Interrogation was a delicate art.
Especially when it came to interrogating men like Jiao Cha and Mu Fusang — it required real skill.
And yet, the moment Jun Beiyue stepped into the gloomy cell, he was greeted instead by the sound of Jiao Cha begging for mercy.
He immediately looked over at Ziqing, who was stifling a laugh. The moment she saw Jun Beiyue’s suspicious look, she burst out laughing openly. “No need to interrogate them — they can’t wait to see me!”
“What poison did you use on him?” Jun Beiyue could guess it was some kind of poison, but couldn’t begin to guess which. After all, though Jiao Cha and Mu Fusang had lost to Ziqing, that didn’t mean they were pushovers.
Men like this couldn’t be bought with rewards or cowed with threats — the only way to make them talk was to break their will entirely.
Ziqing only smiled without answering, taking Jun Beiyue’s hand and pulling him briskly deeper into the cells. Jun Beiyue looked down at their joined hands, unable to keep the corners of his lips from curling into a secretive smile.
He’d once thought this girl’s temperament was even colder than his own — that he’d have to make all the effort himself if he wanted to get closer to her.
Little had he known, some things simply happened naturally, without either of them ever quite noticing.
Jun Beiyue savored the warmth and strength of Ziqing’s small hand as he followed behind her, smiling silently to himself.
They soon reached the depths of the cells, where Situ Haonan stood personally on guard.
Jiao Cha and Mu Fusang both hung from the torture rack, their hands and feet shackled, unable to move. Mu Fusang hung his head low; though clearly conscious, he remained silent as though half-dead already.
Jiao Cha, by contrast, cried out even louder the moment he saw Ziqing approach. “Han Ziqing, let me go! I’ll do anything you ask, I’m begging you, just let me go!”
“Han Ziqing, the antidote — did you bring the antidote? I’m begging you, give me the antidote, I’ll trade you anything for it!”
…
Jun Beiyue stepped closer, finally taking a proper look at Jiao Cha. His face was flushed red all over, his eyes bloodshot, and beneath his tattered clothing his once dark skin could be seen swollen and inflamed, scratched raw and bleeding in several places. Of the scaled plates that had once stood proudly along his body, hardly any remained — only a sparse ten-odd pieces scattered along his neck.
And with every struggle, every cry, even those remaining scales looked ready to fall off at any moment!
Jun Beiyue understood at once.
This poison didn’t just strip Jiao Cha of his scales — it also made his entire body itch unbearably. The black shark’s scales were the hardest substance in the world, yet the black shark’s skin beneath them was the most fragile skin in existence!
Once scratched open, the skin could never regrow scales again.
And for the black shark people, their scales weren’t merely a matter of pride — they were life itself. No, more precious than life. They were the mark of bloodline, the symbol of identity, the pride of an entire people.
“And if I wanted to know the secret of Qinse Valley, the secret of the isolated island, the secret of Lishang?” Ziqing said coldly.
This was, after all, the man who had lured her away on the rooftop of the main hall — and back then, he’d let slip no small number of secrets! Otherwise, how could she have tracked him down so easily?
“I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you everything, just cure me of this poison and I swear I’ll tell you!” Jiao Cha agreed at once. He couldn’t take it anymore — every inch of his skin was on fire with itching, and if he kept scratching, his entire body would eventually fester and rot away, and he would never grow scales again for the rest of his life!
For a black shark, that would be the ultimate humiliation. He couldn’t bear it!
“Very well, let me ask you—”
Ziqing was about to speak, but Jun Beiyue held her back, giving a cold smile. “No rush. Let him speak first.”
By “him,” Jun Beiyue clearly meant Mu Fusang, standing beside Jiao Cha.
Compared to Jiao Cha, Mu Fusang was far more capable — and far more stubborn. Jun Beiyue had no idea what poison Ziqing had used on him, but he could tell that Mu Fusang had remained silent this whole time, and would likely stay silent to the very end.
