The Humane Prison

The battle ended, and it was time to clean up the battlefield.

Captain Liu led everyone in binding the wounded one by one.

Although the repeating crossbows weren't powerful, they made up for it with volume, and over a dozen unfortunate men had been shot in the face.

They clearly wouldn't survive.

Captain Liu dragged Little Six to watch as others collected the bodies, shaking his head and sighing, "Why did you have to provoke us when you had nothing better to do?"

"If you needed money, you could have borrowed some in our county!"

Little Six didn't hear a word, his heart filled with nothing but grief and rage.

He bit his teeth as he looked at his comrades' bodies, counting them at the same time.

The number of people lying on the ground was definitely less than two hundred. Some must have successfully escaped!

He silently prayed that the commander absolutely must not come!

There was something strange about Taoyuan County. The equipment and quality of the guards weren't what an ordinary county should have.

Now that they were on alert, if the main force arrived, Taoyuan County would certainly be prepared!

A force of less than two thousand men had no hope of taking the city. The only option now was to withdraw quickly and rendezvous with the prince.

While he was desperately thinking of a solution, a sudden rumbling came from the distance, kicking up a large cloud of dust!

Captain Liu immediately became alert, his muscles tensing as he looked toward the direction of the toll station.

The others also mounted their horses and readied their crossbows, preparing for battle!

As the newcomers approached, Captain Liu's body relaxed, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

"Old Sun?"

"Hey! Captain Liu, busy, huh... damn! Why are there so many dead people? Did someone try to rob us?"

Old Sun looked at the corpses on the ground with a shocked expression.

"Just some petty thieves, all dealt with. Weren't you in the capital helping the county collect monkeys? How did you get back, and with so many horses! Are you planning to open a stable?"

Old Sun chuckled and looked at the group of fine horses behind him with pride in his eyes. "You wouldn't believe it if I told you. Yesterday I met a bunch of idiots selling horses, dirt cheap, only half the market price! Two thousand horses! I borrowed some money and bought them all! It took quite an effort to bring them back! But I've struck it rich this time, hahaha!"

Captain Liu looked at the herd of horses with envy and said sourly, "You'd better be careful. Horses at half price must have dubious origins!"

"Who cares! It can't be traced back to me anyway. I'm off!"

With that, Old Sun left with his herd of horses.

Looking at Old Sun's proud back, Captain Liu felt increasingly sour and complained, "Damn! Why don't I ever meet such fools! If I had known business was this good, I should have gone into it!"

Thinking of this, Captain Liu yanked the rope hard. "Damn it! You're not injured, are you? Get up and walk on your own, stop playing dead!"

The rope was very tight, and Little Six, his face covered in tears, felt the pain.

But that was nothing, because his heart... hurt more!

Inside Taoyuan County's government office.

Xiao Tao, Zhang Biao, Ao Chen, and others quietly listened to Captain Liu recount the entire process.

A pile of newly confiscated weapons still lay on the floor.

After he finished, Ao Chen bent down to pick up two short swords from the ground and compared them carefully. "These are standard-issue weapons. These people are regular troops. Our county hasn't offended any important figures... Take those people to the prison and interrogate them thoroughly!"

Captain Liu saluted and quickly turned to leave.

Ao Chen turned back and said to Xiao Tao, "Miss Xiao Tao, over a hundred people couldn't have accomplished much. I think these people might be an advance party, and there might be others behind them."

Xiao Tao nodded with a grave expression. "With the Young Master away, Taoyuan County cannot have any problems."

"I don't know much about warfare, but starting today, have all the people from the toll stations withdraw back here and close the city gates."

"People from the county who need to travel to the capital should all use the small gates."

"Strengthen the patrols on the city walls. When those prisoners are interrogated, I'll go to the capital to report this matter to the Crown Prince."

Ao Chen nodded. "Understood. I'll notify everyone to handle it. Biao, what do you think?"

"I'll go check the prison."

