Water dungeon torture
Cold, damp, and dead silent.
Deep in the dungeon, pale flames flickered, casting ghostly shadows on the turbid and smelly water.
Tiaotiao was suspended in the center. Rough iron chains held his wrists high, his toes barely touching the slippery stone floor, forcing him to maintain a seemingly endless standing position. Sewage was slowly rising, icy cold and carrying a thick stench of rust and decay.
It first flooded over his ankles, then over his knees, then up to his waist and abdomen... until it poured relentlessly into his mouth and nose, completely swallowing him. Each time it flooded, it pushed his consciousness into a suffocating abyss, and his lungs felt like they were burning.
Just as his consciousness was about to sink completely into darkness, the water surface slowly receded as if mocking him, leaving him coughing violently and greedily inhaling the polluted air. This cycle repeated itself endlessly.
His temples were a blinding gray, his face haggard, dark spots covering his skin. Most striking was his right forearm, a corpse-like gray, stiff and numb. A sweet, rotting odor emanated from the wound—the price of taking the Red Snake Bone Rot Palm. The poison was seeping through his meridians. Every dip in the sewage felt like countless icy needles, piercing the rotting flesh.
The heavy footsteps shattered the silence, stirring up hollow echoes among the damp and cold stone walls.
Chi Lian's figure appeared outside the iron fence. His dark robes, against the pale firelight, resembled a moving shadow. He stood with his hands behind his back, examining the repeatedly ravaged body in the water. After a moment, he raised his hand slightly, his voice lazily and playfully, as if admiring a treasure about to break: "Bring it up."
A sharp crunching sound echoed. Tiaotiao was roughly dragged out of the sewage, his soaking wet body slamming to the stone floor like a broken sack. Two burly guards immediately stepped forward, grasping his shoulders and trying to force him to his knees. However, his battered body had long since gone numb and stiff. As soon as his knees touched the ground, it felt as if all the strength and bones had been drained away, and he collapsed completely, lying on his side like a puppet without support.
The gray, decayed right arm drooped lifelessly, a thick, decayed odor filling the damp air. Only his chest continued to rise and fall violently, accompanied by an uncontrollable cough. Each tremor severely strained the rotten wound on his right arm, bringing waves of piercing pain.
Chi Lian paced forward, the tip of his shiny boots pausing beside Tiao Tiao's damp head, almost touching the graying hair. He leaned forward slightly, his voice tinged with contempt from beneath his mask: "Tsk, so this is the Master of the Green Light Sword? The former guardian of the Demonic Cult?" His eyes swept over the rotting right arm, as if examining a defective piece of merchandise. "In my opinion, the bones aren't even as strong as the 'Blood Cauldron'. Is the taste of the Rotten Bone Palm still fresh?"
Tiaotiao's cheek pressed against the sticky ground, stained with filth. Hearing this, he twitched the corner of his cracked mouth and let out a weak chuckle, his voice hoarse with pain. "Bones? What do you need them for? Break them... ahem... just to entertain you, Hall Master?"
The violent coughing affected the injury on his right arm. He frowned suddenly, cold sweat instantly seeped out of the corners of his forehead, and then forced himself to relax, leaving only laziness and sarcasm on his face.
Far from being angry, Chi Lian chuckled softly, seemingly finding the aura within this shattered body rather amusing. He surveyed the gloomy water prison and said slowly, "It seems the Master of the Green Light Sword is enjoying this place quite a bit. With your injuries, it's quite a pleasant experience."
Tiaotiao's Adam's apple rolled with difficulty, and his breath was weak. "Not bad... Really not bad. The Holy Fire Hall's water prison... is unique... I experienced it myself, and it's well-deserved..." He took a breath and finally continued, "It's cold and slippery, capricious, torturing people to death while hanging on for dear life... Tsk, it's exactly like your temperament." He raised his eyelids slightly and looked at Chi Lian. His tired face was full of unusually clear eyes, and there was a hint of mockery. "Master Chi Lian is in a good mood today. The mother Gu is destroyed, and you can still laugh?"
