Ch. 524 - Extortion of Confessions by Torture [Part 3]

After his hysterical venting, both body and mind were exhausted.

And this exhaustion became the last straw that weighed down on the camel.

In a daze, Landlord Wu didn't even remember when he started confessing, only vaguely remembering that he had answered many tricky questions, almost without reservation!

It wasn't until Sun Shaozong reappeared and picked up the confession filled with the petty script that Landlord Wu woke up from his restless state and cast a resentful gaze at him.

But it was just a glance.

The courage to face death and angrily rebuke the bandit chieftain had already been kneaded in the palm of someone's hand along with that confession.

Sun Shaozong had read the confession over and over again three times, confirming that most of the steps corresponded to each other. Only then did he shift his gaze to Landlord Wu and said with a smile on his face, "Landlord Wu, you..."

"Your Excellency."

At this moment, Yang Licai's voice rang out from the door, "Please take a step to speak."

Sun Shaozong instinctively stopped talking, but there was no intention of going out. Instead, he shouted and ordered, "Mr. Wu has now surrendered to the court. If you have anything to say, just let me know."

Yang Licai picked up the curtain and walked in. He first gave a strange glance at Landlord Wu, then bowed and said, "I am incompetent. Even today, Mrs. Xu still refuses to let go."

*Still unwilling to let go?!*

With just a few short words, Landlord Wu seemed to have been hit with a heavy stick. He was numb and sore, as if he had caught something, but couldn't grasp the key point. He couldn't help but hoarsely ask, "My wife... my wife..."

At the end of the sentence, he didn't know what to ask, or rather, didn't dare to ask further.

"Landlord Wu, you really have a great blessing!"

At this moment, Sun Shaozong picked up his big thumb and sincerely praised, "How many women can there be in this world who are as graceful as men?"

After receiving his praise, Landlord Wu felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath, as if he were weighing a thousand pounds of rock on his body. Finally, he squeezed out a question from his teeth and said, "You... do you mean that my wife didn't... confess?"

"Exactly so."

"But... but she was in the cellar clearly... clearly..."

"Well."

Sun Shaozong spread his hands and said, "It was the person I ordered to investigate. Once I found out that you and your wife couldn't hold on any longer, I secretly made some noise. Who would have thought about it, and your husband and wife would have a grudge over it."

*Damn it!*

*Damn it!*

Surprisingly, he was taken in by this treacherous thief!

Landlord Wu felt extremely regretful in his heart, but he couldn't help but continue to question, "But I saw it clearly in this room..."

"Are you sure you have seen it clearly?"

Sun Shaozong sneered and said, "I specifically asked her to put the oil lamp in front of you just to dazzle your eyes. Otherwise, you should at least notice that the woman's buttocks are a bit shriveled compared to your wife."

Now, Landlord Wu couldn't even deceive himself. The stuffy aura on his chest shot up, not to mention his red head and swollen face. Even his pupils were covered in a layer of blood.

Just as he opened his mouth and shouted "You... you... you…" three times, suddenly a mouthful of blood spurted out, and his head tilted and became motionless!

Sun Shaozong saw the situation and quickly reached out to test his carotid artery, confirming that he had just passed out. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. He voluntarily revealed the truth, not to anger this guy to death.

"Your Excellency."

As soon as he was instructed to go down and fetch some well water to awaken Landlord Wu, Yang Licai immediately asked, "Your kind of methods make me admire you immensely. But there's one more thing that I can't figure out."

"The wound on their couple's wrist didn't drip much blood in total before it stopped. No matter how scared they were by the sound of dripping water, it wouldn't be like they were seriously ill in just two or three hours, right?"

Sun Shaozong replied casually, "Half scared, half stuffy."

"Stuffy?"

"That's right."

Sun Shaozong was also not good at educating him, saying that the gases emitted during the process of vegetable decay could lead to symptoms of hypoxia in the vegetable cellar.

Therefore, he had to explain roughly as much as possible, "The vegetable cellar was already suffocating. Ordinary people who stayed inside for a long time would feel dizzy, have chest tightness, and experience shortness of breath. Besides, they were already afraid and struggled desperately for a while."

To put it plainly, the so-called blood drop experiment was just a cover-up to increase the fear of Mr. and Mrs. Wu, and it was just suffocation or something. How could it be more terrifying than listening to oneself die of blood?

