125: Chapter 125 Torture and Forced Confessions?

Saintess Ji Fei slammed heavily into the ground, creating a large crater, dust filling the air.

She struggled to crawl up, only to discover that the Qi throughout her body had been sealed tightly by an overbearing force.

Xiao Ye descended from the sky, landed in front of her, crouched down, and reached out to place one Restriction after another on her body, his movements as skilled as if he were tying shoelaces.

"Done—" He clapped his hands, stood up, looked down at the disheveled Saintess Ji Fei in the crater, and grinned, "Now, neither can Ji Fei fly, nor can the dog jump."

"Dad, this demoness looks very cunning, why are you keeping her? Just kill her to be safe." Xiao Yan frowned, his sword still drawn.

"What's the rush?" Xiao Ye crouched by the crater, looking at the disheveled Saintess Ji Fei, and said slowly, "I still have use for this woman. It won't be too late to kill her after I squeeze something out of her mouth."

"Dad, you're confused!" Xiao Yan was anxious, "This demoness looks like she has a very stiff mouth; how could you possibly squeeze anything out of her? Don't be fooled by her appearance."

"Hmph, stiff mouth?" Xiao Ye grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, "Once I use 'interrogation', she won't be able to help but spill."

Xiao Yan paused, feeling that something was off about his old man's words.

Nearby, Zi Youqian, Dianshao, and Tong Yizhen listened and found it increasingly strange. The three looked at each other and muttered in their hearts: This father and son... seem to be making dirty jokes? Not sure, let's listen more.

At this moment, the bound Saintess Ji Fei was already scared pale, her lips trembling: "You... what do you want?"

"What do I want?" Xiao Ye tilted his head and thought, then said with a smile, "Of course, it's to take you back for 'interrogation'. Of course, you can try to run—but if I catch you, I can't guarantee the integrity of your corpse."

Saintess Ji Fei turned pale and went completely silent. This beast... he wouldn't even spare a corpse.

Xiao Yan turned around expressionlessly, deciding to stop caring about this mess.

Anyway, his dad's 'interrogation' usually ended up with no 'interrogation' and the 'interrogation' turning into 'forced submission.' He was already used to it.

The other three finally confirmed that this was a dirty joke!

Zi Youqian leaned over and whispered: "Big Brother, that... that interrogation, do we need to avoid it?"

Xiao Ye glanced at him: "Avoid what? Is your Big Brother that kind of person? This is a serious interrogation, very serious."

Zi Youqian nodded vigorously, but his expression clearly read "I don't believe it."

Under the sunset, Saintess Ji Fei was tied up tightly and carried on Xiao Ye's shoulder like a mermaid. She had long since closed her eyes, feeling hopeless.

What was infuriating was that Xiao Ye's right hand was resting in a place it shouldn't be, occasionally squeezing it. It made her so angry she endured the pain.

If she wasn't worried about Xiao Ye doing strange things to her body after death, she would have bitten her tongue and committed suicide long ago.

Xiao Yan, following behind, watched this scene with a twitching mouth, speechless as he looked at the sky.

He felt that the day he would have to call this demoness "Aunt" was not far off.

"Damn—what is this?" Xiao Yan complained frantically in his heart, "Won the fight, but the enemy became my aunt? Who wrote this script?"

He took a deep breath, looked up at the sky, his gaze deep and sad: "It seems I can't stay in this family anymore. I'd better hurry up and reach Core Formation, then run away from home... Run as far as possible, preferably so far that they can't find me."

Zi Youqian trotted over with his fat body, his flattery arriving late but present: "Big Brother is awesome! A Saint and Saintess of the Deity Transformation Realm, one dead and one captured; if this record gets out, the entire East Sea Region will tremble!"

Xiao Ye strode forward while carrying Saintess Ji Fei, waving his hand nonchalantly: "Small matter, don't make a fuss. Go, clean up the battlefield and collect all those Storage Pouches."

He glanced at the various people who were tied up, waved his hand, and added: "Also—as long as they pay the ransom, let them all go."

Zi Youqian leaned in closer and asked in a low voice: "Big Brother, how much is appropriate?"

"One hundred thousand Spirit Stones per person, that's not too much, right? This is saving their lives!"

Zi Youqian's mouth twitched: "...One hundred thousand? Big Brother, it's a bit difficult to collect that..."

Many who came to the ruins to hunt for treasure were Loose Cultivators risking their lives.

"Can you do it or not?"

Zi Youqian was stunned, then patted his chest with a thud: "Can! Must be able to!" It was his first time working for Big Brother, so he had to do it beautifully.

Xiao Ye nodded with satisfaction and waved for him to get busy.

Under the sunset, in Hulu Valley, figures climbed up from the ground, took out Spirit Stones, paid the ransom, retrieved their Storage Pouches, and scrambled to run outside, looking like a group of rabbits released from a cage.

Some could afford the one hundred thousand Spirit Stones, paid happily, and ran away without looking back.

Some couldn't, sweating profusely with anxiety.

Whenever this happened, Zi Youqian would smile and approach them, take out an IOU stamped with the Zitian Merchant Alliance seal, and hand it to them, his tone as gentle as a bank teller: "It doesn't matter if you don't have Spirit Stones now; the Zitian Merchant Alliance supports installment payments. Come, sign here, press your handprint, we will pay the Spirit Stones for you first, remember to repay on time next month. The interest isn't high, six percent monthly interest."

"Monthly... six percent monthly interest?" The man's face turned green, and his hands were shaking.

"Rest assured, our Zitian Merchant Alliance has the best reputation, honest with both young and old." Zi Youqian kept his smile, handed the IOU forward again, "Of course, you can choose not to sign."

The man looked at Zi Youqian's smiling fat face, then at Xiao Ye in the distance carrying the demoness, gritted his teeth, tremblingly signed his name, and pressed his bloody handprint.

When he retrieved his Storage Pouch, he felt as numb as a robot.

At this moment, he regretted it immensely—why did he come to this broken ruin to treasure hunt?

No treasure found, and now he was saddled with a loan of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones.

The key was, how could he default on this loan?

The Zitian Merchant Alliance's influence spread across the Five Regions; unless he didn't want to live anymore, he had to pay this debt until he died.

The most soul-crushing part was—before leaving, he still had to walk respectfully to Xiao Ye, bow with cupped fists, and thank him with a grateful face: "Senior Xiao, your might shakes the East Sea Region. Saving us from danger, I am deeply grateful!"

Xiao Ye waved his hand with a smile, looking so kind and approachable: "You're welcome, you're welcome. If you get caught again next time, there will be a discount."

The man's legs went weak, and he ran faster than a rabbit. Next time?

There won't be a next time!

He never wanted to be saved by him again in this lifetime—being saved once cost one hundred thousand Spirit Stones, and it was usury. He couldn't afford it, really couldn't afford it.

Zi Youqian counted the stack of IOUs in his hand, then looked at the pile of Spirit Stones just collected in the Storage Pouch, a bright smile on his fat face.

He trotted to Xiao Ye and handed over the IOUs and Spirit Stones with both hands: "Big Brother, it's all collected. There are thirteen people who couldn't pay; my Zitian Merchant Alliance will cover that part."

"Well done, you have a bright future." Xiao Ye took the bag of Spirit Stones, tucked it into his robe, and patted Zi Youqian on the shoulder.

He said earnestly, "You must know, saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. We are accumulating virtue, and collecting a little hard-earned fee is reasonable. And you lending them money and collecting a little interest is also reasonable."

Zi Youqian nodded vigorously, looking adoring: "Big Brother is right! Big Brother has a big picture!"