“Father! Father!” Tie Yu rushed in screaming, long trails of tears streaming down her face. “Father, what happened to you!?”
She then suddenly stopped, seeing his condition as he was being unceremoniously dragged by Captain An. Red-hot rage rose within her as she yelled and lunged at the inspector. “You beast! Unhand my Father!”
Captain An neither stopped nor paused as the young woman leapt toward him. Instead, he waited until she arrived close before delivering a backhanded slap aimed precisely at her beautiful face. Of course, he was considerate enough to hold back the majority of his strength, not wanting to kill the mortal woman.
SMACK! A hefty slap resounded as blood and teeth flew from the poor woman’s mouth. Tie Zheng went completely mad at this scene, screaming and struggling in Captain An’s hands. “AN CHANG, YOU WH*RESON! HOW DARE YOU HIT MY DAUGHTER! I’LL KILL YOU!! I SWEAR! I’LL KILL YOU!!!”
“Tch!” Growing annoyed, Captain An stopped for a second. He then turned around and forcibly stomped the screaming old man on his face. “Shut. Your. Damn. Mouth!”
Each stomp was extremely heavy, drawing blood and breaking bones. In just a few seconds, Tie Zheng’s face was disfigured leaving only a mess of gnarled flesh and blood.
Stomping one final time for good measure, Captain An let out a satisfied harrumph before turning to shoot a glare at the daughter. “Try assaulting me again and I’ll drag you alongside your father to the Iron Needle Pavilion.”
The distraught daughter, barely holding back the blood pouring from her broken mouth, soiled herself from fear. Tears poured from her face as she whimpered and shrunk back like an utterly terrified wounded animal.
The putrid scent of filth tickled Captain An’s sensitive nose causing him to turn away in disgust. Spitting a ball of saliva, he resumed dragging the now limp Tie Zheng. With no further interruptions, he finally arrived at the manor’s entrance where he met his second-in-command.
“Reporting to Captain An,” began his subordinate. “As expected, the traitor Tie Zheng has been hiding numerous contraband in his house. We have finished seizing and tallying everything and have already begun transporting it back to the bastion for investigation.”
Captain An nodded his head in reply. “Damages?”
“A few cuts and minor wounds. The assailants have been swiftly dealt with.”
“Good. What about the son? Did you find him?”
The subordinate shook his head. “Apologies, Captain An. We were not able to find Tie Zhi. It appears that he managed to escape during the chaos of our search. I’ve already put together a search party and am preparing to send them to find him.”
Captain An waved his hand and ordered, “Don’t bother searching for him. We’ve already accomplished what we came here for.” As he spoke those words, he turned to look at the unconscious and bloodied Tie Zheng and spat on his face.
Turning around toward his subordinate, he said, “Let us return.”
“Understood, Captain An,” bowed the subordinate and immediately took over Tie Zheng from the captain’s hold and moved him away.
Left alone, Captain An slowly descended the steps of the Tie Family manor and walked toward the gates. As he walked, he quietly whispered to himself.
“Ye who dares to sin against the Hegemon of these lands; perish.”
As the first rays of dawn pierced through the cover of the sky and struck the front courtyard of the Tie Family’s manor, Captain An had disappeared.
---
Iron Needle Pavilion.
Investigation Hall. Mu Household.
The splash of bone-piercing coldness woke Tie Zheng from the darkness of his unconsciousness. Haap! With a sharp intake of air, the old elder felt an all-encompassing pain strike his senses causing him to cringe and writhe.
His mind muddled and ears ringing, it took him a moment to form thoughts and make sense of his surroundings.
“…e’s… wa… O…Oi!”
SLAP! A heavy slap landed on his left cheek causing his head to snap sharply towards the right. “Are you awake?” asked an unfamiliar voice, once again.
“BASTARDS! DOGF*CKERS! RELEASE ME THIS INSTANT!!” Tie Zheng lunged and pulled against his chains while screaming at the top of his lungs. “RELEASE ME RIGHT NOW! I MUST KILL THAT WH*RESON AN CHENG!!”
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SLAP! Another slap landed on Tie Zheng’s face; this time, on his right cheek. The old man spat out a mouthful of blood alongside a couple of his broken teeth.
“For looking like a sickly old man with one foot inside his coffin, you’ve sure got some strength in your lungs, haven’t you?” mocked the voice from earlier. It then chuckled and said, “Good. Keep that strength. You will need it soon.”
“BASTARD!”
SLAP! Another hit rang.
“You will not speak unless spoken to.”
“D*CKLESS APE!”
SLAP!
“How would you know? Have you seen it?”
“Son… of… a… b*tch…”
SLAP! SLAP! SLAP!
“Now, now. Why would you say that about your son?”
Such exchanges continued a few times until the remainder of the teeth within Tie Zheng’s mouth were slapped away. Still, the flame of resistance present within his eyes did not seem to quell or weaken as he stared at his torturer with looks that could slaughter him into a million pieces.
“Oho!” chuckled the interrogator. “It seems that this will be more fun than I expected.” He tapped Tie Zheng’s bruised cheeks a few times and appreciatively said, “Good. Don’t break too quickly. It will be much fun for the both of us that way.”
