Chapter 72: A Cold Interrogation
With all three intruders gathered into the spacious center of the eastern wing, the room fell into a tense, expectant silence. The heavy oak doors were firmly shut, sealing off the midnight cold outside, while a single bronze lantern cast long, flickering shadows across the floorboards.
Lu Feng stepped forward to inspect the captives. Ye Chenxue had tossed the two unconscious intruders beside their paralyzed companion, leaving them slumped together in a heap. Bending down, Lu Feng systematically stripped off the black cloth masks covering the faces of the remaining two men.
Underneath the black fabric were the weathered faces of middle-aged men. Their skin was coarse and lined, marked by dark bags under their eyes that spoke of deep, bone-weary exhaustion.
Lu Feng couldn’t tell whether that weariness stemmed from the harsh nature of their covert profession or from some deeper, grueling strain, but he didn’t dwell on it. In the ruthless world of cultivators, motives mattered far more than appearances.
He pulled a wooden chair over, sitting down casually before the three bound men with his arms resting on his knees. His mismatched eyes locked onto the trio, cold and unreadable.
"Let us make this simple," Lu Feng began, his voice dropping into a quiet, dangerous tone that filled every corner of the room. "You breached my estate, threatened my companions, and tore through my property. Tell me who sent you, what you were looking for, and why you thought this land belonged to your target. Speak clearly, and you might leave this room with your lives."
The paralyzed intruder—the one whose face was already covered in purple welts from Han Lin’s metal rod—glared up at Lu Feng with bloodshot eyes. He spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm onto the floor, his teeth clenched in defiance. "Do your worst, boy. We know the rules of the trade. We say nothing."
Lu Feng didn’t even blink at the outburst. He simply cast a brief, sideways glance toward Ye Chenxue, giving her a silent, subtle nod.
Ye Chenxue stepped forward instantly. A faint, frosty mist rose from her fingertips as she leaned down over the defiant man. Without a word of warning, she pressed her index finger directly against the middle of his right thigh.
A sharp, microscopic needle of pure, concentrated Ice Qi shot straight through his muscle, piercing his marrow.
The man’s eyes nearly bulged out of his sockets. A strangled, high-pitched screech tore from his throat as the intense, agonizing cold began to freeze the nerves inside his bone from the inside out. It wasn’t just physical pain; it was an excruciating, agonizing burn that made his entire body shudder violently, despite the paralysis holding his limbs still.
"Your marrow will turn to solid ice within moments," Ye Chenxue murmured softly, her voice devoid of any emotion as she hovered over him like an ice spirit. "Then I will move to your elbow joints, then your shoulders, and finally your spine."
She lifted her hand and moved her glowing finger toward the second intruder—the one whose cheekbone she had partially caved in earlier. The man was awake now, groaning in sheer agony as he cradled his mangled jaw. Seeing Ye Chenxue’s glowing, frost-covered finger moving toward his exposed neck, his spirit broke completely.
"Stop! Stop! I’ll talk! Please, stop the cold!" the man with the ruined jaw choked out, his voice garbled through his broken teeth as tears of pure terror leaked from his swollen eyes. "I will confess everything!"
Lu Feng raised a hand, signaling Ye Chenxue to hold her position. "Speak. I am listening."
The broken intruder swallowed hard, taking short, ragged breaths as he spilled the truth as fast as his mangled mouth would allow. "We... we were not sent to assassinate you, Young Master! We didn’t even know who bought this estate until we broke in tonight! We were sent by a random beggar that we have seen operating out of the lower districts!"
"A random beggar?" Lu Feng questioned, his eyebrows rising slightly. "Why would a beggar send infiltration experts into an estate in the Upper Eastern District?"
"They were looking for Agent Zhou’s hidden ledger!" the man confessed frantically, his chest heaving. "Agent Zhou... the estate agent who died earlier today! Before he was silenced, this estate was one of his private safe houses and secondary record offices. He kept a master ledger hidden somewhere beneath the floorboards or within the walls of this main building. We were sent to retrieve it!"
Han Lin stepped forward, her eyes wide as she recalled her earlier conversation with Lu Feng. "A master ledger? What kind of records were in it?"
The intruder hesitated, his eyes darting nervously toward his paralyzed companion, who was glaring at him with pure hatred.
"The list..." the broken man stammered out, his voice trembling violently. "It... it contains the names and transactions of high-ranking figures... a master buyer list for the city’s biggest networks..." He stopped abruptly, shaking his head frantically as panic seized his face. "I can’t say any more! I swear on my ancestors, if we say anymore than I’ve already said, the leaders will hunt down our families and skin them alive! It is better that you kill us right here than for us to give you those names!"
Ye Chenxue looked at Lu Feng, seeing that the man had hit an absolute wall of terror where fear of his masters outweighed fear of immediate death.
Without waiting for Lu Feng to order her, Ye Chenxue simply shrugged her delicate shoulders. She stepped up to the defiant intruder—the paralyzed one who had threatened Han Lin earlier—and laid her full palm flat against his chest over his heart.
A massive, overwhelming wave of absolute Ice Qi surged directly into his chest cavity.
The man’s body stiffened violently. The chilling energy flooded his internal organs in a split second, freezing his lungs, solidifying his blood vessels, and slowly bringing his pumping heart to a complete, icy halt. His eyes rolled back into his head, his breathing stopped, and his life force vanished entirely into the quiet room. Within seven breaths, he was a frozen, lifeless corpse.
The remaining two intruders watched their companion die so casually, right before their eyes, without even a chance to scream. A cold, suffocating wave of pure dread washed over them. Deep down in their souls, a bitter, overwhelming wave of regret began to consume them. They cursed the day they had ever accepted this cursed contract, bitterly regretting ever stepping foot into this quiet, terrifying estate.
Lu Feng stood up from his chair, his tall frame casting a long, dark shadow over the two surviving men. He looked down at them, his mismatched eyes burning with an unyielding, predatory calm.
"My companion has very little patience left tonight, and neither do I," Lu Feng said, his voice cold enough to freeze blood. "I only need one of you alive to guide me to your contract slots meeting point. The first one to start talking and giving me actionable details will be the one who gets to walk out of this courtyard alive. The other... will join your friend on the floor."