28: Chapter 28 Under water torture, Li Liu confessed everything!

Watching Zhao Zilong pour the water from the bucket onto the rag, Li Kai, Zhang Da, Zhou Jie, and Wu Chuan were extremely puzzled.

Li Liu wasn't even afraid of Whipping or Branding Irons; would he be afraid of this bucket of water?

"What kind of nonsense is Zhao Zilong up to now? Can this really work?"

Zhou Jie said with a face full of disdain.

Li Kai sneered, "Does he really think he's something special just because he used his drawing skills to help us catch someone? This is simply messing around. If he can actually get anything out of this, I'll write my surname 'Li' backwards."

Zhang Da said, "I'll write my surname 'Zhang' backwards too."

Zhao Zilong glanced at Li Kai and the other two, but he ignored them; they would shut up in a moment.

'Water Torture' was different from Whipping or Branding Irons; it wasn't just physical torture, but a dual torture of physiology and spirit.

That feeling of being in a desperate state of suffocation without being able to die would cause immense fear.

A fifth of the water in the bucket was poured down; Li Liu struggled hard, but Wu Chuan pressed down with great force. He couldn't break free and could only shake his head violently.

Zhao Zilong controlled the timing perfectly; seeing the moment was right, he took the rag off.

Li Liu had barely managed to catch half a breath when Zhao Zilong covered his face with the rag again and poured more water.

This was repeated several times.

Li Kai, Zhang Da, and Zhou Jie also began to see something now; the three of them stopped talking and watched silently.

Wu Chuan also seemed to notice something; he pressed down on Li Liu with even more effort.

Finally, after a bucket of water was finished, Zhao Zilong removed the rag from Li Liu's face.

He acted as if he were ignoring Li Liu and looked at Wu Chuan, saying, "Wu Chuan, we're out of water. Go get another bucket. No, get two more buckets."

"Okay."

Wu Chuan glanced at Li Kai, Zhang Da, and Zhou Jie. He had figured it out; he would have to do these chores himself, as those three guys weren't going to help.

"Don't, don't get more water, don't get more water."

When Wu Chuan let go of Li Liu to go get water, Li Liu suddenly spoke, his voice trembling with fear.

Wu Chuan was stunned and looked at Zhao Zilong in disbelief.

Zhao Zilong looked at Li Liu and asked with a puzzled expression, "You have something to say?"

Li Liu said hurriedly, "Sir, please don't torture me anymore. I can't take it. Ask whatever you want; I'll tell you everything I know."

"Are you sure you want to talk?"

A faint, triumphant smile appeared at the corner of Zhao Zilong's mouth.

When he used 'Water Torture' earlier, he wasn't very confident himself. After all, he had never tried it; he had only seen it in movies and novels in his past life. He hadn't expected it to actually work in reality.

"Sir, I am willing to confess."

Li Liu didn't want to endure that torture again; that feeling not only made one wish for death but was also filled with endless dread.

Li Kai, Zhang Da, Zhou Jie, and Wu Chuan's eyes widened as they looked at Zhao Zilong in disbelief.

Wu Chuan was now filled with admiration for Zhao Zilong.

Although Li Tian, Zhang Da, and Zhou Jie weren't like Wu Chuan, they also felt some respect for Zhao Zilong.

Relying only on his drawing skills led them to catch Li Liu, and now, with just a ragged cloth and a bucket of water, he made Li Liu confess. This method was divine.

Was this still the same Zhao Zilong they used to bully?

The old Zhao Zilong was weak and useless; when they picked on him, he didn't even dare to fart. The current Zhao Zilong showed full masculine spirit, and most importantly, his methods were brilliant.

Had he been hiding it deep before, or did he have a sudden realization?

But Li Kai, Zhang Da, and Zhou Jie understood that they couldn't afford to mess with the current Zhao Zilong anymore.

They either had to work well under Zhao Zilong or continue to be his enemies—and with their abilities, they would surely be slowly dealt with by him.

"Prepare to record."

Zhao Zilong gave the order.

He didn't specify who should record.

Wu Chuan knew in his heart that this task would definitely be his again.

As it turned out, before Wu Chuan could move, Zhou Jie responded, "Banner Master, I'll do it."

Saying so, he ran behind the desk and sat down.

He picked up a brush and prepared to record.

Having his job snatched by Zhou Jie, Wu Chuan felt somewhat uncomfortable for some reason.

Zhao Zilong's mouth curled into another subtle smile; this Zhou Jie was quite sensible.

"Banner Master, please sit."

Li Kai even brought over a chair for Zhao Zilong.

Zhao Zilong glanced at Li Kai, who bowed and scraped.

Zhang Da glared at Li Kai with displeasure; he had also thought of bringing a chair for Zhao Zilong, but he was just one step behind Li Kai.

This opportunity to show off was snatched by Li Kai.

Zhao Zilong began to interrogate Li Liu.

Li Liu was truly afraid of being tortured again; he confessed everything he knew in response to Zhao Zilong's questions.

Li Liu's real name was Lee Zhen; he was from the previous dynasty and lived in Qingyang County.

