178: Chapter 178 Obsession, Truth

The Jailer saw that Shi Taichu did not even lift his eyelids, and he instantly felt humiliated.

He gritted his teeth, his knuckles white from gripping the leather whip, his arm muscles tensing up violently.

"Seeking death!"

The Jailer cursed under his breath and raised the whip, preparing to lash out again.

In this dungeon, the Jailer was the law.

No matter how big a shot you were outside, once you arrived here, you had to coil if you were a Dragon and crouch if you were a tiger.

A mere prisoner dared to ignore him?

Just as the barbed leather whip was about to fall.

A fair, slender hand interjected, firmly pressing down on his wrist.

"Hold on."

Chen Ran's tone was indifferent.

The strength in the Jailer's hand instantly dissipated. Seeing it was Chen Ran, he hurriedly put away the whip and cupped his hands in salute.

"As you command, my lord."

He didn't dare utter a word of nonsense, lowered his head, and retreated.

Click.

The heavy iron door was locked again.

Inside the dim Jia Ward cell, only Chen Ran and Shi Taichu, who was chained to the wall, remained.

The air was thick with the scent of blood.

Chen Ran didn't rush to speak; he simply watched the disheveled man before him quietly.

"The entire Wu Family, seventy-three people in total, not even a dog was left behind."

Chen Ran's voice echoed in the empty cell, as if he were reading an insignificant official document.

"The case file says you suffered from Qi Deviation and became bloodthirsty."

Chen Ran took a step forward, his gaze landing on Shi Taichu's face.

"But looking at your eyes, you are very clear-headed."

"Prisoners who can withstand the Soul-Suppressing Talisman are rare."

The Soul-Suppressing Talisman of the Six Doors is incredibly domineering.

When an ordinary Martial Artist is hit with one, at best they become listless; at worst, their Divine Soul becomes deranged, turning them into a drooling idiot.

Someone like Shi Taichu, whose shoulder blades were pierced and who was struck by a Soul-Suppressing Talisman, yet could still maintain clear eyes, was extremely rare.

A flicker of movement finally appeared in Shi Taichu's dead, silent eyes.

He lifted his head slightly, and by the dim firelight, examined the young man in black robes before him.

Too young.

His brow ridges were like mountains, his face handsome.

If this person were to change into brocade robes and walk through the entertainment districts of the capital, he would definitely be mistaken for a Young Master out looking for pleasure.

In the deepest part of this gloomy and terrifying dungeon, he seemed completely out of place.

Shi Taichu's cracked lips moved.

His voice was as hoarse as two pieces of rough sandpaper rubbing against each other.

"So what if I am clear-headed?"

"So what if I am insane?"

He tugged at the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was uglier than crying.

"I killed them, I admit it."

"Kill me or slice me up, do as you please."

Chen Ran laughed and said indifferently:

"I don't care why you killed those people."

"Nor do I care if you were wrongly accused."

Chen Ran looked at Shi Taichu through the steel bars.

"Once you enter this dungeon, you are a prisoner in my hands."

"I ask, you answer."

"Answer well, and I can give you a quick death."

"Answer poorly..."

Chen Ran did not finish the sentence.

He stood up, walked to the torture rack nearby, and casually picked up a rusty pair of iron pliers.

The jaws of the pliers were still stained with dark red scabs of blood left by who knows whom.

Chen Ran weighed them in his hand, producing a crisp metallic clatter.

He was in no rush to use torture.

Since the heavenly book of prison suppression showed that this man had an unfulfilled wish, it meant he had an obsession he couldn't let go of.

As long as he grasped this obsession, prying his mouth open would be easier than drinking water.

"Why did you slaughter the entire Wu Family?" Chen Ran asked casually.

"Heh."

Shi Taichu sneered and lowered his head again.

"I didn't like them."

His attitude was extremely perfunctory, clearly showing he didn't want to say another word.

Chen Ran was not annoyed.

He held the rusty iron pliers and tapped them lightly against the bars.

Clang. Clang. Clang.

"Oh, it seems you really didn't like them."

Chen Ran's tone was casual, just like chatting about daily life.

"However, I heard that the second son of the Wu Family happened to go to Wenxin Hall last night and escaped the disaster."

As soon as he finished speaking, Clatter!

The thick iron chains were suddenly pulled taut, emitting a harsh, scraping sound.

Shi Taichu suddenly lifted his head, a terrifying killing intent exploding from his dead, silent eyes.

He was exactly like a provoked beast, ignoring the barbs piercing his shoulder blades, struggling forward desperately.

Fresh blood dripped down along the iron chains.

"He didn't die?!"

"Where did he go!"

Shi Taichu's voice was as shrill as a ghost's, carrying a resentment that could not be washed away even by all the waters of the five lakes and four seas.

Chen Ran watched his reaction and understood.

