Interrogation

1,079 words

Chapter 79: Interrogation

The giant man emerged steadily from the forest, single-handedly gripping a blue-robed man by the scruff of his neck like a child holding a chicken. The captive was unconscious, completely unaware of his surroundings. The giant’s green robe was stained with scattered patches of blood, which stood out vividly against the fabric, bright and eye-catching as peach blossoms.

Li Feiyu sucked in a breath of cold air.

The giant strode up to the two of them and tossed the blue-robed man to the ground. A wave of pungent, metallic blood-assaulted Li Feiyu’s senses.

His expression shifted drastically. Without thinking, he retreated half a step and dropped into a defensive stance.

The giant paid no attention to Li Feiyu’s small movements. He took one long stride and returned to his place behind Han Li, standing there motionless and silent, as though he had never left that spot at all.

Only then did Li Feiyu let out a long breath and relax his guard. He looked at the man on the ground, then at Han Li, who remained perfectly composed, and suddenly broke into a laugh.

“And here I thought you were just keeping your cool for no reason! Turns out you had a master like this hidden by your side the whole time! Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Had me on edge for nothing.” Li Feiyu’s words were light, but inwardly he was churning with speculation, trying to piece together the relationship between Han Li and this green-robed giant.

Han Li saw through his thoughts but made no move to explain. A faint, ambiguous smile hung on his lips as he said slowly:

“This blue-robed enforcer should know quite a bit. Which of us will interrogate him? I think you, Hall Master Li, are far more experienced at this sort of thing than I am. The capable do the heavy lifting—I’ll leave it to you.”

Seeing Han Li change the subject without any intention of introducing the giant, Li Feiyu felt a twinge of reluctance. Still, he had plenty of interest in interrogating the enforcer himself. Since Han Li had brought it up, he simply went along with it.

Li Feiyu grabbed the unconscious blue-robed man and slipped silently into the forest to begin his extraction. Han Li, meanwhile, sat down cross-legged on the grass and took his ease.

Before long, Li Feiyu emerged from the woods alone, his face dark and grim.

“That was fast. Any useful information?” Han Li did not stand up. He simply raised an eyebrow and asked directly.

“Hmph. A coward who fears death. I barely had to lift a finger before he spilled everything. As for the news, there are two pieces: one good, one bad. Which do you want first?” Li Feiyu said with a disgruntled tone.

“Let’s start with the good one. Could use a bit of cheering up.” Han Li clearly didn’t care about the order.

“The good news is that your guess about the Wild Wolf Gang’s plan was right. They’ve only surrounded the other peaks without attacking, and concentrated all their main force at the foot of Sunset Peak. They’re assaulting it like mad—rumor has it they’ve already broken through several defensive lines.” Li Feiyu’s tone was flat, showing little concern for the fate of the sect’s higher-ups.

“If that’s the good news, then I don’t need to ask what the bad one is. It must be absolutely terrible.” Han Li rubbed his nose and muttered to himself.

“Your jinx of a mouth is right on the money this time. The bad news is that it’s not just the Wild Wolf Gang attacking the mountain. The Iron Spear Society, the Severed Water Sect, and several other mid-sized and small gangs have joined them. Looks like this sect is really in for it.”

Han Li was taken aback for a moment. Even he hadn’t expected this turn.

“Forget how many are attacking. The priority is to regroup with your girl and your men. With the chaos outside, now is the best time to move.” Han Li recovered quickly and made his judgment on the spot.

Li Feiyu nodded eagerly. This suggestion suited his own wishes perfectly.

“What did you do with that guy?” Han Li asked suddenly.

“Silenced him. What, you think I should’ve brought him along?” Li Feiyu said carelessly.

A faint smile crossed Han Li’s lips. He pressed one hand against the ground and rose gracefully to his feet.

“Let’s go. Stay out of the enemy’s way as much as possible. If we can’t avoid them, then kill everyone who spots us. Don’t hold back—otherwise, they’ll only gather in greater numbers.” Han Li’s words were spoken lightly, as if discussing the weather, but the meaning behind them was dripping with murderous intent and reeked of blood.

At Elder Li’s courtyard, a few li from Divine Hand Valley, a dense crowd had packed the grounds. The people gathered there included men and women, young and old. None of them seemed to possess any martial skill, yet they murmured among themselves in low voices, all wearing expressions of deep worry.

Around the courtyard, over twenty young men in black robes stood guard with drawn blades and swords, their vigilant figures standing in sharp contrast to the unarmed masses inside.

Inside the main hall of the residence, two men were locked in an argument.

“I oppose sending anyone outside. Our defenses here are already thin enough. If we send people out, we’ll be even weaker. No, absolutely not!” A fat, potbellied middle-aged man sprayed spittle as he spoke, shaking his head vigorously like a rattle-drum, resolutely opposing the proposal.

“But we don’t know what’s actually happening out there. If we don’t send anyone to scout, we’ll be flying blind—completely in the dark. That puts us in a dangerously passive position.” The man arguing against him was none other than Ma Rong, Elder Li’s beloved disciple.

