Chapter Forty-Six: The Dark Prison
Los Angeles Villa.
Liu Zhang glanced at the report presented by his advisor, and his gloomy expression finally softened slightly: "Have they caught them?"
"Don't worry, sir..." Liu, the advisor, stroked his beard, his words carrying a deeper meaning: "The puppet that was poisoned by the Gu poison has spread it without anyone noticing. Now that the poison is taking effect, capturing people will be a piece of cake..." However, whether the captured person is the right one is another matter.
"Very well, if that's the case, then have Liu Meng interrogate them rigorously, without showing any mercy..." Liu Zhang's rough, calloused hand crumpled on the report. He closed his already somewhat cloudy eyes and let out a deep breath. Since the iron mine was destroyed and the armory was bombed, the Prince of Ruyang had questioned them openly and secretly several times. If another mistake were to occur this time, the future of Luoyang would likely be bleak.
Upon hearing Liu Meng's name, Liu's aide paused slightly in stroking his long beard, then nodded and said, "Yes."
It is said that Liu Meng was Liu Zhang's number one murderer, specializing in using bizarre and cruel tortures to torment people, resorting to any means necessary, from skinning to bone removal. If those two had fallen into Liu Meng's hands, they would likely have suffered a fate worse than death. Although Liu's advisors knew that the two captured were not Mu Lian and Ye Yiqing, they were certainly capable and competent officials in the Judicial Office. If they were to suffer such a gruesome torture and die at Liu Meng's hands, it would be a regrettable and untimely death.
Thinking of this, Liu, the advisor, gripped the sandalwood box hidden in his sleeve and quickened his pace. Just as he was about to push open the door, he caught a glimpse of a tall, imposing figure in the shadows.
His sharp gaze swept over the area, sensing that the newcomer meant no harm. Liu, the advisor, withdrew his hand from the mechanism on the door, stroked his beard, and said slowly, "To come uninvited is hardly the act of a gentleman."
"Please forgive me, sir..." The flickering candlelight illuminated Liu Ruolin's anxious and haggard face. "I have no other choice but to ask for your help..." Since the mine was blown up, he had lost contact with Alan and her brother. He had secretly inquired in various ways and finally learned that they might have been taken in by Lord Mu of the Judicial Office. But before he could think of a way to ask Mu Lian for them, news came that a new male and female criminal had been arrested.
Feeling inexplicably worried, Liu Ruolin inquired again. This time, he learned that Alan might be among those captured, but she was currently in Liu Meng's hands. Liu Meng was exceptionally cruel, showing no mercy to women, and was especially harsh on beautiful women. If Alan had indeed fallen into Liu Meng's clutches, forgetting about her chastity, she probably wouldn't even live to see tomorrow.
Upon hearing Liu Ruolin's words, Liu's advisor's heart stirred slightly. If it was about finding someone reliable, Liu Ruolin was indeed a capable person. However, one can only know a person's face but not their heart, and since the matter was of great importance, he dared not give his word lightly.
"I never knew that Deputy General Liu was such a devoted lover. But now that he's in Liu Meng's hands, there's nothing I can do..."
Upon hearing this, Liu Ruolin's expression grew even more anxious. He knelt down before his advisor with a thud and solemnly said, "If you, sir, are willing to lend a helping hand, I, Liu, will repay you with my life. But if you still refuse..." He paused, then took out a drawing from his robes, unfolded it before his advisor, and said in a deep voice, "The news that you have secretly made a copy of the secret chamber's mechanism diagram will probably be impossible to keep secret..."
A soft "clink" echoed as the teacup lid clattered against the teacup, its sound particularly clear in the silent night. The replacement of that half of the tiger tally was of paramount importance and could not be discovered. The fact that the secret diagram of the chamber where the tiger tally was stored had been copied was highly suspicious. After a moment's hesitation, Liu, the advisor, rose to help Liu Ruolin, handing him a sandalwood box from his sleeve, and said with a smile, "It's rare for Vice General Liu to trust this old man, so naturally this old man cannot be ungrateful. This is medicine that can temporarily suppress the poison; take it before midnight, and it might save him."