Compared to Qinse Valley, they knew nothing at all about the mulberry sacred tree — and among all the clues about the isolated island, this tree was the only one that was a purely static object.
How could it possibly be as simple as sacred-wood-turned-into-a-boat?
The moment Jun Beiyue said this, Ziqing understood at once, folding her arms across her chest and stepping back to one side.
Jiao Cha, meanwhile, was suffering doubly — from the itching all over his body, and from watching Jun Beiyue with a heart even more troubled than his skin.
He’d done everything in his power to avoid this man, and yet here he was, having fallen into his hands after all!
“This prince will count to three. If you two still won’t talk, this prince will find out these two secrets of Liuxian Island himself, even without your help, once the ranking tournament is over,” Jun Beiyue said with a cold snort, giving Jiao Cha not a moment to think it over as he immediately began counting. “One…”
Jiao Cha was no fool. If he and Mu Fusang both forfeited midway, it would deal a devastating blow to the Bai clan and the Hai clan alike. And once Jun Beiyue claimed first place in the ranking tournament, the difference between merely informing Liuxian Island of the secrets and having them ruled by the Gu clan directly would be an entirely different matter!
Jiao Cha had no time left to think, no room left to consider. The moment Jun Beiyue reached “two,” he shouted at once, “Wood fears fire!”
The moment those three words left his mouth, Mu Fusang — who’d been hanging half-dead beside him — suddenly jerked his head up, glaring furiously at Jiao Cha. “You!”
“Brother… things have come to this. Might as well surrender. Living like this is worse than death,” Jiao Cha said, trying to console him.
Mu Fusang gave a cold snort, turning his head away, refusing to look at anyone.
Situ Haonan smiled innocently and handed a torch to Ziqing. Ziqing raised the torch and stepped closer. Mu Fusang immediately shut his eyes — but what good did closing his eyes do him? The heat rolled toward him in waves, and every single pore on his body could feel it.
“Jun Beiyue, Han Ziqing, you two are utterly shameless!” Mu Fusang said coldly.
Ziqing’s face darkened instantly. “And what crime did the isolated island commit, to deserve annihilation? What crime did the descendants of that island commit, that their lives should belong to you people?”
Mu Fusang had no answer to that. Ziqing showed no mercy, and thrust the blazing torch straight at him.
“No… I’ll talk!” Mu Fusang suddenly shrieked, a cry every bit as loud as Jiao Cha’s had been moments earlier.
He feared fire more than death itself. Fire, above all things, was what he couldn’t stand.
“Talk first,” Ziqing said coldly, only then pulling the torch back.
Mu Fusang’s face was still frozen in terror, a completely different man from the cold, proud figure he’d been moments earlier. He gestured for Ziqing to move the torch further away before he could finally calm himself down.
“Why did the isolated island vanish? Why did it become a forbidden subject for Nanzhao? And what connection do you have to Nanzhao?” Ziqing asked.
“Give us the antidote first,” Mu Fusang bargained.
“What leverage do you have to bargain with me?” Ziqing said coldly.
Mu Fusang glanced at Jiao Cha, his expression grave and serious. “Our loyalty. We’re willing to serve the two of you from this day forward!”
Mu Fusang was no fool. Part of it was genuine admiration for Ziqing, but the other part was simple pragmatism — if they didn’t pledge their allegiance, the only fate awaiting them was being silenced for good.
No shortage of people wanted Han Ziqing dead, and no shortage of people wanted to uncover the secrets of the isolated island either.
He and Jiao Cha had entered the ranking tournament out of exactly this concern — hoping to seize control of Liuxian Island, seal it off entirely, and keep anyone from ever setting foot on it or discovering either secret.
But now, with their entire plan in ruins, they had only one path left: to submit to Han Ziqing.
Hearing Mu Fusang’s words, Jiao Cha — who’d already been leaning this way — nodded as well, saying, “Han Ziqing, cure this poison and I’ll tell you the secret of Qinse Valley. Lishang’s greatest secret lies within Qinse Valley itself!”