NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: The Fearsome Torture Devices
Yan Rouwan’s curses echoed throughout the night.
It’s hard to imagine how an elegant, ice-cold fairy could unleash such filthy language.
Clearly, someone hit a sore spot.
Young Master Sang was already used to it.
After asking a few questions and confirming he wouldn’t get anything useful, he yawned and locked her up.
Best to wait until he stole the cat.
When his shift ended, Sang Zhe greeted the oncoming demon cultivator and headed down the mountain from the Demon Path’s main peak.
At dawn, he made his way to the town below.
Sang Zhe had a house there.
A nice little setup courtesy of the Demon Path, marketed as an employment benefit.
It was a spacious courtyard residence, even tastefully decorated. Not exactly luxurious, but not shabby either.
“I’m back.”
As soon as he entered the courtyard, a girl in a light pink embroidered gown, with cherry lips, approached him, bowing her head while adeptly assisting him in changing clothes.
“Master, you’re late returning from your night shift. Dinner’s almost cold. Should I warm it up for you?”
“No need, I’ll just grab a bite and crash.”
Sang Zhe yawned and said, “Sudden overtime in the middle of the night. I’m exhausted.”
“Overtime? Did another righteous fairy get captured?”
“Yep. And it’s someone you know.”
Upon hearing “Yan Rouwan,” the girl halted briefly, her hands fiddling with his clothes.
Her beautiful eyes glanced away, looking somewhat distracted.
“What’s wrong? Feeling sorry for your senior sister?”
“…No way.”
She smiled at Sang Zhe, “I’ve chosen to accept the soul imprint, so I’ll be loyal to my master and won’t dwell on old feelings.”
Sang Zhe shot her a side-eye, casually replying:
“Zhang Xiaoying, I’m not blaming you. It’s human nature to have old feelings, especially since aren’t you two on good terms?”
Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaoying shook her head lightly.
“Not really.”
“…I wish she were dead,” she stated calmly, a bit chillingly.
Sang Zhe fell silent.
Zhang Xiaoying was indeed special.
She wasn’t like Yan Rouwan, specifically captured by the Demon Path.
She had been abandoned.
Before Sang Zhe left the sect, he vaguely remembered her.
She was just a plain nobody in the fairy world. Typically friendless and unfashionable, while her peers giggled together, she’d sit alone in a threadbare robe, looking for a quiet spot to meditate.
Her cultivation level was unremarkable too—at seventeen or eighteen, she still hadn’t formed her core, just barely past the foundational stage.
During an ambush designed by Tang Yubbing to capture Yan Rouwan, the fairy disciples retreated in defeat, barely protecting Yan Rouwan’s escape.
Zhang Xiaoying was left behind, heavily injured.
No one planned to rescue her.
When Zhang Xiaoying was brought to Sang Zhe, she was in critical condition, hanging by a thread.
Tang Yubbing suggested it wasn’t worth the resources to save her—better to interrogate her a bit and let her die naturally if nothing useful came out.
Sang Zhe saved her.
It took some effort too. Poor guy had no medical training, so he used resources stockpiled in his system to trade for some low-grade pills and managed to bring her back from the brink.
Rescued, Zhang Xiaoying accepted the soul imprint more smoothly than expected and became his little maid.
Unfortunately, she didn’t hold much rank in the fairy world and probably knew less than the Demon Path. Thus, the Demon Path didn’t bother dealing with her, leaving her to Sang Zhe.
So, he took her home.
Truth be told, while Zhang Xiaoying lacked the breathtaking beauty of someone like Yan Rouwan, she was perfect as a maid.
She cooked well, cleaned diligently, and was thoughtful, ensuring Sang Zhe lived comfortably.
Especially her cooking. It was really good.
Far superior to Sang Zhe’s previous experience of instant noodles.
Changing into his casual attire and sitting at the dinner table, Sang Zhe didn’t mind the slightly cool dishes and buns; he just dug in.
Zhang Xiaoying sat across from him, quietly watching him eat.
She seemed really into just observing him in silence.
“Have you figured out how you’ll interrogate Senior Sister Yan?”
“Sure have.” Stuffing his mouth with buns, Sang Zhe mumbled, “But it might take a few days.”
“To break her defense, I need to prepare some things.”
Zhang Xiaoying made a sound of acknowledgement. But after a moment, she couldn’t help asking:
“Actually, Master, you could use a more conventional method of interrogation.”
“Like?”
She stated matter-of-factly, “Interrogation should involve torture, forcing confessions, right?”
“Especially someone as beautiful as Senior Sister Yan, falling into the hands of the Demon Path, she might be tortured beyond recognition, or at least suffer immensely.”
“Being wrongly humiliated by a group of men, her limbs broken, nails pierced with bamboo sticks…”
…Hey, hey, don’t say such terrifying things with that blank expression!
Sang Zhe struggled to swallow the bun and shook his head.
“No, no, no~ This is where you don’t get it.”