It seems this second son of the Wu Family was the object of Shi Taichu's obsession.

"Want him dead?"

Chen Ran looked at Shi Taichu, his eyes narrowing slightly.

He secretly circulated his internal energy and activated the Demon Sound True Art.

"Tell me, why exactly did you take action?"

As the words fell.

Circles of invisible sound waves radiated from Chen Ran's mouth, crashing straight into Shi Taichu's mind.

This Cultivation Technique was specifically targeted at the Divine Soul.

Shi Taichu was already severely injured and had his cultivation suppressed by the Soul-Suppressing Talisman; how could he resist the invasion of the Demon Sound at this moment?

His face twisted violently, his features scrunching together.

The memories in his mind that he had deliberately sealed away, the ones he least wanted to recall, gushed out like a bursting flood.

"Ahhh!"

Shi Taichu let out a painful roar.

Under the urging of the Demon Sound, he finally could not resist and recounted the truth of that year in fragments.

The story was not complicated, even a bit cliché.

Shi Taichu came from the countryside and had a poor Family background, but his talent for the Dao of martial arts was extremely high.

He had a childhood sweetheart fiancée, and the two had a deep affection for each other, promising to marry once he made something of himself.

Later, Shi Taichu came to the capital and, relying on his formidable martial arts skills, joined the powerful Wu Family as a guard.

He Cultivated desperately and worked his life away for the Wu Family, just to save up more silver so he could bring his fiancée to the capital to live a good life.

Everything seemed to be developing in a good direction.

His martial arts Realm rose, he saved a sum of money, and brought his fiancée over from the town.

But until one day,

The second Young Master of the Wu Family happened to take a fancy to his fiancée, who had just arrived in the capital not long ago.

Relying on the power of his Family, the second son of the Wu Family wanted to force himself on her.

His strong-willed fiancée refused to submit even in death, smashing her head against a pillar and dying.

To cover up the scandal, and even more to keep Shi Taichu, this Genius guard with a limitless future, the Wu Family tied the body to a stone and sank it to the bottom of the Linjiang River.

Afterward, they concocted a perfect lie.

They told Shi Taichu that his fiancée had been spotted by a passing expert and taken to Wenxin Hall to Cultivate.

To make the act complete, the Wu Family even forged a letter from his fiancée every month to give to him.

Poor Shi Taichu was kept in the dark just like that.

He lived like a loyal dog, continuing to work for the enemy who killed his wife, and even risked his life multiple times for the benefit of the Wu Family.

Until a few days ago.

Through a chance opportunity, he learned the truth of that year from the drunken babbling of a direct descendant of the Wu Family.

His faith collapsed. His convictions shattered.

Shi Taichu suffered from Qi Deviation on the spot.

He slaughtered the entire Wu Family, but he did not see the culprit.

Shi Taichu's eyes turned red with killing, and just as he wanted to rush out of the Wu Family to find that second son, he was suppressed by the Six Doors experts who arrived, and was locked in the deepest part of this dungeon.

The cell fell into dead silence once again.

Only the sound of Shi Taichu's heavy breathing echoed.

His eyes were bloodshot, staring fixedly at the ground.

Just now

After listening to this story, Chen Ran's expression remained unchanged, nor was there any righteous indignation.

He looked calmly at the red-eyed man before him, falling into a long silence.

In this chaotic world of demons and monsters, human life is cheaper than grass.

Such dramas of powerful families oppressing the bottom layer of society were staged in every corner of the Great Wei dynasty every day.

He was not a savior, and he had no interest in upholding justice.

But when such a thing truly happened before his eyes, his heart felt like it was blocked, incredibly suffocating.

With a thought, Chen Ran summoned the heavenly book of prison suppression.

The yellowed pages slowly unfolded in his mind.

[Prisoner: Shi Taichu]

[Realm: Fourth Grade Aperture Condensation Realm (Peak)]

[Status: Severely injured, Qi Deviation]

[Wish: Kill the enemy, the second son of the Wu Family (Wu De)]

[Introduction: A former Genius Martial Artist, now suffering from Qi Deviation and having fallen into the Demonic Path. Resolve his obsession to obtain the hidden Cultivation Technique, Mourning Soul Blood Fiend Blade.]

Chen Ran looked at the rewards on the heavenly book, paused for a moment, and finally sighed in his heart:

"Even you can't stand it anymore..."

Chen Ran put away the heavenly book and casually threw the rusty iron pliers back onto the torture rack.

Clang.

The crisp metallic clatter woke Shi Taichu up.

He lifted his head, staring fixedly at the young man, recounting

"Kill me."

Shi Taichu's voice was surprisingly calm; after retelling the story, he seemed to have exhausted all his strength.

Chen Ran ignored him and turned to walk out of the cell door.

He ordered the guarding Jailer:

"Watch him well."