“Passive or not, what happens outside has nothing to do with me. What matters here is the safety of this place. Do you dare to defy my orders?” The fat man blinked his small eyes, suddenly pulled a golden waist token from his bosom, and waved it in front of Ma Rong’s face, his expression dripping with arrogance.

Ma Rong looked at the fat man before him, then at the waist token. He sighed, clasped his hands in a salute, and bowed.

“I would not dare. This subordinate shall follow your command.”

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Reading Guide Decoding

The Coalition Closes In

Cultural / Xianxia Notes

The golden waist token (金腰牌) appearing in this chapter is a classic symbol of institutional authority in Chinese martial and bureaucratic fiction. It functions as a physical delegation of power: whoever holds it speaks with the voice of a superior, and defiance of the token is defiance of the office itself. In the context of sects and Jianghu organizations, tokens of this kind act as a social trump card, overriding rank and personal judgment. Ma Rong’s reluctant submission—despite his clear strategic instinct that scouting is necessary—demonstrates a recurring tension in these settings: the conflict between practical survival logic and rigid hierarchical protocol. The fat official’s bluster is not just cowardice; it is a weaponized appeal to structure, one that Ma Rong cannot break without openly rebelling. This mechanism parallels the way cultivation hierarchies lock individuals into obedience even when the system is failing around them.

Dissolving Cultivation (散功)

The voluntary destruction of one's own cultivation base, reverting to a mortal state. Often a last resort for those afflicted by irreversible side effects of dangerous techniques.

Chapter Overview

The interrogation of the blue-robed enforcer brings a storm of bad news: the attack on the Seven Mysteries Sect is far larger than anticipated. Li Feiyu emerges from the woods with two critical pieces of intel—one good, one bad—but even the “good” news paints a grim picture of the siege. Han Li, as always, wastes no time on sentiment. He calmly decides their next move: regroup, avoid detection, and kill anyone who sees them. The chapter closes with a parallel scene at Elder Li’s courtyard, where a different kind of power struggle is unfolding—one between a blustering bureaucrat with a golden token and a disciple who knows the price of disobedience.

Key Plot Points

The green-robed giant emerges from the forest carrying an unconscious blue-robed enforcer, his robe stained with blood, confirming his lethal efficiency.
Li Feiyu is visibly shaken by the giant’s presence and retreats defensively, but the giant ignores him and silently returns to Han Li’s side.
Li Feiyu’s attempt to pry into Han Li’s relationship with the giant is deflected; Han Li shifts the topic to the interrogation, tactfully evading the question while still enlisting Li Feiyu’s help.
Li Feiyu extracts information quickly: the enforcer was a coward who spilled everything without much pressure.
The “good news”: the Wild Wolf Gang’s strategy matches Han Li’s earlier prediction—they have only surrounded the other peaks and have concentrated their main force on Sunset Peak, already breaking through several defensive lines.
The “bad news”: the attack is a coalition including the Iron Spear Society, the Severed Water Sect, and several other mid-sized and small gangs, suggesting the Seven Mysteries Sect is facing a coordinated extermination effort.
Han Li decides to move immediately: regroup with Li Feiyu’s lover and subordinates while the chaos gives them cover.
Li Feiyu confirms he has silenced the enforcer, accepting this as standard operating procedure.
Han Li lays down the tactical principle: avoid enemies when possible, but kill everyone who spots them without hesitation—no survivors means no reinforcements.
The scene shifts to Elder Li’s courtyard, crowded with defenseless sect dependents, guarded by twenty-odd armed young men.
Inside the hall, Li’s disciple Ma Rong is arguing with a fat, arrogant official who refuses to send out scouts and brandishes his golden token to assert authority; Ma Rong is forced to submit.

Reading Guide

This chapter is a masterclass in pace and contrast. On one side, we have Han Li and Li Feiyu moving through a battlefield with cold efficiency—extracting intel, making snap decisions, and operating on a mutual understanding that mercy is a liability. On the other, we cut to a courtyard full of helpless dependents and a petty authority figure who would rather hide behind his token than act. The fat official is a perfect foil to Han Li: both hold leverage, but one uses it to stall, the other to move. Pay attention to how Han Li’s tactical principle—“kill everyone who spots us”—is stated in the same calm tone he uses to discuss the weather. This is not cruelty for its own sake; it is the logical extension of a world where loose ends get you killed. The chapter also deepens Li Feiyu’s role as the audience’s emotional barometer: he is visibly shaken by the giant’s presence, relieved by Han Li’s composure, and unsettled by the scale of the coalition attack. His reaction keeps the stakes human, even as Han Li’s decisions grow more ruthless.

Deep Dive: The Interrogation Offscreen

The chapter saves us the spectacle of the interrogation itself—Li Feiyu emerges with results before we can wonder what methods he used. This is a deliberate narrative economy: the important part is not how the information was extracted, but what it means. The cowardly enforcer’s quick confession reinforces a grim reality of the Mortal Stream: loyalty in this world is cheap, especially when the interrogator knows what he is doing. Li Feiyu’s willingness to silence the man without a second thought mirrors Han Li’s own pragmatism, confirming that these two are on the same wavelength when it comes to survival. The offscreen nature of the violence also keeps the focus on the strategic calculus rather than the gore, allowing the tension of the coalition attack to dominate the reader’s attention.