Chapter 456: Giving her a thorough lesson
Long Feiye simply let go of the lifeline in his hands!
Su Xiaoyu went hurtling towards the ground with a shriek, “AhhhHHHhhh!”
The rope in Long Feiye’s hands went by at flying speeds, quickly approaching the end. Once there was no more rope left, Su Xiaoyu would crash to the ground as well.
“AHhhhhh…ahhHHHHHh…..”
She saw the earth come up to meet her and squeezed her eyes shut as she screamed. It was an instinctive reaction to a sudden impending death. But abruptly, all went still.
Su Xiaoyu’s eyes flew open, her head spinning from the sudden drop. Her ears were roaring too, and she quickly realized that her head was less than a inch from the ground. In other words, she’d missed death by a hair. The realization made Su Xiaoyu suck in a cold breath. So close, so close! If Long Feiye had been any slower with that rope, my brains would be all over the ground by now.
So close! She had already figured out a way to deal with Han Yunxi, so how could she die just like that? And in such a horrifying way? It really was scary!
That hateful Long Feiye, why did he have to come back so soon? Su Xiaoyu was flustered, but she quickly adjusted her emotions. Even though Long Feiye was back, she wasn’t afraid. She had her own counter to deal with them both. She refused to make a peep until Long Feiye pulled her back up. From this angle, all she could see were Long Feiye and Han Yunxi’s shoes. How am I supposed to talk to them like this?
But Long Feiye didn’t bring her back up. Instead, he handed the rope over to a guard before approaching her together with Han Yunxi. Su Xiaoyu realized that things weren’t going as planned and raged shrilly, “If you want to talk with me, then get me off that rope!”
Trussed up and hung upside down, Su Xiaoyu could only see Long Feiye’s feet. If she’d been able to see his face, she would’ve given up on arguing in the first place. Long Feiye’s current expression was that of inviolate, millennial ice. Even Han Yunxi didn’t dare to let her down, much less anyone else. He walked very close to Su Xiaoyu. The girl was so short that she didn’t even come up to his waist. She tried her best to look up, but still couldn’t see his face. He was like a mountain to her.
Still, Su Xiaoyu stubbornly suppressed the fear in her heart and ignored him. She said in a cold tone to Han Yunxi, “Qin Wangfei, you didn’t kill me because you want to pry information from my lips. I’ve thought it through as well—we can have a proper discussion as soon as you let me go.”
Han Yunxi was about to reply when Long Feiye gave a cold harumph. “You won’t have a chance for any discussions with esteemed wangfei.”
At his words, Han Yunxi knew she didn’t have to say a thing.
“I wasn’t talking to you,” Su Xiaoyu retorted.
Long Feiye simply had the rope pulled up until Su Xiaoyu was suspended in the air again. She hung about a man’s length from the ground and assumed that Long Feiye would start questioning her, but he simply commanded, “Someone come, set a pot beneath her and boil some water. Your lordship wants her to taste the feeling of being scalded!”
Set up a pot? Boil water?
Han Yunxi’s heart lurched. She had been thinking non-stop of ways to poison Su Xiaoyu over the past few days with all sorts of vicious but non-fatal toxins. But none of that was as cruel as Long Feiye’s idea!
Although it’s brutal, I have to admit it really helps me blow off steam!
This dratted little girl was so young, yet so venomous, first injuring Baili Mingxiang and then herself. She should have a taste of being scalded in turn!
Su Xiaoyu stared at Long Feiye in disbelief as cold sweat broke out all over her body. She was already timid from seeing Wang Laifu’s punishment, so she’d been imagining all sorts of trials for herself over the past few days. She wasn’t afraid of death itself, but she did dread dying in horrific ways. Of course, even then she refused to betray the master who had forsaken her. Her so-called willingness to speak was only to threaten Han Yunxi.
Soon enough, young pageboys set up a large pot beneath Su Xiaoyu and filled it up with water before lighting a fire at its base. Su Xiaoyu knew that it was no use talking with Han Yunxi now, so she simply lost her temper at Long Feiye. “Don’t think of finding out anything without me here! If you want to know who sent me and why, you better let me go right now!”
There was no way Su Xiaoyu could threaten Long Feiye. He ignored her completely to stare at the fire, his eyes burning with a violent rage of their own.
Su Xiaoyu grew desperate. “Duke of Qin, if you harm a single hair on my head, I won’t tell you a single word! I swear it!”
Long Feiye gave a cold laugh. If she really wanted to speak, she would’ve relented long ago. Or at least given us bits of information to pique our interest. But all her claims now were just empty words! If they let her down now, she’d only pressure them more instead of saying a thing.
So, she’s the type who doesn’t cry unless they see their own coffin. I’d like to see how long she lasts.
The fire grew bigger and bigger, causing the water to churn and bubble. Soon enough, it began to boil in earnest as hot steam rose into the air. Su Xiaoyu’s head was quickly enveloped by the steam. She felt her skin getting hotter and hotter as sweat ran down her face. Right now, it was still early morning. When it got later in the day, one could well imagine the added effects of a hot sun under these circumstances.
