What would Ziqing say?

An interrogation? A furious scolding? Accusations?

Instead, her face lit up with joy, as if she were a child returning home late, rushing happily to tell an elder, “I’m back!”

Ziqing said, “Physician Gu, I’m back.”

She said it with such a light, cheerful tone that laughter practically danced in her voice!

These words made Physician Gu, who had been utterly determined to ignore everything and say nothing, suddenly lift his head, his furious eyes bloodshot, glaring fixedly at Ziqing!

Saying “I’m back!” so cheerfully to the very person who least wanted her to return —

What words could possibly be more venomous than that?

This was, unmistakably, the most blatant provocation imaginable!

Physician Gu’s chest heaved violently, his bloodshot eyes wide open. Though he said nothing, even a three-year-old child watching would have known this old man was furious — absolutely furious, on the verge of exploding!

Seeing Physician Gu’s expression, Ziqing smiled and stepped back, crossing her arms, looking utterly at ease.

“Physician Gu, and here I thought you wouldn’t even lift your head — that you didn’t want to see me at all.”

“You—!”

Finally, Physician Gu could no longer hold back, but the moment he spoke, he found he had no words to counter with, and he clenched his teeth in fury, nearly choking on his own anger.

“Physician Gu, don’t get angry — you’re a physician, you should know better than anyone that too much anger damages the liver.”

Ziqing offered this well-meaning reminder, her composed, leisurely manner somehow more imposing, more elevated, than any show of overwhelming force could have been.

By rights, it should have been Ziqing doing the angry questioning — but instead, it was Physician Gu who was nearly boiling over with rage, shouting, “What exactly do you want?”

Ziqing’s attitude — lofty, detached, coldly observing — only made Physician Gu feel even more uncertain, even more unsettled.

“I don’t want anything from you. I only want to know where Bai Mengmeng is,” Ziqing said flatly. For a moment, Physician Gu didn’t quite grasp the implication behind her words.

“I don’t know! If you want to find Bai Mengmeng, go find her yourself! What great skill it takes, going after a poor old man like me!” Physician Gu seized the opening immediately, firing back sarcastically.

“Going after you?” Ziqing raised an eyebrow, feigning confusion. “Old man, how exactly am I ‘going after’ you?”

“Tied up like this, hanging here — if this isn’t ‘going after’ me, what would you call it? This kind of brutal torture — should I call it hospitality instead?” Physician Gu had thrown caution to the wind now; he wasn’t going to feel satisfied unless he got some insults in.

To his surprise, Ziqing let out a long, drawn-out “Ohh,” then turned the question right back on him. “So what if I am going after you?”

“You—!” Physician Gu choked with rage, unable to maintain any composure at all. He snorted coldly and turned his head sharply away, telling himself not to say another word, absolutely nothing more — or he’d surely be infuriated to death by this woman sooner or later!

As long as he kept his mouth shut, forget Han Ziqing — even Prince Yao himself wouldn’t get a single answer out of him!

Seeing Physician Gu turn away, Ziqing didn’t seem in any hurry at all. After being trapped in the Poison Beast World for so long, no matter how busy she and Jun Beiyue were, they could certainly spare a little more time.

She lazily settled herself onto a stool, crossing one leg over the other, studying Physician Gu with playful interest while lightly cracking a long whip in her hand.

Gradually, the quiet dungeon filled with the sound of “swish… swish… swish,” echoing through the empty chamber, deepening the sense of dread.

Not to mention Situ Haonan and the others — even Jun Beiyue himself couldn’t quite figure out exactly what Ziqing intended to do with this interrogation.

Physician Gu had managed to stay relatively composed at first, but listening to the patient, deliberate rhythm of Ziqing’s whip, he found himself utterly unable to remain calm, his mind racing with thoughts of what she might do, what punishment she might have in store!

But just as his nerves stretched to their breaking point, suddenly — “Swish—!” A sharp, vicious crack!

Physician Gu flinched violently, his heart nearly leaping out of his chest — what on earth did this woman want to do to him?!

Yet after that single sharp crack, Ziqing made no further move, still seated calmly, idly cracking the whip on and off.

Soon, the room fell into silence once more.

Even Jun Beiyue found himself growing amused, watching Ziqing with a wicked little smile tugging at the corners of his lips.