“There’s an ancient saying: ‘Attacking a city is the last resort, attacking the mind is the best.’ The confession rate from torture is very low.”
“Can you believe there are people still using traditional interrogation techniques? I, Sang Zhe, have been a professional in interrogating righteous fairies for thirty years, and I’ve never harmed a single fairy.”
“Just look at the fairies I’ve dealt with—none of them resisted or fought against accepting my soul imprint willingly.”
“In these two years at the Punishment Department, I’ve single-handedly achieved what could rival an entire department. My boss practically worships me like a god.”
“Success lies in finding the key points. Understand? Find that key, and you can achieve twice the results with half the effort.”
Sang Zhe started rambling enthusiastically.
Of course, the real reason was that physically torturing them would cost him system points.
But he couldn’t tell Zhang Xiaoying that.
Zhang Xiaoying didn’t pry further.
She pondered for a bit, lowering her gaze and softly saying, “Master will naturally have a way. I’ve overstepped my bounds.”
“I get why you hate her.”
Sang Zhe took another bite of his meal. “I can empathize. Back in the fairy sect, I was often isolated too. Those disciples came from prestigious families, looking down on us commoners, no matter how innocent we were.”
“Anyway, I’ve become more Zen about it now.”
“Hating them is pointless. I’d rather thank them. Without them, I wouldn’t have this leisurely life today.”
“Now, I just need to earn my dead salary, claim my retirement benefits, and leisurely wait to retire.”
Seems like he lacked ambition.
But with past experiences, Sang Zhe felt quite content.
In a world where powerful cultivators roam and killing a mortal is as easy as squishing a bug, securing a stable retirement with benefits was already impressive.
Zhang Xiaoying thought for a moment and replied, “That life sounds pretty good.”
“Look at us now, living without worry for food and clothing, avoiding marriage pressures, and unlike your senior sisters, we’re not anxious about being captured or tortured like Yan Rouwan.”
“Once life settles down, I’ll find a matchmaker in town to get me a wife. Nothing too pretty, just gentle and virtuous will do.” Sang Zhe dreamily envisioned his future, “Since I’m from the Demon Path, just finding someone would already be incredible.”
“If I can’t find anyone, no worries, we can live together.”
Zhang Xiaoying, who had been mesmerized by Sang Zhe’s profile, suddenly froze.
“…Huh?”
“Uh, if you’re not happy, just ignore what I said. I’m not forcing you.”
“No…” After a long pause of blankness, her beautiful eyes dropped slightly in embarrassment. “Master, do you mean that?”
“What else can it mean?”
Sang Zhe sighed.
People from this world, like Zhang Xiaoying, knew nothing about the struggles of an older single man.
In his previous life, with no money, power, house, or car, looking for a partner was impossible.
Having someone like Zhang Xiaoying as his gentle and lovely maid was already quite enough.
“Well, I’ll take that as you agreeing.”
Zhang Xiaoying simply stated that softly.
Her tone was tranquil as always, so much so that Sang Zhe didn’t detect anything unusual.
Yet he didn’t notice that a subtle spark glinted in Zhang Xiaoying’s eyes afterward.
After finishing his meal, Sang Zhe mentioned to Zhang Xiaoying that he was off to his room to catch up on sleep.
He had worked last night, today was a break, and tomorrow he’d be on day shift.
But sleeping didn’t mean Sang Zhe would just do nothing.
During his slumber, a system message gently resounded in his mind:
[Anonymous bounty posted, task to steal Yan Rouwan’s beloved cat from Water Moon Sect.]
[Someone has accepted the task.]
[Infiltrated Water Moon Sect, task progress: thirty percent.]
……
He slept soundly from day to night.
As evening arrived and he groggily woke up to use the bathroom, he heard Zhang Xiaoying’s soft call at the door:
“Master, there’s a black box outside.”
“Got it.”
Efficiency was just as high as ever, Sang Zhe thought.
Adjusting his pants, he yawned and wandered to the door, seeing Zhang Xiaoying squatting next to the box, looking curious.
“Master, what’s inside?”
“It’s torture devices.”
Sang Zhe grinned devilishly. “Specially prepared for Yan Rouwan.”
“They can not only crush one’s spirit and deprive them of focus but also cause heavy addiction—one day without it, and you’ll feel miserable, unable to live or die.”
“Long-term use can even induce hallucinations, making one see it as a humanoid companion…”
Though Zhang Xiaoying didn’t understand what exactly that was, she sensed it must be something terrifying.
The kind of thing that would give children nightmares after dark.
Her master seemed to have an endless supply of bizarre torture devices, each one capable of scaring interrogation targets to their core.
It seemed, Yan Rouwan was in for a rough time this round.
“By the way.”
Sang Zhe suddenly remembered something and turned around. “While the shops in town are still open, go buy a bigger cage.”
“And go to the back mountain for a bag of fine stones as cat litter. Don’t let it mess around at home tonight.”
Zhang Xiaoying: “…?”
…Wasn’t this supposed to be about torture devices?