“Now.” Taking a few steps back, the interrogator placed his hand on his chin and scanned Elder Tie from top to bottom. The latter, who was currently manacled and hung from the ceiling bare naked, snarled furiously. “Where shall we begin?”
After a minute’s consideration, the interrogator’s smile widened as he said, “Let’s start with the fingers. You can never go wrong with the fingers.” He then walked toward the darkened table found adjacent to the dark walls of the dimly lit room and moved a few indiscernible objects. While he did this, he continued to monologue.
“Did you know,” he began; his voice positive with enthusiasm. “According to practitioners of the [Bone Path], there are a total of two hundred and forty-seven bones in the human body. Some of them are strong and tough, like the skull and the big one in your thigh. At the same time, there are others that are small and fragile. Those that make up your nose and ears come to mind.”
“Say, do you what’s most fascinating about our bones? It’s the fact that of the whole two hundred and forty-seven total, more than half of them are present solely in our hands and feet!” He exclaimed, returning to the central spot in the room while holding a new armament in his hand; a silver-headed hammer that glimmered in the dim light of the room.
“It sounds made-up, doesn’t it? I can see from your expression that you do not really believe my words. No worries. You’ll learn the truth for yourself very soon with me helping you count.”
Arriving closer and raising the hammer, the interrogator asked, “Left or right? Which do you prefer?”
Fear flickering in the depths of his eyes, Tie Zheng roared. “YOU CRAZY BA--!”
“Right, it is.” The interrogator swung the hammer. CRUNCH! The disgusting sound of bone shattering echoed followed by the agonised scream of Elder Tie.
“That’s one!~”
---
Elsewhere
Covered in blood and filth, Tie Zhi raced through the back alleys of Miu Aislu City with tears streaming down his face. ‘No! No! This cannot be!’ His mind was still mired in disbelief, unable to believe much less make sense of what had taken place at his home in the morning.
Inspectors of the Mu Household broke through the gates of the manor with a warrant of arrest for his father. They then proceeded to raid and loot the manor and slaughtered all servants and guards who dared to resist. Be it due to luck or Heaven’s favour, Tie Zhi managed to evade their capture and successfully escaped the manor.
‘What do I do? What do I do!?’ Absolute fear and panic overwhelmed Tie Zhi’s mind causing the normally quick-on-his-feet boy to become dumb.
Filthy waters splashed beneath his feet as he raced barefoot through the dim, dirty alleyways. Not knowing how far away the Inspectors giving chase to him were, he did not stop. He dared not to stop.
Tie Zhi ventured ever deeper into the unfamiliar and dark alleyways. The darkness of his surroundings seemed to comfort him as it allowed his fear and panic to recede slowly. Agility returned to his mind and sensible thoughts began appearing within.
‘First, I must assist Father in shedding these false charges. But how? I have no name or presence in the court. Whom do I turn to for help?’ As quickly as that question formed, an answer followed. ‘Uncle Guo! That’s right! I can go and ask Uncle Guo for help!! Surely, he’ll help Father shed these false charges!’
As an old war brother of his father, surely Uncle Guo would help his father overcome this false accusation - this thought rooted itself within Tie Zhi’s mind and brought him some much-needed relief. A smile formed on his face as he felt his burden lessen.
TWANG! Just then, the sharp sound of a wire being pulled harshly resounded within the quiet alleyway. Tie Zhi suddenly felt his vision shift and fall downward.
‘What happened?’ The change was so sudden that his brain was unable to make sense of the situation. Before he knew it, Tie Zhi crashed against the sewage and filth-strewn ground with a heavy crash. Surprise and confusion soon gave way to pain and fear.
“Argh! ARRGGGHHHH!!!” Tie Zhi let out a bloodcurdling scream. He turned his head towards the burning heat that he was feeling in his legs, only to find nothing underneath his knees. Only a pour of crimson remained.
“Ugh! AARRRRGGHHHH!!” Tie Zhi roared and writhed, pain consuming his mind and self. Tears, mucous and snot covered his everything as he cried and cried again.
The isolation and darkness of his surroundings which had previously felt comfortable now radiated a sense of stifling oppression and desolation. Tie Zhi felt so hopelessly alone and afraid, akin to a lone boat lost amidst the darkness of the ocean.
Just as all hope seemed to have been lost, Tie Zhi picked up a series of splashes heading towards him. Somebody seemed to be walking towards him.
“HELP! SOMEBODY PLEASE HELP ME!!” Tie Zhi screamed for help through his pain. “PLEASE! PLEASE HELP ME!”
The splashes increased in volume and neared him. The dying embers of hope reignited within Tie Zhi’s eyes.
Soon, the darkness parted and a set of metal crutches appeared in front of Tie Zhi’s eyes. Following those metal crutches were a pair of argent orbs that appeared impossibly bright. So bright that Tie Zhi found himself lost within their illumination.
“There you are,” said the newcomer, his voice sounding clear and cold. “My wonderful little bait.”