A Will Eternal

Another hour flew by, and the screams continued, growing more bitter as the time passed. It was a tragic and brutal scene. The guards outside the cage, despite having served in Devil Penitentiary for many years, and having seen many, many things, were completely and utterly shaken.

By this point, the screaming no longer contained curses at Bai Xiaochun. They were simple cries of misery, the type that came out so freely, and were filled with such madness and intensity, that everyone who heard them felt chilled to the bone.

Because of the black smoke that filled the cage, it was impossible to see exactly what was going on inside, which only served to make the situation even more dramatic. The ordinary guards were shocked, and even the four dark inquisitors were having trouble breathing normally, and their faces were covered with very serious expressions.

Li Xu’s eyes shone brightly with both anticipation and nervousness.

As everyone waited outside, Bai Xiaochun was inside the cage, frowning at the trembling Cai Clan elder. The man’s eyes were completely bloodshot, and blue veins bulged out on his face and neck as he glared at Bai Xiaochun. Despite the fact that he was screaming miserably, his eyes radiated madness.

“Clever,” Bai Xiaochun murmured. “Using the screams to vent the pressure from inside, huh?” He snorted coldly. This Cai Clan elder wasn’t the only person to have come up with such a method. During his time interrogating some of the other monsters in Devil Penitentiary, Bai Xiaochun had seen this on a few occasions.

Clasping his hands behind his back, he stuck his chin up and said, “I advise you to simply talk. We both have our orders to follow, and I really don’t want to use my method number two! Method number two isn’t completely unparalleled under heaven, but it’s close.”

“Screw off!!” the Cai Clan elder roared, his expression vicious, as if he wished to eat Bai Xiaochun alive. He even went so far as to spit out another glob of blood-laced spittle.

“Old bastard!” Bai Xiaochun said with a glare. “Fine. Time to show you method number two!” His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he waved his finger at the elder, causing a sealing mark to settle down onto his mouth.

The instant the elder’s mouth was sealed, he was no longer able to emit a single scream! Everything was now stuck inside of him!

This method made it impossible for him to vent through screaming. Instantly the elder began to shake violently. His eyes became even more bloodshot than before, and as he struggled, he felt a sensation like burning fire growing within him. Unfortunately for him, there was no way to release that fire. He began to sweat profusely. It felt like he was both being burned alive and simultaneously trampled by countless ants. The sensation was almost impossible to describe with words.

The sight caused Bai Xiaochun’s face to twitch, and his heart to pound. However, this man had tried to chase him down and kill him. Furthermore, Bai Xiaochun was working for Giant Ghost King now, and showing mercy in this situation would not only earn the ire of those above him, but it could also get him killed.

“Sometimes in life you just have to make some compromises,” he thought.

Sighing, he squatted down in front of the Cai Clan elder and said, “Just talk, alright? If you don’t make things hard for me, then of course I won’t make things hard for you. That would be better all around!

“All I want to know is how many souls the Cai Clan has used in the past few years, and what types. It's a simple question.” As Bai Xiaochun spoke, the madness in the Cai Clan elder’s eyes grew more intense. His glare was so brutal that it seemed he would gladly die if it meant being able to take Bai Xiaochun along with him.

Frowning, Bai Xiaochun stood up and stepped back a few paces. Everyone outside the cell continued to observe, surprised that the screaming had stopped, only to be replaced by muffled grunts.

The ordinary guards present weren’t inquisitors, and thus weren’t aware of the serious implications of the silence. Therefore, they were merely surprised. However, the four dark inquisitors’ pupils constricted, and they exchanged serious glances.

“Making prisoners scream is something that ordinary inquisitors do. But preventing them from screaming is another level altogether....”

“Many people understand that general truth, but it's difficult to understand exactly how and when to use such methods....”

“It’s hard to say how this Bai Hao did it, but the previous screaming clearly contained a pent-up pressure that needed to be vented. Now, he’s essentially plugged up the volcano! The next time it erupts, it will be shocking. We underestimated this Bai Hao!”

Li Xu’s eyes were shining brightly. As the warden, he knew a lot about the methods of inquisitors, and therefore, couldn’t help but quiver in anticipation.

The muffled grunts continued for more than two hours before stopping. By that point, the group outside the cell couldn’t help but tremble in uncertainty about what was happening.

