Chapter 174: Interrogation (Patreon)

“Elder Wei.”

Liu Wei acknowledged Lixian Shen with a polite nod as she entered the room and bowed to greet him.

Behind her, four more of the Burning Thorns Sect’s Elders entered, flanking the man who had introduced himself as Yue Zhong’s shadow. The escort was, of course, largely hollow posturing. If he wanted to, neither these five nor even the entirety of this sect’s council would have been able to prevent him from making a run for it.

Not that that would have been an option, given that Liu Wei had waited for him only a couple of rooms away from his cell and closely monitored him with his soul sense the entire time.

“Thank you for bringing him here.”, Liu Wei addressed Lixian Shen. “You may leave him here with me.”

“Yes, Elder Wei.”, she answered and the five elders bowed in unison before withdrawing from the room, leaving Liu Wei alone with his prisoner. When the door had fallen shut, Liu Wei sent out a pulse of qi to activate the sound barrier formation that surrounded the room. Then, he quietly gestured to the chair across the table before him, signaling the man to take a seat.

“Elder Wei. You wished to see me.”

Liu Wei didn’t answer, merely observing the ‘shadow’ in silence as he approached the table and sat down as he had been signaled. There were many questions he wanted to pose, but getting any answers out of him wouldn’t be an easy task. Their initial exchange at the demonic cult’s hideout had told him as much.

Interrogations like this weren’t an everyday occurrence, but Liu Wei had seen his fair share of them – from both sides of the table. He let the silence draw out while taking his time to mentally revise the strategy he had prepared for this one.

Most of it depended on his assumptions about the nature of the man across the table. Given that he had never been an official sect member, Liu Wei assumed that he had been selected, probably as a child, brought up and trained entirely in secret as a tool for the Zhong Family to use from the shadows. If this was indeed the case, Liu Wei expected neither direct threats nor pain to have effect; he’d have been prepared for both. He was likely both extremely loyal and entirely obedient to his mistress’ orders.

What he couldn’t have much experience with was the kind of exchange the sect’s elders would regularly have with each other. The subtleties of facial expressions, tone and careful manipulation they practiced unceasingly at their council meetings and during their negotiations – which were no less battles of wits than an interrogation like this one – were not something one could learn another way than by taking part in them.

What the ‘shadow’ also couldn’t be too familiar with was Liu Wei himself. Even if he’d been extensively briefed on what kind of person he was, there was a limit to that which words could convey in that regard. Liu Wei intended to take full advantage of that.

Finally, there was the element of surprise. The shadow couldn’t know what Liu Wei knew right now. In fact, he’d probably prepared himself for this interrogation under the assumption that Liu Wei’s primary objective would be getting admission of the Zhong Family’s guilt out of him. An assumption that Liu Wei was just about to shatter.

Liu Wei took a long, calm breath and broke the silence.

“I did indeed wish to see you, ‘shadow’. There are a couple of questions I’d like you to answer. Starting with this.”

He mentally reached into his spatial ring. With a flash of light, an unfurled scroll appeared on the table before him.

“Would you mind telling me which one of you had this letter delivered to me?”

To his credit, the ‘shadow’s’ expression didn’t slip, remaining entirely neutral and unreadable.

“I’m not sure what you mean, Elder Wei. I haven’t seen this letter before.”

Liu Wei smiled faintly.

“I would much prefer to skip this part, if you would.”

“I’m not sure I follow.”

“I’m quite sure you do.”

Liu Wei’s tone turned hard.

“You had this letter delivered to me, pretending to be a worried elder and urging me to continue investigating the demonic cult. Why did you do that?”

“We did not send this letter.”

“Why did you do that?”, Liu Wei repeated the question.

“As I said, we…”

“Why. Did. You. Do. That?”

“I cannot say.”

“I know.”, Liu Wei retorted.