Gu poison? He'd actually been poisoned by Gu? Liu Ruolin was immediately filled with worry. He took the sandalwood box, agreed, and hurriedly left. As long as his advisors mediated, the matter wouldn't reach Liu Zhang's ears. He could handle a mere Liu Meng.
In the secret dungeon of the secluded courtyard.
Unconscious, A Zhe was firmly chained to the rack, a dark line faintly visible on his blood-stained arms. Beside him, Feng Wu Niang, her hands bound and covered with a black cloth, huddled in a corner. Her once bright dress was now stained with blood and disheveled, and her exposed shoulders and legs were covered in bruises, clearly indicating the brutal humiliation she had suffered.
Liu Ruolin's knuckles turned white as he gripped the sandalwood box tightly. He moved forward cautiously, the stench of blood wafting from the entrance to the dark prison making his temples throb. Torches flickered in the eerie wind on either side of the stone steps, twisting his shadow into distorted shapes. Suddenly, a piercing scream pierced the stone wall, sending a chill down his spine.
"Please...please..." The woman's broken sobs came and went, "I really didn't...ah..."
With a sharp crack, the sound of bones breaking abruptly cut off the plea. Liu Meng's hoarse, cruel laughter, accompanied by the dragging of iron chains, followed: "The collarbones of this delicate beauty are even more fragile than those of that prostitute last month."
With trembling fingertips, Liu Ruolin caressed the sharkskin hilt of the soft sword at his waist, further concealing himself in the shadows around the corner. Alan, his Alan, had he come too late after all?
Peeking through the iron bars, one could see a disheveled woman, her hair loose and clothes in disarray, being slowly hoisted up. Her turquoise dress was already soaked in blood, turning it a dark red. The brute was leering as he used an iron hook to pry open the tattered cloth on her shoulders, revealing grotesque flower petal marks on her snow-white skin—the unique marks of women from the Xiaoyao Cave in the Xishan Mine.
Alan, my Alan. Liu Ruolin's heart ached so much he could hardly breathe. Nothing is more painful than seeing your beloved being tortured before your very eyes.
"My lord..." Suddenly, the hurried footsteps of the jailer echoed through the corridor: "The Gu slave in the eastern water dungeon has flared up..."
"What?!" Liu Meng excitedly swung the iron hook in his hand, the sound of it clattering to the ground being clear and loud. After instructing the jailers to clean up the mess, Liu Meng turned and headed towards the water dungeon to the east. This Gu slave was someone he had painstakingly selected; if he could withstand this attack, his tolerance and drug resistance would definitely be even greater. Therefore, he had to go and keep an eye on him.
From the direction of the water dungeon came the faint, hoarse screams of a man, which only fueled Liu Meng's excitement, his bloodthirsty rage returning. Once the footsteps of the two figures faded into the distance, Liu Ruolin swiftly leaped into the torture chamber and rushed towards the woman bound to the rack by long iron chains.
"Alan, Alan..." As Liu Ruolin carefully brushed the hair away from the woman's face with trembling fingertips, he froze the moment he saw her face clearly.
It wasn't Alan! It wasn't his Alan at all! An unprecedented surge of joy and lingering fear instantly filled Liu Ruolin's heart. He took a half step back, used his inner strength to wield his longsword, and with a "clang," severed the iron chain piercing the woman's collarbone.
The vibration from the broken chain made the woman frown slightly in pain. Feng Wuniang opened her eyes from her dazed state, looked at the unfamiliar military general before her, and said in a hoarse voice, "Thank you... thank you, General... for saving me..."
Liu Ruolin waved his hand, pulled off his cloak and handed it to Feng Wuniang: "Miss, come with me quickly..."
"No, I... I can't leave yet..." Feng Wu Niang shook her head weakly.
Before they could ask any further questions, a loud crash of breaking chains suddenly came from the next cell. The two were startled. Liu Ruolin immediately spun around to avoid it, but a disheveled young man with loose hair and clothes broke free of his shackles and burst through the wall. The young man's eyes were bloodshot, black lines had spread from his arms to his neck, and his five fingers formed claws as he lunged straight for Liu Ruolin's throat.
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