Lin Xiaotian said with a half-smile, "If you can last for ten minutes, I'll even let you go. But I doubt you can last for five."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man's heart leaped with joy. He instinctively asked, "Ten minutes is enough?"
Lin Xiaotian nodded with a smile, "If you don't completely break down within ten minutes, you can leave."
Just as the middle-aged man was about to say something, he suddenly felt an extreme pain erupt all over his body, as if countless ants were gnawing at his flesh and blood.
The heart-wrenching pain made him want to cry out again.
But as soon as he opened his mouth, he found that he couldn't make any sound. His eyes were filled with extreme pleading.
"Feel it? This pain will last for ten minutes, and it will keep intensifying," Lin Xiaotian said, lighting a cigarette.
The smile on his face became even more pronounced. "I gave you a chance earlier. If you had confessed honestly, you wouldn't be in this situation now."
"But you took advantage of my kindness. You think the people behind you are terrifying, so you're afraid to reveal them. That's equivalent to telling me I'm easy to bully and fool."
"I already said, if you make me unhappy, I'll make you suffer immensely."
"Now, enjoy it slowly!"
The middle-aged man was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. He couldn't bear another second of this pain.
He desperately wanted to confess everything about those people, but he couldn't make a sound, nor could he move his fingers. Fortunately, his muscles were constantly spasming.
Extreme pain could truly kill a person.
Lin Xiaotian kept an eye on his condition. When he neared a critical point, Lin Xiaotian flicked out a strand of spiritual energy, temporarily stabilizing the pain.
In less than two minutes, the middle-aged man had completely broken down. His eyes held no will to live, only a desire for release.
Lin Xiaotian directly pressed his pressure point to silence him.
The middle-aged man could finally speak and cried out, "Please, spare me!"
"I really know I was wrong. The person who sent me is named Ren Tianxing. He's been forcing me. If I don't obey him, he'll kill me."
"And he sent me to find your medicinal cauldron. I wasn't planning to attack you. My real goal was that cauldron. I originally wanted to see how many antiques you had brought back, because I suspected the cauldron might be among them."
Hearing this, Lin Xiaotian's eyes narrowed, and a cold glint flashed in his gaze, as he vaguely guessed a possibility.
"Please, spare me. I've told you everything I know."
"I was truly forced. Otherwise, I would never have attacked you."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man struggled to his knees and repeatedly kowtowed to Lin Xiaotian.
A faint smile appeared on Lin Xiaotian's face. "I told you before that mistakes must be paid for. Don't you have any idea how serious your mistake is?"
"I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. Now you're saying this. You should continue to endure this pain."
After speaking, he flicked another strand of spiritual energy, hitting the middle-aged man. It wouldn't cause him extreme pain, but it wouldn't kill him either.
The middle-aged man tried to say something else but found he couldn't make any sound.
Lin Xiaotian said indifferently, "You are his bodyguards. Don't stay on the ground. Hurry and take him to the hospital. If you're late, he might not make it."
The bodyguards were eager to escape, not wanting to suffer the same fate as their boss.
After they left, a cold smile flickered across Lin Xiaotian's face.
He took out his phone and dialed Ku Mu Daoist's number.
The call was quickly answered, and Ku Mu Daoist's fawning voice came through, "Mr. Lin, I didn't expect you to call me personally. Is there something important you need me to do?"
He couldn't imagine any other reason for Lin Xiaotian to call him.
Lin Xiaotian smiled, but his eyes were cold.
"I'm not calling you to ask you to do something. I'm calling to ask if you find tricking me fun."
"I'm a bit angry now, very angry."
Hearing these cold words, Ku Mu Daoist, who was sitting in his villa, suddenly stood up. His gaze was solemn, and he quickly explained, "Mr. Lin, is there some misunderstanding between us?"
Lin Xiaotian's voice grew colder, "I don't want to hear any explanations from you. I know whether there's a misunderstanding or not."
"What about the Medicine King Cauldron? Don't you have any idea?"
"I gave you a chance and let you search, but I found clues and investigated earlier than you. In the end, I discovered someone was deliberately luring me out."
"And someone within this was trying to cause trouble for me. That guy's name is Ren Tianxing. Are you going to find this guy yourself, or should I go find him?"
"He should be one of your Heavenly Net people. Don't ask me how I know. What I need now is a clear answer from you."
After speaking, Lin Xiaotian hung up the phone without waiting for any explanation from Ku Mu Daoist.
He didn't care whether Ku Mu Daoist was involved in the scheme. Since these people wanted to cause trouble for him, they would have to pay the price.
Meanwhile, in the villa.
Ku Mu Daoist's face turned extremely ugly. His gaze shifted directly to Ren Tianxing, who was sitting below.
"You assured me that this matter would be foolproof, but what's the result?"
"Lin Xiaotian has already called me. He wants a clear answer now, and he even mentioned your name. He didn't even give me a chance to explain."
"Do you know what this means?"
Ren Tianxing's face turned extremely grim, and a look of fear appeared in his eyes. He quickly stood up, incredulously saying, "He absolutely couldn't have discovered that I wasn't just watching him, but specifically watching the antiques he brought back. If he really got the Medicine King Cauldron, it must have been among those antiques."