“Let me drop the subtleties. I am fully aware that this entire arrangement – the demonic cult, Tang Luli, the candleholder – was a deliberate setup. You deliberately let me catch you with evidence of your wrongdoing. The only thing I don’t know yet is why.”

The man’s sharp, yet delicate face continued carrying an entirely unreadable expression, but Liu Wei’s soul sense could feel his muscles subtly tensing. It was an impressive display of control nonetheless, but it was all he needed to know his words were having the intended effect.

Of course, he wouldn’t let his opponent know that he had noticed that. Instead, he took a deep breath and adjusted his expression to display a subtle but noticeable hint of frustration at his seeming lack of a reaction.

“I was framed for a murder I didn’t commit. A murder of a respected senior member of our sect, no less. I was made a scapegoat before the full assembly of our sect members, an assembly I personally worked to bring into existence.”

He let an undercurrent of intensity bleed into his voice, as if his emotions were slowly getting the better of him as he was speaking.

“I, Elder Liu Wei, Elder of the Lunar Peaks Sect since over three centuries, was banished. My image… tainted. My honor… besmirched.”

His voice dropped to little more than a whisper, as if he was mostly talking to himself now.

“Such insult I cannot bear. I will not let this stand.”

He took a deep, shaky breath, as if to calm himself down before refocusing his attention on the man across the table. When he spoke up again, his voice had returned to its cold, relaxed tone.

“The evidence I have found is enough to implicate the Zhong Family in these actions against me. What I have found out, however, leads me to believe that that may not be the reality of the situation. If someone else is behind the murder, I would rather bring retribution upon them than your family.”

Threat returned to his voice, but measured and calculated this time.

“But that depends on me finding out who they are. If I don’t, I will restore my honor nonetheless.”

Liu Wei paused, letting the implications hang in the air for a while before continuing. Little more than a day earlier, the man before him had been witness to his slaughter of close to a hundred demonic cultivators who had, strictly speaking, done him less wrong than those who had framed him.

“You have been ordered not to reveal anything to me, yes?”

“Yes.”

Liu Wei sighed.

“And I understand that you value your mistress’ orders over your life?”

“Yes.”

Liu Wei nodded slowly and stroked his beard, before locking eyes with the man.

“Then, if I may ask, do you also value her orders over her life?”

For the first time since he’d entered the room, the man’s expression slipped. It was merely for a moment, but shock, anger and fear warred on his face. Liu Wei pressed on.

“I shall return to the sect and present you to the council. Your very existence represents a subversion of that very sect, one which the other Pillar Families will not be able to ignore.”

That much was entirely true. The agreement between the Pillar Families that none of them would raise more than one member to the Dao Contemplation Realm was entirely informal, but it was very strictly kept nonetheless. It existed to preserve their power and resources, so any family deviating from it would be met with hostility. The fact that the Zhong Family had done so in secret was even more significant.

Liu Wei’s voice was harsh and carried a sense of finality as he continued.

“I shall then bring forth my accusations. The Zhong Family shall have to answer not only for the murder, but for their framing of me, an honorable elder of their own sect. As recompense, I shall demand your mistress’ head.”

The shadow’s neutral expression crumbled further, giving way to a complex mix of intense emotions.

“If the patriarch denies me my vengeance, I shall take it into my own hands. I am the Dancing Flame of the North, the man who slew Xing Zhou.”

Liu Wei’s presence expanded as he let the full extent of his soul’s might radiate into the room to back up his words.

“Elder Zhong will die before anyone has a chance to stop me.”

Liu Wei’s tone left no trace of uncertainty. He was stating a fact, as sure as the circle of day and night.

“Let me ask you one more time: Do you value your mistress’ orders over her life?”

“…”

The ‘shadow’ remained silent. Liu Wei waited patiently. He knew that he had played his part well. If this hadn’t been enough, this interrogation had been hopeless from the start.

“I am obligated to preserve my mistress life over everything else. I shall speak.”