to participate." He was defeated by Li Xi and is now at the mercy of others.
"I ask you, ten years ago, the Xuanming Sect was slaughtered overnight. Did you have anything to do with it?" It is said that the Xuanming Sect was massacred by a cult.
“I really don’t know about that. I was bought by your father from a brokerage firm six years ago and worked as your housekeeper for a few years. The church arranged for me to wait there to be bought by your father. That was my first task,” Zhao Kuang said truthfully.
"Where is the thing you stole from me? What was your purpose in stealing it?" This was given to her by her original adoptive father.
Zhao Kuang tried hard to recall what happened last year. "I really don't know. They should be in the hands of the leader. Those people were also sent by the leader to assist me. We were just following his orders."
"You murder for money, do you think you can just let it go with a simple 'I don't know'?" We need to strike at the heart of the matter. We know very little about the Red Lotus Sect, so we should spare his life and squeeze him dry.
Zhao Kuang did not reply. The victor is king, the loser is villain; there was nothing more to say.
"How did my parents die three or four years ago?" Li Xi asked, his back to Zhao Kuang, his expression unreadable.
“I swear to God, I really don’t know. Maybe it was done by other members of the church. I was at home taking care of you two siblings at the time, have you forgotten?” Zhao Kuang remembered that the cult leader later sent him a message asking him to find a way to get a jade pendant from Li Xi.
"You're ruthless enough to kill me and sell off all my family's property." Li Xi snorted and stopped talking.
"I...I...I'm sorry, do whatever you want with me." He should have expected this day to come when he joined the religion.
"I'm not killing you out of mercy, but because you haven't told me everything you know. I'll give you some time. Tell me honestly if there's anything else you remember. Maybe I'll be in a good mood and consider it a reunion with your family, since your wife and children are still waiting for you at home." Li Xi revealed a sinister smile.
"You, how did you know..." His hair stood on end, even though he had hidden it very well.
“I didn’t know at first, but when I saw you, I suddenly remembered that you often went out of the mansion when I was a child. Once I was curious and followed you. Who knew that I would find you going into a small courtyard…” Li Xi paused deliberately, and Zhao Kuang looked dumbfounded.
"Later, I got impatient and went back. Seeing you reminded me of something, so I naturally sent someone to check. I must say, although you're not particularly handsome, your wife is absolutely stunning!"
"You, you, don't touch them. It has nothing to do with them. They don't know I do this kind of work." Zhao Kuang cherished his family the most.
"How can it be unrelated? Didn't you use the profits you made from them? What about me? You almost killed me, and the property you sold from my home went to your wife and children!" Li Xi didn't think they were innocent.
"I'll do anything you want, as long as you don't hurt them. I'm willing to help you. I know how to find the cult leader." He was desperate. He had no right to ask anyone to spare his wife and children, so he could only tell them everything he knew.
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