The fingers behind his back tightened quietly, and Chi Lian's eyes narrowed slightly, then turned into deeper amusement. "Destroy? Humph, you wouldn't dare destroy it. You have to save the medicine man, and save those poor souls infected by the sub-parasite." He took a step forward, and the tip of his boot suddenly crushed Tiao Tiao's gray and rotten right arm, making a sticky sound. "So, your next step is to break the Beimang Mountain Mother Parasite formation. And drag the Seven Swords into it as well." He leaned forward, lowering his voice with the pride of being in control of everything, "I guess they're desperate to save your life right now, huh?"
Tiaotiao swallowed back the groan that threatened to burst from his throat. His body trembled uncontrollably, and cold sweat dripped down his face. He lowered his eyelashes to hide the flash of pain in his eyes.
Chi Lian clapped his hands lightly.
The guard immediately brought a bowl of dark ginseng soup, stepped forward, clamped Tiao Tiao's jaw, forced his mouth open, and poured it in. Tiao Tiao was caught off guard, choking and his chest heaving violently. The ginseng soup mixed with blood foam gushed out from the corners of his mouth and nose, winding down his neck and soaking through his clothes.
"Then, as soon as they set foot in the Holy Fire Hall," Chi Lian elegantly lifted the boot that had just run over Tiao Tiao's right arm. The sole of the boot was stained with a few strands of rotten flesh. He observed Tiao Tiao's miserable condition with interest, "they will fall into the net I have set one by one."
Tiaotiao let out another heart-wrenching cough. Her heart was already pounding, but she forced herself to look lazy. "Maybe... they thought I was dead... cough cough... and went straight to Beimang Mountain to break the Mother Gu Formation?"
"Everyone knows that the Seven Swordsmen are brothers with deep affection. How could they give up without seeing your body? And that bitch is the most loyal," Chi Lian said in a firm and cruel tone. "Within two days, she will fall into the trap. Do you believe it?"
"That Su guy? For me? Ahem…" Tiaotiao gasped, his voice weak and feeble. "Master Hall Master, this idea… is really… eye-opening."
Chi Lian stretched out his hand, casually pulled the gray hair on Tiao Tiao's temples, and sneered: "On the altar, your love and companionship were really wonderful. Was it worth it to block the Rotten Bone Palm for her and turn yourself into this half-human, half-ghost appearance?" His eyes deliberately swept over the gray right arm.
Tiaotiao's fingers curled faintly on the ground, and then he let out a low, hoarse laugh. "Hall Master... ahem... you misjudged me. She and I simply got what we needed. She helped me get rid of the Gu, and I helped her cut the lock. We were paid for what we did. As for this injury..." He moved his right arm with great difficulty, making a self-deprecating smile. "At least you can call me the Master of the Green Light Sword. I helped me fake my own death and escape from the mass grave. You should at least understand this bit of Jianghu ethics. It's better than..." He took a breath, his voice thick with sarcasm, "Some people are accustomed to repaying kindness with enmity."
Chi Lian's cheek muscles twitched slightly, then he calmed down. "If you hadn't come back, even I wouldn't have been able to take your life. Why did you have to come back and wade into this mess?" A malicious arc appeared on his lips. "If Su Yuanshan hadn't created this mind-controlling Gu, how could that bitch feed it with her blood every day? How could the Qinglong Sect... end up being slaughtered?" His eyes were like hooks, fixed on Tiao Tiao's face. "Now, to save your enemy's daughter, you're willing to sacrifice yourself and end up like this? Tell me, if your parents knew, and the souls of those Qinglong Sect members killed by the drug man knew, what would they think of you?"
Tiaotiao's pupils suddenly contracted, and his Adam's apple froze mid-roll, even choking for a moment. However, this loss of composure was as fast as lightning, and in an instant, it was crushed by a stronger will, leaving only a deeper fatigue covering his face. He struggled to lift his eyelids and looked directly into the eyes behind the red mask. Fire was burning in his eyes: "Master, let me ask you a question. A famous doctor worked hard to create a life-saving magic knife, but the knife was stolen by a thief, and you were cut into pieces. Do you hate the knife? The doctor? Or... that despicable and shameless thief?"
As soon as the words fell, the dungeon fell into silence.
Only the water droplets seeping down from above hit the turbid water surface with a "thump", creating a circle of ripples.