Su Xiaoyu was still a child in the end, and felt terrible enough to cry. But she still refused to yield a single bit of useful information. Instead, she shouted, “Duke of Qin, if you don’t let me down this instant, I really won’t say a thing!”
“Han Yunxi, don’t you think it’s strange? Haven’t you ever wondered why I tried to get so close to you?”
“You don’t think I was only trying to burn you, did you?”
“Aren’t you curious at all as to why I didn’t kill you outright? I had plenty of chances, hmph!”
“Long Feiye, I know a secret—something that none of you would ever be able to guess! Let me down or else I’ll simply die here without saying a word!”
Su Xiaoyu didn’t stop with her shouts, but both Long Feiye and Han Yunxi remained unmoved. After listening to so much talk, Han Yunxi could tell that the girl had no intentions to tell them anything at all. By now, the water had reached its maximum boiling point with churning bubbles everywhere. Su Xiaoyu was now completely covered by steam so hot that it made it difficult to breathe. Moreover, the skin on her body was beginning to swell from the heat. If this went on, she’d start having blisters.
This was even more horrific than being scalded!
But that wasn’t all Long Feiye had planned to do. He lifted his hand, and the guard handed over the rope holding Su Xiaoyu aloft. Seeing this, Su Xiaoyu had a fright. “Don’t!”
Ignoring her, Long Feiye lightly released the rope, causing Su Xiaoyu to suddenly dip down a few inches.
“Ahh….ahhh…sobsob…” Terrified, Su Xiaoyu began to sob out loud.
Long Feiye stopped, and her cries stopped with it. She could only rejoice that she hadn’t hit the water for real. But then, Long Feiye suddenly loosened the rope again.
“AH! ….don’t! Save me, ah….” Su Xiaoyu screamed even louder than before.
Once again, Long Feiye gripped the rope as she cried, as pathetic as a child who’d just lost their mother. She was a little girl to begin with even if she hadn’t acted like one at all until now. As Han Yunxi watched, her feelings of hatred disappeared, to be replaced with a sense of discomfort. Why do this to such a little child?
Long Feiye’s expression remained unchanged and cold as ever. Once again, he lowered the rope until Su Xiaoyu was nearly touching the water. Hot droplets were even splashing against her head and face! Finally, she began to beg for mercy.
“Your Highness Duke of Qin, I yield! Just spare me! Have mercy! I’m begging you!”
“Your Highness Duke of Qin, esteemed wangfei, I’m begging you both, spare me!”
Long Feiye’s hand was still on the rope. If he loosened his grip just slightly, Su Xiaoyu would fall directly into the boiling water. Her scalp would make contact first and would probably break into blisters from the contact!
“Your lordship doesn’t like those who beg for mercy. If you want to say something, say it now,” Long Feiye finally spoke. He would never let her off unless she explained herself.
Su Xiaoyu sobbed for a long while before forcing herself to stop. “I don’t really know anything at all. Master only told me to burn esteemed wangfei and wait for instructions later.”
This was the excuse she’d come up with while hanging for days in the tree. When she was at her limits, she’d tell that to Han Yunxi, but she never had expected Long Feiye to come along for the ride.
“Who is your master?” Long Feiye asked coldly. It was impossible to tell whether or not he believed Su Xiaoyu’s words.
“I don’t know. An old mama’s raised me since I was little. Two years ago, I started receiving training in martial arts before I was sent here. I’ve never seen my master in my life. At set times, I go to the Heavenly Pleasures Inn north of the city to get secret messages from the first private room on the second floor. That’s where I leave my reports so someone else can take them away,” Su Xiaoyu answered.
“What about the day you ran into Chu Qingge and Mu Linger at the inn?” Han Yunxi asked.
“I don’t know either of them, ah. Master had me to beg alms from Chu Qingge and make a ruckus—big enough to spill into the streets. But I didn’t even get that far before you showed up,” Su Xiaoyu explained without a second thought. She’d long rehearsed this bit in her head.
Afterwards, she broke into tears again. “That’s all I know. Hurry and let me down, it’s so hot!”
Han Yunxi was still digesting the information when Long Feiye said coldly, “You think it’s that easy to trick your lordship? If you still won’t tell the truth, your lordship definitely won’t give you a second chance!”
“Your Highness Duke of Qin, sobsob…all I said was the truth! I don’t dare trick you anymore, that’s really all I know. Really, really, really!” Su Xiaoyu stressed between her tears.
Long Feiye’s eyes flashed before he released the rope!
“AhhHHHhh….ahHHHHhh!” Su Xiaoyu shrieked in pure terror. Very soon, the top of her head had plunged beneath the water. Her soul fled out of her body as she lost herself to her screams. She only felt that her head had suddenly shrunk, the pain of the burns was so bad that her entire head seemed wreathed in never ending agony.
Even so, she still stuck with her story. “I’m saying nothing but the truth! The whole truth! I didn’t lie to anyone, I really didn’t! I didn’t!”
Chu Tianyin had his reasons for sending Su Xiaoyu into the Duke of Qin’s estate. She might be a girl who feared pain, but she would never submit so easily under pressure…