Inside the cell, the flames in the brazier rose, making the torture room look sinister.
Wu Tiannan, who was tied to the torture rack, hung his head low. He seemed to be on the verge of death, and his body was covered in blood. His luxurious clothes were tattered, revealing his bloody wounds.
It was an interrogation and torture.
Once the Wubo and Fubo brothers collapsed, the Lingbo Prefecture knew all too well what kind of people they had under them. Soon, they found out who was holding Wu Tiannan.
Under such circumstances, Shao Pingbo was almost killed. It would be strange if he ended up in the hands of the Lingbo Prefecture.
Creak! The sharp sound of the metal door opening and closing was heard. Shao Sansheng entered.
After confirming that Shao Pingbo was temporarily safe, he finally had the mind to take care of other things.
The leader in charge of the interrogation turned around and saw Shao Pingbo. He quickly went to welcome him, cupping his hands in greeting. "Master San!"
Shao Sansheng glanced at the person on the torture rack and asked with a frown, "Why haven't you given me an answer? What's the situation?"
The leader was a little embarrassed. "Master San, this is a little unexpected. This fella isn't as useless as you said. He didn't come out as soon as he was squeezed, but he's very tight-lipped. He won't confess no matter what."
"Oh?" Shao Sansheng was also quite surprised. How could a hedonistic son of a rich family be so stubborn? How could he endure the torture here?
He felt that it was somewhat impossible, so he strode inside and approached the torture rack to take a look. He looked at the miserable Wu Tiannan and stretched out his hand to examine his wounds. There was no mistake, he had indeed been subjected to cruel torture.
Shao Sansheng was truly surprised. He didn't mind the dirt and lifted Wu Tiannan's chin. He pinched Wu Tiannan's cheeks and looked at him from left to right, taking a closer look at him.
The leader knew what he was suspecting. To prove that they weren't incompetent, he cupped his hands and said, "Master San, please step aside."
Shao Sansheng looked back at him, let go of Wu Tiannan, and stepped back.
The leader immediately waved his hand at his subordinates. "Bring something."
Someone immediately brought a bucket of salt water over and poured it on Wu Tiannan with a ladle.
As soon as the salt water came into contact with the open wound, Wu Tiannan, who was in a daze, immediately tensed up and woke up. The chains that bound him rattled non-stop as he trembled. He let out a painful groan and almost broke his teeth from clenching them.
The leader scolded, "Are you going to speak or not?"
Wu Tiannan, who was tensed up, gradually relaxed. He panted heavily and said, "I told you, I don't know anything. You've got the wrong person."
From the beginning, he knew that there were risks involved in this kind of thing, but he didn't expect the risks to come so quickly.
The reason why he didn't want to confess was that he still had hope. As long as he could hold on until Shao Pingbo fell, he would still have a chance to make a name for himself. The more he persisted, the more the Second Young Master and the Third Young Master would treat him well.
With something to look forward to, they were naturally more resistant.
In addition, he still had feelings for Tao Yaner. He did not want to betray her and implicate her.
"You still dare to be stubborn!" The leader sneered and walked to the brazier. He took out a red-hot branding iron and strode over to Wu Tiannan, intending to stab it into his body.
Wu Tiannan closed his eyes in pain and prepared to endure it. He had already suffered this punishment before.
Shao Sansheng reached out to stop the leader. He seemed to have noticed something and gestured with his hand. "Put him down and follow me." With that, he turned and left.
They immediately did as he was told and released Wu Tiannan from the prison.
A horse carriage outside the prison brought Wu Tiannan directly to a hall in the provincial governor's manor.
There were three corpses in the hall. They were the bodies of Madam Ruan and her two sons.
Shao Sansheng gestured with his hand to have someone bring Wu Tiannan over so that he could have a good look at them.
Seeing the bodies of Madam Ruan and her sons, the leader of the interrogation was first shocked.
The provincial governor's manor had temporarily blocked the news of their deaths, so he did not know about it yet.
When Wu Tiannan saw the Shao brothers who died with their eyes open and their faces black and blue, he was dumbfounded. He muttered to himself, "How could this be … How could this be …"
He didn't expect the fight between the Shao brothers to be so cruel. The people he saw during the day were all good people, but now they were dead?
His last glimmer of hope was shattered. His willpower instantly collapsed, and he fell into a state of panic and unease.
Shao Sansheng cast him a sidelong glance. "Who do you think you are? How dare you get involved in such a matter? I don't know if you have arranged your funeral in advance. If you haven't, Pingchuan County should have captured your entire family by now. If you cooperate well, I might let you go and let your family go. Otherwise, your entire family will accompany them. "He lifted his chin towards the bodies of Madam Ruan and her sons.
"Spare me, Master San. I'll confess … I'll confess …" Wu Tiannan relented on the spot. His beloved Tao Yan 'er was finally thrown to the back of his mind.
Soon, a group of people escorted Wu Tiannan to the residence of Tao Jun and her sister.
The place was already empty. How could they find them? Wu Tiannan finally believed Shao Sansheng's words. He had really been used.