Inside the cell, Bai Xiaochun was looking in shock at the Cai Clan elder, who was shaking and twitching, his skin bright red. Despite the madness in his eyes, he was still aware of his surroundings.

Sighing, Bai Xiaochun looked down at the man with utmost sincerity and said, “You’ve lasted longer than anyone I've ever seen. Alright, listen. I have a method number three, but I really don’t want to use it. Why don’t you just tell me what you know...?”

The Cai Clan elder looked back at him and nodded.

Bai Xiaochun was surprised, but quickly stepped forward and performed an incantation gesture to remove the seal from the elder’s mouth. The elder instantly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, which he directed at Bai Xiaochun. Then, he let out a manic howl that was filled with deranged laughter.

“Is that all you’ve got, Bai Hao?! Why don’t you try this on for size? I’ll tell you something you probably don't know. You know who really killed your mother? It was a daughter of the Cai Clan. That’s right, it was your father’s first wife! Your mother was in the middle of sewing some clothes for you when she died, and let me tell you, it was a horrific death!” The Cai Clan elder let out a string of maniacal laughter.

As for Bai Xiaochun, a tremor ran through him.

“Your mother wasn’t the only one to die, either. Her whole clan was wiped out! Every last one of them. Even the other servant girls who were friends with your mother were executed. The only reason you weren’t killed was because you had Bai Clan blood in you!

“Your mother was a servant girl, a useless nobody. If she never got pregnant, it wouldn’t have mattered, but not only did she get pregnant, she dared to keep living afterward! That’s worthy of the death penalty! The true person responsible for your mother’s death is you! If you hadn’t come along, your mother would still be alive!” More raving laughter spilled out of the Cai Clan elder’s mouth, and his eyes burned with madness. He knew that the words he had just uttered would be profoundly upsetting, but he said them anyway.

Bai Xiaochun sucked in a breath, and his eyes instantly began to shine with killing intent. Of course, everyone on the outside could hear what had just been said.

Li Xu’s face fell, and he shouted, “Bai Hao, you mustn’t kill him!”

He was just preparing to step forward into the cell when Bai Xiaochun’s voice could be heard. “Trying to upset me so much that I just kill you? You really think I would fall for that?!”

Inside the cage, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes flickered with cold light. Although he wasn't actually Bai Hao, the words the clan elder had just spoken caused his anger to burn. After speaking, he simply stood there and stared at the laughing Cai Clan elder.

The look in his eye shook the clan elder to the core, and he suddenly stopped laughing.

Ignoring the elder, Bai Xiaochun walked out of the cell, where he instantly became the focus of all attention. Li Xu was about to say something, but before he could, Bai Xiaochun waved his sleeve and said,

“I need an instrument of torture, immediately!”

“Don't get impulsive, Bai Hao,” Li Xu said sternly. “He mustn’t die before confessing....”

“Oh, don't worry, Warden. I wouldn't give him such an easy death.” The casual way Bai Xiaochun spoke those words made them like a vile wind that stabbed into the ears of everyone present, filling them with fear.

Li Xu looked long and hard at Bai Xiaochun, then said, “What torture instrument do you want?”

“A big black dog,” he replied grimly. “Male. The stronger the better!”

Everyone was surprised by his request. However, Li Xu merely frowned before giving the orders. Before long, a black dog was brought in, a huge beast that was nearly the size of a young ox.

It was a vicious-looking thing, with sharp yellow teeth and bulging muscles. Saliva dripped down its chin as it looked around with ferocious eyes.

When Bai Xiaochun saw the dog, he nodded and then led it by the leash into the cage. When the Cai Clan elder saw the dog, his expression flickered, and he screamed, “What are you doing, Bai Hao?!?!”

“Oh nothing. You’re refusing to tell me what you know, right? Fine then. I’ll stop asking.” Smiling coldly, he took out an Aphrodisiac Pill and fed it to the black dog. Then, after a moment of thought, he pried open the mouth of the shocked Cai Clan elder and shoved an entire handful of the pills inside.

Earlier, he had been reluctant to do this, but after what the Cai Clan elder had just said, the hatred in Bai Xiaochun’s heart began to burn hotter than ever. “This is method number three, a method which no one can endure. If you can handle it, then when the process is over, we’ll find an even more ferocious animal for you to enjoy.”