Chapter 40: Interrogation
Editor: Atlas Studios
“This is impossible! You’re only at the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm! How can you have such great strength!”
The older brother of Twin Devils of the Thorn River had his shoulder shattered by a single slap from Jiang Li, and he knelt on the ground while his knees were covered in blood. His body had suffered heavy injuries, and he was unable to stand up for a long time.
[Name: Wu Jiang, Gender: Male, Class: Cultivator, Level: Late-stage Qi Refinement, Danger Level: Medium]
[Name: Wu He, Gender: Male, Class: Cultivator, Level: Mid-stage Qi Refinement, Danger Level: Low]
(After removing the pill poisoning’s suppression, his strength would increase and the danger rating would decrease accordingly.)
Jiang Li had just launched a sneak attack from behind and released his spiritual qi. Due to his limited ability to conceal himself, he was discovered by his elder brother Wu Jiang immediately. Naturally, he recognized his Qi Refinement cultivation immediately.
Wu Jiang actually had the ability to dodge, but the Twin Devils of the Thorn River were a pair of brothers who had a very good relationship.
Wu Jiang saw that his younger brother, Wu He, was on the verge of death, and he noticed that Jiang Li’s cultivation was limited, so he intended to take Jiang Li’s attack head-on and seize the chance to rescue his younger brother.
The plan was wonderful. Their brotherhood was touching.
However, following that, the abnormal force on Jiang Li’s palm stunned him. He was instantly heavily injured and lost the ability to resist.
“Heh! One is at the mid-stage of Qi Refinement while the other is at the late-stage of Qi Refinement. You dare call yourselves the Twin Devils of the Thorn River?”
Jiang Li sneered. With a shake of his hand, a chain flew out from beneath his black robe.
The chains slithered around nimbly like long snakes, binding Wu Jiang in an instant.
Jiang Li grabbed the chained Wu Jiang and walked to the black zombie’s side. He stretched out his palm and pulled out the six nails that had shot into the black zombie.
Zombies had almost no sense of pain, and their reaction to physical damage was much slower than humans. A few lousy quality nails could only deal limited damage to them.
On the other side, the younger brother of the Twin Devils of the Thorn River had already been sucked to near death by the black zombie’s fangs.
Jiang Li forcefully controlled the black zombie to stop sucking blood and spared Wu He’s life, trapping him under the zombie’s armpit.
The man and zombie did not stop at all, continuing to run in one direction, quickly disappearing into the cover of the darkness.
…
[Consumed the Experimental Mad Strength Pill. Added Status: Muscle Stiffening]
[Status: Muscle Stiffening has been removed.]
[Consumed the Experimental Mad Strength Pill. Added Status: Mad Strength. After the effect ends, enter a state of weakness.]
[Mad Strength: Temporary Strength +5, Temporary Constitution +2, Base Strength +100%. Duration: 10 minutes] (− +)
[Overdose of the Mad Strength Pill. Added Status: Blood Bursting Force. After the effect ends, heart failure will occur.]
[Blood Bursting Force: Temporary Strength +10, Temporary Constitution +4, Base Strength +250%. Duration: 10 minutes] (− +)
This was the origin of Jiang Li’s inexplicable burst of strength.
The “Mad Strength Pill”, which was still stuck at the experimental stage, was refined using Jiang Li’s useless pill formula.
It could be said that this time, the Twin Devils of the Thorn River had lost without any injustice.
Firstly, the black zombie attracted their attention and endured the sneak attack, turning his passive situation into an active one.
On the other hand, Jiang Li’s strength could not be considered to be weak. This was the ten minutes of enormous explosion strength he gained after paying the terrifying price of ‘heart failure’ after the status ends.
Fighting a minor realm above him was not considered a challenge to begin with. Furthermore, this was a sneak attack, so they were taken down in one go.
Of course, these ten minutes would never pass, and the price of ‘heart failure’ would never come.
Jiang Li had originally come here to train his body before. Coupled with the immense brute force augmented by the Mad Strength Pill, how could an ordinary Qi Refinement cultivator stand a chance against him once he got close?
The Twin Devils of the Thorn River were the best example.
Jiang Li did not leave the city directly. He brought the black zombie and made many turns in the alley. After making sure that no one was following him, he jumped a few times and silently entered the death row prison of the Southern Seal Kingdom.
A handful of medicinal powder that could not even be considered a medicinal pill was scattered. It could only be used against mortals, and soon, the dungeon, which had wailing sounds incessantly, slowly quieted down.
