He watched as the young servant was dug out of the dirt, his skin peeling off like a snake shedding its skin, revealing raw flesh dripping with blood.
Nan Yujin couldn't bear the pungent smell of fresh blood and the servant's wriggling, worm-like appearance. He gripped the prison bars, bending over to retch.
Nan Shiying, with a hint of disdain, crouched beside the servant, her voice still as gentle as flowing water. "Are you ready to talk? Blink if you are."
"Of course, if you're not willing to talk, I'll have someone fetch the chili water right away."
The servant let out a pained groan from his throat. Even breathing felt close to causing him to faint from the pain, yet he was acutely aware of this inhuman torture, unable to die or lose consciousness.
He had thought that in the end, it would simply be a matter of death. Now, he realized with a start that death had become a mere luxury for him.
He blinked with great difficulty.
"Excellent!"
"You've made the right choice!"
The servant's voice was like a gust of wind, so hoarse it sounded like grains of sand grinding in his throat. Nan Shiying crouched beside him, thwarting his attempt to bite his tongue and end it all.
The servant revealed everything he knew.
Coincidentally, he had personally witnessed Nan Yuqing's death. It was Nan Yuqing's maid who had pushed her into the lake, and after Nan Yuqing fell in, she had pushed Nan Shiying in as well.
So, this was the reason Nan Shiying's memory of that time was blurry?
However…
Nan Shiying chuckled. "With this setup, it really looks like I framed her!"
Nan Shiying voiced Nan Yujin's thoughts after hearing the servant's confession. It was indeed too coincidental.
Nan Shiying looked at the servant, tapping her chin. She didn't care what Nan Yujin thought upon hearing this; what concerned her was the strange feeling that suddenly welled up in her heart.
Nan Shiying labeled it: a reminder from her sixth sense!
She turned and asked Ji Jinmo, "Sir, do you believe his account?"
"You don't believe him?" Ji Jinmo asked, not answering directly.
Nan Shiying shook her head. "No!"
He said his superior always contacted him directly, and he only received orders. After completing an assignment, if it was a clue-gathering mission, he would leave all collected information in a hole behind the offering altar in the dilapidated temple on the eastern outskirts of the city. If it was just a response, he would post the secret code in the Kyoto Essays Monthly, printed by the Kyoto Bookstore.
"Sir, do you think what he's saying might be a retreat signal?"
"If we actually follow his instructions to go to the dilapidated temple and the bookstore, might we inadvertently cause the Great Li spies hidden in the capital to remain concealed?"
Nan Shiying's thoughts raced as she speculated. While speaking, her gaze remained fixed on the servant. The fleeting panic in his eyes did not escape her notice!
Very good, confirmed!
Nan Shiying let out a cold laugh. These spies embedded in Lin Yuan were likely desperate individuals. After enduring such torment, they were now feigning surrender.
Great Li truly has impressive methods!
She turned to Jia Huan and said, "Go get the chili water!"
"Yes!"
Jia Huan received the order.
Nan Shiying picked up some dirt from the ground and lightly sprinkled it on the servant, listening intently to the beautiful moans he emitted.
"Since you are so loyal, you shall live in despair!"
With Nan Yujin present, Nan Shiying did not reveal her Fenghuang identity. She reached out to Ji Jinmo, who, understanding her intent, pulled out a small porcelain bottle he carried. It contained the wound-healing medicine she had specially concocted.
The medicine accelerated wound healing. While it was a life-saving remedy for others, for the servant, it was a potent poison that would plunge him into an abyss of endless suffering.
As the powder landed on his mangled flesh, the bone-piercing pain caused a deafening roar in the servant's mind. The medicine was slowly healing his wounds, and Ji Jinmo then placed a restorative pill in Nan Shiying's hand.
This pill was also specially made by Nan Shiying for him, using precious medicinal ingredients, ensuring the servant wouldn't die from the pain.
Amidst his agonizing cries, Jia Huan returned, carrying a container filled with chili water.
The torment had only just begun!
Nan Yujin could not recall how he left the dungeon. The servant's extreme cries of pain echoed in his ears. For a moment, he truly felt that everything Nan Shiying did afterward was merely to satisfy her own perverse desire for torture.
Until he heard a name spoken from the servant's lips.
Nan Shiying and Ji Jinmo's expressions turned grim. It was unclear whether it was because they heard the name or because Nan Yujin also overheard it at the scene.
Nan Yujin never imagined that person would be a Great Li spy!
Watching Nan Yujin depart in a daze, Nan Shiying unceremoniously collapsed onto the soft couch. That scoundrel Ji Jinmo was still leisurely sitting in her room, drinking tea. Didn't he realize it was late, and she needed to rest?
"I recall you administered the medicine to Nan Yuan'er only after hearing that Ji Wu was about to arrive in the capital, is that correct?" Ji Jinmo asked, putting down his tea tray.
Nan Shiying adjusted her posture slightly, her eyes half-closed. Resting her head on her hand, she let out a soft "hmm" from her nose.
"So you deliberately drugged Nan Yuan'er before Qingzhu administered the final acupuncture for Madam Shi. You knew that even if Nan Yuan'er didn't notice, the hidden guard beside her would, so Nan Chaoyin would certainly ask Qingzhu to examine Nan Yuan'er's pulse, right?"
Nan Shiying hummed again.
"So you intentionally let Nan Chaoyin know that Nan Yuan'er had been poisoned. You already knew who the poisoner was, and you anticipated that Qingzhu or Ji Wu would definitely detoxify Nan Yuan'er!"
Nan Shiying nodded noncommittally. "So?"
"Just to shift the blame?"
"Don't you find that old bastard Nan Chaoyin very suspicious?" Nan Shiying certainly wasn't just trying to shift blame. In all previous affairs, Nan Chaoyin had been a peripheral figure, involved in nothing, thus leaving no trace. Now that Yu Chengxuan had set a trap, pulling everyone into it, how could she let that old bastard Nan Chaoyin remain uninvolved?
She wanted to see if Nan Chaoyin could remain seated after Yu Chengxuan had used Nan Mansion, Nan Yuan'er, and Nan Yujin as mere pawns, and if so, how he would make his move!
Ji Jinmo recalled how Qingzhu had appeared that day, and how she had acted as if she knew nothing while clearly being aware of everything.
Even he at the time thought she truly intended to dissect Nan Yuan'er after faking her death.
Only today, upon seeing the look she gave Nan Yujin when the other party finally revealed the names, did Ji Jinmo truly understand the real purpose behind Nan Shiying's previous machinations.
She must have thoroughly enjoyed today's performance.
So…
"Can I stay the night today?" Ji Jinmo asked.
Nan Shiying: "..."