Yang Licai listened for a moment and wanted to inquire more about what was going on, but the person who was ordered to fetch water had already rushed back and, without hesitation, poured half a bucket of water onto the head of Landlord Wu.

***Splash!***

***Spit!***

Landlord Wu was startled, then took a breath and sprayed some water out.

The bewildered gaze turned around everyone's faces, and the scattered focus gradually settled on Sun Shaozong's face, radiating negative emotions such as regret, resentment, and fear.

Seeing that he was already full of emotions, Sun Shaozong suddenly sighed and said helplessly, "Landlord Wu, if you think I'm just telling the truth to humiliate you, then it's a waste of my efforts."

*Waste of effort?*

***Spat!***

If it weren't for being controlled by the iron chain and stuffing a ball in his mouth, Landlord Wu would definitely pounce and bite him a few times to vent his hatred!

Sun Shaozong didn't expect him to believe it, but shook the confession in his hand and continued, "Now you are safe and sound, but if your wife continues to be stubborn, she will waste her life. At that time, your husband and wife will be separated forever."

"Why don't you go persuade your esteemed wife and let her serve the court together with you? I will consider you as being guilty and meritorious. How about that?"

"Not only your wife but also in the process of arresting the White Lotus traitor, if your couple can make some contributions, not only can you avoid the death penalty, but also have a promising future of seventh or eighth grade."

"At that time, you will be able to fully enjoy wealth and glory, and you can also call yourself *'master'* or *'adult'* in front of others. Isn't it a hundred times stronger than you are now hiding your head and revealing your tail, feeling anxious and fearful?"

Seeing that Landlord Wu had become somewhat loose, Sun Shaozong quickly took the opportunity to offer his final trump card.

He patted the Mo Jiao Swallowing Cloud Robe of the nearby Dragon Guard and said earnestly, "If it weren't for this official robe to protect you, even if I firmly believe that you are loyal to the court, not all the brothers below may have such knowledge."

"If there is someone who is not open-minded and rude to you or your wife, wouldn't it disappoint your righteous act of abandoning the dark and turning to the light today?"

"Please think twice and act accordingly, Landlord Wu."

Having exhausted all the threats and temptations, Sun Shaozong did not hesitate and ordered the two Dragon Guards to help Landlord Wu remove the shackles and lead Yang Licai away.

And as soon as he left, he walked nonstop to the stable in the front yard.

Seeing Sun Shaozong get on his mount, Yang Licai quickly went to untie the reins. Unexpectedly, Sun Shaozong turned around and glanced at him, but ordered, "Stay here."

After hearing these words, Yang Licai thought he wanted to invite credit alone. Although he harbored resentment in his heart, he had to obediently comply.

Sun Shaozong turned his horse's head and ordered, "Call the people who arrested Mr. and Mrs. Wu this afternoon, and remember to let them bring their handy weapons."

After a pause, he remembered that there were still several women inside and quickly added, "Let's forget about those who play maids."

Upon hearing these words, Yang Licai suddenly realized that something was wrong and cautiously asked, "My Lord, aren't you going to report to the Northern Town Governor?"

"Of course not."

"But the Northern Town Governor has instructed us to pass it on at any time, hasn't he?"

Yang Licai suddenly became anxious. disobeying orders was a taboo in the military, and in secret agencies like the Dragon Forbidden Guard, the crime was even more severe!

Sun Shaozong bent down and took off the golden ring sword from the Victory Hook. He quickly showed a few sword actions on his horse. Seeing that the weapon that he had not held for a long time did not feel unfamiliar in his hands, he hung it back with satisfaction.

After trying the knife, he turned back to Yang Licai and said, "The saying goes *’a field commander must decide even against the king's orders.’* Besides, you should also know that the last action was destroyed by an insider. How can we repeat the same mistake now?"

"If the pacification envoy blames me, I will bear the responsibility on my own! And if everything goes smoothly, I will definitely owe you credit!"

At this point, his face suddenly darkened, and he said, "But if anyone here dares to leave their duties without permission after I leave, I will have to invite all of you to go and walk in the water prison!"

Yang Licai saw that Sun Shaozong was so decisive and promised to share the benefits and bear the blame alone, so he naturally didn’t dare to persuade him again.

Busy as if flying, summoning those plainclothes scouts, there were only six people in total, except for those women.

When these six people came forward to salute, Sun Shaozong suddenly took the reins and stood up the person with a strong horse under his crotch. The horse's hooves kicked half a circle in front of everyone before landing with a loud bang.