Bang! Bang!
The Twin Devils of the Thorn River were roughly thrown to the ground. In the dungeon, the excrement mixed with blood dried on the soil. The stench was shocking.
Wu Jiang and Wu He were thrown to the ground with their faces covered in dirt. It took a lot of effort for them to barely roll over and let their mouths escape the fate of continuing intimate contact with the excrement.
“Hey! You two! Stop pretending to be dead! It’s your bad luck to have met me! Hand over everything you have and recite all the cultivation methods and spell techniques you know! Perhaps I can spare your lives!”
Jiang Li returned the words that they had said to him in exactly the same manner, causing the faces of the two rogue cultivators to turn pale.
He urgently needed to know what had happened in the vicinity of the Southern Seal Kingdom and what the situation was like. Was the Scripture Storage Valley’s elders and disciples here?
This was related to their future operation and their safety. Now that two rogue cultivators had delivered themselves to his door, it gave him a way to obtain information quickly.
However, there were always some people who were unwilling to cooperate obediently.
“Hmph! Those who commit dangerous acts will eventually get caught. Make your move! If we, the Twin Devils of the Thorn River, frown, then we’re not real men!”
“That’s right! Make your move! Brat, you have only cultivated for a few years in the sect? You want us to be afraid of you? Impossible!”
Contrary to Jiang Li’s expectations, the Wu brothers were extremely unyielding in their words. No matter how he tried to coerce them, they would not relent.
Being captured by him, knowing that death was at hand, not only did they not have the slightest awareness or attitude of a captive, they were even shouting all kinds of vulgarities.
They probably wanted to infuriate Jiang Li and kill them so that they would not suffer before they died.
Jiang Li frowned and took out the black nails that they had used before. He shook his hand and directly shattered their kneecaps.
This was also a technique taught by the elder in the Cultivation Hall.
It was true that the effect of shattering the patella was not as effective as the lute bones, and it was also inferior to just piercing through the Qi Sea.
However, it created a lot of pain. This method could force a cultivator to endure even more pain while awake.
The injuries on their bodies caused them immense pain.
Elder Brother Wu Jiang’s body trembled in pain, but he gritted his teeth and did not make a sound.
His younger brother, Wu He, was rolling on the ground in pain, but he did not beg for mercy. Instead, he kept swearing non-stop and started cursing Jiang Li’s eighteen generations of ancestors.
“You guys are really tough.”
Jiang Li stabbed the remaining long nails into their bodies. The two of them rolled their eyes in pain, but they still looked like they would not speak no matter what.
Jiang Li looked at their performance and realized that his interrogation method was indeed too low-level.
Outlaws like them were bloodthirsty people who were ready to die at any moment.
After determining that they were going to die, a person’s stubbornness would often be greater than they imagined. Since they were going to die anyway, they definitely could not let their enemies gain any more benefits.
Jiang Li understood this feeling.
Perhaps it would be more effective to give them some hope when dealing with such people.
Jiang Li quickly thought of an idea.
He smiled, suddenly looking impressed.
“You know, I really admire you two brothers.”
“I like people like you who have backbone.”
“You are very lucky. I won’t kill you today. You don’t have to suspect that I lied to you. We can sign a contract.”
Jiang Li took out a contract from his body.
This thing cost five spirit stones each, and he only had this one on him.
The Wu brothers originally disdained Jiang Li’s words and firmly believed that he was definitely lying to them.
However, when the contract paper unfolded in front of them, the eyes of the Twin Devils of the Thorn River finally lit up.
As long as they signed this, they could live!
“That’s not all. Because of me, you guys are severely injured. If this goes out, the other rogue cultivators will not let you guys off, right?”
“I just have a problem. I’m too kind-hearted. I can’t bear to see you guys like this.”
Jiang Li once again put on a compassionate show, making a 180-degree turn with his initial fierce attitude.
“If you’re injured, you have to take medicine. I’ll even provide you with medicinal pills to recover from your injuries. Don’t you think this treatment is appropriate?”
As he spoke, Jiang Li had already scribbled out a contract.
In general, it was an agreement that Jiang Li would not kill them and would let them off after four hours. Moreover, he would not deliberately pursue them for ten days.
The contract did not even require the Twin Devils of the Thorn River to answer any questions. It was as if Jiang Li was acting foolishly and suddenly wanted to let them go.