Only then did he realize that he had fallen for the legendary "honey trap." He never thought that the honey trap, which he usually treated as a story, would actually be used on him. He never thought that he would be qualified to enjoy such treatment.
With a body full of injuries, he wailed loudly in the house …
The next day, the Provincial Governor's Office announced the death of Madam Ruan and her son. However, they did not say that Shao Pingbo was the culprit. They only said that it was the result of an assassination attempt by an assassin.
The news caused a sensation in the entire city.
For a time, all joyous events in the entire Northern Prefecture City were suspended. White mourning filled the streets and alleys of the Northern Prefecture City. All entertainment venues, large and small, also suspended their operations …
In the valley outside Qingshan County City, under a waterfall, Niu Youdao stood on a rock under the waterfall, allowing the water to wash over him.
Niu Youdao swayed left and right under the flow of the water. He closed his eyes and slowly swayed his body left and right in the water curtain. He felt the continuous force washing him and the changes in the force when he swayed.
Nowadays, he would stand under the waterfall every day and use the Art of Heaven and Earth to wash himself for two hours.
When the wind blew, he would stand in the wind and feel the assault of the wind.
When it rained, he would stand in the rain and receive the nourishment of the water.
In the morning, he would bask in the morning glow and feel the stars at night. His entire body would become much darker.
This was the most boring and tasteless method of cultivation. It was also the method with the slowest progress. He could not even feel the progress of his cultivation. He was doing the same boring thing day after day.
If it was Yuan Gang, he would definitely not do such a boring thing. However, Niu Youdao was experiencing this loneliness day after day.
A period of cultivation wasn't completely useless. Niu Youdao had already experienced a flash of inspiration in the desolation. It was like feeling a drizzle falling on his face in a desert. This seemed to have allowed him to find his direction.
It felt like he was searching in a boundless desert, hoping to find rain clouds. He believed that if there was a heavy rain, this desolate desert would become a green field and beautiful flowers would bloom.
The rain was not in the sky, but in the heart. He needed a rain of the heart.
He believed that as long as his comprehension was deep enough, his numb heart would eventually welcome a change.
Yuan Fang floated down from the cliff and landed beside the waterfall. He shouted, "Daoye!"
Niu Youdao, whose hair was disheveled and swayed in the waterfall, raised his eyebrows. He knew that Yuan Fang would not disturb his cultivation unless it was necessary. In a flash, he broke through the water curtain and landed on the shore. Water mist began to rise from his body.
When his clothes were dry, Yuan Fang handed him the deciphered secret letter.
After reading the secret letter, Niu Youdao frowned. Then, he gradually revealed a thoughtful expression. Finally, he tore up the secret letter and shook his head with a bitter smile. "I'm afraid Shao Pingbo has escaped."
Yuan Fang had also read the contents of the secret letter. It only mentioned that Madam Ruan and her son had been assassinated. Other situations were not described in detail.
In fact, it was also because the Provincial Governor's Office had blocked the news to prevent their dirty linen from spreading. The Shangqing Sect did not know what had happened in the Provincial Governor's Office. Song Shu and Chen Guishuo did not know either. Lu Shengzhong was even more clueless about what had happened in the Provincial Governor's Office of Beizhou.
Whether it was Lu Shengzhong or Chen Guishuo, the news was secretly sent to Wei Duo and Wei Duo would forward it. It was really inconvenient for Lu Shengzhong and Chen Guishuo to use the golden wings to send messages under Shao Pingbo's nose. On the other hand, Wei Duo could use the Shanghai Sect as a disguise to release the golden wings at will.
Of course, Lu Shengzhong and Chen Guishuo did not know that Wei Duo was from this side. Wei Duo also rarely went out in the Shanghai Sect.
Therefore, Yuan Fang felt a little strange and asked, "Lu Shengzhong did not do a good job and messed it up?"
Niu Youdao shook his head and said, "No! He did a good job. It's already not bad for him to be able to do this. "
This was not a lie. Niu Youdao had been waiting for Shao Pingbo to make a move. Once the Ice and Snow Pavilion reacted, Lu Shengzhong would immediately take action.
In fact, this requirement was quite harsh. The Provincial Governor's Office was not a place that Lu Shengzhong could enter whenever he wanted. The Shao brothers were also not people that Lu Shengzhong could meet whenever he wanted. It was already not easy for Lu Shengzhong to immediately deliver the information to the Shao brothers as soon as he received instructions.
Most importantly, the preparatory work in advance could not be detected by Shao Pingbo. However, Lu Shengzhong still perfectly achieved Niu Youdao's intention.
It would be a little too much to say that Lu Shengzhong did not do a good job.
Yuan Fang was even more puzzled. He had read the secret letter and asked again, "How did Daoye know that Shao Pingbo might have escaped death?"
Niu Youdao sighed and said, "It's very simple. If Shao Pingbo was dead, the Shao Family would not only announce the death of Madam Ruan and her son. If they were to announce it, they would announce it together. There was no reason to announce Shao Pingbo's death after a while and add another funeral."
Yuan Fang blinked and said, "If they wanted to kill Shao Pingbo, why did they kill Madam Ruan and her son instead?"
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