He made a living as a street vendor in Qingyang County. Although he was from the previous dynasty, he hadn't chosen to oppose Daye and only wanted to live a peaceful life.

However, what he didn't expect was that the Fuzheng Division established by the Daye Imperial Court didn't care about that.

As long as someone was from the previous dynasty, they would be arrested and killed.

Lee Zhen realized that even if they wanted to live peacefully, as long as they were labeled as people of the previous dynasty, their only end would be death.

Rather than waiting for death, it was better to rebel.

Thus, Lee Zhen joined the ranks of those resisting the Daye Imperial Court.

This time, Princess Zhu Yunxi came to Qingyang County, and their people were preparing to assassinate the princess.

His previous mission was to monitor Zhao Zilong.

He didn't know who the person responsible for giving him orders was, nor did he have any way to actively contact them.

However, if the other party had something for him to do, they would find him at the entrance of the alley near his home.

"Sir, I only work on the periphery. I don't know anything more," Lee Zhen said with a bitter face.

He knew that as a person of the previous dynasty, although he had confessed and avoided torture, he would likely not survive.

Why was it that just because he was from the previous dynasty, he wasn't given a way to live?

He just wanted to live well; why did they have to force him?

Zhao Zilong nodded and asked Zhou Jie, who was responsible for recording, "Did you get all that down?"

Zhou Jie said, "Banner Master, it's all recorded. Please take a look."

Zhou Jie walked over with the notebook and presented it to Zhao Zilong.

Zhao Zilong read through it once, confirmed there were no issues, and nodded.

Then, he said to Zhou Jie, "Bring paper and brush."

Zhou Jie did as told and brought the paper and brush.

Zhao Zilong said to Lee Zhen, "Describe that person's appearance."

"Okay."

Lee Zhen nodded and described the appearance of the person who gave him orders.

Zhao Zilong drew while having Lee Zhen confirm; finally, after some simple adjustments, he drew the person's likeness.

A middle-aged man, slightly chubby, with small eyes, looking like a wealthy old man.

"Banner Master, we'll go find this person immediately," Li Kai said after looking at the portrait.

Zhao Zilong said, "Go to the Lins Pharmacy to arrest him."

"Eh?"

Li Kai, Zhang Da, Zhou Jie, and Wu Chuan were all stunned.

Even Lee Zhen was too.

"Banner Master, how do you know this person is at the Lins Pharmacy?" Li Kai asked, puzzled. Could Zhao Zilong predict things?

Zhao Zilong said, "This person is the shopkeeper of the Lins Pharmacy, Lin An."

Li Kai said, "Banner Master, we are quite familiar with Qingyang County. The shopkeeper of the Lins Pharmacy is indeed named Lin An, but he rarely shows his face. I haven't seen him to this day."

Zhang Da said, "I've also been to the Lins Pharmacy, but I've never seen this Lin An show his face. How does the Banner Master recognize him?"

Zhao Zilong said, "It's quite a coincidence. My son Zhao Xiaotian works at the Lins Pharmacy. Once when I went to find Xiaotian, I happened to run into Lin An. However, at that time I didn't know he was Lin An; I only found out his identity through a casual conversation with Xiaotian later."

"So that's how it is."

Li Kai and the others understood the reason and thought to themselves that heaven was truly helping them.

Then Wu Chuan said, "Banner Master, since this Lin An is a contact person, if we tail him, could we find the other Remnants of the Previous Dynasty?"

Zhao Zilong said, "Under normal circumstances, that would be the case. But who among you can be sure that Lin An won't try to contact Lee Zhen during this time? If he can't see Lee Zhen, he will realize something has gone wrong. If he runs away, he won't be easy to catch."

"That's true. The Banner Master thinks deeply," Wu Chuan flattered.

In fact, Zhao Zilong arresting Lin An directly wasn't because he was afraid Lin An would run, but because he didn't want to arrest too many people from the previous dynasty.

These people, as Lee Zhen said, some of them didn't want to rebel against Daye at all; they were just forced into it with no way out.

He sympathized with these innocent people.

However, he was now a Minor Banner Master of the Fuzheng Division, and he had to arrest some people to fulfill his duties.

At least for now, to stabilize his position, he needed to do this.

Of course, Zhao Zilong thought he would find a way to save the lives of innocent people like Li Liu.

As for Lin An, he would decide after knowing if the man wanted to rebel on his own or was forced.

Li Kai and the others immediately went to the Lins Pharmacy to arrest him.

In the interrogation room, only Zhao Zilong and Lee Zhen remained.

Wu Chuan waited outside the interrogation room.

"Sir, I have confessed everything. Do you have anything else to ask?" Lee Zhen looked at Zhao Zilong uneasily.

Zhao Zilong said, "Don't lose hope. Recover well and live on. Since you've already confessed, I, as the Banner Master, will try my best to reduce your sentence and keep you alive."

"Sir, is that true?"

Lee Zhen could hardly believe what he heard.

Zhao Zilong said, "Do you think it's necessary for me to lie to you?"