"Not bad, they are all with courage."

Seeing that none of the six people showed any signs of fear, Sun Shaozong nodded in satisfaction and said, "I've been gathering you all this late at night for nothing but to take you to fight for a magnificent prosperity!"

"I have found out that there are six people sent by the White Lotus Sect to the Capital, including the leader and the Deputy Leader of over ten thousand people under one person."

"As long as we take down these lawless rebels, I guarantee that all of you will be promoted to higher ranks!"

In fact, before learning that the leader of this team was the Deputy Leader of the White Lotus Sect, Sun Shaozong never thought of acting arbitrarily.

It was said that it was such a big fish, and Sun Shaozong was moved by it.

Since the Crown Prince case, when Sun Shaozong took the lead, the pacification envoy, Lu Hui, seemed to praise each other, but secretly showed some signs of caution and rejection, and was able to live up to his previous efforts to win him over.

And Sun Shaozong, after pondering these days, also roughly understood his thoughts.

Lu Hui looked robust, but in fact, he had already passed his fifties. The task of serving as the Governor of the Northern Detective Department could last for at most another seven or eight years, and he was afraid it would be too late.

Therefore, at first, when facing Sun Shaozong, he carried some care from his elders and even wanted to cultivate him as his successor.

The problem was that Sun Shaozong's growth rate far exceeded his expectations!

In just half a year of hard work, he has accumulated skills and risen to the fourth grade—there was still a lot of credit for this, despite not receiving any rewards.

One should know that the Pacifier was only a fourth-grade official!

Following this trend, it might not take three or two years for Sun Shaozong to threaten Lu Hui's position as the Pacifier.

So he has only recently changed his strategy from being close to being cautious, and even suppressing it. Otherwise, the task of besieging the White Lotus Sect for the first time should be entrusted to Sun Shaozong.

Given this, how could Sun Shaozong be willing to hand over the credit bestowed by heaven?

As for disobedience…

Not to mention that Sun Shaozong now has the support of the Crown Prince, Eunuch Dai, the true helmsman of the Northern Detective Department, was also highly favored by him.

How would Lu Hui dare take advantage of him once he had made contributions at that time?

Moreover, Sun Shaozong's main authority was still within the civil service system. If his face were completely torn apart, he would be easily dismissed and no longer be able to meddle in the work of the Northern Detective Department.

The leader among those six people was only a seventh-grade General. If they could make such a tremendous contribution, what was it to recommend a Hundred Households from the sixth grade?

It was hard to say, they might directly go up two levels too!

Therefore, upon hearing Sun Shaozong's promise, the six of them were all excited and shouted, expressing their willingness to die for the Thousand Households.

But Sun Shaozong said again, "I naturally hope that everyone can come back alive and get promoted and rich. To avoid any rumors, there are only seven of us tonight, but there are more than twenty remaining members of the White Lotus Sect, many of whom are experts in the green forest. If you don't want to take risks with me, you still have time to quit now."

As soon as they heard that there were over twenty skilled players on the other side, but only seven on their side, the Dragon Guards, who had always been accustomed to bullying others, felt a little uneasy.

Just as they said they were willing to serve, who had the face to shrink back?

In a moment of silence, one of the small generals suddenly raised his head and loudly said, "I am willing to go through fire and water with you!"

As soon as someone took the lead, whether willing or unwilling, they all followed in a respectful voice and said, "I am willing to go through fire and water with you, My Lord."

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Sun Shaozong shouted three times in a row, then chuckled and said, "But it's not enough to go through fire and water. No matter how powerful the thieves of the White Lotus Sect are, can they still withstand the official army with firearms and strong bows and crossbows?"

"Don't forget, when I was in Jinmen Prefecture, I once alone killed over a hundred rebels. Now, with your help, there are only twenty thieves. What's the big deal?"

Upon hearing these words, everyone's confidence immediately increased.

"Get on the horse!"

With the order of Sun Shaozong, the six of them quickly searched for their mounts.

Seeing that the small General had taken the lead again, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but feel pity for his talent, so he specifically asked for his name.

The small General arched its hands on the horse and said, "Wang Zhen, I’m from the State of Wei, Hebei Province. If I die today, please send my bones back to my hometown and bury them with my parents."

*What the?!*

*Wang Zhen from the State of Wei?!*

Sun Shaozong was shocked by this title and almost blurted out a question, *‘Aren't you a eunuch? How did you sneak into the Dragon Forbidden Guard?’*

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