"I am part of the prison system. I don't handle interrogations, but I've heard about it. The people escorting her complained that they'd never encountered such a stubborn prisoner. No matter the threats or temptations, no matter how they tried to guide her, they couldn't break her psychological defenses. She hasn't said a single word from beginning to end."
Qi Heng happily took a large gulp of wine, put two slices of lotus root into his mouth, and said while chewing, "So, from the moment she was captured until today, she hasn't spoken a word?"
"Did the interrogators just give up? That's unlikely. Wouldn't they use soul searching or some illusion to make the prisoner confess?" Wan Lei found it too preposterous.
"None of those are forbidden. Soul searching can cause significant damage to a person's soul. In mild cases, they lose their senses and become intellectually disabled. In severe cases, their soul is directly scattered. As for illusions, they are too dependent on subjective consciousness. Who can guarantee that the person casting the illusion doesn't influence it themselves, making the prisoner say what the illusionist intends? Torture for confession has been forbidden for tens of thousands of years, unless the interrogator wants to share a cell with the prisoner."
Upon hearing this, Wan Lei nodded in relief, glad that Xiao Yu was unharmed. He then began to ponder how much information the Five Elements Hall had gathered, or how much Chai Lian had provided, since Xiao Yu had not confessed anything. How much did the Five Elements Hall know about his relationship with Fang Xiaoyu? To what extent did they know? Were they monitoring him secretly, waiting for him to slip up before capturing him? These were things he needed to know. However, these were clearly not things Qi Heng could know. Therefore, the interrogator must have presented some evidence they already possessed to induce Fang Xiaoyu's confession. He needed to get his hands on that interrogation record.
With this realization, Wan Lei asked directly, "Brother Qi, the interrogation record should still be with you, right? Can you let me have a look? Don't worry, I'll return it right after I read it."
Qi Heng's expression changed drastically. He slammed the table and said, "How can outsiders see such things? They are crucial secrets! Stealing them would cost me my head."
Wan Lei remained silent and placed a storage bag on the table. Seeing this, Qi Heng remained unmoved. "What do you take me for? I am a loyal subject of the Five Elements Hall, how could I do such a thing?"
Hearing this, Wan Lei felt immense respect for the man's loyalty. He then took out two more storage bags and placed them on the table.
"Brother Wan, it's not that I don't want to help you. Even if I were to copy it or take a photo to bring it out, what if I get caught? I can't guarantee I wouldn't betray you."
Wan Lei suddenly understood and placed five more storage bags on the table. This sight made Qi Heng's eyelids twitch, thinking, "How much money does this rich patron have?" However, he wasn't someone who would just arbitrarily demand money. Seeing that it was enough, he accepted the storage bags.
"Alright, since my brother is so righteous, I absolutely won't betray you. Even if they twist my head off, they won't get a single word out of me. How about this: tomorrow night, around this time, come to a place ten thousand miles east of headquarters. There's a swamp there. In the middle of the swamp, there's a large banyan tree. Wait for me there. If I'm not there, don't wait." This meant he had been caught.
"Thank you, Brother Qi," Wan Lei said, standing up and clasping his hands.
Qi Heng also stood up. "Then farewell, see you tomorrow night."
"Wait a moment, Brother Qi."
"What is it?"
"Fang Xiaoyu has been refusing to eat or drink, which isn't good. Can you take something of mine to her to prove that I'm safe and that she shouldn't worry? She should eat and drink as usual."
"Heh, so concerned, are we? But no, people who haven't been judged can't have contact with anything. How about this, I can relay a message for you. Find something only the two of you know and tell me to prove your identity."
Wan Lei pondered for a moment, then looked up and said seriously, "Just tell her, 'There's a home in the Star Sea of Thunder.'" Wan Lei and Fang Xiaoyu had been through too much together, but if there was something representative, it was only this one thing that only they knew, and it was concise.
"Alright, I got it," Qi Heng said, then turned to leave. Before leaving, he took a pot of wine, a handful of candy into his pocket, and casually grabbed a spiritual fruit.
Wan Lei sat down again, picked up his wine cup, and drank slowly. Today, he had already spent eleven million spirit stones. One million was what Little Gold earned, one million was given to Qi Heng, and another nine million upon their meeting. This was a huge sum, but Wan Lei felt no regret. Firstly, for his current wealth, it was truly a drop in the bucket. Secondly, it was to save Fang Xiaoyu, and even if he lost everything, or his life, it would be worth it.
After sitting for another hour, Wan Lei finally left the room and flew towards his residence. The bright moonlight shone upon him, casting his shadow on the ground. That shadow was filled with worry, yet it braved the night, rushing forward fearlessly.
Above the Holy Hall, two figures' gazes fell upon him. A figure in black and a figure in white stood side by side above the clouds.
"He's resorted to bribery now." The young man in white chuckled, finding it somewhat amusing.
"In this world, how can anyone remain entirely pure? One must learn to blend in, to compromise with the mundane, to live better," the young man in black said expressionlessly, his gaze still fixed on the blue figure.
"No, what I mean is, he was once such a proud person, so upright. His understanding of the Supreme Dao was also about order and rules. Yet now, we've forced him to learn the ways of sneakiness, bribery, and gift-giving. He must be in great pain. I wonder if he will resent us in the future."
"Since there's an aspect of order, there must naturally be an aspect of disrupting order. The more one feels and experiences, the more one can understand. People need to change, and they are constantly changing. He was once an impulsive and brainless child, but now he's become smarter. To adapt, one must change, one must compromise. Who wasn't once an earnest youth? Facing a colossal entity like the Five Elements Hall, he cannot confront it head-on. He can only employ strategy, abandon principles, and try every possible means. People will only criticize him for changing, but they won't consider what he has been through. It's like Pan Jinlian; everyone curses her as a promiscuous woman who murdered her husband, but they all forget that she was once a chaste maiden who refused to yield to the coercion and temptation of wealthy officials."
The words of the young man in black left the young man in white in silence. After a moment, the young man in white looked up and asked, "Who is Pan Jinlian?"