The gaze beneath the Chi Lian mask suddenly grew sinister. He crouched down, his suede-gloved hand grasping Tiao Tiao's left wrist. A chilling, bone-chilling internal energy surged into Tiao Tiao's delicate meridians, wreaking havoc. Like countless icy needles, it pierced and stirred, stirring endless phantom pain.
Tiaotiao felt like he'd been struck by lightning, his body twitching uncontrollably. A suppressed groan of pain escaped his throat, veins bulged on his forehead, and cold sweat drenched him. He opened his mouth to say something, but only a broken gasp came out.
"Tiaotiao, look carefully!" Chi Lian said cruelly, "Here, your life or death and pain all depend on my thoughts!" He stared at his face which was distorted by severe pain, admiring his embarrassment. After a moment, he let go of his hand as if throwing away a piece of dirt.
Tiao Tiao collapsed to the ground, his chest heaving violently, breathing heavily, and the phantom pain in his left arm continued like a swarm of ants gnawing at him.
Chi Lian stood up, took out a handkerchief, wiped the stain on his gloves with disgust, and then threw the handkerchief away. He slowly took out a silver hairpin from the sleeve of his dark robe. The hairpin's tip was a small hibiscus flower, the edges of its petals stained with dried blood.
"Do you recognize it?" Chi Lian's voice was filled with cruel amusement. She held the silver hairpin in front of Tiao Tiao's eyes and shook it gently. "That woman dropped it."
The moment the silver hairpin caught his eyes, Tiao Tiao's distracted gaze suddenly focused.
Chi Lian's lips curled up in a cold arc. He pinched the hairpin with two fingers and exerted a little force -
Snap!
A sharp, crisp, breaking sound exploded in the deadly silence of the water dungeon. The blood-stained silver hibiscus flower, along with half of its hairpin, fell to the stone ground in front of him, rolled twice, and came to rest beside his almost immobile fingertips.
Tiao Tiao seemed to hear that person's voice in her ears: "It blooms in the morning and withers in the evening. It seems easy to break, but it blooms every day, regardless of wind or rain." The moonlight outlined her thin silhouette.
Chi Lian admired Tiao Tiao's instantly stiffened body and the barely concealed shock and pain in his eyes. "If you don't obey..." His voice dropped to a low note, his gaze sweeping over the lifeless arm and the broken hairpin on the ground. "I can give your rotten hand a taste a thousand times more novel than the water dungeon. For example, let it rot and fall off bit by bit? The 'sizzling' sound of a red-hot iron must be different from the rotten smell. The iron brush used for 'combing', with its sharp teeth scraping against the bones, is just right for cleaning the white bones under the rotting flesh. The bamboo sticks used for 'immortal guidance', driven into the crevices of the fingernails, connect the fingers to the heart. And there's 'wearing sackcloth and mourning', where scalding pine glue is poured on the back, linen is applied, and when it dries, it's torn off bit by bit..." He paused, his gaze falling back on Tiao Tiao's face, his voice soft, "There are many good things in the torture chamber. The water dungeon is just an appetite whet."
Tiaotiao gasped for air, his body trembling slightly, each breath a rumbling from deep within his chest. He tried to focus his scattered vision, his gaze darting over the broken silver hairpin on the ground, his Adam's apple rolling with difficulty. His voice was hoarse, barely a breath, but he still managed an infuriating tone: "Disobedient? You're wronging me. I answered whatever I asked, and yet I'm being 'treated'... cough cough... That's not fair..." His words were punctuated by a bloody cough.
Chi Lian said coldly: "If you want to suffer less, you have to tell me what I want to hear. For example...your tricks to suppress the Zi Gu?" His eyes were like hooks, locked tightly and twitching.
Tiao Tiao knew everything. He struggled to force an innocent expression, his haggard face straining to appear bewildered, trying to avert his gaze from the broken hairpin. "What...suppression? I...don't know..." His voice was weak and erratic, as if he was about to die.
Chi Lian looked at his half-dead, thorny figure, a hint of coldness flickering beneath his mask. He stopped questioning, the tip of his boot grinding against the broken silver hairpin, making a teeth-grinding metallic sound. He stood up and walked away, his voice returning to that unnerving calmness: "It's okay. We have plenty of time."
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