True, he no longer had any use; he could just be killed directly.

There was no need for mockery.

Lee Zhen was deeply moved.

Zhao Zilong couldn't speak plainly right now. Seeing Lee Zhen like this, he felt some sympathy, sighed helplessly, and walked out of the interrogation room.

"Find a Doctor to treat his wounds. Don't torture him anymore," Zhao Zilong instructed Wu Chuan.

Wu Chuan was stunned and asked in confusion, "Banner Master, wouldn't it be bad if word got out?"

Zhao Zilong said, "If we treat those who confess their crimes well and word gets out, our reputation will naturally improve. In the future, when we catch other Remnants of the Previous Dynasty, their resistance won't be as strong, which will be more beneficial for us to get things done."

"That seems to be the case."

Wu Chuan realized and felt more admiration for Zhao Zilong.

No wonder he could become a Banner Master; he really had some skills that Wu Chuan couldn't match.

Li Kai and the others' operation went very smoothly. An hour later, they had arrested Lin An and brought him to the Fuzheng Division prison.

When Zhao Zilong received the news and arrived at the prison, Lin An had already been pinned down on a long bench.

Li Kai held a rag in his hand, with three buckets of water placed next to him.

Li Kai looked eager to try. When he saw Zhao Zilong enter the interrogation room, he looked at him.

"Banner Master, we've caught the man, but he's quite stubborn and won't say anything. I'm planning to try your method."

Li Kai said with a sycophantic smile.

Zhao Zilong looked at Lin An, and Lin An was also looking at him.

"You are Zhao Xiaotian's father, Clerk Zhao, right?"

Lin An appeared very calm, completely lacking the fear Lee Zhen had shown.

"This is our Banner Master," Zhou Jie immediately scolded.

"So Clerk Zhao has already been promoted to Banner Master. Truly worth celebrating," Lin An said with a bitter smile.

"I never thought that I, Lin, would fall into Banner Master Zhao's hands."

Zhao Zilong said, "Shopkeeper Lin, I also didn't expect you to be a person of the previous dynasty."

Knowing that Lee Zhen had already revealed his identity, Lin An saw no need to hide it. He said, "Yes, I am indeed a person of the previous dynasty. This is something that stays with you for a lifetime; even if you wanted to remove it, you couldn't."

"Banner Master Zhao, you don't need to waste your energy on me. Whatever Lee Zhen said is all you'll know. As for me, I won't say a word. Do with me as you will."

"Still acting tough. You'll be begging for mercy in a moment," Li Kai barked angrily.

Lin An glanced at Zhao Zilong, simply stopped talking, and closed his eyes.

Zhao Zilong said, "Shopkeeper Lin, since you are being so uncooperative, I have no choice but to offend you. Li Kai, do it."

"You got it."

Li Kai responded, covered Lin An's face with the rag, and began pouring water.

Moreover, he made it a bit easier than Zhao Zilong by preparing a water ladle.

Zhang Da and Zhou Jie held Lin An down.

As water was continuously poured onto the rag, Lin An's struggles became increasingly violent.

Li Kai imitated Zhao Zilong's rhythm. When he saw Lin An was about to give out, he would remove the rag, but only gave Lin An barely half a breath of time before covering it again and continuing to pour water.

Lin An was indeed very resilient. It wasn't until the third bucket of water was nearly empty that he finally gave in.

He coughed heavily and violently, already coughing up blood, his eyes bloodshot.

He believed he could endure any torture, but he had never seen or experienced this kind before. Having just experienced it, the sensation was indescribable, but he knew he really couldn't hold out any longer.

Zhao Zilong sat in a chair; he didn't need to do anything personally now.

Li Kai, Zhang Da, and Zhou Jie carried everything out in an orderly fashion.

Since Lin An was going to confess, someone asked the questions and someone recorded.

Wu Chuan stood behind Zhao Zilong, ready to follow orders at any time.

After Lin An finished his confession, Zhou Jie, who was in charge of recording, brought the statement for Zhao Zilong to review.

Confirming there were no omissions, Zhao Zilong asked, "Shopkeeper Lin, do you truly not know where your princess is?"

Lin An said, "Banner Master Zhao, I only know that our princess is in Qingyang County, but I truly do not know what identity she is hiding under."

Zhao Zilong nodded and asked again, "You don't know the hiding places of the others either?"

Lin An said, "These people were brought by the princess. Only she knows where they are hidden."

Zhao Zilong said, "Now that you've been caught, I'm afraid your princess will be alerted soon. Do you think she will flee?"

Lin An said, "No. This time, the princess received a death order: either capture Princess Qingyang alive or kill her. Until the mission is completed, she cannot leave."

Zhao Zilong smiled faintly and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you, Shopkeeper Lin, to describe what your princess looks like."

"Okay."

Zhao Zilong had people prepare paper and brush. As he listened to Lin An's description, he drew.

After several revisions, a young woman with a face capable of toppling cities and kingdoms appeared on the canvas.

Just looking at the portrait, Zhao Zilong couldn't help but feel his heart race.

"To think there is such a beautiful woman in this world!"