.......

In the county prison.

Over a hundred men had been separated, with their leader Little Six naturally being held in solitary confinement.

Zhang Biao stood silently in front of him, holding a long, thick steel needle with a thread attached to its end, staring intently at Little Six. "Why did you come to Taoyuan County? Tell the truth."

Looking at the needle, Little Six remained fearless!

He had received professional training. Being stabbed with needles? He could endure it!

After a cold snort, Little Six calmly said, "Kill me or torture me, do whatever you want."

Seeing that he wouldn't cooperate, the jailer beside him turned and left, returning shortly with a piglet.

Zhang Biao took the piglet and, before Little Six's shocked eyes, quickly sewed the two halves of the piglet's backside into one piece with one hand...

The piglet's screams echoed throughout the prison, breaking the hearts of those who heard it and bringing tears to those who saw it.

Cold sweat slowly slid down Little Six's forehead... his eyeballs involuntarily began to dart around.

Zhang Biao said calmly, "This is nothing. I can sew even more finely!"

Little Six swallowed hard, stubbornly saying, "Don't think this will scare me! I'll be a strong man again after eighteen years, if you want to sew, just..."

"I can even sew your mouth to your brother's ass. It wouldn't be hard to sew two hundred people into a single line."

"If you don't confess, I'll sew you second-to-last, and feed you all sweet potatoes every day."

The jailer swallowed his saliva and turned away.

He couldn't listen anymore. Brother Biao's games were somewhat perverted...

If he kept listening, it would affect his character.

As he spoke, Zhang Biao suddenly missed Fang Zheng, wondering where he had gone.

This idea was originally his suggestion, something called a "human centipede"...

Little Six's face drained of all color, clearly terrified by this inhumane torture.

But having undergone training, mere verbal threats couldn't break him completely.

Little Six trembled. "Damn it! If you've got the guts, then do it! Stop the empty talk!"

Zhang Biao raised the needle to Little Six's face, staring at him without saying a word.

Little Six was already unnerved by the stare, his mind blank.

Zhang Biao nodded with satisfaction. "You've passed the test."

"You're lucky. We have rules against torturing prisoners unnecessarily. Someone! Transfer him to the singing room, and bring in the next one!"

Hah, it was all bluffing... all bluff!

This prison even says they don't torture prisoners, how absurd!

Who knows what schemes they're plotting next.

Soon, Little Six was transferred to another cell, though this room was completely sealed, with many oil lamps lit, and walls that appeared bright red.

Upon entering, one immediately felt fear and irritation!

He was placed in a chair in the center of the room and tightly bound with ropes.

Following him was an honest-looking middle-aged man who sat opposite him.

Little Six remained on high alert!

The man cleared his throat and sang, "You love me.. I love you..."

"Are you sick in the head?! If you want to kill or torture me, just do it! Stop these twisted games!" As soon as the nauseating lyrics started, Little Six cursed loudly.

The man smiled slightly. "Young man, don't rush. We have plenty of time."

"I won't beat you. Just listen to the song. But you won't get any sleep for the next few days."

Little Six sneered, "Three days. We'll see who gets tired first, you or me."

"I have dozens of brothers taking shifts behind me, so don't worry about that."

"You... is this how you interrogate prisoners? A bunch of idiots!" Little Six said through gritted teeth.

The man slowly stood up, walked behind Little Six, put his hand on his shoulder, and smiled. "Young man, don't be too smug too soon."

"In my experience, sixty percent of people confess within two days, and another twenty percent can hold out for three days."

"Some exceptional ones can last five days, and a few have even lasted ten days! But unfortunately, those people usually end up with some mental issues afterward."

"But rest assured, Taoyuan County is a place that values morality and humanity."

"If interrogation causes a prisoner to develop mental problems, our county's coal mines on the back mountain will arrange mining work for them, so they can continue to live."

"Young man, I admire you. I hope you can create a miracle! I wonder how long you can last?"