Chapter 92

Zhao Ning’s gaze followed the branding iron’s entire process as he tried his best to shrink back. Behind him was an iron rack and he was still firmly bound by chains.

Even if he wanted to dodge it, there was nowhere for him to move.

“No! I beg you, let me go!” Zhao Ning was thoroughly frightened now and begged for mercy.

Pow! Pow!

Little Zhou boxed him in the ear twice brutally and said disdainfully, “Now you are afraid? Weren’t you quite arrogant just now?”

“I ask and you answer. If there’s any statement that I’m not satisfied with, the branding iron will leave a mark on you.”

He gave him a glance, then sized him up from head to toe.

He then said teasingly, “You are such a big size, so your body should be quite big. I think I should be able to leave a dozen burn marks or so, right?”

“Don’t do it! I’ll tell you the truth,” Zhao Ning yelled.

“The resources for training and developing skills of the Divine Sword Guards, the cases, and the account ledgers. Is your brother-in-law the mastermind?” Little Zhou deployed his ultimate move.

“N… no!”

Gasp!

The branding iron fell on him. Green smoke rose and burned through his clothes. His flesh was badly burned into a bloody pulp and smelled like roast meat.

“Ah…” Zhao Ning screamed in anguish.

The intense pain infiltrated his soul, causing him to foam at the mouth and roll his eyes until they turned white. He lasted a few seconds before fainting.

“That’s it?” Little Zhou pursed his lips.

He placed the branding iron back in the fire to heat up again, keeping it at the highest temperature.

One of his men came up with a bucket and threw cold water in his face.

Stung by the chilly temperature, Zhao Ning shivered and woke up again.

A searing pain shot through his heart, making him scream uncontrollably.

“I’ve already told you not to lie. Why didn’t you listen?” Little Zhou sighed.

He brought the branding iron over and dangled it in front of his eyes.

“You’re a good man. If your brother-in-law knows that he has a brother-in-law like you, he can laugh through his dreams until he wakes up.”

“No! I beg you, don’t do it again.” Zhao Ning shook his head in fear.

“Don’t be afraid! It’ll only hurt for a while. Just bear with it and you’ll be fine.”

Then he paused dramatically.

Little Zhou looked at a subordinate and asked, “Is there a doctor here?”

“Lord Zhou, don’t worry. We have special doctors here. Their medical skills are not inferior to those famous doctors outside. As long as it’s not a fatal injury, they can treat it.”

“Then I’m relieved.” Little Zhou nodded in satisfaction.

“If you can’t take it anymore, just speak.”

The branding iron was pushed onto his body once more. His clothes were torn and thick smoke rose from the spot. Zhao Ning gritted his teeth in despair and screamed in horror.

Xiao Ran crossed his arms and watched the whole scene calmly .

Although Zhao Ning was afraid of death, his sheer tenacity was quite unexpected.

He passed out 12 times without revealing anything.

Little Zhou had no choice but to stop. If he continued to interrogate him, he would be roasted to death.

“He is pretty tight-lipped. You can rest easy with people like him as friends.”

“Leave, all of you,” Xiao Ran rolled his eyes at Little Zhou.

After the door closed, only Xiao Ran and Zhao Ning were left in the rest chamber.

He woke Zhao Ning up.

Zhao Ning’s hair was disheveled and he looked very miserable. “” He had bitten his lips so hard that a piece of flesh fell down. He begged piteously, “This really has nothing to do with him. It is all my own doing.”

“Is that so?” Xiao Ran asked.

He activated the Spirit Shifting Soul Control technique. At the Perfection level, it was very powerful.

His eyes became illuminated with golden light, and two mini vortexes appeared, shooting straight into his soul and controlling him instantly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Is he the mastermind?” Xiao Ran asked.

“Yes…” Zhao Ning uttered just one word.

Then the Forbidden Spirit Technique activated in his head and exploded.

Bang!

The head shattered and he became a headless corpse. The golden light blocked the splattering flesh from touching Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran’s face turned dark as he looked in the direction of the Prefectural Governor’s residence with a steely glint in his eyes.

From what he heard just now, the Prefectural Governor should be involved in this matter.

Besides,

this Forbidden Spirit Technique was extraordinary. Ordinary Spiritual Masters would not be able to deploy it at all. At the very least, one had to be a Spirit Master at the Spirit Realm level in order to utilize this skill.

The door swung open.

When Little Zhou and the others heard the explosion, they quickly rushed over.

Looking at Zhao Ning’s mangled, bloody and pitiful appearance, he swallowed nervously. “Brother Xiao, did you do it?”

“No.” Xiao Ran shook his head.

“There was a spell cast in his head with the Forbidden Spirit Technique. He blew himself up.”

“Forbidden Spirit Technique?” Little Zhou’s eyes lit up.

“Does that mean that they’re behind this?”

“There’s at least a 50% chance,” Xiao Ran said.

He looked at the others with a stern gaze. “Not a word of what happened here is to be leaked out. Violators will be dealt with according to the station’s law.”

“I didn’t see anything.” The few men lowered their heads.

Back in the room,

Little Zhou handed over a cup of tea. “If we don’t kill the snake, we’ll get bitten by it instead. Those who strike first will get the upper hand, otherwise they will suffer. Brother Xiao, let’s go to his residence tonight to check?”

“There’s no hurry.” Xiao Ran was confident of victory.

“If he hadn’t come today, I really wouldn’t have been so sure. But he came today, and although he hid it well, his demeanor gave it away. He didn’t hesitate to threaten me to let him go. Do you believe there’s nothing fishy about that?”

Little Zhou scratched the back of his head. After listening to Xiao Ran’s hints, he had also figured it out.

“Brother Xiao, you’re right. This old man has been lying to us the whole time.”

Clenching his fingers into a fist, he said fiercely, “In that case, we don’t need to do anything. Just set up an inescapable net and wait here for him to fall into our trap.”

“Now that you know, hurry up and arrange it.” Xiao Ran gave him a kick.

Little Zhou chuckled wickedly and left.

At the Prefectural Governor’s Office,

in the study,

the Prefectural Governor paced the hall back and forth with his hands behind his back, his scowling face as black as ink.

A confidante stood in front of him.

After a long while,

he stopped in his tracks, his eyes flashing with ruthlessness and madness. “No! This must not be exposed. If Zhao Ning talks, not only will we be finished, our families will also suffer.”