The clearly written contract was placed in front of the rogue cultivator brothers. The two of them looked at each other, not knowing what Jiang Li was planning.
However, the contract did not seem to be a problem. As long as they signed it, they would be safe.
Happiness came so suddenly that the two of them hesitated.
But in the end, they still could not resist the temptation of living. They dabbed some blood on their wounds and pressed the bloody fingerprint onto them.
“Yes, very good. Congratulations, both of you, your lives are saved.”
“Now, let me heal your injuries.”
Jiang Li ‘kindly’ took out a cloth bag from his body that gave off a slight burnt smell.
“There’s no need! There’s no need! Friend, we have our own medicinal pills, so there’s no need to trouble you.”
The Twin Devils of the Thorn River waved their hands repeatedly. They subconsciously felt that something was amiss.
The smile on Jiang Li’s face grew even wider. Look, even the salutation had changed. Indeed, people could only achieve a win-win situation by getting along harmoniously with each other.
“Hey, you two, have you forgotten? Didn’t you give me all your possessions just now?”
Jiang Li pointed at two small piles of things at the side.
“You! We didn’t!”
“Wu He!”
“That’s right! Friend, you are right. We did offer the items willingly.”
Wu Jiang and Wu He gnashed their teeth in anger. That was the savings they had accumulated over many years. They had lost everything like this.
Rogue cultivators were like this. Other than a small number of heavy items, most of their wealth would be on them.
“Since you’ve taken our things, we’re of no use to you. Now, can you let us brothers leave?”
One of Wu Jiang’s shoulders was shattered, and he was unable to move his hand. He could only hold his breath and bow to Jiang Li with one hand.
After all, this was different from before. They already had hope of surviving, so they naturally had to be more polite to Jiang Li.
“Eh? I haven’t treated you yet. Besides, we still have four hours, right? Don’t be anxious, you two!”
Jiang Li opened the contract again and showed them the agreement inside.
“We don’t need your treatment. Please keep your promise and let us live!”
One of Wu Jiang’s hands was broken, and two of his legs were broken. At this time, he could not leave this place by himself at all.
After signing the contract, they, who had just been unafraid of death, started to become afraid.
“Hey, that’s too serious. The contract is here. How can I dare to go against it?”
“Come on, my friends! It’s time to take your medicine!”
Jiang Li kicked them to the ground and took out two charred and smelly pills from the cloth bag. He opened their mouths and stuffed one into each of them. He was afraid that they would not swallow it, so he used his spiritual qi to push the pills into their stomachs before he was satisfied.
Urgh! Urgh!
Just like Jiang Li, they violently retched and twitched.
“Bastard! What did you feed us!”
“You promised to let us go! You went back on your word! The contract will punish you!”
After Wu Jiang and Wu He recovered from their shock, they immediately started cursing.
Then, Jiang Li stuffed two more medicinal pills into their mouths!
Their auras visibly weakened rapidly.
Wu Jiang’s aura had fallen to the mid-stage Qi Refinement realm. His younger brother, Wu He, had fallen to the initial-stage Qi Refinement realm.
Both of their faces turned dark and yellowish, looking weak and sickly.
“I promised not to kill you, and I also promised to let you go. However, that is four hours from now!”
“You want to know what these are? They’re really nice!”
“They’re called waste pills, have you heard of them?”
Jiang Li gently and elegantly took out two more waste pills from the cloth bag. He placed them at his nose and took a deep sniff. This smell was extremely pungent.
“Waste… Waste pills!”
“You demon! You actually fed us waste pills!”
The Twin Devils of the Thorn River lay on the ground, their faces filled with despair as they accused Jiang Li of his despicable actions.
“Aren’t waste pills still considered pills? How dare you scold me, where do you think you are?”
After consuming another waste pill each, their auras became even weaker. Their bodies began to emit a terrible burnt smell as their spiritual qi circulation became even slower.
“I will tell you very responsibly that you will need to spend at least 20 years to expel the pill poison from the three waste pills.”
“Find a mortal city and hide your identity for twenty years. After you recover, you can still be the Twin Devils of the Thorn River.”
“But if you eat another waste pill, it will take fifty years. If you eat even more than that, I’m afraid you won’t be able to return to the cultivation world for the rest of your lives.”
“To be tortured by pill poisoning and spend the rest of your life at the bottom of the mortal world, or live and wait twenty years to cultivate again?”
“I’m not going to kill either of you. Now, whether or not you want to answer my question is entirely up to you.”
